JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD!
Shalom,
Do
we still believe that the
66-book Bible consisting of the Old Testament (39 books)
and the New
Testament (27 books)
written by men such as Moses, John, Peter, Paul and others
as the true Word of God? Although a sermon is preached by a well-known preacher, we need to find out whether it is Christ-centered and Bible-based
related to salvation or
outside the Bible featuring nothing
else but man’s
philosophies
on
morality.
Do we truly believe in Jesus? If so,
why did He
say, ‘ Whosoever
therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father
which is in Heaven. Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny
before my father which is in heaven’ (Matthew
10:32-33).
What
Jesus said is fairly simple and easy to understand. As we all know, every follower and believer of Christ
will one day
stand before
the throne of God the Father and Christ as the key witness. Jesus’ recognition of our status will
determine, whether we will enter eternity or not. The point is, did we sincerely and openly acknowledged
Him before the authorities the way
Jesus had expected us to when we were still here on earth (Matthew 10:16-18, 26-31)?
How far do we confess Jesus in public? Actually, who is Jesus that we follow? What kind of confession does Jesus expect from His followers so that He will find it worthy to accept us before the Father? Jesus requires we, His followers,
boldly confess that He is the Son of God.
John wrote to the church: Whosoever shall confess that Jesus
is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. Also, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the
Son of God (1 John 4:15; 5:13).
When Jesus was before the
Sanhedrin, the great priest Caiaphas asked whether He was the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus confirmed
that He was the Messiah.
Caiaphas tore his robe as His
conformation was considered as an act of blasphemy which led Jesus to His death sentence
(Matthew 26:63-66)
Introspection :
When persecution comes, are we brave enough to confess that Jesus is the Son of God? Other religions confess that Jesus was an apostle, a prophet, a messenger, a teacher or a shepherd, not as the Son of God. These days, Christians are under pressure, and accused of christianizing whenever they share the gospel of Jesus. Do we still have the courage to voice the message of salvation? Or, do we keep our mouths shut for fear of being persecuted and even imprisoned?
When persecution comes, are we brave enough to confess that Jesus is the Son of God? Other religions confess that Jesus was an apostle, a prophet, a messenger, a teacher or a shepherd, not as the Son of God. These days, Christians are under pressure, and accused of christianizing whenever they share the gospel of Jesus. Do we still have the courage to voice the message of salvation? Or, do we keep our mouths shut for fear of being persecuted and even imprisoned?
Let us go further and discuss
Jesus the Son of God. We need to
know Him more deeply right from the start in the New Testament. That way, we will really know Him and obtain
the courage to confess that Jesus
is the Son of God, theSavior
of mankind.
We expose this
truth in relation to
the blueprint
of the Tabernacle
:
1. The Courtyard
1.1.
The gate of Tabernacle = Faith
·
The angle Gabriel
told virgin Mary that she would
conceive and give birth
to a son
to be named, Jesus.
‘He shall be great and shall be called
the Son of the Highest. (Luke 1:26-32)
·
Jesus did not come to establish
Christianity, but He came as the Son of God.
Mark, Peter’s spiritual son, wrote,’ This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God.’ (Mark 1:1)
·
If we believe and receive Jesus the Son of God, as the Gospel
of John emphasizes it,
we will be given authority or
guarantee to be the children of God ( John 1: 12,14).
1.2. The Altar of Burnt Offerings = Repentance
The evil
spirits know that Jesus is the Son
of God that will condemn them in the
eternal, fiery lake (Matthew 8: 28-29, Mark 5: 1-7)
Warnings:
Ironically, while the evil spirits know that Jesus is the Son of God and when they will be condemned, the self-proclaimed believers, do not truly believe that He is the powerful Son of God who is mighty to save and give a perfect shelter the world never promises. Most of them proudly present Him as a Blesser, wonderful Healer, all-knowing Prophet but they do not know Him as the eternal Son of God (1 John 5:5, 11-13).
Ironically, while the evil spirits know that Jesus is the Son of God and when they will be condemned, the self-proclaimed believers, do not truly believe that He is the powerful Son of God who is mighty to save and give a perfect shelter the world never promises. Most of them proudly present Him as a Blesser, wonderful Healer, all-knowing Prophet but they do not know Him as the eternal Son of God (1 John 5:5, 11-13).
1.3. The Laver -
Water Baptism
Ø When
seeing the
Spirit come upon Jesus,
John the Baptist gave his testimony,” He
is the Son of God ( John 1: 32-34)
Ø The eunuch said “I
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God’. And Philip baptized him (Acts
8: 26-40)
Having
been baptized, Saul (Paul)
preached in synagogues proclaiming
that Jesus was
the Son of God (Acts 9:1-22, 22:1-16;26). In the end, Saul, an ex-antichristian hardliner who militantly murdered early
Christians, confessed that Jesus was
the Son of God.
How about us? Having been baptized and filled with Holy
Spirit, does
the Holy Spirit in our hearts
make us shiever with fear when confronted with today’s
reats and global
challenges (2 Timothy 1:6-10)?
2. THE HOLY
PLACE
2.1 The Tent Gate = Baptism of the Holy
Spirit
Apostle
Paul fearlessly
wrote: ”Concerning His Son Jesus
Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit
of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:3-4)
2.2 The Table
of Showbread = The Word of
God
v
After listening to what Jesus had said,
Nathanael confessed,
‘ Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel” ( John 1:45-49).
v
Peter
walked on water to come toward Jesus
but, then,
he suddenly became terrified because of the wind and started to drown. But
Jesus reached out his hand and said ‘O
Thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?’ And when they were come into
ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped Him,
saying, of a truth thou art the Son of
God’ (Matthew 14:22-33, Mark 5:35-41).
v
The
devil also confessed that Jesus was
the Son of God but he turned
the truth of the Word of God upside down by saying: if Thou be the Son of God, command these stones be made bread; cast
thyself down; for it is written… (Matthew 4:3-7)
2.3. The Golden
Lampstand =
The
Work
of
the Holy Spirit
2.4 The Altar of
Incense
Martha believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son
of God (John 11:17-27).
3.
The Most Holy Place
3.1
Before entering the Most Holy Place, one sees the veil – the torn body of Christ
- When Jesus was on the cross, the Jewish, the Leaders, the Pharisees and the Scribes and others
blasphemed Him saying…if Thou be the Son of God, come down from
the cross ( Matthew 27:40)
In fact, the mind of man is not
the mind of God. People often times accepted and believed in Jesus who did spectacular miracles. But, surprisingly,
the head of the soldiers,
a Roman, was the one who confessed, “Truly this was
the Son of God” (Matthew
27:50-54, Mark 15:37-39).
- The life transformation experienced by Saul (later known as Paul) made him the most wanted man among the Jews who once followed him but now wanted to kill him (Acts 9:23-25, 23:12-15). But Paul boldly said, ”I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:19-21).
- The life transformation experienced by Saul (later known as Paul) made him the most wanted man among the Jews who once followed him but now wanted to kill him (Acts 9:23-25, 23:12-15). But Paul boldly said, ”I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:19-21).
It is obvious that our following
Jesus is not seamless.
Fire of trials is ready
to put our minds,
words and actions to the test to produce “real gold” (1 Peter 1:7).
Introspection : Can
we admit that even in death, Jesus was still the Son of God? As the
sinless Son of God, He died to redeem the sin of man.
3.2 In the Most Holy Place, there is the Ark of Covenant
The
light in the Most Holy Place does not come
from a lampstand but rather from the Shekinah Glory – the
light of God’s Glory.
On the island of
Patmos,
the Apostle
John saw a person with his shining countenance
like the bright shining sun
that made him fall at his feet (Revelation 1:
16-17). So did the congregation of Thyatira when visited by the Word of the Son of God with His eyes like a flame of fire.
They will
receive the morning star (Jesus) if they do not follow the false teaching of
Izebel (Revelation 2:18,
24-29).
Application:
Let us firmly hold on to the true teaching. He promised not to give us another burden (Revelation 3:24). Therefore, let us not search other burdens beyond the Word of God, like strict church/organizational rules, etc., that overburden us. He gives us the freedom to call upon Jesus, the Son of God. And His Word is neither way up high in heaven nor way down deep in the ravine of death. Instead, it is very close to us, namely in our mouths and hearts. It provides us salvation only if we believe in Him.
Let us firmly hold on to the true teaching. He promised not to give us another burden (Revelation 3:24). Therefore, let us not search other burdens beyond the Word of God, like strict church/organizational rules, etc., that overburden us. He gives us the freedom to call upon Jesus, the Son of God. And His Word is neither way up high in heaven nor way down deep in the ravine of death. Instead, it is very close to us, namely in our mouths and hearts. It provides us salvation only if we believe in Him.
When temptations,
persecution or shortcomings arise in our lives, let us freely come to
Him, to Jesus the Son of God and High Priest. Come close to His throne of grace. Receive His mercy and find His grace to obtain His help in due
time ( Hebrews
4:14-16).
To know Jesus
better,
we must not go for wordly comforts only.
Rather, we
should
prepare ourselves to take risks
and pay the price for “impending
dangers.” That way,
we may receive help in due
season as long as we stay rock solid in our confession of faith.
Application:
If we confess Jesus as the Son of God, we can see His glory in His Word to experience transformations, strength and help.
Do we really believe that Jesus is the Son of God, not simply as a great Healer/Doctor, a generous Blesser, a Perfomer of spectacular miracles, etc? If we do believe that Jesus is the Son of God, we should be ready, with the courage given by the Holy Spirit, to exclaim and confess that Jesus is the Son of God. On top of that, we should be ready to take part in His “death” as risks to the experience of “resurrection” with Him in His eternal Glory. Amen.
If we confess Jesus as the Son of God, we can see His glory in His Word to experience transformations, strength and help.
Do we really believe that Jesus is the Son of God, not simply as a great Healer/Doctor, a generous Blesser, a Perfomer of spectacular miracles, etc? If we do believe that Jesus is the Son of God, we should be ready, with the courage given by the Holy Spirit, to exclaim and confess that Jesus is the Son of God. On top of that, we should be ready to take part in His “death” as risks to the experience of “resurrection” with Him in His eternal Glory. Amen.
Interpreter : Dicky
Prooreader : Budi
By Pastor Paulus Budiono
Lemah Putro, Sunday, May 14, 2017
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