Knowledge Is Power: Who Is Jesus to You?

Cleaned from the live recording. Lightly edited for reading.

Back from Pakistan

It's good to see each and every one of you. And to hear a little English.

Man, I felt a little strange in the worship this morning. I was trying to catch my bearings, because I was worshipping the other day with a different type of rhythm, different type of instruments. But it was actually enjoyable, to see how people worship the Lord using different instruments. My wife knows and my children know, there was a period of time I would put on Hindi Christian music and blast it out. I felt at home.

Training a young preacher

My people are destroyed because of lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). I love where Jonathan picked up. Put your hands together for him.

He said the media team robbed him of his time. It's good training. I know he didn't get to finish his sermon, but I know my son. An hour and a half from now he still would not have finished. So it's some training we're doing for him, helping him to understand that when you're preparing your message you need to have a beginning, there's a body, and there's a conclusion. On the next try you'll do pretty well.

The first time I preached, I was really excited. I wrote a lot of stuff on the paper, and somewhere between the fourth and the fifth minute, I ran out of sermon. So he's doing really, really well. In five minutes I burned through three pages, and I think in half an hour he burned through a few lines. Brother Bev, you have a rival now.

Why I'm saying this is to encourage you. With some sermons you'll need to do them in a series, three, four parts. Not because you run out of time, but so you can put it in parts.

Who do men say that I am?

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17). He asked the question, who are you? It's an important question.

Jesus asked the apostles, who do men say that I am (Matthew 16:13-18)? As Jonathan was trying to put over to us, if we don't have the right knowledge of who Jesus is, we will not understand ourselves.

He looked at the apostles and said, who do men say that I am? I'm going to build my church. But the church can only be set on the right foundation when we come into the knowledge, into the revelation, into the light of who I am.

Some said, you're a great prophet. Some believe that you are Elijah, some Jeremiah. And then Jesus flipped the script. I've heard what others say about me. I've heard what you believe others believe about me. But now I want to hear your revelation of me. Who am I?

People are destroyed because of lack of knowledge. In him, the Bible says, are hidden all the treasures of wisdom (Colossians 2:3). And he's asking a question this morning. Who am I?

Make it personal

No, I don't want you to sit. I'll stay too long and preach another sermon. I want you to say to the person next to you, who's Jesus to you? Come on, tell them.

(The congregation responds: light, saviour, redeemer, sustainer, father, healer.)

You see, when you say who he is to you, you made it personal. When you say he's your healer or your sustainer, it tells a story. It speaks of an experience. It speaks of an encounter. He's my healer because some time I was sick and he healed me. He's my sustainer because some time I felt as though I was losing my mind. Things weren't going well. I was falling apart, and he held me together.

When you don't have a story, when it's not personal to you, when you find yourself in difficult situations you wouldn't know what to call him.

Who shall I say sent me?

When God sent Moses to Egypt, he said, who shall I say sent me (Exodus 3:13-14)? He needed to know that. Because when he reached there and threw down his staff and it turned into a serpent, the magicians threw down theirs and they turned into serpents too (Exodus 7:10-12).

He had to know exactly who sent him there, because he was facing powers now. He was facing resistance. He went there in the name of a God, and others came out in the name of their gods. If he hadn't had the knowledge that I Am That I Am sent me, the one who can be all things and do all things, what would he have done?

When he threw down his staff and it turned into a serpent, and Pharaoh's magicians threw down theirs and they turned into serpents too, he looked at his and he said, I Am That I Am sent me. Yours may have turned into a serpent too. But I Am That I Am can do all things.

And then I Am That I Am showed him, this snake is not like the other snakes. This snake can swallow snakes. This power can destroy powers. The God that I serve has proven to me he is a God above all other gods. He has shown me he can make me greater than all the magicians of Egypt. He sent me.

And when I stand before Pharaoh, whatever god he brings out, whatever level of power he engages, I am serving the I Am That I Am. If we need to overcome the god of the flies, the god of the rivers, the god of the storms, that's who he is.

Your God must have a name

We must come to a place where we know for ourselves who our Lord is. Because when you face cancer, when you face death, when you face sickness, your God must have a name. A name that can respond. A name that can answer.

He is my light and my salvation (Psalm 27:1). Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, because he is with me (Psalm 23:4). You must know his name. God gave him a name that is above every other name (Philippians 2:9).

What is his name? He is my sustainer. He is my rewarder. He is my health. Whatever you need, he is that to you. Whatever you're lacking, he has a name.

Thou art the Christ

Peter said, thou art the Christ (Matthew 16:16). You are the anointed one. You are the Messiah. You are the one the world is looking for. And Jesus said, hold up. You went into eternity and you got a name that did not originate in the realm of the natural. This revelation came from the Father (Matthew 16:17).

You are the Christ. You are the one that was promised to the world. You're the one from Genesis 3, the one who will crush the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). The one who will restore mankind. You are the one.

Who is he to you?

A warrior for war, peace for peace

When we cry and we're frustrated in life, we need to go back and find the name that we need. He's El Gibbor, the mighty one, the man of war (Isaiah 9:6; Exodus 15:3). When I'm facing giants, I need a mighty man of war. When I'm facing resistance, I don't need a healer. I need a warrior.

Some of us need a warrior, but we say, Lord, you're my healer. We don't need a healer at that time. When it's time for war, we need a warrior.

In times of peace I don't need a warrior. I say, Lord, you're my peace. Peace beyond understanding (Philippians 4:7). He said those whose minds are stayed on him, he will keep in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3). Sometimes it's not a warrior you need. It's peace. He's the Prince of Peace. When I feel as though everything is falling apart, he's the Prince of Peace. He spoke to the wind and said, peace, be still (Mark 4:39). That's all you need him to do. Peace, be still.

Throw it down, or stretch it out

When Moses was at the Red Sea with Pharaoh behind him and the Israelites started to cry out, the Lord asked him, what do you have in your hand? That staff turned into a snake and swallowed snakes in the past. But this time the Lord didn't tell him to throw it down. He told him to stretch it out (Exodus 14:15-16).

That's why we constantly need a fresh revelation of Jesus, of who he is. When we understand who he is, we'll know who we should be. Sometimes you fight. Sometimes you stretch out your hand. Sometimes you open up your mouth and war. Sometimes you lead in worship.

Just lift your hands and worship him. Whatever you need him to be, lift your hands. He can be that for you. Your peace, your joy, your song, your warrior, your lover. He can be your Rose of Sharon (Song of Solomon 2:1). Your life may need something beautiful in it. He can be that to you. Just lift your hands and worship him.

(Worship follows.)