{"id":2426,"date":"2014-07-07T12:47:01","date_gmt":"2014-07-07T16:47:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=2426"},"modified":"2014-07-15T15:06:21","modified_gmt":"2014-07-15T19:06:21","slug":"who-am-i-7614","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=2426","title":{"rendered":"Who Am I? (7\/6\/14)"},"content":{"rendered":"
On Sunday, July 6, Pastor Jim Bolton was introduced to our church as our new pastor.\u00a0 Pastor Jim’s first sermon was entitled “Who Am I?”\u00a0 It was both an introduction to the new pastor and also a probing question into our own relationship with Jesus Christ.<\/span><\/address>\n
The scripture for the message was from Matthew 16:13-16 and from Joshua 1:1-9.<\/span><\/address>\n

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Yeah, but who do YOU say I Am???<\/span><\/h3>\n

In Matthew 16, Jesus asks His disciples two questions.\u00a0 First, “Who do people SAY that I am?”\u00a0 He then followed it up with the question, “who do YOU say that I am???”\u00a0 Check it out…<\/p>\n

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Matt 16:13-16<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” <\/span><\/p>\n

14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” <\/span><\/p>\n

15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” <\/span><\/p>\n

16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”<\/span><\/p>\n

NKJV<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

It’s easy to latch on to mentors and people who have influenced us.\u00a0 It’s tempting to quote books or things others said as if they were our own discoveries or feelings.\u00a0 But Jesus asks us who do YOU say that I am?\u00a0 Our constant goal should be to know Jesus for ourselves.\u00a0 We truly know something when we’ve dealt with the details, doubts and questions.\u00a0 Personal knowledge comes when we’ve studied it and struggled with it.\u00a0 We only come to really know something (or someone) because we’ve made it our own and God taught it to us.\u00a0 God’s Word and the Holy Spirit will lead us into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0Cause and Effect…<\/span><\/h3>\n

Knowing Jesus Christ leads to selfless obedience and commitment.\u00a0 Commitment to the Word and to obedience lead to God’s provision and protection.\u00a0 Check out Joshua 1:1-9…<\/p>\n

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Joshua 1:1-9<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying:<\/span><\/p>\n

2 “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them \u2014 the children of Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n

3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.<\/span><\/p>\n

4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory.<\/span><\/p>\n

5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.<\/span><\/p>\n

6 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.<\/span><\/p>\n

7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.<\/span><\/p>\n

8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.<\/span><\/p>\n

9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”<\/span><\/p>\n

NKJV<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

If we first turn to Jesus and focus on the Word, God will make us successful.\u00a0 Verse 7 warns us against the temptation of planning something out and then asking God to rubber stamp our own ideas after we’ve already put them into effect.\u00a0 But if we know Jesus, if we start with the Word (“Law”), God promises to “make our way prosperous.”<\/p>\n

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Change is difficult… BUT…<\/span><\/h3>\n

Israel’s big leader was gone.\u00a0 Moses was dead!\u00a0 Big time change was crashing down on the Hebrew people.\u00a0 And yet, God told (commanded!) the people, “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”<\/span><\/p>\n

It was like Peter walking on the water.\u00a0 Yep. Even Peter could climb out of the boat and walk on the water… as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus (Matthew 14:22-33).\u00a0 But when he saw the winds and the waves and focused on them instead, he began to sink.<\/p>\n

Change can be fearful, but God loves us so deeply that He sent His Son to die for us.\u00a0 “Perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18).\u00a0 God is<\/span> with us, and God Will Be<\/span> with us.\u00a0 The promise wasn’t only for Joshua, and it wasn’t only for those who led the “glory days” of the Pitman Camp meeting. \u00a0 The Hebrew is in the future tense.\u00a0 The promise is for us.\u00a0\u00a0 Even though we’ve got a great history, our best days can still be ahead of us;\u00a0 “the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n
Click the Play button below to listen to a recording of the sermon…<\/span><\/h5>\n