Jesus is the Same | The Great Awareness Church

This title is uh Jesus the same yesterday, today, and forever. And um proof that I'm plagiarizing the Bible in every uh step of the way. Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." Okay?

And that is the topic of today's thing. He's unchanging. He's eternal. In the beginning, he was there.

Genesis 1:26-28 says this. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. Let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in his own image.

In the image of God he created them, male and female he created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it. have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that makes the earth.

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image." Who's us? This is at the very don't create. This is the first time we see the the uh trinity and it's at the very beginning.

Okay? Us is God the father, God the son, God the holy spirit. So Jesus was there in the beginning and in the beginning he created us in his image to have dominion over the earth. Okay.

Um and I don't think today we don't walk in that quite enough like we should. Um John further testifies to this in the beginning concept in John 1 um verses 1-14. I'm going to read it now. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.

He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him and without him nothing was made that was made. In him was life and the life was the light of man and the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John.

This man came for a witness to bear witness to the light that all through him might believe. He was not that light but was sent to bear witness of that light that was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world and the world was made through him and the world did not know him. He came to his own and his own did not receive him.

But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God. To those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth.

So he says in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God and then the word became flesh and we beheld his glory. Okay, that's Jesus. So he was there in the beginning. Now now John who wrote this spent a year and a half to three years with Jesus depending on which which you know way you roll with that but but he lived with them.

Okay? And if you've been married to anyone for any length of time for you know when you live with them everything about right you know what they look like in the morning you know whether they snore you know whether they pass gas at night you know all the the quirks and stuff right and after living with him for that many for that long John said we beheld his glory okay that Jesus was not only from the beginning he's amazing even more than that I think of James right some of his brothers so I mean my brother, he he's probably watching.

Um, me and him, we know enough about each other. We know each other's not God, right? Um, but James, can you imagine being the brother of Jesus? Why can't you be more like Jesus?

Like, you you can't you can't measure up, right? But James eventually became a disciple of Jesus, a leader in the early church, and wrote the book of James, one of my favorite books of the Bible. Even though he was there when Jesus was small, he still understood that Jesus was Lord and he came to worship him. That might be one of the strongest declarations that Jesus is indeed God.

That that someone that lived with him when he was in diapers uh still looks up at him as Lord. So he's there at the beginning. He's there throughout the entire Old Testament. It all speaks to him.

Joseph was innocently thrown in prison, okay? but eventually becomes ruler and through him the Jewish people are saved. Jesus was innocently crucified, thrown in prison, beat and then innocently crucified and he rose again as ruler and he freed us you know uh so so it speaks to us Moses too he led the people from bondage to freedom. Jesus brought us out of bondage to sin into the light of freedom.

John 8 um 34 through36 says this. This is Jesus speaking. Most assuredly I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave to sin, and a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore, if a son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

Jesus has set us free. Um Jonah, I mean it it all throughout it. Jonah, belly of the whale for three days. So Jesus was in the earth for three days.

Jesus references this in Matthew, we go back to old Matthew um 12:39-41. He says, "But he answered them and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

the men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. So the whole Old Testament um speaks to it. Remember in Daniel Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, they get thrown into the fiery furnace. Okay, it was so hot that the people that were throwing them in burned up and died as they were throwing them in.

Okay. And the king looks in there and he sees not three people but four. It's described in Daniel 3:25. It says, "Look," he answered, "I see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire and the fourth is like the son of God."

That was Jesus. Okay? Pre before he came on this earth. This is all of this is Old Testament so far, right?

This whole Old Testament speaks to him. Jesus was in the fire. Has anyone ever been in a fiery trouble that that Jesus came and helped you through it? Right.

So, he's there. Okay. Jesus was the same yesterday, today, and forever. Okay.

Great figures of the Old Testament speak to the greatness of Jesus. Um, look at the sermon on the mount. Okay. Matthew 17.

Let's pop over to that which is incredible, incredible passage. 17 1-8 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves, and he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light. Just before this, he tells some of the disciples, "Some of you will see me come to my glory."

Um, and then boom, here's this moment where he takes them up to the mount and gets transfigured before them. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them. Now, they're already dead. So, they come back and they're there talking with him.

Then Peter answered, no one asked him a question, but Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, let us make here three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. At this point, Peter still didn't quite get it that Jesus was the greatest of all.

Okay? Because he wanted to make three altars, one for each of them, as if they're all kind of equal. To make sure that there was no confusion there, God comes and speaks right here. He says, "A bright cloud overshadowed them, and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.

Hear him." And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise and do not be afraid." When Jesus comes again, it's not going to be like, you know, him on a unicorn and rainbows and kittens, okay?

He's coming as a great and powerful, fearful Lord. And we're going to touch on that in a minute. Okay? These are the two biggest names of the Old Testament.

Okay? And and and Jesus is glorified in front of them and over them. Jesus was the man. Okay?

Jesus fulfilled in the end over a thousand prophecies in the Old Testament. Okay? We looked at some. I mean, there's so many verses I could have used.

My daughter was very upset over all the verses I'm using in this thing because I am. We're still got a lot to read, but I could have used so many. The whole Old Testament just screams of Jesus. Okay, we last week I was preaching out of Psalm 103.

There was at least two prophecies there that he fulfilled. It's just amazing. Okay. Um Jesus is all over the place.

Psalm 22. All right. Another prophecy about Jesus. Very powerful.

We're going to read. So powerful. Jesus actually referenced the first line of this thing when he was on the cross. Psalm 22:1 says, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me and Jesus said that as he was hanging on the cross, this um passage of scripture was written hundreds of years before crucifixion was even invented."

Okay? And he describes crucifixion in here. Okay? and what happened to Jesus.

Again, hundreds and hundreds of years before Jesus actually comes and do does it. Um verse 12, we'll start there. Many bulls, this is Psalm 22:12. Many bulls have surrounded me.

Strong bulls of bashion have encircled me. They gape at me with their mouths. Do you know how to fix that? Is this it?

>> This one, >> man. I don't know. >> You see it? Come on.

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>> One. >> All right. Oh man, this is going to look great on the video for for wherever. So anyway, I think I was at Psalm 22:14.

Check this out. I am poured out like water. Okay. When you're being crucified, you're hanging there.

There's a fixiation that happens. And if you remember, they they poked Jesus in the side and water and blood came out. Okay. Um all my bones are out of joint.

He's hanging there. They're not broken, but they're out of joint, right? Because he's hanging there. My heart is like wax.

It feels like your heart is melting within you. It says, "My heart is like wax. It has melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potard and my tongue clings to my jaws.

You've brought me to the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me. The congregation of the wicked has enclosed me. They pierced my hands and my feet.

I can count all my bones. They look and stare at me and they divide my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots." I mean, all of that happened at the cross, right? They even to the casting of the um casting of lots for his clothes.

It amazing hundreds of years before he came. Okay. Isaiah 53:es 1-12. Another amazing prophecy about Jesus and his and how he was there in the beginning and he's here now and he's going to be here forever.

Um 53 1-12. Who has believed our report and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of the dry ground. And he has no form or cleanliness, and when we see him there is no beauty that we should desire him.

He is despised and rejected by men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief as it as we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised and he was not esteemed. You know, Hollywood always has Jesus as this blue-eyed, handsome, whatever.

But he was a just a common Middle Eastern man. It says here he was nothing special about him. Okay. And that that is true.

Nothing special about the way he looked. He looked like everybody else. Listen to this though. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.

Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon him.

And by his stripes we are healed. Great healing verse. All we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way.

And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted. Yet he opened not his mouth. If you remember, he didn't say a word.

Okay? He just took it and got beat and just never said a word. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before his sheer silent. So he opened not his mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment. And who will declare his generation? For he was cut off from the land of the living. For the transgressions of my people, for the transgressions of my people he was stricken.

And they made his grave with the wicked, but with the rich at his death. Remember, Joseph of Arama was rich and gave him his tomb. Right? It's an interesting another little prophecy about him.

Because he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. He was innocent. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He was put him to grief.

When you make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. He shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the labor of his soul and be satisfied. He will come again and he will be uh declared.

Okay, great. By his knowledge my righteous servant shall justify many for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great. The whole Old Testament speaks to the greatness of Jesus.

Okay, Jesus was the same yesterday, today and forever. But he's also alive today. Okay. And he's ruling today.

Luke, let's pop over there now. All right. Luke 24:46. It says this, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day."

So, he rose from the dead. Every other major religion has a tomb for their leader. They do um what do you call it? Uh they march to like the the tomb of Buddha.

I forget what they call that when they uh uh what's it called? I don't know something. Anyway, they'll do that's not it. But anyway, Muhammad, Joseph Smith, Buddha, they all have tombs, okay?

But not our Lord, not our God. There's no tomb because he rose again. Okay? When they went to that tomb on Sunday morning, guess what?

It was empty. Okay? Matthew 28:5-7. But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified.

He is not here, for he is risen. As he said, come see the place where the Lord lay, and go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead. And indeed, he is going before you into Galilee. There you will see him.

Behold, I have told you." He appeared to over 500 witnesses, even Jewish historians. Okay? In the court of law, if one eyewitness sees this situation, it's almost a done deal.

If two, case closed, okay? We got 500 witnesses. The disciples, they actually ate with him. Okay?

And it wasn't an apparition like a ghost. It was his actual body. Remember, Thomas put his fingers in his side. Okay?

So Jesus came back from the dead as a real body and spent those 500 years. But oh, in Acts 1:9, he gets lifted up and exalted. Um, Acts 1:9, the crowd watched as he ascended into heaven. Now when he had spoken these things, while they watched, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight.

Where is he now? He's seated at the right hand of God, making intercession for us. Mark 16:19 says, "So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, he was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God." Romans 8:34, it is Christ who died and and furthermore is also risen who is even at the right hand of God who also makes intercession for us.

Intercession means he's there interceding for us. We throw up prayers. Jesus catches them. He leans over to God, whispers those prayers in.

He's interceding for us. Okay. Um Jesus hears it. Jesus is alive right now, but he's at the right hand of God before he comes again.

But you don't need all that if you're saved. Okay? If you're saved, you know Jesus is alive, right? Because you can feel it in your heart.

Um you you can walk with him and you can talk with him when I'm uh in the morning. I mean, I'm hearing him. He's giving me guidance. He's telling me even little things like text this person and do this.

Okay? There have been times where life's like tough, you know, and I'm down on my knees crying in prayer and and I feel him come up beside me and put his arm around me, okay? He's alive, okay, and real. He brings love, joy, peace, victory, okay?

And the more time we spend with him, the more present he is, the more real he becomes. Jesus is alive today and we can testify it with our own lives. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And we started this journey in the first book, okay, Genesis, and we're going to go to the last book, okay, um, Revelation, to finish it out.

So, we showed how when I say in the future, when I'm ever preaching and I say, "Man, this whole book is about Jesus." I want you to know from what I'm showing you here, it the whole book is about Jesus. Like everything. I was once at a uh what do you call it?

A um we had a small group and we invited in a Messianic Jew. Okay. And he showed us how even the Passover all the little symbolisms and the things they do all point to Jesus. Like everything they bury a a a thing and I mean there's all this points to Jesus.

And the Jewish people just missed it because they were looking for a conquering Messiah. But they missed all these passages. Isaiah and Psalm 22. I mean, I I don't know how, but they missed it.

Okay? He was there in the beginning. He's there today. He's there for you right now.

But he's coming again. Okay? And he's gonna we're going to be with us forever. And I'm going to be talking about that from this point on.

Revelation 5 9 and 10. Okay. In Revelation 5, a scroll, the deed to the earth is brought and no one's found worthy until except for Jesus. Okay?

And Jesus is worthy to open the scrolls. That was one of the songs we we sang. Okay, he's worthy to open the scroll and to to open the seals. Okay, there's seven seals on there.

And Revelation 5 is where it's it's declared that he's worthy. Um verse 9 uh and 10 in in Revelation 5. And they sang a new song saying, "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals. For you were slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood, out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation and have made us kings and priests to our God and we shall reign on the earth.

Again, in the beginning, God made us to have dominion over the earth. And here at the end, Jesus is stating again, okay, we are made to have to reign with him as a king, okay, as queens, princes and princesses, however you want to say it. I just don't think we walk in that enough. But but the rest of the of Revelation from that point until about chapter 19, it's pretty bad.

You know, they open the seals, the the the trumpets, okay? There's a lot of death. There's earthquakes and all this other stuff. But man, chapters 19 through 22 is how it ends.

Okay, you might be at the edge of the seat watching a Georgia Bulldog game. Okay, I'm going to speak to the Georgia thing and it's tight and it goes to the very end and and you're all nervous and everything and and oh, they win at the last second field goal right now. You can finally breathe. You've been you've been on edge for for a quarter.

But if it was recorded and you were watching it later and you already knew how it ended, you wouldn't have any stress during the whole thing, right? You'd just be watching it and enjoying the game because you know how it ends. I'm not going to read all of Revelation 1920, 21, and 22. those last four chapters, but I encourage you as homework to read it this upcoming week because this is how the story ends.

Okay? And so you can go into your day or you should more relaxed because we know how the story ends. Okay? And it ends pretty good.

So I think because of all the scary stuff up until then, people shy away and they never get to this part. Okay. But this is this is a great part and I'm just going to synopsize key portions of it. Okay, Revelation 19 11-16 is when Jesus is actually coming on a white horse.

Okay. Um let me read that. Now I now I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse and he who sat on him was called faithful and true and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire and on his head were many crowns.

He had a name written that no one knew except himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood and his name is called the word of God. Remember the word of God is with God from John 1:1. And the armies in heaven clothed in fine linen, white and clean followed him on white horses.

Now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword that with it he should strike the nations and he himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He himself treads the wine presses of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. and he has on his robe and on his thigh written king of kings and lord of lords. So he's coming down on a horse with a giant sword.

That's the vision or the image that that John sees. And who does he conquer? We see in verse 19 who he conquers. Okay, this is at the end now.

And and I saw the beast, the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against him who sat on the horse and against his army. Then the beast was captured. The beast is the antichrist. and with him the false prophet who worked the signs in his presence by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.

These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone and the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from his mouth and all the build birds were filled with his flesh. He just wiped them all out. Okay, didn't take long. He wiped them all out.

That's chapter 19. Now, chapter 20 starts, and in chapter 20, an angel comes and locks up Satan for 1,00 years. And we have what's called the millennial reign begins. Jesus comes down onto this earth.

Now, the whole millennial reign is chapter is Revelation 20. It's it's three verses, four- six. Okay? Um, but it's very powerful what it talks about.

It says Jesus is going to be on this earth. He's going to rule with all the martyrs, Paul, Peter, okay, and all the people who made it through the tribulation period. Those guys were dead. So, there's going to be restored bodies, right?

We're going to be there with restored bodies. The the the the earth is probably restored again. All right? It's a thousand years.

If you remember, in the beginning, those guys were living a thousand years. Okay? God's going to put it back the way it should have been. Okay?

Except the devil's locked up. It's like the Garden of Eden without the snake. All right? And and Jesus is the ruler, not Trump.

There's no Trump. There's no cheat. During the seven years, all those all those systems get destroyed. And so, it's just Jesus and the disciples.

That's a great time. There's no mention that there's not going to be marriages or anything else during that time. There could be. Okay.

This isn't heaven yet. All right. Um now interestingly after the thousand years after this wonderful time where we're on this earth Jesus is ruling you know you've got a theocracy which is a god rule. All right how beautiful that is.

Now when the thousand years is done Satan will be released okay from his prison and will go out I'm reading literally uh Revelation 27 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth. Gog and Magog to gather them together to battle whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breath of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints in the beloved city. All right.

So, Satan gets released, deceives some people again, and they come up to attack one last time. Okay? And this is how long this this battle took. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.

Like, all right, you're done. The devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. So Jesus comes, conquers, wipes them all out.

There's a thousand-y year millennial reign. One more time, Satan tries to mess with us. God wipes them out again. And now we have the great white throne judgment.

Okay, this is where everyone who's ever been alive, all the dead are given up. Everyone's brought before Jesus and he judges them based on their works. Okay? and and you can read it for yourself in um Revelation 20 11-15, but that little snippet ends with something that's very humbling or should be terrifying to some people.

And it says this, "Anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." So, if you know someone who's a great person, they do a great, they do so many great things, they serve, they're awesome, but they haven't asked Jesus into the heart, they don't get to go to heaven. All right. That's why it's so important for us to be reaching people, all right?

Talking to friends that we have, inviting them to church, talking to them about Jesus because they could end up in hell okay? You don't know when they're going to pass away. You don't know when something's going to happen to them. So, so it the most important decision is that decision of asking Jesus into your heart, right?

We need to be serious about reaching these people. And if you've not asked Jesus into your heart, you're not written in the lamb's book of life. It means you're going to spend eternity in hell. Okay?

So, the great white throne judgment happens and then a new heaven and a new earth. Okay? And chapters 21 and 22 describe this heaven. All right, it it's not full description.

We see streets of gold. Um, river of life runs through it clear as crystal. There's no death. There's no sickness.

There's no disease. Jesus himself when he was on the cross and the thief believed in him told him today you will be with us where? With me where? In paradise.

Okay, so Jesus himself calls it paradise. I would like to think that we get to fly, you know, you know, you know, um I just think that would be cool. It doesn't describe it that in depth. So, there's a lot to the imagination, right?

Which is fun. Um but what we do know is that we get to live forever with the Lord. Okay? So, he was there at the beginning.

He's here now to help us. and we'll get to live forever with him. Okay? And Revelation 22:es 12 and 13 kind of clarifies what I'm saying.

And behold, this is Jesus speaking now. I am coming quickly and my reward is with me to give to everyone according to his work. I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

So, the most important question you can ask is, "Do you know him?" As Juan comes up, um, I'm gonna ask again, if you know him, just because you served in just because you grew up in church doesn't mean you know him. Okay? You you you have to ask him into your heart.

You have to be filled again with the Holy Spirit. Okay? Um, if you don't, you need to make that happen today. Okay?

If you do know him, I'm going to ask you this. How much time are you spending with him? Okay? Because the more time you spend with him, the more help you will have from him.

The more real he'll become. Are you letting the cares of the world choke out his light? Okay? We worry about so many things.

We don't need to. Let's get back to Jesus. He and he alone can clean up your yesterday. You're clean.

You're free. You're free from that yesterday. You don't have to still believe you're that way, okay? He can heal and grow you today.

And he gives you a firm tomorrow, okay? Um of perfect health, love, and joy. Man, it's just awesome. Let's get back to him, okay?

And as one plays this song, let's just think about let's just dwell on his presence, how great he is, how awesome he is, and and do you need to spend more time, and do you need to to come and get saved? I'll be right down there. Okay? Um we can go into the side and handle that.

Um let's show Jesus how much we love him today by our worship and our song in Jesus name. Amen.