Today, we begin a new message series called Jesus Your Everything. We’re going to be talking about the most controversial and influential person who has ever lived, Jesus Christ. Even today in America, the name Jesus stirs up strong reactions with people. Many people simply speak of God. The problem with this is that God means many different things to different people. To the Muslim, God is Allah. To the Hindu, God is Brahman. To the Mormon, there are many gods and you may become one some day. The gods described by different religions are not the same god with different names, they are very different types of beings.
Jesus, on the other hand, was a historical figure who lived on this earth 2000 years ago. Historical accounts record what He said and did. History records that He died on a cross and rose from the dead three days later. Our beliefs and understandings about Jesus must be accordance with this historical record contained in the writings of the Bible.
John 5:39-40 (NIV) You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
The Bible does not give you eternal life. No, the Bible, God’s Word, points us to Jesus, who only is the only one who can give eternal life. Let’s think for a minute about who Jesus is to a believer who has received eternal life. Jesus is to be a believer’s everything.
- A believer loves Jesus more than anything or anyone else.
- A believer obeys everything that Jesus tells them to do.
- A believer talks to Jesus all day long.
- A believer trusts Jesus with their whole life and future.
- A believer diligently studies God’s Word as Jesus commanded.
- A believer tells other people about Jesus all the time.
- And the list could go on and on, Jesus is a believer’s everything.
Our series Jesus Your Everything is going to be based on the book of Colossians. The apostle Paul wrote this letter to the church at Colosse to combat false teaching about Jesus Christ. The key phrase is found in Colossians 3:11b (NIV) … Christ is all, and is in all. In other words, Jesus is everything to believers. The whole book of Colossians is about who Jesus is and how a growing relationship with Jesus can transform your life.
Today, my message is entitled “Jesus Your Future.” Did you know that Jesus holds your future in His hand? Today, we’re going to talk about how you can discover and live out the future that God has planned for your life through Jesus. Many people miss the future that Jesus has for them, but you can embrace it and live it through prayer. The first section in Colossians that we’re going to look at today is a prayer. This prayer can teach you how to pray, because this prayer is an example for praying Jesus’ future for your life into reality. Secondly, the content of this prayer can teach you how to live in that future. So let’s get started with this incredible prayer.