Monday, September 27, 2010

Devotional Message for Sunrise Assisted Living (elderly)

Sometimes we have the experience of seeing somone or meeting someone, and not recognizing who they are. That has happened to me a few times recently, and it can be kind of funny. Because I still live and work and go to the store around the same area I grew up in. Sometimes I'll see someone and they will recognize me and I won't recognize them, and it will turn out we went to grade school together. I know sometimes especially as we get older it can be a sad experience to not recognize people.
One of the most tragic happenings in all of man's history is that when Jesus came so many people didn't recognize him. Even the people that should have known him; the pople that had been waiting for a the Messiah most of them did not recognize him. So today I want to talk to you about Jesus and recognizing who he is and one specific thing about him.
Read John 14:7-9A
"If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."
Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father."
In the first Chapeter of John it also says: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And then later: the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
There is only one main thing I want to tell you today and that is that Jesus is God.
It would be tragic if we miss this point. If we don't know this we haven't recognized JEsus for who he is.
The first reason this is important to us is because. You can know God. You can know the same God who created you and me. The same God who spoke the sun and the stars into existence. The God who holds all things together you can know him. You can know him in Jesus.
The second reason it's important for you to know God is to know that he is strong to save. God is powerful we call him The Almighty. There is nothing that can stop him from accomplishing his purpose. Nothing can stop him from saving those who look to the Son and put their faith in him.
Nothing can stop him from saving those who have believed that Jesus died for their sins and rose again from the dead.
Nothing can stop him from saving, and no one can escape his judgment.
Again like Jesus said to Philip, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me?"
Philip had probably been with Jesus for about 3 years following him in his ministry. Some of us have been hearing about Jesus for years all our live. If we haven't recognized Jesus as God he could ask us the same question: Have I been with you sol long and you still do not know me?

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