And there came a voice from heaven, saying, "Thou art my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased"  And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out
 . . . "Let us alone; what have we to do with Thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth?  Art thou come to destroy us?  I know who thou art, the Holy One of God."                 Mark 1:11, 23-24

The single most important question ever asked is "Who is Jesus?"  That question has shaped all of history. There are only three answers.

•  Jesus was a myth

• Jesus was an ordinary man

•  Jesus is the Son of God, which is the true answer.

This simple question has a very profound meaning for the person who answers it.

Is He just a myth?  Television programs and news media would have you believe that Jesus was just an ordinary man. However, I like the answer to #3. Jesus is the Son of God.

He told a group of followers, “Before Abraham was, I Am.”  Jesus, is just as eternal as God is, is eternal.

I am going to preach this morning in a way some of you might be slightly offended.  However, I am prepared to take my chances.   I will get behind any of these, “big guys” like, Ray Horton, Tim Montgomery, or Kevin and we will take anybody on.

Surprisingly, in every religious community there is something based on who Jesus is, within their belief.  Let us look at some of the beliefs on who they think Jesus is:

?         The Muslims follow the Islamic faith.  They worship Mohammed.  They believe Jesus to be a prophet with special powers, but they do not believe Him to be the Son of God. They do not believe in His death on the cross or His resurrection.  Standing on the Word, I must exclude them from being a true religion.

?         Jehovah Witnesses are sincere in their belief, but they do not believe in the full truth.  They reject the doctrine of the Trinity. We know the Trinity is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.  They are all One.   Let water be your guide in understanding the Trinity.  Water exists in three different stages--ice, liquid, and steam. All three stages are still water. The Jehovah Witness believes the Trinity to be satanic.  For someone to call a Biblical truth satanic causes me to reject them as a true religion. You must embrace the whole doctrine; it is not a pick-and-choose thing. You cannot pick out Heaven, and leave out Hell.  Without believing Jesus is who He says He is, I cannot believe in their religion.

?        Church of the Latter-Day Saints-- The Mormons believe that Jesus was the brother to Lucifer.  This resulted in God having intercourse with Mary; therefore, they believe He is not divine. Jesus is not the brother of Lucifer.  He did not come here because God had an affair with Mary.  Therefore, I cannot recognize Mormonism as a true religion.

?         The Hindu and the Buddhist have rejected Jesus all together.  They do not even recognize Him.  I cannot recognize them as a true religious faith.

You might say, “Preacher, you are hard on other religions.”  For someone to leave out part of the Holy Trinity gives me reason to doubt them.  I have to draw the line on anyone who does not recognize Jesus for who He is.

In Mark 1:6-8, John recognized Jesus for who He is.  John said, “There comes one to baptize you with the Holy Ghost, of whom I am not worthy to latch His shoes.”  When Jesus asked John to baptize Him, John said, “Lord, I am not worthy. “  You see, John knew who Jesus was.

Peter when speaking to Jesus recognized Him as the “Son of God.”

In John chapter 20 Jesus told Thomas to take His hand after the resurrection, Thomas answered Him as, “My Lord, and My God.”  The question I ask you today, is He your Lord and your God?

In verses, 23 and 24 the evil spirits that had taken hold of the man knew who Jesus was.  They called him the, “Holy One of God.”  If all of Heaven and Hell knows who Jesus is, how can we not know who He is?

This is my imagination speaking ….One day, we will die…a fact.  We will stand before God. He will ask, “Who is My Son Jesus?”  If you do not answer, “My Lord, and My Savior,” no other answer will be sufficient.  To borrow a quote from Bro. Don Drake, “If you miss Heaven by an inch, you’ve missed it.”

Romans 10:9-10:  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation.

Sermon edited by Mary King

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