The Ultimate Resource download

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a child is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 

The woman at the well shows us how Jesus will meet us where we are in life. He already knows all our sins because “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) but loves us anyway. He wants to take us with Him when he comes again. He says in John 14:2-3, “In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and, and receive   you unto Myself: that Where I am, there you may be also.” He is already preparing for us. Isn’t that wonderful news? But just who is Jesus?

Let’s go back to John 1: 1-3, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.” And just who is this Word? For the answer go to Revelation 19:13, “And He was clothed with vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God.”

John 1:14, John says, “And the Word was made 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.”

How did John know this? It was because he had the Scriptures.  All our answers are right there in the Bible if we choose to seek Him with all our heart.

So let’s go back to the beginning in the Bible. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). When we get to Genesis 1:26 it says, “And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth and ever creeping thing that creepeth on the earth.” Did you catch that? We are made in Their image. Adam and Eve were given everything even dominion over the earth, but something went wrong. They broke God’s commandments.

We sometimes think they broke only one commandment, that of Genesis 2: 16-17, “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that you eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” However, several of the Ten Commandments were broken the day of their sin if you really think about it (read Exodus 20:1-17). Eve put another in God’s place and believed the serpent over God.

How devastating that the children He created turn away from Him and gave dominion of the earth to the devil. But God had a plan in place from the beginning to save us all and you will find it in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise His heel.” God’s provision was to give us a Savior, His Son, (see John 3:16), the One that would defeat Satan.

Matthew 1: 21 states “And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shall call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins.” There are several stories in the Bible pointing to Jesus, and even from before His birth, Satan was working to destroy His lineage. And when He was born, the devil tried  his best to take Jesus out of the picture.

Jesus, Son of God

“Behold I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).

The Gospel of Luke 1:26-28  records, “And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto the city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: Blessed art thou among women.”

 In the next verse, we find that Mary was troubled at the words used by the angel so he expands on this greeting and tells her a wondrous and beautiful thing is to occur  in verses 30-33, “And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of his father David: And He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and His kingdom there shall be no end.”

There will be no end to His kingdom and Jesus is inviting us to be in His kingdom as well. We are all welcome and as Galatians 3:29 states, “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” And what is this promise? “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Most are familiar with this verse in the Bible but maybe not so much this one, John 3:36 states, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth in him.”

Did you catch that? I’ll admit I did not see it at first. It says “Believe the Son” not just believe in the Son. We must not only believe in Him, but also, believe that Jesus is just who He says He is. There is a Christian song called “Red Letters.” My Bible has Jesus’ words in red and in those words he tells us just who He is and what He came here to do for us.

Continuing in Luke 1, verses 34-38, “The Mary said unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren (Read about her in Luke 1:5-25). For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.”

Jesus said almost the same words regarding nothing being impossible with God. Matthew 19:25, 26 says this, “When the disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” Jesus came to save us all. All we need to do is accept Jesus as our Savior, believe who He says He is, and have faith.  Ephesians 2:8 says this, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”

Jesus came to give us that grace because without it we would all be lost. We have so long been in this world that there may be sins that we don’t even think about because it is the “norm.” Think about this, we lie to our children, saying there is a Santa Claus on a very day that many celebrate Jesus’ birth (although He was not born then) or there is an Easter bunny on a day celebrated for His rising from the tomb in glory and triumph, and we do this at the very beginning of their lives until they learn for themselves that Santa Claus or the Easter bunny was a lie from the beginning. Are we teaching them that lying is okay by setting this precedent from the beginning? Look around at the world today. We have TV shows that depict lying and backstabbing as something that is okay and/or that it is the way to make more money. What about the violence, language, and sexual situations in shows today. Many don’t think about these things. Proverbs 22:6 states “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Jesus is our example and when we choose to follow Him, He will help us overcome the world through the Holy Spirit.

“Now therefore fear (reverence) the LORD, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt (or in our case, what we now hold dear of the worldly things); and serve the LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve: whether the gods your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods  of  the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but for me and my house, we will serve the LORD”  Joshua 24:14, 15.

Jesus Is Born

Luke Chapter 2 records the birth of Jesus. “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child” (Luke 2: 1-5).

Can you see God’s hand in this situation?  If you can’t let us read about where Jesus was supposed to be born, AND it was prophesied many years prior to His birth. Go to Micah 5:2 which reads, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel;  whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting (eternity).”

The decree to tax everybody brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem where He was supposed to be born according to the prophet Micah. Jesus is the only one who matches up with all the prophecies of the prophets in the Old Testament.  To see just how many match up click here.

When I look back on the life I have led, I can now see His hand guiding me to where I am now. Even when I was the one who was not following Him, He was following me asking me to come back to Him and saving me several times throughout my life.  As you get to know Jesus, you may start seeing the same thing in your life. Big or small He has us in His hand and no “man” can “pluck” us out of His hand (John 10:20). It has always been our choice to accept Him or not. If we accept Him, we should follow His leading. When we do not, that is when we make our choice to stray from His side.  When we stray from Jesus’ side there is another just waiting for the opportunity to grab us. As 1 Peter 5:8 states, “Be sober, be vigilant: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”  And he can be very sneaky when doing so. He has had thousands of years to perfect his craft. So we need to be careful of the choices we make.

Continuing on in Luke, we come to the birth of Jesus. Did you ever think about Him being born in a stable? I admit I hadn’t for the longest time but where else would the Lamb of God be born? “And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over the flock by night. And, lo, the Angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: And they were sore afraid.  And the angel of the Lord said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tiding of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David as savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2: 6-14). Did you catch this fact, also? The first to come to see Jesus were shepherds who tend the sheep and lambs. He is our Savior and there is no other. Only He can save us.

In the next verses, we find that the shepherds could have stayed where they were tending the sheep after they heard the news but they did not. “And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven. The shepherds said one to another, Let us go now go even (straight) unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us” (Luke 2:15).   When we learn about Jesus, we should be just as the shepherds, eager to go and find Him. Isaiah 55:6 says it this way, “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near:” This passage tells us there comes a time when He may not be found (See “What is the Unpardonable Sin?” ). The Shepherds, as soon as they heard about Him, sought out Jesus. That is exactly what we must do when we learn of Jesus and all He has done for us.

“And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. And when they had seen, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told to them” (Luke 2:17-20). 

One of the greatest commissions was told to the disciples. Matthew 28:18-20 declares, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” So once we know Him, we are to share the good news of our Savior to all who will listen. It doesn’t necessarily mean we have to travel the world. It just means-SHARE. We can share with family, friends, and neighbors. That is exactly what the shepherds were doing, spreading the news of our Savior of the world born in Bethlehem.

“And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, His name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before He was conceived in the womb. And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought Him to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord; (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord); And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed to him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:21-26).

So here is a man who has been waiting for Christ to appear and by the Holy Spirit, he will know Him. We also have that same power in the Holy Spirit to come to KNOW Christ. Not just know of Him. But KNOW Him. We all need that closeness, that relationship with Him. Through that close relationship with Him, He will send us the Holy Spirit. This is another one of the many promises He gives us. He told His disciples before His death, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement: Of sin, because they believe not on Me; Of righteousness, because I go to My Father, and ye see Me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged” (John 16:7-11).  

Did you catch that? He says He will send the Holy Spirit to us but not only that, He said “when He is come.” Not if He will come-He said when he is come. That is a promise to us when we truly seek our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We need to be true in our search for His presence in our lives. There are some out there who think going to church is the only thing that we “need” to do. They just do not seem to get it, yet. Hard days are here and more is yet to come.

How can we stand strong without Him by our side? Do we trust Him? Do we fully place our lives in His hands?  If the answer is no to the last two questions, we need to rethink what we know of our Savior. Right now we are in the last days before He comes. Peter says this “ The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

There will come a time when the door closes, and that time is coming soon. Right now He is gathering His people. Those who diligently seek Him will find Him and that is another promise (Jeremiah 29:13).

Which brings us back to Simeon, who has been waiting, “And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him after the custom of the law, Then took he Him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word: For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, Which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people: A Light to lighten the Gentiles, and the Glory of Thy people. And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary His mother, Behold this Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (luke 2: 27-35).

The Holy Spirit revealed to him just who he was holding in his arms. The Messiah is who all of Israel was waiting for at that time but we must also seek and wait for the Lord. Many will fall away because they will think they have waited long enough or that His coming is so far in the distance that they will have time to change before He comes. This was a good story I heard in a sermon. (Paraphrasing) A man selling ice cream had a sign that said buy some Ice cream today and tomorrow’s ice cream will be free. So when the child came the next day expecting free ice cream the vendor said but this isn’t tomorrow, it’s today and you need to pay for it today. Here is the truth, tomorrow never comes. Tomorrow always becomes today and if we are waiting to change tomorrow it will be too late.

Continuing on with Luke 2: 37-38, “And there was one Anna, a prophetess, The daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher: she was of great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in at that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of Him to all that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.”

Our saving grace is found only in Jesus. John 1:17 states, “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”  Some individuals leave it up to the leaders in the churches to tell them what to do, say, or how to act. Sometimes they barely look in the Bible. This is a dangerous way to go. How many times have you heard of leaders taking on the role of Jesus, even to the point of saying they were the Messiah or had the authority to do some awful thing in the name of religion?  There is a danger when we do not read for ourselves what the Bible has to tell us. Remember leaders are human and all have men sinned. Romans 3:10 says this, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:” and Romans 3:23 states, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” What Paul is saying is this; if they are not teaching Christ then they are on the wrong path.

So how can we know if we are being taught the right things? We need to pray and read for ourselves. The whole Bible is about Jesus and learning about Him is the only way to be sure we are being taught the correct message of our Lord. You may have heard the saying “be like the Bereans”. It comes from this passage after Paul and Silas spoke about Jesus to them. Acts 17: 11 says, “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” 

They made sure what they were hearing was the truth. They did not rely on the word of someone else and we shouldn’t either.

12 Year-old Jesus

Luke 2:40-52, “And the Child grew and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon Him. Now His parents went up to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and His mother knew not of it. But they, supposing Him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought Him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found Him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking Him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.  And all that heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. And when they saw Him, they were amazed: and His mother said unto Him, Son, why hast Thou thus dealt with us? Behold, Thy father and I sought Thee sorrowing. And He said unto them, How is it that ye sought Me? wist (know) ye not that I must be about My Father’s business? And they understood not the saying which He spake unto them. And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but His mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.”

So we see that Jesus was ready, at such a young age, to get started with his teaching. But even though He was ready, His parents were not ready to let Him go just yet. He honored His father and mother by returning with them to Nazareth.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

Although the Book of Luke covers some of the same territory, let’s switch to Matthew as Jesus begins His ministry on earth. He came to save us all and to do that He gathers others to show us the way. After all, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the Father but by Me”(John 14:6). Jesus is the only way to receive forgiveness, righteousness, and eternal life.

Beginning in Matthew 3:1-4, “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judæa, And saying Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is He that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias (Isaiah), saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His path straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts (I think from the Honey Locust tree?) and wild honey.”

When John says make the “path straight”, he was referring to how the royalty was treated in those days. When a king was coming, the servants would clear the path for them. Of course none of that happened for our Lord. He was hated, rejected, and killed by men (Isaiah 53:1-12).

Continuing on with Matthew 4:5-10, “Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judæa, and all the region round about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and a cast in the fire.”

He was warning them that they couldn’t look to Abraham as their savior. These leaders were so steeped in tradition and Moses’ laws, that they totally forgot what God was going to do for them. He was going to send His Son, the Messiah, to save them and us. As a matter of fact, they thought that following the law meant they would have salvation. They added so many laws that it became a burden for the people. John is also telling them that they need to search their hearts and truly repent. There is no fooling our God. He knows our hearts and if we truly accept Him or not. If there has not been a change in us once we accept Him, then we have not truly accepted Him.

 Some individuals think that all they need say is that they accept Jesus and they are good to go. Really!!? If that was all that was needed, why would Jesus have died for us? Why the urgency to reach as many as He can through the Holy Spirit and His word. We need a deep relationship with Jesus, one of love, trust, faith and belief. Without all of that we are lost. And that was what John was saying to the leaders. “The axe is laid to the root” of the trees producing bad fruit and when that happens, the whole tree dies and is “cast into the fire.” He is warning that when Jesus comes again (and He is coming very soon) they will be burned up in the end.  

Matthew 4:11, 12 expands a bit more on the end times. “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” This does not mean that people will be burning forever in a place a called hell. It just means that it is a fire that cannot be extinguished by man. (Click here for more information about unquenchable fire).

In Matthew 4:13, the verse states, “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.” And John 1:36 records, “And looking upon Jesus, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!” Verse 14 of Matthew says this, “But John forbad Him, Saying I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?” John knew who Jesus was, the Savior of us all and he was like, really? I am the sinner, not You.  Jesus was totally sinless so why be baptized? I believe there is a twofold reason. One, to be our example and two, he was going to take everyone’s sin upon Himself and cover us with His robe of righteousness. Have you ever thought about that? He took everyone’s sins from the beginning of time to the future. The heaviness He must have felt before going to the cross! And then there will be some who will never have the chance to be baptized, such as the thief on the cross that was right beside Jesus’ cross (see Luke 23:42,43).

“And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer (allow) it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness” (Matthew 4:15). So you see in order to be covered with His righteousness not only was He to die for us, but He got baptized for us, too. “And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him. And, lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 4:16, 17).