Studies in Identity - Jesus: Who Do You Say That He Is 05-05-24

The speaker is discussing the question of who God is. They explore different perspectives and personal experiences. Lucy shares how God saw her and provided a loving family for her. Another person talks about their journey to finding a Christian home and how God is the one true God. Lance shares his experience of finding comfort in God during a difficult time of loss. The final speaker talks about growing up in church but realizing that truly knowing Jesus is a personal journey of accepting him as Lord and Savior. I encourage you to turn with me to Matthew chapter 16, beginning in verse 13, Matthew 16, 13. We began several weeks ago diving into this thought, who is God? Who is God? And we walked through the Old Testament names of God. We then pushed into the New Testament to push into this idea of who is Jesus. And that comes from the scripture for this morning of Matthew 16, beginning in verse 13. When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples saying, who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And so they said, some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. And we took several weeks and looked at those thoughts. How did they think that Jesus was these men? And we saw the similarities in why they may have come to that conclusion. But also we looked at why that conclusion falls short of who Jesus is. You see, beloved, he was more than just a preacher. He was more than just a good moral man. He was more than a prophet. He was the very Son of God. And he said that as much in verse 13 when he said, who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And we pushed into that last week. What does he mean when he calls himself the Son of Man? But this week we're going to move into verse 15. He said to them, but who do you say that I am? Who do you say that I am? And so I've asked several people to come and answer that question personally this morning. And so for the next few moments, we're going to see how these five individuals answer that question. And we will close it with the question that Jesus asked his disciples. Who do you say that I am? Because we must all answer that question personally. You see, we may have in common the names that they give us, the experiences they give us. But their answers will not suffice for us. We must answer that question for ourselves. Who do I say that he is? Lucy, you come and share with us. Hey, my name is Lucy Williams, and I'm going to tell you who is God to me. He's the God who sees. Because when I was seven years old, I lived at a place called Upson's. For the first few months, I didn't unpack my bags because I thought my family was going to come get me. One day, someone told me that they're not coming to get me. I unpacked my stuff and lost hope of even having a family. But God saw me through that. He had a plan for me. He had a family for me, a family who loves me, a family who helped me to find God. And now I see God. I accept that Jesus as my Lord and Savior and have been baptized. And I see God through studying his word. Through all of this, I have learned that even when I didn't see him, he's the God who sees me. Thanks. It's always hard to follow somebody like you, Lucy, who just says it just how it's perfectly said that God sees us. When James asked me to do this, I thought, man, this is going to not be too too hard because I know who God is. But, you know, he's been so many things to me through my life. And it is hard to nail it down to one thing of who I think God is. But, you know, just like you, Lucy, I grew up and I had a mom and a dad, but I didn't have a mom and a dad when I was a little girl that took me to church. I had a mom and a dad that sent me to church. It's a little bit different to be sent to church than to be taken to church. And, you know, when I was, you know, growing up and I would sit during preaching, I would always have to try to find who I wanted to some adult that I could sit with during service because my mom and dad weren't there, you know, for me. But as I grew, I realized that I wanted a Christian home and I wanted a Christian family. And, you know, it didn't happen immediately because I thought it was going to happen right then with my mom and dad that, you know, they were going to get saved and take me to church. But it wasn't until I got married. I became a Christian when I was like nine years old just by going to church and going to, I mean, it was a really sweet church that I went to and the people loved me. And, you know, I knew that there was, you know, what sin was. And but as I grew up, as you get into your teenage years and you don't have that family core teaching you the scripture, you know, there's sin in your life. But I rededicated my life in this church when I had children of my own, my three sons that I wanted to raise them up in church. I wanted my boys to know the Lord. And, you know, this church has been a place that God planted me and I've been able to serve here. But when I to get back to what James wanted us to do to answer who God is to me, I've settled on the fact that God is the one true God, that there's none other other than him. We live in a world today that tells us that, you know, we don't really need to be a part of a church, that we don't really need to. I brought my Bible up here today because God has been dealing with me about reading his word and hiding his word in my heart. And I've been reading the Bible through all of this year. And I tell you this and I don't want to get off the path, the path of reading God's word and hiding it in my heart every day, because for a long time I didn't do that. You know, a devotion here, a devotion there, those kind of things. But that's not what God wants me to do. And since I've retired, you know, before I thought I would just retire and go off and, you know, serve God and all these great things. But God is wanting me to get in his word and to read his word and to saturate myself in, you know, what he wants for my life now. And, you know, so I thank God that he placed me in this church, he planted me here so that I could grow and serve him. And, you know, I've tried to be faithful in that. And, you know, I pray that I'll be able to serve God, thankfully, until he calls me home, until he comes to take me home. And if anybody knows me, you know that my, you know, I have no sense of direction at all. I'm totally lost. But one thing I can count on is that when my life is over here on this earth, that God, Jesus, is going to come and he's going to take me home. I'm not going to have to be lost or not know where I'm going because I'm going to heaven to be with him. Thank you. My name is Lance Graham. And the question was, who is God to me? And he is many things to me. But if I had to settle on one, he's the God of all comfort. And there's been that with me many times in my life. But one time was an extremely trying time in my life. Before I get to what happened, I want to ask that you pray for Brandy, my cousin. This testimony is going to be about Jacob, her 12-year-old son, who's no longer with us. And if he were alive today, he would be graduating high school. I got a phone call January 7th, 2019, from my mother that Jacob, 12-year-bride, smart, 12-year-old boy, had taken his own life. And that hits you like a gut punch, is the best way I can describe it. And it's the question of why, you know, why did he take his own life? I don't know. Even to this day, I don't know. But I'll never forget what the pastor said during his service. You can't focus on what you don't know. You can only focus on what you do know. Because if you focus on what you don't know, it'll drive you crazy. I didn't know. I don't know why Jacob took his own life. I didn't know I serve a Savior and a Lord who can get me through that difficult time of my life. And I especially had to rely on him, because it wasn't a few months after that, my grandma was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. And they had died. She went through her treatments, and they had given her three to four months to live. That didn't last more than a couple weeks. And just being there with her and holding her hand until she took her last breath. So that, for me, is who God is to me. The God of all comfort. Thank you. Well, I don't normally make notes, but I made some notes to try to keep myself on track and on time, because I tend to ramble. So I'll try not to do that. I don't know. I've talked to you before about, do you look at our Sunday school lesson? And you always tell me no. And so I'm sure Ray called it. This morning, you got up here and read out of Psalms 34. That's our Sunday school lesson. I'm always amazed by it, but I'm not surprised anymore. That's how it works. So, and I really didn't know, James, when he asked us to do this, he said, that was, I mean, some of the folks have said it. Who do I say Jesus is? And so the folks have been giving their testimony, and I'm really, if I did that, we'd be here all day, so we're not going to do that. He's got the clock on. But I will say this, I grew up in church. And when I say I grew up in church, I grew up in Central on the Mill Hill. I'm a Lent head. And so I went to Camden Memorial Baptist Church. Some of you folks probably have been there. You know of it, Camden Memorial. And I don't remember ever not going to church. It's kind of like the situation Donna had. My mom worked a third shift in the mill, so she didn't always get to go, but she went with me a lot. My dad never went, but I always went. And if she didn't take me, I would walk. We lived close enough to walk, because I thought that's what I was supposed to do, because I grew up to know that. So if you would ask me who is Jesus, I got all the answers, because I grew up in church, right? I got a little set of pens at home, 15 years perfect attendance from when I was a little kid. It meant nothing, because I didn't know, really didn't know who he was. But I would tell you, he's the Christ, like Peter said. He's the Son of God. He's the Son of Man. He is the Lord and Savior of mankind. That's all I needed to know, right? Wrong. In 1981, he became my Lord and my Savior. And after that, who he is started to, I don't want to say change, but it's like Donna said, he becomes more and more. So, you know, he took my sin and all that I was, and he took all that away, and he gave me his birthright. I had no birthright. He gave me his birthright. So he became my Redeemer. But he didn't just forgive me of my sin. You know, we talk about that a lot. I think I mentioned this to James. He don't just, he does, we are forgiven, but it wasn't that simple. He didn't just forgive it. He paid the price for it. He paid for it. He took what was my birthright, and he gave me his birthright. I'm a new creation. I was a new creation in 1981. So really, I'm not as old as I look. So, you know, we get this mistaken idea about folks when they become saved, especially in a Baptist church. You get saved in a Baptist church, in the next 30 days, you got, you're on three or four committees, and you got things to do, because, you know, that's what happens. But it's just like when I was born as an infant. I needed a lot of help. I couldn't live on my own. I couldn't do my own thing. I needed people to feed me, take care of me. And so that happens to us when we're newborn Christians. And a lot of times that doesn't happen. So the point of that is, it takes a while for us to develop. It's the same way with a relationship. And, you know, once we're born again, once he becomes my Lord and Savior, I have to start a relationship. And it starts. It does start. He started, but relationships take a while. They're not instantaneous. So relationships take a while. The more time we spend together with a person or with our God, the stronger that relationship grows, and the more it grows and the more it expands. And so I'm going to tell you a few things here. I got a few bullet lists here. In the times of my life when I'm hurting or have been hurting, He's been my comfort, right? We could all say this. This list would go for all of us. In times when I was afraid, I got this in my lesson this morning, He's my deliverer. He delivers us from fear sometimes. When I don't know which way to turn, He's my way. All this is in the Word. And I'm telling you this stuff because it's true. When the story in the world is always changing, you know, everybody, you know, everything's constant, right? No, it's always changing. He's my truth. And when I'm in real need, not just once, but when I'm in real need, He's my provider. Right now, this very moment, He's my confidence because I don't have any standing up here in front of this church. Lucy really impressed me. This is a hard thing to do, to stand up in front of people. And so right now, He's my confidence. I don't have any confidence in me. As I thought about this in the past, I helped lead a Sunday school lesson or Sunday school class. And so if I dwelled on the me, I couldn't do it because I don't have any confidence in me. I know me. I don't have any confidence in me. But in Him, Scripture says it. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. So I'm going to have to sum it up because it's been a long time I've been standing up here. In the 43 years, so that's 43 years for me, 43 years. I'd have to say because of all of these things that I've told you, He's become my sovereign. I know that nothing surprises Him and it never will. He's always had a plan for everything that's happened or happening. And He always will. So that's who I say Jesus is. That's who I say Jesus is. But it's easy to say a thing, right? I guess the answer to this question is, if you want to know who I say Jesus is, you have to ask that crew back there. It's the people that know you best. Because who I say He is doesn't matter. Who do I act like He is? I'd have to ask you guys. I thought about this. Now, this is a strange thing. There is, I told you, I got saved in 1981. And there's only one person in this room that knew me before I was saved. Miss Martha. I stayed with them a lot in the mid-70s. And probably wasn't, I don't think I was too bad a kid. But I wasn't who I am now either. So Miss Martha, I hope you can see that there's been a change. But that's all I can do, right? All I can do is be me. So if you want to know who I say Jesus is, you have to tell me who I say He is, right? The question is, who do you say He is? And who do those that love you say you say He is? It's hard to follow all of that, isn't it? Every one of us could stand up here for 25, 30 minutes and say something. Because God has been great to all of us. When Pastor James asked me to come and speak, I said, I don't talk very much. Shame on you. Shame on you. First of all, my name is John Gay. I'm a sinner, saved by grace. Saved by the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. Before I say anything today, if you don't know Christ as your Savior, you're missing out on a whole lot of stuff. Look at these faces. These are faces of people who love Jesus Christ. How great to be part of the family. I was saved when I was 12 on the island of Guam. A lot of people don't know where Guam is. It's a little tiny speck of dirt just north of Australia. And there's not enough time to tell you about everything God has done in my life during the Vietnam War, during my music career, during my ministry, during the cancers of my family. We've all gone through that. And I could spend forever trying to tell you who God is and what He's done. But I'm not going to do that. What I'm going to focus on today is, I could tell you that God is Elohim. My Creator. I could say that He is Adonai, my Lord. Jehovah-Jireh, He's my provider. And there's a lot of other names that Pastor James has gone through. I won't preach on that. Today, I'm going to focus on Yahweh-Rapha. God is my healer. And I'm going to try to bring it up to what has happened in the last 10 months and try to keep it focused right there, if I may. Approximately 10 months ago, I was sitting over here at the Red, White & Brew, a little coffee shop in town with Miss Katie Rampey. We were talking about me performing music at the local market. And somehow, God had called me back into doing some things. And I thought He had a really good sense of humor for doing that. But through all of that, I have met some wonderful brothers and sisters. Two ladies who are here today that have both. Bless me. While Katie and I were sitting there talking, I noticed there was a gentleman sitting off to the side with his dog. I thought he looked a little strange. He had this look in his eyes that kind of said, probably something you don't want your children to be around. So Katie and I were sitting there just kind of looking at him. As this gentleman got up to leave, he walked over to me and introduced himself as Pastor of Kingsgrove Baptist Church. I thought the dog looked better. At least he had more intelligence. He stopped by and we chatted about worship. We chatted about church and services and so forth. And I had shared that I had been a worship leader for many years in several churches on the West Coast, in Memphis area, Mississippi. And he invited us to come to his church. I went, sure. But I've been invited to many churches since I've been here. And having gone through a period of time that was a desert, I said, probably not going to do it. Just another pastor just coming after me. This was on a Thursday. So Sunday we came to church. God was moving. I didn't realize that God was doing something in my life that I had long forgotten what it felt like. In early November, I was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer, as some of you know. When that hits, and gentlemen here I've talked to that have been through this, your emotions kind of go crazy. There's fear. There's anger, a lot of uncertainty and saying, really, this is what it all comes to. It was not that my faith was weak, but it was my flesh was stronger. I got my priorities out of whack. I met with Pastor James for some spiritual guidance and some wisdom. And he brought a piece to me. He showed me where I needed to be focused. I realized that God was really starting to move in my life. And so the doctors sent me through all the scans, the PET scans, the MRIs, the BMIs, the SRTs, and all the T's that go with it. I felt like a guinea pig. I'd never been, had so many pictures taken of me. After it was all over, about a week before the surgery, I got a phone call. I had at this point got my soul at peace with the surgery, with the cancer. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen. I was calm. Having been through ocular melanoma earlier in my life, it was another round. Then I got a phone call. You need to see a pulmonologist. We found a nodule on one of your lungs. This brought me to my knees. And as you can ask Linda, it wasn't a pretty sight. Some would say I was speaking in tongues. It wasn't tongues. It was Satan bringing fear back to my life. I called James, shared with him, and he kind of brought me back to the center. And I looked over to Linda, and she just said, suck it up, buttercup. God's got this. So we went to the surgery. James came at 630 in the morning, and I was getting prepared to go in, and they're shooting stuff into my veins, and I started to hallucinate. He actually looked like Jimi Hendrix at one point. And we prayed, and there was nothing but laughter. No fear, just laughter. And when they rolled me down the hallway, I remember watching him and Linda walk out of the room, and they're rolling me down on this gurney, and all these doctors and nurses were sitting there, and the drugs were starting to take effect, and all I remember doing was waving and saying, vote for me in the next election. We went into surgery, and it was supposed to be a two-hour surgery. Ended up being four. They found some other issues that they had to deal with prior to getting the prostate cancer. As we came out of it, it was not a pretty sight, from what Linda told me. Prior to that, I had a pastor friend of mine in California who I had served under, and he said, prostate surgery, not a big thing. Him and I are no longer friends. And the pulmonologist looked at my lungs, and he said, you got a nodule. And I said, well, they called me and said it was 16.5 centimeters. I guess that's a pretty good size. And I said, so what does that mean? And I'm figuring, now they're taking the lungs out, next will probably be a heart surgery, whatever. And he just laughed at me and said, where have you lived? And I said, let's see, Guam, California, Vietnam, Thailand, da-da-da-da-da, Memphis. And he said, that's it. And I said, what has Memphis got to do with it? In Memphis, they have a fungus in the Tennessee Valley. And most residents get that in their lungs, not a big thing. He said, don't worry about it. Check you later. Prior to that Sunday, before that, Pastor James brought Linda and I down here, and his body came up. You prayed over me, you laid hands on me, and I felt the power of the Holy Spirit. So that week, I went back, and there was no cancer in my lungs. All of you and him, okay? A little side note, and I'll wrap it up. Romans 8.28 says, and we know that all things work together for good, to them that God loves and to them that are called according to his purpose. I have three daughters. Two have been estranged for the last eight years. I have not talked to them. They want nothing to do with their father. That's not true anymore. They call me every day and say, Daddy, I love you. How you doing? And I say, God is good. God has been good to me. And one of my other daughters just came out of cervical cancer surgery a few days ago. God's going to take care of that, too. Life is life. I also believe that God brought Linda and I here to this church to walk us through this trial. I believe he surrounded us with believers who pray. Let me repeat that. Pray. Believers that believe in a sovereign God. Believers that believe the God of the universe, who did not ask me when he put the stars in the sky, can do things in a way I can't even comprehend. So you want to ask me what, who Jesus is to me? There was a movie called Kingdom of Heaven. You never saw that. It was about Soledad taking over Jerusalem. At the very end of the battle, the Templar Knights basically got wiped out. And the star of the movie walked up to Soledad and he surrendered. And Soledad walked away and he says, what is Jerusalem? Soledad turned around and said, nothing. Then he turned around again and he says, everything. Who's Jesus to me? He's everything. And things that I don't even know about yet. God is doing something in this body. I want you all to hold on to the view because it's coming. I don't know what it is. And I think some of us sense it. God's about to change this body because this world is changing. This world is in trouble. We are the seeds. We need to be about bringing folks to Jesus Christ. Now, I said I wasn't going to say this this morning, but I'm going to do it anyhow, because I don't talk very much. Some of you don't know Christ. I'm assuming most of you do, and I believe I'm speaking to the choir. But some of us have been sitting in a pew for a long time. Maybe we need to rededicate our lives to the living God. Because it's only when we come down, because as Jesus says, if you don't confess me before men, I won't confess you before my father. And if we're going to walk out on that street and say we had a great day in church and go home and have lunch, come back and do it again. Where's Jesus? Where's God? We haven't fulfilled the great commission when he's called us to do. There are some lyrics of a song. It's one of my favorite songs. It says, For God has been my father, my savior and my friend. His love was my beginning and his love will be my end. I could spend forever trying to tell you everything is, but the best way I can say it is this. God's been good. Simon Peter answered, said, You are the Christ, the son of the living God. Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I will give you the kings of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. The keys to the kingdom are given to those who profess Jesus as Christ. So who is Jesus to you? First and foremost, he must be the Christ. And after that, he becomes all of these things. So I close with the same question that I gave you at the onset of this service. Who is Jesus to you? Let's stand together as our place for our time of invitation. If you're here this morning and for the first time ever, you want to acknowledge Jesus as your Lord and Savior, as the Christ, the son of the living God. I'll be down front. I'd love to talk with you more about that. Maybe you need to experience him in one of the ways that was laid out before you this morning. You need to come and pray and ask God, be my healer, be my helper, be my sustainer, my comforter. Would you come and pray and ask him to be those things for you? This altar is open. You come and pray as the Lord has led you.