WHO JESUS IS
Missionary Esther Thornton, Oregon
Dear Ones, “Who is Jesus?”
But, more importantly, “Who is He to you?”
I. Jesus is the Son of the Living
God
Matthew 16:13-16 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his
disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? [14] And they said, Some say that thou
art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and
others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. [15] He saith unto them, But whom say
ye that I am? [16] And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
II. His Name Is Above Every Name
One of my favorite passages in the Bible is the following:
Philip. 2:5-11 Let this mind be in you,
which was also in Christ Jesus: [6] Who, being in the form of
God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: [7] But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form
of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: [8] And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. [9] Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a
name which is above every name: [10] That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in
heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; [11] And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
~ First Time Preaching In Africa:
I remember on our first missionary journey to Africa, preaching outside in an
open area with several hundred people gathered all around. I was trying to get
going in my preaching and get across my message. And, suddenly, the following
verse began to come forth out of my mouth and an anointing fell; the interpreter
could no longer interpret for a few moments because he had to stop and just
praise the Lord! And people came forward to receive Christ at the end of that
meeting! Why? Because it was the power of the name of Jesus! “Wherefore God also
hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: That
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father.” “Exalted…to the highest
place” in the Greek might be translated “super exalted.” That name was not “a
name”, but rather “The Name.” The definite article “the” appears in the Greek
Text and refers to a particular name. It is proper to translate it accordingly.
III. The Finished Work of Christ
His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension demonstrate His
finished work for our salvation.
1 Cor. 15:3-4 For I delivered unto you
first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins
according to the scriptures; [4] And that he was buried,
and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: He came to
reveal the Father. He sacrificially took our place on the cross that we might
be restored in fellowship with God, our Creator. It is through him that we have
redemption and all things that pertain to life and godliness.
2 Peter 1:3 According as his divine
power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness,
through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
I Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again
unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead,
IV. Hungry For Him:
~ Personal Testimony:
Philipians 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his
resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto
his death;
I remember praying this verse with all of my
heart, as I was so hungry to really know Him! And, He was so faithful to me in
leading me further into the knowledge of His Word and in my experience with
Him!
The church we were attending didn’t believe in
the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but I was so hungry for more of Him that I got
up at 4:30 AM every day for weeks, seeking Him and Him alone!
And, He graciously baptized me in the Holy Ghost! My life was forever changed!….Not by any church….not by any person….not by anything
else…..but by Him through His Word! The precious Holy Spirit became my teacher:
1 John 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but
as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and
is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
~ Testimony of Lady In
Africa:
About four years ago in Nakuru, Kenya, I was asked to speak at
a noon meeting of about 45 employees of “The
Kenya Pipeline Company“. The Assistant Manager was a quiet lady of dignity who
had attended these meetings for the last four years; but, she had never accepted
Christ, as she was married and
had five gentlemen friends who she did not want to give up! As I spoke, the
Holy Spirit had me say, “Money cannot satisfy; sex cannot satisfy;
nothing can satisfy in this world! But, Jesus will give you water to
where you will never thirst again!” That night this woman drove her big, heavy car
out to the little thatched roof church where I was speaking. And, when the
altar call was given, she came forward to receive Christ with tears flowing down
her cheeks! The next morning at work, the switchboard operator told her that
she had had calls from all five male friends, to which she said, “I will not receive any of them, because I
am now born again!” The last report I heard on this dear lady is that they
are mentoring her and that she is doing well! PTL!!
The Danger of Being Self Satisfied:
He is the only one to live for and the only one
who can satisfy the human heart! And, it is in Him and Him alone that we need to
turn to in every situation. Sometimes we forget those days of seeking God with
all our hearts as we have become satisfied with what we have received in the
past and are too busy to seek Him. To this woman in Africa, it meant salvation.
But, to some of us, we have grown busy and satisfied with far less than what
God has for us.
~ Word of Knowledge:
I feel God is speaking to someone reading this
right now and He is saying: “Return to your first love.” Go
back to that which made you who you are today.”
Hosea 6:1 Come, and let us return unto the
Lord…
V. Jesus is coming for His bride!
We sometimes have “gold dust” in our meetings,
and recently someone asked me why I thought God gave this to His body.
My answer
was this: It was a Jewish custom for the bridegroom to go to prepare a home for
the perspective bride. And, then he would come to get her at a time that she
knew not - it could be midnight! And, she must be ready
to go! And, during this time of engagement, he would send gifts of gold to her,
in essence saying: “I love you and I will
come again for you, that we may be together forever!” And, this is what I
believe Christ is saying to His bride, the church! He is sending us “gold
dust” to adorn us with His glory and to say that He is coming soon for us, that
we might be together forever with Him! And, “gold dust” is only one of the many
glorious ways that He is revealing Himself to His bride in this day!
VI. Jesus Is Coming Soon!
Matthew 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think
not the Son of man cometh.
VII. No Time To Waste
Matthew 24:14 And this gospel
of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all
nations; and then shall the end come. This is a hard day! I have prophesied that the
greatest revival and the greatest evil will be side-by-side in this day! And,
we are seeing it come to pass, even today! For we are very near the end of
time! God has an anointing for you and
me in this day that will defy all the works of darkness and will rise above
every circumstance that the enemy has brought against us! And, it is in the
mighty name of Jesus that we will conquer!
And, then, and only then, can we be equipped to
go forth and win a hurting world to the Lord Jesus Christ!
~ Playing The Organ:
I love songs that magnify the name of Jesus! I used to play them in
churches on the organ (or piano), for many years and people would be drawn to
the altar to seek God. For He says that if He is lifted up, He will draw all
men unto Him!
~ Tent Meeting in South Africa:
Several years ago, I preached at a tent meeting
of 2,000 in S. Africa. And, I will never forget the volume and
anointing of that crowd as they sang the beautiful chorus, “How Wonderful Your Name, O
Lord”.
Summary:
Who is Jesus and Who
is He to Me?
As another chorus says:
He is my everything
He is my all
He is my everything
Both great and small
He died on Calvary
Made everything new
He is my everything
Now, how about you?
May Jesus, the living Son of God be magnified in each one
of our lives both now and always!
God Bless and Keep You,
Rev. Esther Thornton
Global Evangelism Fellowship, Inc.
