Q: What do you think Jesus true mission was when he came to this earth? PP SLIDE

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1 WK4 // Recognizing Jesus // Knowing His Mission // Intro: Welcome back As we continue our series Recognizing Jesus I want to ask you something Q: What do you think Jesus true mission was when he came to this earth? PP SLIDE To save us (From what? our sins) To teach us how to live To give us life to the full PP SLIDE: Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. Jesus true mission was to seek and save the lost BUT WHY? Many of us can answer the What of Jesus mission, but can you answer the Why? Why did Jesus save us? Why did he teach us how to live? Why does he want to give us an abundant life? Thesis: If you want to truly recognize Jesus then you need to KNOW and EMBRACE His mission. To KNOW and EMBRACE Jesus true mission requires us to take action What do you KNOW about Jesus? You might say to yourself I know he is a God s son I know he died on a cross I know he was a good person that he cared for people etc BUT is this really knowing him? Q: What actions are you taking to KNOW who Jesus is? PP SLIDE ME: My mentor would continually challenge and encourage me to Know Jesus In growing up, my parents saw the importance of their kids knowing Jesus so they brought us to church as much as possible o I was there Sunday mornings. o I was there Sunday nights o I was there Wednesday nights

2 o I went to Bible Camp in the summer o I did AWANA as a kid Looking back on it now I wonder if they brought me to church so much so they could have a break from me lol. There may be some truth in that, but overall I believe they desired for me to know Jesus. Not only that but I had godly people who poured into me and encouraged me to grow in my faith and know Jesus And I can tell you that I learned a lot about him And when I began to know Jesus I also began to know his mission But as I grew older (HS) I began to do more thinking for myself and I began to wonder if I truly believed what I knew about Jesus and his mission. o Did I believe this stuff because I knew it to be true, or because others wanted me to know it was true? Was I knowing Jesus, bc of my parents? Because of my mentor? Because of my friends? OR because I wanted to?! Q: Can you relate? I would bet for most of you here you are in the same boat Don t get me wrong It is so important to know Jesus and His mission, but knowing and embracing Jesus mission are 2 things that go hand in hand. And all though they are different you need both! Knowing Jesus Mission: In order to know Jesus mission you need to look at the Big Picture! PP SLIDE As we read in Luke 19:10 Jesus mission was to seek and save the lost That is the clear condensed answer I believe we all can agree on, but I want you to know WHY! How do we do this? By looking at the Bigger Picture you ready? Ok let s do it Say this with me G

3 G - GOD created us to be with Him PP SLIDE From the very beginning God s desire for us was to have a relationship with Him; a relationship that was pure, loving and obedient to him o We were his most prized creation! o In Gen 1 - We see an overview of creation. God created the earth and everything on it in 6days o But in Gen 2 We see a more detailed and intimate interaction of God creating man PP SLIDE: Genesis 2:7 Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man s nostrils, and the man became a living person. ILL: God forming man from the dust of the ground man seeing his creator for the 1 st time G God created us to be with him O OUR sins separate us from God PP SLIDE You need to know that God is perfect in every way. He will not have anything to do with sin! Before Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God and eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They had a perfect relationship with God. They had no sin, until they ate the fruit. This sin has separated mankind and God o PP SLIDE: Romans 3:23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God s glorious standard. We fall short, bc of our sin. We have all done wrong things that are displeasing and disobedient to God. O Our sins separate us from God (this is hard news to swallow) S Sin cannot be removed by good deeds PP SLIDE I don t know why, maybe it s our independent, selfish nature, but we seem to want fix things on our own But when it comes to the sin in our lives there is nothing we can do to get rid of it! There is no amount of good that can remove your sin o It s like putting frosting on a burnt cake! PP SLIDE: No matter how good it looks on the outside, the inside is still gross! o PP SLIDE: Ephesians 2:9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

4 o Only death can remove sin P Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again PP SLIDE PP SLIDE: Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God s love for you and me drove him to send his son Jesus to die on the cross. Paying a penalty we deserved This is why we celebrate Easter!! PP SLIDE: Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, We deserved to be paid death! PP SLIDE but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Which brings us to the next letter E Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life PP SLIDE PP SLIDE: Romans 10:9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. o This is a decision that mankind personally needs to make. You make it not based on what your parents want you to do, or pastor or friends want you to do. But based on your own desire to say YES to Jesus. o If you choose to do this you will be forgiven of your sins and given true life! L Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever. PP SLIDE PP SLIDE: 2 Corinthians 5:17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! o When you put your trust in Jesus you are set free from your old life and a new life begins! o You can choose to obey God out of Love, and experience peace and joy! THIS IS Jesus Mission! Do you know it? You might be saying, ok I know this, but I m not sure I believe it o Then I would ask you if you are embracing it?

5 EMBRACING Jesus mission: As important as it is to know Jesus mission it means nothing if you don t EMBRACE his mission! PP SLIDE They 2 go hand in hand You can t fully KNOW Jesus mission if you don t EMBRACE Jesus Mission, and you can t EMBRACE Jesus Mission unless you KNOW Jesus Mission! ME: You see my problem wasn t knowing Jesus it was my lake of doing something with what I knew! WE: This is where I think most of us struggle and why 6 out of 10 students disengage in their faith after HS although you know Jesus mission, you aren t embracing it (David Kinnaman You Lost Me ) o Have students count 10 people (6 of you will disengage from your faith) So how do I EMBRACE Jesus mission? By living out the G.O.S.P.E.L PP SLIDE o It s what we just learned about o Do you know what the word GOSPEL means? GOOD NEWS If you know the GOOD NEWS (the Gospel) than start living it out! This is embracing Jesus mission This is the message Jesus gave his disciples before he ascended to heaven PP SLIDE Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. o Witness means to bear witness to; testify to; give or afford evidence of something or someone. It s about caring for the people around you Talking to your friends about things that matter Looking for opportunities to act out and share the GOSPEL among lost people! In 2 Corinthians 5:20, the GOSPEL is described as us being ambassadors! PP SLIDE: 2 Corinthians 5:20 So we are Christ s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, Come back to God!

6 o Ambassador means - an authorized messenger or representative. The message we deliver with our words and actions should be the GOSPEL the good news! How are you representing Jesus in word and deed? And finally the last verse I will share with you is Mathew 28:18-20 PP SLIDE Jesus came and told his disciples, I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. PP SLIDE Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. THIS IS EMBRACING Jesus mission! PP SLIDE Do you know what the common theme is in all these verses? In each verse Jesus commands us to join him in his mission! The reality is it is not an option! If you are a follower of Jesus Christ than you are to KNOW and EMBRACE Jesus mission in your lives! What it does mean is You are called to Live Jesus Mission as a worker at Wal-mart, McDonalds, at target, or DQ, or Cherry Berry. As you spend time with friends, and family As you play Modern Warfare As you are on Facebook As you txt and take pictures on your phone As you surf the internet AS you are in a relationship As you come to church and youth group

7 CON: You guys I love you, and my desire has, and will always be that you own your faith That you know and embrace Jesus mission not because I tell you too, or your parents want you too or because it s what your friends want you to do, but because you and only you know it s what you need to do! Let s pray BAPTISM: Sign-up Sheet - Another step believes are called to take in order to embrace Jesus mission is to take the step of obedience and get baptized b4 you leave if you want or are interested in getting baptized come and sign up!...