The title of message: Rumor #1: Jesus isn’t real
(Mark 8:27-29)
Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea
Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” They
replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still
others, one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do
you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ.”
(Proverbs 4:23 GN) “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.”
(Prov 19:9) “..the person who spreads rumors is ruined.”
Rumors come from:
1. Tradition
(Matthew
15:7-9) “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about
you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far
from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught
by men.’ ”
(Matthew 7:22-23) (NIV) “Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord,
Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out
demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I
never knew you.”
(2 Timothy 4:3-4 LB) “There is going to come a time when people
won’t listen to the truth but will go around looking for teachers who
will tell them just what they want to hear. They won’t listen to what
the Bible says but will blithely follow their own misguided ideas.”
2. Intellect
(1 Corinthians 2:4-5) “My message and my
preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a
demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest
on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.”
3. A personal encounter
(John
9:17, 25) Finally they turned again to the blind man, “What have you
to say about him?” He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t
know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
(2 Timothy 1:12) “…I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able…”
(2 Corinthians 5:17) “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
(Job 42:5-6)(Msg) “I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it
all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears! I'm sorry—forgive me. I'll
never do that again, I promise! I'll never again live on crusts of
hearsay, crumbs of rumor."
For more information on the vision of Freedom Church, please visit our website at www.freedom-church.org.
