What Does Christ Mean to You

“WHAT DOES CHRIST MEAN TO YOU?”

COLOSSIANS 3:1-4

INTRO: I want to ask you a personal question this morning: “What does Christ

mean to you?” To many, Jesus Christ is only a grand subject for a

painting, a heroic theme for a pen, a beautiful form for a statue, and a

thought for a song; but to those who have heard His voice, who have

felt His pardon, who have received His benediction, He is music,

warmth, light, joy, hope and salvation, a Friend who never forsakes,

who lifts us when others try to push us down. We cannot wear Him

out; we pile on Him all our griefs and troubles. He is always ready to

lift us; He addresses us with the same love; He beams upon us with

the same smile; He pities us with the same compassion. There is no

name like His. It is more inspiring than Caesar's, more musical than

Beethoven's, more patient than Lincoln's. The name of Jesus throbs

with all life, weeps with all pathos, groans with all pains, stoops with

all love. Its breath is laden with perfume. Who like Jesus can pity a

homeless orphan? Who like Jesus can welcome a prodigal back

home? Who like Jesus can make a drunkard sober? Who like Jesus

can illuminate a cemetery plowed with graves? Who like Jesus can

make a queen unto God out of a lost woman of the street? Who like

Jesus can catch the tears of human sorrow in His bowl? There is no

metaphor with which to truly express Jesus. He is not like the

bursting forth of an orchestra; that is too loud and it may be out of

tune. He is not like the sea when lashed into a rage by a storm; that is

too boisterous. He is not like a mountain wreathed in lightning,

canopied with snow; that is too solitary and remote. He is the Lily of

the Valley, the Rose of Sharon, a gale of spices from heaven.(Bible

Some years ago, a college student took a psychology course in which

another student tried to argue that Jesus was not greater than other

men. The student stated that he could probably do everything Jesus

had done. As a public service to those who have such lofty

aspirations, we are publishing a partial list of things which you MUST

do if you think that you can do everything that Jesus did.

1.Feed five thousand unexpected guests, and then have your amount

of leftovers exceed the amount of food with which you began.
2.Have a raging storm stilled at your command, and the wind and the

waves stop simultaneously.
3.Become such a threat to a significant portion of the religious

establishment that they demand that you be executed. (You must

do this by what you say. You are not allowed to use

demonstrations, riots, card-burnings, or picket signs, or any form

of violence.)
4.Rise from the dead after you have been executed and pronounced

dead.

That is enough of the easy things. Now let's look at some

requirements which are more exacting. (By the way, you need not

accept the Bible in order to KNOW that Jesus accomplished these

things.) By 2000 years after your death (from which you rose), you

must have accomplished the following:

1.Every week, millions of people must gather in thousands of places

for the sole purpose of telling about what a good person you were.
2.Thousands of hospitals and schools must have been built and be

operating in your name.
3.The calendar, used in most of the world, must be dated from the

time of your birth.
4.Men must still consider it worth their time to prove that you were a

fake. (If you really were a fake, you would have been forgotten long

before now.)
5.Your life must be considered to be the standard and ultimate

goodness for a large portion of the world, and even for those who

claim no association with the entity you founded to honor and

serve you.
6.MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL, YOU MUST HAVE ACCOMPLISHED

ALL THIS IN 3 1/2 YEARS. (Bible Illustrator for Windows. Version 3.0f.

1 Peter 2:7 says—“unto you…which believe he is precious…”. Christ

should be precious to every born-again believer. Friend, if He is not

precious to you I question your profession! If Christ is precious to

you then you will want to seek Him and you will want to serve Him!

But friend, the question remains both personally and individually:

What does Christ mean to you? I want to share with you this

morning WHAT CHRIST MEANS TO ME. I want you to note with me

first of all…

(1) CHRIST IS THE PARDON FOR ALL MY SINS

1 JOHN 2:2—“And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our’s

only, butalso for the sins of the whole world.”

JEREMIAH 33:8—“And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity,

whereby they havesinned against me; and I will pardon all their

iniquities, wherebythey have sinned, and whereby they have

transgressed against me.”

A. MY PARDONED WAS PLANNED IN ETERNITY. Christ truly is “the Lamb

slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8). Jesus Christ

was in the Divine purpose appointed from the foundation of the world to

redeem man by his blood, he therefore is, in a very eminent sense, the

Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Adam Clarke. Adam Clarke’s

Commentary on The Bible. The Master Christian Library. Version 5. Ages

B. MY PARDON WAS PROMPTED BY THE LOVE OF GOD. John 3:16 tells

us—“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,that

whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but haveeverlasting life.” It

was God’s great love that provided salvation for us. Friends, God’s love for

us is SO GREAT that we cannot even begin to describe it or understand it.

Someone has said, “The love of Christ hath a height without a top, a depth

without a bottom, a length without an end and a breadth without a limit.”

C. MY PARDON WAS PURCHASED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. We read in

Ephesians 1:7—"In whom we have redemption through his blood, the

forgiveness ofsins, according to the riches of his grace.” As Hebrews 9:22

tells us—“without shedding of blood is no remission.” Friends, there is no

salvation apart from the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

D. MY PARDON WAS SECURED BY THE POWER OF GOD. Our Lord Jesus

said in John 10:28-30—“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall

never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father,

which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them

out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.” Friends, our souls are

secure through the power of God! 1 Peter 1:3-5 tells us—“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, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that

fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of

God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Friends, CHRIST IS MY PARDON!

ILLUS: An artist can paint the physical hands and feet of our Lord, but he

cannot paint the healing power of those hands and the godly walk of

those feet. He can paint the outward suffering, but not the inward

cause; the cursed tree, but not the curse of the law; the bearing of the

cross, but not the bearing of the sins of His people; the cup of vinegar,

but not the cup of wrath-the derision of His enemies and the forsaking

of the Father.

Where is the artist who can paint one hand of Christ nailed to the

cross and the other hand claiming an inheritance of believers? Or who

can paint our Lord bruising the serpent's head, conquering sin, death

and the grave? The artist can only portray blood and water flowing

from Christ's side, but he cannot paint what the eye of faith sees in

that blood: salvation and pardon.(Bible Illustrator for Windows. Version 3.0f.

CHRIST IS THE PARDON FOR ALL MY SINS but also…

(2) CHRIST IS THE PROVISION FOR ALL MY NEEDS

PHILIPPIANS 4:19—“But my God shall supply all your need according to

his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

A. HE GIVES PEACE FOR MY TROUBLED HEART. He promised in John

14:27—“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world

giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Our trouble is we want the peace without the Prince. (Addison Leitch (CT,

Dec. 22, 1972). Christianity Today, Vol. 38, no. 14).

B. HE GRACES ME WITH HIS PRESENCE FOR BLESSED

COMPANIONSHIP. He promises in John 14:18—“I will not leave you

comfortless: I will come to you.” His presence gives me:

COURAGE. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us—“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. “
CONFIDENCE. I can face any trial, trouble, or turmoil because I have His promise—“…I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”(Hebrews 13:5b).
COMFORT. Just to know He is always there! Just to know He will always be there want a comfort that is!

ILLUS: Chrysostom, the ancient Church Father, was a beautiful example of

true Christian courage. When he stood before the Roman Emperor, he

was threatened with banishment if he still remained a Christian.

Chrysostom replied, "You cannot, for the world is my Father's house;

you cannot banish me."

"But I will slay you," said the Emperor.

"No, but you cannot," said the noble champion of the faith again, "for

my life is hid with Christ in God."

"I will take away thy treasures." "No, but you cannot," was the retort;

"in the first place, I have nothing you know anything about. My

treasure is in heaven, and my heart is there."

"But I will drive you away from man, and you shall have no friend left."

"No, and that you cannot," once more said the faithful witness, "for I

have a Friend in heaven from whom you shall not separate me. I defy

you; there is nothing you can do to hurt me."

C. HE GRANTS ME HIS POWER TO OVERCOME MY WEAKNESSES.

Through Him and by Him I can accomplish all He desires for me to

accomplish! (Philippians 4:13). I have His power so I have no excuses!

Through the power of the indwelling Christ I can accomplish wonderful

things! His power:

ABOLISHES MY FEAR (PSALM 27:1).
ADVANCES MY FAITH.

CHRIST IS THE PARDON FOR ALL MY SINS, CHRIST IS THE PROVISION FOR ALL MY NEEDS and finally…

(3) CHRIST IS THE PROSPECT FOR ALL MY ASPIRATIONS

JOHN 14:19—“Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye

see me: because I live, ye shall live also.”

A. MY PROSPECT IS THE PERSON I WILL SEE. 1 John 3:2 says—“Beloved,

now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but

we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see

him as he is.”

B. MY PROSPECT IS THE PLACE I WILL LIVE. Jesus promised in John

14:1-3—“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

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 and prepare a place for you, I

will come again, andreceive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may

be also.” A place free of:

DEATH.
DISEASE.
DECAY.
DISTRUST.
DISAGREEMENT.
DISOBEDIENCE.
DARKNESS.
DELUSION.
DEPRESSION.
DEBT.

Revelation 21:4 promises—“And God shall wipe away all tears from their

eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither

shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

C. MY PROSPECT IS THE PLEASURE I WILL ENJOY. I will truly and fully

enjoy the joy of the Lord. Forever I will be with Him. Forever I will enjoy

His compassion and companionship.

CLOSING: Friend, When Christ is the center of your focus, all else will come

into proper perspective. (Croft M. Pentz, The Complete Book of Zingers

(Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1990).)

What does Christ mean to you today? Is He your Saviour?

Christian friend, is He the Lord of your life? Do you follow Him?

Seek Him? Serve Him? What does He mean to you?

PREPARED BY BROTHER BRYAN L. BROWNING, PASTOR OF BEECHMONTBAPTISTCHURCH, BEECHMONT, KY FOR SUNDAY MORNING, MAY 4, 2008.