Marty Sloan – Living the Dream

The Quest Series Intro – The Quest for Christ

3 10 10 HT PM

Matthew 16:24-26 NKJV

The Quest in Christianity must begin with a rediscovery of loving God with ALL your heart, soul, mind and strength.  You may want to think of this in modern language as compassion, wonder, curiosity and energy. In essence we are speaking here of a love worth dying for.

Matthew 16:24 NKJV Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

Matthew 16:25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Matthew 16:26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Definition of Quest = the act or an instance of seeking or pursuing something; a search.

A few questions to begin our journey

1. Are you seeking Christ?

2. If so what are you looking for when you find Him?

3. When is the last time you sought Christ like it was the first time?

4. Have you found everything you are looking from Christ?

Observations

1. When you find what you are looking for, the first thing you stop is your search.

2. Passion is the outcome of search and or desire to find something you do not possess.

Critical considerations about Christ

1. Jesus claimed to be God.

No religious figure in history has made such a claim. Not Mohammed, Buddha, or Confucius. Not even Abraham or Moses, who are accepted as prophets and great men by all three major world religions (Islam, Judaism, Christianity) ever claimed to be God. Many have claimed to know the way to God, or have tried to show the way to God, but none have claimed to be the one and only way to God.5

John 1:14  NKJV

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’”

John 1:16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.

John 1:17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

John 1:18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten  Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

2. Jesus performed miracles.

John, the beloved disciple, weaves seven “signs” (i.e., miracles) throughout his gospel to demonstrate beyond the shadow of a reasonable doubt that Jesus is God. No one has pulled off the miracles of Jesus. Many have tried and Satan performs counterfeit miracles, but no one has changed water to wine, calmed the wind and the waves, or brought the dead back to life.

3. Jesus never sinned.

He never withdrew or modified any statement He ever made. He never apologized. He never needed to ask anyone to pray for Him. He never succumbed to any temptation. Jesus was and is God! As humanly impressive as many religious leaders have been, none of them are without sin.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

4. Jesus came do die.

The mission of Jesus was to die on the cross for humankind. This was His passion; his entire life was pointed toward the cross. No other religious leader ever sought to die a death of crucifixion for his or her followers. Jesus was the ultimate example of a selfless, sacrificial servant leader.

Revelation 13:8 NKJVb

the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

5. Jesus rose from the dead.

After spending the better part of three days in a tomb, Jesus rose from the dead demonstrating that He was God. Those who have attempted to disprove Christianity have done so by attempting to disprove the resurrection. But many of these people have instead become convinced that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead! There are countless testimonies of changed lives that have occurred by coming to grips with Christ’s resurrection. This is why the resurrection of Christ is one of the cardinal doctrines of Christianity. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, let’s eat, drink, and be merryIf Christ’s resurrection is merely a spiritual resurrection, stop reading this sermon right now! Christianity rises or falls on whether or not Jesus rose in the flesh – this is NOT a metaphor!

Romans 1:3 NKJV

concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,

Romans 1:4

and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

If you do not embrace the significance of “who” you are seeking – you will not embrace the significance of the quest nor the discovery.

Three separate stories of people and their Quest for Christ.

1. The Apostle Paul -

2. Women with Issue of blood

3. Jarius daughter –

4. Rich young ruler –

Every quest begins with an outcome, need or desire in mind – what were you looking for when you came to faith in Jesus Christ – when all of these went in search of Christ they were looking for something.

Lets look at this top list of four people in reverse order.

1. The Rich Young Ruler

Matthew 19:16 NKJV Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”

Matthew 19:17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

Matthew 19:18 He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’

Matthew 19:19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Matthew 19:20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”

Matthew 19:21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

Matthew 19:22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

The RYR sought comfort in his mind about his eternity

2. The women with the issue of blood

Mark 5:25 NKJV

Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years,

Mark 5:26

and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.

Mark 5:27

When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.

Mark 5:28

For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”

Mark 5:29

Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.

Mark 5:30

And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”

For The Woman with the 12 year hemorrhage

Because of her condition, this woman was continuously unclean according to Lev 15:25-31. She could not go to the temple to worship. She could not touch anyone or they would be unclean for the rest of the day. If she sat in a chair, it was unclean for the rest of the day, etc. So she was basically cut Mark wants you to know that the doctors couldn’t help her. He says, “She suffered much at the hands of many doctors, had spent all her money and was not helped at all.”

This women felt a compelling to Christ – for herself – she had a condition.

3. Jarius daughter -

Mark 5:35 NKJV

While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?”

Mark 5:36  As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.”

Mark 5:37 And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.

Mark 5:38  Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.

Mark 5:39  When He came in, He said to them, “Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.”

Mark 5:40 And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.

Mark 5:41 Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha , cumi ,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”

Mark 5:42 Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement.

Jarius was compelled to Christ on behalf of someone else

For The Synagogue Ruler

Jairus is the leader of the local synagogue. It could very well be the synagogue in Capernaum. We don’t know what his reaction to Jesus was prior to this. Perhaps he witnessed the casting out of the demon in the synagogue and the healing of the man with the withered hand in the synagogue. Since he is one of the leaders, and the leaders didn’t typically respond well to Jesus, I wouldn’t be surprised if Jairus didn’t think too highly of Jesus prior to this. But now that his daughter is dying and he is desperate, He comes to Jesus. I wonder if it was difficult for him to kneel before Jesus? We can only speculate, but I doubt that Jairus’ faith was that Jesus was the Messiah—only that He could heal people and might be able to heal his daughter.

Jairus’ daughter was at the point of death. He wanted Jesus to hurry and come to his house to heal her. Jesus consents to go with Jairus, but soon after they get started, there is a delay. A sick woman comes up and touches Jesus’ garment. I can imagine that Jairus is probably frustrated at the delay. And the delay adds to the drama of the story. It also shows us that Jesus did not neglect the needs of a lowly woman to impress an influential religious leader.

4. The Apostle Paul

Suggest that you read all of Philippians 3 ☺

Philippians 3:8 NKJV Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ

Philippians 3:9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;

Philippians 3:10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,

Philippians 3:11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Philippians 3:12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,

Philippians 3:14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.

Philippians 3:16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.

Philippians 3:17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.

Philippians 3:18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:

Philippians 3:19

whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.

Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Philippians 3:21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

In Pauls conversion in Acts, he was not looking for Christ, rather Christ found Him. He was called!

• Rich Young Ruler – Comfort

• Jarius – Compelled (by the need of another

• Woman with 12 year condition – Compelled (by the a need for herself)

• The Apostle Paul – Called – (he was pursuing Christ as Christ pursued him).

Of the above four stories – which one of the above had the most impact for God?

• Comfort seeker

• Compelled seeker

• Called sought after

Leave tonight with the question – were you looking for God or was God looking for you?