Clear communication is important! Many times, Christians have miscommunicated what it means to be like Jesus. Many people don’t want to be like Jesus because of the way He’s been pictured in our culture. In Revelation 19, we get a different picture of who Jesus is.
4 Characteristics of Jesus
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Jesus is Real!
When you look at Jesus, what you see, is what you get.
Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for He judges fairly and wages a righteous war. Revelation 19:11
Heaven is open for business. Unlike when you go to Chick-fil-A on a Sunday and are disappointed to find it’s closed.
You don’t want to get to heaven and find heaven’s gates closed. Heaven’s gates don’t swing open based on what we do. Heaven’s gates open because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Jesus is the only one who can open heaven’s gates for you and for me. We can’t do it on our own.
Jesus is the rider on the White Horse whose name is “Faithful and True.” Jesus lived to please His Heavenly Father. Who are you trying to please with your life? Many of us want to please other people. Jesus was more interested in what His Heavenly Father thought about Him than about the applause of the crowd.
In John 4, Jesus talks to a Samaritan woman, a person He wasn’t supposed to have anything to do with. When Jesus met her, He had compassion on her. He crossed the cultural barriers that people had put in place and tore down the walls that separated people. At The Connection Church, we break through those cultural, economic, and political boundaries, so we can reach everyone for Jesus and help them get connected to experience new life.
But for so many of us, instead of being really who we are and standing up for what we believe in, we back down when the heat is on.
Jesus was REALLY born of a virgin; REALLY lived a sinless perfect life; REALLY died a brutal death on the cross; REALLY rose from the grave on that first Easter morning; REALLY beat down the devil, and is REALLY alive today.
2) Jesus is Passionate!
Jesus was in it to win it! He won the victory over death and the grave.
His eyes were like flames of fire, and on His head were many crowns. A name was written on Him that no one understood except Himself. Revelation 19:12
If you see someone with fire in their eyes, get out of their way! They’re coming through.
Are you passionate about things that matter and that will last? Jesus should get you pumped up because He defeated death, rose from the grave, and is alive and well today!
3) Jesus is Sacrificial.
Jesus laid it all on the line.
He wore a robe dipped in blood, and His title was the Word of God. Revelation19:13
The blood on Jesus’ robe is His own blood that was shed on the cross for you and me.
The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed Him on white horses. Revelation 19:14
Jesus’ army is made up of His followers.
We aren’t at war against the world, but are fighting to win the world to Jesus.
They are wearing the finest of pure white fabric. They don’t have blood on their clothes because Jesus shed His blood for us so we could be clean.
One time, when Bethanie, my youngest daughter, was a little girl, she said, “Daddy, Easter is my favorite Bible story, because Jesus could have just gotten down off the cross.” But He didn’t, because of His great love for you and me.
Jesus’ love held Him to the cross, not the nails.
4) Jesus is KING!
A few years ago, I went to see the Chuck Norris’ World Combat League fights in Austin. During the fights, the crowd yelled, “Kill him! Kill him!” When the fighters went down, they went down hard. In the World Combat League, you are penalized for passivity. Those guys in the ring weren’t there to encourage each other or to pat each other on the back-side and give out man hugs. They had one thing in mind: They would be standing over their defeated opponent with their hands raised in victory.
2000 years ago, Jesus took the best blows the devil could throw at Him, and for a moment it seemed like Satan had won. In the end, Jesus had His hands raised in victory, and He defeated death and the grave and all the powers of Hell.
From His mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. Revelation 19:15
This is the picture of Jesus Christ as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and He has won!