Jesus Christ! — Mack Tomlinson

Those two passages we read were about Christ. My message title this morning is Jesus Christ. We're just going to think of Him. We're just going to focus on Him. We just want to see how deeply rooted and established we are in Him.

Focusing Singularly on Jesus Christ

So I want every one of you from young children to teenagers, young men, young ladies, singles, married people, each one of you, I want you to singularly focus on you and Jesus Christ. Some of you, you know that you don't know Him yet.

Some of you want to know Him and you don't yet. Some of you know Him only recently. That's a great joy. Some of you have known Him a while and that's a great joy. But I want you to think about you and Jesus, just you and Him.

For those of you who weren't here earlier, I told about a broken tree branch I saw eight days ago in Denton. We had a windstorm. And a week ago this morning, we were driving to our church meeting and I saw this row of pretty trees.

Things had been blown around in our neighborhood, in our yard. And as we drove to church, in all those trees on that one block, there was one limb broken and hanging down. And the thought came to my mind, that was a weak limb somehow.

And the wind got it. The healthy limbs weren't moved. To the degree you and I know the Lord Jesus, truly, experientially know Him and seek Him and walk with Him and love Him and have a laser-focused concentration on Him as the primary thing our life is about.

To that degree, as we know Him, we will be a healthy limb. But to the degree you don't know Him, or He's not our focus, we have cracks where we're weak. They might not show up now. They might show up later unless they get healed.

The primary need of every believer in every church is to refocus on singularly, seriously, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. I want you to think about Him this morning. I want you to focus on Him because Christ is the object and the center of the universe.

I want your mind and your heart just thinking about Him this morning. Let's remind ourselves of who He is briefly. Who He is to the Christian and who He is to the non-Christian, the unbeliever. The Lord Jesus Christ is God-Creator.

Christ the Creator and Sustainer of All Things

He is the Lord of creation. He's the Creator of all things. He's the Sustainer of all things. From every one of the billions of galaxies right down to the breath in your lungs this morning and the next beat of your heart, He's the Sustainer of everything.

In Him, in Christ, all things hold together. He is the cornerstone of everything. The universe, all of history, Christ is the giver of life. He's the purpose of life. He is the beginner of history. He's the end of history.

This world, when it's gone, He will be the center of all eternity for all of eternity. You and I have people that we love that we've walked in fellowship with who have gone to be with Him and they are beholding Him right now in glory.

And we will join them soon. And every earthly joy we sing about, God designs to strip us of all the earthly joys that we might find our all in Him. I was in a $7 million North Carolina mansion several years ago for dinner where I was preaching out there.

It was the fanciest house I'd ever seen. And I was flying home the next day and the thought came to my mind, that's going to be good kindling for the end of the world when everything burns up. Every antique you own that you count precious is going to burn.

Everything under the sun is vain and worthless and will not last except you and your soul and Jesus Christ. Do we have our heart set on things below or on things above? So the Lord Jesus Christ, He's the center of all eternity.

Colossians 3 tells us that He is the perfect and exact visible representation of the invisible God. That all things were created by Him and for Him. That He's before all things without a beginning. And in Him all things consist.

Who, Paul says, speaking of Christ, who is God over all? I love that phrase in Romans. Who is God over all? Hebrews says that He's the creator and heir of all things. Think about that this morning. As you think of Jesus Christ, think of the fact that He is presently and in the future more and more, in time and in space, He is the heir of all things.

And you in Him are joint heirs with Him of all things. Jesus Christ should excite your heart more and more. The things of earth should grow strangely dim increasingly in the light of His glory and grace.

Jesus Christ as the Promised Messiah

The Lord Jesus Christ, to you who believe, He is precious. And let's just think about Him this morning. God the Father and the angels, in Hebrews 1, say about Christ, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.

You cannot be higher or more exalted than the Lord Jesus Christ is. To the Christian and the true believer, the follower of Jesus, He is everything. Ladies, you won't be married in heaven to your man.

You'll be married to the bridegroom. Guys, as much as it makes you feel uncomfortable, you're part of the bride too. Married to Jesus Christ. In union with Him forever and in fellowship with Him now and forever.

He is everything. He's the Messiah that was sent from heaven. He is God who was born of a virgin and became one of us. True man and true God. He's the only one who has and ever can reveal God to anyone.

He's Emmanuel, God with us. He is the promised one. Not only Leviticus speaks about, but the whole Old Testament speaks about. Forget chapter 16, the whole book of Leviticus is only about Jesus Christ.

One of my close friends is one of the few conservative Old Testament scholars in the country, in the world. And I was with him at lunch one day in Missouri and I said, Bob, out of 150 Psalms, how many of them are about Christ?

He said, 150. Everything in the Old Testament is about Him. Think of Micah 5 .2. Bethlehem, out of you is going to come one, the Ancient of Days, whose beginnings were in eternity. He never had a beginning.

Isaiah 9 prophesies about Him. Unto you is born a Savior. Well, it doesn't say Savior, but Isaiah 9 .6. A child is born. A son is given. The government is going to be on His shoulders. And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

And that Messiah in Isaiah 9 is the one in Isaiah 53. Have you read Isaiah 53 lately? This morning I almost had a young lady quote the whole chapter to me. But we got sidetracked. He's the promised one the entire Old Testament speaks about.

He is, to put it in these words, He's the recon general who came on His own for a rescue mission to rescue a fallen, lost, dying, perishing world. Who is He to you this morning? He's the Savior. You would be in hell or in a mental institution or in prison or on your sixth marriage or at a bar this morning hungover or somewhere except here if Christ hadn't rescued you and saved you and kept you.

He's the very reason you're here this morning fully clothed and in your right mind and not home watching sports on television. Jesus Christ is the reason. He's the reason. You and I didn't keep ourselves.

We've been kept by Him. He's the Son of God. He's the Son of Man. He's the Friend of Sinners. He is our Prophet, Priest, and King. He is the perfect Counselor. He's our Advocate. He's our Merciful and Faithful High Priest.

Christ as Savior, Shepherd, and King

He's our Lord and our King and our Good Shepherd. He shepherds us every second when we're awake and when we're asleep. When you're sleeping, He's keeping your heart beating. When you wake in the morning, the nearness of God is your good.

You awake, you behold His face, the face of Jesus Christ by faith in your heart. You behold His face in righteousness. He is the nearness of God for you. He is your good every day. Our problem is we don't focus on Him enough.

We lose focus. Who is He to you today? He's the Light of the World. He's the Bread of Life. He is our Rock. He is the Beloved Son. He's the Consolation of Israel. He is our Coming King. He's the Judge of all the earth.

He is our All in All. He's the One who never changes. You know what? There's been a lot of change since March 1st, hasn't there? A lot of change. A whole lot of shaking going on. That's an old song. Elvis sang it.

God's doing it now. A whole lot of shaking going on. We don't like change. But listen. There's change on every hand. Is your trust in your stability? Is it in the statics quo? Or is it in Jesus Christ?

Change will come. What are you going to do? And who are you going to trust in? There's an old song. All may change, but Jesus never. Glory to His name. There's another hymn. In heavenly love abiding, no change my heart shall fear, but safe in Him confiding.

What is Jesus Christ to our hearts this morning? No matter what changes come, we have an immutable, unchanging, faithful Savior. He's a loving Savior. He loved me ere I knew Him. If you're a Christian, God never started loving you because you've been loved with an everlasting love from all eternity before you existed.

He loved you with an everlasting love. He's a loving Savior. He's a loving Shepherd. He is our full-time caregiver. My mom, my adoptive mother, in 1998 came to live with Linda and I. She was Linda's third grade school teacher.

And like a second mom to her, she came to live with us when she had dementia. And we, mainly her, and then hospice at the end, became her full-time caregiver. Guess what? We might think we're something now, young, strong, healthy.

You need and you have a full-time caregiver and His name is Jesus Christ. He is your caregiver. One, He's it. Do our hearts believe this and revel in it and rejoice in it and take refuge in the Lord Jesus Christ?

He is our Redeemer who purchased us. He's our mediator that brought us back to the Father. He's our friend that sticks closer than an earthly brother. But is that friend real to our hearts? And are we His friend intimately in return?

He's our older brother who's the perfect older brother. I never had an older brother, but I do now. He's the elder brother. He's the captain of our ship. He's the only GPS through this stormy life. For the drowning one going under, He's the only strong arm that grabs us and saves us.

For the one who's lost and wandering, He's the only true keeper and guide to set you on the right course. For the one whose bearings and faith has been thrown off in the last four months and their heart is weak and they're scared and they can't get their spiritual equilibrium, He is the rock that is unchanging.

You get your feet back on Him, on that rock. You get your eyes focused. You let your heart zero in on the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be stable and unshaken no matter what comes. But if you're a weak limb because you're not focused on Him, you better get healed.

You better get refocused on Him. For the broken, He's the healer. For the blind, He's the sight giver. For the sinful, He's the only one who forgives sins. For the hopeless, He's the only true hope. For the one with no purpose, He's the meaning of life.

Christ as the Answer to Every Need

For the angry or bitter one, He's the restorer of peace and joy. He is the answer to everything in life and in death. Who can forgive sins? Christ. Who can save me from the fear of death? Christ. Who can make our family stable going into the uncertain times?

Jesus Christ. Who is my provider if job's shaky? Jesus Christ. Who's going to be with us and take care of us if I get the COVID? Jesus Christ. He's the answer to every question that you may have. He's the answer to every fear and every need in your soul.

A great preacher leaves San Antonio, leaves this building. Guess what? A greater than Conway is here. His name is Jesus Christ. And you have faithful shepherds. And the church is going to do well by the grace of God.

Because you have the head of the church. His name is Jesus Christ. All will be well. If you are rooted and grounded in Him, focus on Him. Looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of faith. Jesus Christ, the living God, the Savior of the world, the one who died, is alive forevermore, and He's with us.

Christ's Sovereign Rule Over the Church and the World

He's controlling every atom of this virus. He's going to deal with the wicked who are working chaos. He knows what He's doing. He's up to things unseen. He's working all things after the counsel of His own will.

He's going to work judgments in the earth. He's going to keep saving people. He's the God who works salvation to the ends of the earth. And in San Antonio, keep your focus. Do not be distracted. Jesus Christ and Him alone, Him crucified, reigning, ruling over all things.

He's your good shepherd. He's the lover of your souls. And He will reign eternally with those who know and love Him. To the believer, Christ is everything. Now, for the unbeliever, I'm shifting into higher gear here now.

Jesus Christ and the Unbeliever

Stay with me. Are you a Christian? Those who are not are not going to say out loud, no. But you may know you're not. Think about it. To you, who is Jesus Christ? He is the ultimate X factor. He is the author and meaning of life.

He's the one who gave you life and gave you your existence. He's the one that lets you wake up every morning. We have a young friend years ago who was at our house on a Friday night. A week later, died in his sleep, 20-something years old.

Young person, I don't care if you're 5 years old or 15 or who you are. Jesus Christ made you and your life is in His hands. Mom and Dad can't keep you alive. Doctors can't keep you alive. Nobody can protect you.

And if you're not in Christ, your sins this morning are upon you. You've never been forgiven. You're guilty before God. And the Lord Jesus Christ, the one I've been speaking about, came on a rescue mission of mercy.

He lived a perfect life and never sinned so you could have something given to you freely that you could never produce or earn. Perfect righteousness. Perfect standing before God. Because our sins separate us from God.

Your sins have separated you from God. If you don't know Christ, the sins are there. They're upon you. The guilt of them is upon you. And what did the Lord Jesus Christ do? In the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, born under the law, that He might redeem us.

That He might purchase us back to God. And when He died on the cross, every sin of every person who would believe in Him and trust Him was placed upon Christ. And He took your wrath and your punishment.

The Cross, Forgiveness, and Salvation

He died in your place so you wouldn't have to die. That's who He is to the unbeliever. He is the One who's made all people who live on the earth in all of history. And the Bible says in the book of Acts, He put everyone on the earth to live where they are when they're there for one reason.

For one reason. That you might seek after God and come to know Him. That's the reason. Christ is the Creator and Sustainer and Savior and the final Judge of every person. This morning, whether you're a Christian or an unbeliever, seek Christ.

Think of Him. Think upon Him. Let your heart turn to Him. He's a Savior. He's the only Savior. He's the one mediator. The one go-between between man and God, the man Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life.

You know, the reality is, every need in this room from sins that need to be forgiven to stability, to no anxiety about the future, to healing, to hope when you don't have any, for deliverance out of a mud puddle of discouragement, when you feel estranged from God and you don't know where He's at and you feel far from Him.

Jesus Christ is the answer to all of that, to every single need we have. Get to Him. Go to Him. Trust Him. Renew your covenant with Him and your walk with Christ. As a church, rally with all your heart to say as a church, we will not be moved by what's going on in the world.

We will follow Christ in a fresh new way and trust Him. In the midst of being wise, in the midst of having discernment, in the midst of being like the sons of Issachar, being wise and understanding the times in which you live, refocus singularly on Jesus Christ, your Lord.

Refocusing the Church on Christ

What is He to your heart this morning? Let Him be, in a fresh way, your all in all, the lover of your soul, that friend that sticks closer than a brother, that elder brother, perfectly who's got your back, that Savior, that Good Shepherd, who's leading you all the days of your life.

Prayer for Christ's Preeminence and Stability

Brethren, we have nothing to fear. The Christian has nothing to fear. Christ is all in all. Let's pray. Holy Spirit of God, seal this reality in our hearts. Draw every heart to Christ. Manifest Christ, O God, to our hearts.

Let the truth of the preeminence and the centrality of the living Savior freshly be cemented in our hearts and minds. Lord, make us stable in You to go deeper, more rooted, more grounded. That we would not be shaken.

Because Lord Jesus, Your Word says that You are our life. Christ who is our life. When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall we appear with Him in glory. Lord, bless this truth and Your presence to every heart for the glory of Your name.

Amen.