It is my pleasure to be here today.  I am enjoying your wondering winter weather--no coats in January!

Today I will be talking to you about Jesus.  The scriptures I will use today will be summarized as your translation of the Bible and mine may be slightly different.

Matthew 16:13-15  Jesus Christ asked the disciples "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  They responded, "John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets."  Then he asked,"Who do You think I am?"

This is an important question.  It is a question for us today.

Jesus was Mary's son.  He was the son of the Living God.  Romans 8:34 shows us that he is an intercessor.  Jesus is many things to many people.

There are two characteristics of Jesus that have meaning in my life and have made him real to me.

John 15:14  "You are my friends, if you do what I command you."  The command was given in verse 12 -- "That we love one another."

What is a friend?  What do friend do together?

Eat, hang out, pray and study.

We are Christ's blood brothers.  We have been adopted into the family of God when we accept Christ as our Savior.  Therefore we are Christ's brothers.

Christ is also our healer.  The New Testament gives many examples of healing:
The 10 lepers
Simon's mother in law was who had a fever
The man blind from birth.
He cast out demons.
Jesus even healed death.  Lazarus was raised from the dead after four days.

Healing wasn't just for the times of Christ or the times of the Apostles.  We've seen and heard of healings in the last two days.  Tori told you about how her back was healed.  Rudy was badly hurt in an auto accident.  They expected him to die.  But God was with him in that hospital room and he was healed.  Cassie's ear infections were healed so she did not have to have an operation.

Ten years ago, I had a disease called Environment Illness.  This disease weakens the immune system.  People don't die from Environmental Illness but die from other diseases which their bodies cannot fight.  

I was allergic to soap, cleaners, smoke, plastic, nylon, man-made materials and chemicals.  I could not eat many foods.  Being around these things would make me ill.  I would have headaches, I could not think, upset stomachs with vomiting.  I could not be in public rooms with other people.  Even in open air tents like this, the soaps and perfumes you wear would be more than I could stand.

A friend wrote that Jesus healed her.  She encouraged me to seem Him as a friend.  That I should believe the Bible.  She told me that I needed to become free of fear and anger, to forgive.

I did not think I was afraid.  But as I thought about it I realized that I thought that God and man expected me to be perfect. I knew that no matter how hard I tried, I could not be good enough.  I was mad at my family; I was mad at God and I was mad at myself.

I began to read the Bible to see Jesus as a friend.  I prayed and studied.  I began to trust God, Jesus and the Word of God, the Bible.

II Tim 1:7  I learned that "God has not given me a spirit of fear, but power, Love and Sound Mind.  My health began to changed as I learned to believe the promises of the Bible.

I had a test of the immune system.  The results were that my immunities are better than average.  Now my body can resist other diseases.

This was not an overnight process.  I am still learning about my brother Jesus.  That is one reason I am in Bible College.  So I can study the Word,  and to build a better relationship with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

My sister had always been my best friend.  Now she is my best girl friend.  Because I now have a brother, Jesus, who is also my friend.

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