Women's Conference

Who is Jesus to You?

Honduras Women’s Conference

Bread of Life (John 6:35)

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

Imagine the garden of Eden.  It was created to sustain a perfect life.  Everything Adam and Eve would need was given to them.  Not only everything that was needed, but all they could ever want--its beauty cannot be described.  Because of disobedience, it was destroyed.  We were meant for this perfection, but our lives are far from perfection.  Sometimes it’s hard for us to see who God really is when we are in difficult circumstances.

We are going to learn more about who Jesus is to us, but we are going to start by looking at the past--let’s skip to when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt.  How did God provide for the Israelites?  He gave them two things:  bread (manna), and a cloud of light (to guide them).  Now, fast forward to Jesus’ time.  The Jewish tradition celebrated God’s provision of those two things.

There are two meanings of life:  the present, and the eternal life.  Often we become overwhelmingly focused on the present--the cares of this life, the struggles.  Escaping brokenness isn’t possible.  Our souls were made for the perfection of the garden.

The devil wants us to focus on the negative that surrounds us, but God wants us to focus on the eternal, the promise to be fulfilled.  Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life;” just like we crave bread, God wants us to crave Him (Matthew 6:33:  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.)  

God wants us to see Him as our Provider.  When Jesus fed the 5000, even Jesus’ disciples did not yet see Him as Provider (Mark 6:37--And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?”)  When God provided manna for the Israelites, He made it fall from heaven so that their focus would be on things above, looking to Him for the things they needed.  He showed His mercy, His greatness, and power.  He is faithful!  We can follow Jesus because He is the bread!  His sacrifice provides a way for us to spend eternity with Him.

We at this time broke bread with each other.

Light of the World (John 8:12)

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

One of the traditions the Jews still celebrated was the Feast of Tabernacles.  The priest would get water from the river to pour on the altar.  They illuminated four large menorahs each night in the temple courts.  There were two major elements they focused on:  water and light.  On the last day of the feast, Jesus stood up and said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”  (John 7:37-38)  Living water is the gift of salvation, which gives us fullness of life.  

Jesus also gave two promises about the Light:  We will not walk in darkness, and we will have the Light of Life (John 8:12).  The Israelites followed the pillar of light through the wilderness, now we follow Jesus and are led to His light.  First, we have to address the darkness within ourselves (our sin).  When we do that, Christ brings His light into our dark places.  John 1:1-5  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.  In him was life, and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  

Satan disguises himself as light (2 Cor 11:14).  We must know who God is through His Word so that we can recognize the devil (Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path).  To see if something is “light,” hold it up to God’s word.  In John 9:1-12, the disciples thought that the man was blind because of his sin.  But in vs 3, Jesus said he was blind because God wanted to be glorified through his healing.  Light (Jesus) defeats darkness (Satan) everytime.

*Sing Amazing Grace in Spanish.  

Good Shepherd/Sheep Gate (John 10:7, 11)

So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. (7)

I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (11)

Gate

Characteristics of Sheep:

• Defenseless animals
• Prone to go astray
• Poor eyesight
• Follow other sheep without thinking
• Stubborn

How are we like them?  Luke 15:4-7  There is great rejoicing over a lost sheep’s return!  Confession is the key to a deeper reconnection with God.

Shepherds

Families would partner with other families and hire a shepherd to watch their sheep.  They were in a round enclosure.  The top was covered with thorns to keep out predators.  The sheep knew the shepherd’s voice (John 10:3).  The shepherds made sure the sheep were safe and not harmed.  When interacting with the sheep, he was tender, trusting, and nurturing. 

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:11)”  The sheep followed His voice because they knew it.  We know the will of God when we read and pray the word of God.  In John 10:9, Jesus promises the sheep will:  be saved and find pasture, that we will have life and have it more abundantly.  Jesus is the sheepgate-He protects us and lets us into pasture (nourishment).  God wants us to trust Him with our circumstances. 

He also wants us to shepherd his people.  The Good Shepherd:  lays down His life, knows His own (John 10:14), and protects His sheep (John 10:28).  The Good Shepherd KNOWS His own.  It’s not a head knowledge, it’s a heart knowledge. 

*I thought about including a journal for them to write about how the Good Shepherd has blessed them.  Is this a good idea?  If not, do you have a suggestion?

Resurrection & Life (John 11:25)/Way, Truth, & Life (John 14:6)

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” (11:25)

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.” (14:6)

John 11:1-27  Martha and Mary sent word to Jesus that their brother was ill.  When Jesus didn’t come right away, their brother died.  When Jesus finally got back to them, two days later, they said, “If you would have been here, he would still be alive.”  Jesus told Martha, Lazarus’ sister, “I am the resurrection and the life.”  Lazarus had been dead four days when Jesus got back to Mary and Martha.  Jesus wanted them to know that He doesn’t make mistakes!  We can easily feel incomplete, but God wants us to make room in our hearts and lives for Him to fill the gap.  What gaps does God want to fill for you today?  Do we trust Him even if our circumstances aren’t good?  His purpose, though we don’t always see it, is always good!  For all who trust Jesus as Lord and Savior, there is eternal hope because of His resurrection power.

Press through unanswered prayer:

• Know with confidence God hears your prayers. (1 John 5:14  And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.)
• Trust that prayer makes a difference, even when you don’t see the difference. (Phil 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.)
• Tell fear it has no place in this conversation.  Fear begs you to focus more on the problem  than on God’s promise. (Isa 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.)

Have a meaningful life:

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.  Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying His voice, and holding fast to Him, for He is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

1. Love the Lord
2. Obey His voice
3. Hold fast to Him.

True Vine (John 15:1-2, 4-5)

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. (1-2)

Abide in me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches.  Whoever abides in me and I in Him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (4-5)

Sometimes I feel like I’m not good enough...not a good enough mom, wife, or Christian.  God made us to produce fruit, fruit that brings glory to Him!  When we become a Christian, we receive everything from Him we need to produce fruit, therefore we must stay connected to Him (abide in Him, delight in Him, dwell in Him).

True Vine (Jesus)

Gardener (God)

Branches (Christians)

Pruning (John 15:2)

Every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

If it does bear fruit, He prunes it, if it doesn’t, He cuts it off.  

We are not perfect, we still need work; our hearts need work.  He works on us through His word/prayer, because He wants us to be even more fruitful! We have a sweet story about the fruit we chose. Bananas of course. Everyone who comes to Honduras loves the bananas. So the evening prior to the Women's Conference Andrea asked me did I have her candle, her basket bread and bananas. Oh my I had everything but not enough bananas. So Mike and I on the way that morning looked at every produce stand we say for bananas. There was not any to be found. So we called Meida on the bus and asked her to ask Anita would she be willing to give up her bananas for lunch for the women's conference. Anita graciously gave us the bananas. But there was only six bananas. Pastor Joel said there would be 20 to 25 women. I started praying for God's provision with the bananas. Our God is so big, I failed to pray for enough bread. I brought one loaf of bread and the ladies put them in the baskets for the breaking of bread. There was not any left, but Evelyn's mother came in at the end of passing out the bread and Evelyn broke her bread in half so her mother would have a piece of bread. Now back to the bananas. The ladies busily starting breaking up the bananas to serve. God is so good there was one nub left and I ate it. God's provision were met at the Women's Conference in mighty ways today. Thank you God for your provisions.

Abiding (John 15:4)

Abide in me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

Abide=to stay, abide, remain, wait

If we want to know God, we must abide in Him.  How? 

• Follow His instructions (the Bible), His examples, His heart.
• Through prayer--ask God to let you see Him.  When we pray, we invite Him in.  He isn’t trying to hide; He is waiting to be seen by us!

The better we know Jesus (through scripture and prayer), the more we love Him.  The more we love Him, the more we obey Him.  The more we obey Him, the more we abide in  Him.  The more we abide in Him, the more we bear fruit.  The more fruit we bear, the more we have life overflowing.

Bearing Fruit (John 15:5)

I am the vine; you are the branches.  Whoever abides in me and I in Him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

We bear fruit by:

• Staying in the vine; our job is to stay connected to him!  We can’t produce lasting fruit on our own.  God wants us to bear fruit (John 15:8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples).  Bearing fruit takes time, and it comes in seasons.  Just because we don’t see fruit doesn’t mean God isn’t working.  Our job is to abide, remain.
• Loving others.  How can you love others?  (The Ladies will get in small groups to create a skit about how to help someone in their community.  )  If we only look at love as what it will give us, it will fail us.  It’s not that love fails, it’s that other people were never meant to be our God.  God’s love never fails (1 Cor 13:8 ).  1 Cor 13 is the kind of love we can GIVE.  Loving others is the key to feeling love.  (The ladies will have a chance to love others by giving each other a hand massage.)

Closing

Jesus cares for us, comforts us, protects us, and provides for us.  He is mighty, but He is also tender.  He’s as big as the universe, but He’s also incredibly personal and so very close.  He is the Savior of the world, and yet He’s the lover of our soul.  He is everything we need, but He’s also everything we want.