Sometimes a church family might have a vision for serving the widow and the orphan, or starting churches all over the world, or a place of discipleship, and all those things are all important, but our vision early on has always been about exposing and exalting the glory of Jesus in our lives personally.

This is critical, because sometimes people move past this too quickly and they say, “Yeah, Jesus glory made known to the world.” And yes that is part of it, but it isn’t our dream to see (Jesus glory made known to the world), but our dream is that we personally would be in awe of Jesus’ glory, and as a result Jesus glory is made known to the world, but we must begin with ourselves being in awe of Jesus.

Illustration: Take your favorite restaurant, like McDonald’s. Yeah, I called it a restaurant. We love that we can walk into any McDonalds around the world, and 99% of the time it is just like the McDonald’s in our hometown. We love that about McDonald’s.

I know, everyone scoff’s at McDonald’s, never eats at McDonald’s, but every time I drive past McDonald’s there are tons of people there, even millennial’s. Why are people there? Are they there to expand the name of McDonald’s?

No, it is because you have tasted of the goodness of the McRibb, and you keep showing up. It is similar to Jesus. We want everyone in our church family to personally taste of Jesus, and be in awe of Jesus.  Consider Colossians 1:13-14:

Colossians 1:13-14, “13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Colossians is a letter in the New Testament, written by the Apostle Paul, and the Apostle Paul is writing to a local church that is similar to North Village Church.  The people in the local church are still getting to know one another, still getting to trust one another, and just like in any church there are false teachers in their church, in their city, who are stirring the pot and creating confusion about the awe and glory of Jesus.

There were some people who were saying that Jesus was just a spiritual person who did some good things. There were some that were saying Jesus was just a good teacher. There were some that were saying that Jesus is just a “type” of deity, like a demi-god, but not really God in the flesh, and it really come down to two different areas; “Is Jesus 100% Human, or is Jesus 100% God?”

Now, you need to know this is still a problem we see in our culture today. There is still confusion about the glory and awe of Jesus, there are still false teachers, there are still distorted views of Jesus, and it really breaks down to two different areas; Jesus Humanity and Jesus Deity.

There are some people today that tend to just focus on Jesus humanity, and ignore Jesus’ Deity. There are people who love talking about Jesus’ humility, compassion, patience, love, and caring for others, but not really interested in Jesus’ Deity.

And there are people who love talking about the power of Jesus, the authority of Jesus, the perfection of Jesus, and how Jesus is in control of all things, but tend to forget about the humanity of Jesus.

In verses 13-20 we see the Apostle Paul sit down to make it as clear as possible, and says, “Jesus is both! Jesus is 100% human (Relatable), and Jesus is 100% God (Powerful).

Colossians 1:15-16, “15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.

In verses 15-16 we see that Jesus is not only our rescuer, but also “Jesus is supreme over all things.”  In Genesis 1 there is the famous line, “In the beginning God created God created the heavens and the earth” and in verses 15-16 we see that Jesus was there in the beginning. Do you see it in verse 16, “For by Him all things were created?”

It is possible that you might read verses 15-16 and just lean toward seeing Jesus as powerful creator, but you need to know creation is very personal.  We might assume Jesus has to create, but Jesus didn’t have to create.

His creation is a demonstration of His benevolence, His kindness, His goodness, His compassion, His love, and His heart intertwined with our heart, Jesus draws close and breathes life into the nostrils of humanity. 100% Human / 100% God!

Colossians 1:17-18, “17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”

In verses 17-18 we see that Jesus is not only our rescuer, supreme over all things, but Jesus is also our leader as a church family, “Head of the church.” Did you know that? Jesus is our pastor. Jesus is our leader.

Yes, our elders, pastors, group leaders, and ministry leaders are important, but our primary task is to lead our church family to the glory and awe of Jesus.  We’re not going to be able to understand one another like Jesus. We’re not going to be able to encourage one another like Jesus. We’re not going to be able to weep, grieve and mourn with one another like Jesus.

Don’t misunderstand, the deepening of our relationships with one another is critical, but we’re not going to be able to fully understand those childhood pains. We’re going to going to be able to cross all cultural boundaries.

We’re not going to be able to have the same educational experiences. We’re not going to be able to have the same business opportunities, but we can point one another to the One who sympathizes with our every weakness, Hebrews 4.

Colossians 1:19-20, “19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”

In verses 19-20 we see that Jesus is not only our rescuer, supreme over all things, leader of the church, but also Jesus is our reconciler.

Reconciliation is an accounting term that means, “To make things right.” Write that in your notes. We touched on this earlier, but all of humanity was created to live in His Kingdom, and we slammed the door in His face. We abandon His Kingdom to live in our domain of darkness, and it creates conflict between the God of Scripture and all of humanity.

In verses 19-20 the Apostle Paul writes, “Jesus has come to bring reconciliation.” This is good news. Jesus has come with all His humanity, and all His power to reconcile all things to Himself.

Now, this can be hard for us to grasp how powerful this is sometimes, because as human beings we have a really low view of reconciliation.  When you get in a fight with your siblings you look at your sibling with a grumpy face and say, “I am sorry.” That’s not reconciliation.

When you are in conflict with your spouse it is common for a spouse to say, “I am sorry you thought that was hurtful.” What? That’s not reconciliation.  When you get involved in conflict with a friend, co-worker or even with someone in our church family we can often times give one another the silent treatment.  We tell ourselves that time heals all wounds. We stop talking to one another. We change churches. We change jobs. That’s not reconciliation.

Therefore, the Apostle Paul writes, “Jesus has come to bring reconciliation.” Jesus doesn’t see the offense of our sin and give us the silent treatment. Jesus doesn’t hear us deny Him with our lips and our lives, and act like it didn’t happen.

Jesus knows our sin is offensive, and He has come to take our offense upon Himself at the cross! Jesus comes to cancel our debt and nail it to the cross (Colossians 2).  Jesus pays the price, and Jesus gives us righteousness, so that our relationship with the God of Scripture is made right.

How could we ever be content with the outworkings of Jesus? He is too glorious!  Jesus is the suitable sacrifice to stand in our place, 100% Human. Jesus is the sufficient sacrifice for all who call on His name, 100% God. Don’t you want to know Jesus? Don’t you want to open the Scriptures and learn more about Him?

That’s why we started North Village Church. Every Sunday we want to exalt and expose the glory and awe of Jesus. That’s why we gather in groups throughout the week. We want to exalt and expose the glory and awe of Jesus.