Jesus' first followers discovered that many things about their Lord made Him special. They believed Jesus was greater than any person that had ever lived.� So while His death on the Cross was horrible, His resurrection helped them see that His excruciating death was for their benefit.� Others who heard about Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection were also convicted in their hearts that Jesus was someone special.� They were not only ready to believe in Jesus, but to trust Him with their lives and follow Him where ever He might lead them.

But what did they believe about Jesus?

Can I believe this and become a Jesus follower?

The answer is "Yes!" We can become a follower of Jesus by truly BELIEVING � by trusting Jesus with all of our hearts and doing what He asks of us. But what do we need to believe about Jesus to be one of his followers?

Recognizing Jesus as Lord:

Recognizing Jesus as Lord means that we realize that Jesus is all of these things and more. We want Jesus to have rule over our lives and we voluntarily place the rule over our lives to Him. More than just saying the words, "Jesus is Lord," Jesus' followers live them. They offer themselves to Jesus and trust that he will bless them.

While there may be other titles we use to refer to Jesus - Ruler, Master, The Prophet, Teacher, Savior, Redeemer, King, Messiah, etc. - Lord sums them all up and recognizes that Jesus is the supreme authority in his followers' lives.

The real issue for you and me if we want to be true followers of Jesus is whether or not we will allow Jesus to be our Lord. Yes, we want to confess Him as our Lord, but simply saying the words isn't confessing Jesus as Lord; we've got to give Him the rule over our lives and do what He asks of us.

Are we really willing to follow? Are we really willing for Jesus to be Lord of our lives?

Recognizing Jesus as the Promised Messiah, the Christ of God:
When Jesus asked His apostles who they thought He was, Peter answered, "You are the Messiah!" (Mark 8:27-30) Jesus complimented Peter on his answer and declared that this was not just Peter's answer, but also Gods revealed message. (Matthew 16:17)

"Messiah" comes from the Hebrew language. "Christ" comes from the Greek language. Both of these words refer to someone who is anointed for for special office or task. Jesus came into the world as God's anointed. God demonstrated His pleasure and approval of Jesus as His anointed at His Son's baptism. The Spirit of God descended upon Jesus in bodily form as a dove and God declared, "You are my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with you." (Luke 3:21-22) Jesus' followers recognized that this was God's way of showing that He had anointed His Son with the Holy Spirit and with power. (Acts 10:38)

For centuries, God's people had expected a Messiah. Many of the prophets speak of the coming Messiah or "Anointed One." The Messiah would be Gods chosen ruler. He would be like Moses and be a great leader. He would bring deliverance from sin. He would lead men and women closer to God. Now that Jesus was raised from the dead and had poured out the Holy Spirit, Jesus' apostles declared confidently that Jesus is God's promised Messiah, the Christ of God. Jesus' followers firmly believe this?