Participants: Jim Gilley (Host), Jack Blanco
Series Code: 10HC
Program Code: 10HC000008
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00:45 We're so happy tonight that we have Elder Jack Blanco.
00:49 Dr. Blanco is our speaker. 00:51 Told you a little bit about him last night 00:53 about his early life. And you read that in that book "Jack" 00:59 that he wrote. It's just a tremendous book. 01:01 And by the way, all of his writings 01:04 including the Clear Word Bible which he translated... 01:08 He did that whole Clear Word Bible translation 01:11 from Genesis to Revelation. 01:13 That began as his devotional reading. 01:17 Taking the original language in the Hebrew and the Greek 01:21 and the Aramaic and sitting down with those languages 01:25 and translating those, 01:27 and translating it as more of a study Bible. 01:31 I don't think He's preaching out of the Clear Word himself. 01:34 I haven't checked what he's preaching out of, but 01:36 it would be all right if he did. 01:38 I've preached out of the Clear Word before. 01:39 But I usually don't. I usually use it for study 01:42 because it gives me insights. 01:44 And this man... this was his devotional life. 01:47 And all of the proceeds from that go to help 01:51 ministerial students at Southern Adventist University. 01:55 Isn't that tremendous? 01:56 And I think that this is a man that's given his heart 02:00 to the Lord. I mentioned earlier about 02:02 his sharing with us last night the final hours of his son. 02:07 Only 51 years old, dying with Lou Gehrig's disease 02:11 and what a terrible experience that was. 02:14 And how as a father he couldn't help, but how much it hurt 02:17 the father. And tonight his subject will be 02:22 The Humble One. 02:24 And we're looking forward to that presentation this evening. 02:28 Before he comes to speak to us 02:31 we have the honor of some music from Dr. Yvonne Lewis. 02:35 I first met her when I was pastoring in Dallas, Texas. 02:40 And Anita, I see you over there. 02:43 You know that every once in a while 02:46 Dr. Lewis would come over to our church 02:50 and sing for us. And it was always a tremendous blessing. 02:55 And so I was so happy when I got here and found out that 02:59 she was good friends with C.A. 03:01 He and I kept talking about a singer 03:04 and I didn't know we were talking about the same person. 03:07 And he kept telling me: "We've got to get Yvonne Lewis 03:11 here to sing for us some weekend. " 03:13 And I kept saying: "Well that's fine, but 03:16 there's another lady... " And I couldn't think of her name. 03:18 And I found out that the two ladies were the same lady. 03:21 And the Lord has gifted her in such a wonderful 03:27 and beautiful way. 03:28 Right now she's going to sing for us: "With All My Heart. " 03:48 In this quiet place with You 03:53 I bow before Your throne. 03:57 I bare the deepest part of me 04:01 to You and You alone. 04:05 I keep no secrets 04:07 for there is no thought You haven't known. 04:13 I bring my best and all the rest 04:17 to You and lay them down. 04:27 With all of my heart 04:32 I want to love you, Lord. 04:37 And live my life 04:41 each day to know You more. 04:45 All that is in me 04:49 it's Yours completely. 04:53 I'll serve You only 04:58 with all my heart. 05:14 You faithfully supply my needs 05:19 according to Your plan. 05:22 So help me, Lord, to seek Your face 05:26 before I seek Your hand. 05:30 I trust You to know what's best for me 05:35 when I don't understand. 05:39 Sometimes I don't understand, 05:44 but I'll follow in obedience 05:49 in every circumstance. 05:58 With all my heart 06:04 I want to love You, Lord. 06:08 And live my life 06:11 each day to know You more. 06:15 All that's in me 06:19 Lord is Yours... is Yours completely. 06:24 I'll serve You only 06:33 with all my heart. 07:03 Why good evening. Good evening. 07:05 Praise the Lord! 07:07 You know the Sabbath has begun, right? 07:11 Yes. The sun has set; Sabbath has begun. 07:16 We're going to talk a little bit about the Lord Jesus Christ 07:22 and the Sabbath. 07:24 But you know, last night we focused on the Father, 07:26 didn't we? His compassion, His love. 07:31 His forgiveness; His gentleness and kindness. 07:36 Tonight we want to focus on the Son: 07:39 His person; His character; His actions... 07:45 in contrast with Lucifer. 07:48 Let's bow our heads for prayer. 07:51 Father in heaven, 07:55 as we focus on Your Son this evening 08:02 we pray that through Your Holy Spirit You will be here 08:06 to guide and direct our hearts, our thoughts. 08:10 May we sense Your presence as never before. 08:15 We pray in Jesus' name, Amen. 08:20 My text for this evening is Philippians 08:23 the second chapter verses 5 to 8. 08:28 Philippians the second chapter verses 5 to 8. 08:33 Verses that you are familiar with. 08:38 It says: "Let this mind be in you 08:43 which was also in Christ Jesus 08:49 being in the form of God thought it not robbery 08:56 to be equal with God 09:02 but made Himself of no reputation 09:06 took upon Him the form of a servant 09:11 and was made in the likeness of men. 09:15 And being found and fashioned as a man 09:18 He humbled Himself 09:23 and became obedient unto death, 09:26 even the death of the cross! 09:31 Wherefore God hath highly exalted Him 09:34 and given Him a name which is above every name 09:36 that at the name of Jesus 09:39 every knee should bow 09:42 of things of heaven, things of the earth, 09:44 things under the earth and every tongue 09:47 should confess that 09:50 Jesus Christ is Lord... " 09:56 And that is the key. 09:58 That Jesus Christ is Lord to His own glory? 10:04 "to the glory of God the Father. " 10:09 You know Jesus said that when 10:15 the prince of this world cometh to me 10:17 uh, he finds nothing in Me. 10:23 So this sermon could also be entitled The Empty One. 10:28 The Humble One... The Empty One. 10:31 Completely emptied of anything self... 10:36 even that which is legitimate. 10:47 So let's look at eternity past 10:50 and then we'll look at eternity present and eternity future. 10:54 Eternity past. Of course, you know that text 10:58 in John the first chapter and verses 1 to 3 11:02 where it talks about Jesus. "In the beginning was... " 11:06 "the Word and the Word was with God 11:11 and the Word was God. " 11:14 And in the original language there is no article in front of 11:18 that word God 11:21 which emphasizes the quality 11:26 not only the God pointing to God 11:31 but the quality of God. So "In the beginning was the Word 11:35 and the Word was with God and the Word was fully God. " 11:41 Totally, all the qualities. 11:46 In Him is life, original, 11:53 unborrowed and underived. 11:59 Some people say: "Well, it's borrowed... 12:01 it's bestowed. " 12:03 No. It's life original, unborrowed, 12:08 underived. 12:10 "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God 12:12 and the Word was God. All things were made by... 12:15 Him and without Him was nothing made that was made. " 12:23 Fully God. 12:25 Well now if everything was made by Him, 12:28 all the angels were created also, right? 12:32 By Him? 12:34 How about Lucifer? 12:37 What is Lucifer's name? 12:40 Son of the Morning. 12:44 The first rays of the sun... 12:49 Lucifer was the first one created. 12:59 When he opened his eyes, yes, there was the Son of God 13:04 looking at him. 13:07 And as we mentioned last night 13:09 in Ezekiel: "Thou was perfect in all thy ways 13:13 until iniquity was found in thee. " 13:17 The mystery of God. There are two mysteries in the Bible: 13:20 the mystery of godliness 13:22 and the mystery of iniquity. 13:26 You can't explain the mystery of iniquity 13:31 because if you can explain it then you can excuse it. 13:39 Until iniquity was found in him, yes. 13:43 And of course, the Son of God's other name is Michael: 13:47 the archangel, the one in charge of all the angels. 13:51 And wherever He went throughout the universe 13:53 the angels welcomed Him and honored Him 13:57 and bowed before Him. 14:02 And Lucifer become jealous. 14:08 "How come He gets so much honor and praise? " 14:10 "How come I'm neglected? " 14:15 Sound familiar? "How come I'm neglected? " 14:20 "I've been around as long as He has. " 14:24 Now how would the angels know any different? 14:30 How would they know any different? If Lucifer was the 14:32 first one created, how would they know any different? 14:35 They wouldn't. "I've been around as long as He has 14:40 so why shouldn't I receive the same recognition 14:44 and honor and so on? " Yes. 14:49 How did Christ respond to that? 14:54 Now as the Son of God I mean He was like in charge of 14:58 the family business and here is this employee 15:01 that's complaining about the boss. 15:04 Sorry to use that analogy. 15:07 What do you do? What does the boss do? 15:09 Put him in his place? Talk to him? 15:13 Stop him? Fire him? 15:20 Challenge him? 15:23 No, we are told that Christ said nothing. 15:34 He could have defended His own right, right? 15:39 It was His right to be Lord... 15:42 to be in charge of the angels. 15:45 He says nothing. 15:48 That reminds you, of course, when He was before Pilate, 15:52 right? 15:54 What did Pilate say? "Don't You have anything to say? " 16:03 Or like Isaiah 53 16:06 "Like a sheep before his shearers is dumb... " What? 16:09 "He opened not His mouth. " 16:13 The Son of God "opened not His mouth" but He just gradually 16:17 withdrew from His own domain. 16:26 And after while the angels missed Him and said: 16:28 "You know, God's Son hasn't been to see us for some time. " 16:41 No, Christ gradually withdrew - quietly withdrew - 16:45 and let the Father speak for Him. 16:53 And as we mentioned last night, the Father called a meeting. 16:56 He made it clear to everyone who His Son was: 17:00 equal with Himself. 17:05 Whatever He said, His words were the Father's words. 17:11 And also it was announced in that first meeting 17:18 the plan of creation. 17:21 Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. Yes. 17:24 They would go ahead with their plan of creating 17:28 a unique and distinct order of being. 17:39 But Lucifer could have no part in it. 17:41 He wanted to have a part in it. 17:43 He would like to have had a part in it 17:45 but he could not because he also was what? 17:48 A created being. 17:53 And so he bows and worships, and as we said last night 17:58 he bowed and worshiped but in his heart hatred grew 18:02 even more intense. 18:06 A good illustration of how sin 18:10 can distort intelligence. 18:16 And he bows, yes, but hatred grows in his heart. 18:21 Did God know his heart? 18:23 Of course. 18:25 Why didn't Lucifer realize this? 18:28 He should have. 18:30 But that shows what sin can do. 18:37 And so he goes out and he continues his quiet rebellion. 18:43 Notice what I said: "quiet rebellion. " 18:46 And he reasons with the angels. 18:49 I want you to notice his logic. 18:54 "Aren't we perfect beings? " 18:57 The answer is what? Yes. 19:02 "Do we have perfect minds? " Yes. 19:08 "Can perfect beings make mistakes? " No. 19:16 "Can perfect beings know what is good and bad? " Yes. 19:23 Notice the logic. 19:25 Logic is not the answer. 19:29 You can say, you know: a equals b 19:34 and b equals c 19:36 so therefore what? a equals c, right? 19:41 And logic is good for science 19:44 but it is not the answer to faith and spirituality. 19:50 Reason must bow to the great "I AM. " 19:59 Reason must bow to scripture. 20:06 And so this quiet rebellion continued 20:09 and the Father calls a second meeting and now decision time 20:13 has come. And as we alluded to last night 20:21 Lucifer took his stand 20:27 and verbally pointed his finger at God. 20:30 I said: "verbally pointed his finger at God" 20:34 by saying: "I will defend my position 20:40 by force! " 20:46 So who started the war? 20:51 "I will not have the authority of Christ rule over me. 20:56 I will defend my position in heaven by force. " 21:00 And there was war in heaven. 21:05 You see, brothers and sisters, that is the issue: 21:09 is Jesus Lord? 21:12 You can accept Jesus Christ as your Savior 21:17 but do you accept Him as your Lord? 21:20 What's the difference? 21:23 When you accept Him as Lord that means obedience. 21:29 No one will be in heaven 21:33 who does not accept Christ as Lord and King! 21:40 Right? True? 21:49 The Lordship of Jesus Christ which Satan never accepted. 21:55 And of course there was war in heaven and he was cast out. 21:58 You get a little glimpse of this play on words 22:03 in Genesis chapter 1, 2, and 3. 22:05 And I'm just going to allude to it. 22:10 Of course we have in Genesis 1 "In the beginning God created 22:13 the heavens and the earth. " Right? 22:15 Elohim... plural. 22:18 "God created the heavens and the earth. " 22:19 And it goes all the way through. 22:21 "And God said: 'let there be light' 22:23 and God did this and God did that, right? 22:28 "God saw that it was good. " 22:32 "God created man in His own image. " 22:36 Then in chapter 2 it goes on: 22:40 "And the seventh day... God blessed the seventh day" 22:43 and so on. But then it changes 22:50 and it begins to talk about "these are the generations. " 22:54 So you have... chapter 2 gives clarification 22:59 to chapter 1. Are you with me? 23:05 Chapter 2 says yes, 23:07 "these are the generations of the heavens and the earth 23:10 when they were created in the day that the Lord God... " 23:14 Oh, "the Lord God made the earth and the heavens 23:21 and every plant. And the Lord God formed man 23:27 of the dust of the ground. " 23:29 Oh. 23:33 Jesus comes into the picture more fully now. 23:36 The Lord God. 23:39 "And the Lord God made every tree to grow... " and so on. 23:42 And you know, you can read this chapter yourself sometime. 23:48 "And the Lord God said: 'It's not good that man 23:50 should be alone... ' " 23:52 And the Lord God, of course, made a companion 23:56 and blessed them. 23:59 And then chapter 3. 24:01 "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field 24:05 which the Lord God had made. 24:09 And the serpent said to Eve: 'Hath God said? ' " 24:16 Now he didn't say: "Lord God. " 24:18 He said: "God said ye shall not eat of every tree? " 24:22 Oh. And the woman said: "Oh, yeah, we may eat 24:27 of the fruit of the tree" and so on, you know. 24:29 And she refers to what God said because the serpent 24:34 asked: "What did God say? " 24:38 Didn't say Lord. 24:41 He does not want to use the word Lord. 24:49 And the woman said: "Yeah, it's good for food" and so on. 24:52 You know the rest of the story. 24:55 "And they heard the voice of the Lord God 24:58 walking in the garden in the cool of the day. 25:02 And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the 25:04 presence of the Lord God. " 25:07 And interesting play on words. 25:10 God in chapter 1. 25:12 Lord God in chapter 2. 25:14 Then the serpent only uses the word "God" not "Lord God. " 25:22 Then of course the story goes on. 25:25 When you come to the seventh day and the creation of the Sabbath, 25:29 creation of this world and the blessing of the Sabbath, 25:33 it talks about the Lord God. 25:36 "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 25:38 Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work... " Right? 25:41 "The seventh day the Lord God created. " 25:45 What is it? What does it say? "Lord God created. " 25:53 See brothers and sisters, I mentioned this one other time 25:56 on 3ABN: 25:59 the Sabbath has to do 26:04 with the position of the Son of God 26:09 in the Godhead 26:13 which Lucifer rejected. 26:18 "I will be like the Most High. " 26:25 The great controversy between Christ and Satan 26:27 is over what issue? 26:31 Not over Christ's power 26:38 but rather over His position 26:44 as the Son of God in the Godhead. 26:52 And so the Sabbath has to do about Him. 26:58 Sabbath is not about us. 27:00 The Sabbath is not about Seventh-day Adventists. 27:04 The Sabbath is about Him. 27:07 Who He is and His position in the Godhead. 27:14 Creator. Son of God. 27:19 Him in whom is life original, unborrowed, underived. 27:24 "All things were made by Him, 27:26 and without Him was not anything made that was made. " 27:34 So if some authority some day would ask me 27:37 "Why do you keep the seventh day? " 27:39 you know what I'm going to say? 27:42 "Because it's all about Him. " 27:45 I'm not going to say: "Well, it's because of my conscience. " 27:48 "It's because I keep the Ten Commandments. " 27:50 "It's because I'm a Seventh-day Adventist. " 27:52 I'm going to say: "It's all about Him. " 27:54 And then what question will they ask? 27:56 "What do you mean 'all about Him? ' " 27:59 And that will give me a chance to talk all about Him. Amen! 28:14 You see the Sabbath points, as I already said 2 or 3 times, 28:18 to Christ's position in the Godhead. 28:28 It's not about His resurrection. 28:33 You talk about resurrection... 28:38 there were others also who resurrected. 28:46 What about Elijah and the little boy? 28:52 He prayed to God and God heard his prayer 28:58 and answered it and raised the boy to life. 29:04 What about Elisha? Hmmm? 29:10 He prayed and the Lord heard 29:14 and the little boy that was dead - what? - was raised 29:19 to life. 29:23 And when Jesus stood before the tomb of Lazarus 29:27 He prayed to the Father 29:30 and the Father heard and answered, right? 29:33 "I thank you Father that You have heard Me 29:36 that they may know that You sent Me. " 29:39 And the Father heard and Lazarus was resurrected. 29:47 And the body of Moses was taken to heaven 29:50 like it tells you in Jude. 29:54 The issue is not Christ's resurrection. 29:59 The issue with the Sabbath has to do with 30:03 His position in the Godhead. 30:06 Who He is... not just creation. 30:10 Creation, yes, is a sign of power. 30:12 But it is more than that. That is one issue 30:15 but the key issue is who Jesus Christ IS! 30:24 Which worshiping on another day cannot make 30:28 that same statement... 30:36 as much as we honor Christ's resurrection. 30:46 And so Christ, yes, 30:49 quietly carried out His Father's wishes. 30:53 Could the Father have created this world? 30:56 Mankind? Of course. Why did He let the Son do it? 31:00 Well, some say: "Well, the Father was the supervisor. 31:04 You know, like a building contractor 31:07 and of course Jesus was the worker. " 31:09 Well you know I'm not going to dispute that... 31:13 whatever... but there's more to it than that 31:16 because the Father was giving his Son an opportunity 31:22 to display to the universe - 31:27 after Satan had brought all these accusations - 31:31 to display to the universe who He was. 31:36 He spoke and it was. 31:40 He commanded and it stood fast. Amen! 31:47 That's what it's all about. 31:51 Brothers and sisters, that's what we're all about: 31:55 to uplift Jesus Christ. 31:57 Not only Calvary, not only His resurrection, but who He is. 32:02 He is Lord. 32:04 Over and over you go through the epistles and Paul says, 32:08 talks about our Savior and Lord. 32:17 Ah, the Humble One... the Quiet One... 32:21 the Empty One. 32:24 Let's look at this a little more closely. 32:27 Revelation the 12th chapter which you know so very well. 32:32 Revelation the 12th chapter verses 1 to 9. 32:41 Revelation the 12th chapter gives us a little glimpse of 32:46 the... what I call the Hebrew way of thinking. 32:51 The Hebrew way of thinking. 32:55 And you know how it begins. "And there was a great wonder 32:58 in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun... " 33:00 Moon under her feet. Twelve stars, the child was there. 33:04 And another wonder appeared in heaven: a great red... 33:07 dragon. 33:11 Satan's hatred of Christ had grown to the extent 33:16 where he had turned into a dragon. 33:20 You know, when you and I have hatred in our hearts 33:25 if through the Holy Spirit's power we don't get rid of that 33:30 hatred grows exponentially, 33:35 and this is an example. 33:40 "I'm neglected. " "How come He keeps going around 33:45 and asking us what to do and trying to guide us 33:49 when we are perfect beings and we know what 33:52 is right and wrong? " 33:54 "I don't like this interference. " 34:00 Me... my, huh? Focus. 34:03 And that little hatred and dissatisfaction grew and grew 34:07 and grew until Lucifer turned into a dragon... 34:12 ready to kill the Son of God as soon as He was born. 34:25 And then you go down to verse 7 34:28 "And there was war in heaven. Michael and His angels 34:31 fought against the dragon, and the dragon prevailed not 34:34 and he was cast out. The old serpent called the devil and 34:37 Satan... " and so on. Now why does John as the author 34:43 of Revelation, the writer of Revelation, 34:46 why does he begin with the baby Jesus 34:51 and then he goes down and he talks about the war in heaven? 34:58 Because 35:02 Hebrew thinking always puts the most important 35:08 thing first. 35:11 Greek thinking is cyclical. 35:16 Sort of a uniformitarian theory 35:20 whatever goes around comes around. 35:21 That's an oversimplification. 35:23 Yes. Goes around comes around. 35:28 Hebrew thinking is linear. 35:31 Has a beginning and there's an end. 35:36 And God can break into that cyclical motion 35:41 of history or whatever. And God steps into history 35:47 and He controls it. And that is the most important thing. 35:51 And Hebrew thinking always puts the most important thing 35:55 FIRST and then fills in the blanks. 36:00 Now what does that tell us? 36:05 Whatever we look at, whatever thinking we do, 36:09 we need to put the most important things first 36:16 in our lives, you know. 36:19 That's... that's Hebrew thinking. 36:23 That's the way Israelites think. 36:30 We think differently than the secular world. 36:38 Oh yes. And then, of course, Jesus 36:44 allowed Himself to become a human being. 36:50 In the scale of the universe, 36:55 we are, the Bible says, "as little grasshoppers. " 37:03 As I tell my students: "You need to stop and think. 37:07 It is neither painful nor fatal to think! " 37:13 I mean, please think. 37:20 And so, you know, you think of the God of the universe... 37:23 If any of you have done any reading or whatever, 37:26 have been familiar with astronomy 37:29 and all the galaxies in the universe 37:33 with billions of stars and planets in each 37:43 and our little... our little earth is like a... 37:49 an atom. 37:52 You know, somebody loaned me a video 37:56 a couple of months ago on astronomy and I... 37:58 all these photographs. Wow! Just a little speck. 38:05 Why not just step on this grasshopper? 38:14 Then the Son of God... willing to come down - 38:18 and I say this respectfully - 38:23 willing to be a grasshopper? 38:31 Talk about humility and humbleness 38:36 and emptiness. And even when He was 12 years old 38:40 what'd He tell His parents? 38:41 "I must be about My Father's business. " 38:47 Just the opposite of Lucifer. 38:50 You see, Lucifer did not believe the Father. 38:53 He did not believe God when God said: "My Son is equal 38:56 with Myself" 38:58 and even through creation gave a demonstration 39:01 of what His Son could do and who He was. 39:04 No. Didn't believe it. 39:10 But Jesus as a 12-year-old: "I must be about 39:13 My Father's business. " 39:14 And then, of course, you have the baptism. 39:18 John says: "No! Me baptize You? 39:23 I'm a sinner. " And Jesus said: "No. 39:29 Permit it to be so now. " 39:33 And He humbly lets John baptize Him. 39:41 The Son of God letting a sinner baptize Him? 39:45 I mean, excuse the expression brethren, 39:48 "Give me a break. " 39:55 Then the Holy Spirit descending upon Him. 39:57 The Father said what? "This is My beloved Son 40:00 in whom I am well pleased. " 40:04 Then where does the Spirit lead Him? 40:10 You have here an example of Jesus obeying 40:16 the Holy Spirit. 40:19 Now if Jesus can obey the Holy Spirit 40:21 surely we should be able to obey. OK? 40:24 Listen to the Holy Spirit and obey the Holy Spirit. 40:27 And the Holy Spirit leads Him into the wilderness 40:30 to be tempted. Or a better way to express it: to be tested. 40:35 To be tested. 40:38 Jesus, of course, fasted for 40 days 40:41 and nights and ate nothing. 40:46 How many of you have gone without meals for a day? 40:52 You know what I mean. How about 2 days and 3 days? 40:56 And after a while you say what? "Whew! " Or a week? What? 41:01 "Give me something to eat, " right? 41:03 Forty days. 41:09 And then Satan comes and appears as an angel. 41:15 Appears as an angel and, of course, tests Christ. 41:21 He taunts Him. 41:24 "Oh You? You are the head of the angels? " 41:30 No. "You are Lord and King? " 41:36 "What? I mean, look at You... look at You, 41:39 just look at You. " 41:42 And he goes on and on and on. 41:46 "Look at me... look at You. " 41:51 "Now if You really are the Son of God, then why don't 41:54 You turn these stones into bread and then I'll know? " 42:01 If somebody hasn't eaten for 40 days and He had the power 42:04 to turn stones into bread, isn't that a legitimate thing to do? 42:07 I want you to notice: the temptation was legitimate 42:11 as far as hunger is concerned. 42:19 But if Christ would have used His power to demonstrate 42:24 His Godhead, His Lordship, 42:30 His Sonship to Lucifer, 42:35 He would have obeyed Lucifer. 42:41 Are you with me? 42:43 "To him whom you yield yourselves to obey 42:48 his servants you are 42:50 to whom you yield yourself to obey. " 42:56 There's more at stake than just hunger. 43:03 No, He refused. And you know the other temptations. 43:08 "Throw Yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple 43:10 and I'll give you... " Or the other one on the mountain: 43:13 "I'll give You all the world and save You a lot of trouble. " 43:19 But what I want to mention here, brothers and sisters, 43:22 is that Jesus Christ had a temptation here 43:27 that overshadows any temptation we know. 43:31 When it says: "He was tempted in all points like as we are 43:36 yet without sin, " you need to understand 43:39 the bigger picture... the underlying issue. 43:43 Christ was not tempted in all the little things 43:48 we're tempted with. 43:56 Did He drink alcohol and was tempted to continue to drink 43:59 alcohol? 44:02 Was He ever tempted with drugs? 44:07 Did He have some of the same family temptations 44:10 that we have? 44:15 Family relations? Raising children and all that? 44:20 Did He have all that? No. 44:23 He didn't know what it was to have a family. 44:25 What do you mean "He was tempted in all things? " 44:30 You have to get the bigger view of scripture. 44:36 He was tempted to use a power that you and I do not have. 44:45 When Jesus came and became a man, He did not give up 44:48 His divinity. 44:51 He did not use His divinity. 44:54 He still had it. 44:57 He could have used it. He could have turned stones into bread. 45:03 You see, it's when you have power under the hood 45:07 that brings the temptation. 45:10 When you buy a Porsche that you can drive 200 mph 45:17 that's when the temptation comes... 45:19 not when you have a little VW bug that has only 50 horsepower. 45:31 So if you can control the 500 horsepower, 45:37 whatever, you have been tempted in all things. 45:42 Because there's nothing more powerful than divinity. 45:47 Are you with me? Amen. 45:56 Yes. "Show me Your power. " No. 46:01 Ah, the Humble One, the Empty One. 46:07 The Meek One. 46:11 "Even if I have to die from hunger 46:14 I will not use My power. " 46:26 We don't have power like He had. Never will have. 46:32 Incomprehensible. 46:36 During His ministry He said: "No, I have not come to do My 46:39 will but My Father's will. " 46:43 Then of course when you come down to the Garden of Gethsemane 46:47 "Father... " What? "Not My will but Thine be done. " 46:55 After Satan tempted Christ in the wilderness 47:01 and did not succeed 47:04 he called a meeting of the angels and reported it. 47:07 And the angels were disappointed and angry that they failed. 47:13 So they decided: "No, let's try a more subtle approach. " 47:21 You know, that was the temptation of the angels 47:24 in heaven... the subtle approach. 47:28 "Why don't we try to instill in the minds 47:32 of the Hebrew people doubt 47:37 that Jesus is the Messiah? " 47:43 "Why don't we get them to reject Him? " 47:49 "Why don't we get them to turn against Him? 47:55 And hopefully this will discourage Him. 47:59 And if He realizes that there are so few 48:05 who believe and accept He may say: 48:09 'It's not worth it. ' 48:10 So why don't we try that subtle approach? " 48:15 And so they did... but it didn't work 48:21 because Jesus would have died for one if need be. 48:29 When you think about the suffering and the beatings 48:34 and the scourgings... no wonder. 48:39 And Jesus knew what crucifixion was like, didn't He? 48:43 "Father, please. " "No. " 48:47 "But nevertheless... " The Humble One. 48:50 "But nevertheless... " The Empty One. 48:53 "Nevertheless... " The Meek One. 48:55 "not My will but Thine be done. " 49:04 The scourging... the crown of thorns. 49:08 And the scourging... You know, sometimes we don't always 49:11 realize it. As you know, they would get the biggest 49:15 Roman solider they could get. 49:17 You know, the stick and the long leather strips. 49:24 Then at the end glass and metal. 49:27 And then, of course, strip the prisoner. 49:30 And then they would come down at a 45-degree angle. 49:36 Now sometimes they would go horizontally 49:40 and it would wrap around the abdomen 49:43 and they would rip back until they ripped the abdomen open 49:46 and the intestines would fall out 49:49 and they didn't have to take the person to be crucified. 49:53 But not with Christ. "Crucify Him! " 50:01 "Let's see how much He can take. " 50:03 And so they... scourging: a 45-degree angle. 50:13 Rip the back open 50:17 and take Him up there and stretch out His hands. 50:20 "Nail Him to a piece of wood 50:25 and set Him up there 50:27 and let's see what He will do. " 50:30 And what did Jesus say after hours of agony? 50:34 I don't want to go on with a description of crucifixion. 50:39 What did He say? "Father, into... " What? 50:43 "Thy hands I commend My spirit. " 50:47 Yes. "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? " 50:52 "But into Thy hands I commend My spirit. " 51:01 Now how much more humble can a person get? 51:04 How much more meek when He has the power? 51:13 What did He? How was He challenged? 51:16 "If you are the Son of God, why don't You come down? " 51:18 Could He have come down? 51:21 Absolutely. But He didn't. 51:23 He stayed there for you and for me. 51:28 That puts a great value on you and me 51:33 which we'll talk about tomorrow. 51:39 And so He died. 51:41 Friday. What time Friday? Friday afternoon, right? 51:48 And it was still time for after He was buried 51:51 for the ladies to go back and prepare for the Sabbath. 51:56 So it was still a couple hours before the Sabbath 52:00 that He died and was buried. 52:07 Could He have been resurrected before the Sabbath started? 52:11 Why did He stay in this tomb on the Sabbath? 52:14 Well some people say: "Well, He had to keep the Sabbath. " 52:17 Well I'm not going to dispute that. 52:21 No. 52:24 He stayed in the tomb until Sunday morning. 52:32 Parts of three days. 52:39 Until the angel came down and rolled away the stone. 52:43 And what did the angel say? 52:46 "Son of God, Your Father calls You. " 52:52 Oh, even obedient in death 52:57 when He could have raised Himself. 53:02 I mean, if that's not obedience I don't know what is! 53:08 Stayed dead until the Father called. 53:17 Then of course: "I am the Resurrection, " 53:20 and He comes forth from the tomb. 53:23 Mary sees Him, wants to worship Him. 53:25 He says: "No, I need to see My Father. " 53:27 Hadn't seen Him for how long? Thirty three years. 53:32 "Got to see Him. " 53:34 Got the approval of the Father. Came down 40 days, right? 53:38 Forty days with the disciples. Yes. 53:41 And then the resurrection. Wow! 53:45 Ah, the resurrection is so vividly described 53:50 in Psalm the 24th chapter. 53:54 Psalm 24. 53:59 The angels welcomed Him as He ascended the Mount of Olives, 54:03 right? 54:05 The disciples looked up: "This same Jesus will come again 54:09 as you have seen Him go. " 54:10 And the angels took Him out of their sight. 54:13 And other angels, a group of angels, stayed at the city 54:17 gate, the gates of New Jerusalem. 54:21 And the angels that accompanied Him 54:24 in verse 7- Psalm 24:7- "Lift up your heads 54:29 O ye gates and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, 54:32 that the King of Glory may come in. " 54:35 And they say: "Who is this King of Glory? " 54:38 I mean, don't they know? 54:39 Why do they ask the question? 54:42 Because they want to hear! 54:44 "Who is this King of Glory? " 54:47 "Oh, the Lord... the Lord, strong and mighty, 54:52 mighty in battle. " But then that's not the full answer 54:56 so they say: "Lift up your gates; lift up your heads. 54:59 Be lift up, you everlasting doors. 55:02 King of Glory. Who is this King of Glory? 55:04 The Lord of Hosts. " The Lord of all the angels. 55:09 "The Lord of Hosts... He is the King of Glory. " 55:12 And so they open the gates and He goes in. 55:16 And they are ready to bow down and worship Him, 55:19 and He stops them. 55:26 Doesn't He deserve to be worshiped? 55:30 He's Lord... He's King. 55:33 He's returning home. 55:35 The Son of God. 55:40 OK. And so He waves them back until 55:45 He goes to the Father and the Father gives permission... 55:48 the Father gives permission. 55:51 Said: "Let all the angels of God worship Him. " 55:56 Oh, THEN He accepts the worship. 55:59 Only because the Father said so. 56:02 And if you could fast forward to I Corinthians the 15th chapter 56:08 after Christ has put down all sin, all authority, 56:13 and it's all over with, it says in I Corinthians 15 56:17 that He Himself will be subject unto God. 56:21 He himself will be subject unto God that God 56:24 may be all in all in all. 56:27 All through eternity He will be subject unto God. 56:31 He will have His human nature forever and ever. 56:34 The scars in His hands and His feet. 56:38 The scars on His forehead. 56:41 A scarred forehead will be there forever and ever: 56:45 the Humble One, the Meek One. 56:48 And so that's when the Father said: "Yes, every knee 56:52 should bow in heaven and in earth... 56:57 confess that Jesus Christ is Lord 57:01 to the glory of the Father. " |
Revised 2014-12-17