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Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC201636A
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01:30 >> It has stood the test of time. 01:34 God's book, the Bible, still relevant in today's complex 01:40 world. "It Is Written" -- sharing 01:45 messages of hope around the world. 01:49 ♪♪ 02:01 >> You know, this world has seen many powerful leaders in its history -- Confucius, Socrates, 02:08 Plato. You go through history and then you find others, like 02:12 Mao Tse-tung and Joseph Stalin, leaders who may not have been righteous individuals, but 02:18 leaders who changed the landscape of the world. And then you have people like 02:24 Winston Churchill, whose leadership during World War II was fundamental in saving 02:29 Europe. Leaders like Abraham Lincoln, who, in the United States, 02:33 helped during its great Civil War. And then, of course, 02:37 John Macdonald, the first prime minister of Canada, who helped shape the great nation of 02:44 Canada. But, today, I want to take you to the land of Israel to look at 02:49 a different leader, a leader who has transcended time. 02:55 Essayist James Allan Francis wrote about this leader in these 03:01 words. 04:33 Jesus has made an impact on the world since he came on the scene 04:37 that no one has ever matched that mark. As we celebrate the Christmas 04:46 holiday, we must understand Jesus is different. Jesus is different than any 04:51 other leader that has ever lived in history, because the Bible claims that not only was Jesus 04:57 born, but Jesus rose from the dead. And if Jesus rose from the dead, 05:02 he's more than just a mere human being in human history. He is divine. 05:09 That means that Jesus has the power over the grave. If Jesus rose from the dead and 05:14 if Jesus is divine, then his offer of eternal life is real. Throughout history, people have 05:22 died for the case of Christ. Even in modern times, people face persecution for the cause 05:28 of Christ. Jesus made a bold claim, which is ultimately the claim that led 05:33 to his crucifixion. In John 8:58, Jesus, in response to a question, said this. 05:48 Now, the first thing we must notice in this Christmas season is that Jesus used the name that 05:55 God used in the Old Testament. When Moses met God at the burning bush, Moses asked, "Whom 06:01 should I tell sent me?" And from that burning bush, a voice said, "I am who I am." 06:09 Literally, in the Hebrew, it says, "I am who I am and I will be who I will be." 06:16 And now Jesus used the very same language, which means he made a claim to being the very 06:24 divinity, the very divine son of God. But, beyond that, in the Greek 06:29 language, Jesus used what is called the emphatic "I." In Greek, the word for "I" is 06:36 the word "egó." And then the "to be" verb in Greek is "eimai." 06:42 So, if you read this in the Greek, what it would literally say, in that original Greek 06:47 New Testament -- it would say, "Before Abraham was." And then, in the Greek, it would 06:51 say, "Egó eimai." Literally translated, it would say, "I -- I am." 07:00 What Jesus was doing there was -- he was using the grammar. He was using that grammar to 07:07 define exactly who he was. When they asked him, "Who are you?", he was responding, "I 07:15 exist. I am the self-existent one. I had no beginning. 07:19 I had no ending, because I am that self-existent one." Jesus made a claim to be divine. 07:31 And, so, Jesus invites us to investigate, to test, to see -- is he really the promised 07:39 self-existent, divine son of God? Now, today, we are going to look 07:44 at prophecies. And, remember, prophecy is all-existing to help us see that 07:50 God is who he says he was and is. And, in the same way, prophecies 07:55 about Jesus help us to understand that he is who he says he was. 07:59 Jesus' life was a life written beforehand. The Bible predicts where he was 08:06 born, how he would be born, the manner of his death, and also how he would be betrayed. 08:14 So, let's investigate some of these claims. In the Old Testament, in 08:20 Micah 5:2, the Bible says this about the birth of the Messiah. 08:37 Jesus' parents were not living in Bethlehem. They were living in the town of 08:42 Nazareth. But, you see, the Bible predicted that the Messiah would 08:45 come out of or be born in Bethlehem. Now, Nazareth was 90 miles, or 08:50 about 150 kilometers, from Bethlehem. It was a hilly and mountainous 08:55 terrain to go from Nazareth to Bethlehem. So, when Jesus was about to be 09:00 born, in a miracle of miracles, Joseph and Mary traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem, because 09:07 the Roman Empire called for a census to be done. When they went to Bethlehem for 09:13 the census, Mary was likely somewhere around 8 to 8 1/2 months pregnant. 09:18 Now, for any of our women listeners or viewers, how many of you, at 8 to 8 1/2 months 09:23 pregnant, would like to travel on the back of a horse or a donkey for that 90-mile journey? 09:31 But God knew beforehand. The Roman emperor called for a census at the right time, the 09:38 appointed time for Joseph and Mary to go to the appointed place so she could give birth to 09:43 the Messiah, the divine son of God. In addition to that, when they 09:47 went to Bethlehem, there was no room in the inn for them to stay. 09:51 Yet, they still stayed in Bethlehem, in fulfillment of prophecy, and they stayed there 09:56 at that stable. The Bible also predicted, though, that Jesus, the Messiah, 10:01 would be born of a virgin. Isaiah 7:14 says... 10:17 See, not only would Jesus be born in Bethlehem, but the Bible says he would be born of a 10:22 virgin. The testimony of the scripture is that Joseph and Mary had not 10:26 come to know one another. They had not had any relations with one another. 10:33 Yet, Mary was found to be with a child. Luke 1:30-31 tell us the story 10:40 of how this came about. 10:52 The Bible predicted that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, and, against all odds, Joseph and 10:57 Mary traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem, over 90 miles, that 150 kilometers. 11:03 In addition to that, the Bible said that Jesus would be born -- As the divine son of God, he 11:10 would be born to a virgin. Numbers 24:7, though, also says... 11:19 There would be a star that would lead the way and be cast over where Jesus was to be born. 11:26 Now, many of us know the story well. The Wise Men were led to Jesus 11:30 by a star. And if you're reading in the King James, it says "The Magi." 11:36 You remember that old hymn, "We Three Kings of Orient are." But the Magi, the Three Kings, 11:43 the three Wise Men -- they came to Jesus. It's important to note, in the 11:48 original Greek language, this word Magi is the Greek word "magus." 11:55 Now, when we study this Greek word, we find that this Greek word is taken from an old 12:00 Arcadian word. This old Arcadian word was used to describe Persian and 12:06 Babylonian wise men. Now, how is it possible that a Babylonian or Persian wise man 12:13 or a descendant of one of them would come to know of this star to follow to find the Messiah? 12:20 Now, if you get out a map of Jerusalem and you get out a map of Israel, to the east of Israel 12:26 is Persia, and to the east of Israel is also where Babylon existed. 12:32 How would the wise men from Babylon know that a star would lead them to the way of the 12:38 Messiah? How is that possible? 12:45 Well, you remember, from our studies, there was a Babylonian wise man who we've studied 12:51 about. His name was Daniel. And Daniel would have been 12:54 well-acquainted with the scriptures and especially those scriptures concerning the 12:59 Messiah. How would Babylonian wise men -- And, by the way, "magi" is where 13:04 we get the English word "magic." How would these Babylonian wise men, these Babylonian 13:10 astrologers, these Babylonian watchers of the stars -- how would they figure out that they 13:15 should follow a star to be led to the Messiah? My dear friends, it's because 13:21 600 years before the birth of Christ, a Babylonian wise man by the name of Daniel trained up a 13:26 generation of wise men and said, "Listen, this needs to be passed on amongst the wise men. 13:31 A star will come up out of Jacob. When you see that star, go to 13:36 that star, because this is the promised Messiah." And generation to generation had 13:43 passed on, and when the world was totally unprepared for the first coming of Christ, there 13:51 was a group of people who was ready for Jesus when he came. The lowly shepherds came to 13:57 Jesus. The religious leaders were not ready. 14:00 The religious scholars were not ready. But the lowly shepherds were 14:05 ready and these wise men. These wise men came from the east, followed the star, and 14:13 they brought gifts to Joseph and Mary. They brought gifts specifically 14:19 for the Messiah, the divine son of God. But then the Bible actually 14:24 predicts about the life of the Messiah. What would happen during his 14:30 life? Isaiah 61 tells us about the mission of Jesus. 14:54 When we read about the life of Jesus recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, 15:00 we find that Jesus went throughout the cities, towns, and villages, and, there, he 15:06 healed people. He touched the sick. He touched people that society 15:12 had called untouchable. Jesus forgave people, those people that society had thrown 15:18 to the side and said were unforgivable. Jesus even raised people from 15:22 the dead. He went to the tomb of his friend Lazarus and he 15:26 demonstrated what will happen for God's people at the end of time, where Jesus will break the 15:32 bonds of the grave and raise people to life everlasting. The Bible is clear about the 15:41 life of Jesus. The life of Jesus is like a puzzle that has been put 15:45 together -- perfect pieces everywhere. The Bible predicted where Jesus 15:51 would be born. The Bible predicted how Jesus would be born. 15:55 The Bible predicted how Jesus would live his life and his ministry. 15:58 But then there are those prophecies that speak about the end of the life of Jesus. 16:05 Psalm 41:9 predicted... 16:19 Jesus had a Passover supper, and there, at that Passover supper, Judas the Betrayer was there. 16:27 Judas broke bread with Jesus. He ate bread with Jesus. The Bible records that Jesus 16:34 washed the feet of Judas. But Judas had sold him out. Judas had made a deal with the 16:41 religious leaders, who were threatened by Jesus. They were threatened by Jesus 16:46 because Jesus was turning religion on its end. Jesus came to give a true 16:51 interpretation of the scriptures that had been so distorted. But he had been sold out by 16:57 Judas for 30 pieces of silver. The Book of Zechariah predicted that the Messiah would be sold 17:04 out for that very amount. 17:11 How is it that Zechariah would have known the price of a slave hundreds of years in advance? 17:16 500 years before Christ, how is it possible that Zechariah could predict the purchase cost of a 17:23 slave being 30 pieces of silver? You know, friends, most of us couldn't envision paying the 17:30 prices we pay today for goods. But God knew. God knew well in advance what a 17:37 slave would cost. My dear friends, as we look at the life of Christ, we can only 17:41 come to one conclusion -- Christ is no common man. And this book, the Bible, is no 17:50 common book. Zechariah 11:13 says... 17:58 The Bible is very clear, and this prophecy is precise. It gives the amount, the result, 18:07 and the place, and what would happen in the fulfillment of prophecy. 18:12 Judas, after Jesus was arrested, took the pieces of silver, and, according to the Bible, he threw 18:19 them down in the temple and departed. 500 years in advance, Zechariah 18:24 wrote exactly what Judas would do. And they consulted together, the 18:30 Bible says, and what is it that they did? It should be no surprise to us. 18:34 Zechariah already told us what they would do. They bought the potter's field 18:39 to bury strangers in. In this prophecy that is in the last 24 hours of the life of 18:49 Jesus, every piece of it came true. And then Isaiah 50:6 says this. 19:03 Jesus, in that final journey to the cross, suffered the cruelest of punishment, as they laid into 19:08 his back, as they whipped him, as they pulled the very beard from his cheek. 19:16 Jesus fulfilling that scripture. "I did not hide my face from shame and spitting." 19:24 Jesus, being led to the cross, was beaten by the Roman soldiers, he was spat upon by 19:29 the people, in exact fulfillment of that prophecy of Isaiah, written hundreds of years in 19:36 advance. You see, even when the Roman government -- When the Roman 19:41 governor Pilate declared that Jesus was an innocent man, he was still sent to be killed. 19:48 Jesus was crucified. David wrote of his crucifixion in 1000 B.C., where he wrote, in 19:55 Psalm 22:16... 20:03 Now, some of us might say, "Oh, well, that's no big deal to predict crucifixion." 20:07 Here's the problem with that. Crucifixion was not an instrument of execution until 20:12 about 150 B.C. That is a full 850 years after David would write a prophecy 20:19 saying that Jesus would have his hands pierced, his feet pierced, his side pierced, and be 20:24 crucified. And let us also be clear when we talk of crucifixion. 20:30 What killed Jesus in the crucifixion was not physical pain, although, undoubtedly, 20:34 there was tremendous physical pain. Crucifixion was intended to be a 20:39 long, long death. The one being executed would be hung on the cross. 20:45 As they'd be hung on the cross, days would wear on, and as those days would wear on, their fluids 20:53 would begin to build up. An individual being crucified would then lean upon the cross 20:58 and try to slide themselves up so they could take a breath and breathe. 21:04 It is very likely that there are predator birds that were pecking away at the individual who was 21:10 dying on the cross. And the reason that Roman soldiers would break the legs of 21:14 these individuals, as they did with the two thieves, was then they could no longer press up 21:19 against the cross and slide up and get that breath. And then they would suffocate on 21:25 their own fluids. The Bible records, though, that Jesus died in what would be 21:29 deemed record time for someone being crucified. It's because Jesus didn't die of 21:34 the physical pain. Jesus died of a broken heart. He hung on that cross willing to 21:41 die for our sins. Prophecy tells us that Jesus, the divine son of God, was born 21:49 and that he died on our behalf. Even outside of the Bible, historians, like Josephus, who 21:56 was a Jewish historian that advised the eventual Roman emperor Vespasian, wrote these 22:02 words. 22:15 This is truly amazing, my dear friends. A Jewish historian calling Jesus 22:21 divine. He wrote these words. He appeared to them alive the 22:27 third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and 10,000 other wonderful things 22:32 concerning him. Tacitus, the Roman historian who lived through six Roman 22:38 emperors, wrote these words. 22:55 You see, friends, prophecy points out to us that Jesus was the divine son of God. 23:00 Historians tell us that Jesus was real and he really walked on this Earth. 23:04 Archaeology demonstrates that Jesus was real. And the question today is -- 23:12 what are you gonna do with that information on this day and in this time, where we celebrate 23:19 Christmas? What are we going to do? If none of that satisfies you, 23:27 Dr. James Strange of the University of Southern Florida, took up a study where he took 23:33 all of the prophecies that pointed to the Messiah and assigned each one of them a 23:38 probability that one person could fulfill that prophecy. And then he combined all of the 23:44 well over 100 prophecies of Jesus being the Messiah, one man fulfilling all 100. 23:51 The probability that one person could fulfill all of them is 1 with 123 zeroes after it. 24:03 This huge number is more than the number of atoms that exist in the universe, yet one man 24:11 fulfilled all of them. Jesus defies the probabilities, and Jesus fulfilled every last 24:19 prophecy of the Bible. And he came at the appointed time and in the appointed way. 24:27 You see, the great political, religious, and social leaders throughout history -- they all 24:31 remain in their tombs, but the tomb of Jesus is empty. Jesus is alive, and because 24:37 Jesus is alive, he can transform your life through his Holy Spirit. 24:42 Because Jesus is alive, he can solve your problems. Because Jesus is alive, he can 24:47 forgive your sins. Because Jesus is alive, he can change your life. 24:52 Because Jesus is alive, he can work miracles in your life. Because Jesus is alive, he can 24:58 break the chains of sin and death. Because Jesus is alive, he can 25:04 solve the problems of the world today. He can deliver. 25:09 He can deliver people from addictions, like alcohol and drugs. 25:13 Jesus can deliver us from the chains of immorality. Jesus can deliver us from the 25:19 bonds of materialism. Because Jesus is alive, he can deliver us from our religious 25:25 complacency. The Bible is accurate, friends. Jesus is the Messiah. 25:32 Prophecies have been fulfilled that Jesus would come at the appointed time. 25:37 The question is no longer whether this book is true. The question is -- will we take 25:43 what it says as true? Today, Jesus is reaching out, saying to you, "I stand at the 25:49 door of your heart and I knock. I'm coming soon, at the appointed time, and when I come 25:54 again, I will make all things right. When I come again, I will call 26:00 people from their graves. I'll call them in my name to come forth and live forever. 26:06 When the appointed time of Jesus' return comes, my dear friends, the question 26:11 is -- will we have answered the call that he has made? Will we have answered the door, 26:18 the knocking at our heart's door? When the appointed time happens 26:23 and Jesus comes bursting through the clouds of glory to take us home, where there's no dying, 26:29 where there is no more pain, there's no more suffering, will we be able to say, as we look to 26:35 the clouds, "Lo, our redemption has drawn near. Take me home, Jesus." 26:42 Jesus has fulfilled prophecy at the appointed times and in the appointed ways. 26:49 And now he is utilizing appointed times in your life to help you be prepared for that 26:55 day, that day when he will come again. Will you be ready? 26:59 Why not reach out your hand to him today and embraced the renewed life that Jesus offers? 27:10 Heavenly Father, in this season where we celebrate the birth of your son, Jesus, who came to 27:16 this Earth to save us, today, we want to reach out our hands, accept the gift that Jesus has 27:22 offered, and live a life for him and be ready for the appointed time of his return. 27:32 We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. My dear friends, in this 27:40 Christmas season, amidst the family, the friends, the trees, the celebrations, the 27:48 decorations, the gifts, the ultimate gift is the gift of salvation that Jesus has 27:56 offered. As we have studied the Bible today, we have seen that Jesus 28:00 came at the appointed time, he came in the appointed way to deliver us as a people. 28:09 Today, I want to offer you the DVD "The Ultimate Timeline." In that DVD, you'll have the 28:15 opportunity to see fulfilled prophecy after fulfilled prophecy after fulfilled 28:21 prophecy that Jesus is the Messiah. He is the son of God. 28:26 And if he is the son of God, we can trust his offer of eternal life. 28:34 Here's the information you need to receive today's offer. 28:38 >> To request today's offer, just log on to 28:41 www.ItIsWrittenCanada.ca. If you prefer, you may call 28:46 toll-free, at 1-888-CALL-IIW. >> You know, it's often said, 28:52 "It's better to give than to receive." Friends, in this Christmas 28:56 season, where we celebrate the birth of Christ and the ultimate gift he has given, I want to 29:00 encourage you. I want to encourage you to share with others this gift of 29:04 salvation. And one way you can do that is tell people about the 29:07 "It Is Written Canada" website, ItIsWrittenCanada.ca. There, you'll find resources to 29:13 help grow in your spiritual life, or you can point them to the "It Is Written Canada" 29:17 YouTube channel, youtube.com/iiwcanada. I'm so glad that you've joined 29:24 us today. I hope that you've found joy in Jesus. 29:28 I invite you to join us again next week. Until then, remember, it is 29:33 written. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that 29:39 proceeds from the mouth of God." ♪♪ |
Revised 2017-12-16