Participants: Pr. Jac Colon
Series Code: RN
Program Code: RN000013
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01:05 In the 4th chapter of Revelation, verse 6,
01:14 John wrote, I saw a lamb looking as if 01:20 he had been slain standing in the 01:24 center of the throne, a pitiful, poor, bleeding, 01:34 slain lamb standing in the center of the throne. 01:43 In Revelation chapter 17, the ten horns you saw, 01:48 verse 12, are 10 kings who have not yet 01:52 received a kingdom, but who for one hour 01:54 will receive authority as kings along with the 01:58 beast and they have one purpose and 02:00 they'll give their power and authority to the beast 02:03 and they will make war against the lamb. 02:10 All the kings of the earth, the powerful beast 02:16 united together in one purpose and that is to make 02:21 war against the lamb, the pitiful, poor, 02:24 bleeding lamb what chance does a lamb 02:26 have against the beast and the kings of the earth. 02:32 But, the lamb will overcome them. 02:38 How? How does the lamb overcome them? 02:42 Who is the lamb? Because he is Lord of Lords 02:47 and King of Kings, the lamb is Jesus. 02:51 And he is Lord of Lords, he is King of Kings 02:54 and with him are his called and chosen followers, 02:57 those who follow the lamb are with him 02:59 and those who follow the lamb will be victorious 03:03 against the beast and the kings of the earth. 03:09 Who is the lamb? The lamb is Jesus, who is Jesus? 03:15 Revelation chapter 22 verse 16, 03:18 I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you 03:21 this testimony for the churches. 03:23 I am the root and the offspring of David 03:29 and the bright morning star, I'm the root of David, 03:32 I'm the offspring of David, how can Jesus be 03:36 the root of David and the offspring of David? 03:39 how can Jesus be the root of David? 03:41 David would have come through him, how can he 03:44 be the offspring of Jesus coming from David? 03:47 How can he be both the root and the offspring of David? 03:51 Because, he is God, 03:52 the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. 03:55 In chapter 1 of Revelation, verse 18, 03:57 in chapter 1 verse 18, John had just seen Jesus 04:01 in vision and he fell down to the feet of the 04:05 angel of Jesus as though he were dead and he placed 04:09 his right hand on him and he said 04:11 don't be afraid I am first, I am the first and the last, 04:17 I am the living one, I was dead 04:19 and behold I'm alive forever and ever. 04:23 Who is Jesus? Jesus is the first and the last. 04:33 He was alive, but then he died 04:37 and now he is alive again. 04:41 He has to be the Son of God, 04:47 but yet he said, I am the first and the last. 04:56 Who is the first and the last? 04:59 What does that mean? 05:01 Remember the Book of Revelation quotes to or 05:03 alludes to the Old Testament over how many times? 05:07 This is another one of those 600 times. 05:11 Isaiah, chapter 44, in Isaiah chapter 44, verse 6, 05:16 this is what the Lord says. 05:17 Now notice the word Lord is in all capital letters 05:22 in my Bible that's significant because 05:25 in the New International version when the word 05:27 Lord is in all capital letters that means it 05:30 translates what is called the Tetragrammaton, 05:34 the Tetragrammaton is for a word consisting of 05:38 four consonants and no vowels and the 05:42 four consonants the JHVH, try pronouncing that, 05:49 you can't pronounce it, it's unpronounceable 05:52 that's the idea, it's unpronounceable 05:55 because they felt that pronouncing the name 05:57 of God would be blasphemy that's why 06:00 they wrote it in an unpronounceable way 06:02 JHVH, so that every time they came to the 06:05 Tetragrammaton they couldn't accidentally 06:08 say the name of God because it was 06:10 unpronounceable, but when the Bible was translated 06:13 into English they have to somehow put something 06:16 there that we could read when we came to it. 06:18 So, there was another name for God called Adonai. 06:24 They took the vowels from Adonai 06:29 and place them in the Tetragrammaton JHVH 06:34 and they got the name Jehovah. 06:39 The Lord God Jehovah, is simply a manufactured name 06:45 that we could pronounce when it translates 06:48 the Tetragrammaton of the name of God. 06:52 And so here is Jehovah, this is what the Lord 06:57 Jehovah says that God Almighty 07:00 Israel's king and redeemer, the Lord Almighty, 07:03 I am the first and the last. 07:11 Now, either we have two firsts and lasts, 07:17 which can't be or Jesus is the Lord God Almighty. 07:27 Jesus is the first and the last the Lord God Almighty. 07:35 Yes, there is a father and he is God 07:40 and there is the Son Jesus Christ and he too is God, 07:45 and there is the Holy Spirit and he is God, 07:49 the three become one God. 07:53 The Lord our God is one and when God 07:57 said let us make man in our image 07:59 the Father was there, the Son was there, 08:02 the Holy Spirit was there, 08:03 hovering over the deep, but it was the Son of God 08:06 that knelt down, formed the body of man 08:09 from the dust of the ground, 08:10 breathed into that body the breath of life, 08:12 watched him become a living soul, 08:14 it was the Son of God, the Lord God Almighty 08:17 Jehovah, who became a man to live in this world 08:23 for us, what a God we serve! 08:29 And one of the most favorite of all the 08:32 prophecies in the Old Testament 08:36 prophesying the appearance of the Messiah, 08:39 the Lord God Jesus Christ is in Isaiah chapter 7 verse 14, 08:45 the virgin will be with child and give 08:48 birth to a son and will call him Immanuel. 08:52 A virgin would conceive and give birth to a son 08:55 his name would be Immanuel, 08:58 already in the Old Testament 09:00 the Bible says that when the Messiah 09:02 appears he will be born of a virgin, 09:04 his name Immanuel, Immanuel was a Hebrew 09:07 word actually three Hebrew words. 09:09 In Hebrew, the word IM means 'with', 09:13 MANU means 'us', and EL means 'God'. 09:20 His name will be, 'God with us.' 09:26 A virgin will conceive and give birth to a son 09:31 so that the omnipotent, almighty, all powerful God 09:35 can become man and be with us, 09:40 what a God we serve! 09:44 And we find the remarkable fulfillment 09:46 of this prophecy in the Gospel of Luke 09:50 in one place anyway in the New Testament, 09:52 one of my favorites is the Gospel of Luke 09:54 chapter 1 verse 26, in the six month 09:57 God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in 10:00 Galilee to a virgin pledged to be married 10:04 to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. 10:09 The virgin's, Mary, the virgin's name was Mary, 10:12 now remember Jesus would be the root and 10:16 the offspring of David, the root of David because he 10:19 was God and now he would be a descendent of David. 10:25 The angel went to Mary and said greetings, 10:27 you who are highly favored the Lord is with you. 10:30 Mary greatly troubled as you can imagine, 10:33 be awakened from your sleep, there is an angel 10:35 saying greetings the Lord is with you. 10:38 Mary says, what's this? what kind of greeting 10:41 is this? But the angel said, don't be afraid 10:45 Mary you've found favor with God, 10:52 you will be with child and give birth to a son, 10:54 and you are to give him the name Jesus, 10:59 and he will be great and he will be called 11:02 the son of the most high, the Lord God 11:06 will give him the throne of his father David 11:11 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever 11:14 and his kingdom will never end. 11:18 Imagine, a young girl perhaps like 11:23 some of you here this evening, awakened 11:28 in the middle of the night, a virgin and the angel says 11:34 don't be afraid Mary, I've good news for you, 11:37 you're gonna have a child, and he will be 11:41 the son of the most high God. 11:44 Imagine the thoughts that must have 11:47 gone through the mind of Mary. 11:52 Now, I know one thought she was thinking, 11:54 it tells us right here, 11:56 how can this be? she said, I'm a virgin. 12:03 And the angel answered the Holy Spirit will come 12:08 upon you and the power of the most high God 12:13 will overshadow you so that the Holy One 12:17 to be born will be called the Son of God. 12:25 The Holy Spirit will conceive, the power of 12:30 the most high God will come over you 12:34 and the Holy One to be born will be called 12:38 the Son of God, what unsearchable love 12:41 we can't begin to plumb the depths of God's love. 12:47 And I believe, I believe that sometimes 12:50 we're so afraid of placing Mary in such a high 12:55 unwarranted place as some do that we don't even 12:59 recognize what God accomplished through Mary. 13:04 And maybe we ought to think a little more of the 13:07 life of this young girl, who was dramatically 13:12 changed forever and she became the mother of the 13:16 Son of God, Jesus, who was God 13:24 became a man just like the men that he created. 13:30 So, that he could be among us 13:32 and show us what God is really like. 13:39 What a sacrifice, what a price he had to pay 13:43 to give up the throne of the Universe 13:45 and to live in this sinful world and I believe that 13:49 so many times we overemphasize the divinity 13:51 of Christ that we fail to recognize his humanity. 13:56 He was a man, he was God and 14:01 he was man and he set aside his divinity, 14:09 it was there, he was always God, he never gave it up, 14:13 he never stopped being God, but he set it aside, 14:16 he refused to use it, in order to demonstrate that 14:20 a human being could in fact be 14:23 obedient to the Father and the law of God. 14:29 What a God! He was just like us, 14:34 we see pictures of Jesus in a white robe, 14:36 immaculate, spotless, clean every hair and place, 14:39 the halo of light above his head, 14:41 he wasn't that way, he was the carpenter's son, 14:43 he worked in a carpenter shop, 14:45 his hands must have been rough and callus, 14:47 he lived in a hot desert country, I'm sure his 14:50 robe was stained with sweat, his feet dirty 14:53 from the burning sand, he was a man. 14:55 Isaiah said there was nothing about him that 14:58 men should desire him, if you saw Jesus walking 15:00 down a desert road with his disciples 15:03 there would be no way for you to know that 15:04 he was the Son of God except as the father 15:07 revealed it to you, he was a man, 15:11 he was a man just like us. 15:13 The Bible says in Hebrews the 15:15 4th chapter and the 15th verse in Hebrews 15:18 chapter 4, in verse 15, he says we do not have a 15:25 high priest who was unable to sympathize with our 15:27 weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted 15:31 in every way just as we are yet he was without sin. 15:36 Now, I want you to notice something 15:38 here it does not say he did not sin. 15:42 We know he did not sin, Jesus never sinned, 15:46 not in word, not in action, not even in thought, 15:49 he did not sin, but that's not 15:51 what it says here, it says he was without sin. 15:56 That's something far deeper than not sinning, 15:59 we are not without sin, we are born sinful, 16:04 we are born with a natural tendency to be 16:06 selfish, to be sinful, to do things for ourselves 16:11 and not to be, not to be the kind of a person 16:15 who is committed and surrendered to God, 16:18 we are not born that way, we need to be born again. 16:23 But, Jesus was born that way, he was born 16:26 the Holy One the Bible says. 16:29 He didn't have the same sinful tendencies 16:33 that we have, he was without sin. 16:36 Yet, somehow he was tempted in every way 16:40 just as you and I are. 16:42 How can that be? How could he be tempted 16:45 just like you and I and be without sin, 16:49 how can he be the Holy One and be tempted 16:51 like us, he was never hooked on cigarettes, 16:54 he was never hooked on drugs, he was never hooked 16:57 on pornography, we know that when we sin one time 17:00 it degrades us, making it easier to do it again. 17:03 Jesus never experienced the degradation of sin, 17:07 how could he be tempted in every way just as we are. 17:14 In Luke 3rd chapter verse 21, 17:20 the Bible doesn't tell us a lot about 17:22 the early childhood of Jesus. 17:25 But, in Luke chapter 3 verse 21, 17:29 it says when all the people were 17:30 being baptized, Jesus was baptized. 17:33 We already studied about that and 17:36 as he was praying heaven was opened 17:39 and the Holy Spirit descended on him 17:41 in bodily form like a dove and a voice came 17:44 from heaven saying you are my son 17:48 whom I love and with you I am well pleased, 17:51 he heard the voice of his father proclaiming 17:54 that he was the Son of God, remember Jesus had laid 17:58 aside his divinity, he was a man, 18:01 he lived his life as a man just like you and I, 18:05 but when he was baptized he heard the voice of 18:08 his father in heaven saying you are my son 18:14 and then he was led off into the wilderness, 18:17 chapter 4 verse 1, full of the Holy Spirit 18:20 he returned from the Jordan led by the spirit 18:22 into the desert, where for 40 days 18:24 he was tempted by the Devil; he ate nothing 18:28 during those days and at the end of them he was hungry. 18:32 Oh! I don't have any problem believing that. 18:35 I haven't eaten in for hours and I'm hungry, 18:39 40 days without eating remember he set aside 18:44 his divinity, he couldn't use it for his own benefit, 18:48 he couldn't use it for his own power, 18:50 he laid it down and there he was 18:52 40 days praying and fasting. 18:55 Imagine how he must have looked after 40 days 18:58 without eating, weak and frail, 19:02 first wind comes along, blows him away. 19:08 Who do you think is always there 19:11 when we're weak in our weakened condition? 19:15 The Devil comes, what a coward! 19:20 He waits until it looks like we can't 19:21 defend ourselves and then he comes, 19:24 he is not afraid to kick when we're down 19:26 and so he appears before Jesus and he said to him 19:29 in verse 3, if you are the Son of God 19:32 tell this stone to become bread. 19:36 And Jesus was tempted in every way just as we are. 19:41 I've never been tempted to turn stones into bread 19:48 because I can't, but he could have, 19:54 he could have done it. 19:56 But in order to do it, he would have to pick up 20:00 that divine power that he laid down and do it as God, 20:05 not as a man and had he done that he would have 20:10 demonstrated that a human being cannot survive 20:16 the temptations of the Devil, 20:17 a human being cannot live on this planet 20:21 in obedience to God the Father, 20:23 he couldn't take up his divine power 20:25 to save himself, he had to be a man. 20:34 And so the Devil, so Jesus said to the Devil, 20:38 it is written, man does not live on bread alone. 20:43 Now, do you want to know the secret 20:44 as how to withstand temptation? 20:46 There it is, it is written, all you need to do is 20:52 understand the scripture, but in order to say that you 20:55 have to know what is written that's why we need to spend 20:57 time in the word of God with Jesus everyday. 21:00 It is written man doesn't live by bread alone. 21:05 And then the Devil led him to a high place 21:07 and he showed him in an instant 21:08 all the kingdoms of the world and he said to him 21:10 I'll give you all of their authority 21:12 and splendor because it's been given to me 21:13 and I can give it to anyone I want to. 21:15 So, if you worship me it will all be yours. 21:19 I've never been offered all the kingdoms of the world. 21:25 The truth is I gave in 21:27 long before he ever had to get to that point. 21:32 We sell out for mere pittance, 21:37 Jesus withstood to the very end. 21:42 But, I want you to see what really happened here, 21:46 how does Jesus withstand temptation once again? 21:50 Watch this, it is written worship 21:53 the Lord your God and serve him only. 21:58 Now watch what's happening, 22:01 he is the Devil, Jesus is weak, 22:02 he is frail, if you are the Son of God. 22:08 Oh! Notice the implication of doubt, 22:11 if you are the Son of God turn the stones into bread, 22:18 he was planting seeds of doubt in the mind of Jesus, 22:24 you think you're the Son of God? 22:28 man you look like if a good stiff wind 22:31 comes along you'll just blow away. 22:34 Now remember, the Devil was not standing there, 22:37 dressed in his little red jump suit 22:39 with two horns on his head, a long tail with an arrow 22:42 on the end and a pitchfork in his hand, no. 22:45 He appears how, masqueraded as an angel of light. 22:52 And so here is this beautiful angel of light, 22:54 here is Jesus in his weakened condition, 22:55 if you are the Son of God, you think you're the 22:59 Son of God, if you're the Son of God 23:00 you wouldn't be looking like this, 23:02 he wouldn't let this happened to you, 23:03 look at me I'm the beautiful angel, 23:05 you're the fallen angel, I'm the Son of God, 23:07 worship me and I'll give you everything. 23:10 You see, he is a master at taking things 23:13 that are wrong and making them look right 23:15 and taking things that are right and making them 23:17 look wrong, everything inside of Jesus, 23:20 everything he saw, everything he felt, 23:23 everything he heard was saying that, that is true, 23:26 I don't look like the Son of God, 23:27 I don't feel like a Son of God, 23:29 he looks like a Son of God, 23:31 but Jesus knew he was the Son of God. 23:35 How did he know? Remember, he set aside 23:39 his divinity, here's how he knew, 23:43 he had just heard the voice 23:46 of his father saying you are my son. 23:53 The Devil was just trying to get him to doubt 23:58 God's word and in that way you and I are tempted 24:04 in every way as he was, he is tempted in every way 24:08 as we are, because temptation is nothing 24:11 more than the attempt by the Devil 24:14 for you to doubt God's word. 24:20 And he wasn't finished yet, 24:23 he comes to Jesus and he says in verse 9, 24:28 he led him to Jerusalem, had him stand 24:29 on the highest point of the temple, 24:31 if you're the Son of God, 24:32 there he goes again, if you are the Son of God 24:36 then throw yourself down from here; prove it. 24:40 Now watch this, because it is written, 24:45 who is speaking, the Devil, 24:48 it is written he'll command his angels 24:50 concerning you to guard you carefully, 24:51 they'll lift you up in their hands 24:53 so you'll not strike your foot on a stone, 24:54 just throw yourself off, the angels are going to 24:56 catch you, the Bible says so 24:57 it's written, it is written, 24:59 don't be surprised if the Devil says it is written, 25:04 don't be surprised if the Devil quotes scripture. 25:08 He knows it better than you do folks, 25:10 he has been around a lot longer than you have 25:11 and he'd seen it all unfold. 25:17 And so Jesus said, I like the way Matthew remembered it. 25:21 Jesus said, it is also written, 25:24 don't put the Lord your God to the test. 25:26 Folks, it isn't enough to know what is written, 25:29 we need to know what is also written, 25:32 you understand what that means? 25:34 It means compare scripture with scripture. 25:37 Can't just take one text and say that's it, 25:40 you need to know what else the Bible says 25:43 and Jesus knew what else, he knew what is also written, 25:46 you should know what is also written, 25:48 temptation is nothing more than the temptation, 25:51 and the attempt by the Devil to get you to believe 25:54 something other than the word of God. 25:58 But, God doesn't want us to put him to the test, 26:00 he wants us to believe what he says 26:02 no matter what we see, no matter what we hear, 26:06 no matter what we feel on the inside, 26:08 no matter what everybody on earth is telling you, 26:11 God wants you to believe what he says. 26:16 God said it, I believe it, it's good enough for me. 26:23 So, many times people come to me saying, 26:26 if what you're saying is true, 26:28 why doesn't everybody else believe it? 26:30 A meaningless question; a meaningless question. 26:38 The question should be, what does the Bible say. Amen. 26:46 And that way Jesus was tempted just like you and I. 26:52 What a man! He went on from there, 26:55 hadn't even done his first miracle yet, 26:57 but he went home and one day after he finished 27:00 doing his work in the carpenter shop, 27:02 he came into the house, his mom was just sorting 27:05 through the mail noticed a little envelope 27:07 with gold trim around the edges 27:09 in nice handwritten calligraphy and oh! 27:12 that's an invitation, mom, who is it? 27:14 What is it? and she opens it and reads it, 27:18 it's a wedding invitation, she says your cousin 27:20 in Cana is getting married, what do you think, 27:23 should we go? oh! Let's go. 27:26 Why did Jesus want to go to the wedding? 27:29 A wedding is a place where people are happy, 27:32 it's a place where they're celebrating, 27:34 you know I see so many pictures of Jesus with a 27:37 long solemn face, I think Jesus was a happy man. Amen. 27:41 And the fact that he went to the wedding, 27:43 where people are happy means 27:44 that he wants to be with happy people. 27:47 What kind of man was Jesus, he was a happy man. 27:52 But it isn't all. He was also strong 27:59 and brave, a courageous man. 28:04 He had been working all day one time 28:06 with disciples and he decided, 28:10 he decided that it was time to take a little break 28:13 so they jump in the boat and 28:17 they row across the sea of Galilee, 28:20 pulled the boat up on the beach and 28:21 then looking around for a little place to go 28:23 to rest and just relax away from the crowd 28:28 and when they turned to walk up the beach they saw, 28:32 they saw this man come running towards them 28:35 long wild hair, eyes blazing like demons, 28:39 chains dangling from his wrist and from his ankles, 28:41 he was a man possessed by demons, 28:44 his name was Legion because he was possessed 28:46 by a legion of demons and he is bearing down 28:48 on the disciples and Jesus, and 28:51 can't you just kind of see the disciples? 28:53 Oh! They see this guy coming, 28:54 Oh! They turn around, they run, 28:56 they jump in their boat, roll back out in the water 28:59 and they look back and there's Jesus, 29:02 he is still standing there straight and tall, 29:07 he wasn't scared of the demons, Jesus was fearless. 29:14 In fact, the demons were scared of him 29:20 and they said oh! We know who you are, 29:21 you're the Son of God, get us out of here, 29:22 cast us out, even into that 29:24 herd of pigs and Jesus cast out 29:26 the demons in the herd of pigs, 29:27 the disciples looked again and they saw 29:30 the man sitting there in his right mind. 29:34 Little sanctified imagination 29:36 can't you see him quietly rowing that 29:38 boat back to the shore, slipping up there 29:40 behind Jesus, hoping that he didn't see 29:42 they have turned and runaway, what a man! 29:48 Happy, cheerful yet fearless, brave, 29:56 not even afraid of demons. 30:00 And yet at the same time 30:04 there was no man on this earth 30:08 more compassionate than Jesus. 30:13 He understood, somehow even though 30:18 he never sinned he understood 30:21 what it was like to be like us; he understands us. 30:28 One day a group of the priests and 30:31 the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the area, 30:34 oh!, they were so righteous in their own eyes. 30:39 They found a filthy woman, guilty of adultery, 30:45 dragged her to Jesus, casting down, 30:48 her down before his feet and triumphantly 30:54 declaring, ''we've found her guilty of adultery, 30:58 Moses says, that we should stone her 31:01 '' What do you say we should do?'' 31:06 You see they had him, didn't matter how 31:11 he answered, they had him. 31:14 If he said stone her, well all they needed 31:19 to do was turn him into the Romans because 31:22 it was illegal for a Jew to do capital punishment. 31:27 If he said let her go, well, they had him again, 31:33 they could discredit him with all of the rest 31:36 of the people for ignoring Moses. 31:41 He doesn't care about the Bible. 31:42 He does not follow the Bible. 31:44 You see either way, no matter how he 31:46 answered oh! they had him. 31:48 They couldn't wait for him to answer. 31:50 They are standing there, 31:51 holding their breath, waiting to celebrate. 31:57 They weren't prepared for the answer that he gave. 32:00 At first, he didn't say anything. 32:05 He just knelt down in the sand 32:08 and he began to write with his finger. 32:12 Bible doesn't say what he wrote, just says he wrote. 32:19 And after a little bit, he looked up at those men 32:22 and he said, okay. Let the one that standing 32:26 among you, who is without sin cast the first stone, 32:32 then he started writing again. 32:35 Now it doesn't say what he wrote, 32:38 but whatever it was he was writing, 32:41 they didn't like it because it does say that 32:46 one by one they began to make excuses, 32:49 one said, oh! I got a doctor appointment in 10 minutes 32:52 I'm going to have to run, another oh! I got to go 32:54 pick up my wife she gets off work 32:55 in just a few minutes, pick up my wife, 32:57 another one says, yeah, I got to go too, 32:59 I've been pretty busy I got other things to do 33:01 and pretty soon there wasn't anybody left 33:04 except Jesus and the woman, and he said 33:09 isn't there anybody here to condemn you 33:13 and she said no and Jesus said, 33:18 neither do I condemn you. 33:21 Now you go, don't do it anymore. 33:28 He didn't say I forgive you now you can go do it again. 33:33 He said neither do I condemn you. 33:38 Now go and sin no more. 33:42 What a man! Took this attempt 33:46 to destroy and crush a life and changed it 33:49 to an opportunity to save a soul. 33:53 That's the kind of man Jesus was. 33:59 You want to know what he wrote 34:01 in the sand, do you? I do too. 34:11 The Bible doesn't tell us what he wrote, 34:14 but I'll tell you what I think he wrote 34:17 now I'm not preaching anymore, I'm speculating. 34:21 So, don't hold me to this, this is just 34:23 my speculation, I think it's pretty accurate. 34:28 Whatever it was he wrote they didn't like it, 34:32 because they started making excuses and they left. 34:37 And remember what he said, 34:38 let the one who is without sin 34:41 cast the first stone and start writing again. 34:45 I think he was listing their sins in the sand. 34:49 That's what I think and I'll tell you something else. 34:53 I wouldn't be surprised to find out that one of those 34:57 men or may be more than one were the one's 34:59 guilty of committing adultery with that woman. 35:04 Now how do I know that? I don't know that. 35:08 But, I understand human nature 35:10 enough to read in between the lines here 35:12 and when I get to heaven I'm going 35:13 to find out, I got it on my list of things 35:16 to ask Jesus what did you write in the sand? 35:20 Now, I'm preaching again, alright, 35:22 I want to make a distinction here, 35:25 preaching again, what I'm 35:26 about to say is absolute truth. 35:29 No doubt about it, Jesus was a 35:31 compassionate man, brave man. 35:36 When those Pharisees needed 35:37 to be unmasked, Jesus was the one 35:39 who was strong enough to do it. 35:43 Matthew 23, verse 25, Woe to you, 35:46 teachers of the law of Pharisees, 35:47 you hypocrites! This is a strong language. 35:51 You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, 35:53 but inside they are full of greed 35:55 and self-indulgence you blind Pharisee, 35:58 first clean the inside of the cup 36:00 and the dish then the outside will also be clean. 36:03 Woe to you, you teachers of the law, you Pharisees, 36:06 you hypocrites! You are like whitewash tombs 36:08 which look beautiful on the outside, but inside 36:11 are full of dead man's bones and everything 36:14 unclean. In the same way on the outside 36:16 you appear to people as righteous, 36:19 but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy 36:21 and wickedness, you snakes, 36:24 you brood of vipers how will you 36:26 escape being condemned to hell. 36:30 Strong words, but they needed 36:34 to be said and he was the one who wasn't afraid 36:38 to say it, but you know from what 36:40 I understand about Jesus I've got to believe that 36:44 when Jesus spoke those words. There were 36:47 tears in his eyes because he loved those Pharisees. 36:54 He loved those hypocrites. He loved them enough 36:58 to die on the cross to save them. 37:02 That's the kind of a man Jesus was, 37:05 bold and brave, compassionate. 37:10 You know, there is something about a man, 37:12 a sense of completeness about a man 37:15 who can meet any emergency like Jesus did with 37:19 steel nerves and cool headedness and yet 37:22 not be so bold and brave and fearless 37:25 and callus that he wasn't ashamed to let a tear 37:28 trickle down his cheek at the graveside of a friend. 37:34 Shortest verse in the Bible, John 11:35, 37:37 Jesus standing by the tomb of his friend 37:39 Lazarus with his two sisters, Mary and Martha whipping 37:43 and the Bible says Jesus wept. 37:48 He understood sorrow. He understood loss. 37:53 He had emotions and feelings like we do. 37:57 He wept and yet he was so tender hearted 38:03 that even the children loved Jesus. 38:08 Did you know that adults can fool other adults? 38:14 Make you think you like them when may be you 38:16 don't, did you know that. But did you know 38:21 that you can't fool children. 38:26 They can see right through it. 38:30 And the fact that the children loved Jesus 38:33 proves that he loved them. They wanted to be 38:38 around him. They were always coming to Jesus 38:41 and the disciples would shoo away, we don't need 38:43 you here, Jesus said, don't you do that? 38:46 These are the precious ones in my kingdom. 38:50 And I like to see pictures in my mind of Jesus 38:53 sitting under a shade of palm tree in the 38:55 hot desert country with children sitting on his lap 38:59 telling them stories about his father in heaven, 39:02 or may be fixing a broken finger 39:05 and may be even praying for a sick pet. Jesus was a 39:12 compassionate, tender hearted man, human enough, 39:19 human enough to have physical needs we have 39:23 working all day comes in and he says 39:25 what you have to eat, I'm hungry, isn't 39:27 that just like a real man. Understood it so much that 39:31 when the disciples had been out fishing all night 39:33 there he was on the beach, he had breakfast ready 39:34 for them. Because he understood they'd be hungry. 39:41 I think he also had a need for human attention 39:46 and affection like we do. You know, Jesus never 39:51 complained not for one moment, not in word, 39:54 not in thought, never complained but I believe 39:58 at times when the curtain is kind of pulled aside 40:00 in scripture, we can catch a glimpse of a lonely man. 40:06 Perhaps it was a time like that when 40:11 an intelligent, good looking, well dressed 40:13 young man came to Jesus and he said, master I think 40:18 you got something going here. This looks to me 40:22 like you really have the makings of something 40:25 that is gonna grow and be big and there gonna 40:28 be a lot of funds coming in and you need somebody 40:32 to help with the finances, you need a CPA, 40:35 I'm a CPA. I can do all the book work for you 40:37 why don't you take me on. His name was Judas, 40:43 maybe it was a time like that when Jesus said, 40:46 you know, foxes have their holes, the birds 40:51 of the air have their nests, but the son of man 40:55 doesn't even have a place to lay his head. 40:59 Yeah, he was a lonely man. But you know i think 41:05 the thing I like best about Jesus was that 41:10 a hard burdened preacher, an evangelist, who 41:16 really cared about the souls that he was trying to win. 41:22 One of my favorite stories about Jesus is 41:25 when he and his disciples were approaching 41:26 the City of Jerusalem. And all of a sudden he stopped, 41:33 he said, I want you to go into town and he gave him 41:36 an address and he says go there and you're gonna 41:39 find an unbroken donkey, go get it, bring it here. 41:46 Oh! Disciples couldn't get down there quick enough, 41:49 they knew about that prophecy in Zachariah, 41:52 that said the Messiah would ascend to the throne 41:54 of David riding on the back of an unbroken colt, 41:57 so they thought now finally, now he is going to 42:00 become the Son of God, now he is going to become 42:04 the Messiah, now he is going to start acting 42:05 like a Messiah, now he is going to ascend to the 42:08 throne of David, now he is going to build Israel 42:11 into a mighty nation, now he will assemble a mighty army, 42:14 now he will crush the yoke of Roman oppression. 42:16 Oh! They raced into town, they couldn't get there 42:19 quick enough and they found it right there. 42:23 They brought that colt back to Jesus. 42:25 He climbed on that colt and he began to ride 42:28 into town. Oh! You know in undeveloped towns, 42:31 it's amazing how rapidly the word spreads. 42:33 Everybody knows what's going on 42:35 and the whole town gathers out there to greet him, 42:38 they pressed in close to Jesus and they see the 42:40 disciples just right there, right next to him. 42:42 They had been arguing about who was gonna to be 42:44 in the kingdom and so there they were next to Jesus. 42:47 They wanted to be the Vice-President. 42:49 They wanted to be Secretary of State. 42:51 They wanted to be Treasurer and there 42:53 they were getting as close as they could to Jesus. 42:54 They were going into town. Everybody is there, they're 42:57 lying out their cloaks before him, they were throwing 42:59 the palm branches in his path, they're putting 43:02 the flowers in the way and they were singing out 43:04 ''hosanna, hosanna, blessed it is the one who comes 43:06 in the name of the Lord'' and Jesus is 43:09 riding in to ascend to the throne of the Messiah. 43:12 Finally, he'll crush the yoke of Roman oppression. 43:15 The whole city is there. CNN is there 43:17 with their cameras and their microphones sticking 43:19 in his face and he stops, and hear a pin drop. 43:31 Everybody is standing on their tiptoes, 43:34 straining to hear, his kingly proclamation, 43:39 straining to see the kingly expression on his face, 43:44 but they didn't see a kingly expression on his face. 43:50 They saw tears. As he looked at the multitude 43:56 and he said, ''Oh! Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 44:04 how many times I would gather you in like a 44:07 mother hen gathers her baby chicks, 44:13 but you won't come. He looked at the rich 44:19 young man. Who turned away because he felt like it 44:23 would cost too much to follow Jesus. 44:27 The pretty socialite, that was afraid of what her 44:30 friends might think, if she should followed him. 44:36 He looked at them and there were tears 44:38 in his eyes as he wept over his people, 44:44 what a hard burdened preacher Jesus was, 44:51 and then the crowed disappeared, he told the 44:56 disciples to go meet him in the upper room. 45:00 Preparations were there to celebrate the Lord's supper 45:06 and so they went on down and they entered the room. 45:09 Everything was in order except for one thing 45:14 see they had the preparation for the meal all done. 45:19 There was even a wash basin and some water 45:22 and a towel for the servant to wash their feet 45:25 before they took part in the meal, 45:30 but there was no servant there. 45:36 Jesus was about to come. 45:38 He opens the door, still no servant. 45:41 Remember the disciples had been arguing 45:44 just a few minutes earlier over who was 45:46 going to be first in the kingdom 45:50 and so they weren't about to look up, 45:51 they kept looking down, afraid if they looked up 45:54 and caught his eye, he might ask 45:55 one of them to be the servant. 45:59 So, they were looking down and they are 46:00 waiting to see what was going to happen 46:02 and they couldn't believe what happened 46:06 because they saw Jesus walk over 46:09 to that table, pour the water into the basin, 46:14 takeoff his outer robe and wrap the 46:16 towel around his waist, pick up the basin of water 46:21 and approached his disciples one by one 46:24 and began to wash their feet. 46:29 Almighty God, Creator of the Universe 46:34 kneeling before the men and washing their feet. 46:46 Judas was there and Jesus knew 46:51 he'd already betrayed him for 30 pieces of silver. 46:55 Imagine how he felt. Peter, Oh! Not me Lord, 47:02 you'll never wash my feet. Peter, this must be done 47:08 if you want a place in my kingdom. 47:11 Peter never knew exactly 47:13 what to say, he just said it. 47:15 He said, well Lord wash me all over, 47:17 no Peter that's not necessary. 47:22 So, they celebrated the Lord's supper 47:24 and afterwards they sang a hymn, 47:27 the Bible says and they walked out 47:31 through the Eastern gate across the Kidron Valley 47:38 to the Garden of Gethsemane. 47:41 Disciples noticed that Jesus was being strangely silent, 47:48 not saying much, perhaps once in a while 47:52 groaning as though he were carrying a heavy load 47:58 and then they got to the garden, 47:59 he told the disciples you stay here 48:01 and you wait and pray for me. 48:05 To Peter, James and John, he said come with me 48:09 and they went a little further, 48:11 and he said I want you to stay here 48:13 and you three pray, you three pray for me. 48:20 They didn't know what was happening 48:24 and so they watched Jesus as he walked down 48:27 the path way in the garden, 48:30 they could see him in the moonlight filtering down 48:33 through the olive trees. He went a little ways and 48:36 then he just fell heavily to the ground. 48:40 And as he lay there on the ground 48:41 they heard him cry out my father, 48:50 if there's any other way, let this cup pass from me. 48:58 Nevertheless, not my will let your will be done. 49:05 What were these strange words coming from 49:08 the lips of Jesus, the one who up until that 49:12 time had been in perfect harmony with 49:15 the Father and his will was in perfect harmony 49:19 with the Father and now he is saying, 49:21 not my will, let your will be done. 49:26 You think that disciples would have understood 49:29 that something unusual was happening 49:32 there and they should have been alert 49:34 and awake praying for him, 49:35 but the Bible says they went to sleep, 49:40 the Church slept while Jesus was fighting, 49:47 the last gasp of his opportunity to save 49:52 mankind and the Church slept. 49:57 Sometimes, I wonder if the Church isn't still sleeping. 50:05 He got up and walk back, shook them, 50:07 can't you pray for just an hour and then 50:10 they watched him go back fall to the ground again, 50:12 father if there is any other way 50:14 let this cup pass from me. You see Jesus did not 50:17 want to march up that hill to Calvary. 50:22 He wanted to walk away from the cross. 50:29 Let this pass from me he said, 50:31 nevertheless not my will, let your will be done, 50:33 the disciples went to sleep again. 50:35 He woke them up again. They looked and 50:38 they were stunned that the agony written on his face, 50:41 the giant drops of sweat and blood 50:45 from his forehead, his robe stained 50:47 with blood looking as though he had been 50:49 trampling in the wine press. They didn't understand 50:51 what was happening. They didn't realize that 50:54 Jesus was bearing in his own body 50:56 the guilt for our sins. They didn't realize 50:59 that he would have died right there, 51:01 as he cried out my God, let this cup pass from me 51:06 and they fell asleep again. He would have died, 51:13 he would have died because the guilt of our sins 51:15 would have just crushed his life right then, 51:17 but it wasn't time for him to die. 51:22 He had to be betrayed by one of his own disciples, 51:27 sold for 30 pieces of silver. He had to be dressed in 51:31 the purple robe and a crown of thorn 51:34 slammed on his head. It have a stick 51:37 shoved in his hand for a scepter. 51:39 He had to be beaten, knocked down, kicked and 51:42 spit on till his back was raw and bleeding. 51:45 He had to have the heavy cross thrust 51:48 on his shoulders he had to carry it up to hill 51:50 until his legs couldn't go anymore 51:52 and someone had to take it for him. 51:55 It wasn't time for him to die yet. 51:57 He had to be stretched out on those rough boards. 51:59 He had to feel the pain as the Roman soldiers picked 52:02 up the heavy hammer and drove those big nail 52:05 through his hands, the same hands that reached 52:07 out and loved and touched and healed. 52:10 And now they are Being nailed to the 52:12 old rugged cross. It wasn't time 52:14 for him to die yet. He had to be lifted up 52:17 like a serpent on the pole as the cross dropped 52:20 into the hole prepared for it with a sickening thud, 52:23 every cell in his body racked in pain, 52:25 but it still wasn't time for him to die yet. 52:28 He had to be the emblem of sin, hanging on the cross, 52:31 guilty for the sins of the world. 52:35 I believe that as excruciating as the pain 52:39 of crucifixion was, he didn't even feel it, 52:42 because of the pain in his heart. 52:47 As he looked at even his own disciples forsaking 52:51 him and running away, and even that pain is just 52:59 a shadow compared to the real pain of the feeling for 53:07 the first time throughout the sinless ages of eternity. 53:13 He felt the awful separation that sin brings between man 53:19 and God, and it caused him to cry out, 53:23 ''My God, My God why have you forsaken me'' 53:31 and he hung his head and died. 53:38 For you and me and he would have died 53:45 even if he knew that you were the only one 53:50 that would ever love him, he would have done 53:55 it for you and that story isn't over yet. 54:04 He was buried in the tomb, but three days later 54:07 He burst forth from tomb. He ascended into heaven 54:13 and one of these days he is going to come back in the 54:17 clouds of glory, to receive you and me and anyone 54:27 else who loves him. He did it for you. 54:31 Don't let his death be in vain for you. 54:40 Now is the time to follow the lamb 54:47 and I just can't go on anymore in our studies 54:51 without once again extending an invitation 54:53 to some of you who have never yet opened the door 54:57 to Jesus and accepted him as your savior 55:01 and I want to give you the opportunity to do that 55:02 tonight or perhaps some of you have done 55:08 already in the past, but you have wandered far 55:10 away and now is the time to come back home. 55:15 So I am going to invite you to come forward 55:18 in just a moment as Dena sings 55:22 and then the third group, you've been Christians 55:26 all along and coming to the front doesn't mean 55:30 that you're not a Christian, but it does mean 55:32 that you have heard some new things. 55:36 And you've learned new truths about Jesus 55:38 and what he stands for. 55:40 And you want to take your stand along with him 55:43 Perhaps to be baptized like Jesus was, 55:52 Perhaps to keep the Lord's day holy like he did. 55:54 Perhaps there are some lifestyle issues 55:55 in your life, alcohol, tobacco, other harmful 56:00 habits that you need to surrender and give to Jesus. 56:06 For you coming to the front doesn't mean 56:09 you are not a Christian it just means you 56:10 taking another step in your journey to the 56:12 kingdom as you follow the lamb, 56:14 so three groups I want to call tonight those of you 56:17 that had never been to the cross, 56:18 those who of you that have and you've wandered 56:20 away and finally those of you 56:21 who have been Christians all along, 56:23 but you have a new decision to make about 56:25 new things you learned about God. 56:27 So while Dena sings, while every head is bowed, 56:30 every eye is closed, praying for the outpouring 56:33 of God's Spirit, would you just 56:34 stand right now, just stand and come, 56:37 And meet me down front, would you do that, 56:39 just come right now. Right now, 56:41 If God is speaking to your heart. 56:43 Just stand and come, please come down front. 56:45 Oh! Lord, we just thank you and we praise you 56:48 for what we have seen here tonight. 56:50 First of all we thank you for Jesus and the great love 56:56 that he has shown for us in the cross. 56:58 Lord our minds can't even begin to comprehend 57:01 it and then we thank you 57:03 for each person standing here. 57:05 You are the one who knows the desire of their hearts, 57:09 Lord, You know the needs that they have, 57:11 you know why they came and I just pray Lord 57:14 that you will touch each one and that you give them 57:17 exactly what they need, draw them close to you, 57:20 you said in the Bible that 57:21 when just one comes all heaven rejoices. 57:24 I can hear that choir singing right now 57:26 Lord and I rejoice with them, 57:30 I rejoice with each one, but yet there is still a note 57:32 of sadness because there are some who are seated 57:35 out there who should be standing here tonight. 57:38 For one reason or another they didn't come. 57:41 Lord, let there be no rest let's just keep striving 57:43 with every heart until every single soul is standing 57:46 safely inside the ark. We thank you 57:49 and we praise you in Jesus name. Amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17