Give Me the Bible

Who Is Jesus?

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox

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Series Code: GMTB

Program Code: GMTB000056


00:19 Well hello and welcome
00:21 to Give Me The Bible
00:22 here at the 3ABN Worship Center
00:25 in Thompsonville, Illinois.
00:26 I welcome all of you from here in the So. Illinois area
00:30 as well as from across the country and around the world.
00:33 We're so happy that you've joined us this evening
00:36 for this, the 56th sermon
00:39 in this Give Me The Bible series that Pastor Cox has done.
00:43 You know, he has brought us for the last eleven months
00:47 a five-part series each month.
00:51 And each one of these series had a specific title.
00:55 For instance, tonight the series is entitled
00:59 No Other Name Like Jesus.
01:03 There will be five parts in this series.
01:05 And what I want to encourage each and every one of you to do
01:08 if you haven't had an opportunity to hear all of these
01:12 sermons that Pastor Cox has brought,
01:14 you have missed out on a tremendous blessing.
01:16 And you will have an opportunity to get these.
01:19 The subject matter tonight is Who Is Jesus?
01:25 And so I want you to take advantage of this opportunity
01:29 for the next five sermons
01:31 to learn all there is to know about Jesus.
01:34 But before Pastor Cox comes to bring us this incredible message
01:38 we have a duet that's going to come and minister to us.
01:41 It's our very own Kateena LaForge.
01:44 Kateena, if you will come on out, please.
01:46 And she has ministering with her
01:48 Matt Throgmorton.
01:50 Matt and Kateena have been ministering together now
01:53 for some time, and I know they're going to bless you
01:56 tremendously as they sing I've Just Seen Jesus.
02:15 We knew He was dead.
02:19 "It is finished, " He said.
02:23 We had watched as His life
02:27 ebbed away.
02:30 Then we all stood around
02:34 till the guards took Him down.
02:38 Joseph begged for His body
02:43 that day.
02:46 It was late afternoon
02:49 when we got to the tomb...
02:53 wrapped His body,
02:55 then sealed up the grave.
03:00 So I know how you feel...
03:04 His death was so real.
03:07 But please listen and hear
03:11 what I say.
03:16 I've just seen
03:20 Jesus.
03:25 I tell you He's alive.
03:32 I've just seen Jesus.
03:38 our precious Lord alive.
03:46 And I knew -
03:50 and I knew -
03:51 He really saw me too.
03:56 He really saw me too.
04:00 As if till now
04:04 I never
04:07 lived.
04:12 All that I've done before
04:18 won't matter
04:21 anymore.
04:26 I've just seen Jesus,
04:32 and I'll never
04:37 be the same
04:40 again.
04:54 It was His voice she first heard...
04:58 those kind, gentle words
05:01 asking what was her reason for tears.
05:08 And I sobbed in despair
05:11 "my Lord is not there. "
05:14 He said: "Child, it is I.
05:18 I am here. "
05:24 I've just seen
05:29 Jesus.
05:35 I tell you He's alive.
05:41 I've just seen Jesus...
05:47 our precious Lord
05:51 alive!
05:55 And I knew -
05:59 and I knew -
06:01 He really saw me too.
06:05 He really saw me too.
06:09 As if till now
06:14 I never
06:16 lived.
06:21 All that I've done before
06:27 won't matter
06:30 anymore.
06:35 I've just seen Jesus...
06:42 I've just seen Jesus...
06:49 I've just seen Jesus...
06:53 and all I've ever
06:57 done before
07:01 won't matter
07:04 anymore.
07:09 I've just seen Jesus
07:13 and I'll never be
07:17 the same
07:19 again.
07:25 I've just seen
07:28 Jesus.
07:37 Amen!
07:40 Amen. Wonderful!
07:43 Certainly when a person sees Jesus Christ
07:48 what a difference it makes in their lives.
07:51 Well, we're glad to welcome all of you this evening.
07:54 Appreciate you being here.
07:56 Those of you that are joining us
07:58 by television or by radio
08:00 or over the Internet, we welcome you.
08:03 Glad you're here.
08:04 This particular series that we're doing is entitled
08:09 No Other Name Like Jesus.
08:12 And so we're spending these five presentations
08:16 on Jesus Christ, and we that feel it is fitting
08:21 to bring this series of Give Me The Bible
08:24 to an end centered around Christ and what He did for us.
08:29 And so we hope it will bless you in a special way
08:32 as we take a look at Jesus.
08:34 And tonight we're looking at Who Is Jesus?
08:40 Do you know?
08:42 Is He just somebody that your parents told you about?
08:49 What do you know about Jesus?
08:52 And how solid is your faith in Him
08:58 and your belief in Him?
08:59 That's what we're going to look at tonight.
09:02 Hope that we can give you some information that will help you
09:06 establish more firmly your belief in Jesus Christ.
09:10 Our subject for our next presentation is entitled
09:18 Why... why do you believe in Jesus Christ?
09:23 Do you know?
09:25 Are there things that you hold to that you say
09:31 "Well, this is the reason I believe in Jesus Christ? "
09:33 Well the next presentation we hope will give you
09:36 reasons to believe in Christ and to understand
09:41 who He is and what He's done.
09:44 So that's what our next presentation is about.
09:47 Then the next one after that is What Makes Jesus Different?
09:53 Why is He different than Mohammad?
09:56 Or Buddha? Or some of these others?
10:00 And then the next presentation after that will be
10:03 Jesus: Prophet, Priest, and King.
10:07 Jesus: Prophet, Priest, and King.
10:10 And then our closing presentation on Christ will be
10:15 entitled Unto You a Savior.
10:17 So we hope that you'll enjoy these as we go through them
10:21 and all. Appreciate having Kateena
10:24 LaForge and Matt with us. They blessed me
10:29 especially with I Have Seen Jesus.
10:32 Uh, some while back
10:35 Dona Klein wrote a book... wrote a song
10:39 that was entitled Golgatha's Hill,
10:43 and tonight Kateena's going to sing that for us.
11:21 Hear the beat of the feet of the soldiers
11:26 as they climb Golgatha's Hill.
11:32 Hear the cheers and the jeers of the people
11:37 crying "crucify and kill. "
11:43 The great love story how the King of Glory...
11:49 came, my debt to pay
11:53 on that hateful
11:57 place for death.
12:04 The light'ning flashed
12:07 and the thunder crashed
12:10 upon Golgatha's Hill.
12:15 Satan and his hosts came straight from hell
12:20 to cast their evil spell.
12:25 The battle raged on as the Lamb of God
12:31 hung helpless on the tree.
12:35 Hear Him cry,
12:38 see Him die,
12:40 for you and me.
12:48 But there never was
12:53 heard
12:55 a murmuring word
13:00 from the lips
13:03 of the Son of God.
13:11 As the hammer struck a blow
13:14 the Father bent low
13:16 to hear His dying Son.
13:21 "It is finished, " He said
13:24 then He bowed His head.
13:27 The victory had been won!
13:32 All heaven cried as the Savior died
13:38 that day on Calvary.
13:42 Time stood still
13:45 on that hill:
13:47 Golgatha's Hill.
14:01 In a borrowed grave
14:05 the Savior laid;
14:07 the air hung thick with grief.
14:12 Salvation's cost at such a loss
14:18 seemed so hard to believe.
14:23 The stillness left an emptiness
14:28 as darkness filled their hearts.
14:33 No one knew
14:37 what to do.
14:44 Then deep in the ground came a rumbling sound.
14:50 The earth began to sway.
14:55 The heavenly host which Satan feared most
15:01 had rolled the stone away.
15:05 The sky turned black
15:08 and the guards fell back
15:11 as in a nightmare's dream.
15:15 Then all was still...
15:18 deathly still...
15:21 on that hill.
15:48 With a mighty shout
15:51 the Father cried out
15:54 "Awake, awake, My Son. "
15:58 Then Jesus arose - victor o'er His foes -
16:04 salvation had been won.
16:08 Death had lost to that rugged cross
16:14 upon Golgatha's Hill.
16:18 Life began on that hill:
16:23 Golgatha's Hill.
16:29 Oooh, life began
16:34 on that hill:
16:39 Golgatha's
16:45 Hill.
17:17 Heavenly Father,
17:21 without question, for each of us
17:26 life began anew on Golgatha's Hill.
17:31 We pray that as we look
17:34 this evening at Jesus
17:37 may we settle in our hearts and in our souls,
17:41 in our mind, who He is.
17:44 May we desire to see more
17:50 of Jesus Christ
17:51 in our own lives and in what we do.
17:54 Send Your Spirit tonight.
17:56 Give us understanding.
17:59 Open our eyes.
18:01 May our hearts be soft and tender, we pray.
18:06 In Christ's name, Amen.
18:16 Unfortunately, we live in an age
18:20 of skepticism and secularism.
18:24 Today secularism has come to the place
18:29 and people are skeptics.
18:31 And when it comes to belief, they say:
18:34 "Well, you can... you can believe
18:36 whatever you'd like to believe.
18:39 You can believe in any God you want to. "
18:45 You hear that in many places...
18:49 over television. In fact,
18:51 a very popular television series just recently
18:56 said that you could simply believe in yourself.
19:02 Believe in yourself and learn what you can
19:07 and that's really all you'll need in this life
19:10 and for the future life.
19:12 You find that things like scientology
19:17 who has come to the forefront very much.
19:20 And if you look into the belief of scientology,
19:23 it just simply tells you that you are a god.
19:28 And if you look at it and see what it's saying -
19:32 that you are a god -
19:34 my understanding that that is idolatry...
19:37 and really the very worst type of idolatry.
19:41 But this is... this is where we are today.
19:44 And because of that, there's a lot of things that have happened
19:48 in the last few years that has shaken people's belief.
19:54 Shaken their belief in Jesus Christ
19:56 because people are skeptical.
19:59 Books have come out like this one particularly -
20:02 the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown -
20:05 in which they talk about Jesus
20:09 and say that He was really not what He claimed to be.
20:12 And so you find this taught
20:15 and people having real questions and doubts about Jesus.
20:19 And so tonight we want to find out
20:22 Who Is Jesus?
20:24 Because of this skepticism, you have had a tremendous
20:29 rise in what is called Gnosticism.
20:34 Gnosis is a Greek word that simply means
20:38 knowledge.
20:40 But this is something that was very, very prevalent, folks,
20:45 in the second century.
20:47 And people that believed in Gnostic teachings and beliefs...
20:53 this is what they taught.
20:55 Gnosticism has four basic beliefs:
21:00 1. They believe the world is evil.
21:02 That was their first premise: the world is evil.
21:06 Secondly they believed the world was made by an evil creator.
21:10 That it was made by somebody who was very evil.
21:15 And thirdly, they believed that salvation
21:19 consists of being rescued from it... from this evil world.
21:24 They said that's what salvation is
21:26 is being rescued from this evil world.
21:28 And their fourth belief was:
21:30 rescue comes
21:31 through secret knowledge.
21:34 Now that is the belief of Gnosticism,
21:38 and they believed that this is the way it came.
21:42 And they believed that Jesus Christ did not come
21:46 to die for you and I.
21:49 He didn't come to pay the price for us
21:52 but He came here to reveal knowledge.
21:56 He was the revealer of this secret knowledge.
21:59 They believed that is what is involved in it.
22:02 And they believed that the virgin birth
22:07 and the resurrection weren't really literal.
22:10 They were just a way of showing
22:14 how this took place and with secret knowledge.
22:17 And so you have a rise of Gnosticism.
22:21 If you go back and you read this particular period of time,
22:26 you'll find this was a hotbed in Egypt.
22:30 And you'll find that Gnosticism was taught in Egypt...
22:35 particularly in Alexandria and through there.
22:38 Why am I telling you this?
22:40 Because you, over the last few years,
22:43 have come across books such as this one
22:47 that we'll look at, and it teaches these things.
22:50 Now this belief of Gnosticism was coming into play,
22:56 folks, very strongly in the second century.
23:00 John - the beloved John, the disciple -
23:04 lived longer than the other apostles...
23:07 so he's in the 90's at that period of time.
23:13 He sees this rising.
23:15 He sees it already beginning to take place
23:18 and so you find him saying here in I John:
23:29 Very important because Gnosticism said
23:33 it really wasn't in the flesh,
23:34 it was just a revealer of knowledge.
23:37 OK?
23:51 So John saw this already beginning to rise in his day,
23:56 and he said...
23:58 he said "this has already started. The spirit of this is
24:00 already beginning to take place.
24:04 You and I would not be aware of this
24:08 very much if there weren't certain discoveries made
24:12 which has brought things to the forefront
24:15 that people wonder about.
24:17 And they're such things as
24:19 the gospel of Thomas.
24:21 Now the gospel of Thomas is a book that deals with
24:27 Gnostic teachings.
24:29 That's what it is.
24:30 And as you go in and you read these books,
24:33 you... and by the way, the gospel of Thomas,
24:35 guess where they found it?
24:38 In Egypt.
24:40 That's where it was found.
24:41 Back in the 1890's is when it was found.
24:44 And it lay in there, and really they didn't know
24:48 what they had until 1945
24:51 when they found another copy of it
24:54 and they began to find it was the gospel of Thomas.
24:57 But it's full of Gnostic teachings.
25:01 Now, you need to put things together because
25:04 you find that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
25:08 all those gospels have been written.
25:11 This is 100 years or so after it
25:15 in which this is all beginning to come to the forefront.
25:19 And to give you an idea of some of the writings in it
25:22 I put one of the writings here up on the screen
25:25 that's in this book of the gospel of Thomas.
25:27 And it says:
25:39 You know, they're just... the teachings in it
25:43 are rather strange.
25:46 And you find that these came to the forefront
25:49 and many people have questions about it.
25:52 And they question Christ because of these things
25:56 rather than understanding it clearly.
25:58 Here's another one that came,
25:59 and it's called the gospel of Judas.
26:02 The gospel of Judas, folks,
26:08 what it does is it takes Judas
26:11 and makes him the best disciple.
26:16 That's what it does... it takes Judas
26:18 and makes him the best of all the disciples.
26:21 And what it says is it says that Jesus came to Judas
26:26 and asked Judas if he would be willing to sacrifice
26:31 his reputation and everything
26:35 and that the death... or the betrayal of Judas was
26:38 all set up between Judas and Jesus
26:41 and that really Judas did this out of love to Christ.
26:46 And this is part of the little saying that's in there.
26:50 It says: "you will exceed them all... "
26:53 In other words, it's saying that Judas would exceed
26:55 all the disciples... "for you will sacrifice the man
26:59 who clothes me. "
27:00 And that's what the gospel of Judas is about.
27:04 Again, totally Gnostic in its teachings.
27:08 Then you have another one entitled
27:11 The gospel of Mary.
27:13 And you can see, these all come back in 200 AD...
27:16 along there. The gospel of Mary -
27:19 and by the way, let me say this, folks -
27:22 these are not books. They're referred to as books
27:26 but these are just fragments.
27:28 That's all they are... just fragments of what was written.
27:32 And so you don't have a whole book dealing with things.
27:36 The gospel of Mary is a fragment they found,
27:39 and in it Mary is telling Peter
27:44 and Andrew about a revelation she had from Jesus.
27:51 Peter and Andrew are not - how should I put it? -
27:55 they don't agree with Mary. They don't like what she's saying
27:58 because what she is saying is against what Jesus taught.
28:03 And... and they aren't going along with it
28:06 in this particular fragment.
28:09 And... and there's another man there by the name of Levi.
28:13 And he's upset with Peter and Andrew
28:15 because Mary is upset and crying.
28:19 And so he goes on and tells Peter and Andrew to
28:22 go out and preach the gospel.
28:24 And he says this:
28:26 He says "don't make any barriers
28:28 and don't make any laws. "
28:32 In other words, he said
28:34 "just do what you want to do,
28:35 you don't have to be... have any laws or anything. "
28:39 These are some of the things that were going on
28:41 and being taught. And by the way, it's this gospel of Mary
28:45 that Dan Brown in the Da Vinci Code
28:49 uses so much and all.
28:52 And then you have the Jesus papers - which is another one.
28:56 And how people can accept some of these things
29:02 and buy them I have a hard time understanding because
29:06 the Jesus papers is a papyrus document,
29:11 they say...
29:19 Now, nobody has seen this, folks.
29:24 This is what an archaeologist said he found.
29:29 This papyrus that he found...
29:33 Tell me, what piece of paper -
29:36 papyrus - would be buried in the ground
29:40 and be there for hundreds and hundreds of years?
29:46 Absolutely impossible. Couldn't have happened.
29:50 And all this based upon is this man saying this was
29:54 what was found. Not any basis of anything else.
29:59 So what I'm trying to get across to you
30:01 is these things that have all been said and done
30:05 are based on hardly any substantial basis, folks.
30:11 And so we need to take a look...
30:13 Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
30:15 They were written before this ever came into being.
30:19 And as far as I'm concerned, as John said
30:22 "this is the rise of the Antichrist"
30:26 teaching contrary to Jesus Christ.
30:29 So let's take and ask ourselves tonight...
30:31 Does Jesus exist in history?
30:35 Does He exist in history?
30:38 Now it doesn't make any difference whether you want to
30:43 accept the scripture as the inspired Word of God
30:46 or whether you don't.
30:47 One thing that you cannot deny
30:50 is that the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
30:54 are historical books.
30:56 You can't deny that.
30:59 That... that they are. They're historical books
31:02 whether you want to believe they were inspired
31:04 or whether they weren't.
31:06 And as historical books, they say clearly
31:10 that Jesus Christ existed.
31:14 They're telling you, and they're the oldest that we have.
31:18 They're the oldest saying that Jesus Christ existed.
31:23 So we have the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
31:26 that are historical books that definitely
31:30 give us evidence that Christ existed.
31:33 Also, the Jewish rabbis.
31:36 You go back and you read the Jewish rabbis.
31:39 They do not... they do not deny the existence of Jesus.
31:45 They may not accept Him as the Son of God
31:48 but they don't deny that He existed.
31:51 So what I'm trying to get across to you this evening
31:55 is there is plenty of evidence
31:58 that Jesus Christ existed.
32:01 Rabbis believe He existed.
32:03 It might be interesting to you to know that Mohammad
32:06 believed Jesus existed.
32:09 He believed that He was there... that He existed.
32:13 Doesn't necessarily accept Him as the Son of God, but
32:15 as a prophet. But he said that Christ existed.
32:19 He was there... important.
32:29 They give strange applications to it, and they try to
32:33 change what He did and this type of thing,
32:36 but they don't deny His existence.
32:38 So what I've said tonight is the fact that there is
32:42 historical proof that Jesus Christ existed.
32:46 There is more... there is more historical proof
32:51 that Jesus Christ existed
32:54 than there is historical proof that there was a Julius Caesar.
33:00 So you and I have plenty... plenty of evidence
33:05 to know that Jesus Christ existed.
33:08 All right. I also want to say
33:12 that Jewish history itself -
33:16 the Jewish people and their history -
33:21 absolutely proves that Jesus Christ existed
33:27 and that He was the Son of God.
33:29 Follow me carefully.
33:32 Gave the promise... God gave the promise
33:35 to David, and He said this to him:
33:45 So He gave the promise that his throne - David's throne -
33:50 would be established and it would be that forever.
33:54 OK.
33:55 That was the promise given.
33:58 Uh, after David we come to his son Solomon.
34:01 And you remember Solomon built the temple. Remember that?
34:05 And it says here:
34:19 Because Solomon built the temple
34:23 and because of the glory of God coming on the temple
34:26 the place was filled with the glory of God
34:28 showing God's acceptance of that and the establishment
34:34 of the temple there.
34:35 OK. Time goes along
34:39 and we find that Nebuchadnezzar
34:44 comes and he destroys the city of Jerusalem
34:50 and destroys the temple.
34:53 Gets rid of it.
34:54 Seventy years pass
34:57 and the Jewish people go back
35:00 and they re-build the temple.
35:03 Now listen carefully to what Haggai has to say about it:
35:38 Now that is saying clearly that the glory of the latter temple
35:43 would be greater than the first.
35:46 All right?
35:48 Well, the latter temple was built.
35:51 What was there that showed that the glory of the latter
35:57 temple was greater than the first?
36:00 None other than the fact that the Son of God walked in it.
36:06 Now the point I'm trying to make is simply this:
36:09 if it wasn't Jesus Christ, who was it?
36:15 I mean, the temple's not there any more...
36:18 the second temple. So it had to have that glory
36:22 before it was destroyed.
36:24 If it isn't Jesus Christ, who is it?
36:28 Christ is the only One...
36:31 the only One that fits that in any way, folks.
36:36 Just Jesus Christ.
36:38 Watch as it continues:
36:56 Now this is prophesied in the book of Daniel
37:00 and it says that in the middle of the week the sacrifices
37:03 and oblations or offerings would come to an end.
37:09 All right. Jesus, when He was here on earth,
37:13 Jesus said this:
37:27 He told them: "Your house is going to be left unto you"
37:31 what? "Desolate. "
37:33 OK.
37:35 They crucified Him.
37:38 And when they crucified Him
37:41 the veil in the temple was rent
37:46 from top to bottom
37:53 showing that the sacrifices and offerings
37:57 came to an end.
38:00 Now He said: "Your house is left unto you desolate. "
38:04 They crucified Him
38:05 and the veil split and opened up
38:08 showing the sacrifices and oblations came to an end.
38:11 And He said: "This is what's going to happen, "
38:14 and won't have changed until He comes back.
38:17 Now the point I'm trying to make again tonight is simply this:
38:21 We're now 2,000 years later
38:24 and there is no sacrifice
38:26 and there is no temple.
38:29 I mean, exactly what Jesus Christ said is there.
38:34 He said: "Your house is left unto you desolate. "
38:37 And I'm saying tonight... IT IS STILL DESOLATE,
38:41 just exactly as He said it would be.
38:44 So why? Who is Jesus?
38:48 Jesus is someone who made it very clear who He was
38:54 and what was believed.
38:59 He spoke to the people.
39:02 He made it very, very clear who He was.
39:06 Speaking to the Pharisees He said:
39:20 Said: "Now your father Abraham rejoice to see My day.
39:26 Saw it, and was glad. "
39:38 Said: "You're not that old. Have You seen Abraham? "
39:48 Now I mean that is clear
39:52 as you can ask for.
39:55 They asked him: "Have You seen Abraham? "
39:57 He said: "Before Abraham was, I AM. "
40:00 Now what I'm trying to say tonight
40:04 is historically there's all kinds of proof
40:09 that Jesus Christ existed.
40:12 I'm also saying that He made certain claims
40:17 such as being the Son of God
40:22 that got Him into trouble.
40:27 But nevertheless it has been solid and stood solid
40:32 all down through time.
40:34 For instance:
40:48 Now, folks, He could have said
40:52 that He was a prophet.
40:56 He could have said that He was the Anointed One.
41:00 And probably if He would have said He was the Anointed One
41:04 that probably would have gotten Him beaten.
41:08 That... that's about what would have happened.
41:11 But when He said that He was the Son of God
41:17 that's a different story all together.
41:19 Watch...
41:21 This is Jesus before Caiaphas
41:25 at the time of His trial.
41:28 "And Jesus said to him.. " because Caiaphas had asked Him -
41:33 I mean had put Him under oath -
41:35 and said, you know... "Who are You? "
41:37 Asked Him point blank, under oath.
41:40 Jesus said to him: "It is as you said. "
41:43 And Caiaphas, you can go back and read it,
41:45 had asked him: "Are You the Son of God? "
41:48 That's what he asked Him.
42:00 Now you and I read that text, but you don't get the
42:03 what's involved here.
42:05 When Jesus said: "It's as you said, "
42:09 you know. But He goes on, Jesus didn't stop there. He said:
42:13 "Hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting
42:16 at the right hand of the Power
42:17 and coming in the clouds of heaven. "
42:19 When He said that,
42:21 Caiaphas knew exactly what He was referring to.
42:24 I mean Christ was making a statement
42:28 without any question as to exactly who He was.
42:31 And Caiaphas understood that because he understood this text.
42:36 Caiaphas knew this scripture.
42:51 When Jesus said that He's coming back on the clouds of heaven,
42:55 man, Caiaphas understood that that He was saying
42:59 "I am the Son of God; I'm coming back. "
43:03 And that's when he cried: "blasphemy! "
43:05 and they decided they would kill Him.
43:10 Because He said: "I am the Son of God. "
43:14 No question about it.
43:17 His disciples looked upon Him as the Son of God.
43:23 When He asked them: "Who do you say that I am? "
43:26 And they said: "Well, some say You're a prophet.
43:29 Some say You're Elijah. "
43:31 Said: "Well who do YOU say I am? "
43:34 Peter said: "You are the Christ,
43:37 the Son of the living God. "
43:41 That's who they believed that He was.
43:44 Well, that being the case...
43:47 what evidence do we have that Jesus is the Son of God?
43:52 Have any evidence that He was the Son of God?
43:56 That He was what He claimed to be?
43:59 Is there evidence of that?
44:02 Well, one of the things is the miraculous feats of healing.
44:08 You just pick up your Bible and start through
44:11 and look at the indications of one healing after another
44:17 that He did. Listen to this:
44:45 I mean it says in the scripture
44:48 that He walked through villages
44:51 and healed every sick person.
44:55 Can you imagine that?
44:57 I mean, walking through a village
45:00 and every last person was healed.
45:05 Not a sick person in the whole town.
45:10 Healed every one of them.
45:13 Great, great multitudes flocked to Him.
45:17 That in itself is evidence
45:21 that He was the Son of God.
45:23 Secondly...
45:29 This... this is what - how should I put it? -
45:35 shook the disciples to the very foundation
45:40 of their... what they thought
45:43 was what He did with nature.
45:45 Listen:
45:59 So they're just going to cross the lake.
46:12 Well, here they are and Jesus is sleeping.
46:15 The wind's blowing and the boat's filling up with water.
46:25 Said this, you know: "Great danger! "
46:38 Can you just put that together, folks?
46:41 I mean, they wake Him up and He just stands there in the boat
46:46 and tells the wind to be still
46:49 and for the waves to calm.
46:54 And at His word, it takes place.
46:58 And what happened?
47:15 You see, the fact that nature itself
47:20 obeyed Him is evidence that He was the Son of God.
47:28 Also evidence that Jesus was the Son of God
47:32 is the unrivaled teachings
47:35 that no one, no one in the history of mankind,
47:40 has ever taught like Jesus Christ.
47:44 I mean, you look and study all you want to,
47:48 but the teachings of Jesus Christ are beyond
47:52 anything that anybody else has ever done.
47:55 Unrivaled.
47:57 So...
48:07 They had told him to go out and arrest Jesus and bring Him in,
48:12 and those hardened soldiers went out to get Him.
48:18 And they listened.
48:28 No one ever spoke like this Man.
48:32 This book...
48:35 dear friend, do you understand
48:38 how many millions upon millions and millions
48:42 of people's hearts have been changed
48:45 and lives have been changed
48:47 by the Word of God?
48:50 By the teachings of Jesus Christ?
48:52 You know, I've had the privilege
48:56 of over the years of watching
49:01 and seeing people's hearts changed.
49:07 Hardened men's hearts melted
49:10 by the teachings of Jesus Christ.
49:13 What a difference it makes.
49:15 Nobody else does that.
49:17 Only Jesus Christ.
49:21 Then we have not only that but
49:25 divine understanding of people.
49:28 You know, I marvel that as I read through
49:32 how He could read... He could read their hearts
49:37 and their minds and knew exactly what they were thinking.
49:40 Look:
49:48 I mean, here He's talking to them and He knows
49:52 what's going on in their minds.
50:01 I mean He had just told this paralytic
50:05 "your sins are forgiven. "
50:07 And the Pharisees were sitting there and thinking, you know,
50:12 this is blasphemy.
50:34 He said: "Get up, go to your house. "
50:37 And he arose!
50:39 Just the fact that He could read the hearts of men and women
50:45 is evidence that He, indeed, was the Son of God.
50:51 And then... the resurrection.
50:54 You know, the resurrection of Lazarus.
51:02 You understand what made that different?
51:04 What was different?
51:05 What was different than the resurrection of Lazarus
51:09 than the other people that He resurrected?
51:12 What was different about that?
51:15 Something very definite.
51:17 You see, in the widow's son at Nain
51:20 you remember here they were coming out with the coffin
51:25 and all, and He stopped it and brought him back to life.
51:28 Or when the servant... or the Centurion's daughter
51:34 He healed and all...
51:36 Those were cases where someone had just died and was fresh.
51:42 But this case with Lazarus...
51:44 They sent Him word and then He stayed and didn't come
51:49 for two days.
51:51 Why?
51:53 Why would He just not show up for two days?
51:58 So that when He got there Lazarus had been dead
52:00 for four days... been in the tomb four days.
52:05 Simply because He wanted... He wanted to put it
52:09 so that there was proof that He was the Son of God.
52:14 Because, you see, with the widow's son
52:18 they could just say "Well, he really
52:20 probably didn't die. "
52:22 See? And same thing with some of these others.
52:25 They were fresh and so they were saying:
52:27 "Well, he probably wasn't... "
52:28 But they couldn't do that with Lazarus!
52:31 He had been in the tomb for four days.
52:33 It took away all that argument.
52:36 So when He stood there and said: "Lazarus, come forth! "
52:40 and Lazarus came forth,
52:42 man, it says that the people... go back and read it...
52:45 it says it upset the Pharisees because the people believed.
52:48 They believed that He was the Son of God.
52:51 He gave proof that He was all that He claimed to be.
52:55 And, of course, His own resurrection.
52:59 He came out of the grave.
53:04 They couldn't stop Him.
53:06 He was resurrected, and those...
53:10 and you don't find the disciples, folks,
53:12 you don't find them after the resurrection of Jesus going out
53:16 and preaching that He was a great prophet.
53:19 That isn't what they're doing.
53:21 They don't go out and preach
53:22 He's a great prophet.
53:23 They go out there and say He was the Son of God.
53:26 That's what they're preaching and believing:
53:29 that He WAS the Son of God.
53:31 And so, who was Jesus?
53:34 Jesus was the Son of God.
53:38 That's who He was.
53:40 He was the Son of God.
53:41 It made all the difference in the world.
53:44 And so tonight I hope that you
53:48 put your life in the hands of Jesus Christ.
53:52 Understand who He is.
53:54 Accept Him into your heart as your Savior.
53:58 Let us pray.
53:59 Heavenly Father,
54:01 we thank you. Thank you that Jesus Christ
54:06 came here and lived.
54:10 Lived a life so that we by faith
54:14 can reach out and accept You,
54:17 give our hearts to You, and follow You.
54:20 Help us, Lord, that each one of us
54:23 day by day may keep our lives surrendered to You.
54:28 That we might walk with You.
54:31 That we might follow You,
54:34 and that we might reach out and claim You
54:38 as our Savior and indeed as the Son of God.
54:43 We thank You for these promises in Christ's name,
54:46 Amen.
54:49 Well remember our next presentation
54:52 is entitled Why Believe In Jesus Christ?
54:57 We're going to look at definite reasons
55:00 why you and I should believe in Jesus Christ.
55:04 So we hope that you'll be back with us
55:06 in our next presentation.
55:08 Thank you for being here.
55:09 Good night. God bless you.
55:14 Hello, friends.
55:15 In Luke the 12th chapter Jesus tells an interesting story
55:20 of a master who returned home from his wedding
55:24 hoping to find each of his servants eagerly waiting
55:27 to let him in
55:28 no matter what hour of the day or the night.
55:31 This story is about each of us
55:33 who have been bought by His precious blood
55:36 and therefore have become His servants.
55:38 And His hope is that we will faithfully be doing
55:42 the work He assigned while anxiously awaiting His return.
55:46 But this beautiful parable
55:49 has a dark warning as well.
55:51 Luke writes about a break-in that happens
55:54 in the night while the master of the house is fast asleep.
55:58 Under the cover of darkness,
56:00 a thief steals his most precious possession.
56:03 And Jesus goes on to say
56:06 "But know this, that if the master of the house
56:08 had known what hour the thief would come
56:11 he would have watched
56:12 and not allowed his house to be broken into.
56:15 Therefore you also be ready for the Son of Man is coming
56:19 at an hour you do not expect. "
56:20 Friends, none of us know the hour of Christ's second coming.
56:24 To some it may seem like a far-off event.
56:28 But if their life should end today,
56:31 it will feel like only a moment.
56:33 Jesus' message is the same for us today.
56:36 Do all you can to prepare
56:39 and faithfully watch and wait.
56:41 Satan is a thief, and there is nothing he enjoys more
56:47 than stealing our relationship with Jesus.
56:50 He robs us by making us careless and indifferent.
56:53 He tries to distract us from spending time with our Lord
56:57 and to burden us with so much care that we become indifferent
57:01 to those who are suffering
57:03 and those who don't know about our loving Savior.
57:08 As Christians, we are given the great privilege of being
57:12 called the sons and daughters of God.
57:14 But with this privilege comes an awesome responsibility:
57:18 to be faithful servants and to tell others about Jesus.
57:22 Are you being faithful to God?
57:25 Are you ready to give an account of your stewardship?
57:28 Our ministry is geared entirely
57:30 to taking care of those spiritual needs
57:33 of those who watch us all over the world.
57:36 Won't you help us?
57:37 Please consider what you can do
57:39 for those who still don't know about Jesus.
57:42 As the Holy Spirit impresses,
57:44 please send your tax-deductible gifts to:
57:58 Thank you for helping us spread the light of God's Word
58:00 through television and radio.
58:02 Your gifts help bring the blessed hope of salvation
58:05 to millions around the world.


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Revised 2014-12-17