Participants: Scott Moore
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000769
|
01:00 The title of our sermon is
01:02 "The Christ Without the Word," 01:04 the Christ without the word. 01:08 There was a particular pastor 01:09 that loved to visit his members. 01:12 He would go to his member's houses, 01:14 and one thing he was noted for was never taken 01:16 his own Bible into their homes. 01:19 He would go into their homes and they would give him, 01:22 you know, something to drink as its typical 01:24 when the pastor comes over, may be some candies 01:26 and they would ask him spiritual questions 01:30 and then he would take their own Bible 01:32 and answer those questions. 01:36 Well this very thing happened, 01:38 one week he went to visit a particular lady 01:41 in his church that had asked for a visit, 01:43 the prior Sabbath and he went to her home 01:48 and he asked, he began to answer her questions. 01:52 She went through the typical things 01:54 of giving him the water, the candy, 01:55 you know the pastor is in your home. 01:58 And then because he didn't bring his own Bible 02:00 and he said, 02:01 "Well, why don't you let me see your Bible?" 02:04 And I will answer your question 02:06 from your own Bible. 02:08 She was quite excited about that. 02:09 So she, she gave him her Bible, 02:12 but the pastor noticed that 02:13 her Bible was very, very thin. 02:16 He thought well, you know, 02:17 this must be one of those new Bibles, 02:18 that are thinline Bibles, but he looked on the binder, 02:21 and know, it wasn't the thinline Bible, 02:23 not even an old ultra thinline Bible. 02:26 But he figured maybe 02:27 the print was just very, very small 02:29 and he opened the Bible 02:31 and there was only one book in the Bible. 02:35 One book out of all the 66 that were there originally, 02:39 this lady had one book in her Bible. 02:42 And he asked his, his friend he says ma'am tell me, 02:47 tell me why, oh, what happened to your Bible? 02:54 She says Oh! You should know what happened to my Bible. 02:57 You know you were upfront preaching one day 03:00 and you said that the Old Testament 03:03 couldn't be understood, 03:04 well, the Old Testament just wasn't applicable to our day. 03:08 It was just a bunch of rules and regulations. 03:10 So I figured you know, may be I shouldn't live 03:14 by the Old Testament then, so I took the Old Testament 03:17 and I ripped it out of my Bible. 03:20 And then you said, you know, the gospels 03:23 the gospels don't match up. 03:25 And so I figured well, since the gospels don't match up, 03:28 they're probably not any good for me, 03:30 so I ripped out the gospels. 03:34 Then you said that 03:35 the Book of Revelation was a bunch of symbols 03:38 and that it stood for something else 03:40 and I thought to myself, I'm a simple lady. 03:43 I can't understand those big things like that, 03:46 so I took Revelation out of my Bible. 03:50 And the only book that you haven't said anything 03:53 that bad about is the Book of Galatians. 03:58 So that's why it's the only book in there. 04:02 You can imagine this pastor's heart was crushed, 04:05 because here is one of his church members, 04:06 they took something that he said and, 04:08 and just misconstrued 04:09 and made it something that it wasn't. 04:13 My friends if you and I are going to accept Christ 04:17 in His entirety, 04:20 then we must accept the Bible in its entirety. 04:26 If we are going to accept the author of life, 04:29 we must accept the entire book 04:31 the author of life inspired. 04:36 Today, we're going to study about that book. 04:39 But before we study our Bibles my friends, 04:41 we are going to pray. 04:43 So if you bow your heads with me, we'll pray. 04:48 Gracious Father in heaven, here we are today 04:51 asking that You will bless us through Your word. 04:57 Father, teach us today that it is an impossibility 05:02 to accept Christ apart from His word. 05:07 Or to accept the word apart from Christ. 05:12 Lord Jesus, we need Your Holy Spirit 05:14 to inspire us to give us wisdom. 05:20 And we thank You now 05:21 that You have answered that prayer. 05:26 In Jesus name, we ask this. Amen. 05:31 Now friends go and get out your Bible, if you are at home 05:33 get your Bible off the shelf there and let's go 05:35 to the New Testament Book of John. 05:38 Let's go to John Chapter 1. 05:41 John Chapter 1 05:43 and we are going to begin reading in verse 1. 05:46 Matthew, Mark, Luke, John Chapter 1 and verse 1. 05:52 You know the Bible says here in John Chapter 1 verse 1. 05:55 "In the beginning was the Word, 05:58 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 06:04 So friend, what was in the beginning? The word. 06:08 Who, who was with God? The word. 06:12 And who was God? The word. 06:16 The Bible says in verse 2, 06:17 "The same was in the beginning with God. 06:21 All things were made by Him, 06:24 and without Him was not 06:26 any thing made that was made." 06:31 So friend we can note right now 06:32 that the Bible tells us 06:34 in John Chapter 1 verses 1, 2 and 3 06:36 that the word is very important 06:40 to the life of a Christian. 06:43 The Bible goes onto to say in verse 14. 06:47 The Bible says in John Chapter 1 verse 14. 06:49 "And the Word was made flesh. 06:52 The word was made flesh and dwelt among us, 06:56 and we beheld His glory, 06:58 the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, 07:02 full of grace and truth." 07:06 Now you know that Jesus says later on 07:08 in the Book of John that He is the way, 07:11 the truth and the life. 07:14 John Chapter 3 verse 16 clues us in 07:17 that this word that was made flesh, 07:20 the only begotten of the Father. 07:22 The one that was given to give us 07:23 eternal life is Jesus Christ in the flesh. 07:29 Friends the word of the living God 07:31 is not merely written but spoken. 07:34 The Bible is God's voice speaking to us 07:37 just as surely as though 07:38 we can hear it with our ears. 07:41 If we realize this with what all, 07:44 would we open the scriptures and search its precept. 07:49 The reading in contemplation 07:51 of the word of the God would be regarded 07:54 as an audience with the infinite author of life. 07:58 "The word made flesh." 08:05 We cannot separate the word from Christ, 08:08 nor can we separate Christ from the word, 08:12 because it's like two pieces of paper. 08:15 Now those of you at home, 08:17 I want you to take out a piece of paper. 08:19 And during this presentation 08:20 if you can do this and pay attention. 08:23 I want you to try to separate 08:25 that piece of paper right down the middle, 08:29 so that we have two equal 8.5x11" sheets of paper. 08:35 Impossible, that's how impossible it is 08:38 to separate Christ from the word, 08:41 or the word from Christ. 08:42 Yeah, we are going to find out that 08:44 in the Bible there was a group of people 08:46 that wanted to separate the Christ from the word, 08:51 but it's impossible. 08:54 One New Testament writer said this, 08:56 turn to Hebrews Chapter 4 and verse 12. 08:59 In describing the word of God, 09:00 Hebrews you remember is pass the "T" section 09:03 in the New Testament. 09:05 Hebrews Chapter 4 and verse 12. 09:07 The New Testament writer writes this. 09:09 "For the word of God is quick," 09:13 the word quick is an old English term for alive. 09:17 This author says if the word of God is alive. 09:20 Friend, is Jesus alive? 09:23 You know He is alive, don't you? 09:25 Because He is working in your life. 09:31 The Bible says for the word of God is alive, 09:33 it's quick, it's powerful. 09:37 "The word of God is powerful 09:39 and sharper than any two-edged sword, 09:42 piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, 09:48 and of the joints and marrow, 09:51 and is a discerner of the thoughts 09:52 and the intents of the heart." 09:54 The Bible is described as a book that is alive. 09:59 The Bible is described as a book that is not dead, 10:02 and old, and outdated, it is applicable to us today. 10:11 The Bible is described as the word of God made flesh. 10:17 The word of God made flesh 10:18 Jesus Christ himself believed in the Bible. 10:23 The Bible that Jesus had was the Old Testament scriptures 10:27 that you and I have today. 10:30 Let's look at what Jesus said about the Old Testament 10:33 and some of its books. 10:35 Turn with me to Matthew 24 and verse 15. 10:42 Matthew, the very first book of the New Testament, 10:45 Matthew 24 and verse 15. 10:50 Jesus is speaking here in Matthew Chapter 24. 10:53 The disciples have asked Him a question 10:55 about the destruction of the world, 10:57 the destruction of Jerusalem. 11:01 And Jesus says here in Matthew 24 and verse 15. 11:05 "When you therefore 11:07 shall see the abomination of desolation, 11:10 spoken of by Daniel the prophet, 11:13 stand in the holy place, 11:15 whoso readeth, let him understand." 11:20 Jesus says right here 11:22 that when you look into the Old Testament 11:25 Book of Daniel, you can read it 11:28 and you can understand it. 11:32 Jesus, the living word of God 11:35 believed in the word of God Himself. 11:40 Turn with me to Mark Chapter 1. 11:42 Matthew, Mark, the very next book in your Bibles. 11:46 Mark Chapter 1 and verse 14. 11:52 The Bible says to us 11:53 here in Mark Chapter 1 and verse 14. 11:55 "Now after that John was put in prison, 11:59 Jesus came into Galilee, 12:01 preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God." 12:06 Jesus came preaching the gospel. 12:09 And Jesus said this of the gospel verse 15, 12:13 "The time is fulfilled, 12:16 and the kingdom of God is at hand, 12:18 repent ye, and believe the gospel." 12:22 Friends what time was Jesus talking about 12:26 when he said that, "time is fulfilled." 12:29 There is one prophecy in the Old Testament 12:32 that tells us about, 12:33 "when the time would be fulfilled." 12:36 And that time prophecy is found 12:38 in the Book of Daniel Chapter 9. 12:41 The Bible says in the Book of Daniel Chapter 9, 12:44 that there will be seventy weeks, 12:45 but after seven weeks and threescore and two weeks, 12:48 Messiah the prince will come along. 12:51 And Jesus is saying right here 12:53 that, that time is fulfilled. 12:57 Did Jesus believe in the validity 13:00 of the Old Testament scriptures? 13:03 Absolutely, it's the only Bible that Jesus had. 13:07 When the little boys in that first century 13:09 Galilean culture went to school, 13:11 they memorized the Torah, Genesis, 13:14 Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, 13:17 in their next level of education 13:18 they memorized the last 13:20 all the rest of the Old Testament scripture. 13:24 It was important to them, it was important to Jesus 13:28 and it should be important to us. 13:34 To accept Christ in his entirety 13:36 is to accept His word in its entirety. 13:40 We cannot as Christians pick and choose 13:43 like a Smorgasbord Restaurant, 13:45 what we want to 13:47 and don't want to eat from the Bible. 13:52 It's a whole package, it's a whole meal, 13:54 it' a full course. 14:00 Jesus believed in the Old Testament scriptures. 14:04 Jesus even read from the Old Testament scriptures. 14:08 Many, many Christians today want to throw 14:10 the Old Testament out, so that's why 14:11 this emphasis on this right now. 14:14 Turn with me to Luke, Matthew, Mark, Luke. 14:16 We're going to go to the right 14:17 in our Bibles again. 14:19 We are going to Luke. 14:21 Luke Chapter 4 and verse, 14:23 I'm not gonna to tell the verse right now 14:25 because I may ask you a question first. 14:27 Did Jesus have any bad habits? 14:30 Did Jesus read anything that Jesus never should have read? 14:34 Not at all. 14:35 Well, Bible tells us that Jesus was a sinless man. 14:40 The Bible says here in Luke Chapter 4 and verse 16. 14:43 Remembering that Jesus didn't have any bad habits, 14:45 nor did Jesus read any bad material. 14:47 The Bible says, "And he came to Nazareth," 14:51 Luke Chapter 4 verse 16, 14:53 "Where He had been brought up, 14:54 and, as His custom or His habit was, 14:58 He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, 15:01 and stood up for to read." 15:04 So here is the picture. 15:06 Jesus goes into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, 15:08 and Jesus is going to read from the Bible. 15:12 And they hand Jesus a particular scroll, 15:15 verse 17, and there was delivered unto Him 15:17 the book of the Prophet Isaiah. 15:21 Does that book sound familiar to those of you 15:23 that are familiar with 15:24 the Old Testament? Absolutely. 15:27 They hand to Him, the book of the Prophet Isaiah. 15:30 And when He had opened the book, 15:32 He found the place where it was written." 15:36 Verse 18, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, 15:41 because he hath anointed me 15:42 to preach the gospel to the poor, 15:45 he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, 15:49 preach deliverance to the captives, 15:51 and recovering of sight to the blind, 15:53 to set at liberty them that are bruised. 15:55 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord." 16:00 Jesus stands up in church and He begins to read 16:03 from the Old Testament Book of Isaiah. 16:07 And this is what Jesus says about that book, 16:10 about that passage that He just read. 16:12 Verse 20, "And he closed the book, 16:15 and He gave it again to the minister, and sat down. 16:18 And the eyes of all them 16:20 that were in the synagogue were fastened upon Him." 16:25 Can you imagine what it must have sounded like? 16:29 For the inspirer of the words 16:31 to read them aloud to others. 16:36 They were captivated by Jesus reading the scripture to them 16:41 and then while He had their attention, 16:43 He says something very potent. 16:47 Verse 21, "And He began to say unto them, 16:52 this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." 17:01 Friends the Old Testament is but a shadow of Jesus Christ, 17:08 pointing forward to Jesus Christ. 17:14 Jesus did not disregard the Old Testament scriptures 17:19 and neither should you. 17:24 Even if a minister tells you that 17:26 the Old Testament is outdated, 17:28 don't take it out of your Bible 17:29 or disregarded it in your mind. 17:31 Even if the minister tells you 17:32 that the gospels have different accounts, 17:35 don't take it out of your Bible 17:36 or disregard it in your mind. 17:39 Just because the Book of Revelation 17:40 has a lot of symbols, doesn't mean 17:42 that you dear friend by the grace of God 17:44 and through His spirit and power 17:47 can't understand it. 17:50 God teaches each one of us from His word. 17:55 Jesus believed in the validity 17:58 of the entire Bible. 18:01 The Bible that he had was the Old Testament Bible. 18:04 How can we disregard it 18:05 when Jesus regarded it Himself. 18:12 On the road to Emmaus, 18:13 Jesus gives two of His disciples a Bible study. 18:16 It's an Old Testament Bible Study 18:18 about the very word that became flesh. 18:21 Turn with me to Luke, the 24th Chapter, 18:24 Luke Chapter 24. 18:26 We are in Luke, just go to the right 18:28 to Chapter 24 verse 25. 18:33 "Jesus is walking on the road to Emmaus 18:35 with these two disciples and they don't know 18:37 who this man is that's walking with them." 18:40 And then Jesus says to them, 18:41 "O fools, and slow of heart 18:43 to believe all that the prophets have spoken." 18:47 All that the what have spoken? The prophets. 18:51 The ones that wrote the Old Testament scriptures, 18:54 Jesus says you need to believe them. 18:59 "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, 19:01 and to enter into his glory? 19:04 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, 19:07 Jesus expounded unto them in all the scriptures 19:10 the things concerning himself." 19:12 Jesus considered the Old Testament 19:14 to be valid and so should we. 19:19 We can't separate the Christ from the word, 19:22 nor can we separate the word from the Christ. 19:30 The reaction of those two disciples is 19:32 found in verse 28 through 32. 19:35 "And they drew nigh unto the village, 19:37 whither they went and he made as though 19:38 he would have gone further. 19:40 But they constrained him, saying, 19:42 Abide with us for it is toward evening, 19:45 and the day is far spent. 19:46 And He went in to tarry with them. 19:49 And it came to pass, as He sat at meat 19:52 and with them, He took bread, and blessed it, 19:56 and brake it, and gave to them." 19:59 Verse 31, "And their eyes were opened, 20:02 and they knew Him, and He vanished out of their sight." 20:07 Verse 32, "And they said one to another, 20:09 did not our heart burn within us, 20:11 while He talked with us by the way, 20:12 and while He opened to us the scriptures?" 20:16 Didn't our heart begin to burn 20:19 as we've recognized the Christ of the word 20:22 from the word itself? 20:26 Jesus made a promise in John Chapter 12, 20:30 "That if He is lifted up, He will draw all men to Him." 20:34 Friends, that is the purpose of the Bible 20:36 is to uplift Christ, so that men and women 20:38 can come to Him and be saved. 20:42 Some have said that the BIBLE stands 20:45 for the "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth." 20:49 And those instructions tell us that 20:51 if we believe in the Son of God, 20:53 we will be saved. 20:58 Their hearts began to burn within them. 21:01 The written word and the living word 21:04 had come together for these two men. 21:06 And just like Jeremiah of Old, 21:08 that Old Testament prophet, 21:10 their hearts begin to burn in themselves. 21:16 May be you've experienced that--as you have 21:18 spent time studying the word of God. 21:20 May be you've been listening to a particular preacher. 21:23 May be you've been listening to your minister 21:25 at home in your home church. 21:27 May be you've heard someone on television 21:29 preaching the sermon 21:30 and your heart just began to burn in you. 21:38 Jeremiah said in Jeremiah Chapter 20 and verse 9. 21:42 "Then I said, I will not make mention of him, 21:45 nor speak any more in his name. 21:46 But His word was in mine heart 21:49 as a burning fire shut up in my bones, 21:53 and I was weary with forbearing," 21:55 I was weary with not sharing that word, 21:57 "and I could not stay." 22:01 I had to tell someone, these two disciples, 22:06 the verse 33 in Luke 24 says, 22:08 "They rose up at the same hour," 22:10 after Jesus had disappeared and they go back 22:13 to where they came from, "they returned to Jerusalem, 22:16 and found the eleven gathered together, 22:17 and them that were with them." 22:18 They were so excited inside their hearts 22:21 that they had met the living word Jesus in the flesh. 22:27 If they had to tell someone, just like Jeremiah. 22:35 Friends, it is the word of God 22:37 that convicts and converts hearts. 22:41 Apart from the word of God, the Holy Spirit cannot work. 22:45 The spirit that inspires the word is the one 22:48 that works through the word when the word is preached. 22:51 All Jesus will try to get your attention in other ways. 22:54 I remembered before I really gave my heart 22:56 and my life to Jesus my friend. 22:59 I remembered that Jesus nudged me, 23:01 He tried to get my attention when things were still okay. 23:05 And then when I wouldn't listened, 23:06 He almost knocked me over and I still wouldn't listen. 23:09 And so He had to get out that spiritual Holy Sprit 23:12 two by four and He had a just whack me 23:15 upside the head with it to get my attention. 23:19 Friends, when God and His words speaks to you, 23:22 it will convict your heart 23:24 and God will convert your heart. 23:27 It is the word of God that calls us 23:28 our hearts to burn within us, 23:30 and it the word of God that gives us life. 23:33 Turn with me to John, you're in Luke. 23:36 Turn to the right in your Bibles to John. 23:39 John Chapter 1 verse 4, 23:42 remember John Chapter 1 verses 1, 2 and 3 23:45 talk about the word, "The word being with God, 23:47 the word being God, the word in the beginning with God." 23:52 Verse 4 says, "In him, in this word was life." 23:57 That word for life there 23:59 in the original Greek language is "Zoe." 24:02 Zoe is how you and I would spell it, 24:04 "Zoe" and it means life. 24:09 The Bible says, "In him, in the word was Zoe life." 24:16 Keep your hand there in John Chapter 1, 24:18 look at John Chapter 3 verse 16. 24:20 "For God so loved the world," John Chapter 3 verse 16. 24:23 "For God so loved the world 24:25 that He gave His only begotten Son, 24:28 that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, 24:31 but have everlasting Zoe life." 24:36 Whoever believes in the Son of God, 24:38 whoever believes in the word 24:40 that was made flesh has everlasting life. 24:49 Keep your finger there still in John Chapter 1 24:52 and you're gonna look at First John. 24:54 First John, all the way back saddled up against 24:56 near to the Book of Revelation. 25:01 John Chapter 1 or 1 John rather, 25:04 Chapter 5, 1 John Chapter 5 verse 11. 25:09 The Bible says, "And this is the record," 25:12 1 John Chapter 5 verse 11. 25:13 "And this is record that God hath 25:16 given to us eternal, Zoe, life. 25:20 God has given to us eternal, Zoe, life 25:25 and this, Zoe,life is in His Son. 25:30 He that hath the Son hath, Zoe, life and he that hath 25:35 not the Son of God hath not life, Zoe. 25:40 Friends, let's go back now to John Chapter 1 verse 4. 25:43 The Bible says here, 25:44 "In him, in the word made flesh was life." 25:52 If you and I want to experience life, 25:54 it will only be experienced through the word of God, 25:57 otherwise we are experiencing eternal death. 26:03 The Bible says, "In him was life, 26:07 in the word was a life." 26:08 It goes on to say in verse 4 John Chapter 1, 26:11 "And the life that, Zoe, was the light of men." 26:18 Not only in this word was life, 26:21 but this life 26:22 that was in this word was the light of men. 26:26 Friends, in Christ is life unborrowed. 26:31 Friend, in Christ is life original. 26:37 And friend, in Christ is life underived. 26:42 He is the author and the finisher of our life. 26:47 It is the word of God that was made flesh that saves us. 26:51 Remember if we believe on the one, 26:54 the word of God that was made flesh, 26:56 we will have everlasting life. 26:59 Turn with me to James Chapter 1 verse 21. 27:03 James Chapter 1, right after the Book of Hebrews 27:06 we have James, James Chapter 1 verse 21. 27:10 The very last part says, 27:12 "And receive with meekness the engrafted word," 27:16 being engrafted what? 27:17 Being grafted word the Bibles says, 27:19 "Which is able to save your souls." 27:24 Friends, we find life, we find salvation 27:29 in the word of God that was made flesh 27:33 and dwells among us. 27:35 Let's go back to John Chapter 1 verse 4. 27:38 John Chapter 1 verse 4, 27:40 some of you probably let it go, 27:42 so I'll give you a moment to get there. 27:44 John Chapter 1 and verse 4. 27:47 The Bible reads here in John Chapter 1 verse 4, 27:49 "In him was life, 27:52 and the life was the light of men." 27:56 The Bible says here that 27:58 "this life was the light of men." 28:01 Look at John Chapter 12. 28:04 Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. 28:06 John, we're in John Chapter 12. 28:09 Look at verse 46. 28:13 John Chapter 12, let's start in verse 42. 28:20 "Nevertheless among the chief rulers also 28:23 many believed on him, but because of the Pharisees 28:27 they did not confess him, 28:29 lest they should be put out of the synagogue." 28:34 Friends, it will come to that for us one day as well. 28:38 That our profession in Christ will cause us 28:41 to be kicked out of society. 28:46 Verse 43, "For they loved the praise of men 28:48 more than the praise of God." 28:50 Verse 44, "Jesus cried and said, 28:52 He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, 28:57 but on him that sent me. 29:00 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me." 29:05 Verse 46, let's focus here. 29:07 Jesus says, "I am come a light into the world, 29:12 that whosoever believeth on me should not abide 29:16 or live in darkness." 29:20 Jesus said that He came, so that men would not have 29:24 to live their life in darkness. 29:28 Darkness is defined as living a life apart from Christ. 29:35 Some peopl think that 29:36 they're living in a limelight of life, 29:38 but they're actually living in the darkness of the world 29:40 without Jesus. 29:44 The Bible has told us in John Chapter 1 and verse 4, 29:46 let's go back there. 29:48 John Chapter 1 and verse 4. 29:51 In Jesus, in this word that was made flesh was life 29:54 and the life was the light of men. 29:59 "And the light," verse 5, 30:01 "and the light shineth in darkness, 30:05 and the light shineth in darkness." 30:08 Now friends, listen there were two little boys 30:10 who one day were goofing off outside of their home. 30:14 They were, they were brothers you understand. 30:16 And they were, they were outside wondering 30:17 what in the world will we do with all of our time, 30:20 we're so bored what are we going to do. 30:22 And then one little brother 30:23 looks at the other brother and says, 30:26 "But I can stare at the sun longer than you can." 30:29 No, you can't either. Oh! Yes I can. 30:32 No, you can 'cause I've been practicing 30:33 staring at the sun. 30:34 You haven't been practicing staring. 30:35 Oh, yes I have. 30:36 And so he said, okay let's do it. 30:39 And both of those little boys just turned their eyes 30:40 right up to the sun. 30:44 And they kept them open, 30:45 you know, how it is their eyes started watering, 30:46 they just want to turn away, but they didn't want to lose, 30:49 you know that egoism that goes between brothers, 30:52 eventually they couldn't see, they began to scream mom, 30:58 mom and mom help us, help us, mom. 31:01 The mom comes outside she says, what happened? 31:03 What happened? What happened? 31:04 And they said Oh! We were staring at the sun. 31:06 Why did you staring at the Sun? 31:08 We were staring at the sun because I knew 31:09 I can do longer than he could. 31:11 She says we got to go to the doctor. 31:14 She takes her two little boys to the doctor. 31:17 The doctor examines their eyes, 31:20 the doctor says boys, 31:22 what in the world were you doing? 31:25 They said we were having a contest to see 31:27 who can stare at the sun, the longest. 31:32 And the doctor looked at those little boys 31:35 and he said son, the light it's not for staring at, 31:42 the light is for walking in. 31:48 Friends, the light of God's word 31:51 is not for staring at. 31:53 The light of God's word is for walking in. 32:00 The Bible says in John Chapter 1 and verse 5. 32:03 John Chapter 1 verse 5 32:04 that "The light shines in darkness, 32:06 and the darkness doesn't comprehended." 32:13 The darkness doesn't comprehended. 32:16 Now how many of you have ever gotten up 32:17 in the middle of the night 32:18 and you didn't want to turn the light on. 32:20 Why didn't you want to turn the light on? 32:23 Because it would hurt your eyes. 32:25 And many times people begin to study 32:27 the light of God's word 32:29 and it hurts their eyes a little bit 32:30 and so they don't like it, they get uncomfortable 32:32 and they turn it off. 32:37 You know they've come up with this new invention, 32:40 it's like a slider. 32:41 The house and my wife and I 32:43 and our family is staying the light in our bedroom, 32:47 has a little slider on it. 32:49 So if you get up in the middle of the night, 32:50 you need to go check on your kids, 32:51 you can just barely turn those lights on. 32:55 But even a little bit of light 32:57 after your eyes have been closed in darkness, hurts. 33:04 How many of you have ever gotten up 33:05 in the middle of the night and you go into the rest room 33:06 and you stepped you toe in some furniture. 33:09 You wish the light was on, don't you? 33:12 You wish that you've endured the short amount of pain 33:16 to get the light on, so that you could see, 33:18 so you wouldn't hav a black toe 33:19 for several weeks. 33:23 The Bible says that 33:24 "the light shined in darkness," 33:26 John Chapter 1 verse 5, let me get back there. 33:30 John Chapter 1 verse 5. 33:32 "The light shineth in darkness, 33:33 and the darkness comprehended it not." 33:36 Friends, when you turn the light on 33:38 in your house, the darkness goes away. 33:51 Turn with me to John Chapter 5, 33:53 to the right from John Chapter 1, 33:55 that's an obvious thing. 33:59 Jesus said in John Chapter 5 verse 39. 34:04 Jesus said, John Chapter 5 verse 39, 34:06 "Search the scriptures for in them," 34:10 in the word made flesh, in the written word, 34:16 "search the scriptures for in them, 34:18 you think you have eternal life," eternal Zoe, 34:26 "and they are they which testify of me." 34:31 Friends, when we try to take the Old Testament 34:34 out of the Bible, we misplace the Christ of the Bible. 34:43 When we disregard what the Old Testament says, 34:46 we disregard what the word made flesh says. 34:51 He says here, "Search the scriptures." 34:54 Friends, search the scriptures 34:55 for just in those words and not themselves 34:57 you think you have eternal life. 34:59 But those words are the ones 35:00 that testify of me Jesus says. 35:05 Verse 40, "When the light of God's word 35:09 shines into men's hearts" Jesus says here in verse 40, 35:13 "And you will not come to me, 35:15 that you might have life, Zoe." 35:25 The light is not for staring it, 35:27 the light is for walking in. 35:33 In Jesus day, men wanted the word without the Christ. 35:41 They wanted the Old Testament, 35:42 they wanted the rituals, they wanted the feats, 35:44 they wanted all of that, 35:45 but they wanted that apart from Christ. 35:51 Friends, we've studied today that we can't have 35:53 the Christ apart from the word. 35:57 Jesus says, the Bible says here, 36:01 "That the light shined in the darkness, 36:03 but the darkness did not comprehended." 36:05 How about in your life? 36:11 In Jesus day, men wanted the word 36:13 without the Christ and today think about this, 36:15 today people want the Christ without the word. Impossible. 36:26 In Jesus day, men wanted the word 36:28 without the Christ and today 36:30 people want the Christ without the word. 36:32 You just let me believe that 36:33 I'm saved in life will be grand 36:35 and dandy and I'll, now I live in a mansion here 36:38 on earth because, you know, 36:39 diligent brings you prosperity, I don't buy it. 36:48 How many of the original 36:49 12 disciples were wealthy men? 36:51 Not many, if any. 36:58 Christians today want to profess Christianity, 37:01 but they do not want the word of Christianity 37:03 to change their life. 37:08 They want to be able to say, I'm saved, 37:13 I can do whatever I want to do. 37:16 But that's not what the word of life says, is it. 37:25 Christians today want an experience. 37:29 They want a religion that they can experience, 37:33 but they don't want to experience a life change 37:36 through the word made flesh. 37:42 Friend, how is it with your soul? 37:46 How is it with you 37:47 and the author of the word of God? 37:58 Friend, what would keep you 38:00 from allowing the word made flesh? 38:04 What would keep you from allowing the word 38:07 which is the light of men? 38:11 What would keep you from allowing the word 38:14 to dwell safely in your heart? 38:22 There will be no more of this Christ 38:24 without the word in your life. 38:31 Today we have seen that we cannot separate Christ 38:33 from His word. 38:36 It was the eternal word of life 38:39 that allowed Himself to be hung on a cross. 38:44 So that you could make a decision 38:45 to let him engraft His word into you today. 38:53 It was the eternal word of life 38:55 that allowed Himself to be hung on a cross. 38:59 So that you could make a decision 39:01 to lead him engraft His word into you today. 39:05 What would keep you from allowing Christ, 39:08 the word made flesh to come into your life? 39:16 Is your allegiance to Christ greater, 39:20 than your allegiance to all other activities? 39:24 Is your allegiance to Christ greater 39:27 and greater importance to you than watching television? 39:35 Is the word made flesh, the one that wants to come 39:37 into your life and change you, 39:39 so important to you, 39:42 that you would deny something for that? 39:51 Is your allegiance to Christ in His word 39:53 greater than your allegiance 39:54 to all other pursuits in this life? 40:08 Friend, turn with me to Genesis Chapter 3. 40:13 Genesis Chapter 3, this is the famous fall chapter. 40:19 The chapter where sin entered into, 40:21 into that new created world that God had made. 40:27 Let's begin reading 40:28 in Genesis Chapter 3 and verse 15. 40:35 The Lord God is talking here 40:36 in Genesis Chapter3 verse 15. 40:38 And He says, "I will put enmity 40:40 between thee and the woman," talking to the serpent, 40:44 "and between thy seed and her seed, 40:47 and it shall bruise thy head, 40:49 and thou shalt bruise his heel. 40:53 Unto the woman he said, 40:54 I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception, 40:59 in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children 41:03 and thy desire shall be to thy husband, 41:04 and he shall rule over thee. 41:09 And unto Adam he said, 41:10 because you have hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, 41:13 and hast eaten of the tree, 41:15 of which I have commanded thee, 41:17 saying, Thou shalt not eat of it, 41:21 cursed is the ground for thy sake, 41:23 in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. 41:30 Thorns also and thistles it shall bring forth to thee 41:34 and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. 41:37 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, 41:42 till thou return unto the ground for out of it 41:44 thou wast taken for dust thou art, 41:46 and unto dust thou shalt return. 41:50 And Adam called his wife's name Eve, 41:53 because she was the mother of all living." 41:58 They had both just received their death sentences 42:02 and Adam names his wife Eve, 42:04 because she is the mother of all living. 42:10 Verse 21, "Unto Adam also 42:12 and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, 42:15 and clothed them. 42:16 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man 42:18 is become as one of us, to know good and evil 42:25 and now, lest he put forth his hand, 42:29 and take also of the tree of life, 42:30 and eat, and live for ever. 42:34 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth 42:36 from the Garden of Eden," and take note 42:38 "to till the ground from whence he was taken." 42:41 Verse 24, take a note of this. 42:42 "So he drove the man out, and he placed at the east 42:48 end of the garden Cherubims," 42:52 he placed angels there 42:53 at the east end of the garden, 42:55 "and a flaming sword which turned every way, 43:01 to keep the way of the tree of life." 43:06 Now friends, the Garden of Eden 43:08 was a garden that was on this earth. 43:12 In the middle of this Garden of Eden 43:14 that was here on this earth, 43:15 there was a tree called the tree of life. 43:19 And the very same thing that 43:21 God at the tree of life took 43:23 from Adam and Eve getting back into the tree of life. 43:28 Is the very same thing that guards us 43:31 from entering heaven today? 43:32 Turn with me to Revelation Chapter 22. 43:36 Revelation 22, Revelation is just 43:40 at the opposite end of your Bible there. 43:42 Revelation 22 and verse 1. 43:45 The Bible says here, "And he showed me 43:47 a river of water of life, clear as crystal, 43:52 proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 43:56 In the midst of the street of it, 44:00 and on either side of the river, 44:02 was the tree of life," the very tree 44:07 that was guarded in the Garden of Eden 44:09 by those angels, by that flaming sword 44:13 is now guarded in heaven by another flaming sword. 44:22 The Bible says here 44:23 continuing on in Revelation 22. 44:25 "In the midst of the street of it, 44:26 and on either side of the river, 44:27 there was the tree of life, 44:29 which bare twelve manner of fruits." 44:31 Friends, the tree of life is where the throne of God, 44:34 is in where the throne of the lamb are 44:37 and that tree is being guarded by a flaming sword. 44:42 Let's look at this, you're thinking to yourself. 44:44 This preacher has lost his mind. 44:47 What do you mean it's guarded by a flaming sword? 44:50 Turn with me in your Bibles, turn with me my friends. 44:52 Let's go to Psalm 119, 105. 44:56 It's the Old Testament Book of Psalms, 44:58 we're going to Psalm 119 and verse 105. 45:06 Psalm 119 verse 105 45:09 and the Bible reads like this, 45:12 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, 45:17 and a light unto my path." 45:21 Friends, the Bible is a light 45:23 that shines brighter and brighter 45:25 even onto the coming of Jesus Christ. 45:28 It was a flaming sword, 45:30 a sword that was full of light, 45:32 that was guarding the entrance 45:34 to the Garden of Eden, so that Adam and Eve 45:37 could not get back into the tree of life. 45:40 So that they could not perpetuate sin for eternity. 45:43 And it is the flame, the light of the Bible, 45:47 the word made flesh in whom was light 45:50 and that light was the life of men 45:53 that guards the way to the tree today. 45:58 Okay pastor, we've got the light now. 46:01 We've got the flame, show me 46:02 where do we get the sword? 46:06 Let's go back to the New Testament. 46:08 The New Testament Book of Ephesians. 46:11 Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 46:13 right after Corinthians, you have Galatians 46:17 then you have Ephesians 46:18 and we are going to Ephesians Chapter 6. 46:22 Ephesians, the 6th Chapter. 46:25 Let's begin in verse 10, 46:26 Ephesians Chapter 6 and verse 10. 46:29 The Bible says, "Finally, my brethren, 46:31 be strong in the Lord, 46:33 and in the power of his might. 46:36 Put on the whole armour of God, 46:37 that you may be able to stand 46:38 against the wiles of the devil." 46:41 Put on the whole armour of God, 46:42 that you may be able to stand up 46:44 against the temptation of the devil bring to you. 46:48 "For we wrestle," verse 12, "not against flesh and blood, 46:50 but against principalities, against powers, 46:53 against rulers of the darkness of this world, 46:56 against spiritual wickedness in high places." 47:00 Verse 13, "Wherefore take unto you 47:02 the whole armour of God, that you may be able 47:05 to withstand in the evil day, 47:07 and having done all, to stand." 47:12 Verse 14, "Stand therefore, 47:14 having your loins girt about with truth," 47:19 sanctify them by thy truth, thy word is truth, 47:23 "and having on the breastplate 47:25 of righteousness, Christ righteousness. 47:28 And your feet shod with the preparation 47:31 of the gospel of peace. 47:33 And above all the Bible says, taking the shield of faith, 47:39 wherewith ye shall be able to quench 47:41 all the fiery darts of the wicked. 47:45 And take the helmet of salvation," 47:47 and friend here is where we get to the sword, 47:51 "take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, 47:57 which is the word of God." 48:02 Friends, people want to separate 48:05 the Christ from the word, 48:06 they want to say I believe in Christ, 48:08 I'm going to heaven, I'm going to eat 48:10 of that tree of life, that's in the, 48:12 in the by the throne of God and of the lamb. 48:16 But, my friends, when we deny 48:18 the Christ of the word, 48:21 when we deny the word of the Christ, 48:24 then we can't have the Christ. 48:28 The very same thing the flaming sword 48:30 that guarded the entrance to the Garden of Eden 48:33 and kept Adam and Eve away from the tree of life, 48:36 guards it even today. 48:41 God has given us a flame in His word, 48:44 the word made flesh which was the light of men. 48:51 And the Bible describes itself as a sword. 48:55 You remember Hebrews Chapter 4 verse 12. 48:58 "For the word of God is quick and powerful 49:00 and sharper than any two-edged sword, 49:06 piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, 49:09 and the joints and the marrow, 49:11 and is a discerner of the thoughts 49:12 and the intents of the heart." 49:14 Friend, we cannot have the Christ 49:16 apart from the word. Impossible. 49:24 In Jesus day, men wanted to have 49:28 the word apart from the Christ. 49:30 Today, people want to have 49:31 the Christ apart from the word. 49:33 How is it in your life? 49:37 Have you been disregarding the word 49:39 and what the word has been asking you to do? 49:44 Have you been claiming and saying the famous hey, 49:46 I'm saved, I can do whatever I want to do, 49:48 I'm saved, I'm saved. 49:51 Friends, what are you saved from 49:52 if you keep doing what you've always done? 49:57 People that are saved can always tell you 49:59 what they were saved from. 50:00 I was in a car one day with a very good friend of mine. 50:04 And I said to him, I said man, 50:06 tell me what have you been saved from? 50:11 He said sin. 50:15 I said man that's an obvious answer 50:18 but really what have you been saved from, 50:20 give me something tangible, something I can hold onto. 50:25 He says, I don't understand the question. 50:27 I said, what has Jesus done for you. 50:34 He said, He saved me. 50:35 I said, from what? 50:38 He said, I don't know. 50:41 I just don't know. 50:46 Friends, God word tells us what we've been saved from. 50:55 To accept Christ in his entirety. 50:58 Is to accept the word of God in its entirety. 51:07 Friend, what is it that would keep you today 51:10 from making the Christ of the word, 51:14 the word of your life. 51:19 If the Bible is really the basic instructions 51:22 before leaving earth. 51:24 What would keep you friend at home, 51:29 from taking the word into your life? 51:40 The Bible teaches at 51:41 "the way of the transgressor is hard." 51:49 "The way of the transgressor is hard." 51:53 That must mean that the way 51:54 of the righteous man is easier 51:58 than the way of the transgressor. 52:03 When we try to separate the Christ from His word, 52:07 we lose out on the importance of the Christ. 52:17 Friend, is it your desire to say to Jesus today. 52:22 Jesus, I want Your word to be my all in all. 52:31 Is it your desire to say to Jesus, my friend? 52:36 Jesus, my life has not been lived according to your will. 52:41 I have been denying the word of the Christ, 52:44 but now I want both of them, 52:46 I want the word made flesh 52:49 Jesus Christ to living me fully. 52:58 Is it your desire to say Jesus, 53:00 I want my life to be a mirror of Your word. 53:14 Friends, we can't take any portion of the Bible 53:17 and set it to the side, 53:20 just because somebody says, you should do that. 53:28 Just because someone says, it's too hard to understand 53:31 doesn't mean that you cannot understand it. 53:40 There was a father, he was a businessman. 53:43 He traveled extensively. 53:45 He was gone from home more often than he was at home. 53:49 And in order to make up for that difference, 53:53 he would always bring his daughters gifts. 53:56 He had two little girls, one was eleven, one was six. 54:02 Just two cute little girls. 54:04 And he would, he would bring them home 54:06 a doll from Germany. 54:08 You know only the best for his kids. 54:13 He would bring them home 54:14 some, some chocolate from Switzerland. 54:18 Only the best, you know. 54:23 He would bring them home all kinds of toys, 54:25 all kinds of games, all just, 54:28 all different kinds of things. 54:32 And he decided one day, he was gonna bring them 54:34 something that can actually teach them. 54:37 So he bought them a puzzle. 54:41 It was a puzzle that was a map of the world. 54:45 Just a big had lots of pieces, 54:47 you know, maybe 3,000 piece puzzle. 54:53 And he brought this puzzle home 54:54 and he told his girls that, 54:56 that they can work on their present 54:57 once they opened it. 54:59 And you know, he went before he got into the house 55:02 they met him out in the yard just squealing daddy's home, 55:04 daddy's home, daddy's home. 55:05 And he gives them the box and they both carried in 55:10 one hold in one in and one hold in the other 55:12 and they're shaking it, Oh, what is it, 55:13 what is it sound like its got a lot of lose things in it. 55:16 May be it some may be it some balls, 55:18 may be it some, may be it some doll shoes 55:20 for our little dolls. 55:22 What is it, what is it daddy? 55:23 Well, let's go and see mommy. 55:25 They go and see mommy. 55:27 Mommy says, well let's open up your gift 55:29 and see what you have. 55:31 So these little girls rip open that box 55:33 and on the front of that puzzle box, 55:36 they see this picture of the world. 55:41 And they said we know it was a puzzle papa, 55:44 we know it was a puzzle. 55:47 We can hear it, we can hear it. 55:48 He says, we'll put it together. 55:51 And those girls they, they dumped 55:54 all those puzzle pieces out of there 55:55 on the living room table and they set the box up, 55:58 so that they could see the picture of the world. 56:02 And they begin to turn all the pieces 56:03 over making sure they have the right colors 56:05 turned up because it was a two-sided puzzle. 56:09 And they tried and they tried 56:11 and they tried to put it together. 56:12 But they had rivers where rivers shouldn't be, 56:14 they had the mountains 56:15 where the mountains shouldn't be. 56:17 They had Florida in Alaska, Alaska in Florida. 56:19 And the youngest girl gave up in frustration, 56:22 I can't do it papa. 56:24 And she threw some pieces of puzzle down there. 56:28 When she did 56:29 some of the other puzzle pieces turned over 56:31 and the oldest girl noticed that 56:33 there was a man's finger on one of the puzzle pieces. 56:38 And she quickly begin to turn all those puzzle pieces over 56:41 and she squealed and delighted his sister, 56:43 come look, come look, come look. 56:44 There was a man on the back of this puzzle 56:46 and they focused on that man 56:48 and they put together that puzzle in a picture of Jesus. 56:55 And then when they were finished 56:56 their dad took that puzzle 56:57 and just turned it over ever so gently, 56:59 you know, you can do that. 57:02 And all the mountains, the rivers, Florida, Alaska, 57:05 all in the right place. 57:08 Friends, when we focused on the word that is made flesh, 57:11 our life will be in the right place. |
Revised 2014-12-17