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What is a Christian: By Declaration · CCC West Covina

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Father, we thank you, Lord, for tonight and the opportunity you
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give us to study Your word. Truly, Lord, it is a great
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blessing to be able to examine the text of Scripture and to
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realize that You have spoken very clearly, without any
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confusion, without any kind of mishaps.
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It's all the truth of the living God.
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And because of that, Lord, we can take it for what it is at
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face value, that it's a holy word of God and therefore it
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speaks to every aspect of our lives and it moves us on to
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maturity because it does a great work in those who believe.
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So we're asking that tonight, Lord, as we study it, you do a
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great work in all of us that truly we would come to
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understand the beauty of your character and that we would
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truly be followers of the Lord Jesus Christ as we understand
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what Christianity is all about. So we thank you, Lord, in Jesus
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name, Amen. The question is, what is a
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Christian? What is a Christian?
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That's the question and the answer has been seen over the
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last couple of weeks by looking at the Christian's decision.
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That's Luke Chapter 9 verse #23 that is that he decides to
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follow Christ, to take up his cross and deny himself.
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And then we saw what a Christian is by looking at the definition
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of a Christian. That's Philippians chapter 3
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verse #3 that the marked one, the true believer, is one who
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worships God in spirit, who glory is only in Christ Jesus,
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and takes no confidence in his flesh.
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And then we looked at the Christian and his description.
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That was last week, 2nd Corinthians 521, that if any man
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be in Christ, he is a new creation, old things that passed
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away. Behold all things that become
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new. So the description of a believer
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is that he is in Christ and Christ is in him.
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Tonight we're going to look at the Christian from the
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perspective of his declaration. In other words, all true
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believers declare the same thing.
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That is, they declare the identity of the Messiah and they
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declare the ministry of the Messiah.
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In other words, they understand who he is and they understand
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what he did. In other words, they make a
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declaration without any reservation, without any
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hesitation, and without any question.
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And they make that declaration with true conviction, passion,
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and resolution. In other words, they know
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exactly who Christ is, and they know exactly what Christ came to
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do. So Christian is known not just
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by his decision, not just by his definition and description, but
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by his declaration. To understand that, turn with me
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in your Bible to the Luke's Gospel, the 9th chapter, Luke
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Chapter 9, and in the narrative of Luke Chapter 9, Christ is
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going to ask a question, and that question centers around his
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identity. And then he's going to give some
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instruction, and that instruction centers around his
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ministry. Everything about the Christ
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focuses in on who he is and what he did.
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And all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ who truly and
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genuinely know who he is have the same declaration about his
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identity and his ministry. So it's a very familiar
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narrative to us, but I think that will it will open your eyes
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to many things this evening. In fact, we're going to help you
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understand why is it those who are closest to you are the
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furthest from the Kingdom. We're going to help you
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understand why your father or your mother, your brother or
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your sister, your aunt or your uncle, your son or your daughter
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refuse to believe the things that you believe in spite of
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overwhelming evidence, in spite of the very clear indicators of
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Scripture. What is it that keeps them from
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embracing Christ as their Messiah?
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What is it that that keeps them from understanding the things
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that you understanding you understand?
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What keeps them from grip gripping that the glorious
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gospel of Christ that you have completely and totally absorbed
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yourself in. We're going to answer that
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question for you this evening. But first Luke Chapter 9 verse
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#18 says and it happened that while he was praying alone, the
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disciples were with him and he questioned them saying, who do
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the people say that I am? They answered and said, John the
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Baptist and others say Elijah, but others, that one of the
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prophets of old has risen again. And he said to them, But who do
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you say that I am? And Peter answered and said, The
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Christ or the Messiah of God? But he warned them and
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instructed them not to tell this to anyone, saying the Son of Man
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must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief
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priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up.
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On the third day. Christ asked the most valuable
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question ever, the most important question that could
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ever be asked. Who do you say that I am?
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If you answer it correctly, then your soul will live in delight.
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If you answer it incorrectly, your soul will be damned
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forever. So you must answer the question
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correctly because it deals with the identity of who Christ is.
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Once you understand who He is, then you can begin to understand
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what it is he does or what it is that he did.
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Now Luke's gospel, it's important to realize where
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you're at, what's happening here in the gospel.
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Why is the question asked at this time?
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Luke is is building toward this crescendo of who is Christ?
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What is his identity? Everything about the Gospels
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centers around the identity of Christ.
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John's gospel talks to us about his deity, that Jesus is God in
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the flesh. Matthew's gospel talks to us
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about his royalty, that he's the king of Israel, the king of the
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universe, and he has a Kingdom that he presents.
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Mark's gospel talks to us about his humility, that he's a great
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and wonderful servant. And then of course, Luke's
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gospel talks to us about his humanity, that he's God in human
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flesh. And yet all the gospels point to
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the identity of Christ. In fact, this is how John sums
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it up in John chapter 20. He says therefore many other
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signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples,
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which are not written in this book, but these have been
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written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
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Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
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John says there are so many other miracles that Christ did
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that are not recorded here, but these have been recorded, that
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you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, and
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that believing the fact that he is the Messiah, you will have
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life in his name. You see, it's absolutely
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essential that you understand that Jesus is the Messiah.
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Can one be saved and not believe that Jesus is the Messiah?
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Answer no. John just told you these things
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are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the
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Christ, the Son of God, and that believing that fact, you have
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life in his name. You cannot be a Christian and
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not believe that Jesus is the Messiah.
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To be a Christian means, I declare the fact that Jesus
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Christ is God's Messiah. That's very, very important to
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understand that, you see, because he really is truly God's
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Messiah. He is not Israel's Messiah, and
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he's not your Messiah, He's God's Messiah.
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That's Peter's confession in Luke 9.
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You are the Christ of God. You are the anointed of God.
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You are the Messiah of God. Simeon says the same thing in
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Luke chapter 2. I have seen the Lord's Christ.
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I have seen the Lord's Messiah. Same thing Peter says in Acts
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chapter 3 when he says that God announced beforehand by the
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mouth of all the prophets, that his, that is God's Christ, God's
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Messiah, would suffer and he has thus fulfilled that.
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You see, the Messiah is God's Messiah.
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You didn't anoint him, God anointed him.
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You didn't appoint him. God appointed him.
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He is God's Messiah. He is God's anointed.
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Very important to realize that because you cannot become a
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Christian unless you understand who Jesus Christ is.
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It's all about his identity. He is the Messiah of God.
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He's God's Messiah. So in the context of Luke
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Chapter 9, Christ asks the question, what is the popular
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opinion of who I am? Matthew's account says what do
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people say or who do people say the Son of Man is?
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Then say that in Luke's Gospel. But in Matthews it does very
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important to understanding the question, what is the popular
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opinion of who I am? And then he says, But who do you
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say that I am? What is the personal opinion?
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Because you see, the popular opinion is wrong.
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Well, some say you are Elijah, but no one is saying that you
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are the eternal one. Some say you are John the
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Baptist, but no one is saying you are Jehovah God.
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Some say you are one of the prophets, but no one is saying
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that you are the prophet that was prophesied in the book of
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Deuteronomy. Everybody's saying that you're
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great, but nobody's saying you're God.
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That's the popular opinion. So Christ says, but who do you
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say that I am? Because when you stand before
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Christ, your parents won't be with you, the crowds won't be
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with you. It'll be you and the Lord, and
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you have to give an account for who you say the Son of Man is,
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and does that account match with the Bible says about Jesus
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Christ our Lord? Now, this is very important
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because Luke is building toward this question, building toward
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this scenario. When Christ asks, who do men say
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that I am? This is life's most important
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question because you can't ask what must I do to be saved
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unless you ask who is the Son of Man?
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One flow flows out of the other. So Christ asked the question.
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But Luke has been building through this because every
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chapter leading up to Luke Chapter 9 speaks to us about the
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identity of Christ, who He is. That is just so important to
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understand. In fact, it says in Luke 1 when
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the Angel Gabriel came to Zacharias, he told him in verse
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#17 it is he who will go as a forerunner, speaking to
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Zacharias about his son John the Baptist.
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He will be the forerunner to the Messiah.
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So in chapter 1 of Luke, we have the announcement about the
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forerunner is going to come before the Lord.
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And then you have Gabriel's encounter with Mary.
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He tells Mary that you will conceive in your room bear a
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son, and you shall name, name him Jesus.
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He will be great. He will be called the Son of the
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Most High God. So everything is about the
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identity of the Messiah. Then Mary writes this song and
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Zacharias writes this song under the inspiration of the Scripture
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to talk to us about the Messiah, his identity and his ministry.
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Then you move into Luke chapter 2, and then the angels come to
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the shepherds, and they declare very loudly the identity of the
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Messiah. For unto you this day in the
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city of David has been born a Savior who is Christ the Lord.
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They understand that the Savior's been born.
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The Messiah is here. So they go to Mary and they
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proclaim the same thing. They declare the same message to
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Mary. And then you have the encounter
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with Simeon, and Simeon recognizes that this is the
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Lord's Messiah. Again, he is identified by
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Simeon. And then you come to Anna.
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She identifies him by proclaiming to everybody who he
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is the Messiah. And then you come to that
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encounter in Luke chapter 2 at the end of Luke the 2nd chapter,
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where Christ himself is now 12 years of age.
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And it's the only encounter we have of Christ between his birth
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and when he's 30, and that is at the age of 12.
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And he's going to speak. And what Christ says is the most
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important statement he ever makes.
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What Christ says in Luke chapter 2 is the most important
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statement that He will ever make as the Messiah on this planet.
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Remember, He's lost. When He's not lost, His parents
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leave Jerusalem without him. They come back to find him.
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He's in the temple. He's having this encounter with
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the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the scribes.
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He's asking them questions. They're asking Him questions.
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And they come and find Him and they say, where have you been?
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We've been looking all over for you.
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And what does Jesus say? Don't you know I must be about
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my Father's business? This is the most important
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statement that Christ ever makes, and he does it at age 12.
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And the Bible says that Mary is confused, and so is Joseph
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because he's making this declaration about his identity.
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I'm not your son, Mary. I'm not Joseph's son.
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I am my father's son. I am the Son of God.
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He makes it very clear. You see, they know he's virgin
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born, they know he's the Son of the Most High.
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They know his whole life of perfection up to this point, but
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they are still confused about the identity of the Messiah.
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As he says, I must be about my Father's excuse me, business.
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That's very important because you see, 151 times Christ refers
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to the God of heaven as his Father 151 times.
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That's very, very important. Why?
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Because there are 39 books in the Old Testament, and of those
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39 books in the Old Testament, there is only two times that the
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God of heaven is referred to as Father only twice, but not in a
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personal sense, only in a national sense that He is the
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Father nationally over Israel. There are 15 other times in
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those 39 books that is referred to as a Father indirectly, but
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never would a Jew refer to the God of heaven as his personal
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father. Jesus is the first to do so
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because he recognizes and understands that his Father in
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heaven He is one with. That's very, very important.
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So if you go with me over to John chapter 5, all this is the
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is, is defined for you. Remember in John 5 there at the,
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the pool of Bethesda, the House of Mercy.
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And at this pool, there's this, there's this belief that if an
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Angel comes and, and stirs the water, the very first sick
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person in the pool is healed. OK, now I that's not true.
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It's just what they believed. But we know that Jesus is the
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ultimate healer. He's called Jehovah Rapha in
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Exodus chapter 15, the Lord my healer.
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So we know that God's a healer. And there's a man that's been
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paralyzed for 38 years, 38 years.
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And Christ asked him, do you want to be made well?
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Do you want to be healed well? Of course he does.
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He tells them to take up his palate and walk.
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The problem is it's on the Sabbath day in the Pharisees,
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they go crazy over this. They go bonkers.
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Not the fact that the guy's healed, but that he's walking
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with his palate on the Sabbath day and they're incensed.
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And so they ask him, who healed you?
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He says, Jesus healed me. And so when you pick up the
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narrative in verse #17 it says, or Jesus answered them, that is
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the Jews. Now in John's gospel, the Jews
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are always the leadership of Israel.
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They're not the nation itself. The Jews in John's gospel are
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always referred to as the leaders, the Pharisees, the
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Sadducees, the scribes. So he says these words.
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My Father is working until now, and I myself am working.
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Great statement. Now this is what it says.
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Verse 18 For this reason, therefore, the Jews were seeking
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all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking
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the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father,
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making Himself equal to God. When Jesus says that He is the
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Son of God, when Jesus says that the God of heaven is my Father,
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He is making Himself equal with God.
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And every Jew knew that. That's why they wanted to kill
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Him. In fact, if you go over to John
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chapter 10 and John 10, it says this in verse #30I and the
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Father are one. The Jews picked up stones again
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to stone Him. Jesus answered them.
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I showed you many good works from the Father.
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For which of them are you stoning me?
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The Jews answered him for a good work.
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We do not stone you, but for blasphemy, and because you,
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being a man, make yourself out to be God.
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See, the Jews knew that when Christ claimed that the God of
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heaven was His Father, He was claiming equality with God.
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No Jew in the history of Judaism would ever call the God of
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heaven their Father because they are not equal in nature to God.
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But Jesus is. That's very important.
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That's why he's called the Son of God.
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In fact, the confession that Peter makes in Matthew's account
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of what Luke is talking about, Luke 9, is Thou art the Christ,
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the Son of the living God. Very, very important to realize
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that. Now remember in the Old
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Testament there are there there's a phrase sons of God.
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In the Old Testament, the sons of God are always angels.
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In the New Testament, the phrase sons of God is Jews also.
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That's always referring to believing Jews or believing
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Gentiles. But the Son of God is a title
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reserved only for the Messiah of Israel.
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And when it says that Jesus is the Son of God, the word for son
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is we OS very important because we OS never refers to the origin
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of an individual. We OS always refers to equality
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of nature and position. Jesus is never called the little
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born one of God. That would be the word brief OS.
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He's never called the little child of God.
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That would be Tecnon. But he's called the Son of God.
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And the word for Son is we OS, and it never refers to the
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origin of anything. It only refers to equality of
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nature. It refers to the position of
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privilege. That's very important.
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So not only is Jesus called the Son of God, he's also called the
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only begotten, right, the monogenes.
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But that doesn't mean that he is begotten of God in terms of
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being born or created. No, He's called the monoganase,
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and that is a word that deals with preeminence or the son of
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choice. It's like it's like Isaac was
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the monoganase. He was the only begotten of
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Abraham, but he wasn't the only son of Abraham.
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He wasn't even the oldest son of Abraham.
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Ishmael was. But Isaac was the only begotten
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son. He was a son of choice.
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He was a son of privilege. He was the select one, the
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unique one. That's what monoganase means.
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Jesus is always called also called the first born of
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creation, the pro total cost. That doesn't mean he was the
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first one ever created, because he wasn't.
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He was never created. He's the eternal God, but He is
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the prototocost, meaning he is the the of all those ever
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created. He is the preeminent. 1
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Revelation 1/5 says He is the first born of all those who are
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resurrected. That doesn't mean he was the
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first one resurrected. It means that of all the people
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that will ever be resurrected, He is the preeminent one.
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That's what prototocost means. These are things you need to
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know when you talk to Jews or when you talk to Jehovah's
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Witnesses, because they can't refute that, they can't defend
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that. They don't know what to say when
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you begin to talk, to talk to them like that, because they
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can't answer those questions. But you see, it all goes to the,
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to the, to the grammar that describes the identity of
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Christ, that he is the Son of the living God.
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So Christ comes and asks the question, who do men say that I
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am? And, and this is so important
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because as you go through the, the gospel of Luke, he's always
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declaring his identity. In fact, if you, if you go back
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to, to Luke chapter 3, in Luke chapter 3, you have the ministry
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of John the Baptist and John the Baptist calls him the expected
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one. And that was a title from Psalm
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118 and Psalm 40 to talk about the coming Messiah.
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And so he identifies him as the expected one.
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And his baptism in Luke chapter 3, it says.
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And the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a
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dove, and a voice came out of heaven.
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You are my beloved Son, and you I am well pleased.
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So again, his Father in heaven identifies him as his beloved
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Son. As you go on to chapter 4,
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listen, even the devil knows the identity of Jesus.
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It says in verse #3 And the devil said to him, since you are
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the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.
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So the testimony of the devil affirms the identity of the
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Messiah. They truly is the Son of God.
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And then you go to verse #34 of chapter 4 and listen to what the
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demons say. Let us alone.
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What business do we have with each other?
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Jesus of Nazareth, have you come to destroy us?
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I know who you are. You are the Holy One of God.
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So again, there's a declaration of the identity of the Messiah
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by the devil, by the demons, by John the Baptist, by Mary, by
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Anna, by Simeon, by Zacharias. It just keeps coming over and
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over and over again. Even even Peter in Luke chapter
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5 says go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.
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And then even over in chapter Chapter 7, at the healing of the
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widow's son at Name, they understand that God has visited
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his people when the widow's son at Name was resurrected.
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And then of course, John the Baptist again calls him the
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expected one. All these things are happening
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all the while during Jesus's ministry, and yet still people
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don't understand who He is. And the question comes, how do
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they not get it? How do not grasp it?
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In fact, if you if you go back to Luke chapter chapter 5, the
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Pharisees ask this question, who is this man who speaks
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blasphemies, who can forgive sins, but God alone?
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And then you come over to chapter Chapter 7 and they asked
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the same question again. Who is this man who forgives
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sins? And then even the disciples
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chapter 8, who then is this that he commands even the winds and
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the water to obey him? Even Herod in the 9th chapter of
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Luke, who is this man about whom I hear such things?
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See, that's the question. That's why Jesus asked, who do
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men say that I am? Because all throughout his
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ministry people are asking, who is this guy?
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Who is this Nazarene? Who is this one claiming to
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forgive sins? Who is this one?
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Satan knows who he is. The demons know who he is.
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But the people around Israel, they have no idea who Jesus is.
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In spite of all the miracles, in spite of all the messages, they
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still don't grasp the fact that Jesus is the Son of the living
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God. They still don't grasp the
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identity of the Messiah. And you cannot be saved unless
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you know who he is. You cannot, and that's so
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important. That's why every Christian has
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the same declaration. They declare his identity, that
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he is a son of the living God, and they declare his ministry
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that he came to die for the sins of man.
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They understand that and they declare it loudly without any
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reservation. The Old Testament is filled with
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the arrival of the coming Messiah and who he would be.
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There was no excuse for Israel to miss it.
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You can go all the way back to the prophet Isaiah who says
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these words. For a child will be born to us,
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a son will be given, and the government will rest on his
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shoulders, and his name will be called.
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Wonderful counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of
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Peace. This is what his name is called.
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Remember, God doesn't have names plural.
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Jesus doesn't have names, plural.
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He only has one name, and it manifests itself in different
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attributes. It manifests itself in a
30:39
multitude of character references, but it doesn't have
30:43
names. His name will be called
30:46
Wonderful. His name will be called
30:48
Counselor. His name will be called the
30:52
Mighty God, the El Gabor. So the son given is God El
30:57
Gabor. He's also the Father of eternity
31:00
or the Everlasting Father, or the originator of eternity.
31:04
To be the father of something would mean to be the originator
31:07
of something. And so he's called the Father of
31:10
eternity. He is the originator of
31:12
eternity. The only one who can be the
31:14
originator of eternity is somebody who is eternal.
31:17
So he is the eternal God. He is the El Gabor.
31:20
He is the Son that's given. So it's unmistakable in the Old
31:25
Testament. In fact, it says over in Isaiah
31:28
44 verse #6 these words, Isaiah 44 verse #6 thus says the Lord.
31:35
Thus says Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the
31:43
Lord of hosts, or Jehovah Sabiath.
31:48
Wait a minute, you have two Jehovahs.
31:51
How can you have two Jehovahs? There's only one, unless the 2
31:59
are one. That's very important because he
32:02
says, look, thus says Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his
32:07
Redeemer, Jehovah of armies. I am the 1st and I am the last,
32:15
and there is no God beside me. So there's only one God, but he
32:19
manifests himself as Redeemer, the Lord of hosts.
32:23
He manifests himself as the King of Israel because that's who
32:27
Jehovah is. That's very important.
32:30
And so it's unmistakable that there is a Redeemer.
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That Redeemer is the first and the last.
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That Redeemer is God in the flesh.
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Same thing is true over in Zechariah chapter 12, when God
32:46
says I will pour out on the House of David and on the
32:50
heavens of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication, so
32:54
that they will look on me whom they have pierced.
32:58
That's a great question. How do you look upon a God who
33:03
is a spirit who has been pierced?
33:07
Because every Jew knows that God is a spirit and Jehovah God is
33:11
speaking. So he says, I will pour out on
33:15
the House of David the spirit of grace and suffocation, and they
33:18
will look on me. This is Jehovah speaking whom
33:22
they have pierced. So you ask a Jew, when was the
33:26
God of heaven pierced? That's a great question.
33:32
How will they answer that? It says, and they will mourn for
33:38
him. Well, who's the hymn?
33:40
I thought it was, You're going to mourn for me, the one who was
33:43
pierced, but you're going to mourn for him.
33:46
Who is the Him? It's the Messiah, the Messiah of
33:50
Israel. You will mourn for him as one
33:52
mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over him.
33:57
You see, the triune nature of God is explicitly identified all
34:02
throughout the Old Testament. In fact, it says down in chapter
34:05
13 verse #7 Awake, O sword against my shepherd.
34:09
Why? Because the shepherds of Israel
34:11
led the nation into Pagan idolatry.
34:14
They LED them away from the Lord.
34:16
So God says, I'm going to send my shepherd.
34:19
And so he says, awake, O sword against my shepherd and against
34:23
the man. Now the phrase the man is not an
34:26
ordinary man. He is a supernatural man.
34:29
He is a unique kind of man. It says my associate in Hebrew.
34:34
It means my equal awake, O sword against my shepherd, the man who
34:39
is my equal. Well, who was that?
34:42
That's the Messiah. And it says this declares the
34:45
Lord of hosts strike the shepherd, that the sheep may
34:48
scattered. It speaks of the death of the
34:50
shepherd, the death of the man, the death who was one who was
34:53
equal with the God, who was speaking Jehovah himself.
34:58
So all throughout the Old Testament, everything pointed to
35:01
the identity of the coming Redeemer, the Messiah of Israel.
35:05
So you come to the New Testament and you read through, for
35:08
instance, the Gospel of Luke, and everybody in the chapters
35:11
are pointing towards the identity of this Messiah who is
35:14
the Redeemer, the Son of God, the Holy One of Israel, the Most
35:18
High God. And that's the same guy spoken
35:21
of in the Old Testament. But the question still arises,
35:25
who is this man? Why don't they get it?
35:28
Why don't they understand it? Why can't they digest it?
35:31
Why can't they wrap their arms around it?
35:33
How do they miss it? How do your friends miss it?
35:39
How does your family miss it? When you explain it to him so
35:42
clearly and you know who Jesus is, How come they don't grasp
35:52
the identity of the Messiah? So Christ asked the question,
35:56
who do men say that I am? And there's a responding by
36:01
saying, look, you're not normal, you're abnormal.
36:07
Why? Because you're like one of the
36:09
prophets who has risen from the dead.
36:11
That's what it says in Luke 9. Remember, Elijah's dead,
36:17
Jeremiah's dead. John the Baptist is dead.
36:23
You're Elijah, you're John the Baptist, you're Jeremiah, or
36:26
you're one of the prophets who've died and you've risen
36:29
again because what you're doing is not normal.
36:33
You're raising people from the dead.
36:35
You're causing the blind to see. The lame can walk.
36:38
You're causing food to be multiplied.
36:40
You're feeding thousands upon thousands of people.
36:44
Everything you do is miraculous. It's amazing.
36:47
So you must be supernatural. But no one's saying you're the
36:52
Messiah of Israel. No one is saying you're the God
36:56
of Israel. No one is saying that you're the
36:57
Son of God. Why not?
37:03
How come they're not saying that?
37:06
Well, the answer lies in the 12th chapter of John's Gospel.
37:13
So turn to John chapter 12 and you will know the answer as to
37:20
why those children of yours who were raised in a Christian home
37:25
don't embrace Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
37:29
You want to know why the neighbor that you've been
37:31
witnessing to for years and years and years doesn't become a
37:34
Christian? You you want to know why you
37:38
have witnessed to your parents for years and they have yet to
37:41
embrace Christ as their Messiah. How could that possibly be?
37:48
When you explain to them over and over again the overwhelming
37:51
evidence that Jesus is exactly who he says He is in the
37:54
Scriptures and you read it in the Gospels, but yet they still
38:01
still do not believe. How does that possibly happen?
38:08
When you come to John chapter 12, you're on Tuesday of Passion
38:14
week. In John chapter 12, earlier on
38:18
Monday, he arrives into Jerusalem on the backside of a
38:22
donkey. That's called the triumphal
38:24
entry. If you've been with us for a
38:26
long time, you know it's on Monday, not Sunday.
38:28
It's very important to realize what the text says.
38:32
It's on Monday. He rides into Jerusalem on the
38:34
backside of the donkey, and they praise him as the son of David.
38:40
They praise him as the king of Israel.
38:43
Hosanna save now they're all ecstatic and excited about Jesus
38:49
coming into Jerusalem. That's earlier in chapter 12.
38:54
But then as you read on and Christ begins to foretell His
38:59
death, because you see, not only is His identity important, but
39:02
His ministry is important. Why?
39:05
Because His ministry flows from His identity.
39:08
Only one person can die for your sins.
39:12
I can die. I can shed My blood, but My
39:16
blood does nothing for you. My blood is only good for me.
39:21
My blood is no good for you. But when Jesus dies and sheds
39:25
his blood, He provides forgiveness for all those who
39:30
believe in him. That's very important to
39:32
understand that. And so it says in verse #34 John
39:37
12. The crowd answered him.
39:39
We have heard out of the law that the Christ, the Messiah is
39:43
to remain forever. The Messiah is going to live
39:46
forever. Why?
39:48
Isaiah 96? He's the everlasting Father.
39:51
He is the originator of eternity.
39:53
He is eternal. All throughout the Old
39:56
Testament, it points to the eternality of the Messiah.
40:01
So they say to Jesus, we have heard that the Messiah is going
40:04
to live forever. You're talking to us about
40:07
dying. You're saying that you're the
40:08
Messiah. But how can that possibly be?
40:12
You're going to die or the Messiah is not going to die.
40:15
He's going to live forever. How can you say the Son of Man
40:22
must be lifted up? How can you say that Now?
40:28
That's important because the phrase Son of Man used 80 plus
40:33
times by Jesus to define who he is because it would reference
40:41
Daniel 713 and 14 and every Jew knows about the vision that
40:47
Daniel had of the coming Messiah in the flesh one like a son of
40:52
man descending from heaven. So Jesus would always use the
40:58
phrase the Son of man to identify with Daniel 7 because
41:02
he really is a son of man descending from heaven.
41:04
That's who he is. And so now they come back to
41:09
them and say, wait a minute, the Son of Man is the Messiah, and
41:14
he's supposed to live forever. But you're telling us that
41:18
you're the Son of Man and you're going to be lifted up, you're
41:20
going to die, you're going to be crucified.
41:25
So here comes the question. Who is this Son of Man?
41:33
Same question. It's the same question over and
41:36
over and over again all throughout the Gospels.
41:39
Who is Jesus? That's why Christ asked the
41:42
question. Who do men say that I am?
41:45
It is the most important question ever asked and ever
41:49
answered. Answered correctly, it delights
41:52
your soul. Answered incorrectly, it dams
41:55
your soul. It is life's most important
41:58
question, and they're still asking it three days before they
42:03
crucify Him. Who is this Son of man?
42:08
They still don't get it. They still don't know who He is.
42:12
So read on. So Jesus said to them for a
42:17
little while longer, the light is among you.
42:19
Walk while you have the light so that darkness will not overtake
42:24
you. He walks in the darkness, does
42:27
not know where He goes. While you have the light,
42:32
believe in the light so that you may become sons of the lights.
42:42
Christ says that he's the light of the world in John chapter 1.
42:47
He's the light that enlightens every man in the world.
42:53
So Christ says, while the light is among you for a little while
42:58
longer, three more days, believe the light why you can, because
43:05
there's coming today where the light will no longer shine, and
43:08
you'll be in darkness. So believe in the light, because
43:14
the Son of Man is the light of the world.
43:18
And so it says in verse #36 the latter portion.
43:22
These things Jesus spoke and he went away and hid himself from
43:31
them. That's a very dangerous place to
43:36
be when Jesus, the light of the world, hides himself from you.
43:44
Why would he do that redone? But though he had performed so
43:50
many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him.
43:59
He had done everything for three years.
44:03
There is no doubt who he is, but they're still asking the same
44:07
question, who is the Son of man? And so while he did all these
44:12
things in front of him and then they still were not believing in
44:19
him. This was to fulfill the word of
44:24
Isaiah the prophet, which he spoke.
44:27
Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm
44:31
of the Lord been revealed? For this reason they could not
44:39
believe. Notice they would not believe.
44:45
Now they cannot believe. Their willful rejection of the
44:50
Messiah led to their judicial rejection by the Messiah because
45:01
they willfully rejected him as Son of God, Son of Man, Son of
45:06
David, Messiah of Israel, God's Messiah because they willfully
45:11
rejected Him. Now they are judicially in a
45:16
state of rejection forever, for God has turned out the lights on
45:23
them because they would not believe.
45:28
Now they cannot believe. That's what Jesus says.
45:36
So redone for Isaiah said again, he has blinded their eyes, that
45:42
he has hardened their hearts that they would not see with
45:45
their eyes and perceive with their heart and be converted and
45:49
I heal them. These things Isaiah said because
45:53
he saw his glory and he spoke of Him.
45:57
Nevertheless, many even of the rulers believed in him, but big
46:07
but because the Pharisees, they were not confessing him for fear
46:14
that they would be put out of the synagogue.
46:21
So here comes the answer as to why the people you witness to,
46:26
family, friends, relatives do not believe next verse for they
46:33
loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.
46:42
That's why your friends and family do not believe they love
46:49
the approval of man more than they love the approval of God.
47:01
Put it this way, the affirmation of a false system is more
47:09
valuable to them than the transformation by a true Savior.
47:20
The affirmation of a false system is more valuable to them
47:29
than the transformation by a true Savior.
47:36
They love the approval of men. They love the recognition that
47:43
they receive. They love to be accepted by men.
47:49
See, unbelievers love the the the praise of man.
47:53
Unbelievers love the acceptance by man.
47:56
The unbelievers love the approval of man.
47:58
They love the affirmation of man.
48:00
They love the recognition of man.
48:01
They love that. That's the characteristic of the
48:04
unbeliever. The believer doesn't care about
48:06
that. He just cares about being
48:08
approved by God, pleasing God. Let me illustrate this for you
48:15
further. Turn to John Chapter 9.
48:18
Go back a couple of pages, John Chapter 9.
48:25
In John Chapter 9, you have a man who's been blind from birth,
48:31
who is healed by the Lord, who can now see.
48:37
The problem is Jesus healed them on the Sabbath.
48:44
Again, the Jews. The religious establishment is
48:47
furious, Instead of praising God that a man who's been blind from
48:51
birth can now see, they're angry at the fact that this man was
48:57
healed on the Sabbath, and they want to know who did this.
49:04
So explain to them who did this. And so it says in verse #18 The
49:16
Jews then did not believe it, for believe it of him that he
49:20
had been blind and had to receive sight, until they called
49:23
the parents of the very one who had received his sight and
49:27
questioned him, saying, Is this your son who you say was born
49:32
blind? Then how does he now see?
49:39
Verse 20? His parents answered them and
49:42
said We know that this is our son and we know that our son was
49:48
born blind. We know that for certain.
49:52
But how he now sees we do not know or who opened his eyes we
49:57
do not know. Ask him, he is of age, he will
50:03
speak for himself. These are the guys parents and
50:08
your parents love you. They want to protect you.
50:13
They want, they want to make sure they speak for you.
50:17
And so the Jews say this is your son.
50:20
Was he born blind? Yes, he was.
50:23
So now how can he see? We don't know.
50:27
Ask him. Why would they say that?
50:30
We don't. His parents said this because
50:34
they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already agreed
50:39
that if anyone confessed him to be Christ, the Messiah, he was
50:44
to be put out of the synagogue. For this reason, his parents
50:50
said he is of age. Ask him.
50:56
The approval or the affirmation of a fault system was more
51:03
important to them than the transformation by a true Savior.
51:11
That is the only biblical reason given as to why people do not
51:19
believe. They would not believe.
51:25
So now they cannot believe. Very important.
51:30
And because they cannot believe there's been a judicial
51:34
rejection and they didn't have belief in the very beginning.
51:37
Why is because they did not want to receive any kind of rejection
51:42
from their friends or from their relatives or from those who are
51:46
higher up. They loved the approval of the
51:49
world. They love the approval of man.
51:53
They love the recognition they received from man.
51:56
They don't want to give that up. So therefore they will not
52:01
capitulate to the Christ. Matthew's account says these
52:10
words. Who do you say that I am?
52:17
Peter says, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
52:23
Now listen carefully. Jesus says, Blessed are you,
52:28
Simon Barjona, you are blessed. Why?
52:34
Because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my
52:41
Father who is in heaven revealed this to you.
52:49
Monumental statement. You cannot convince somebody
52:56
that Jesus is the Son of the living God.
52:59
No matter how hard you try, no matter how great your argument
53:03
know how well versed you are in Scripture, you cannot convince
53:07
them. Peter made the great confession,
53:11
this great declaration about the identity of Christ.
53:14
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
53:17
And the only way he could do that was not because somebody in
53:20
human flesh convinced him that Jesus was the Son of God.
53:24
Jesus made that statement. Flesh and blood did not reveal
53:28
this to you. Nobody of a human nature
53:30
revealed this to you, Peter. But my Father, who is in heaven,
53:34
he revealed it to you. Wow.
53:41
Nobody can confess Christ as Lord unless the Father reveals
53:47
Christ as Lord to them. The Father must do that.
53:54
If someone does not believe in the deity of Christ, you're not
53:58
going to convince them that Christ is God in the flesh.
54:02
You can't. God has to work in their heart.
54:05
God has to reveal it to them. That's why salvation is the work
54:08
of God and not a work of man. Yes, we preach the gospel and
54:12
yes, God uses His word in the lives of people to open their
54:15
hearts. But God does all that.
54:19
We do not. We are vessels, we are
54:23
spokespeople, we are preachers of the good news, but does not
54:31
depend upon me in order for you to be saved.
54:37
That's God's work, and only God can reveal to you his identity.
54:45
Life's most important question, Who do men say that I am without
54:49
the Christ? It's none of the living God.
54:53
Note this Matthew Chapter 11 verse 25.
55:01
At that time Jesus said, I praise you Father, Lord of
55:04
heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the
55:06
wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants, to
55:09
babes. Yes Father, for this way was
55:14
well pleasing in your sight. Why did God reveal Himself to
55:19
some and not to all? Because this was His good
55:23
pleasure. That's why.
55:28
Verse 27. All things have been handed over
55:30
to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father,
55:37
nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to
55:42
whom the Son wills to reveal him.
55:46
Wow, what a statement. The only people who come to know
55:51
Christ are the ones to whom God reveals himself to them.
55:55
That's it. But the question still remains,
56:00
who do you say that I am? Why?
56:05
Because look, He goes right in to verse 28.
56:12
From divine election to human volition.
56:17
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will
56:22
give you a rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
56:27
from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will
56:31
find a rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my
56:35
burden is light. God gives an invitation to all
56:42
come, come to me all year that our labor, labor and are heavy
56:47
laden. I'll give you rest, but you
56:50
can't come or you won't come unless the Father has revealed
56:55
himself to you. So therefore the Christian's
56:59
declaration is this. Jesus Christ is God's Messiah.
57:07
He is the Son of the living God. Every believer declares that
57:15
loudly and clearly, without reservation, because they know.
57:23
And not only that, they also declare the ministry of the
57:29
Messiah. For back in Luke Chapter 9,
57:34
Jesus says this. He warned them and instructed
57:38
them not to tell this to anyone. Why?
57:42
Why not tell everybody that Jesus is the Messiah, the
57:46
Messiah of God? He says.
57:49
Don't tell him that. Why?
57:52
Because they have a misconstrued idea of who the Messiah is.
57:56
Instead, tell him this. The Son of Man must suffer many
58:00
things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and
58:04
scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.
58:10
Every believer declares the centrality of the cross.
58:15
They'll speak first of all about the necessity of the cross.
58:18
He must suffer. Then they'll talk about the
58:21
certainty of the cross, because it is going to happen.
58:26
Then they talk about the brutality of the cross, because
58:30
He will be scourged, He will be mocked, He will be beaten, He
58:36
will be killed, and then they always talk about the victory of
58:41
the cross. He will rise again on the third
58:46
day. The identity and ministry of the
58:53
Son of God is a declaration that every believer makes without
58:58
reservation, without hesitation, and without question.
59:04
Why? Because it is their absolute
59:06
conviction of who Jesus is. And that conviction becomes
59:13
their confession and declaration.
59:16
And that's why they proclaim it loudly.
59:19
That's the gospel. That's the message that we have.
59:24
And every believer declares that not only does he make a decision
59:28
to follow Christ, not only does he defy is he defined by those
59:33
who worship God in spirit, those who take no confidence in the
59:37
flesh and glory only in Christ Jesus.
59:41
And not only they described as being in Christ and Christ being
59:44
in them, but they make this declaration publicly and loudly
59:51
that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God and He is the
59:56
only one who could die for your sins.
59:59
He did it at Calvary and he rose again the third day because he's
1:00:04
the victorious warrior over sin, death and Satan.
1:00:09
On top of that, he's coming again.
1:00:13
Let's pray. Father, we thank you for today,
1:00:16
and we thank you for the opportunity you give us to study
1:00:18
Your word. Pray, Lord, that we would all
1:00:21
understand the Great Declaration of Peter and the Apostles and
1:00:26
come to realize who You are and what You've done, and that we
1:00:30
live in the light of Your glorious Kingdom.
1:00:34
And our prayer, Father, is that we would truly honor You as you
1:00:38
live each day. Thank you for your word.
1:00:41
Thank you for its clarity. Thank you that when we read it,
1:00:45
we can understand it because we're children of the living
1:00:47
God. You've opened their hearts.
1:00:50
You've helped us to see who you are.
1:00:51
We grasp your identity. And our prayer, Father, is for
1:00:55
those close to us, our family, our friends, our work
1:01:00
associates, our teammates, our classmates that as we speak
1:01:06
forth the gospel, they would come to understand who you are
1:01:13
and what you did for the glory of your Kingdom in Jesus name,
1:01:20
Amen.