UNSHAKEABLE TRUTH #3 -JESUS IS GOD

AS PROMISED, HERE ARE MY NOTES FROM SUNDAY MORNING’S MESSAGE

Jesus Is God

• Most incredible man that lived on this earth.
• Lived a life with no sin, and died on a cross for you and me.
• His love for us is amazing. His grace is indescribable.
• He made a way for you and I where there was no other way.
• The scriptures plainly declare that Jesus Christ was and is God.

The importance of this and all doctrine…  (ILL: SKELETAL SYSTEM)

3^rd unshakable truth…JESUS IS GOD is foundational to our beliefs.

• Without belief in who He says He is…
• Salvation is out of the picture.
• We have a big problem…  We cannot earn or attain salvation w/o Him.
• With some slightly altered beliefs (bro of satan, or secondary to father etc)….we can find ourselves far off course….

Jesus was not just another good man, with good ideas.

He is God and he is our only hope.

The love of Jesus is amazing for us. We can trust him with our lives.

Deity Defined: “the collection of attributes which make up the nature of a god; divinity; godhead; as, the deity of the Supreme Being is seen in his works.”

It’s vital that we have a clear understanding of who Jesus is and his nature, and a clear idea why we believe that Jesus God. It’s vital to understand that Jesus was not just another good man that lived on this earth among other good men that were prophets.

Subtle drift in this vital doctrine.

Though cults, & New Age Movement, and even modern Bible translators have their own methods of robbing Jesus Christ of His Deity. Many young men today enter Bible colleges and seminaries believing in the Deity of Christ, and then graduate four years later with less faith than when they enrolled!

What about you? What do you believe about Jesus Christ? Can you support your beliefs with God’s word? That’s the real issue: what does scripture say?  

God is a “revealer”… His full and final revelation here on earth was in the person of Jesus….

WHAT DOES SCRIPTURE DECLARE ABOUT JESUS?

His virgin birth. 

• Matthew 1:23- “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”
• Luke 1:31- “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus”
• Luke 1:35- “The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called^[a] the Son of God.
• Both Matthew and Luke pointed to the virgin birth because of the following reasons:

1. 1.     The virgin birth was a historical event
2. 2.     Matthew and Luke both wanted to present Jesus as fulfilling prophecies from Hebrew scripture.

         How did this happen?  I view it as God placed himself there…

 

His sinless life.

• Hebrews 7:26- “Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.”
• 1 Peter 2:22- “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
• Jesus did not commit sin. He was perfect.

 

His work on the cross for us.

• 1 Corinthians 15:3- “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.”
• 2 Corinthians 5:21- God made him who had no sin to be sin^[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
• Jesus substituted his life for us. He took the punishment for our sins. He gave his life for you and me.

His bodily resurrection from the dead

• Matthew 28:6- “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”
• Luke 24:39- “Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
• 1 Corinthians 15:4- “that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures”
• We serve a God that is alive and well. He is not dead, and He’s not in the grave. Jesus is alive. He is our hope. The grave couldn’t hold him. 

 

(Where He is now) He sits at the right hand of God

• Acts 1:9- “After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.”
• Acts 1:11- “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
• Philippians 2:9-11- “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
• Hebrews 1:3-“ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven”
• Jesus sits at the right hand of God and is our advocate. 

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT HIS NATURE AND CHARACTER?

Jesus Christ is incarnate

• According to scripture Jesus was “God with us” when He walked upon this earth. He wasn’t merely “God’s chosen one with us” or “God’s Son with us.” As I Timothy 3:16 states, “God was manifest in the flesh.” John 1:14 tells us that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…” In Zechariah 12:10, GOD said that HE (God) would be “pierced” by sinners, and Revelation 1:7 states that Jesus Christ Himself fulfilled this prophecy! The Bible presents Jesus Christ as much more than a great prophet and teacher. God’s word presents Jesus Christ as God incarnate.
• The definition of incarnate is “to make real, or concrete”. So when we say Jesus Christ is incarnate we mean that Jesus is real and concrete.
• Again this is how he chose to reveal himself… If he revealed as he fully is…transcending space and time….we have no framework to understand…He chose to become a human illustration & sacrifice..
• Religion/Attractional:“bringing man to God” NOW:  Christianity/incarnational “God to man.”

You can know him by his names

• Jesus claims to be the “Lord” of Psalm 110:1. He allows Thomas to address Him as “My Lord and my God” in John 20:28.
• He is the “everlasting Father” and “The mighty God” of Isaiah 9:6.
• He is our “shepherd” John 10:11-14, Psalm 23:1, Psalm 80:1, and Ezekiel 34:12.
• Jesus is our “savior” in Luke 2:11, Philippians 3:20, II Timothy 1:10, and II Peter 2:20.
• Jesus is the “Rock” in I Corinthians 10:1-4, I Peter 2:7-8, and Romans 9:33.
• Jesus is “light” in John 1:4-9 and in John 8:12.
• Jesus is the first and the last. In Revelation 1:17 Jesus Christ says, “…Fear not; I am the first and the last.”

1. a.     The Scriptures are clear: Jesus Christ is who is says He is and names prove it.

 

Jesus Christ is Omnipresent

• Jesus is present everywhere at once. He can meet your needs whenever you call.
• In Matthew 18:20, He says, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
• The same is true in Matthew 28:20 where Jesus says, “…lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
• How could He be with each individual Christian always and be in Heaven at the same time? He is God, for only God has such attributes!

Jesus Christ Is Omnipotent

• He is all powerful. He has all power.
• Revelations 19:6

Jesus Christ Is Omniscient

• To be omniscient is to have all knowledge, unlike normal men. The Bible declares that Jesus was indeed omniscient.
• Unlike normal men, Jesus Christ had knowledge of specific details about His own death. In Matthew 16:21, Jesus said that He would go to Jerusalem, suffer many things at the hands of the scribes and the elders, be killed, and then be resurrected the third day.

Jesus Christ Has Creative Powers

• John 1:1-3 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” The “Word” is the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.) and John 1:3 says that all things were made by Him!
• Colossians 1:16 says, “…by him were all things created…” By Jesus Christ the worlds were made, and by Jesus Christ all things are upheld. He has the power to create and sustain the universe.

Jesus Christ Forgave Sins

• “No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD, because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jer. 31:34)
• Matthew 9:1-8  Paralyzed guy healed by Jesus…followed by argument with Pharisees…
• Jesus Christ has this power to forgive sins.
• Jesus Christ is God, because only God can forgive sins. It’s true that He took on the form of a man for thirty-three years on this earth, but He was still God. He was God manifest in the flesh (I Tim. 3:16).

Jesus Christ Had Power Over His Own Life and Death

• Jesus chose to lay down his life for you and me.
• John 10:17-18- “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
• § Jesus had the power over His own life and death! When He died, He willingly gave up His own spirit (Luke 23:46).
• According to His own words in Revelation 1:18, Jesus Christ has “the keys of hell and of death.” How could He possibly have such power if He were not God?

•  The Lord Jesus Christ is Deity. He came to this earth and suffered in human flesh for thirty-three years. He lived a perfectly sinless life, and then laid that life down as an eternal payment for your sins. Mohammed didn’t pay for your sins, because Mohammed wasn’t God. Buddha didn’t pay for your sins, because Buddha wasn’t God. You can’t pay for your sins, because you aren’t God. Only Jesus Christ is sinless, because only Jesus Christ is God. He Alone can save your soul from the eternal fires of Hell.

 HOW DO WE APPLY THIS TO OUR LIVES?

 

We need to understand how significant His love is.

• § When we understand how much Jesus loves us, our love for him will grow.
• § Because we love him we will follow His commands.
• § When we understand how much Jesus loves us our relationship with him will grow.

How does Jesus help us today?

• He loves us
• He defines us
• He defines our relationship with Him
• He forgives our sins and provides a way for our salvation.
• He teaches the best way to live.
• Jesus will help us deal with life’s greatest problems.
• Jesus changes things.
• Jesus invites us to come to Him in a restored relationship.
• He empowers us
• He commissions us.
• Jesus is coming back.

           

Know Him (ILL: Study the real….recognize all counterfeit)  Dave Broetje- Bank Teller

It’s vital that we don’t allow our culture to contaminate our thinking on who Jesus is, and how He works in our lives.

• We can’t afford be deceived.
• Deception take you further off course than you want to go…and cost you more…. (Airplane compass)

We can’t let the world’s way of defining Jesus, be our way. The only way that we should define Jesus is by scripture.

• Scripture alone…not by me or anyone else…
• We can’t pick and choose from the different ideas of Jesus, and then build our idea of who Jesus is.

Make Him Known

John 20:21 As the father sent me…I send you…

Remember “incarnation”?  …It’s no longer religion/attractional…..it’s Christ-follower/incarnational…

GOD! …Why???

 

SHOTS AT THE DOCTOR….my least favorite duty as a father…especially with my daughters.

I would enjoy the look of love and trust until after the needle entered the leg.  I would be crushed by the look of rejection and disbelief. If they had words, they would scream: DAD! …WHY???  …I would fruitlessly try to explain…every time! They couldn’t understand  …but I did.

 

A friend of mine (young, brand new mommy) had a stroke yesterday.  Right now, a five-year-old relative is being prepped for brain surgery. My dad, recovering from cancer surgery has something wrong with His eyes.  A week ago, friend of mine was killed in a car accident. It’s been a rough week…I could go on…. GOD! …WHY?  All of these people love Jesus.  Shouldn’t they be more blessed?  …I DON’T UNDERSTAND.

 

Why won’t our beautiful Yakima home sell?  The 200 mile commute to Moscow is brutal.  My wife and children are wearing out and so am I.  GOD! …WHY?  …I DON’T UNDERSTAND.

 

Why? …is usually more of a statement than a question.  We’re not happy & not really listening for an answer either.  WE MAY NOT UNDERSTAND.  BUT…HE DOES.  IT IS UNDERSTOOD.

 

Jesus also questioned GOD.  When on the cross taking on the penalty for all of our sin, the Father turned his back on His Son.  At this time Jesus uttered the loneliest words in all of the Bible: “MY GOD, MY GOD WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”  BUT, THE FATHER UNDERSTOOD.

 

Maybe the answer is not deliverance from pain, but how He is with us during our pain.  Maybe the answer is in the result of the pain.  No matter the answer…. HE UNDERSTANDS.

  

WE DON’T UNDERSTAND…BUT IT IS UNDERSTOOD!  You are not alone.  He is with you. He has great plans for you. The best is yet to come. TRUST HIM!

“One Nation Under God” Won’t Work… Unless…

Billboard in Moscow, Id

What does it actually mean to be “one nation under God?” I’m not sure we really are. I’m not sure God intended it to become one. As a “Christian nation” we have developed entitlement, arrogance, self-righteousness & laziness issues. We want morality and wisdom to “trickle down” from government and turn everyone around us into “people under God.”  It is never going to happen that way.

1. Be ”one man under God.“ We have full freedom to be like Jesus…yet few of us seek to emulate Him. Do it. Be one man fully obedient to God’s Word. See what happens.
2. Pursue “one marriage under God”  We have all the freedom in the world to have a Godly marriage, yet very few of us do.  We scream about the re-defining of marriage but we’re not living the definition of a healthy Christ centered marriage ourselves.
3. Lead “one family under God.”  Model and teach your kids how to do the same.  It’s vital that we do.
4. Influence “one neighbor for God.”  Most of our next door neighbors don’t even know anything about Jesus… Most of us do nothing about “one neighbor under God”…how are we ever going to arrive at “one nation under God” this way.  No wonder it’s going backwards.

“One nation under God” won’t work…unless you pursue these things.  Very, very few of us have perused these things for decades.  Look where it’s getting us.

Let’s be Godly men pursuing Godly marriages, families, families, neighborhoods, churches, communities and regions.  Unless we do that first, we will never experience one nation under God.

If we each become “one man under God” maybe we can be ONE NATION…UNDER GOD..again.

Necessary Transactions

As we change to daylight savings time, we exchange an hour of sleep for daylight that isn’t wasted in the cool of the morning when we are still in bed. In this transaction, we trade a bit of sleep for usable daylight.  I like this exchange.

I am a big fan of exchanging lame stuff and receiving awesome stuff…

1. an hour of sleep for usable sunlight
2. my sadness for the joy God gives
3. my hurts and past regrets for freedom that Jesus paid for
4. my emptiness for fulfillment that comes from following God’s intent for my life
5. my weakness for His strength
6. my sense of identity for how He really sees me
7. my hurts for His healing
8. my offenses for His forgiveness

yup…this transaction thing is totally worth it!  What are you trading in?

Back On Course

Studies show that If blindfolded and attempting to walk in a straight line, we walk in circles less than 66 feet in diameter. We also spiral in a thick forest when we lose a sense of direction. When unable to orient ourselves well, we literally spiral off course.

 

Survival training says to S.T.O.P. (Stop, Think, Observe, Plan.) Stop moving. Think about what got you there.  Observe using a compass, map or read the terrain. Plan your next few minutes. Choose an intermediate destination (not a just a general direction).  Choose a series of destinations in the right direction. “Dial in” your direction often.

 

When our life gets off course, we dont recognize it because we’re trapped in a cycle. Something operates as a “trigger” for us, then we sin, rationalize, feel shame and emptiness.  This makes us vulnerable again to the “trigger,” we sin again, rationalize again, feel shame and emptiness again… “trigger,” sin, rationalization, shame, emptiness….  (counselors refer to this as the “shame” cycle)  How do we break the cycle?  S.T.O.P.  The Bible calles it “Repentance.”

 

Why don’t we turn back?  Just like when lost, our sense of direction was based on incorrect information.  How do we successfully get back on course?  It’s all about what you orient yourself to.  I love Acts 26:29  it says “Repent and turn to God.”  True repentance is sorry for sin and looking to Christ. The Bible says in Hebrews 12:2 fix our eyes on Jesus…the author and perfecter…  Not only do we stop doing the wrong thing…we orient ourselves to Christ and look to Him.

 

Our course is not new.  This is not un-charted territory. The Bible says in Hebrews 12:1 to “Run the race that is marked out for us.”  It is already planned for us and it is good…in fact it is very good.  His intent is to restore us…not just getting back on course, but He wants to put our lives back together.

 

In every area of your life, take every opportunity to get back on course as soon as possible.  Live a lifestyle of repentance.

 

Dark Side of “Waffles & Spaghetti”

dark side of your strength

Often, men are compared to “waffles” for compartmentalization strength and women like “spaghetti” for integration strength.

This illustration is accurate.  However, every strength comes with inherent weaknesses. Although created this way, both waffle and spaghetti brains have their own “dark sides.”

Men: Acting as if problems are localized is a mistake. A mess in one area of life is usually connected to something missed in another. The solution’s in a an uncomfortable compartment. ”Man up.” Go there.  Fix it.

Ladies:  Problems are more localized than they feel.  Living a life of constant integration will drive you insane. Cut some spaghetti strings.  Live a little.  On occasion, make yourself fully enjoy a compartment for what it is.

Married people:  Your strengths are designed to complement each others weakness.  You need your spouse to bring light to your “dark side.”

Love Does Not Come From Your Heart

love doesn't come from here

Does it frustrate you to express love without return?  Do you feel empty when your act receives no response?  Do you give expecting to be loved back every time?  Is your love motivated by a desire to feel loved? Way too often, I do too!

Reciprocation is awesome!  However, it’s selfish to expect a transaction each time. Giving love for the purpose of receiving love is unhealthy and may not be love at all.  It’s giving with wrong motives.

Our issue is our hearts.  When lacking something in our own hearts, our love has ”strings attached.”  Since the heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9)…we cannot trust our own hearts & motivations. Pure love is given without expectations.

I’m finding that love does not come FROM the heart, it comes FROM GOD to pass THROUGH our hearts.

God’s love is the example of true love.  Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 while considering His love for you.

1. He is patient toward you. 2 Peter 3:9
2. His kindness leads you toward life change. Romans 2:4
3. His love for you isn’t related to performance.  Zephaniah 3:17
4. God’s love is without condition.
5. He loved you while you were rebelling against Him. Romans 5:8

Let His love for you “fill your tank.”  It’s the only love that is true and pure. Become captivated by His love. Let it overwhelm you. Do this regularly.

The love from your heart is lame.  Don’t use it.  Let His love flow through your heart.  It’s purer that way.  Let your expression of love to others reflect God’s love for you as well as His love for them.

“Christian Disrespect & Rebellion” — NOT ACCEPTABLE

I didn't vote for him, but he is MY PRESIDENT

Since President Obama’s election, “Christians” have been “honoring” him by

1. Posting Psalm 109:8 on social media and in the windows of their cars.
2. Posting “doctored” pictures to make President and Michelle Obama appear to use the wrong hand during the pledge of allegiance
3. I’ve heard and seen “Christ-Followers” call him “an idiot” & the “O-blunder”

The list of “Christian rebellion”is long & wrong.  These actions are not Christ-like.  If we justify them.. we disagree with Jesus, Paul, Peter and the entirety of scripture.  It is never acceptable to dishonor and rebel against any level of authority.

Although Caesar was corrupt and the Roman oppression of the Jews was wrong, JESUS SAID to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”  -Mark 12:17   

 

PAUL SAID:  ”Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted,  -Romans 13:1-2

 

He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”

-Romans 13:4-7 

 

PETER SAID: “…fear God, honor the king”  -1 Peter 2:17

 

Research the authorities Paul and Peter were under when writing their words.  Remembering what Nero and other authorities were like…should make us very grateful for our the authority we live under now.

 

We need to honor our president.  Barak H. Obama is our president and he needs us to pray for him.  PERIOD.

 

 

Crushed Expectations

 

How do you handle it when your expectations are crushed?

 

For four months, I’ve been commuting from our home in Yakima to the church I pastor (Moscow CLC) in Idaho.  Financially, we cannot afford to move the family until our house sells…. so I drive...a…lot.

 

Two weeks ago, our house appeared sold!  However, two days before closing…the deal fell through. We were crushed.  

That night, I chose to trust in God’s intentions.  I posted on Facebook:  ”In the midst of a very, very trying day, I can still say that God is awesome and He is with us. Amazed by His grace…”

 

A friend reminded me of Habakkuk 3:17-19 “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, 
though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, 
though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,  yet I will rejoice in the LORD, 
I will be joyful in God my Savior.”

 

I thought about when Abraham (Genesis 22) was asked to sacrifice Isaac, God was asking him to sacrifice his expectation about how God was going to fulfill His promise.

I considered Moses and his frustration of being unable to march directly from Egypt to the Promised land as he had expected.  

 

I read how the Disciples didn’t get it (Luke 18:31-34).  So focused on the way they expected things to work out, the expectations hid their understanding of God’s plan.  Knowing Jesus’ power was unlimited, they expected Jesus to establish a temporary kingdom.   Later, walking along a road, they were so crushed, they failed to recognize Jesus walking WITH them! Their expectations were far from His intention.

 

Jesus is walking with YOU.  How often do your expectations completely hide His hand?

In the Bible, every time people were frustrated with un-met expectations it was because they didn’t understand God’s intentions.

I am so glad HIS INTENTIONS are never as lame as OUR EXPECTATIONS.

Isaiah 55:8 says:  “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine”  (NLT)

1. Your preference doesn’t match his plan
2. Your want doesn’t match His will
3. Your expectation doesn’t match His intention
4. When it seems to fall apart….it’s actually falling into place
5. Things rarely work out the way you think they should.
6. Don’t let your expectation hide His hand
7. God’s intention is never as lame as your expectation.

 

Trust Him

 

 

Why Proven Strategies are Obsolete

Luke chapter 5 is blowing my mind.  Let me explain:  Verse 16  says ”Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”  We know that He only did what the father showed Him to do.  Jesus withdrew in order to hear what the father wanted done. that was His entire strategy….

 

Later, in verses 37  & 38.  Jesus warned not to put new wine into old wineskins… Why?  New wine expands and stretches it’s container rendering it un-re-use-able.  Did you see that?  Although it proved successful, it shouldn’t be relied upon again.  We do that often don’t we?  We pray and receive direction from God once and find success… then we mindlessly re-use the strategy.  Or worse, we copy a someone else’s successful strategy…

 

We see in Isaiah 43:19 that God always intends to do a “new thing.”  Jesus’ example:  Withdraw often.  Discover the next “container.”  Ever wonder why proven methods don’t work for you?  He’s doing a new thing.  Figure out what He want’s done & get a new container ready.

 

Do you have a proven strategy?   It just became obsolete!