1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:03,520 Take your Bible and turn with me, if you would, to the Gospel 2 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:07,680 of John. And as you're turning there, as 3 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:13,760 we begin to embark on the first few verses of John's gospel, I 4 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:21,440 want you to turn with me to John chapter 12, John chapter 12. 5 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:26,680 When you come to the 12th chapter of John, you are at the 6 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:29,480 very end of Christ's public ministry. 7 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:33,920 When you come to chapter 13, He enters his private ministry with 8 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:37,920 His men. But in John chapter 12 you have 9 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:42,760 the triumphal entry where everyone is praising His name 10 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:46,280 and taking off their garments and putting them down on the 11 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:51,120 ground, saying to Him, Hosanna, glory to God. 12 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:56,280 In the highest, there is a whole bunch of people following the 13 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:59,640 Christ. After all, it's Passover and 14 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:02,040 everyone's moving in that direction anyway. 15 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:06,240 Except for the fact that Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the 16 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:09,920 dead. So that would include all kinds 17 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:15,080 of curious people to understand who this Jesus is. 18 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:20,120 And so they would be among the thousands, maybe even millions, 19 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:25,800 following Christ into Jerusalem. And as He goes into Jerusalem, 20 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:29,080 of course there are those in the city who are coming out to greet 21 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:35,440 Him during that entry time into Jerusalem, which would cause the 22 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:39,720 Pharisees to say these words in verse #19 of John 12. 23 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:43,440 So the Pharisees said to one another, you see that you are 24 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:47,560 not doing any good. Look, the whole world has gone 25 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:51,240 after Him. That they began to accuse one 26 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:55,120 another of not doing their job. Look what's happened. 27 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:58,000 The whole world has gone after him now. 28 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:02,680 Now, Please note that doesn't mean everybody in the world, 29 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:08,560 because nobody in Egypt was going after him, nobody in Rome 30 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:10,720 was going after him, nobody in Syria was going after him, 31 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:15,320 nobody in Syria was going after him, nobody in Macedonia or Ki 32 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:19,040 were going after him. The Pharisees are speaking in 33 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:23,240 terms of generalities. All kinds of men from the world, 34 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:27,200 all kinds of people from the world have gone after him. 35 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:31,440 It doesn't mean that every person in the world was going 36 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:34,160 after Jesus. That's like saying when John the 37 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:38,320 Baptist was baptized in the Jordan, when it says that all of 38 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:41,720 Jerusalem came down to be baptized by John and the Jordan, 39 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:45,040 that doesn't mean that every single person in the city of 40 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:49,720 Jerusalem was coming down to be baptized by John in the Jordan. 41 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:53,440 It's a statement that talks about distinction. 42 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:59,800 And so the Pharisees are are speaking in in, in hyperbole. 43 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:03,040 Look at all these people following him. 44 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:09,160 John knows that and uses a particular illustration to speak 45 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:13,160 of some of the Greeks, some of the Gentiles, those who had 46 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:17,960 converted to Judaism and therefore they were following 47 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:20,880 the Christ. John uses this illustration. 48 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:24,240 He's the only one who does it, says the verse 20. 49 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:28,720 Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to 50 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:33,320 worship at the feast. These then came to Philip, who 51 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:39,280 was from Beseda of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, Sir, 52 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:48,000 we wish to see Jesus. Now stop right there, Sir. 53 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:53,120 We, we wish to see Jesus. Now, there is no record of the 54 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:57,200 fact that they ever saw Jesus. There's no record that they ever 55 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:01,600 spoke to Jesus. But John is helping you to 56 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:10,280 understand the desire of people to see the true Jesus Christ. 57 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:17,920 These people had a passion. They had to drive to come face 58 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:22,400 to face with the living God and you got to stop right there and 59 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:25,720 you got to ask yourself the question is, is is that is that 60 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:31,880 us did did you come this morning to to see Jesus? 61 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:36,320 Most people go to church to see other people. 62 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:43,480 Some people go to church to be seen by other people, but do you 63 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:49,160 come to church to truly see the true and living God? 64 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:54,320 Do you come to see the Christ and all of his glory? 65 00:04:55,640 --> 00:05:00,120 John's whole gospel is about that. 66 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:05,240 Somehow you might believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the 67 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:10,680 Christ, the Son of God. That's the whole purpose of his 68 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:13,280 writing. The whole doctrine of 69 00:05:13,280 --> 00:05:16,800 Christology is wrapped up in John's gospel. 70 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:23,640 It's a study of the Christ. Who is he and these Greeks had 71 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:29,120 come from, who knows where, to just get a glimpse of Jesus, to 72 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:34,360 somehow get a conversation with Jesus, to somehow be introduced 73 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:40,720 to Jesus, which always makes us wonder why we are here. 74 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:46,480 Thus the title for today's sermon. 75 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:54,280 May I present to you Jesus, John 1, verses 1 to 5. 76 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:58,240 Because when you come, I want you to see only Jesus. 77 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:06,280 That's all that matters. That's the only motive for going 78 00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:10,800 to church. Every other motive is a wrong 79 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:14,520 motive. The right motive is I want to 80 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:17,920 see Jesus, I want to hear about the Lord. 81 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:20,880 I want to come to know about the Lord. 82 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:30,440 So at the outset, I must warn you that there are many 83 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:35,840 churches, not just in America but all around the world, that 84 00:06:35,840 --> 00:06:42,280 introduce to people the wrong Jesus. 85 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:48,960 Just because you go to a church doesn't mean they're going to 86 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:52,160 introduce you to the right Jesus. 87 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:56,640 That is very important for us to understand. 88 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:02,240 I'm afraid that people don't really take into consideration 89 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:08,840 where they go to church, but you should because if you go to the 90 00:07:08,840 --> 00:07:11,800 wrong church, you're going to be introduced to the wrong Jesus. 91 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:16,520 And if you get Jesus wrong, you'll get your destiny wrong. 92 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:23,320 You must know the right Jesus. That's why John says we write 93 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:27,280 these things, that you may know that Jesus is the Messiah. 94 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:32,560 Can you go to heaven and not believe that Jesus is the 95 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:37,600 Messiah? Answer no, because you got it 96 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:38,680 wrong. Jesus. 97 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:45,640 He is the Messiah that was prophesied in the Old Testament. 98 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:50,000 Can you go to heaven and not believe that Jesus is the Son of 99 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:52,600 God? No, you can't. 100 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:57,640 You must believe in the true identity of the Jesus that John 101 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:05,560 explains to us in his gospel. This is absolutely crucial, so 102 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:10,120 much so that Jesus would say these words in Matthew's Gospel 103 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:16,440 in his very first sermon, Matthew 7 verse #15 Beware of 104 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:21,040 the false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but 105 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:28,040 inwardly are ravenous wolves. At the very beginning of the 106 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:30,720 ministry of Christ, and he preaches his sermon, the Sermon 107 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:37,320 on the Mount, he gives a warning about false prophets. 108 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:44,880 It was so clear that the apostle Paul would say these words in 109 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:51,920 Acts chapter 20, verse 28. Be on guard for yourselves and 110 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:54,680 for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you 111 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:59,760 overseers to shepherd the Church of God, which he purchased with 112 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:04,720 his own blood. I know that after my departure 113 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:10,520 savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock, and 114 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:16,560 from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse 115 00:09:16,560 --> 00:09:22,760 things to draw away the disciples after them. 116 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:28,600 Therefore, be on the alert, remembering that night and day 117 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:33,840 for a period of three years. I did not cease to admonish each 118 00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:41,920 one of you with tears. Paul knew that there will be 119 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:45,720 many who will rise up from within the church after his 120 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:51,080 departure that would draw people away from the true gospel. 121 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:59,040 So Peter would say these words, and his second epistle, Second 122 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:04,440 Peter, chapter 2, verse #1. But false prophets also arose 123 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:08,720 among the people, just as there will also be false teachers 124 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:13,960 among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, 125 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:19,520 even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift 126 00:10:19,520 --> 00:10:22,960 destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their 127 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:27,120 sensuality and because of them the way of the truth will be 128 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:30,280 maligned. And in their greed they would 129 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:35,320 exploit you with false words. Their judgment from long ago is 130 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:39,880 not idle and their destruction is not asleep. 131 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:45,400 So Peter, even with more fervency, would talk about 132 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:50,840 people who would deny the true Master, the King of Kings. 133 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:57,880 So Jude would say these words in verse three of his epistle. 134 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:01,440 Beloved, while I was making every effort to write to you 135 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:04,840 about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to 136 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:09,080 you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which 137 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:12,360 was once for all handed down to the Saints. 138 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:19,240 For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were 139 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:24,320 long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly 140 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:29,720 persons who turned the grace of our God into licentiousness and 141 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:34,480 deny our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ. 142 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:41,160 So Christ warns about false prophets and false teachers. 143 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:44,880 Paul recognizes that after his departure they're going to come 144 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:47,720 from within, and they did in the Church of Ephesus. 145 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:52,280 And Peter would warn about these false teachers. 146 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:58,760 Jude would say, the warning's over, they're here, they've 147 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:05,880 already risen among you, and they deny truly the only Master, 148 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:15,440 our Lord Jesus. John, who wrote 3 epistles after 149 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:23,400 the Gospel, these epistles written some 50 years after the 150 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:27,320 resurrection of our Lord, said these words. 151 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:36,440 John second, excuse me, second John verse #7 For many deceivers 152 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:40,920 have gone out into the world. Those who do not acknowledge 153 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:47,640 Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, this is the deceiver and 154 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:51,440 the Antichrist. Watch yourselves that you do not 155 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:55,240 lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full 156 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:59,160 reward. Anyone who goes too far and does 157 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:05,840 not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God and the 158 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:10,720 one who abides in the teaching. He has both the Father and the 159 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:14,480 Son. If anyone comes to you and does 160 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:20,400 not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house and 161 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:24,840 do not give him a greeting, for the one who gives him a greeting 162 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:30,960 participates in his evil deeds. See, John knows that there are 163 00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:35,760 people who are deceivers, they're called antichrists. 164 00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:39,800 They are those who are against the Christ. 165 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:47,520 He would say in His first epistle in First John, chapter 166 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:54,120 2, verse #18 Children, it is the last hour, and just as you heard 167 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:59,760 that Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrist have 168 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:03,280 appeared. From this we know that it is the 169 00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:07,840 last hour. They went out from us, but they 170 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:12,200 were not really of us, for if they had been of us, they would 171 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:15,440 have remained with us, but they went out so that it would be 172 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:19,440 shown that they all are not of us. 173 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:24,560 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. 174 00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:27,680 I have not written to you because you do not know the 175 00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:32,000 truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the 176 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:35,880 truth. Who is the liar but the one who 177 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:43,080 denies that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ? 178 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:49,840 This is the Antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the 179 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:54,760 Son. Whoever denies the Son does not 180 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:58,960 have the Father. The one who confesses the Son 181 00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:08,800 has the Father also. Again, the warning, because the 182 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:12,320 New Testament is replete with the same warning. 183 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:21,800 Satan is a master of disguise. In fact, Paul tells us in Second 184 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:26,600 Corinthians Chapter 11, he says these words in verse 14. 185 00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:30,000 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an Angel of 186 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:32,960 light. Therefore, it is not surprising 187 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:37,160 if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of 188 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:42,160 righteousness. Who's in will be according to 189 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:46,520 their deeds. And then he says earlier in 2nd 190 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:51,640 Corinthians 4, verse 3, even if our gospel is veiled, that is 191 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:53,240 veiled to those who are perishing. 192 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:58,160 In this case, the God of this world, who is Satan, has blinded 193 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:01,720 the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the 194 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:07,240 light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of 195 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:12,560 God. Satan's whole purpose is to 196 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:18,160 blind the minds of people so they do not recognize that Jesus 197 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:24,520 is God. He denies the deity of Christ, 198 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:31,280 and every false gospel denies the deity of Christ. 199 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:39,120 That's why the question who is Jesus is the most important 200 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:43,960 question you need to have. You need to get that part right. 201 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:49,160 If you missed that one, you've missed the whole thing because 202 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:52,440 the gospel is the center of the good news about the Christ. 203 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:59,480 So you must get Jesus right. John would say this in first 204 00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:03,040 John 4. Beloved, do not believe every 205 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:08,240 spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, 206 00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:12,040 because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 207 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:16,119 Now think about this. This is 50 years after the 208 00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:21,000 resurrection of the Christ. We're 2000 years down the road 209 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:24,359 from that. And John is saying there are 210 00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:29,680 many Antichrist, there are many false teachers in his day. 211 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:34,760 Think about how many there are in this day. 212 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:39,640 So many of them. So he says, test the spirits, 213 00:17:40,120 --> 00:17:45,280 test the message and the messenger, examine them closely. 214 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:50,240 Listen with a critical ear, look at them with a critical eye. 215 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:54,760 Make sure that you examine the genuineness of their message, 216 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:59,520 the genuineness of the man in which they present. 217 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:06,120 For is it the true Jesus? Because if it's a different 218 00:18:06,120 --> 00:18:10,600 Jesus, it's a different gospel. If it's a different gospel, it's 219 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:16,440 satanic and it's damning. So you need to get Jesus right. 220 00:18:17,360 --> 00:18:20,600 So he says this. By this, you know, the Spirit of 221 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:25,400 God, every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in 222 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:30,400 the flesh is from God. And every spirit that does not 223 00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:33,320 confess that Jesus is not from God. 224 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:37,600 This is the spirit of the Antichrist, of which you have 225 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:44,680 heard that is coming, and now it is already in the world. 226 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:49,400 It's already here, it's everywhere. 227 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:54,880 And you know what the unfortunate thing is, is that 228 00:18:54,880 --> 00:19:00,160 there are countless people, millions of them all around the 229 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:10,240 world going to churches that deny the true identity of Jesus. 230 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:21,760 Let me give you a few examples. There is this movement in 231 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:27,480 Pentecostalism called the Oneness Pentecostals. 232 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:34,360 There are 25,000,000 that claim to be a part of that 233 00:19:34,360 --> 00:19:40,600 denomination. 25,000,000 that are a part of the Oneness 234 00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:45,800 Pentecostal movement. One of the greatest proponents 235 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:49,000 is a man who just retired from his ministry. 236 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:53,200 His name is TD Jakes, I'm sure you've heard of him. 237 00:19:55,080 --> 00:20:02,360 The Oneness Pentecostal movement believes in what was old called 238 00:20:02,360 --> 00:20:08,600 the Sabelianism. Modern day term is Modalism. 239 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:13,360 It denies the triune nature of the living God. 240 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:20,400 It denies that God is 3 and one. It denies that God is self, 241 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:27,760 existent self or the the God is Co eternal coexistent right as 242 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:35,720 one supreme God. Modalism says that God is 1, but 243 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:39,240 he takes on various forms at different times. 244 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:41,840 So if he wants to be the Father, he can be the Father. 245 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:44,080 If he wants to be the Son, he can be the Son. 246 00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:46,800 If he wants to be the Spirit, he can be the Spirit. 247 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:50,560 But it denies the true nature of the living God. 248 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:55,320 And so if you're a part of the Oneness Pentecostal movement, 249 00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:58,880 you are hearing the gospel about the wrong Jesus. 250 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:04,160 You got 25 million people on their way to hell and they don't 251 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:09,400 even know it because they got Jesus wrong. 252 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:13,960 It's so important to hear this, to know this. 253 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:25,200 The Word of Faith movement, 90% of everyone in the charismatic 254 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:33,080 Pentecostal denomination, 90% of them are of the word faith 255 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:37,560 movement. The word faith movement is all 256 00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:43,360 about signs and, and wonders and miracles and, and healings and, 257 00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:47,040 and all of those extracurricular things. 258 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:53,040 They're really into all that. And their leaders, the most 259 00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:58,880 prominent leaders, deny the deity of Christ. 260 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:05,720 People like Creflo Dollar and people like Benny Hinn, people 261 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:16,520 like Kenneth Copeland, all those men deny the deity of Christ. 262 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:23,600 So you have 90% of the people in this movement who hear about a 263 00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:29,560 different Jesus. That is very, very alarming. 264 00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:34,480 In fact, listen to what Creflo Dollar says. 265 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:40,280 MacArthur in his book Strange Fire quotes these men. 266 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:42,080 This is where I got the quotes from. 267 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:47,640 Creflo Dollar says that if Jesus came as God, so he's already 268 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:53,080 denying that Jesus is God. If Jesus came as God, then why 269 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:58,400 did God have to anoint him? Jesus came as a man, that's why 270 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:03,560 it was legal to anoint him. God doesn't need anointing, he 271 00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:09,800 is anointing. Jesus came as man at age 30 and 272 00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:13,160 God is now getting ready to demonstrate to us and give us an 273 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:17,840 example of what a man with the anointing can do. 274 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:25,120 So he denies the deity of Jesus that Jesus in all reality is God 275 00:23:25,120 --> 00:23:30,840 in the flesh. It was Kenneth Copeland who said 276 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:36,120 why didn't Jesus openly proclaim himself as God during his 33 277 00:23:36,120 --> 00:23:38,600 years on earth? For one single reason. 278 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:47,800 He hadn't come to earth as God, He came as man again, denying 279 00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:50,880 the deed of Christ, which by the way, he's wrong because we will 280 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:54,760 see in John's gospel that Jesus Christ claims to be God. 281 00:23:54,760 --> 00:24:01,680 Over and over and over again have been a hen who says that 282 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:05,200 Jesus, who was righteous by choice, said the only way I can 283 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:14,360 stop sin is by me becoming sin. I can't just stop it by letting 284 00:24:14,360 --> 00:24:18,040 it touch me. I and it must become one. 285 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:19,440 Hear this? He says. 286 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:31,280 He who is the nature of God became the nature of Satan. 90% 287 00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:36,800 This is not my statistic. This is their very own 288 00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:43,160 statistic. 90% of those in the Charismatic Pentecostal arena 289 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:50,080 are of the word faith movement, and this is what they're being 290 00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:56,920 taught, that Jesus came as a man, but Jesus wasn't God in the 291 00:24:56,920 --> 00:25:00,920 flesh. You have Kenneth Copeland who 292 00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:04,240 says these words. The righteousness of God was 293 00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:08,080 made to be sin. He accepted the sin nature of 294 00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:14,280 Satan in his own spirit. What blasphemous is that? 295 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:18,720 He says, And at the moment that he did so, he cried, My God, my 296 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:22,640 God, why has thou forsaken me? You don't know what happened at 297 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:25,320 the cross. Why do you think Moses, upon 298 00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:30,160 instruction of God, raised the serpent upon the pole instead of 299 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:35,400 a lamb that used to bug me? I said, why in the world would 300 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:37,960 you want to put a snake up there? 301 00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:40,560 The son of Satan? Why didn't you put a lamb on 302 00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:44,840 that pole? And the Lord said to me, because 303 00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:51,160 it was a sign of Satan that was hanging on the cross, He said, I 304 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:55,800 accepted it in my own spirit, spiritual death, and the light 305 00:25:55,880 --> 00:26:01,240 was turned off. How sad is that? 306 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:08,000 Denying the deed of Christ by claiming that He adopted the 307 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:14,040 nature of Satan. If you have family or friends in 308 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:19,200 that denomination, you need to grab them as quick as possible. 309 00:26:20,120 --> 00:26:25,640 Drag them away from that kind of church because they're hearing 310 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:32,560 about the wrong Jesus. Christology is important. 311 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:35,800 It's crucial to understanding salvation. 312 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:43,720 One man who's called America's pastor, who boasts 40,000 strong 313 00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:49,880 every Sunday, denies the supremacy and exclusivity of 314 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:52,040 Christ, and most people don't even know it. 315 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:59,520 His name is Joel Osteen. When asked if he thought people 316 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:03,120 who refuse to accept Jesus Christ are wrong, this is how he 317 00:27:03,120 --> 00:27:07,520 responded. Well, I don't know if I believe 318 00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:11,000 they're wrong. I believe here's what the Bible 319 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:15,120 teaches and from the Christian faith, this is what I believe. 320 00:27:15,120 --> 00:27:19,920 But I I just think that only God would judge a person's heart. 321 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:30,040 He doesn't know he's a pastor. He boasts 40,000 strong. 322 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:35,520 So what does he do? He pontificates his ignorance 323 00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:40,240 every Sunday, so 40,000 people become ignorant of the gospel of 324 00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:43,640 who Jesus is. He says this. 325 00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:48,400 I just think that only God would judge a person's heart. 326 00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:50,920 I, I spent a lot of time in India with my father. 327 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:54,760 I, I don't know all about their religion, but I know they love 328 00:27:54,760 --> 00:28:01,240 God and I don't know, I've seen their sincerity, so I don't 329 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:02,320 know. I mean, he doesn't know 330 00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:06,600 anything. I mean, come on people, he says. 331 00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:10,960 I know for me and what the Bible teaches, I want to have a 332 00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:15,320 relationship with Jesus. Well, you can't have a 333 00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:19,120 relationship with Jesus if you don't know who he is, right? 334 00:28:20,320 --> 00:28:27,200 Another occasion he was asked, are Mormons true Christians? 335 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:32,440 How would you answer that? Listen to what he says. 336 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:39,720 Well, in my mind they are. Who cares what's going on in 337 00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:42,840 your mind? In my mind they are. 338 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:47,960 Mitt Romney has said that he believes in Christ as his savior 339 00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:51,800 and that's what I believe. So, you know, I, I'm not the one 340 00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:53,880 to judge the little details of it. 341 00:28:53,880 --> 00:29:00,160 So I believe they are. So here's this pastor of 40,000 342 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:05,720 Strong on Sunday morning telling everybody that Mormons are 343 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:11,480 Christians, that the Jesus that Mormons believe is the same 344 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:16,480 Jesus that Christians believe, and he's not. 345 00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:21,400 That's why there are many antichrists that have gone out 346 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:25,440 into the world. John would speak of it, Jude 347 00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:29,640 would speak of it, Peter, Paul, Christ warned about it. 348 00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:34,840 They're everywhere. So I don't know where your 349 00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:38,560 friends go to church, I don't know where your family goes to 350 00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:43,080 church. But if it was me, I would grab 351 00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:49,400 them and snatch them out of the fire because if they believe in 352 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:54,680 that kind of Jesus, they're not going to heaven, they're going 353 00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:58,440 to hell. Will you ever tell them that? 354 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:05,120 Will you ever be as so bold as to say you're not believing in 355 00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:10,520 the right Jesus of the Bible? Who will tell them if you don't 356 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:16,640 tell them? We are responsible as parents to 357 00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:21,520 warn our children, not just when they're young, but no matter how 358 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:25,760 old they are. We are responsible as Christians 359 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:30,880 to warn people of impending judgement if they don't believe 360 00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:39,720 in the true Jesus. This is so incredibly important. 361 00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:46,520 So when Christ said, who do men say that I am? 362 00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:51,640 Most people got it right. Most people got it wrong. 363 00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:54,080 Excuse me? Well, some say you're Jeremiah 364 00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:57,000 and some say you're Elijah, and some say you're one of the 365 00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:00,040 prophets. Everybody's saying that you're 366 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:03,480 great, but nobody's saying that you're God. 367 00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:09,520 That's all that matters. So Christ says, well, who do you 368 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:11,680 say that I am? And Peter says thou art the 369 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:16,000 Christ, you're the Messiah. You're the long-awaited Messiah, 370 00:31:16,960 --> 00:31:25,160 the Son of the living God. And Jesus said flesh and blood 371 00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:30,560 did not reveal this to you. In other words, no man can ever 372 00:31:30,560 --> 00:31:38,200 convince you that Jesus is God. Christ says, My Father in heaven 373 00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:44,800 has revealed this to you. You see, it's a divine 374 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:47,880 enablement. It's divine sight. 375 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:54,960 Only God can do that. God the Father opens blind eyes 376 00:31:55,640 --> 00:31:59,640 so people will see the glorious light of the gospel. 377 00:32:01,600 --> 00:32:04,720 So as we go to John chapter one, oh by the way, you can turn to 378 00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:08,200 verse one if you want to. We need to at least begin that. 379 00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:10,680 This morning. You turn to John 1. 380 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:15,000 I want to present to you Jesus. I want to present to you the 381 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:21,080 true Jesus as John proclaims him and declares him to be. 382 00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:29,080 We must understand this because it's absolutely crucial to your 383 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:38,760 eternal destiny. So John one verse one says in 384 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:44,440 the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the 385 00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:48,280 Word was God. He was in the beginning with 386 00:32:48,280 --> 00:32:51,840 God. All things came into being 387 00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:58,200 through Him and apart from him nothing came into being that has 388 00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:03,800 come into being. In Him was life, and the life 389 00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:06,760 was the light of men. The light shines in the 390 00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:10,960 darkness. In the darkness did not 391 00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:19,160 overpower it. This week, next week, and 392 00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:25,200 probably the week after, I want you to see 5 aspects of the 393 00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:28,800 Christ. I want you to first of all see 394 00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:39,240 his eternality, and then I want you to be able to see see His 395 00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:42,920 deity. Then I want you to see His 396 00:33:42,920 --> 00:33:48,600 personality, and then what you see is activity or His 397 00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:53,920 creativity, and then you need to see His invincibility. 398 00:33:55,680 --> 00:34:00,440 Those five things will scream out at you as you begin to break 399 00:34:00,440 --> 00:34:07,280 down verses 1:00 to 5:00, but it all begins with His eternality. 400 00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:18,320 The Christ existed before the world began in the beginning it 401 00:34:18,320 --> 00:34:24,760 says in the beginning was the Word. 402 00:34:26,639 --> 00:34:32,400 This is his eternality. In the beginning was the Word, 403 00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:37,480 and the tense of the Word was explains to us that he didn't 404 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:42,880 come into being at the beginning, but existed before 405 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:51,560 the beginning ever came about. In the beginning the word 406 00:34:51,560 --> 00:34:55,440 already existed. It was already there. 407 00:34:55,520 --> 00:34:59,560 We know from verse 14 that that word became flesh and dwelt 408 00:34:59,560 --> 00:35:01,800 among us. And we'll talk to you more about 409 00:35:01,800 --> 00:35:07,240 the word as time goes on to help you understand why John uses 410 00:35:07,240 --> 00:35:10,960 Lagos as an explanation of who Christ is. 411 00:35:12,880 --> 00:35:15,000 But you need to understand His eternality. 412 00:35:17,040 --> 00:35:22,200 Everything about the Christ existed before time began. 413 00:35:23,760 --> 00:35:27,560 He has no beginning. He is the eternal God. 414 00:35:29,320 --> 00:35:34,520 So let me show you very familiar to all of us as Isaiah 9 verse 415 00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:43,040 #6 For unto us we understand a child will be born, and unto us 416 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:47,040 a son is given. Note, the son is not born. 417 00:35:47,040 --> 00:35:52,400 The son is given, the child is born Speaking of his humanity 418 00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:59,520 and his deity, and his name will be called wonderful. 419 00:36:00,520 --> 00:36:02,600 Someone will say, well, he's called wonderful counselor. 420 00:36:02,880 --> 00:36:08,640 No, he's called wonderful. It doesn't mean that he's not a 421 00:36:08,640 --> 00:36:13,520 wonderful counselor, because he is, but his name is wonderful. 422 00:36:13,520 --> 00:36:17,440 How do we know that Book of Judges 13th chapter, Manoah, the 423 00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:21,960 father of Samson, when he encountered the Angel of the 424 00:36:21,960 --> 00:36:25,160 Lord, the pre Incarnate Christ, he says, tell me, what is your 425 00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:27,720 name? And the Angel of the Lord says, 426 00:36:27,720 --> 00:36:33,160 why do you ask my name knowing it is wonderful? 427 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:40,560 So when Isaiah says his name will be called wonderful, he's 428 00:36:40,560 --> 00:36:45,080 echoing what the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah way back in 429 00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:47,920 the book of Judges. That's his name. 430 00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:53,920 He is wonderful, He is counselor, He is mighty God. 431 00:36:55,000 --> 00:37:00,720 And then it says he is everlasting Father. 432 00:37:02,240 --> 00:37:05,000 What does that mean? I thought you said the Son 433 00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:07,160 wasn't the Father and the Father's not the Son. 434 00:37:07,320 --> 00:37:11,200 That's correct. So how can it be the eternal 435 00:37:11,200 --> 00:37:13,240 Father? How can it be the everlasting 436 00:37:13,240 --> 00:37:17,240 Father? Well, you must understand Father 437 00:37:17,240 --> 00:37:22,160 in the Jewish sense. So it means that he is the 438 00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:28,920 everlasting author, the eternal originator. 439 00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:33,560 That's what Father means in the Jewish context. 440 00:37:34,960 --> 00:37:41,320 So He's not the Father, but He is the everlasting author, the 441 00:37:41,320 --> 00:37:44,960 eternal originator of everything from eternity. 442 00:37:46,640 --> 00:37:51,360 Speaking of the fact that the Son given is the child who was 443 00:37:51,360 --> 00:37:55,920 born, but He existed in eternity past. 444 00:37:57,440 --> 00:38:03,400 Micah 5 says the same thing. Micah 5 verse #2 the great 445 00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:07,120 prophecy about the arrival of the Messiah quoted in Matthew 446 00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:11,200 chapter 2. When the Magi came right into 447 00:38:11,200 --> 00:38:17,480 Jerusalem asking where is he was born king of the Jews and Herod 448 00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:21,400 asked the scribes, they quote magnify verse #2 it says, But As 449 00:38:21,400 --> 00:38:25,680 for you, Bethlehem, Ephrathah too little to be among the clans 450 00:38:25,680 --> 00:38:29,080 of Judah. From you one will go forth from 451 00:38:29,080 --> 00:38:34,320 me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long 452 00:38:34,320 --> 00:38:41,720 ago, from the days of eternity, Speaking of the fact that the 453 00:38:41,720 --> 00:38:47,120 one born in Bethlehem is from the days of eternity, speaking 454 00:38:47,120 --> 00:38:53,480 to the eternality of the Son. This is so crucial to understand 455 00:38:54,960 --> 00:39:01,200 that Christ existed before time ever began, because He is the 456 00:39:01,200 --> 00:39:04,560 eternal God. So John begins by explaining to 457 00:39:04,560 --> 00:39:09,480 you the eternality of the Word, the eternality of the Son, that 458 00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:13,680 He's always existed. He never came into being. 459 00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:19,440 So important. Turn to Hebrews chapter 1. 460 00:39:21,200 --> 00:39:28,520 Hebrews chapter 1. It says this in verse 5, For to 461 00:39:28,520 --> 00:39:31,880 which of the angels did he ever say, You are my son today I have 462 00:39:31,880 --> 00:39:35,480 begotten you, and again I will be a father to him, and he will 463 00:39:35,480 --> 00:39:39,640 be a son to me. And when he again brings the 464 00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:44,320 first born into the world, he says, and let all the angels of 465 00:39:44,320 --> 00:39:46,920 God worship him. Now stop right there. 466 00:39:47,720 --> 00:39:52,560 This is very important because the Colts will tell you that 467 00:39:52,560 --> 00:39:59,880 Jesus is the first born, trying to prove to you that Jesus was a 468 00:39:59,880 --> 00:40:06,240 created being. That's not true because the word 469 00:40:06,240 --> 00:40:12,040 for first born is the word prototicos. 470 00:40:12,960 --> 00:40:15,960 It is used nine times in the New Testament. 471 00:40:18,200 --> 00:40:23,520 Prototicos is the word that speaks not of origin. 472 00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:30,200 But one who is preeminent, one who has the right to the 473 00:40:30,200 --> 00:40:35,160 inheritance, he is the one who is the ruler. 474 00:40:36,760 --> 00:40:40,720 So it's it's, it's a word that speaks to the fact that there is 475 00:40:40,720 --> 00:40:43,520 one who rules, there is one who is preeminent. 476 00:40:43,640 --> 00:40:47,760 That's what protota cost means. Same thing said in Colossians 477 00:40:47,760 --> 00:40:52,400 chapter 1 verses 15 that He is the first born of all creation. 478 00:40:52,520 --> 00:40:55,960 We know that he wasn't the first one born in creation, that was 479 00:40:55,960 --> 00:40:58,760 Adam. But the first born of all 480 00:40:58,760 --> 00:41:02,160 creation is like the first born of all those who have been 481 00:41:02,160 --> 00:41:04,600 raised from the dead. Of all those raised from the 482 00:41:04,600 --> 00:41:07,400 dead, He is the preeminent ruler of them all. 483 00:41:07,600 --> 00:41:10,640 Of all those ever born, He is the preeminent one of them all 484 00:41:10,720 --> 00:41:16,400 because he is the pro totocas. Very important to understand the 485 00:41:16,400 --> 00:41:20,640 deity of Christ. Let me give you one more hint. 486 00:41:21,640 --> 00:41:27,840 It says verse 8, but at the Son he says your throne, O God, is 487 00:41:27,840 --> 00:41:30,920 forever and ever. The Father speaking to the Son 488 00:41:30,920 --> 00:41:36,560 calls him God your your, your throne is forever. 489 00:41:37,800 --> 00:41:43,160 And then it says, And the righteous scepter is the scepter 490 00:41:43,160 --> 00:41:46,160 of His Kingdom. You have loved righteousness and 491 00:41:46,160 --> 00:41:49,360 hated lawlessness. Therefore God, your God, has 492 00:41:49,360 --> 00:41:53,160 anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions. 493 00:41:53,960 --> 00:41:57,880 And you, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the 494 00:41:57,920 --> 00:42:00,640 earth. And the heavens are the works of 495 00:42:00,640 --> 00:42:03,880 your hands. They will perish, but you 496 00:42:03,880 --> 00:42:07,360 remain. And they all will become old 497 00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:11,520 like a garment and like a mantle you will roll them up like a 498 00:42:11,520 --> 00:42:14,280 garment. They will also be changed, but 499 00:42:14,280 --> 00:42:19,840 you are the same and your years will not come to an end. 500 00:42:19,840 --> 00:42:23,520 Why? Because He is the eternal God, 501 00:42:24,040 --> 00:42:30,280 that's why. So John says in John one verse 502 00:42:30,280 --> 00:42:40,680 one in the beginning was the Word indicating that before time 503 00:42:40,680 --> 00:42:45,720 began, before everything started up, the word had already 504 00:42:45,720 --> 00:42:48,920 existed. And you jump down to verse 14, 505 00:42:48,920 --> 00:42:55,280 it says, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we 506 00:42:56,200 --> 00:43:02,360 beheld his glory, the glory as of listen carefully. 507 00:43:03,240 --> 00:43:11,280 The only begotten of the Father, only begotten circle that Word. 508 00:43:12,560 --> 00:43:19,680 The word is monogamous. It's only used five times in the 509 00:43:19,680 --> 00:43:24,840 New Testament, and John uses it four times. 510 00:43:26,160 --> 00:43:30,240 God gave His only begotten Son, John 316. 511 00:43:30,400 --> 00:43:36,600 You know that verse and the only other time it's used, helps us 512 00:43:36,600 --> 00:43:41,040 understand the definition of monogamous, the only begotten. 513 00:43:41,280 --> 00:43:45,080 Again, you will have to use this when you talk to the JWS who 514 00:43:45,080 --> 00:43:48,040 come to your door. I recall a conversation I had 515 00:43:48,040 --> 00:43:51,200 when I lived in Covina and the JWS came to my door and they 516 00:43:51,200 --> 00:43:53,800 knocked in that door. I was outside doing some kind of 517 00:43:53,800 --> 00:43:56,800 yard work and they, they came to me and I love that because I was 518 00:43:56,800 --> 00:43:59,680 already sweaty and I wanted to make them sweat. 519 00:44:00,280 --> 00:44:03,760 So I kept them there as long as I could and I kept them facing 520 00:44:03,760 --> 00:44:07,200 the sun so they could see the the heat rising in them. 521 00:44:07,840 --> 00:44:11,360 And I would ask them words like, well, you say that Jesus is, is 522 00:44:11,360 --> 00:44:13,560 the first born. Well, that mean that's the word 523 00:44:13,560 --> 00:44:15,760 prototic cost. You know what that means, right? 524 00:44:16,040 --> 00:44:19,320 They have no idea what it means. So you explained it to them. 525 00:44:20,280 --> 00:44:22,880 And then then I say, they say, well, he is the only begotten of 526 00:44:22,880 --> 00:44:24,640 the Father. I said, yeah, but you know what 527 00:44:24,880 --> 00:44:27,240 monogamous means? They have no idea what it means. 528 00:44:28,040 --> 00:44:31,880 They have no idea. They are so ignorant of what it 529 00:44:31,880 --> 00:44:34,440 is they believe because they don't believe the truth. 530 00:44:36,360 --> 00:44:39,000 This is the only other time when she was outside John's gospel. 531 00:44:39,840 --> 00:44:42,720 She was 11. He was 11. 532 00:44:44,040 --> 00:44:50,520 Specifically verse #17 it says by faith, Abraham, when he was 533 00:44:50,520 --> 00:44:55,560 tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises 534 00:44:55,720 --> 00:45:02,320 was offering up his monogamies, His only begotten son. 535 00:45:03,640 --> 00:45:09,280 Let me ask you a question. How many sons did Abraham have 536 00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:20,320 at this point? 2 Was Isaac the only son of 537 00:45:20,320 --> 00:45:22,840 Abraham? No, Ishmael was. 538 00:45:23,560 --> 00:45:29,320 Ishmael was the first born son, but he was not the prototicus, 539 00:45:29,680 --> 00:45:31,960 the right to the inheritance son. 540 00:45:33,600 --> 00:45:39,360 He also wasn't the monogan Ace, the only begotten son that is 541 00:45:39,960 --> 00:45:46,040 Isaac, because he is the unique son or the son of choice. 542 00:45:46,160 --> 00:45:50,680 That's what monogan Ace means. So when John says we beheld this 543 00:45:50,680 --> 00:45:54,480 glory, the glory is that of the only begotten of the Father, 544 00:45:54,560 --> 00:45:58,480 full of grace and truth. He is the unique Son of the 545 00:45:58,480 --> 00:46:01,360 Father. He is the Son of choice of the 546 00:46:01,360 --> 00:46:03,200 Father. He is the Son who is the 547 00:46:03,200 --> 00:46:06,640 rightful heir to the inheritance of the Father. 548 00:46:07,680 --> 00:46:11,720 Has nothing to do with birth order, has everything to do with 549 00:46:11,720 --> 00:46:15,600 His preeminence and uniqueness as the Son of God. 550 00:46:17,600 --> 00:46:22,640 May I present to you Jesus the eternality of the Son. 551 00:46:23,920 --> 00:46:28,880 He has always existed. He never came into being. 552 00:46:29,960 --> 00:46:32,160 He is the originator of eternity. 553 00:46:32,560 --> 00:46:37,080 Well, to to be the originator of something, you have to be what 554 00:46:37,080 --> 00:46:42,280 that is, and He is the eternal God of the universe. 555 00:46:42,280 --> 00:46:47,680 From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. 556 00:46:49,160 --> 00:46:54,400 We are embarking on a journey that is the most crucial journey 557 00:46:54,960 --> 00:47:01,920 you will ever be on because it's a journey about the identity of 558 00:47:01,920 --> 00:47:06,800 the Christ and what you believe about Christ is everything. 559 00:47:07,520 --> 00:47:12,120 Everything. If you get Christ wrong, you'll 560 00:47:12,120 --> 00:47:14,640 get Christianity completely wrong. 561 00:47:16,320 --> 00:47:18,840 So you need to begin at the very beginning. 562 00:47:19,080 --> 00:47:26,160 Who is Jesus? Because who He is is all that 563 00:47:26,160 --> 00:47:32,840 matters. So let me ask you who do you say 564 00:47:33,120 --> 00:47:40,400 Jesus is? Who do you say the Christ child 565 00:47:41,040 --> 00:47:46,000 is? It's not what do you think or 566 00:47:46,000 --> 00:47:52,600 who do you think he is? It's what does the Bible say He 567 00:47:52,600 --> 00:47:55,640 is. That's why you must always keep 568 00:47:55,640 --> 00:47:59,080 your finger in the text. That's why you test every 569 00:47:59,080 --> 00:48:02,480 spirit, every message, every messenger. 570 00:48:02,640 --> 00:48:05,720 Always. Just because they say they're 571 00:48:05,720 --> 00:48:07,760 Christians doesn't mean they are. 572 00:48:09,200 --> 00:48:14,360 You must examine what they believe about the Christ because 573 00:48:14,360 --> 00:48:16,520 that would tell you everything you need to know about what it 574 00:48:16,520 --> 00:48:20,160 is they they believe about life and death. 575 00:48:21,720 --> 00:48:24,680 My prayer for you and me as we embarked in this journey, and we 576 00:48:24,680 --> 00:48:28,640 just introduced to you the first phrase of John, chapter one 577 00:48:28,640 --> 00:48:33,680 verse #1 It's going to take us a while, but there's no hurry 578 00:48:34,920 --> 00:48:41,280 because it's imperative that you get Jesus absolutely correct as 579 00:48:41,280 --> 00:48:45,080 John presents him. He is the Christ, He is the 580 00:48:45,080 --> 00:48:49,280 Messiah. He is a Son of the living God. 581 00:48:49,960 --> 00:48:52,440 Let's pray together. Lord, we thank you for this day, 582 00:48:52,440 --> 00:48:54,960 and we thank You for this opportunity You've given us to 583 00:48:54,960 --> 00:48:56,840 spend time in Your word. We are grateful. 584 00:48:58,560 --> 00:49:02,960 Our prayer, Lord, is that you would embed Your word deep into 585 00:49:02,960 --> 00:49:06,360 our hearts. Let there be no confusion among 586 00:49:06,360 --> 00:49:10,680 us about who You are, that truly we would have believed that 587 00:49:10,680 --> 00:49:16,960 Jesus is exactly who He says He is in the Scriptures, and that 588 00:49:16,960 --> 00:49:20,720 Lord, we would not be LED astray by those who are truly 589 00:49:20,720 --> 00:49:24,000 Antichrist. They deny that you came in the 590 00:49:24,000 --> 00:49:28,280 flesh. They tell us that you have taken 591 00:49:28,280 --> 00:49:32,080 Satan's nature. All those things are completely 592 00:49:32,080 --> 00:49:36,720 and totally wrong. But you, Lord of the Christ, you 593 00:49:36,720 --> 00:49:40,000 are the Messiah. You're the sinless God. 594 00:49:40,000 --> 00:49:47,320 Man 100% God 100% man, came to die for our sins, that we might 595 00:49:47,400 --> 00:49:50,360 be called the children of the living God. 596 00:49:51,800 --> 00:49:56,560 And so, Lord, until you come again, may we proclaim the true 597 00:49:56,560 --> 00:50:01,120 Jesus to those who are lost in their sin. 598 00:50:01,640 --> 00:50:04,240 We pray in Jesus name, Amen.