The ONE

Slide There is only ONE.

When you hear that phrase how do you complete it? There is only ONE … There is only one Dr. Pepper! There is only one Super Bowl! There is only one Grand Canyon!

The phrase, there is only one, is intended to add significance to something due to its superiority, its uniqueness or even exceptional quality. You might also say it to express your praise for somethings specialness or beauty.

For me, there is only one … earth! There is and will never be anything like it. It is amazing. The people, the geography, the wildlife, the natural beauty. I enjoy national geographic and seeing places all over the world.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! Psalm 108:5

And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” Isaiah 6:3

We all have those only ONE items in our lives. ONE moment, ONE place, ONE event. ONE person. What’s your one?

Yet we live in a world where one is just a number added to zero to form digital code.We are never satisfied with just the one, as the old Lays potato chip commercial said, you can’t eat just one.

And yet, there is ONE who is greater, there is ONE who has no equal. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:4–6 …

Slide There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:4–6

There is only one Way! There is only one God!

Yet …

Slide In a world of tolerance over truth, the ONE is replaced by the many.

Many Gods, many ways, many truths, many messiahs!

There have been many who claim to be the one. The one who can solve your problems, bring wars to an end, feed the world, overcome, and promise you the moon and the stars. We even have a term for it.

Slide A Messiah Complex

A messiah complex is a mental state in which a person believes they are a or even the messiah who is sent save or redeem. It can also refer to a state of mind in which a person believes that they are responsible for saving others.

In the last 2,000 years over 60 identifiable individuals have claimed to be a messiah or the messiah, or even Jesus reincarnated. The savior, the one who would solve the world’s problems, heal the world’s divisions, bring peace and prosperity.

Names like David Koresh of the branch Davidians or Sun Myung Moon and the Moonies of the Unification church.

But we see in the word of God, that there is only ONE.

Over the past four weeks we have been in Matthew chapters 11-12. We have said that Jesus is the Greater Messiah who is

· He is greater than our fears, struggles, that Jesus truly is the greatest of all time!

· He is greater than the sabbath because he is our rest.

· He is greater than our hurts, doubts or struggles because He is the one who Isaiah says would show compassion to the bruised reed and smoldering wick.

· He is greater than our sin and he is the one who calls all of humanity to come to Him and not to resist the one and only Holy Spirit. Leading to the only sin, that taken to the grave, will forever separate you from God and His salvation.

We are wrapping up this series in chapters 11-12 by looking at Jesus’ own words about himself. That He is the ONE!

What defines a person's greatness?

Slide The world says that greatness is a journey to the front of the line and the top of the mountain!

Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than all others.

Slide The word says that greatness is a journey to the back of the line and take up the cross!

Slide But whoever would be great among you must be your servant … Matthew 20:26

Jesus comes into a world looking for a front of the line top of the mountain greatest of all time leader … what they got was a back of the line take up your cross, humble servant of the living God.

Slide He wasn’t the ONE they were expecting!

So, they tell the One …

Slide If you are the One … prove it!

Slide Satan wanted proof!

Slide and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” Matthew 4:6

Slide Thomas wanted proof!

Slide So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” … Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:25–29

Even the religious leaders …

Slide Religious leaders wanted proof that He was the ONE!

Our passage begins with these words …

Slide Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” Matthew 12:38

Listen to Jesus’ response …

Slide But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. Matthew 12:39-41

Slide The One here is greater than Jonah and his message!

Jesus say his sign will be that of Jonah … the resurrection. To be swallowed by a whale and slowly digested over three days is a slow miserable death … but Jonah was resurrected and given a new life in which he obeyed God and told his enemy the Ninevites the truth of God’s message and they repented. And if they repented, there witness and testimony will be in judgement against those who hear and do not believe.

Because Jesus is the One who rose from the dead … we too have hope in our future resurrection. When Jesus was at the tomb of Lazarus and Jesus says …

Slide Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25–26

Nineveh believed Jonah … Jesus asks you and me, do we believe that in him we will never die Because He is the One who is greater than Jonah,

Slide We can live with and in the hope and power of the resurrection!

Paul writes all about the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15.

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.

17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. 1 Corinthians 15:12–19

20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:20–22

32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 1 Corinthians 15:32

I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:50–58

Paul even confesses in Philippians 3 …

8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:8–11

We are called to live with and in the hope and power of the resurrection! Because He is the one who is greater than Jonah who preached repentance to Nineveh. Then we read …

Slide The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. Matthew 12:42

The queen of the south traveled, troubled herself, did whatever it took to seek wisdom and you sit here in the presence of wisdom and don’t even know it. For …

Slide The One is greater than Solomon and his wisdom!

In 1 Kings 10:1–7 we read …

Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue,

Pause – what is a retinue? A retinue is a body of persons "retained" in the service of a noble, royal personage, or dignitary; a suite of retainers. The group following and attending to some important person. Retinue shares a root with retain. This fact can help you remember the word. If you hire someone to help you out while you travel, you are retaining their services. When their services are retained, they become part of your retinue. The Secret Service could be thought of as the U.S. President's retinue.

with camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more breath in her. And she said to the king,

“The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. 1 Kings 10:1–7

Job asked the question …

Slide But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Job 28:12

The psalmist wrote …

Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Psalm 51:6

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12

Solomon wrote …

Slide For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity… for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; Proverbs 2:6–7,10

Slide We have access to the wisdom and knowledge of God in Christ Jesus! He is our wisdom!

James reminds us …

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. James 1:5

Jesus calls himself the wisdom of God …

Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ Luke 11:49

Paul himself call Jesus the wisdom of God in 1 Corinthians 1:24–31

but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:24–31

The queen of Sheba believed Solomon, because she saw his wisdom. But as Jesus told Thomas, you have believed because you have seen, blessed are those who believe and have not seen.

Then Jesus then says …

Slide “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.” Matthew 12:43-45

Jesus says that …

Slide Unrestrained evil multiplies!

We saw earlier that Jesus healed a demon possessed man and was accused of being Satan himself casting out his own demons.

Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” Matthew 12:22–23

But Christ has overcome evil. He is the ONE!

Slide The One is greater than Satan and all that is evil!

He told Peter …

Slide … on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18

Slide We have overcome evil by the life of the One that is in us!

Slide Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:4

Slide I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

We continue to read in verse 46 …

Slide While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Matthew 12:46-50

Slide The One is greater than any other relationship!

Slide See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; … 1 John 3:1

Slide … you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, … Romans 8:14–17

Slide We prioritize our relationship with the One who makes every other relationship purposeful.

What do you and I need to do?

Slide Repent and believe the message of the One!

Slide Listen to the wisdom of the One who is wisdom!

Slide Turn from unrestrained evil toward the One who came to set you free!

Slide Prioritize a relationship with the One who has adopted you into the family!

Pray and then set up song - Every Victory - there is one name that hold every victory, silences every enemy and reigns for eternity … He is the ONE. Jesus the Messiah, the Lord, Son, Savior, friend and shepherd … king Jesus. Stand and let’s proclaim that in name of the ONE, Jesus we have the victory!