Like No Other

Intro:

Is anybody thankful that He is a God like no other?

I know that I am this morning. Like so many others, He has changed my life completely. Before Christ, I was seated on the throne of my heart, lost in sin, fighting for my own way in life, and doing it at the expense of everyone around me. I was the center of my universe, serving my own purposes until Jesus got ahold of my heart.

I know this is the case for everybody. We wander though life struggling with the effects of being born into sin through the fall of man in the garden of eden. We deal with anger, strife, bitterness, resentment, the sting of death, and times of sorrow.

This was not God’s intent for our lives. You and I were created for fellowship with God. We were created to have dominion over the earth, ruling and reigning under God who is Lord and King of all.

The serpent entered into the garden bringing with him temptation. The temptation he used wasn’t merely whether or not to eat a piece of fruit. What he brought into question was the goodness of God, and the desire to be like God. Genesis 3:1-6.

Let’s look at it:

Genesis 3:1–6 “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”

It still intrigues me that it wasn’t some perverted or twisted thing that the desired to do or get away with. The temptation was the goodness of God. They saw the beauty, splendor, wisdom, and majesty of God and His creation. They wanted it for themselves. The deception is that they were already created in His image, and after His likeness. They had everything.

Their decision to desire the throne and be like God brought sin into the world, and death by sin. Sin brought separation that drove mankind out of the garden. The penalty of sin spread to all mankind. In light of this reality, God set a plan in motion that He would send His son Jesus Christ to die for the sin of the world.

The man Jesus Christ, was born of a virgin as prophesied by Isaiah. It was spoken through the prophets that He would bring good news to the poor, offer healing to the sick, and provide the necessary atonement for sin by becoming the needed sacrificial lamb of God.

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Submit:

When He came it wasn’t as they expected. He was born in humility, grew up in obscurity, until the time when he was to be revealed to the world. God sent a man named John to prepare the way of the Lord. Matthew 3:1-3.

John’s message is seen in Matthew 3:1–3 “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’ ””

When Jesus was revealed, His message was one of repentance and surrender. Matthew 4:17.

From the time of sin in the garden most of mankind sat on the throne of their hearts. They lived to please the desires of their own heart which often resulted in wickedness and all sorts of sin.

When Jesus comes this is His first message, Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

This call to repent is a call to surrender the throne. He wasn’t simply saying I have come to take away your sin so you feel better. He said, the king is here and your in my seat.

What I love most about Jesus is that he gives choice not ultimatums. He is omnipotent (which means all powerful), and yet He is clothed with humility taking the form of a servant. He suffered persecution, crucifixion, and death to make it possible for you to have life.

But here is the best part of the story. He didn’t just die for your sins, He rose again conquering death, hell, and the grave. Through His death and resurrection He became the way, the truth, and the life.

Look at your neighbor and say He is like no other!

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Apply:

This morning the Gospel that I preach to you is the power of God unto salvation. There is no other name under heaven by which men must be saved. Acts 4:12.

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Jesus is like no other because He is the only way. John 10:9 Jesus says, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”

Jesus is the good shepherd. John 10:11 ““I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”

The power of the good news of the Gospel is that through faith in His name you can find hope and the forgiveness of your sins, but it doesn’t stop there. We are also to surrender to His ways allowing Him as the good shepherd to lead and guide us through life. As King He gets to take His rightful place on the throne of our hearts.

This is the essence of salvation. It is where we willingly come and die to self so that we might live alive unto Him. This is more than a prayer we pray to be forgiven. It is a life long process of transformation through the renewing of the mind. Where it is no longer us living for our own purpose or desires, but allowing Christ through His word to redefine and mold our lives as a potter molds clay.

Where we once pursued selfish pleasure, we now pursue, with equal passion, that which pleases God. The question for all of us alike both those who right now are far from God, and those who have already come into the family of God is will we surrender to His ways?

I can tell you this morning that He is good and His mercy endures forever, but I want you to experience it for yourself. I don’t want to merely speak of His redeeming power I want you to experience for yourself. I don’t want to share of the beauty of His person, I want you to know intimately for yourself the beauty, wisdom, and majesty.

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Closing:

He without question is a God like no other. Through love his amazing love He offers hope and forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

His forgiveness is so thorough that we when we repent, He says in, Psalm 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

Jesus’s sacrificial death opened the door for our salvation. He made a way when there seemed to be no way. His resurrection sealed the guarantee that you and I could walk in newness of life though Him.

The final question I have this morning is what will you do with this Jesus who is like no other? Will you surrender your life to Him? Are you willing to give up the throne of your heart to allow Him to rule and reign in your life?

The first time the way He came was unexpected, I tell you this morning that He is coming again. 1 Corinthians 15:52 “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” Matthew 24:36 ““But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.”

If you are willing to go all in, I can tell you with confidence you wont regret surrendering the throne of your life to Jesus. Listen, I am not asking you today to side cheek it with Jesus on the throne of your life. I am saying that you give up the control, and you allow him to have it.

Altar:

I want every head bowed, and every eye closed. Right now I believe that He is speaking to people in this room. He is tugging at your heart to surrender the throne.

Will you let him in today? Fully and completely.

If that is you, I want you to get our of your seat and come meet me at this altar this morning.

(Ushers/Prayer partners) be ready to give material to them after I lead them in the salvation prayer.