June 23, 2019 Sun am 1 Cor 15:12-14

So I was. I was going to have technological issues and then hopefully we will we will not be reminded me of one thing. It's actually an old Canadian. It's when in Duke reboot in Canada that rhyme but but what it does remind me of is the fact that

we have that opportunity. When are when our lives are not going away and we haven't followed Jesus Christ that we have a chance through the waters of baptism through Jesus to reboot to be able to start again to be able to watch everything cleaned as we know and Technology most times most issues you have my wife was there all this is now my phone is not working right? It was about to turn it off and then turn it back on and not always but many times that's all right. So sometimes we have to go back. So make it work by shaking her head him. So sometimes we have to go back if we have to go back to the scriptures back to the work to reboot to remember where was that we came from So what do you want to talk about this morning is why was Jesus different from other? Great, man. I guess it was is the Charmers other leaders that are out there other people of influence because people can have a lot of influence on his can they not you can hear a great speaker using wow I want to do with that guy says and I want to follow it and if that speaker has the right part the right intention then that can be a good thing, but we have to remember not. To put our faith in that person that we have to put our faith in God. So we remember the reason why I used it the scripture that Barry read the 1st Corinthians 15:12 414 just to remember where it is if we came from to remember that you were going to be talking about the fact that Jesus compared to other humans right quick, but no one I'm going to kind of skip to the end here. Nobody was God. The way Christ was so that without the fact that that us not believe if we didn't believe that Jesus rose. If we didn't believe that Jesus came back, then there was no point in all his speech is there was no point in all his lessons, but we know in our hearts we know from our faith from our history from our experiences from our trials that Jesus was who he said he was

So who was Jesus? We see you and Luke 9 23 to 26 does any said to all them whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me for whoever wants to save their life will lose it. But whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world and yet lose or forfeit their very they're very self. Whoever is ashamed of me and my words the son of man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the father and of the Holy Angels we have to have the the face we have to have the fullness to be willing to the claim who we are to claim Jesus when somebody asks where we're going on Sunday morning. Can we do something on Sunday morning? We have to have that bold as to follow Jesus in the same know I'm going to be in church this morning. So we asked who was Jesus Jesus reports was the son of God. He was born of a of a virgin. He was 100% human. He was 100%. As never existed before. He was the sacrificial lamb to be this one sacrifice for all our sins. He spoke to people though where they were. He didn't speak to them from a higher level. He spoke to them on their level and he told them what was missing in their lives. What they had to do to be saved. He was humbled. He was God. But he was humbled so we have to think about as a leader as an individual as someone who would happy both are literally would drop what they were doing drop their careers drop anything that they have to follow him. Because he was humble but yet he was who they thought he was it took a while for the disciples to figure out exactly who he was exactly what he was there for that. It wasn't a physical conquering. It wasn't a physical salvation. It was a spiritual salvation. So why are so many people attracted to Christ as a leader because he was God but he had humility. He sacrificed himself for a greater purpose and he makes us a promise that when this world will fall away. We will be with him in paradise and as all go into in a little bit. You also makes a promise for us today to be part of the Kingdom to be part of the church to have all the blessings and the support that we have in that it isn't just about eternal life. It's the blessings that we have today being in him. It doesn't mean that we're not going to face trial doesn't mean that we're not going to have a bad day. But what it means is we have someone to look to we have the word to go back to

so, why was Jesus different? And who was Jesus not? Jesus going to read John 3:16 through 70s is for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through him and I really want to focus on the last part of that scripture because we all know John 3:16, right? We see that on everything but let's look at Edwards 17 and think about it that so many people think. Okay. Well if a guy was a loving God, why would he condemned? Why would he put people in hell? Why would he give put them on that pack? Here's a news flash for you. We put her cell phone. We did all the things if you read the history, you read the Bible. We did all these things to ourselves we condemned ourselves.

God's not doing this to us. We're doing is God is giving us a chance through his son Jesus Christ. To be saved to get ourselves out of that pack to remove ourselves from the equation and when this world Falls away to have a place with him in heaven. We created our own demise.

Who else was Jesus not? They were expecting. A different person. That's why they rejecting why they Jewish leaders the political leaders of the time the people the orders of people that had the ear of the people rejected Jesus. At least accept first they did right? So then eventually you had Saul of Tarsus. You had a number of people that eventually did see who he was over the most part Pharisees and Sadducees all the political leaders of time rejected him. They tried to trap him because he was not who they had in mind if they had someone like this behind me a Warrior King David when you think a David many people think of a the little guy at the curly top hair in the white tunic in the little slang and you know, that that's what people think it's the Sunday School David Wright be quiet. But David was a Warrior King David was not somebody to mess with I think we're going to have a leader somebody is going to defend their people that's going to bring them back to the Forefront of the world. They're thinking of a physical King in the line of David and instead. What are they find? a humble Carpenter somebody who was not necessarily physically intimidating was not necessarily even vocally intimidated, but if you listen to him He was a great leader, and he could lead people to where they needed to go.

So many people want to claim Jesus and one things before I can get into this. I want to talk about your political leaders and he's like this storm and is not intended to be political at all because I am not a member of any particular political party or they I like to observe politics from a neutral standpoint. So so I think that anything you look at here and you see in this please remove politics from because that's not what it's about people will try to claim on both sides are many different and I'm not stalking in the US I'm talking about across the world will try to claim Jesus first their political party day because why because they want you attached Jesus to Jesus was here today. What political party would would he be attached to the answer is not because there were political parties back then he did say give to Caesar. What is Caesar's Luke 4:28 330 saw where Jesus was rejected that all the people in the synagogue were Furious when they heard this they got off they drove him out of town and took him to the brow of the Hill which is the town which the thong town was built in order to throw him off the cliff, but he walked right through in the crowd went on his way. One of my favorite scriptures also shows. Jesus was not only human because if you've ever had a crowd try to direct you a certain way a crowd of of many people you don't just cut through invite you guys I'm going to I got something else I got to do like you're going to go with that crowd want you to go. So that shows that Jesus it was not his time. We also see a Matthew 28. Charlie Matthew 22 18 through 21 talking about politics, but Jesus knowing their evil intent said you Hypocrites. Why are you trying to trap me show me the coin used for paying the tax? They brought him a Denarius and he asked them whose image is this and who's inscription Caesars they replied and then he said to soak it back to Caesar. What is Caesar's and to God? What is God's so we have to have that separation. It doesn't mean that we can believe in a political party that that does all the things that are against our beliefs. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is we have to have that separation we have to do what Christ did Christ kept himself above politics one indication of that. Is that how many times go ahead and count them how many times does Jesus actually refer to himself as Christ? Maybe twice someone can can count and tell me but I'd not very many times. You know, I can almost time to call themselves. What kind of man Son of God. Why does he call himself Christ when I went ahead research number years ago Politics the term Christ at that time because you wouldn't cuz it was I who is this going to be a who's going to save us that was politically charged me did not use the term very much. So we have to remember to guess he was Christ, but he was also aware of the politics of the time and what had to be done to ascend from that. Was Jesus a prophet? Jesus was a messenger? Right? But so many other religions will try to I don't know the word is demote. Jesus was kind of kind of defer him to a profit status single. He was a good guy. He was a prophet. But that's it. So they're they're denying his his godliness and it's an easy way to to invalidate our argument but still include him in the same way. So I think that that we have to make sure that we're not removing his daddy by referring to him simply as a prophet was he in Hebrews 2 verses 9 through and it says but we do see Jesus who was made lower than the angels for a little while now crowned with Glory and Honor because he suffered death so that the grace of God might taste death for everyone in bringing many sons and daughters to Glory. It was fitting that God for whom and through whom everything exists should make the pioneer of their salvation. Perfect. Through what he suffered does Hebrews 9 to Hebrews 2:9 through 10.

So we see that that people with prophets you think about all the different prophets prophets were human. They were human first and we think the property had a message. Jesus had a message prophets. Most of them die except for two of Enoch and Elijah who were swept up and take an appetite but that even in class this morning, I believe and so for the most part they were of the enemy know that they were all human first. Jesus was God first. He was there from the beginning. He took human form. He was made a little bit lower the angels He was set down to earth he died and he returned. So Jesus is much more than a messenger. Jesus was God Jesus was God in our footsteps God in our shoes as I like to call it. He was here that the sign of a loving God for God to put himself in our place to put himself in front of the Temptations of the world that is here and he had the power. In the virility in the ability to say no to say no to sent.

So we think about the other thing with profits did any of the prophets return?

Technically, right? We see Moses. We see you during the Transfiguration depends on how you look at it. We keep Moses. We see Elijah and then we see a horse Peter reacting the way Pete reacts to things. Okay, but it's not in the same context as returning it to human form the way Jesus returned to human form. So there is nobody like Jesus

people are sorry. Jesus versus people versus political leaders political leaders whether good bad. Irrelevant, whatever. It doesn't really matter that the Jesus is superior to all them. But Jesus was a great speaker. And so many people out. There are good speakers I've had A little bit of I don't like to call them run-ins with political leaders over the past all can I give you a fast history? I never saw myself as politically connected but I've have bumped into a couple of them sometimes quite literally as you will find out. So the first political leader that I ever ran into was this guy. I remember being 4 years old remember talking to my dad running a tricycle and I remember him and somebody might but I feel I called my Uncle Gene, you know, he wasn't related to me and another man who was walking around I ran over this man's foot and he gave me a quarter any any tousled my hair and I've never thought about it and then probably by the time I was like 16 to 18 years old remember that I'm like, yeah you in any gods that was Brian Mulroney. That was he was an up-and-coming call dishes are all excited about talking to this guy couldn't figure out what and he became the prime minister of Canada. He was the Prime Minister of Canada during The Reagan years, they sell it. So he was fairly popular and then eventually voted out like most next one guy. I like really like Ronald Reagan when I was a kid. I think it was heading out to do apologize to you remind me of my grandfather. So I remember my parents. Let me let me stay up and watch it away and I just like them and I remember my mom when he was when he was shot 1980 greeting me at the door to tell me that Ronald Reagan was shot. So that's one of the things that I remember but then by the time right at the end of his presidency, I was in college in Nebraska and I was told by a couple friends that Ronald Reagan was going to be landing at the Kearney, Nebraska Hastings, Nebraska airport. So few of us got up there and we just went and if we got out of class they permitted. What do you go there and watch him and I remember waving to him and I Remember him waving to us somebody whispered in his ear that we were there and wave to us like he knew us and I'll never forget that the political leaders while they're human and even in any kind of you're not just political they can have an impact, but we have to make sure that we're placing our faith in the right place.

Next guy George Bush came to my college. I got to polish his glass before he was because I was part of the catering 79.2 remember that shook his hand. Not a big deal his his son. George W is running for governor was George W of Texas was running for election for President and I was coming out of my office complex. Turn it going straight and his a very large white Cadillac Escalade limousine was coming straight. They turn left a I had the right away by the way just about. I just about hit him or he hit me in my opinion zooming and that mr. Bush was in there and that's all that's where I save sometimes literally my run is were quite literal this guy over. There we go this guy, He was running for governor governor George Ryan and we'll get stuck in that title. But he wear in Macomb, Illinois and we are just come out or is my wife at the Western. We were down there visiting the church in Macomb where we've been married and I noticed that my shoe is untied so we just came out and in Macomb dining company is a really good restaurant down. There is not there anymore heavy heavy wooden doors. It's okay. I'll just tie my shoe. So I went outside and behind the door. Me and I tie my shoe and forced George Ryan and his Entourage last out of the same with reporters and funeral home SEC and I'm like behind the door the whole time and I just remembered kind of hid in my head on the door closed and I just looked at my wife and went And so we sometimes have wrong impressions of other leaders, right so that can happen to so the last one I'll finish with this guy. I was on the radio. I was doing some in Springfield 2003 we were going to taxes we're going down to my wife's dad place and and I was supposed to have a 1 interview on the radio talk about retirement planning or something like that. And and I got a call from the radio guy in just said All right, because I got a bump you too. Can you do I like OK goes? Well, I got a guy coming in that that is a really popular right now. He's up in the in the Illinois house and I really want to get him on there. Like that's fine. That's my but I knew it was going to put me out. So I got to the studio and this guy just had stars in his eyes. He said this little piece of paper and it and he said you know what this is. This is Barack Obama's personal cell phone number. And I looked at I might go.

What is a Barack Obama never heard by now? I never asked that question again, right because I actually ended up working for the Democratic party at one point. So but yeah, I remember different run-ins with political leaders and I think we have to remember that they are very human. I was going to leave deal with that political leaders are flawed. The people will place faith in them. There are leaders. There's dictator that a variety of different North Korea their leaders King John Moon conjunct ill in the past. They believe that they're their leaders are actually got they portray themselves as Gods so that they can follow it. Political leaders in in even even religious leaders will try to harness people's fade in order to steer them where they need to go. Now if you're harnessing people's faith when we preach when we were harnessing people spay, and we're not partisan get to ourselves and we're harnessing it to the word to God. It's different for harnessing into a human being and that you need to follow me where I go. That's wrong. So we have to look at the fundamentals to believe the things that are make Jesus different. If you look at other leaders, you look at Adolf Hitler took his personal prejudices. To kill an entire race of people into want it almost take over the entire world. He used hatred he had Zeal. He was a great speaker.

But he had the wrong time and the wrong motives in the wrong moral. So we have to look when we're following someone or allowing someone to lie, cuz we do need leaders in our lives.

But the leaders have to lead in the church to G. Not anywhere else. While I was writing that part I had the song running through my head from the 90s. You might mention it might remember this called call to personality by Living Colour and it actually had some words in there because that's what it was about was about the flaws of political leaders of the time. It says Neon Lights a Nobel Prize a leader speaks that leader dies. You don't have to follow me only you can set you free you gave me Fortune you gave me Fame you gave me power in your own God's name. I'm every person you need me to be Oh, I'm the cult of personality. I took out all the Articles were sent out of there. But for the most part of human leadership that people will place faith in human beings and those human beings will let us down if our faith is not founded in God no leader has ever come back from death. other than Jesus So since Christ you think of all the the leaders all the receives all the things that have happened all the people that have been in the news and leaving people and they're all gone. But Jesus still there, why is that because Jesus is preaching the kingdom. Jesus is preaching the truth. And it's about her faith that keeps it going to look at religious leaders. And other religious for say not destroy specific leaders. So we look at the world right now. It's interesting. I didn't realize how different the world was from from the country. But I guess it makes sense 33% of the world considers themselves Christian guy sold. So that's the term that they use in 21% of the world follow the religion of Islam 15% of the world follow the religion of Hinduism and 7% of the world follow the religion of Buddhism and then there's some in there that would be no religion at all and a lot of little one. So we think about the fact that you look at those numbers anything cuz that scare you at all. Does that does that make you think while we got a lot of work to do? Okay, that's a lot of the world. But yet we have a lot of word spread because in those numbers. You have all you would say I'm on Christian you have people that aren't necessarily have different levels of belief different levels of of commitment. Have I remember the term to use I'm probably still. Zelda but Christians ready to have that I'm a Christian, but you have a lot of space to cover that the mission in the world the people that go out to the to the world to spread the word. They have a lot of work to do. So don't look at the country in the USA 70% consider themselves Christian 5.8% non Christian faith, 15.8% No particular religion. So when you hear these things about well aren't the greatest threat to Christianity is Islam in the greatest. The greatest threat to Christianity is a divided Christian Community and apathy are right cuz you still having that 70 per-cent. You still have the blood pressure just saw the people who are not committed and then you have people I don't want anything to do with it. And those are the people that can detract. Those are the people that we need to love. Those are the people we need to talk to those are the people that we need to show the word that the word is not in crisis not about what this particular president or this particular political influence or says that it's about the word of God.

agnosticism is our biggest threat people who don't know if you don't understand apathy is our biggest threat in the world today. So why do we follow Christ?

How do we know that Jesus was truly Christ was truly the Son of God if Jesus was only human. Let's say it's and it would say we just found out we know it's not true. But let's say we found out that Jesus is only human and that they just move the Rock and they move the body and with all the things that they say they try to say about it being that would be the biggest hoax ever played on mankind, right? So when you look at time and how things change how could that even be true? Because the word because the kingdom through the Holy Spirit has progressed has stayed existing. We know that Jesus was not just human. Jesus and God knew that things would happen that that there would be leaders of men to come and pull away from his story. We knew that there would be people who would any any leader that calms you Jesus fits that kind of that cult of personality and bear if that leader speaks out. They were seen it many times. If a leader stays within the agenda the political agenda the times they usually stay. Okay, once they start speaking out. There's usually an attempt on their life, right? So that happened with Jesus. It happened to other other leaders in history. We know that but the difference is that Jesus return because Jesus was the son of of God, none of them returned from the dead to see his followers except for Jesus to prove that. He was truly God.

So, how do we know for sure? 2nd Corinthians 5 6 through 8 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord for as we live by faith and not by sight. We are confident. I say that it would prefer to be away from the body at home with the Lord.

We have to be confident but Jesus was who he said he was there are there are ways to get to slide in there are ways that we will try to look at the Apologetics. Okay, so the different arguments different things are out there. It's fun to look at its it's fun to to know these things and it can reaffirm your faith archaeologist to stuff the towel dust. It's great because we see these things to make your wildest lines up with the Bible what the Bible says, that's one of the things that can help help a firm your face. History looking out history third-party history aligns with what is it in in the Bible? We see it. We think that's great. It's in line. It doesn't contradict. But your faith should not come for music. Your face should come from from reading the word from believing in who Jesus was. And trying to to walk in his footsteps, but these things can help but there's ever really no way to know. Other than in our faith and that's the point if it was in concrete and we knew when everybody knew and God was a big face in the sky and we'd see him don't you think more people would believe what he gives us a choice. He gives us the ability to say. No. I don't want to believe in that.

To me that shows that he is God.

2nd Corinthians 5:3 says in the presence of God and Christ Jesus who will judge the living and the dead and in view of his appearing and his kingdom. I give you this charge preach the word be prepared in season out of season correct review can encourage with great patience and careful instruction for the time will come when people will not put up with sound Doctrine instead to suit their own desires. They will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear Hey and that goes back to do the the different sides of Christianity the different teachings, right? They want to hear what they want to hear and so they can meld Christianity into something that it's not so we have to be on the guard for that. We have to be prepared prices prepared us. He told us that they will hate you. Because they hated me he prepared us for persecution. I don't think we've seen a hint of it yet. It doesn't matter because we know what we've got to do. We know the scriptures and we have the word of God and that's what we follow because God has given us that as a gift. We don't need Miracles. We don't need all these things. What we need is the word to believe in and to know it in our hearts.

Jesus not only preached eternal life after physical death. He preached the kingdom as I mentioned earlier a kingdom. That is the church the church of Christ a kingdom that cannot be defeated by a human Kingdom by a worldly Kingdom by AJ a political power. This is why Christ is above all their leaders. This is why he is different than any other great men that have walked this Earth is because he was not just a man. He was God, he wasn't creating a physical Empire like they thought he wasn't that warrior king that they thought he was going to be he came from a humble perspective. He preached love he preached taking God's word to the next level. He preached forgiveness and he preached put God ahead of everything put God first.

so we look at do you want to read Matthew 16 16 through 19. So Simon Peter answered you are the Messiah the Son of the Living God Jesus replied blessed. Are you Simon son of Jonah for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood but my Father in heaven and I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock. I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not over, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on Earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on Earth will be loosed in heaven. So we have that Kingdom. We have not just a promise of a tomorrow of eternal life in Christ. But we have a promise of a kingdom today that there are so many benefits of being inside the church the benefits of people who believe the same as you can understand what you're going through to help lead you help you there for you. I know I've benefited last 30 years of being in the church benefit greatly from people within the church. And that is the blessing will just one of the blessings of Christ brought to us. Can we look to follow Christ? You see Luke 5:32, cuz I have not come to call the righteous but Sinners to repentance. So to be part of the canine to be part of God's plan part of the Plan of Salvation that transcends the plans that the world has for you. We have to be part of that. We want to be part of that. You must hear believe repent confess, but be baptized and that's just the beginning. Because it gets tougher has been relatively recently baptized can tell you that that's the easy part and then over time you've got to go back and face all these these things these demons as they say these things that they were in your life and be able to to say no as Jesus said no. We can't do it at the same level but we can still follow in his footsteps and we can follow his footsteps. And that lead to Heaven Christ did not come here to condemn Christ came here to save people to save people from themselves and to lead us to heaven. So if you ever need this morning, he would desire to be baptized or to speak with the Elders of the church and asked me to come forward as we stand.