Sunday, January 27, 2013

They Lie, Jesus is NOT The Only Way

He did exist. He IS the Messiah.

This is one of those messages that offend some that hear it. But it is the truth. The Truth is a constant. An absolute. A never changing, always present, fact. It doesn't matter if you become offended. It doesn't matter if you accept it, reject it, or even if you understand it. It just is.

First lie they tell you is that Jesus never existed. This is simply silly. Even secular Historians will tell you that Jesus did truly exist. That in the time depicted in the Bible, there really was a man name Jesus who really was born in Bethlehem, who really did live to about 33 years old, and who was really crucified. So we will not even waste another second on this lie.

Now many argue that Jesus was a great Teacher. A Preacher. A Rabbi. Some say He was the Son of God, others? He was not. Some say He was God in the flesh, many say he was nothing more than a man. Was Jesus of Nazareth, truly the Messiah? Is He truly the only way to be saved? What does the Word say?

Lets start in the very beginning.

Genesis 1
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
So here we see, God, The Father, and the Spirit were both present before there was anything. In the beginning, God was.
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
In the original language, us, and our, are both in reference to Three or more. We are made in the Imagine of God Himself. Our mind, fashioned after God the Father. Our bodies, fashioned after the flesh of God, the Son. Our soul, spirit, the thing that is us, that will live forever, after the Holy Spirit. We, like God, are three completely different beings, yet we are one.

In....
John 1:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
The the Word starts to foretell us of the Messiah to come. Let's start in Genesis. A Messiah is coming..

Genesis 49:
10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Then in....

Numbers 24:
17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
So we know that an all powerful Messiah will come and take away all the Sin of man, and defeat Evil. However, how do we know that Jesus is the One?

King David had a vision of the Messiah. He was even shown that he would ask "why have you forsaken me?" and that they would pierce His hands and feet. In....

Psalm 22:
1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

2 O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.

3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.

5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.

6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.

7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

8 He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.

10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.

11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.

12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.

13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.

14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.

15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.

16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.

18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

19 But be not thou far from me, O Lord: O my strength, haste thee to help me.

20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.

21 Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.

23 Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.

24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.

25 My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.

26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the Lord that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.

27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

28 For the kingdom is the Lord's: and he is the governor among the nations.

29 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.

30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.

31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.
So the true Messiah will be seemingly forsaken, and cut off, killed, and then live to reign over all things forever. Then we turn to Isaiah. Now Isaiah is filled with the prophetic foretelling of the coming Messiah. It is a blueprint, if you will, of what the Messiah is, what He will do, and is a crystal clear picture of Jesus Himself. Lets start with the Virgin Birth.. In..

Isaiah 7:
14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Which is "God with us" In Matthew, His name is said to be Emmanuel, Same name, different spelling. So how did he become Jesus? What does Jesus mean? Well, Emmanuel means "God with us." He is the Christ. The Messiah. The Angel of the Lord told Joseph to call His name Jesus. Which means "Jehovah is salvation."

Is this one of those Contractions that some like to say fill the Word. Nope. Jesus IS "God with us." And He IS Jehovah Himself. In....

Isaiah 53:
1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
So lets look at this a bit more in depth... We already know that the Messiah, would be born of a Virgin Birth. That right there disqualifies ANYONE who is not. That is why this truth is under constant attack and ridicule by both those that do not believe in God, and those that do not believe in Jesus. If you have a Mommy and Daddy? You are not the Messiah. If your Mommy had sex with your Daddy, and then she became Pregnant, you are not the Messiah.

Muhammad was born to a Mother and Father who both died shortly after his birth and he was raised by his Uncle. Not the Messiah. Confucius? Mother and Father. Not the Messiah. Lao Tzu? Mother and Father. Not the Messiah. L. Ron Hubbard? Mother and Father. Not the Messiah. What about Buddha? Well, Gautama Buddha was said to have perfected being a perfect being. In the Mahāvastu, over the course of many lives, Gautama is said to have developed supramundane abilities including: a painless birth conceived without intercourse. He is said to have no need for sleep, food, medicine, or bathing, although he did engage in such. You know, so we did not feel bad about having to ourselves.

So OK, we have two possibilities now. Jesus, and Buddha.. Both claimed to have been a product of Virgin Births. Well, Buddha after many Births, reached that level.. But none the less.

Now lets look at the other signs to come...

"For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him." This is a bit objective. Some say Christ was a beautiful sight. Some say He wasn't. Some say Buddha was Beautiful. So let's just say they are still tied here.

"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not." We know that Jesus was, was Buddha? Nope. He was greatly and widely accepted and loved. Problem one for Buddha.

"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." Again, we know Jesus was arrested, whipped and beaten with many strips. Was Buddha? Nope. Strike two.

"He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth."

Mark 15:
5 But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled.
"He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken." Christ murdered. Crucified. Buddha? In the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, we are told that the Buddha became ill suddenly after he ate Sukaramaddava, literally translated as "soft pork", which had been prepared by his host, Cunda Kammaraputta. Some claim that he, what, teleported himself to a Paradise? He was not arrested. He was not tortured for our sake. He was not put to death because he claimed to be God. Strike three. Buddha is not the Messiah. But let's keep going..

"And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth." Although Pilate said he found no justification for putting Jesus to death, He was put to death, hung between a Thief and a Murderer, on a Cross.

"Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." There is no other. In the Bible, in the History books, in other Religious writings, is there any other that fit this Prophecy? No other than Jesus fit this blueprint, if you will, of who the Messiah is, what He will do, and what you look for. Jesus IS the only one. In...

Jeremiah 23:
1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.

2 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.

3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.

4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.

5 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness.

7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

8 But, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.
So the Messiah must be of the seed of David. Again, there is none other. He will come for the Jews. They shall reject him. They shall put Him to death. Another place we see this Prophecy of the coming Messiah is Daniel. Daniel was praying for God to forgive his, and his people's Sin. The Archangel Gabriel came flying down and had a conversation with Daniel..

Daniel 9:
21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.

22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.

23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.

24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Now the translation and math is a little complicated to understand, but what many agree, is that Gabriel's message to Daniel is simple and amazing. 483 years would pass from the time of the command recorded in Nehemiah 2:1-8 until the appearance of Messiah the Prince.

Now of course some argue that 483 years would have ended at Jesus's Birth. Some at His Baptism Some at His Resurrection. When He was Transformed. However, it was 483 years leading up to Jesus. So again, there is no other one.

Now next time we will discuss how many more Prophecies were fulfilled during Jesus's life and His Teachings. There is no doubt to those that understand. Those that have ears to hear, eyes to see, and a Spirit to understand, should have no doubt, that there is only one. Jesus. There is no, nor could there be, any other.

Do you know Jesus as your Savior? Have you been adopted into the Family of God? If not, say this Prayer. Right now. Wherever you may be. Say it in your own words, and do not doubt in your heart. God will hear you. He will send the Spirit of Life to you. Let us Pray..

"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Jesus's sacrifice for me. I repent my sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Jesus, Amen!"

That's it. It really is that simple. Now go tell someone what you have just done. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." {Romans 10:9} You need to find a Church that God leads you to, and be Baptized the way Jesus said to be. You are now a Child of God. A new Creature. You "have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." {Colossians 3:10}

If you want to tell me, or comment, question, give testimonials, or just say "Hi," the Email is opntalk@gmail.com

Until next time, be blessed, be a blessing, and Jesus IS Lord of all!

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