By Pastor Mike Taylor
“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.” (John 1:1-5)
Some ask the question. Who is this man Jesus Christ and what was He? Was He a mere man, a good teacher, a prophet, or something much more than all of that, or was He God in the flesh? Of all the names that you could mention, there is not one person on this earth that does not know the Name that is above every name. Many men and women have been introduced to the Son of God and many have believed on His Name, but on the flip side of the coin, there are many who are blinded by the adversary, Satan the devil which in the long run, they are not willing to give up their sinful lifestyle.
I was reading an article that spoke of Paul speaking to King Herod Agrippa, which proclaimed to the Apostle Paul as recorded in Acts 26:28: ''Almost thou persuades me to be a Christian.'' If I were to have to choose the saddest statement in all the Scriptures, it would be this statement. Many men down through the ages have come to the same conclusion, because they didn't want to give up power, worldly glory, fame, or the riches of this world. They refused the Holy Spirit drawing them, and in the final analysis, this is the one sin that will not be forgiven of mankind. They have blasphemed the calling of the Holy Spirit and rejected Jesus Christ as Savior.
History records in several documents of the real life of the One, Jesus Christ. Josephus, the Roman historian told of the life and death by crucifixion of this man condemned by Pontius Pilate and believed by many to have been brought back to life. That is the secular versions that proclaim the humanity of our Lord, and there are many besides the one mentioned, but the Holy Bible is what to many who believe in this Name and to me and others like me, is the final authority of who this God/son of man truly was. The whole of the Bible testifies of the coming Messiah and is God's love letter to the world. When Jesus was on earth, He spoke of that very fact.
39 “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” (John 5:39-40)
If you search the scriptures you will find that Jesus fulfilled 353 different prophecies concerning His coming to the earth at this appointed time, that the Pharisees and Jewish authorities knew full well that it was the season of His appearing, but they didn't recognize Him, as He stood right in front of them. What are some of the scriptures that told of His coming?
"Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me" (Psalm 40:7).
"The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Revelation 19:10).
"...all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me" (Jesus Christ,) Luke 24:44).
"And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." (Jesus Christ), Luke 24:27).
"For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me." (Jesus Christ), John 5:46).
"To Him give all the prophets witness" (Acts 10:43).
Those verses are on the website that chronicles the 353 prophecies that Jesus fulfilled on this URL as I list them here, as they are too numerous to post in this message:
http://www.accordingtothescriptures.org/prophecy/353prophecies.html
Scientifically speaking, what are the possibilities of one man completing all of the prophecies, let alone 8 of them? The mathematical computation is beyond the power of the mind to comprehend.
Professor of mathematics Peter Stoner gave 600 students a math probability problem that would determine the odds for one person fulfilling eight specific prophecies. (This is not the same as flipping a coin eight times in a row and getting heads each time.) First the students calculated the odds of one person fulfilling all the conditions of one specific prophecy, such as being betrayed by a friend for 30 pieces of silver. Then the students did their best to estimate the odds for all of the eight prophecies combined.
The students calculated that the odds against one person fulfilling all eight prophecies are astronomical-one in ten to the 21st power (1021). That's 10 with 21 zeros after it...and that is for only 8, what do you think the amount of zeros of a number to fulfill all 353 of these prophecies? Are there that many zeros? Can the number even be understood?
JESUS REJECTED AS THEIR MESSIAH? WHY?
The Old Testament is full of the Words proclaiming the coming of the Messiah, so why did not the Jewish authorities believe in Him? Because He did not fit their image of what they were looking for. They were looking for a Warrior King, much like King David who would rid them of Roman oppression and free them to the glory days of King Solomon. They didn't think they needed a Spiritual Savior, as they believed the Law and Moses was enough. They believed they needed a physical savior, and Jesus didn't fit their preconceived notions.
But Jesus had a mission that was ordained before the foundation of the world. This was God's purpose all along. Jesus was to be the perfect sacrifice, as a Lamb of God, completely without blemish to cover the sins of the people with One death, and One resurrection to life. Jesus came to live among us for the sole purpose that His death would give those who believed on Him, life eternal.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” (John 3:16-20)
The bible is full of references to the deity and the mission of our Lord to save this God forsaken world, that could not save themselves, no matter how good a man might be. Let us quote just a few of them that speak of what Jesus did for us.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” (Romans 1:16 )
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
“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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10)
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2nd Corinthians 5:21)
30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” (Acts 16:30-31)
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
That is but a few of the numerous scriptures that speak of Who this man was, and that He was God in the flesh, who came in the image of the Father in heaven, and died a most gruesome death to satisfy the justice of God that through Jesus being the substitute payment for the sins of the world, we might find reconciliation back to the Father God.
JESUS, THE SECOND ADAM FROM ABOVE
Jesus was unique, as Adam being the first man who failed, Jesus was the second Adam who would not fail. As Paul spoke of Him in his epistles.
20 “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept.
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.” (1st Corinthians 15:20-23)
Jesus died for the whole world, but if He had not risen, then we would still be in our sins. For the resurrection of our Lord was a promise of our future glorification that would be revealed at His coming for the Church of the Living God.
Upon the resurrection of our Lord to life, He became a new man, not like Adam in the flesh, but new in every way.
All through the Old Testament there are scriptures that prove that man was made in the image of God, but beginning with the New Testament, the image of God makes a very decided shift. Jesus the second Adam, the man from Heaven, (as the Bible calls Him) or as John said “the eternal Word, is in the image of God in the flesh. Not mankind in general.
Now get this, for lack of a better word, Jesus was a “prototype”. He was a full, functioning form of a NEW type. This is what I mean by a shift in emphasis of what man is to become. Jesus was the first, the example of becoming the image of God. Jesus was the prototype, the goal of our redemption, our salvation and our glorification. This is the final goal of born again man
"And have put on the new man, who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him” (meaning us, man). (Colossians 3:10)
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” (1st John 3:1-3)
This points to that the NEW man in not just in the image of God, or just a general picture of God, as man was formed to look like, but specifically to be formed into the image of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He, Jesus, becomes the goal of the redeemed man, unto salvation.
Now putting on the characteristics of this evil world requires no special skill. Just blend in, do what is popular, or go along with the crowd, and you’ll take on the characteristics of this lost and dying world. It is virtually effortless. But to put on Christ requires diligence, work, prayer, communion with God, and power from His Holy Spirit. We can’t do it alone. Satan would have us for lunch.
As we are being brought to the image of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are seen in the New Testament as the created work of God. It is stated in a number of different ways, as those in Christ are a new creation.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new.” (II Corinthians 5:17)
God has a desire for the work of His hands. Scripture says that we are His workmanship; He is the potter, we are the clay. We are being renewed in the spirit of our mind. We are being created through Christ Jesus unto righteousness and true holiness.
“Therefore leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go onto perfection: not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, but of faith toward God.’ (Hebrews 6:1)
The implication is that sanctification after being justified by the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is a creative process of character building. This is a process which begins with repentance and being baptized, and ends with our glorification at His return for His saints at His coming for His bride and beyond. It is a process of completion, a process of perfection. It is a process of being sanctified unto good works according to His commandments. That's what I mean when I say it is a process of character building. Each of these is synonymous with each other.
“For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren”, (Hebrews 2:10-11)
Moving down, “In as much then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same: that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14)
“Therefore in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation (atonement) for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.” (Hebrews 2:17-18)
Now the key for you and me in this passage is the word above “author” in verse 10. In the KJV, it is translated as “captain”. It’s the word “Achegos” from Greek. It is translated variously as captain, pioneer, trailblazer, or founder/author. The ultimate meaning of various translations of this one word is that something is begun by someone, so that others may enter into it. Christ is our “achegos”. He is the trailblazer, pioneer, founder, and captain of our ship.
Now let’s look at the exciting part. He was the trailblazer, the pioneer and the founder who began a work and blazed a trail that we might enter into His salvation. He set the pattern that we might enter in. He entered into a family once again that we might also enter that family by following Him, the Family of Almighty God. In this He was perfected. He was made complete by completing His work here on earth, that He could fulfill the role as our Savior and our High Priest. He was fully able to pioneer the road that leads to our salvation. Now the whole reason for all of this, why He became a man, taking on human traits, and fully sharing in our humanity was for Him to able to bring many sons and daughters into glory by following His trail. Paul wrote of it in one of most favorite chapter. Romans 8:
8:18 “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
END OF THIS AGE IS NEAR
God has completed His work of salvation. Jesus has been the source of our salvation now nearly 2000 years, but God's patience will not always allow man to rebel against Him. God is Love, yes that is true, but God is also a God of justice, judgment, and a consuming fire.
25 “See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:25-29)
If you are a follower of my sermons, then you have read where I just finished the book of Revelation, that shows that the coming of our Lord is very close, right at the door. When God releases His Divine, righteous wrath on this earth, then the suffering Messiah that Isaiah spoke of in chapter 53, will no longer be a meek, suffering Lamb of God, but will take vengeance on this earth as a roaring Lion of the tribe of Judah, who comes to devour the adversary.
SEEK THE TRUTH IN GOD'S WORD
Few people today desire the truth. I used to believe that people were just ignorant, and if they could only hear the truth of God's Word they'd repent and get saved. Not always true, as men have their own freewill. The truth is that most people are willingly ignorant of the truth, because of the wickedness of their heart (Jeremiah 17:9). Jesus stated in Mark 7:9...
"Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition."
You see, most religious people have churchianity without Christianity. They deliberately reject the truth of God's Word, following man's religious traditions instead.
Romans 1:18 states,
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness."
Lost sinners have the truth, but they refuse to obey God's Word.
Romans 1:20 tells us,
"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse."
There are no excuses!!!
God our Lord Jesus Christ will come and take vengeance on the whole of mankind that are left on this earth, save those who finally believe from the preaching of the 144,000 Jewish Evangelist, and the two witnesses preaching at the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, but their existence will be full of sorrow, pain and misery. Most likely those who accept Jesus will die a martyrs death, as the scripture speaks of being beheaded, but that is most likely the most quick form of death.
Evil men can dream up many different ways to torture a soul to conform to their wishes, and all who do and accept this coming Mark of the Beast will be doomed for all eternity. Read my messages on Revelation on my blog and you will get a taste of the untold horror that is just around the bend, just out of site but closer than anyone believes or thinks is true. Jesus comes back in Revelation 19 and slays the bulk of what is left of humanity with just the Word of His mouth. This same mouth who created the worlds, will make short order of the destruction of His enemies.
11 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” (Revelation 19:11-15)
Jesus is coming my friend, to remove those who belong to Him, His bride who has made herself ready for His return. Those who are in darkness, will most likely stay in darkness. Only a remnant of the billions left on earth will find Jesus in this horrific time, known as Jacob's trouble, or most popularly called the “Tribulation and the Great Tribulation” of a coming 7 years of literal hell on earth.
My Lord is gentle, loving and kind, but His patience is about to come to a screeching halt and those who hear of millions of people suddenly vanishing off this planet will have no explanation, save the one they have been told all their lives, and they just would not believe it.
If you are reading this now, and that event has happened, do you believe it now? Sorry to say, this God/man, Jesus Christ is as close as you believing in your heart and in your mind that Jesus is the Son of God who took away the sins of the world, to all who come to Him in faith through grace. We don't deserve it, I don't deserve it, and you don't deserve it, but Jesus did what no other man in the history of this world ever did.
6” For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” (Romans 5:6-11)
Jesus died for all mankind, for those who hear the call of His Holy Spirit, but some day soon, and I pray you are not reading this and that day has come, our Lord Jesus will come and take those who belong to Him, as the Bible calls the “Harpazo”, or the removal of objects from one place to another, by force...Paul spoke of this most dramatically.
51 “Behold, I shew 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 trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1st Corinthians 15:51-55)
Jesus calls all who will embrace His plea, as God doesn't want anyone to perish.
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. “ (2nd Peter 3:9)
But on the flip side of this same Jesus, this same God who is not willing to have anyone perish, is a God of vengeance and a God of judgment. He will come to take fiery retribution against His adversaries...You have to decide which Jesus you want to come face to face with. Your choice, Jesus the Savior of your soul, or Jesus your Supreme Judge to exile you to outer darkness, where there is torment, the worm dieth not, and where there is grinding and gnashing of teeth. I know that is a graphic picture, but that is the eternal fate of those who do not take this God/man Jesus Christ as their personal Savior..I have given you multiple scriptures that point to how to come to Jesus in humility and repentance of your sins. I implore by the Name of the Everylasting God, Jesus Christ, make that decision for the only Way to heaven, the only Door to eternal life, is my Jesus...and I pray will be your Jesus as well..
This is pastor Mike Taylor, pray for your salvation and believing by faith through His grace and mercy, so you may join us in heavens realm. If you need prayer , counseling, or just a friendly, listening ear, email me at pastormiketaylor@yahoo.com, God bless you all,
TILL WE MEET AT JESUS FEET
