THE LIVING WORD TRANSCRIPT   <br><br>   

PROGRAM AIR DATE: 3-11-18  <br><br>   

  <br><br>   

LESSON TITLE: “JESUS OF NAZARETH”  <br><br>   

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WELCOME  <br><br>   

      TODAY WE ARE BLESSED WITH A WONDERFUL GIFT FROM GOD, THE BIBLE. THIS BOOK IS GOD'S LIVING WORD. IN ITS PAGES, WE ARE TOLD “FOR THE WORD OF GOD IS LIVING AND POWERFUL AND SHARPER THAN ANY TWO-EDGED SWORD.” IT IS IN THIS BOOK OF BOOKS THAT WE FIND THE ANSWERS TO ALL OF MAN'S QUESTIONS AND NEEDS. THIS MORNING YOUR AREA CHURCHES OF CHRIST WELCOME YOU TO A PROGRAM COMMITTED TO THAT PERFECT LAW OF LIBERTY AS WE PRESENT THE LIVING WORD. NOW HERE IS YOUR HOST, RAY SULLINS.  <br><br>   

      WHAT A PRIVILEGE WE HAVE THIS MORNING TO JOIN TOGETHER IN THE STUDY OF GOD’S LIVING WORD. WE ARE HAPPY YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO BE WITH US TODAY AND ARE EXCITED ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY WE HAVE TOGETHER TO GLORIFY OUR CREATOR. MAY WE EACH DO OUR PART TO MAKE THIS TIME ACCEPTABLE IN HIS SIGHT AND ACCORDING TO HIS WILL. NOW, LET’S APPROACH OUR FATHER’S THRONE IN PRAYER.   <br><br>   

      PRAYER: OUR GOD AND FATHER IN HEAVEN, WE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS DAY AND EVERY DAY OF LIFE AND EVERY BLESSING OF LIFE. AND FATHER, WE ASK THAT YOU WILL HELP US TO FOCUS ON YOU ON THIS, THE LORD'S DAY, AND THAT WE WILL DO ALL THOSE THINGS THAT YOU ASK IN YOUR WORD, THE BIBLE, AND DO THEM ACCEPTABLY IN YOUR SIGHT. AND FATHER, KNOWING THAT WE ARE FOUND FAITHFUL, WE'LL BE BLESSED TODAY BUT ULTIMATELY WE'LL BE BLESSED ETERNALLY. AND FATHER, WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR GRACE, YOUR LOVE, AND YOUR MERCY. ALL THAT THESE THINGS MEAN TO US, NOT ONLY TODAY, BUT ETERNALLY THAT WE MIGHT SOMEDAY LIVE WITH YOU IN HEAVEN ON HIGH. AND FATHER, WE THANK YOU FOR JESUS AND THE GREAT SACRIFICE HE MADE AS WELL AS HIS RESURRECTION, KNOWING THAT ONLY BECAUSE OF CHRIST DO WE HAVE SUCH PROMISES. AND IN HIS NAME WE PRAY, AMEN.   <br><br>   

      IT’S NOW TIME TO START OUR PRAISE THROUGH SONG. WON’T YOU JOIN IN THE FIRST HYMN OF THE MORNING, AS WE TOGETHER SING, “STANDING ON THE PROMISES!”  <br><br>   

      DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS  <br><br>   

      I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT AGAIN TO REMIND YOU THAT IN JUST IN A FEW WEEKS ON MARCH 25 WE'LL BE HAVING A TAPING OF SONGS FOR THIS PROGRAM, THE LIVING WORD. MANY TIMES YOU MIGHT NOTICE THAT WE HAVE SONGS AND WE PRERECORD THOSE SONGS AND SO THEREFORE WHAT WE'LL DO ON MARCH 25 AT 2 O'CLOCK AT THE KANSAS EXPRESSWAY CHURCH OF CHRIST BUILDING IS WE'LL COME TOGETHER AND RECORD THOSE SONGS THAT WE MIGHT USE THEM TO ENCOURAGE AND EDIFY AS WELL AS TO TEACH THE MESSAGE OF JESUS CHRIST. SO LET ME ENCOURAGE THE CHRISTIANS AND THOSE MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH OUT THERE TO BE A PART OF THAT AND JOIN US ON MARCH 25 AT 2 O'CLOCK. WE WILL BE GIVING YOU CONTINUED AND MORE INFORMATION IN THE NEAR FUTURE.   <br><br>   

      ONE OF THE GREATEST WORKS OF A CHILD OF GOD IS TO PROCLAIM THE MESSAGE OF JESUS CHRIST TO THE LOST OF THIS WORLD. IN FACT, THE BIBLE IS FULL OF COMMANDS AND EXAMPLES WHICH TEACH US THIS VERY DOCTRINE. YOU MIGHT REMEMBER IN MATTHEW 28:19-20, JESUS SAID, “GO THEREFORE AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL THE NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU; AND LO, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, EVEN TO THE END OF THE AGE.” AGAIN IN MARK 16:15-16, WE READ, “AND HE SAID TO THEM, ‘GO INTO ALL THE WORLD AND PREACH THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. HE WHO BELIEVES AND IS BAPTIZED WILL BE SAVED; BUT HE WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE WILL BE CONDEMNED.’”  <br><br>   

      IN BOTH OF THESE TEXTS, JESUS CLEARLY INSTRUCTS HIS FOLLOWERS CONCERNING THEIR DUTY TO CARRY THE GOSPEL TO THE WHOLE WORLD. HE EVEN SPECIFIES IN THESE VERSES, TO EVERY NATION AND TO EVERY CREATURE. ONE OF THE GREATEST EXAMPLES WE HAVE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT CONCERNING OUR WORK IS FOUND IN LUKE CHAPTER 8. THERE WE READ THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER! IN THIS PARABLE, WE ARE TOLD THAT THERE WAS A SOWER, THE SEED, AND DIFFERENT KINDS OF SOILS. AS THE STORY GOES ON, WE ARE TOLD WHAT THESE THINGS STAND FOR BEGINNING IN VERSE 11. THERE WE READ AND CAN UNDERSTAND THAT THE SOWER IS THE FOLLOWER OF GOD, THE SEED IS THE WORD OF GOD, AND THE SOIL ARE THOSE OF THIS WORLD WHO NEED THE WORD. I HOPE YOU ARE BEGINNING TO SEE THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR WORK FOR JESUS CHRIST. AS CHRISTIANS, WE ARE THE WORKERS THAT TAKE HIS WORD TO THOSE OF THIS WORLD WHO WILL HEAR. THEN IT IS UP TO THE SOIL, OR THE HEARER, AS TO WHETHER THEY WILL RESPOND AND FOLLOW GOD OR NOT. ARE YOU SOWING THE SEED OF THE KINGDOM FOR YOUR GOD?   <br><br>   

      FINALLY, REMEMBER WHAT PAUL SAID TO THE CORINTHIANS IN 2 CORINTHIANS 3:5, THERE WE READ, “I PLANTED, APOLLOS WATERED, BUT GOD GAVE THE INCREASE.” ISN’T IT AMAZING THE WAY WE CAN WORK TOGETHER AS CHRISTIANS TO ALLOW GOD’S SEED TO AFFECT THE HEARTS AND MINDS AROUND US. THEN, PRAISE BE TO GOD THAT HE GIVE AN INCREASE IN THE HARVEST. OH, WHAT BEAUTY THERE IS IN SEEING SOULS TURN TO JESUS AND FOLLOW THEIR GOD! SO THE QUESTION TODAY IS, “ARE YOU OBEYING GOD IN ALL THINGS AND THUS FINDING YOUR PLACE IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND FURTHERMORE ARE YOU REACHING OUT WITH THE SAVING MESSAGE OF JESUS CHRIST?” IF NOT, WHY NOT FULLY SUBMIT TO JESUS IN ALL THINGS EVEN TODAY?   <br><br>   

      TODAY WE WILL AGAIN BE CONSIDERING A LESSON FROM OUR SERIES ON JESUS WHICH IS ENTITLED, “IN THE BEGINNING…!” OUR SPECIFIC TOPIC THIS MORNING WILL FOCUS ON “JESUS OF NAZARETH!” SO STAY WITH US AND IN A FEW MINUTES BROTHER, I WILL RETURN WITH THIS STUDY FROM GOD’S WORD. NOW IT’S TIME TO JOIN IN OUR SECOND HYMN OF THE MORNING, THE NAME OF THE SONG, “SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER.”   <br><br>   

      

      LESSON  <br><br>   

      RAY SULLINS  <br><br>   

      WE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR CONTINUING WITH US TODAY NOW AS WE GO TO GOD'S WORD AND LOOK AT ANOTHER LESSON IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE CHARACTERISTICS OF JESUS AS FOUND IN JOHN CHAPTER 1. AND TOGETHER, I HOPE WE SEE SO MANY THINGS THAT ARE OF ENCOURAGEMENT, EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US, THAT WE MIGHT UNDERSTAND EVEN MORE NOT ONLY THE FACT OF WHO JESUS IS BUT THE FACT THAT HE IS DEITY! THAT HE IS GOD! THAT HE IS THE CHRIST! THAT IS THE SON OF GOD, HE IS THE MESSIAH....ON AND ON WE COULD GO CONCERNING THOSE THINGS WE'VE ALREADY LOOKED AT.   <br><br>   

      AND TODAY, AS WE CONTINUE, WE THINK ABOUT REALLY A FEW PROPHECIES OF OLD. WE THINK ABOUT THE PROPHECIES OF OLD FROM ISIAH AND DANIEL AND OTHERS THAT SPOKE ABOUT THE KINGDOM THAT SOMEDAY WOULD COME. THOSE PROPHECIES THAT CONFIRM FOR US A KINGDOM AND CERTAINLY A NEED OF A KING FOR THE KINGDOM. THE IDEA ALSO AS PRESENTED IN SOME OF THE SAME PROPHECIES OF THE IDEA THAT THESE, THIS KINGDOM, WOULD BE LED BY A BRANCH OR BY ONE THAT CAME OUT OF THE SEED OF JESSE, ACTUALLY THE SCEPTER OF DAVID, KING DAVID, THAT JESUS THERE WOULD BE OF THAT SEED. WE ALSO SEE THE IDEA PRESENTED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT OF THE JEWS AND HOW THE JEW SHOULD BE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT DAY WHEN THE ONE CAME WHO FULFILLED THE STANDARDS OF THE KING OF THE KINGDOM. AND THEREFORE CALLED, AS ISAIAH SAID, THE KING OF KINGS AND THE LORD OF LORDS.  <br><br>    

      BUT AS YOU'LL THINK WITH ME THERE ALSO THERE IN ISAIAH THERE WAS ANOTHER CONCEPT THAT KEPT COMING UP THROUGHOUT THE PROPHECY BUT ALSO SHOULD HAVE BEEN A REMINDER TO THEM THAT IT WASN'T TO BE EXACTLY THE WAY THEY THOUGHT. IT WASN'T GOING TO BE A KING THAT WOULD COME AND HE WOULD BE BORN INTO ROYALTY IN THE SENSE OF EARTHLY ROYALTY AND THAT HE WOULD BE ACTUALLY ESTABLISHING AN EARTHLY KINGDOM WITH EARTHLY ARMIES AND THAT HE WOULD BE BORN IN JERUSALEM IN THE PALACE. IT WASN'T ANY SUCH THING AS THAT. IN FACT, WE BEGIN TO SEE THOSE THINGS EVEN WITHIN THE PROPHECIES ONCE AGAIN. WE REMEMBER THE PROPHECIES ABOUT THE LAMB OF GOD THERE IN ISAIAH CHAPTER 53. THE ONE THAT WAS BROUGHT BEFORE THE SHEARER AND SILENCED. BUT IT IS EARLIER WITHIN THAT SAME TEXT THAT YOU MIGHT NOTICE WITH ME THAT IT ACTUALLY SAYS THERE BY THE GREAT PROPHET ISAIAH IN VERSE THREE, “HE IS DESPISED AND REJECTED BY MEN, A MAN OF SORROWS AND ACQUAINTED WITH GRIEF.” WHAT WE SEE THERE IS THAT IT WAS PROPHESIED AS WELL THAT JESUS WOULD OFTEN BE REJECTED BY WHO? WELL, THE MEN OF THE EARTH. BUT EVEN WORSE THAN THAT HIS OWN PEOPLE! WHEN JESUS CAME TO THE EARTH, WHAT WAS THE REACTION SOMETIMES OF THE JEWISH LEADERS? THEY REJECTED HIM! IN FACT, NOT JUST SOMETIMES, USUALLY THAT WAS THE CASE. MANY OF THEM REJECTED HIM BECAUSE HE DIDN'T COME IN THE GLORY OF A KING OR A KINGDOM AS THEY HAD DESIRED OR EXPECTED. AND EVEN WHEN THEY FOUND HIM OR SAW HIM PROCLAIMED HE DIDN'T IMMEDIATELY ESTABLISH THAT KINGDOM WITH THE POWER OF GOD, A PHYSICAL AND EARTHLY KINGDOM AS THEY HAD DESIRED AND AS THEY HAD LOOKED FORWARD TO.   <br><br>   

      NOW TO SEE, THEN, THE REASON THAT HE WAS DESPISED THAT IS A PART AND WITHIN THE NUTSHELL OF WHY HE WAS DESPISED. HE DIDN'T COME IN THE GLORY AND ESTABLISH THE KINGDOM THAT THEY HAD DESIRED AND WANTED. THEREFORE, HE WAS OFTEN DESPISED. HE WAS OFTEN WHAT? REJECTED. AND WITHIN OUR STORY TODAY IN JOHN CHAPTER 1 THAT WE SEE THE SAME IDEA BEING BROUGHT OUT ABOUT JESUS BEING THE SON OF MAN, SIMPLY A MAN WHO DID NOT FUFILL REALLY THE MINDSET OR THE DESIRES THAT THE JEWS AND THE JEWISH LEADERS HAD WANTED.   <br><br>   

      THERE IN VERSE 43 BEGINNING, LET'S LOOK AT THE STORY AS NOW HE IS ALREADY CALLED SIMON AND EARLIER, AS WE SEE THERE IN VERSES ABOUT 40 THROUGH 41, ANDREW. BUT THERE IN VERSE 43 CONTINUING WE SEE THE NEXT DAY THAT HE ACTUALLY CALLS PHILIP AND NATHANAEL, TWO OF THE OTHER DISCIPLES THAT WE KNOW TO BEEN CALLED BY THE LORD TO DO THAT WORK OF THE LORD. READ WITH ME CONTINUING TO VERSE 43, “THE FOLLOWING DAY JESUS WANTED TO GO TO GALILEE, AND HE FOUND PHILIP AND HE SAID TO HIM, ‘FOLLOW ME.’ NOW PHILIP WAS FROM BETHSAIDA, THE CITY OF ANDREW PETER. AND PHILIP FOUND NATHANAEL AND SAID TO HIM, ‘WE HAVE FOUND HIM WHOM MOSES IN THE LAW, AND ALSO THE PROPHETS WROTE, - JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE SON OF JOSEPH.’” AND WE BEGIN TO THINK OF THAT IDEA OF THE SON OF JOSEPH, WE MIGHT THINK ABOUT WHAT WAS SAID BACK IN THE BOOK OF MATTHEW.   <br><br>   

      IF YOU'LL LOOK BACK IN MATTHEW CHAPTER 2 WITHIN THE TIME, WE SEE THE BIRTH OF JESUS ACCOUNTED THERE IN THE TEXT. NOTICE THAT AFTER HE IS BORN AND AFTER THEY FLED FOR A TIME FROM HEROD AND NOW THEY ARE RETURNING HOME. IN VERSE 23 OF THAT TEXT THE BIBLE SAYS, “AND HE CAME AND DWELT IN THE CITY CALLED NAZARETH, THAT IT MIGHT BE FULFILLED WHICH WAS SPOKEN BY THE PROPHETS, ‘HE SHALL BE CALLED A NAZARENE.’” YOU CAN SEE THAT JESUS WAS FROM NAZARETH. HIS BOYHOOD HOME. HE MAY HAVE BEEN BORN IN BETHLEHEM BUT JOSEPH, AS WAS INDICATED EVEN EARLIER IN MATTHEW AND IN OTHER ACCOUNTS, WAS OF NAZARETH. HE TOOK HIS BETROTHED WIFE AND WIFE TO BE TO BETHLEHEM. SHE BORE THE CHILD THAT HAD BEEN PLANTED THERE BY THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THEN WHEN THEY WERE ABLE TO RETURN TO THEIR HOMETOWN , HIS HOMETOWN, NOT A PLACE FOR THE KING OF KINGS, THE LORD OF LORDS.   <br><br>   

      AND WE KNOW THAT BECAUSE, AS WE RETURN TO OUR MAIN STORY, NOTICE THE DISCUSSION THAT TAKES PLACE AFTER PHILIP TELLS NATHANAEL THAT THEY HAVE FOUND THIS VERY SON OF JOSEPH, THIS NAZARENE, THIS JESUS OF NAZARETH. NOTICE WHAT THE NEXT VERSE SAYS, “AND NATHANAEL THEN SAID TO HIM, ‘CAN ANYTHING GOOD COME OUT OF NAZARETH?’” BOY, THAT KIND OF TELLS THE TALE DOESN'T IT? IT KIND OF SHOWS US THE MINDSET OF THE JEWS. HOW COULD THE MESSIAH, REMEMBER WHAT WE LOOKED AT LAST WEEK WITH THE CHRIST, HOW COULD GOD IN THE FLESH COME FROM NAZARETH? CERTAINLY HE WOULD BE FROM JERUSALEM AND BORN IN THE FAMILY OF ROYALTY, AND BE THE KING OF KINGS, AND THE LORD OF LORDS, AND ESTABLISH THE KINGDOM, AND HAVE ARMIES, AND RULE THE WORLD IN THE SENSE OF THE PHYSICAL. AND CERTAINLY, WE AGAIN SEE THAT THIS NATHANAEL, AS WELL AS PHILIP AND MANY OTHERS, WERE OFTEN VERY CONFUSED, EVEN LATER IN THE MINISTRY, THEY CONTINUED TO SHOW SOMETIMES THEIR LACK OF FAITH OR EVEN THEIR CONFUSION ON SOME OF THESE SUCH ISSUES. BUT NOW NOTICE HOW BEAUTIFUL IT IS AFTER HE MAKES THAT STATEMENT THAT PHILIP SAYS WELL, ‘LET'S GO AND SEE. LET'S GO SEE THIS SON OF JOSEPH. LET'S GO SEE THIS JESUS OF NAZARETH.’ AND THEN LET'S CONSIDER THE QUESTION, ‘COULD REALLY A GOOD THING, COULD THE MESSIAH COME OUT OF NAZARETH?’ WELL, THERE IN THE NEXT VERSE, 47,  NOTICE WHAT THEY FIND WHEN THEY COME AND SEE. “AND JESUS SAW NATHANAEL COMING,” GOD IN THE FLESH, JESUS KNOWING ALL THINGS, HE ALREADY KNEW THE STATEMENT THAT HE HAD MADE ‘CAN A GOOD THING COME OUT OF NAZARETH?’ AND THEN AS HE SAW THEM COMING NOTICE WHAT HE ASKED HIM. HE SAYS, “‘BEHOLD, AN ISRAELITE INDEED, IN WHOM IS NO DECEIT!’ AND NATHANAEL SAID TO HIM, ‘HOW DO YOU KNOW ME?’” YOU SEE THE FIRST THING JESUS DOES IS HE CALLS HIM BY HIS FIRST NAME. NATHANAEL THINKS, ‘I'VE NEVER MET THIS MAN. THIS MAN DOESN'T KNOW ME. HOW COULD HE KNOW ME?’ AND NOT ONLY DOES HE CALL HIM BY NAME WHEN NATHANAEL SHOWS THAT DOUBT AND BEGINS TO ASK THAT QUESTION AS WE HAD SPOKEN, NOTICE WHAT JESUS SAYS IN VERSE 48. HE SAYS, “‘BEFORE PHILIP CAME, YOU WERE UNDER THE FIG TREE, I SAW YOU.’” NOW WHAT NATHANAEL IS IMMEDIATELY THINKING IS, ‘THERE'S NO WAY THAT HE SAW ME! THERE'S NO WAY HE CAN KNOW THESE THINGS! THERE'S NO WAY HE'S MET ME! THERE'S NO WAY TO KNOW MY NAME! THERE'S NO WAY HE COULD KNOW ANY OF THESE THINGS AND UNDERSTAND THESE THINGS.’ EXCEPT, NOW LOOK AT VERSE 49. “AND NATHANIEL THEN ANSWERED AND SAID TO HIM, ‘RABBI, YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD! YOU ARE THE KING OF KINGS!’” BOY, YOU REMEMBER NOW IN SOME OF OUR DISCUSSIONS WE'VE ALREADY LOOKED AT THE IDEA OF THE RABBI, THE MASTER TEACHER, THE ONE WHO CERTAINLY IS HOLY, IS SANCTIFIED, IS SET ABOVE BECAUSE OF HIS KNOWLEDGE. HE'S ACKNOWLEDGING HIM NOW, NOT ONLY AS RABBI, BUT AS THE SON OF JOSEPH, JESUS OF NAZARETH, AND AS WELL THE ONE WHO HAS COME FROM NAZARETH AND CERTAINLY IS WORTHY TO BE CALLED KING. WHY? HE IS SHOWING THE ATTRIBUTES, THE POWER OF GOD IN HIS KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT? ALL THINGS.   <br><br>   

      BUT I WANT YOU TO NOTICE SOMETHING ELSE WITH ME IN THAT SAME VERSE 49 BUT BEFORE WE LOOK AT THAT I NOW WANT YOU TO DROP DOWN WITH ME THOUGH TO VERSE 51. IN VERSE 51, HE ADDS TO THE IDEA OF THIS CONCEPT OF A SIMPLE SON OF MAN, BORN OF WOMAN, THE SON OF JOSEPH. THERE IN VERSE 51, AGAIN JOHN CHAPTER 1, THE BIBLE SAYS, “‘MOST ASSUREDLY,’” THESE ARE THE WORDS OF JESUS, “‘I SAY TO YOU, HEREAFTER YOU SHALL SEE HEAVEN OPEN, AND THE ANGELS OF GOD ASCENDING AND DESCENDING UPON THE SON OF MAN.’” YOU'RE GOING TO SEE GOD ACKNOWLEDGE THIS MAN, JESUS OF NAZARETH AS THE CHRIST. YOU'RE GOING TO SEE IT WITH YOUR OWN EYES. YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR IT WITH YOUR OWN EARS. YOU ARE GOING TO KNOW THAT THIS IS THAT MESSIAH. THE ONE NOW THAT YOU HAVE CONFESSED AND ADDRESSED AS RABBI. BUT IF YOU'LL NOTICE HERE, ISN'T THIS THE CONFIRMATION OF HIS FLESHLY EXISTENCE? JESUS WAS COMPLETELY GOD BUT HE WAS COMPLETELY MAN. HE WAS BORN OF A WOMAN, MARY, THE SEED OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BEING PLACED WITHIN HER THAT SHE MIGHT BARE HAVING NEVER KNOWN A MAN, AS IS CLARIFIED IN MATTHEW, THAT SHE MIGHT BARE THE VERY SON OF GOD. SO HE WAS THE SON OF THE MAN AND THE SON OF THE GOD. HE WAS FULLY MAN AND FULLY GOD. AND SO WHEN WE LOOK HERE IT SAYS JESUS OF NAZARETH. OH YEAH, HE WAS A FLESHLY MAN. HE WAS A MAN AS ALL MEN BUT HE ALSO WAS THE MESSIAH. HE ALSO WAS GOD!   <br><br>   

      SO NOW LET'S LOOK AT WHAT NATHANAEL ACTUALLY STATES AND WHAT IT ENCOMPASSES. HE SAYS WHAT? YOU ARE, FIRST OF ALL, RABBI. THE MASTER TEACHER, THAT HOLY ONE, THAT TERM THAT WAS ONLY REALLY USED IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE MOST KNOWLEDGEABLE OF THE KNOWLEDGEABLE AND ONLY IN AN ALMOST REVERENT WAY IN A RELIGIOUS SENSE. AND THEN HE SAYS YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD. THAT IS THE VERY CONCEPT THAT WE KNOW FROM EARLIER, THE IDEA OF THE MESSIAH, THE IDEA OF THE ONE WHO HAS COME FROM GOD AND SENT ACCORDING TO PROPHECY THAT WE REALLY FOCUSED ON LAST WEEK. BUT I WANT YOU TO NOTICE NOW THAT HE ALSO SAYS AND YOU ARE THE KING OF ISRAEL. NOW, TO ME, THAT MIGHT BE EVEN WITHIN THE DISCUSSION, ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING PARTS BECAUSE WHAT DOES HE ACKNOWLEDGE AFTER HE SAYS, ‘CAN A GOOD THING COME OUT OF NAZARETH?’ AND REMEMBER THE DISCUSSION. WE HAVE FOUND JESUS OF NAZARETH. WE HAVE FOUND THE SON OF JOSEPH. WE HAVE FOUND THE KING OF KINGS. WE HAVE FOUND THE LORD OF LORDS, WE HAVE FOUND THE ONE THAT PROPHECY SPEAKS, BUT THEN NATHANAEL SAYS, ‘HOW COULD A GOOD THING COME OUT OF NAZARETH?’ BUT THEN THE SAME MAN AFTER SEEING THE POWER OF GOD THROUGH JESUS ACKNOWLEDGES HIM AS RABBI, ACKNOWLEDGES HIM, AS WE CAN SEE WITHIN THIS TEXT, AS THE SON OF GOD. HOW DID PETER KNOW IT LATER? ONLY BECAUSE THE FATHER HAD REVEALED IT, JESUS SAID IN MATTHEW 16. BUT THEN HE ALSO CALLS HIM THE KING OF ISRAEL. YOU ARE THE KING. YOU TRULY ARE THE ONE WHO WAS TO COME. YOU TRULY ARE THAT ONE THAT WE KNOW.   <br><br>   

      AND CERTAINLY THEN JESUS RESPONDS TO HIM IN VERSE 50 AND ANSWERED AND SAID TO HIM, “’BECAUSE I SAID TO YOU, “I SAW YOU UNDER THE FIG TREE,” DO YOU BELIEVE? YOU WILL SEE GREATER THINGS THAN THESE? AND WE KNOW BECAUSE HE WAS CALLED. DID HE SEE GREATER THINGS.’” CERTAINLY. DID HE SEE THE LAME WALK? YES. DID HE SEE THE DEAF HEAR? YES. DID HE SEE THE MUTE SPEAK? YES. DID HE SEE THE DEAD RAISED? CERTAINLY. YOU SEE, HE SAW THE POWER OF JESUS. HE KNEW HIM AS ALL THOSE WHO WERE CALLED TO THE SON OF GOD. BUT HE UNDERSTOOD HIM TO BE NOT ONLY THE SON OF GOD BUT EVEN IN THE FLESH, AS PROPHECY CONFIRMED THE SON OF MAN. ALSO KNOWING HIM TO BE THE ONE WHO WAS THAT VERY NAZARENE THAT WAS TO BE THE MESSIAH AS WELL AS BORN NOT IN THE TYPICAL WAY THE JEWS WOULD'VE DESIRED BUT IN THE WAY THAT ACKNOWLEDGED HIM AS THE KING OF ISRAEL, AS RABBI, AND AS THE ONE WHO HAD BEEN SENT FROM THE FATHER ITSELF TO BE THE SAVIOR OF MANKIND.   <br><br>   

      AND ISN'T THAT WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT? REALLY UNDERSTANDING THE FACT THAT JESUS WAS AND IS THE SAVIOR OF MANKIND? AND THEN AS WE BEGIN TO GO THROUGHOUT THE NEW TESTAMENT WE ACTUALLY SEE THAT THERE ARE CONTINUED REFERENCES WITHIN THE GOSPEL ACCOUNTS. BUT ONE THAT I FOUND WAS INTERESTING I THOUGHT WAS OVER IN THE BOOK OF ACTS. OF COURSE, WITHIN THE BOOK OF ACTS WE KNOW THE CHURCH HAD ALREADY BEGUN. IT HAD STARTED AND WAS ACCOMPLISHING THE TASK THAT GOD CERTAINLY HAD SET BEFORE IT. BUT WHAT WAS IT THAT THE JEWS USED AS REALLY A DEROGATORY TERM AGAINST JEWISH CHRISTIANS AS WELL AS GENTILE CHRISTIANS? WHICH ACKNOWLEDGES, NOT ONLY THE PROPHECY, THE FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY, BUT ALSO THAT THIS IS THAT VERY ONE, THE NAZARENE THAT NATHANAEL ONCE SAID WHAT? HOW COULD A GOOD THING COME OUT OF THERE? THEN HE FINALLY REALIZED THAT A GREAT THING CAN COME OUT OF THERE! THE MESSIAH HIMSELF. BUT LOOK THERE IN ACTS 24. WE WANT TO SPECIFICALLY LOOK THERE AT VERSE FIVE TOGETHER, “‘FOR WE HAVE FOUND THIS MAN A PLAGUE, A CREATOR OF DISSENSION AMONG ALL THE JEWS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, AND A RINGLEADER OF THE SECT OF THE NAZARENE.’” WHO ARE THEY SPEAKING AGAINST? LOOK BACK UP IN VERSE ONE. PAUL, WHAT WAS PAUL, THE JEW OF JEWS, THE HEBREW OF HEBREWS, IS NOW CALLED WHAT? THE RINGLEADER OF THE SECT OF THE NAZARENE. WELL, WHY DID THEY USE THAT? THEY WERE AGAIN BEING DEROGATORY IN THE FACT THAT HOW COULD A GOOD THING COME OUT OF NAZARETH? THAT WITH THE MINDSET OF THE JEWS. BUT WHAT DID PAUL KNOW? BY THE POWER OF GOD THAT NOT ONLY HE SAW BUT THAT HE EXPERIENCED WHAT HE KNEW WAS THAT JESUS WAS, NOT JUST THE NAZARENE AND THE SON OF JOSEPH, BUT THE SON OF GOD. THE KING OF ISRAEL AND THE SON OF MAN, THE MESSIAH. HE KNEW THAT. NATHANAEL KNEW THAT AND GREW IN IT DAILY. PHILIP KNEW THAT AND GREW IN IT DAILY. PETER KNEW THAT AND GREW IN IT DAILY. EVEN ANDREW, AND JAMES, AND JOHN, THEY ALL KNEW AND SAW WITH THEIR OWN EYES THAT JESUS WAS TRULY THE CHRIST. OH, HOW BLESSED WE ARE TO HAVE JESUS AS THE CHRIST! ARE YOU SERVING HIM TODAY?   <br><br>   

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      CLOSING COMMENTS  <br><br>   

      LET ME THANK YOU AGAIN FOR CHOOSING TO BE WITH US TODAY FOR THE LIVING WORD PROGRAM.  I HOPE AND TRUST, THAT TOGETHER WE HAVE ALL BENEFITED FROM THIS SERVICE TO OUR LORD.   <br><br>   

      LET ME ALSO INVITE YOU TO JOIN US EVERY LORD’S DAY MORNING AT 7:30 AS WE GIVE THIS TIME TO OUR CREATOR. NOW LET ME ASK IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT TODAY’S LESSON? MAYBE, YOU WOULD LIKE A FREE TRANSCRIPT OR A FREE CASSETTE TAPE OF THIS PROGRAM?  POSSIBLY, WE COULD ASSIST YOU WITH FREE BIBLE MATERIALS OR FREE BIBLE CORRESPONDENCE COURSES? NO MATTER WHAT YOUR NEED IS, PLEASE CONTACT US AT THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS:    <br><br>   

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      MAY WE ALL ACKNOWLEDGE THE FULLNESS OF CHRIST IN THAT HE WAS BOTH MAN AND GOD! KNOWING THAT THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN JESUS AND CONFESS CHRIST, PROVE THEIR BELIEVE IN GOD HIMSELF AND THUS PROVE THEMSELVES WORTHY TO SERVE GOD AND HAVE ETERNAL LIFE! DO YOU FULLY BELIEVE IN JESUS?  <br><br>