Brown's Daily Word 6-6-07

Here we are on the eve of the Franklin Graham Festival to be held here in the Event Center at Binghamton University. Some of the prominent Christian bands, like Point of Grace and the Third Day, will be in concert prior to the proclamation of the Gospel by Franklin Graham. Jesus will be proclaimed as the Savior of the world. Jesus is indeed the light of the world. He is King of nations and Lord of all. He is Eternal and yet very contemporary. He is divine and celestial but yet very earthy -- the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us. He is the Risen Lord and yet He is Man of suffering acquainted with grief. Franklin Graham will be proclaiming the same Gospel that was proclaimed by Peter over two thousand years ago. As we walk through the Book of Acts we see in Acts 3 and 4 that Peter and John were instruments of the risen Savior to heal a man who had been lame his entire life. This man gets up and runs into the temple praising God. As you might expect, a great crowd gathers and Peter begins to preach. In this sermon Peter the preacher points out that Jesus Christ is the Author of life [3:15]; He was raised from the dead [3:15]: He fulfilled a 1500 year-old prophecy [3:22]: He is coming again [3:21]: and all the families of the earth are blessed through Him [3:25]. Jesus Christ has global impact! His Gospel Has Global focus. For the Lord is global in His love and in His grace, For God so loved the world:This was his message. When we come to Acts 4, we find that the Jewish officials arrested them for preaching Jesus. After spending the night in jail, these believers were called to stand before the religious leaders of Judaism. In defense of their actions, these men—now filled and anointed with the Holy Spirit—proclaim the absolute supremacy of Jesus Christ. They were being asked to give up Jesus, but they refused. Look at verse 12, : “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.” Today you and I need to feel the impact of this audacious and explosive and astounding claim—“There is salvation in no one else.” We need to wrestle with this claim because you and I are being asked in many subtle ways to give up Jesus for a greater religious cause. The supremacy of Jesus is declared exclusively. Our world hates this word. Carl Sandburg said that the word “exclusive” is the worst word in the English language. Yet, I want you to know that Jesus Christ Himself made many exclusive claims. Just look at John’s gospel. Jesus claimed to be the eternal God [Jn. 1:1; Jn. 8:58]. He claimed the exalted position of judging the world [Jn. 5:22]; and He claimed to be the only Savior of the entire human race [Jn. 14:6; Jn. 10:9]. Do you see why Peter made his exclusive claim in our text today? Jesus Christ is not a local god vying for the affection of other nations. He is the one true God who has been declared to be the exclusive Savior of the entire world! There is only one person—one name in the whole universe that has the power to save and bring a person to heaven to live with God forever. That name is Jesus! The supremacy of Jesus is declared inclusively also. Christians are bashed because they preach that Jesus is the only one who can save. Here is the other side of the world’s half-truth. Jesus Christ is the exclusive Savior who inclusively invites the entire world to be saved. Take His word in John 3:16—“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.” Anyone can be saved if they come to Jesus. Do you see now how the supremacy of Jesus is declared both exclusively and inclusively? The question is this—will you allow the culture to cause you to give up Jesus? Our culture can be slick at times. Subtly, it moves against the church of Jesus Christ with deadly effectiveness and stealth. Take the following examples for instance. Jason is a 38-year-old single economics professor in California. In response to a question asking why he didn’t attend church, he replied, “I know you don’t like to hear this but I really don’t see how Jesus can be the only way to heaven. I definitely believe in God, but there are just too many people in the world who don’t believe in Jesus for me to think that God doesn’t love them too.” This is pure relativism. Based on this philosophy, one concludes that it makes no difference what you believe. There are no absolute truths. What is true for me may not be true for you and vice versa. Relativism distorts the supremacy of Jesus, but there are other distortions also. "One sees the totality of God’s full revelation through all religions." This too distorts the supremacy of Jesus and brings Him down to the level of Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius, and others. Was Peter right when he made his bold claim? Let me tell you, the supremacy of Jesus is defended by reason. One of the rules of logic states that a truth is true all the time. Truth never contradicts itself. Two plus two is four whether you live in America or Thailand. We have already seen how Jesus claimed to be God in the flesh. He claimed to have the ability to forgive sins, to heal the sick, to raise the dead, and He did all these things. Now, either Jesus Christ was telling the truth or He was a liar. You can’t have it both ways. Therefore, you are not left with the option of lowering Jesus down to the level of other religious leaders. Either you believe Him or you don’t. You can’t patronize God! Notice, the supremacy of Jesus is defended by revelation. The God of the Bible does not buy into the culture’s distortions of truth. He never has. Look at the following verses: Exodus 20:3; 1 Kings 18:21; Isaiah 44:6; 1 Timothy 2:5; and 1 Jn. 5:12. Clearly the Bible teaches that there is only one God and one Savior that can reconcile sinful man to the Holy God. Make no mistake about it. The pressure to give up the supremacy of Jesus is increasing. The early believers were forced to deal with this challenge. For them it was either religion or Jesus…Caesar or the Lord Jesus. The point is this—you must deal with this pressure. You can’t avoid it, because it is only going to get worse. Jesus is the truth. He said it and He backed it up with His life, death, and resurrection. You have only two choices here. Either you receive Him as your personal Lord and Savior or you reject Him outright. There is no middle ground. He invites you to believe Him and trust Him. In the face of antagonism, do you have the courage to stand for Jesus unashamedly? Listen to Paul’s word to the believers in Philippi, “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God.” [Phil. 1:27-28] Jude said that we must contend earnestly for the faith. This takes courage. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might! Ask God for courage today. Our calling is to get this truth of Jesus to our neighbors and the nations. Jesus Christ is the only name under heaven by which we or anyone else can be saved. Will you tell others about Jesus? Jesus is the one and only Savior and Lord of this world. This is the truth. Let us Honor Him with our lives and our lips. Let us Praise Him with our whole heart. He is worthy! He is worthy! He is worthy! “God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” [Phil. 2:9-11] Give Him glory! Give Him glory! Give Him glory! He is Jesus Christ, the one and only!