An Extraordinary Authority Part 2

Reason for us. Jesus is genuine authority within no matter who you are, Jesus Christ, and the kind of authority we feel even today. 2000 years down the road. All can still command such devotion. Stay with us church in Chicago with Dr. Sir King helps us make it across the finish line after Luther. It's one thing to tell the truth. It's quite another to claim to be the truth. You know, you're absolutely right. So often we as Christians heard the claims of Jesus Christ.

So many times that we forget how unique they are. You know, if you were to put Jesus Christ on a shelf along with other religious leaders. It would be a huge insult. Imagine saying I not only tell the truth but I am the truth.

And yet Jesus Christ made those claims. Running to when we exist to help you make it all the way across the finish line as you frequently hear us say it's very important for us to give you resources so that you might be able to respond to this culture respond to objections to Christianity and to be strengthened in your faith. We have a book entitled Christ, among other gods defending Christ in an age of tolerance. We believe that this would be of tremendous help to you and by the way, not only for you but for others college students those who ask questions about the Christian faith. For a gift of any amount. This book can be yours.

Here's what you do you go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 that's 1-888-218-9337 now were going to be going to the pulpit of Moody church once again defending Christ showing his uniqueness and preaching the gospel. Thanks in advance for standing with us as we continue to hold hi the one who said I am the truth. Next, Jesus Christ says I am the truth blessing to whom I introduced you very briefly in the last great German dramatist lived in the 1700s set on one occasion if God were to offer me eternal truth on his right hand and of the eternal quest for truth on his left. I would take the left hand. Even if that meant that I should never attain the truth because the fun is in the journey blessing was a brilliant fool brilliant fool you see number one if he did not have any truth, he would not even know what he was searching for. He would recognize that after he found it because after all he has not got any truth in that left-hand and furthermore it is important to know the truth about poison the truth about a faulty parachute and if it is important for us to know the truth about these matters how important it is that we might know the truth about eternity what Lessing did not understand though he was brought up in the home of a very pious Lutheran father. What he didn't understand was that his eternal destiny depended on whether or not he knew the truth and what he did with the truth that he knew Jesus that I truth I not just a way show where I am the truth. This means, of course reliability. He does not mislead us.

It means consistency.

The consistency of his own life with what he taught his own sinlessness, which we considered in a previous message. It means universality.

It means truth for everybody. It's very important for you to realize that when you are talking to somebody and they say I'm into Buddhism. The ureter Christianity and we all have to do what is right for us are what is true for us to point out, as was previously mentioned that everybody is entitled to his own opinion but nobody is entitled to his own truth.

Truth has universality and Jesus said I am the truth that all speculations and when he walks onto the stage.

He says I am the life I am the light physical life.

Yes, as creator. For by him were all things created both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, whether they be thrones, or dominions or principalities or powers.

All things created by him and for him, and by him all things are upheld, they consist but also the author of spiritual life I give unto them eternal life, I am come that they might have a life and that they might have it more abundantly. That has to do with a certain quality of life that lasts forever. For those who place personal faith in Christ. Is it any wonder that the rest of the statements as no man comes to the father but through me. Jesus takes that date and he makes it narrow and behind that narrow gate. There is a narrow pathway that leads to the very heart of God and that there is no other path no other option out there no other alternative.

You say yes but were living in a society that is trying to up to that gate and to make a broad will, there is a Broadway. Jesus said that on the sermon on the mound that leads to destruction, and many people think it is the way label to heaven and it is the way a label to hell because Christ said no man comes except through me.

What are the implications of this very important implication the first of which is the fact that Jesus Christ is the final and most complete revelation from God.

Not the Parliament of world religions and elsewhere in your witnessing. You know people say why think that Jesus was one stage in the evolutionary development of religion.

I mean after all there is Mohammed and it's true that he contradicted Christ at every point, but he is a more recent revelation and then there is Baha'u'llah was born in Persia in 1817 and was the founder of the Baha'i faith and in the Baha'i faith wants to encompass all the different religion send the Baha'i faith teaches that there was information that was needed. When the human race was a child and then more information when it was a teenager and now the human race is an adult and Jesus is one stage in that evolutionary process.

Let me give you two reasons why that is a logical wrong. The first reason is because the fact that the homologue contradicted Jesus Christ at every point there is no way that Jesus could have been part of the evolutionary spiral because Baha'u'llah has a faith that is totally contradict to read to what receded it. There is no unity. There is no evolutionary thread.

For example, Baha'u'llah believed in the perfection of human nature. The fact that all that we have to do is to reach within and see all the goodness that is a late within us. My friend, if you noticed all the goodness in your heart.

Recently, Jesus said that from within the heart proceed evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, all these things proceed from the heart how I believed that we should believe doctrines without discrimination he was opposed to those who are seeking truth and insisted on doctrinal accuracy.

Yet Jesus said in the 10th chapter of John. He says I am the door and he says all that ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but does not sound as if Jesus was as inclusive as people make him out to be a hollow believed in that evolutionary view of religion and Jesus Christ said of himself. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first letter of the Greek alphabet and the last letter of the Greek alphabet. Encyclopaedia Britannica has something like 30 volumes. With all this information, but they use only 26 letters to put together and everything that we need to know about God and everything that we need to know about our relationship with him is bound up in Jesus, who is Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

There is no evolutionary view of religion and then he also taught the ability of man and the fact that there was the condemnation for those who sought the truth that is the homologue taught those things and if there's any way that you recognize the doctrine of antichrist. There is always one similarity and that is this utopian idea that what we need to do is to get together unify all the religions of the world bring them together under the same umbrella and and why in deed will solve the problems of world hunger and greed and war, and we will live happily ever after one a different picture Jesus point. He said that near the end that there would be wars and rumors of wars. He says nation shall rise up against nation kingdom shall rise up against kingdom.

He says that people will be betraying one another and he says many false Christ's will arise and do great signs and wonders and shall deceive men and rather than ending in sweetness and light. There will be a judgment from God with the personal return of Jesus Christ to the Mount of olives to establish the kingdom and to and existence as it is now constituted on a different picture. So that's one of the reasons why there is no such thing as the evolutionary view of religion. You cannot class Jesus is one step in the evolutionary process.

There's another reason is this really mean to tell me do you really mean to tell me that there's another profit that has now arisen.

Who knows God better than Christ was God. You're telling me that he knows more than Jesus, you're telling me that there is someone who has better insights into the divine and his relationship to the world than Jesus Christ, who claim deity and oneness with his father and now somebody has arisen with a brand-new insight. That's what you want me to believe the Parliament I spoke to someone of the Baha'i faith and they said you know the children need this much truth in teenagers need truth and then there are adults and Baha'u'llah is the man for the final evolutionary stage religion. I said I want you to know today that I don't believe that God speaks through prophets like the hollow and the person said to me says well you mean to say that you think God can't speak and I look them in the eye very lovingly. Remember I said, you know, the issue isn't whether God speaks, he can speak whenever he wishes to. But I don't believe that he wouldn't because after the sun comes out. There is no need for another star. All-stars fade into oblivion. The sun has come, and now you want me to believe but somehow there's a star out there that we need for light, you know, we live in a day and age when people say you know you have to get beyond Christianity to something really deep Parliament of world religions. People said you know Christianity was was good. It was what I needed to introduce me to the world of spirit to the world of religion. One person said is like a boat you take the boat to the other side of the lake. But once you get to the other side of the lake and you get into all this lovely new territory.

You don't need the boat anymore. You just transcend the entity nonsense with when you transcend and go beyond rationality you come to insanity.

When you transcend or go beyond. Love you come to lost and when you transcend the Christ you and and error. There is no beyond. Furthermore, people who actually think that they are going beyond Christianity and building on it should recognize that logically they are leaving it. They are leaving at because it cannot be combined. It cannot be reconciled. It cannot be a part of a process Christ stands alone and all other religions and teachers fade into oblivion.

In his glorious presence.

So those are the implications.

There are others, of course, the implication is of course that we can actually evaluate other religions now because we have a fixed reference point in our witnessing, we can always point people to Jesus Christ long time ago I told you the story about me being on a plane and sitting next to a man who seem to think that he knew a lot about religion and he said to me you know I think that all that we need to do is to do the best we can and that's all we need to get into heaven, and some of you will remember that I said well you know if that is really true. We need to get that message out.

I said I write books and we should write a book about it so that people get the message where on radio we should preach it to as many people as we possibly can. Just to spread the word. I mean this is this is eternal truth. Now this this actually establishes how a person can be right with God. You just do the best you can.

He was getting pretty excited about the project until I said to him, but there is you know one thing I do need to ask before we go that far and that is how do you know how do you know any said to me well is just my opinion.

I remember I took my pen which I had like this and kinda flipped your opinion while opinions are a dime a dozen get 12 people together and you have 15 opinions. Your opinion you see we can't get this message out unless you can actually claim and verify that you have received from God because only God can know who's going to get into heaven, and how we have to prepare for heaven in your claiming to have an inside track on knowledge that could belong only to the Almighty.

I said to me well what about your opinion. Was it any better.

I said no corsets no better, but I said that's why we need to go to the opinion of someone who is qualified to speak for God, and on his behalf, and that is Christ.

Christ who comes in the midst of all these different opinions and says before Abraham was, I and that he who believes on a has eternal life. Poor Ingmar Bergman.

He should not have been shouting at Christ in an empty cathedral.

He should've been opening the pages of the New Testament and should read the words of Pilate who says what then shall we do with Jesus who is called the Christ that is the question of the 20th century. Lennon said on one occasion that when communism would take over the world, there would be bread in every kitchen he never had the nerve to say I am the bread of life he that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believe upon me shall never thirst. Hitler made outstanding claims for the role of Germany and the beginning of a follows in here like a thousand year rule. Yet he never said he that believe on the son has everlasting life, and he that believe it is not the son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him, never said that Freud thought psychotherapy actually heal the ills of the world. Can you imagine that he actually thought that psychotherapy would heal the ills of the world, and yet he never said piece I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world gives give ion to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. There are New Age gurus who think that we are going to be recycled that we're going to be part of this karma process reincarnation.

They made some wonderful claims about what it's like to come up on the other side somewhere, yet they never said I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believe it on me shall never die. What are you going to do with him.

What are you going to do with him when your eternal destiny is determined by your relationship with him and you will not be able to avoid him because he says that all judgment is committed under the sun. Every single person listening to this message personally.

Someday being confronted by Christ either as judge or Savior because he is King of Kings and Lord of lords, and beside him there is no other. Ingmar Bergman could not hear the whisper of Christ from that picture in the Cathedral, but he had taken his Bible and opened it.

He would have listened to Christ's megaphone.

The megaphone of God shouting to all their this is my beloved son, listen to him. And Jesus answered, as he did frequently. He who has an ear, let him hear God has spoken.

God has spoken.

Blessed are those who listen and respond. Let us pray our father, we know that there are many options out there and we think of events such as the Parliament of world religions, which was wholly inundated by religions who demeaned to Christ in every session, either by ignoring him or classifying him along with everybody else we know that you were insulted. We also know father that the day is going to come when all the truth is going to be revealed and not one single doubt will remain in the mind of any human being in the universe that Christ is Lord King, God, and that no man can come to the father but through him. Thank you. Give us the boldness and the courage to be able to share with men and women Savior is qualified to save now before I close this prayer.

What is your relationship to Christ. Those of you who pride yourself and your skepticism and whose skeptical pride stands in the way of receiving him as Savior.

What are you going to tell him that the issue wasn't clear that he didn't speak clearly enough his credentials were questionable. What will your excuse be at this moment reach out to him, embrace him as your Savior and if you know them. Would you worship him you talk to him now because he's listening hear our prayer. Lord, for we are needy. Our hearts are blinded, except that you grant a slight thank you that in your mercy you have saved many of us, and we pray for those who have not yet been confronted by Christ and changed by him grant them the grace to let him do that in their lives today. In Jesus name my friend today.

If you listen to this message and I hope that you listen carefully want you to know that it represents the essence. The centrifugal force of the ministry of running to win.

We are here to exalt Jesus Christ as King as Lord, and of course as Savior. And if you've never believed on him. If you've never transferred your trust to him. May you do that right now, bow your head and say Jesus. I accept you as Lord and Savior. I'm a sinner and I accept your salvation. I want to thank the many of you who support the ministry of running to win because it is this message that we believe this nation and other nations in the world desperately need. I'm so glad to be able to inform you that the ministry of running to win is heard in more than 20 different countries in three languages and it's because of people like you who stand with us and say we pray for you and we contribute to this ministry, would you consider becoming an endurance partner endurance partners are those who stand with us regularly with their prayers and their gifts want more information. Here is what you do go to RT W offer.com. Of course RTW is all one word RTW offer.com and click on the endurance partner button.

There will find the information that you need to become a part of what I liked referred to as the running to win the family that's RTW offer.com or if you prefer you can call us at 1-888-218-9337 I'm going to be giving you that contact information once again to give you an opportunity to write it down.

Connect with us and help us share the good news of the gospel around the world. Go to RTW offer.com all one word RTW offer.com. Click on the endurance partner button or if you prefer, call us at 1-888-218-9337 together making a difference. You can write to us running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614. Christ's finding moment was a cool cross for those who believe that death, but forgiveness of sin and for that we must be eternally grateful. Next time I'm running to win, we explore the extraordinary Jesus death is brought to life. One told million. Thanks for listening for Dr. Irwin looser, this is Dave McAllister running to win is sponsored by the teacher