All right, so you're there in 1 John chapter 5, let's take a look at what the Bible says
in verse number 1.
Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God and everyone that loveth him
that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
By this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep his commandments
for this is the love of God that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not
grievous.
So the Bible is clear, if you want to love God, keep his commandments.
That's how we express our love for him when we do what he says, when we follow the Bible.
This is not a complicated concept.
We should study the character of Christ, however, if we want some added inspiration to follow
Christ because Jesus had a perfect character.
He never faltered.
The Bible says that he knew no sin and if you want some added inspiration to keep going
in the Christian life, I think one of the best ingredients to help kickstart your Christian
life is to study exactly who Jesus really is according to the Bible.
Skip down to verse number 19.
It says there in verse 19, and we know that we are of God and the whole world lieth in
wickedness and we know that the son of God is come and hath given us an understanding
that we may know him that is true and we are in him that is true even in his son Jesus
Christ.
Notice what it says.
This is the true God and eternal life.
Folks, this right here is the true God.
These are the words of God that are sitting in your lap this morning.
Don't take it for granted.
This is the true God.
And there are a lot of counterfeits out there.
There are a lot of counterfeits.
There are a lot of people who claim to know who Jesus is.
And it tends to be liberal Christians who want to lecture us about who the true God
is.
They want to lecture us about Jesus.
They want to tell us what Jesus was like.
But everyone here is saved and so you automatically, because you have the Holy Spirit inside you,
are more qualified to tell those people who Jesus is really like.
And if you want to learn the character of Christ, if you want to know what Jesus is
like and therefore be able to judge whether or not someone is actually acting like Christ,
then I say we read the Bible and figure out who he really is.
Because the same people who would lecture us and say we're not acting like Jesus or
the same people who've probably never opened up a Bible in their entire life wouldn't know
Genesis from a wristwatch have no clue what the Bible says.
But they want to lecture.
They don't tell us.
They want to tell us what Jesus is like.
How about we learn about the character of Christ and we go out into the world and we
tell them what Jesus really stands for.
So this is the true God the Bible says.
And so the title of my sermon is The Perfect Character of Christ.
The perfect character of Christ.
Let's study what the Bible says about Christ's perfect character.
Go to Hebrews chapter 10.
Hebrews chapter 10.
My first point is that Jesus Christ is perfectly obedient.
Now I want to preface by saying I could stand here all day and talk about the perfect character
of Christ.
I've just chosen some of the more pertinent attributes to talk about this morning.
And the first point is Jesus Christ is perfectly obedient.
Obviously we all believe in the Trinity here at Steadfast Baptist Church.
And the Trinity is a tri-unity.
Christ's perfect unity with the Father exemplifies his perfect obedience.
And if you go to Hebrews 10, like I said, look down at verse number 7 where the Bible
says, Then said I, lo, I come.
In the volume of the book it is written of me.
To do thy will, O God.
Above when he said, Sacrifice an offering and burnt offerings, an offering for sin,
now wouldest not.
Neither hadst pleasure therein which are offered by the law.
Then said he, lo, I come to do thy will, O God.
He taketh away the first that he may establish the second.
By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once
for all.
So Jesus did the Father's will by laying down his life for us so that we might be saved.
He offered himself once, the Bible says, once and for all, so we can escape hell.
Those who would believe in a works-based salvation, especially the Catholics, they basically have
to crucify Jesus over and over and over again to keep their salvation because they're trusting
in their own works to get to heaven, but the bottom line is Jesus died once.
So you're only saved once.
That's why the Bible says, I do not frustrate the grace of God, for if righteousness come
by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
There would have been no reason for him to sacrifice himself.
There would have been no reason for him to be beaten and bloodied and tortured and nailed
to a cross if we could earn our own righteousness based on our works.
In John chapter 8, you don't have to turn there, the Bible says, and he that sent me
is with me, the Father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please him.
So Jesus does always the things that please the Father.
An example there of his perfect obedience, a part of his perfect character that we're
learning about this morning.
Go to Luke chapter 22.
Let's look at another example of Christ's perfect obedience in Luke chapter number 22.
In John 14, while you're turning there, the Bible says, but that the world may know that
I love the Father, this is Jesus talking, and as the Father gave me commandment, even
so I do, arise, let us go hence.
So Jesus says he does what the Father says in perfect obedience, part of that triunity
that is the Godhead.
Now Luke 22, it says in verse 39, and he came out and went, and as he was wont to the mount
of olives, and his disciples also followed him, and when he was at the place, he said
unto them, pray that ye enter not into temptation, and he was withdrawn from them about a stone's
cast and kneeled down and prayed.
Let's look at verse 42, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me,
nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.
And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him, and being in an
agony he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling
down to the ground.
So earlier in the chapter, just to give you some context here, there was a plot to kill
Jesus.
Satan eventually enters Judas, he's called the son of perdition, and Judas promises the
chief priests and the captains to betray Jesus.
The Lord's supper occurs, and now in the scripture I just read to you, Jesus is praying on the
mount of olives.
He prays for the cup to be taken away from him.
But nevertheless, he says, not my will, but thine be done.
What I want you to think about this morning is the strength it took to be perfectly obedient
to the cross, the strength it took from the Lord Jesus Christ to say, not my will, but
thine be done, and the Father's will was that Jesus would sacrifice himself and literally
burn in the fires of hell to make it possible for us to go to heaven.
Think of the strength, think of the perfect obedience displayed by Christ to go through
that without hesitation, even though he knew that it would be the most terrible thing he's
ever experienced.
He says, nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.
The Bible says he was in agony.
This isn't something that was easy for him.
He was in agony.
The Bible says he was sweating, as it were, great drops of blood.
If Jesus could do that for us, then I say we should be able to sanctify ourselves from
the world for him.
That's part of the reason why it's so important to go back to the fundamentals every once
in a while and study who Christ really is.
Go to Hebrews chapter 4.
While you're going there, I'm going to read out of Hebrews 5 where the Bible says, And
he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek,
who in the days of his flesh when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying
and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared,
though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered, and being
made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all that obey him, called of
God and high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
So Jesus is the author of your salvation through his obedience to the cross.
The Father sent the Son to die for the sins of the world.
Jesus obeyed his will because within the Trinity there is perfect unity.
Jesus did it.
He went to the cross.
He bore your sins on himself.
Even though he didn't deserve to go to hell, even though he didn't deserve to die, he did
so for you.
And we're trusting in the product of his obedience to be saved.
That's why it's such an important attribute of his character.
Now it says there in Hebrews, what I read to you there in Hebrews chapter 5, it says,
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey
him.
That doesn't mean you have to follow the commandments to be saved in context.
The word obey means that you are obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Those of you who are saved have obeyed the gospel by trusting in the death, burial, and
resurrection to go to heaven.
Now in Hebrews 4 where you're at, notice what it says in verse number 9.
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works as God did
from his.
And then it says in verse 11, Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any
man fall after the same example of unbelief.
So the word labor there, again, it doesn't mean you have to do works to get to heaven.
These people didn't follow the commandments to enter the rest.
It's talking about the word labor there.
It's just a play on words.
And we see that same play on words in John 6 where it says, Then said they unto him,
What shall we do that we might work the works of God?
Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom
he hath sent.
So Jesus did the work for us so we could rest in him for salvation.
That's how we labor to enter into his rest, by believing on him, by trusting 100 percent
in the death, burial and resurrection to be saved, and that wouldn't have been possible
if Jesus wasn't perfectly obedient.
In Philippians 2 it says, But made himself, talking about Jesus, of no reputation, and
took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross.
Now think about that.
This is God in the flesh we're talking about here, and the Bible says he was a servant.
The Bible says that he humbled himself.
This is a being with eternal power.
This is a being who at the snap of his fingers could destroy the whole world if he wanted
to, but he humbled himself and was obedient to the cross.
And the fact is, we would all, I don't care who you are, we would all be doomed to hell
if it wasn't for that obedience.
All we had to do was ask for eternal life.
That's the easy part.
But the gift we've accepted was paid for through the blood of Christ.
In John 12 it says, For I have not spoken of myself, but the Father which sent me, he
gave me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak, and I know that his commandment
is life everlasting whatsoever I speak.
Therefore even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.
So the Bible says there, whatsoever Jesus spoke was of the Father, because he submits
to the Father.
There's a chain of command within the Godhead.
The Son submits always perfectly to the Father.
In the Old Testament, the faithfulness of Moses typified the faithfulness of Christ
to God the Father.
It says in Hebrews 3, Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider
the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to him that
appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.
And the Bible says in Numbers 12, My servant Moses is not so who is faithful in all mine
house.
So that's quoted there in Hebrews chapter 3.
We see in the Old Testament a picture of the faithfulness of Christ there in the character
of Moses.
And that obedience and faithfulness is so important with regard to the Gospel.
Without it, we wouldn't be saved today.
Now go to Matthew chapter 23, Matthew chapter 23.
So far I said Jesus is perfectly obedient.
And we talked about how he was obedient to the cross, despite what that would entail
for him, that he would be beaten and tortured and bloodied and nailed to the cross where
he would die.
He would be buried, his soul would go to hell for three days before his body physically
rose from the grave.
Knowing that he had to go through all that, he still was obedient to the cross and didn't
waver at all.
But my second point now is that Jesus is perfectly commanding.
Jesus is perfectly commanding.
Now what I mean by that is somebody who's commanding, you could say his presence expresses
authority.
Just by looking at it you say, that's somebody we ought to respect.
That's someone who commands respect.
Jesus was commanding in the sense that he was a hard preacher.
Jesus was commanding in that he wasn't afraid to rebuke and to preach harder than any of
us could ever do.
Jesus didn't hold back.
He wasn't politically correct.
He wasn't this politically correct little sissy who was all about lovey-dovey emotionalistic
garbage.
Jesus Christ preached harder than any of these liberal Christians who claimed to know Jesus
could ever even conceive of and that's because he was commanding, he was authoritative, he
was what the world despises today.
In Matthew 23 look what it says in verse 13.
It says, But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye shut up the kingdom of
heaven against men, for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to
go in.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye devour widows' houses and for a pretense
make long prayer, therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
Folks, I'll never be able to preach anything harder than that.
I will never, ever meet that standard.
Jesus Christ was a hard preacher and folks, like I said, the world would hate him if he
were to say that today, if he were walking the earth today, they would look into the
eyes of Jesus himself and say, you're not acting like Jesus, even though it's Jesus
who's saying these words.
He ripped face elsewhere, he flips tables, he whips people out of the temple for buying
and selling in the house of God.
He calls the scribes and Pharisees reprobates in Matthew chapter 23.
He says they'll receive the greater damnation, they're gonna burn in a hotter hell, they're
gonna burn in a deeper hell than everyone else because they shut up the kingdom of heaven
against men, Jesus says.
Because of their false gospel, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees because of their false gospel
damning people to hell, but I want you to notice something, Brother Joe pointed this
out to me a few days ago, he's doing it to their face.
He's looking straight at their eyes and saying, you will receive the greater damnation.
Think of the authority it takes to do something like that.
Think of the courage, but also think of the boldness as well, to look directly at them
and say, you're going to a hotter hell, you reprobate, you wicked son of Belial.
In verse 15 it says, woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye compass
sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he's made, ye make him twofold more the child
of hell than yourselves.
You say, well, why was he so harsh with these people?
Why was he using these politically incorrect terms?
Why was he saying that they would receive the greater damnation?
He wasn't being loving enough.
Well, that's because the goal of a false prophet is to make people twofold more the child of
hell than themselves.
A goal of the false prophet, one of their main missions in life, is to make sure as
many people as possible end up in hell with them.
Just to assure us our responsibility as Christians is to make sure as many people as possible
go to heaven with us.
They have the opposite motive.
Look at verse 31.
Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves that ye are the children of them which killed
the prophets, fill ye up then the measure of your fathers, ye serpents, ye generation
of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Imagine if the pastor of Fun Center Chuck E. Cheese Baptist Church heard this right
here.
Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, and he asked, how can ye escape?
There is no escape for them.
They're done.
They're twice dead plucked up by the roots.
This is commanding, folks.
This is assertive.
This is dominant.
And this right here is an expression of Christ's true and perfect character.
Go to John 2.
Let's look at another example there, if you would, in John chapter number 2.
I'm talking about the fact, yes, Jesus was perfectly obedient, but I switched gears and
started talking about how he is perfectly commanding.
In Mark 8, while you're turning to John 2, the Bible says, and he began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected of the elders and of the chief
priests and scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.
And he spake that saying openly.
And Peter took him and began to rebuke him.
And when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, get
thee behind me, Satan, for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things
that be of men.
So he says there, get thee behind me, Satan.
Is there a worse pejorative, honestly, that you could think of than the name of Satan
himself?
Right?
I can't think of one.
Peter got all emotional about what Jesus came to the earth to accomplish.
And he got in the way.
And so Jesus commandingly says, get thee behind me, Satan.
In John 2, look what it says there in verse 13.
And the Jews' Passover was at hand.
And Jesus went up to Jerusalem and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep
and doves and the changers of money sitting.
And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple and the
sheep and the oxen and poured out the changers' money and overthrew the temple.
So he made a whip, okay, and it says in verse 16, and said unto them that sold doves, take
these things hence, make not my father's house and house of merchandise.
Here at Steadfast Baptist Church, we've got some free items for you there in the corner
where Brother Joe is standing.
You can walk over there and grab any one of them for free.
When we go out soul winning and we get someone saved, oftentimes we'll tell them, hey, we've
got Bibles at church, you can come and grab one for free.
Why?
Because we're following this example.
Clearly, Jesus hated those who bought and sold in the temple of God.
We shouldn't ever make this church a house of merchandise.
But unfortunately, there are many in the old IFB specifically who've chosen to do that.
I've gone to churches where they'll have a guy come in and play music or something like
that, and then he'll be selling his CDs in the back.
I've had, I've gone to churches, rather, where the pastor gets up here and talks about how
they're raising money for some initiative, and they're selling merch in the back, literal
merchandise for you to go back there and purchase in the house of God, and that's wicked
as hell.
That's why Jesus took a whip and whipped out those who were buying and selling, and he
chased them out of the house of God because he hates that.
It's a wicked sin, and unfortunately, there are many people who totally ignore this passage
in John chapter 2, and for filthy lucre's sake have turned the house of God into a house
of merchandise.
They're buying and selling.
It's wicked as hell.
And I can't believe any Bible-believing Christian could read this and not apply it today.
Just as Hezekiah ordered the priests to cleanse the temple of God in the Old Testament, Jesus
himself did that here in John chapter 2 when he cleansed the temple of those who turned
it into a house of merch.
And what I want to focus on, it was a premeditated act.
This isn't something he did spur of the moment.
He made deliberately a whip, the Bible says, a scourge of small cords, and then he started
whipping them out of there.
Boy, that doesn't sound like the liberal softy Jesus promoted by the Chuck E. Cheese Fund
Centers does it?
I don't know if you guys saw, but Pastor Joe Major recently, he tried to, I wish I could
do this, I wish we had a whip and I could get up here and start whipping stuff to show
you what he did, but unfortunately, we don't have that prop with us this morning, but Pastor
Joe Major did, and he put on a hat looking like Indiana Joe, and he started, you know,
doing an example, a picture of what Christ did, and he was whipping, he was whipping
that whip in the church.
It was so loud, I thought it was edited, I thought the sound was edited into the video,
but in fact, that whip was that loud.
And folks, when Jesus, you better believe, when Jesus was whipping these people out of
the house of God, it was probably even louder.
Imagine getting hit with that thing.
It would just remove the flesh immediately from your body, hurts a lot.
In Revelation 2, you don't have to go there, notwithstanding, I have a few things against
thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach
and to seduce my servants, to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
Here we see Jesus rebuking the church of Thyatira, and he says that they're suffering
that woman Jezebel to teach.
That's because the Bible says that we shouldn't suffer a woman to teach.
Jesus rebuking the church, and he goes on to say, and I gave her space to repent of
her fornication, and she repented not.
Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation,
they repent of their deeds, and I will kill her children with death, and all the churches
shall know that I am he which searcheth the reigns and hearts, and I will give unto every
one of you according to your works.
Man, that sounds pretty judgmental, doesn't it?
Look what he's saying here to this church that has a woman committing adultery, fornication,
that has a woman up here teaching.
This position is not made for a woman.
The Bible very clearly teaches, I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority
over the man, but to be in silence.
If you have a question, women ought to ask their husbands at home.
And here Jesus is rebuking the church, decrying a female pastor, oh, but that's not inclusive.
He's not being inclusive, he's not being loving.
Let me tell you something.
This is who Jesus really is.
And if you think that's mean, if you think that's not loving enough, if you think that's
not inclusive enough, then you don't like Jesus.
Because you can't just come up with your own version of God in your head.
Then that's a figment of your imagination.
In order for us to understand who God is, we have to submit to what the Bible says.
We can't just come up with a caricature in our own minds.
Many people do that though.
Revelation 2, it says in verse 15, so hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the
Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
Jesus wasn't just a hard preacher, he also hated stuff.
He also spoke in an authoritative manner.
Wasn't a sissy, wasn't politically correct.
He spoke authoritatively.
Mark chapter 2, it says, and he went forth again by the seaside and all the multitude
resorted unto him and he taught them.
And as he passed by, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the receipt of custom
and said unto him, follow me.
And he arose and followed him.
I mean, think about that, it says, follow me, and he arose and followed him.
That's because he's commanding.
That's because he has authority.
All he did was say two words and this person drops everything and follows him.
That's all it took.
That's the embodiment of a commanding person right there, folks.
Now, no offense, but if any one of you just walked up to me and just said, follow me,
I'd probably be, what the, what is up with this guy?
What are you talking about, follow you?
I follow no man, I follow Jesus.
And I'll follow you if you're following Christ.
But my point is, none of us have that commanding spirit that Jesus had where it just took two
words to convince this person to follow him.
Now, go to Revelation chapter 19.
I said, Jesus is perfectly obedient so far.
I talked about that attribute and its relation to the death, burial, and resurrection.
I said, Jesus Christ is perfectly commanding, meaning he ain't gonna follow your PC language rules.
He rebukes sharply if need be.
And I also said, well, that's all I said so far.
Point number three, Jesus Christ is perfectly powerful.
Jesus Christ is perfectly powerful and what I'm directly referencing here is his wrath.
Jesus is a figure that ought to be feared, folks.
Colossians 1 says, for by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in
earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities
or powers, all things were created by him and for him.
Jesus created all things.
That's a product of his eternal power.
Everything that you see out there in the world, Jesus created.
Jesus created the world.
The Bible says, 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.
The creation itself is the fingerprint of the existence of God.
And it says in that same chapter, you're going to Revelation 19, in Colossians 1, it says,
and he is before all things and by him all things consist.
Jesus created the world.
He is creator.
And that's an expression of his power.
And one day he's going to rule over the world he created with a rod of iron, the Bible says.
In Revelation 12, it says, and she brought forth a man child, this is talking about Jesus,
who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron.
When her child was caught up unto God and to his throne, Jesus one day will bring back
God's law and for those who don't want anything to do with the Bible, it's going to be a real
sad day for them because the standard will change from the wicked laws that are being
promoted today to God's perfect law.
And Jesus will be the authority.
Prior to the millennial reign though, he's going to dismantle the Antichrist's new world
order and he does so at the Battle of Armageddon.
You see there in Revelation 19, look at verse 13, it says, and he was clothed with a vesture
dipped in blood and his name is called the word of God and the armies which were in heaven
followed him upon white horses clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
That's us.
We'll be following Jesus at the Battle of Armageddon, but he's going to be doing all
the work folks.
We'll be watching him totally destroy the new world order from this spot here and it
says in verse 15, and out of his mouth go with 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 and he hath on his vesture and on his thigh
a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
So Jesus at this point here, he comes back to bring down the Antichrist, the beast and
the false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire, the Bible says.
And Jesus is directly named the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords.
These are names that denote awesome unlimited power.
Jesus Christ is perfectly powerful and when he returns, this earth is going to get torched
and he's going to dismantle the Antichrist's counterfeit kingdom.
He will strike fear into the eyes of those who've rejected him.
Another example of God's wrath can be seen really all over the Bible, but there's one
example I wanted to focus on this morning.
I talked about the battle of Armageddon, how about we go back to the Old Testament.
Let's talk about the destruction of Nineveh, let's talk about the destruction of Nineveh
here, another example of Christ's perfect power, that's in Nahum chapter one.
Nahum chapter one, it's going to be page 113 in your Schofield reference Bible.
Just kidding.
If you have a Schofield reference Bible, you might as well just go trade it out right now.
So Nahum chapter one, you're looking at from Revelation, Haggai, Zephaniah, Habakkuk and
then Nahum.
Nahum chapter one, while you turn there, I'm going to read for you Matthew 11, where Jesus
says, And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell.
For if thy mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have
remained until this day.
But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day
of judgment than for thee.
So in Matthew 11, we see Jesus preaching against what or who?
He's preaching against unrepentant cities, and there have been cities we've gone to or
areas in this city we've gone to with the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they've rejected
it.
They're unrepentant in the sense that they didn't repent at the preaching of the gospel.
They didn't change their minds about what it takes to get to heaven and Jesus here rebukes
them sharply and says, But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land
of Sodom in the day of judgment than for me.
Think about what he's saying there.
Sodom was torched with fire and brimstone from heaven, and he's saying it's going to
be more tolerable for Sodom after they went through that than for this city here, which
refused to repent with regard to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jesus says, Woe unto thee, Coruscant, woe unto thee, Bethsaida.
He says the land of Sodom is going to be more tolerable in the day of judgment.
That's a bold statement right there.
Because the Son of God executes wrath when he sees fit, folks, and that's why he will
strike fear in the eyes of those who are unsaved when he returns.
Psalm 97, it says, A fire goeth before him and burneth up his enemies round about.
His lightnings enlighten the world.
The earth saw and trembled.
So Jesus isn't just obedient.
He isn't just commanding.
He doesn't just rebuke sharply.
He's also perfectly powerful, unlimited power.
Now there in Nahum chapter one, just give you some context here.
After Jonah's time, during Jonah's time, basically what happened is Nineveh repented at the preaching
of Jonah.
So God commanded Jonah to go preach hard against this city that had fallen into wickedness
and all types of sin.
And they listened to his preaching.
But over a century later, Nineveh fell back into those same sins.
And here's how God reacts in Nahum chapter one.
It says in verse two, God is jealous and the Lord revengeth.
The Lord revengeth and is furious.
The Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.
Wow, look at that right there.
Is that not intimidating?
Is that not an expression of Christ's eternal power?
Look at verse three.
The Lord is slow to anger and great in power and will not at all acquit the wicked.
The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm and the clouds are the dust of
his feet.
He rebuketh the sea and maketh it dry and drieth up all the rivers.
Bashan languisheth and Carmel and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.
So Jesus is perfectly powerful.
He controls the sea, folks.
He controls the rivers.
He controls the wind.
He controls the weather.
He controls everything.
Verse five, the mountains quake at him and the hills melt and the earth is burned at
his presence.
Yea, the world and all that dwell therein.
Who can stand before his indignation?
Who can abide in the fierceness of his anger?
His fury is poured out like fire and the rocks are thrown down by him.
This is the epitome of God's wrath and woe to those who make a mockery of Jesus Christ.
One day, they won't be able to stand in the day of judgment when he destroys and pours
out his wickedness or should say pours out his wrath on this world because of the wickedness
of this world.
This is not something to make a joke out of.
Jesus, his eternal power is prevalent throughout all of scripture, especially here in Nahum
chapter one when he condemns the city of Nineveh because of their wickedness.
That's why I preached a few weeks ago about the United States deserving a curse because
we need to fear what God might do if we choose to spit in his face and live in total rebellion
to him.
Chapter seven, it says, the Lord is good and a stronghold in the day of trouble and he
knoweth them that trust in him.
I'm going to go down a little rabbit trail here.
Matthew chapter seven, what does it say?
People who believe in Jesus, they believe he exists, they're not trusting in him.
They say, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name of cast out devils
and in thy name done many wonderful works.
And Jesus says, depart from me.
I never knew you.
Why do you think he says that?
Yes, they believe in Jesus.
They've intellectually acquiesced to the fact that he exists, but they're not trusting him.
But what does Nahum one seven says?
It says, and the Lord is good and a stronghold in the day of trouble and he knoweth them
that trust in him.
Verse eight, but with an overrunning flood, he will make an utter end of the place thereof
and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
So the question is asked, who can abide in the fierceness of his anger?
Who can stand before his indignation?
The Bible says, and the answer is no one, no one can.
Revelation six, it says, and said to the mountain and rocks fall on us and hide us from the
face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb.
For the great day of his wrath is come and who shall be able to stand?
Even the unsaved are going to understand at the appearance of Christ that they're doomed
and they're going to be shaken in their boots.
Verse number nine.
What do you imagine against the Lord?
He will make an utter end affliction shall not rise up the second time for a while they
be folding together as thorns and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured
as stubble fully dry.
So we see here it says while they're drunken as drunkards and there are those who are addicted
to alcohol, there are those who have forsaken the Bible and forsaken the things of God to
go party every weekend and go drink and do drugs and go to the nightclub and end up on
the side of the road vomiting, acting like fools, acting like toddlers, acting like children.
It's disgusting.
But that's the culture we have today and here God responds to it by saying they shall be
devoured as stubble fully dry.
That applies in 2019 as well.
Because Jesus is a devouring fire.
He will devour his enemies one day when he pours out his wrath on the nations that hate
him.
In the end times, we read about that the wrath of God.
It happens in the second half of Daniel's 70th week, the trumpets and the vile judgments
on the world.
Now, if you would go to Exodus chapter 28 as I switch gears here, Exodus chapter 28.
While you do that, I'm going to read out of Zechariah nine where the Bible says, rejoice
greatly O daughter of Zion, shout O daughter of Jerusalem, behold thy king cometh unto
thee.
He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding upon an ass and upon a colt, the foal
of an ass and I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem and the
battle bow shall be cut off and he shall speak peace unto the heathen and his dominion shall
be from sea even to sea and from the river even to the ends of the earth.
Now, you're going to Exodus chapter 28, but I read for you Zechariah nine and the purpose
of that is because here we see another example of Christ's eternal power, but notice it says
what I read to you.
It says, lowly, Jesus is lowly and he did that voluntarily and that leads me to my next
point here.
I said Jesus is perfectly obedient.
Jesus is perfectly commanding.
Jesus is perfectly powerful and I highlighted his wrath.
Now I'm going to talk about the fact that Jesus Christ is perfectly humble.
Exodus 28 it says in verse one and take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother and his sons with
him from among the children of Israel that he may minister unto me in the priest's office
even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons and thou shalt make holy garments
for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty and thou shalt speak unto all that are wise
hearted whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom that they may make Aaron's garments
to consecrate him that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.
So we see here that Aaron and his sons are consecrated so he can minister in the priest's
office.
This is part of the Old Testament priesthood.
Now the Old Testament priesthood had certain responsibilities.
One of them is that they had to offer the first fruits.
They pronounced blessings.
They taught the law.
They lit the lamps in the tabernacle and they also had many other responsibilities as well.
I don't have time to get into all of it but the important aspect here is the New Testament
refers to Jesus Christ as our high priest.
It says in Hebrews 5 and no man taketh this honor unto himself but he that is called of
God as was Aaron so also we see a comparison between Aaron and Jesus here.
So also Christ glorified not himself to be made a high priest but he that said unto him
thou art my son today have I begotten thee.
So Jesus according to what the Bible says there in Hebrews chapter 5 making the connection
to Exodus 28 did not glorify himself.
Why?
Because he was perfectly humble just as Aaron didn't consecrate himself.
He was ordained into the priesthood by Moses.
Jesus Christ didn't glorify himself.
He was glorified by the Father and this is further proof that the Trinitarian view is
not only biblical and correct but it also proves that the Trinitarian view it affirms
Christ's humility folks.
If you want to believe in oneness then I guess you're going to have to believe that Jesus
glorified himself.
You're going to have to believe that Jesus loves himself and that's nonsense.
If you would go to John 13 the oneness God literally loves himself.
John 5 it says for the Father loveth the Son and showeth him all things that himself doeth
and he will show him greater works than these that ye may marvel.
So the Father loves the Son.
The Son loves the Father because God is not prideful.
Pride is a sin.
God can't sin.
Jesus referred to himself as meek in Matthew chapter 11 verse 28 where it says count unto
me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart.
That's verse 29 and he shall find rest under your souls and then he says for my yoke is
easy and my burden is light.
That's one of the Beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5.
Blessed are the meek.
Jesus Christ was perfectly meek.
Jesus Christ was perfectly humble.
We should try as best as we possibly can to replicate that.
We should try as best as we possibly can to follow after that example of Christ.
Now sometimes people hear that word meek and they think weak.
Meek doesn't mean weak.
That's kind of a tongue twister.
Meek doesn't mean weak folks.
It doesn't mean he was a doormat.
It doesn't mean he let people walk all over him and if you choose to be meek it doesn't
mean that you ought to let other people walk all over you as well.
When somebody is meek it means that they're lowly.
It means they're not quick to get angry.
It means that if it's possible they're going to try and make peace with those that are
living around them on this earth.
That's what being meek is all about.
It means not being hasty to get angry and get emotional at the drop of a hat.
In John 13 where you're at look at verse 5 and after that he poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was
girded.
Then cometh he to Simon Peter and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
So Jesus here, I should say Peter is astonished that Jesus is washing his feet.
Think of the humility it takes to do something like that.
Jesus, God in the flesh washing the feet of the disciples, washing the feet of the finite
human beings looking at him that are imperfect, the sinners.
He's washing their feet.
This is an example of Christ's humility.
He could have had the disciples wash his own feet, but he didn't do it that way.
Look at verse 7.
Jesus answered and said unto him, what I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know
hereafter.
Peter saith unto him, thou shalt never wash my feet.
Jesus answered him, if I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
Jesus saith unto him, he that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every
wit and ye are clean, but not all.
So why does he say that?
He says ye are clean, but not all.
Because he's referencing the deceiver amongst them.
Judas Iscariot, who they didn't know was a son of Belial.
He had hidden, he had snuck in privily.
So Jesus washes the feet of his disciples.
It's an act of pure humility, why?
To teach them to do the same thing to each other.
And when we read the Bible and we read about this character attribute of Jesus Christ,
we ought to take that and use it in our daily lives to each other here at Steadfast Baptist
Church.
Go to John chapter 11.
John chapter 11.
So far I said Jesus is perfectly obedient.
I said Jesus is perfectly commanding.
I said he's perfectly powerful, focusing on his wrath.
I talked about how humble he is, how the Bible refers to him as lowly, as a servant, that
he washed the disciples feet when he didn't have to and Peter himself was shocked and
astonished that he did that to begin with.
But now I'm going to talk about the fact Jesus is perfectly loving.
And yes, Jesus is love, God is love.
But because I love the focus on his wrath as well, because it's ignored by the world,
doesn't mean he doesn't have love either, okay?
He does.
The problem is though the world just wants to focus on the love only, but we need to
be well-balanced Christians.
In Mark chapter 10 it says, And they came to Jericho, and as he went out of Jericho
with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat
by the highway side begging.
And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, thou son
of David, have mercy on me.
So as Jesus is walking by, this blind man pleads with him, he says, have mercy on me.
Why?
Because he's blind and he's looking to be healed.
At one point, we were blind and we were looking to be healed.
We were blind to the way of salvation.
We were blind to the gospel of Jesus Christ, but we got saved and our eyes were open.
Here this man is begging, he says, have mercy on me, and you know what Jesus does?
He doesn't ignore him.
He doesn't just walk by him although the disciples wanted him to.
No, he took heed and he healed that man because of his faith.
That blind man didn't have to repent of his sins before he could be cured of that physical
ailment.
He didn't have to follow the commandments before he could be healed.
Jesus healed him because of his faith, and that's an expression of his perfect love.
Jesus showed compassion on blind Bartimaeus.
He said his faith had made him whole later on in that chapter, just like our faith saves
us from the second death.
Faith saved the woman with the issue of blood.
You all know that story.
Faith saved the man with the withered hand.
Faith saved multitudes of people who went to Jesus to be healed.
They came to Christ in faith first, and then they got clean.
Now you're there in John chapter 11.
Look what it says in verse one.
Now a certain man was sick named Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair,
whose brother Lazarus was sick.
Therefore his sister sent it to him saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
When Jesus heard that, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God
that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place
where he was.
So Jesus is informed that he whom he loved was sick, and that being Mary's brother,
Lazarus.
Now look what it says.
Skip down to verse 32, and he also says, by the way, that this is an opportunity for the
Son of God to be glorified.
Look at verse 32.
Then when Mary was come where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying
unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been there, thy brother had not died.
When Jesus therefore saw her weeping and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he
groaned in the spirit and was troubled and said, where have you laid him?
They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
And then verse 35 says, Jesus wept.
Jesus, his emotions got the best of him here.
He starts weeping literally at the scene.
Verse 36, then said the Jews, behold how he loved him.
Jesus loved Lazarus, folks.
Jesus here expresses his perfect love.
He starts weeping at what's going on here.
He healed the sick.
He brought the dead out of the grave, and he did it because they didn't have to impress
him with their works in order to be healed in a physical sense.
That's not how it works because Jesus is perfectly loving.
Look what it says in verse number 30, verse number 43.
It says in verse 43, and when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus,
come forth.
And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face
was bound about with a napkin.
Jesus saith unto him, loose him and let him go.
I want to talk about an expression of love there.
Lazarus was dead, but he was raised from the dead.
Just assures those who are spiritually dead by faith have eternal life.
Even though Jesus expressed his perfect love during his earthly ministry, healed the sick,
the blind, et cetera, what did he get for it?
He was delivered to the Roman Empire to be executed in one of the most gruesome ways
possible nailed to a cross.
That was his thank you from humanity.
That was his thank you from the Jews, delivering him to be killed.
And he allowed it to happen to save you.
Go to Hebrews chapter 10, Leviticus 1, it says, speak unto the children of Israel and
say unto them, if any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord, you shall bring your
offering of the cattle, even of the herd and of the flock.
If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish.
He shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation
before the Lord and he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering and it
shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
So what I'm reading there in Leviticus chapter one, it's about a burnt sacrifice.
It's the offering of cattle for the purpose of atonement.
Jesus Christ in the New Testament was the fulfillment of that sacrifice.
He was the fulfillment of that burnt sacrifice when he burned in hell for three days.
The equivalent of an eternity though, according to Jonah chapter two, verse six.
And think about the expression of perfect love, the love that it took for him to go
through hell fire so that we might be saved.
It wasn't just what he did during his earthly ministry, healing the sick and the blind and
those that came to him by faith.
It was also what he accomplished at the very end, the climax of his mission here on this
earth when he was delivered to the Roman Empire to be crucified.
The love that he showed to go through with that is a level that we'll never be able to
reach.
We're, look at Hebrews chapter 10, it talks about how we're sanctified through that offering.
In verse number 10, it says, by the which will we are sanctified through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all.
And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices
which can never take away sins.
But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand
of God.
So these dipstick, Schofield reference Bible worshiping dispensationalists, they'll say,
well, in the Old Testament, they were saved by those animal sacrifices.
It was works in the Old Testament.
No, it's been faith from Genesis to Revelation.
All you had to do was call on the name of the Lord to be saved.
It didn't matter whether you were living for him or not, it didn't matter how good you
were at following the commandments.
The Bible says very clearly here that those sacrifices could never take away sin.
And it was true back then because it was a picture of what Jesus accomplished for us
in the New Testament, an expression of his perfect love, dying on the cross and as if
that wasn't enough, as if that bloodshed and torture and beating wasn't enough, he then
went to hell.
He then experienced the second death.
The Bible says he's seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul
was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
That's what God did for us.
The least we could do is live for him in response.
This is Christ's perfect character, Christ's willingness to die for your sins.
He bore our sins, folks, knowing that we would be incapable of saving ourselves.
The Bible says he tasted death for every man.
And he was the fulfillment of that Leviticus chapter 1 scripture I read to you there on
the sacrifice.
The Bible says in 1 John chapter 3, as I close things out, hereby perceive we the love of
God because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
You want to know the embodiment, the expression of perfect love?
It's Calvary.
It's the death, burial, and resurrection.
So I said Jesus is perfectly obedient.
I said he's perfectly commanding.
I said he's perfectly powerful.
He's perfectly humble.
But you know what else?
Yes, God is love.
Jesus is perfectly loving.
We saw that in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
And the climax of it is what he did for us so that we could be saved.
And the Bible says, but to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth
the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
And then it says, even as David also described it, the blessedness of the man unto whom God
impudeth righteousness without works.
You place 100% of your faith in the perfect character of Christ and what he did for you,
his perfect love, you have eternal life, you could never go to hell.
And that love is perfect.
Let's pray.
Lord, I thank you so much for the Bible and what it says about your son.
I pray that more people would take heed to the scriptures in order to learn about Jesus
and his character rather than their own imagination.
Father, I just pray that you help us to remain inspired to continue to live for you.
And I hope that people take this sermon and use it to kickstart their Christian life.
If they've been backsliding or if they feel like, you know, they just haven't been doing
the amount of work that they think they should be doing for you, that Father, this would
inspire them to live for you because of the perfect character of Jesus Christ.
And Lord, I just pray that people got some truth out of this and that it inspired some
and that it also helps us, Lord, to make sure we're defending who Jesus really is to the
world that has created their own version of a counterfeit Jesus.
And I pray this prayer in the name of your son, Jesus Christ, amen.