Only Jesus!

all right well let's turn in our Bibles to Matthew chapter 17 we're in our follow me series based on the Gospel of Matthew and the title of my message today is only Jesus a quick question have you ever had one of those special moments in God's presence maybe it was during your time of dearly devotion and I hope you have a time of daily devotion where you open the word and ask God to speak to you and pray and commit your day to the Lord and maybe a certain touch just jumped off the page and right into your heart and spoke to you so clearly because that's exactly what you needed to hear or maybe it was a church where we were worshiping and he just sensed God's presence in a tangible way and you thought yourself I wanted always to be this way so much so in fact that whenever you come to church you want that spot in the Pew again someone else better not take it that's your blessing spot and you say hi you know the Lord has really blessed me in this spot so if you wouldn't mind shut out you know no no well here's the thing imagine if you were Peter James and John and you were able to see what they saw that is Jesus being transfigured before them were his face shine like the Sun and then have to leave that place and come back down from that mountaintop into the valley with the problems that were waiting a hard cold reality of life and the disciples were learning that we can't always live on mountaintops and when we're there and if you're on one enjoy it but those are preparing you for life in the valley and when I say valley I'm using it as a metaphor for the challenges hardships and reality of life in the real world so let's look now at the transfiguration of jesus in matthew 17 starting in verse 1 now after six days Jesus took Peter James and John his brother led them up to a high mountain by themselves and he was transfigured before them his face shone like the Sun and his clothes became as white as the light and behold Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him then Peter answered and said to Jesus Lord it is good for us to be here if you wish let's build three Tabernacles one for you one for Moses and one for Elijah and while he was still speaking behold a bright cloud overshadowed them and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud saying this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased hear him and when the disciples heard it they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid but Jesus came and touched them and said arise and do not be afraid and when they had lifted their eyes they saw no one but Jesus only the Transfiguration of Jesus was a significant point in his life in ministry it was a half point on a very difficult journey from the Transfiguration Jesus looked backward to the cradle and forward to the cross now you remember in our last message Jesus at a place called Caesarea Philippi a place of paganism and false worship asked this question to his disciples who do men say that I am various names were offered then Simon Peter inspired by the father himself said I believe that you are the Christ the Son of the Living God Jesus said flesh and blood did not reveal that to you but my father who is in heaven and upon this rock I will build my church now Jesus as I pointed out was not saying he would build the church on Peter because two different words are used there for rock he said you are Peter Rock and upon this rock I'll build my church he is a different word it's the Greek word Petros where the word for Peter is a different word for rock like a little stone or something like that but though word that Jesus used Petra speaks of a massive Rock Chrysler saying I will build my church on this foundation on what you've just said and I am the Christ the Son of the Living God and from that moment on scripture tells us Jesus began to tell his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and priests and scribes and be killed the third day Simon Peter will probably thought he was on a roll said Lord be that far from you and began to rebuke Jesus for even thinking such a thought and our Lord said to Peter get behind me Satan for you are an offence unto me because the voice that spoke through Peter was the devil himself who was trying to keep Christ from going to the cross because he had to go and die for us now Jesus feels it's time for these boys to have a glimpse of glory a moment where they would see him for who he really is and so we have this great moment of the Transfiguration and this by the way was a fulfillment of what Jesus says in Matthew 16:28 I say to you there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom Jesus was not saying that he would return again to the earth before they died he was saying you're gonna get a glimpse of glory guys I'm gonna give you a sneak preview of things to come what is the thing to come the return of Jesus Christ to the earth what is this that they had witnessed a sneak preview sort of like when you go to the movies right and you see the coming attractions the trailers for the films and what is it that often the best bits of the film are all in the trailer you ever notice that I'll see when I go I'm gonna see that that looks really good then I go and see the movie and say I like the like two minutes Traylor better than the entire movie and then you have to put up with all the antics of people in theaters ranging from texting in the middle of the show - chewing eyes - eating five course meals do you have to have a five course meal and I always end up sitting in front of the pricks you know the whole movie and on it goes but it was a sneak preview and his second coming will be off the charts but this is just a glimpse of things to come now one wonders why did Jesus single out Peter James and John this is not the only time he did that is it because they were more spirit than all the other spiritual than all the others and he was rewarding them for their godliness well that could be I have another theory I think they may have needed special attention you know when I was in elementary school I used to get in trouble a lot I was always fidgeting talking joking drawing little cartoons etc not unlike what I do now um except I do it in my sermons but so the teacher would sometimes say Greg Laurie I want you to move your desk right next to me so I can keep my eye on you they she had to separate me or he had to separate me from the other students could it be that Jesus took them aside guys I want to keep my eye on you don't forget Peter James and John were known as the sons of thunder you don't get a title like that for nothing we get a glimpse of why he called him that one we read that in a certain city where the disciples went that was not hospitable James and John said we think we should call fire down from heaven on them as Elijah dead guys that's just a little overkill okay I know they were nice to you but we're not gonna torch him today all right and Peter will his foe pause are legendary well irregardless of why he called them aside this is not the only time he did it we also know that when he raised the Daughter of Jairus he took Peter James and John with him into the room after he cleared all the others out and he said to her little girl arise and she did they saw with her I said Jesus Christ is victorious over death he also took Peter James and John with him to the Garden of Gethsemane as he contemplated the horrors of the cross he asked them to just wait with him to watch and pray and he went a little distance and prayed and returned and they were sleeping he woke them up and went and prayed again returned they were sleeping again and now finally here at the Mount of Transfiguration I think he was preparing them for what was ahead because it's worth noting that every one of these events had something to do with death and each one of these apostles had a unique encounter with death two were martyred and one survived an attempt on his life first of all James was the first apostle put to death as you recall by King Herod Simon Peter was next on hereit's list excuse me but God spared him but ultimately Peter was martyred for the faith in fact Jesus even told him how he would die in John 21 he said Peter we're gonna stretch your hands and take you where you don't want to go stretch out your hands and take you where you don't want to go he was alluding to the fact that Simon Peter was gonna die by crucifixion and according to church history that's exactly how Peter died and according to church tradition Peter was crucified upside down because he did not feel worthy to die in the same manner his Lord did now Peter and James are both martyred what about John well John was put into a pot of boiling oil by the Roman emperor Domitian and the idea was he would die there but for some reason he wouldn't boil and then they'd add insult to injury on their part at least John preached to them from the pot so he was banished to the island of Patmos where they never thought to hear from him again and they're on that island Jesus came to him and gave John the revelation it's the book of Revelation where he was effectively taken into the future and show things to come by the way sometimes people call it revelations you I was reading the Book of Revelations no it's revelation not plural singular it's the unveiling that's what the word means the unveiling of things to come and there on the island of Patmos Jesus came to John and said don't be afraid I'm the first and the last the living one who died and I'm alive forevermore and I hold the keys of death and the gray so Jesus at st. John don't fear death I will be with you whether it comes sooner or later you don't have to be afraid and sometimes there are trying circumstances in our lives or unique circumstances that don't make sense to us and we wonder why is God letting me go through this well he's preparing you for what is ahead everything you go through in life is preparation for what is to follow God will always give you what you need when you need it not before and never after but just when you need it he'll give it to you so here are Peter James and John and they see this amazing sight verse 2 he was transfigured before them his face shone like the Sun and his clothes became as white as the light have you ever looked directly in the Sun I hope you haven't done it for long needs to say could damage your eyes they were looking at the very son of God and all of his splendor and then Moses and Elijah being there were just added attractions and and so this is a great moment and we think this was the miracle Jesus shine like the Sun now that's not the miracle that Jesus shine like the Sun the miracle is that he didn't shine all the time this was God incarnate this was the Lord walking among us and he never antenna moment ceased to be God but he veiled his deity he never voided it he shrouded it if you will veiled and flesh the Godhead see hail Incarnate deity of the old Christmas hymn says and that's what he did so the real miracle of the Transfiguration was not that he shined that David that he didn't shine all the other days the Transfiguration was less a new miracle than the temporary ceasing of a habitual one he was just effectively saying guys I just want you to see who I really am check it out just like that here it is in slow motion you know it's just like light boom and Wow and see he can do that all the time you couldn't take Jesus anywhere imagine walking around with a guy that just radiates light like this side whoa who's your friend oh that's Jesus you know no he walked among us as a man and so he'd let them get a glimpse of who he really was it's very hard to hide like going back to the movie theater when someone texts or uses a phone if you ever notice how you can see it even on the other side of the theater a years ago when our son Jonathan was a little boy he was playing one of these little handheld video games and I said it's time to go to bed now put it away turn it off so I left his room and came back a few moments later and I saw a blue light coming under the door open the door up under the covers he's in there playing at you now and so I said Jonathan and I told you to turn that off and what he said was so cute he said well I couldn't resist myself I understand that it's hard to hide light Jesus could have radiated like wherever he was whenever he wanted I mean imagine that Gethsemane when they came to arrest him he could have just let that light emit and every one of one would have been overwhelmed sort of like that scene from the Raiders of the Lost Ark when the fire comes down in the arc and all the Nazis melt remember that scene you know that this is what Jesus could have done to his enemies but no he shrouded his glory he was not alone on the mountain verse 3 Moses and Elijah were there too talking with him now why Moses and Elijah well what do we think of when we think of Moses we think of the law God gave the Ten Commandments to mow unmount cyan I and Elijah well he was the greatest of the wonder-working prophets no one at a miracle ministry like Elijah with the exception of Elijah closely related to him so I can't think of two guys to better represent the law and the prophets and that's a phrase that is used to represent the Old Testament the law and the prophets while who better distended for the law and the prophets and Moses and Elijah but here's what was happening they were having a discussion and what were they discussing they were discussing the death of Jesus how do I know that because in Luke's Gospel we read they spoke of his decease which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem and the word therefore decease is the word Exodus so Moses knew a little bit about that he could talk about how the Lord used him to lead the Israelites out of the bondage of Egypt and that great Exodus and Jesus now was gonna be the Lamb of God who would fulfill all of the types in the Old Testament and lead all people who put their trust into him into a relationship with God they where they would be forgiven of their sins now here's an interesting question how do the disciples know it was Moses and Elijah did they of those little nametags you know that they get when you go to an event hi my name is and you write your name it my name is Moses would it be nice if everyone had nametags I'm always forgetting people's names it's embarrassing no it's because even in this unique situation where these men were brought back from glory they were recognizable why is that that is because you will be you in heaven I think sometimes people think that when we die and go to heaven we're given a new body a new identity we're almost a different person but that's not true you will still be you you say well I find that a little disappointing Greg I understand let me restate it you will be a perfect version of you not the flawed version that we see that you see that we are you'll still be yourself job said after my skin has been destroyed and my flesh I will see God I myself will see him with my own eyes I and not another after Christ rose again from the dead he appeared to his disciples and he said in Luke 24:39 it is I myself guys it's me you see the holes of my hands and the wound of my side it's still me and then the same way our bodies will be like here's the Bible says in Christ who is our life shall appear we shall be like him for we will see him as he is the blueprint for your glorified body is in the body you now possess heaven is the earthly life of the believer glorified and perfected so here's Moses here's Elijah they're having the discussion they're talking about the death of Jesus they're probably thanking him for what he is about to do though the disciples couldn't handle it Moses and Elijah understood everything was going to be fulfilled now no longer with animal sacrifices be required for Jesus would be the Lamb of God it would take away the sin of the world no longer would our priests be required to go in the temple and represent us before God Jesus would be that priest thank you for doing this Moses might have said as well as Elijah so what would the disciples doing well this amazing event was playing out they were sleeping they slept and were awakened by the radiant light like when you're laying in bed and the first beams of light in the morning hits you in the face or maybe you're in your dark room and your mom turns on all the lights it tells you to get up okay the idea is light woke them up from their sleep and Luke 932 says Peter and those that were with him were heavy with sleep and then we're a fully awake they saw his glory in the two men who were with them I mean that was a bad time to fall asleep wasn't it did you hear about this air traffic controller that fell asleep at Reagan Airport in Washington DC causing two passenger jets they have to land on their own without assistance that's scary I've heard of pilots falling asleep now an air traffic controller I also read recently about a burger Lord burglar that fell asleep on the job true story broke into a house he was ransacking looking for things found a few things and then he heard a noise it was a cop car driving through the neighborhood so he hit the deck laid down on the floor and he fell asleep and so the homeowner woke up that morning came down the stairs saw this burglar with things up along to the homeowner in his hands you know dozing away and the homeowner called the cops cops came in walked a guy who said buddy this is your wake-up call you know sometimes we fall asleep at inappropriate moments yeah sure in church that can happen but we can be in a spiritual slumber as well we're sleeping in scuse me we're sleeping in when we ought to be speaking out asleep on the watch when God calls us to stand up for him you know it's just amazing that Peter would be asleep but you know if that's not bad enough he decides to say a few words you know there's some people that when they talk you cringe you know what I'm saying some people don't let him talk for starters you give him a microphone they won't shut up don't look at me that way I always end on time I last service I was speaking and I looked at the craft so much time to preach I realize oh yeah we started 50 minutes earlier so I stopped on time the new time and I'll do that again today maybe if you laugh at all my jokes extra hard or I'm going long no but some people oh don't talk don't get them going don't start talking no no no Peter decides to say a few words and I love this because we're told the reason he said a few words and Mark's Gospel tells us he was afraid and didn't know what to say can I just offer you a word of advice when you don't know what to say say nothing you'll probably say the wrong thing you ever said the wrong thing the moment that left your lips white I see that no no you know or an email never send an email out and then go shoulda sent that so you Google how do I get my email back and you read you can't comma idiot no it's out it's gone I want to retract it I shouldn't have said that Peter blurts out it is good we are here there are some things you should never say I was talking to a couple of cops the other day I asked them what are the would have you occurred that are the most ridiculous things people have ever said to you when you pull them over both of them said they've heard this they pull a person over and the person says so-and-so is a really good friend of mine give him a call and he'll vouch for me and the so-and-so was the officer who pulled them over a really good friend of mine who I am right now and I'm such a good friend you didn't even recognize me when officer told me pulled a lady over for speeding she said officer I thought you didn't give a little didn't give speeding tickets to pretty girls he said I don't sign the ticket pretty good if you did get pulled over for speeding these are things to never say to a police officer sorry officer I didn't realize my radar detector wasn't plugged in or aren't you the guy from the Village People don't say that to a cop and definitely don't say this one oh I saw your lights on but I just thought you were going to get a doughnut no don't say that to a god that was not an extra heart laughs by the way I'm going along I told you I warned you yeah we've all said things that we regret verse four let's build three Tabernacles here one for Moses one for Elijah one for Jesus now in defense of Peter let's understand what he was saying the operative word is here let's build three Tabernacles here we're on the Mount of Transfiguration here's what Peter was saying Lord this is where you should be radiating in glory with Moses and Elijah on a mountaintop not talking about a rest and death Lord this is where you should stay never leave this place let's just stay here and bathe in divine glory forget the needs at the bottom of the mountain let's stay here I understand that haven't you ever felt that way as the world grows darker sometimes there's a tendency among Christians and one I'm withdraw into our own subculture concentrating on our own needs and problems and forgetting about everyone else you know we want to stand like a Christian bubble and never leave it we get up in the morning and we turn on Christian radio and then we get into our car we bought from a Christian car dealer and drop our kids off at Christian school and now we're gonna go get a meal in a restaurant that's owned by Christians and you know and I'm not putting any of these things down I'm glad there's Christian radio stations we happen to have our broadcast on a lot of them and I'm glad that we have Christian schools we have an outstanding Chris in school and I'm glad that you have Christian friends and if you've done business with a fellow believer that's fantastic too but here's the thing to remember our goal is not to completely isolate but rather it is to infiltrate to go out to where people are can influence them you know people have asked us why are you doing a crusade in LA what are you serious you don't think la has spiritual need well you already do one here and I know that but you know what it's a whole nother world up there in LA and guess what that culture up there influences the whole planet so my hope is can we influence some of the influencers can we go to the City of Angels and tell them about the one who loves them so that's why we're going to LA that's why we go to Auckland New Zealand that's where we come here every year to our own backyard and other places where we've been invited because we want to influence them we're not called to live on the mountaintops we are down in the valleys but we learn things on those mountaintops we want to bring with us to the people that have great spiritual need Kapoor Peter he can't seem to get a break first he gets rebuked accesory a Philip I by Jesus when Jesus says get behind me Satan you are an offence unto me and now the father himself joins in verse 5 while Peter was still speaking a bright cloud overshadowed them and a voice came out of the cloud saying this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased hear him it sounds as though the father himself was saying the Peter will you stop already if my son says he has to suffer and die then believe it if he tells you to take up the cross and follow him then do it Peter never forgot this day he wrote about it in his own epistle 2nd Peter 1:16 he said we were eyewitnesses of his majesty we receive honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the majestic glory saying this is my beloved son whom I love with him I am well pleased we ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven we were with him on the sacred mountain well Moses and Elijah are gone now and there stands Jesus alone one commentator said and I quote the law and the prophets have served their turn and they pass away he who is the fulfillment of both alone remains there stands Jesus reminding us that's who we need Jesus we don't need Jesus and the law Jesus fulfilled all of it we don't need Jesus and the sacraments we don't even need Jesus and good works we need Jesus and if you really know Jesus good works will follow works don't save him in but there are good evidence he's saved if you're really a follower of Christ there will be results that will be seen in your life so this is not only true of salvation but of life in general listen when you go through a crisis if you are going through a crisis here's what you need to know you need Jesus I know friends will help you I know family will help and I know Jesus can work through family and friends but can I tell you that sometimes friends will disappoint and family will death let you down sometimes the advice that friends will give to try to help can actually cause pain here's what you need Jesus you know people have come to me saying I lost a loved one a child a spouse is there a book I should read is there someone I should talk to in there are books I can recommend and things I can say but what I'll say ultimately is you know what you need right now it's a who you need Jesus you need to lean into him you need to trust in him you need to cling to him that's what you need only Jesus he will get you through this because only Jesus can heal a broken heart only Jesus can give you the strength to go on David said yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you are with me and one day we'll come to our deathbed and you know what we'll need then only Jesus he'll be there for you that's why I asked the group to sing before I spoke this song give me Jesus in the morning when I rise in the morning when I rise in the morning when I rise give me Jesus when I am alone when I am alone when I am alone give me Jesus you can have all this world just give me Jesus when I come to die when I come to die when I come to die give me Jesus give me Jesus give me Jesus you can have all this world but just give me Jesus let's shift gears now and drop down to verse 14 because waiting at the foot of this mountain was a great challenge and when they had come down to the multitude a man came to him kneeling down to him and saying lord have mercy on my son he's an epileptic and suffer severely and he falls into the fire and often into the water and I brought him to your disciples they could not cure him jesus answered and said o faithless and perverse generation how long shall I be with you how long shall I bear with you bring him here to me and Jesus rebuked the demon and it came out of him and the child was cured from that very hour yeah we're all gonna have our mountaintops in life but we can't live off those alone at the bottom of every mountain there is usually a valley a test perhaps even the enemy seeking to challenge you remember after Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River and the father said this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased and the Spirit came upon him in the form of a dove immediately after that would happen he went into the wilderness where he was tested by the devil so for Jesus after the Dove came the devil after the mountaintop came the valley he look at Elijah up there and down Carmel he prays and fire comes down from heaven and after that came a threat in his life and that is really typical after times of great blessing there will be times of attack times of difficulty times of temptation don't be surprised by those things in fact anticipate them and expect them but our hearts go out to this dad who's bringing his son this man stands as a representative of all those Christian parents who want to see their kids set free from Satan's power maybe you come here today and your kids are in trouble you don't know what to do you've tried everything but there maybe into drugs or into drinking there into partying there into some other thing and you don't you don't know where to turn what what did I tell you ready turn to Jesus and do what this man did bring your child to Jesus you say well how do I do that well for starters how about bringing them with you to church and by the way they may not necessarily like that I don't want to go to church really interesting let's go I'm serious my kids I want to come so bring him anyway you see you need to set an example I didn't say drop them off at church or enroll them in Christian school I said bring them to church you set the example see here's what the Bible says sure to do as a Christian parent you're to bring your child up on the nurture and the admonition of the Lord you're to train a child proverb says and the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it the word train speaks of establishing parameters absolutes yes rules and it also includes providing motivation so you give them absolutes there are rules that you are bide by in your home but at the same time you want to provide motivation have you ever gone out to eat with somebody and and you're not really hungry and they see you gonna get some no I'm not gonna get anything so they order a burger and fries and a shake and you're just kind of sitting there in the food or Rodge hell he start getting hungry could I have one of your fries you asked sure go ahead you take the fry have you ever noticed how stolen food always tastes better you know when my wife is making food in the kitchen I love to like eat it don't I have these in little you know a partitions just the right amount really little Kaylee's comment there's something about eating it before it's right the time is right I enjoy it more you know yeah I don't do much else and how what do you want so so here's the thing maybe if you're out with someone and you eat that food it's funny how what they had made you want your own and I think if we're really walking with God as we ought to and really living for Christ as we should there'll be something in us that is so attractive something in this that is so magnetic something in this that will cause others to want what we have I think it's great when you see a table full of Christians laughing enjoying life so it says what are you drinking coffee I don't know water yeah we don't need that other stuff to have a good time they see the joy of the Lord in us and so we have this man bringing this child to Jesus he's tried everything he doesn't know what else to do he's desperate are you desperate let me ask you this once the last time you prayed for your child for your grandchild you need to keep praying for them yes correct them discipline them but pray for them because they may escape your presence but they can never escape your prayers this man had reached a point of desperation and maybe you've been praying for someone and they've gotten worse or what this is not working I prayed and it got worse actually that may be good news and maybe that aggressive resistance that is a sign that they're getting close I want you to notice what the devil did as soon as this child was brought close to Jesus and Luke's version of the same story we read in Luke 9 42 as the boy came forward the demon knocked him to the ground and threw him into a violent convulsion oh no the dad probably thought don't do this now not in front of Jesus control yourselves and no no you ever had your kids do something that embarrassed you I love the way kids just blurt stuff out you know this is my little boy mommy JIP don't don't don't tell him what did you know they'll say something personal that you did not want the whole world to know and so forth and so this dad is probably thinking don't do this now no no actually it was totally appropriate because the devil was just showing his true colors whenever an unbeliever makes a movement toward Christ the devil will throw a fit so this dad was bringing his child to Jesus so this is why I said sometimes it will get worse before it gets better because as this person comes under the conviction of the Spirit they may resist it and there is a battle going on that's why you need to be praying that's why all these crazy things happen when you invite someone to church and they say they'll come and all of a sudden all hell breaks loose exactly the devil opposes it remember in the parable of the sower Jesus talked about the seed that was sown on the wayside he said these are they that hear the word but Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their heart one of the disciples they don't know what to do they've been on the mountain with Jesus but they can't handle this and so Jesus touches this young man and transform him transforms him you know a lot of times we'll be on the mountain so to speak the mountaintop but the great lessons of life are gonna be learned in those valleys I find it interesting how we can be in church just worshiping the Lord and then as we walk out whoa whoa what happened you know someone pulls in front of us in the park you look yeah good timing that mountain tub yes Oh or you start arguing with your wife or you walk out of the place of worship it's our gossiping about somebody amazing how quickly we can forget what we just saw or but listen it's not necessarily more mountaintop experience as we need in the Christian life it's more day-to-day obedience where we're walking by faith not by feeling Oswald Chambers the author of my utmost for his highest made this statement it's a little bit lengthy follow me please he said we are not built for the mountains and the Dawn's and esthetic affinities those are for moments of inspiration that is all we are built for the valley for the ordinary stuff we are in and that is where we have to prove our mettle spiritual selfishness always wants repeated moments on the mountain we feel we could talk like angels and live like angels if only we could stay on the mountain he concludes the times of exaltation are exceptional they have their meaning in our life with God but we must beware lest our spiritual selfishness wants to make them the only time end quote well said yeah you can't live on the mountaintop forever you got to come down to the valley one day we'll get to that mountaintop Oh we'll never leave there'll be no more temptation no more sin waiting for us no more physical limitations as I said this was a preview of things to come one day Jesus Christ will come for us and judging by the way things are going in our world that may be sooner than later I read the story of a man who was convicted of murder and he was being tried the man's a defense attorney however thought he had come up with an ingenious ploy in the summation to the jury he said ladies and gentlemen of the jury you must find my client not guilty of murder and if there is a slightest doubt ear minds and he is not the murderer and now I have one final witness the attorney said the true murderer is about to walk through that door and every eye in the room went over to the door no one walked in and the lawyer then said to the jury you see ladies and gentlemen there is doubt in your minds otherwise you would not have looked toward the door I ask you to find my client innocent well the jury retired to deliberate they came back five hours later with a guilty verdict the lawyer was beside himself and before the judge could pass sentence he sprang him and said I proved that if you would had doubt about my clients guilt you could not find him guilty the jury foreman a wiser older man stood up and said well is everyone looked toward door I watched your client he did not turn his eyes toward the door he did not look to the door because he knew no one was coming through because he himself was the guilty one hmm little twist there one day the Lord will come through that door and the Bible says to those that look for him will he appear a second time without sin unto salvation are you ready for that day are you ready for his return this is a sneak preview and I guarantee this main attraction will be better than the trailer and this trailer was really good imagine what it will be like when Christ Himself returns but he's coming for those that are watching in Waiting are you have you ever put your faith in Jesus Christ do you have the hope that if you were to die you would go to heaven I talked about having only Jesus do you have Jesus maybe you have religion maybe you have ritual maybe you have morality fine that will not get you to heaven only Jesus well Jesus went to that cross he died for our sin he paid the price for all the wrongs we have ever done and he rose again from the dead and now he stands at the door of our life and he knocks and says it will hear his voice and open the door he'll come in have you ask Christ to come into your life yet if not would you like to we're gonna pray right now and I'm gonna give you an opportunity to ask Jesus Christ to forgive you of all of your sin and come and live in your life and give you the hope of heaven and make you ready for his return let's all bow our heads for prayer father I pray for any that have joined us today who may not yet know you Lord help them to see the words we have shared today are true their gospel truth and I pray for any here that do not yet know you help them to come to you help them to believe in you now we ask in Jesus name

Channel: Pastor Greg Laurie

Views: 6,902

Rating: 4.9012346 out of 5

Keywords: Greg Laurie, blessing spot, experience, pew, God, transfiguration, Moses, Peter, James, John, light, shine, satan, Cross, disciples, rules, parents, kids, boundaries, give me Jesus, stolen food, alone

Id: LK2pmQCKvOc

Length: 44min 16sec (2656 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 29 2011