Taken from: http://www.tillhecomes.org/Text%20Sermons/Luke/Luke%207%2024-30.htm
but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."
If you are in the kingdom of God, you are greater than John the Baptist. Though he was the greatest prophet, the least in God's kingdom is greater than he. So are you a member of the kingdom of God? There is only one entrance fee. There is only one membership requirement. To be greater than John, to be a member of the kingdom of God, you have to be perfectly righteous. Since it is God's kingdom, that is his entrance requirement. No sin allowed. Not a lie, not a theft, not a bit of laziness or greed. The kingdom slogan is "One sin and you can't get in." That's what James 2:10 says anyway. Whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles in just one point, is guilty of breaking all of it.
Before you despair of every getting in, let me tell you a little insider's secret. I'm a member of the kingdom of God, and I'm not perfectly righteous. I am a liar. I am a thief. I am lazy and greedy. But I am a member of the kingdom of God. How did I get in? I came in through the front door. Most people try to get in by sneaking through a window, or climbing over the wall, but the kingdom is too well protected. You can only come in through the front door. And though the door is front and center, illuminated with bright lights and big signs, most people don't see it. Most of the time, for those on the outside, the door has to pointed out by someone who is already on the inside. Someone from inside the kingdom has to come out, round up people, point to door, and say, "Here is the way in."
Let me do that for you. If you want to get into the kingdom, there is only one way. It is through the door. And the door is Jesus Christ. He says in John 10:9, "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved." Jesus says over in John 14:6 that He is the only way to get in. No one comes to God the Father, no one gets into the Kingdom of God expect through Jesus Christ. You see, as I indicated, entrance into the Kingdom requires perfect righteousness. None of us can achieve that, so Jesus Christ, God's only Son, came to earth, and achieved it for us. He lived a sinless life. But then, more than that, he died for us, and rose form the dead to purchase our entrance fees for us. Now, He says to you and to me, "I've paid the price for you to get into heaven. I'm offering it to you free of charge. All you have to do is believe in me to receive it." To get into the kingdom of God, to enter through the Door, all you have to do is believe in Jesus Christ for eternal life. It's that simple.
But although it is simple, it is so hard to accept. Most people have trouble finding the Door, because they think that in order to get into the kingdom, they have to do something. They have to repent of their sin, or commit to a life of Godliness, or promise God to change something in their life. What they do not realize is that Jesus already paid the full price. There is nothing left to pay. You just have to accept Christ's invitation, and walk through the Door.
Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email
Quotes for the Christmas Season
Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, and Jesus for only 3. Yet the influence of Christ's 3-year ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of teaching from these men who were among the greatest philosophers of all antiquity. –Unknown
I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are very wise and very beautiful; but I never read in either of them: "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden." -Augustine
Buddha never claimed to be God. Moses never claimed to be Jehovah. Mohammed never claimed to be Allah. Yet Jesus Christ claimed to be the true and living God. Buddha simply said, "I am a teacher in search of the truth." Jesus said, "I am the Truth." Confucius said, "I never claimed to be holy." Jesus said, "Who convicts me of sin?" Mohammed said, "Unless God throws his cloak of mercy over me, I have no hope." Jesus said, "Unless you believe in me, you will die in your sins." -Unknown
Fundamentally, our Lord's message was Himself. He did not come merely to preach a Gospel; He himself is that Gospel. He did not come merely to give bread; He said, "I am the bread." He did not come merely to shed light; He said, "I am the light." He did not come merely to show the door; He said, "I am the door." He did not come merely to name a shepherd; He said, "I am the shepherd." He did not come merely to point the way; He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." --J. Sidlow Baxter
Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair. –Blaise Pascal
As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene... No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life. --Albert Einstein
There is something so pure and frank and noble about Him that to doubt His sincerity would be like doubting the brightness of the sun. -Charles Edward Jefferson
Jesus Christ is to me the outstanding personality of all time, all history, both as Son of God and as Son of Man. Everything he ever said or did has value for us today and that is something you can say of no other man, dead or alive. There is no easy middle ground to stroll upon. You either accept Jesus or reject him. -Sholem Asch
Jesus is God spelling Himself out in language that men can understand. -S.D. Gordon
It was this same Jesus, the Christ who, among many other remarkable things, said and repeated something which, proceeding from any other being would have condemned him at once as either a bloated egotist or a dangerously unbalanced person...when He said He himself would rise again from the dead, the third day after He was crucified, He said something that only a fool would dare say, if he expected longer the devotion of any disciples—unless He was sure He was going to rise. No founder of any world religion known to men ever dared say a thing like that! --Wilbur Smith
Because Christianity’s influence is so pervasive throughout much of the world, it is easy to forget how radical its beliefs once were. Jesus’ resurrection forever changed Christians’ view of death. Rodney Stark, sociologist at the University of Washington, points out that when a major plague hit the ancient Roman Empire, Christians had surprisingly high survival rates. Why? Most Roman citizens would banish any plague-stricken person from their household. But because Christians had no fear of death, they nursed their sick instead of throwing them out on the streets. Therefore, many Christians survived the plague. -“2000 Years of Jesus” by Kenneth L. Woodward, NEWSWEEK, March 29, 1999, p. 55.
Despite our efforts to keep him out, God intrudes. The life of Jesus is bracketed by two impossibilities: "a virgin's womb and an empty tomb". Jesus entered our world through a door marked, "No Entrance" and left through a door marked "No Exit." -Peter Larson
The most pressing question on the problem of faith is whether a man as a civilized being can believe in the divinity of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, for therein rests the whole of our faith. -Fyodor Dostoevski
The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the crowning proof of Christianity. If the resurrection did not take place, then Christianity is a false religion. If it did take place, then Christ is God and the Christian faith is absolute truth. -Henry Morris
People talk about imitating Christ, and imitate Him in the little trifling formal things, such as washing the feet, saying His prayer, and so on; but if anyone attempts the real imitation of Him, there are no bounds to the outcry with which the presumption of that person is condemned. -Florence Nightingale
There was no identity crisis in the life of Jesus Christ. He knew who He was. He knew where He had come from, and why he was here. And he knew where He was going. And when you are that liberated, then you can serve. -Howard Hendricks
The Lord ate from a common bowl, and asked the disciples to sit on the grass. He washed their feet, with a towel wrapped around His waist - He, who is the Lord of the universe! -Clement of Alexandria
How was it that, even in the common tasks of an ordinary life, Jesus drew the praise of heaven? At the core of His being, He only did those things which pleased the Father. In everything, He stayed true, heartbeat to heartbeat, with the Father's desires. Jesus lived for God alone; God was enough for Him. Thus, even in its simplicity and moment-to-moment faithfulness, Christ's life was an unending fragrance, a perfect offering of incomparable love to God. --Francis Frangipane
Jesus Christ: The meeting place of eternity and time, the blending of deity and humanity, the junction of heaven and earth –Anonymous
You cannot go outside of A and Z in the realm of literature; likewise Christ Jesus is First and Last of God's new creation, and all that is in between; you cannot get outside of that. -T. Austin Sparks
It is as if God the Father is saying to us: "Since I have told you everything in My Word, Who is My Son, I have no other words that can at present say anything or reveal anything to you beyond this. Fix your eyes on Him alone, for in Him I have told you all, revealed all, and in Him you will find more than you desire or ask. If you fix your eyes on Him, you will find everything, for He is My whole word and My reply, He is My whole vision and My whole revelation. -Anthony M. Coniaris
Whenever the method of worship becomes more important than the Person of worship, we have already prostituted our worship. There are entire congregations who worship praise and praise worship but who have not yet learned to praise and worship God in Jesus Christ. -Judson Cornwall
The message of Christ is not Christianity. The message of Christ is Christ. -Gary Amirault
To holy people the very name of Jesus is a name to feed upon, a name to transport. His name can raise the dead and transfigure and beautify the living. -John Henry Newman
God will answer all our questions in one way and one way only. Namely, by showing us more of his Son. -Watchman Nee
Christianity is not a doctrine, not truth as truth, but the knowledge of a Person; it is knowing the Lord Jesus. You cannot be educated into being a Christian. -T. Austin-Sparks
I have one passion. It is He, only He. -Count Zinzendorf
but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."
If you are in the kingdom of God, you are greater than John the Baptist. Though he was the greatest prophet, the least in God's kingdom is greater than he. So are you a member of the kingdom of God? There is only one entrance fee. There is only one membership requirement. To be greater than John, to be a member of the kingdom of God, you have to be perfectly righteous. Since it is God's kingdom, that is his entrance requirement. No sin allowed. Not a lie, not a theft, not a bit of laziness or greed. The kingdom slogan is "One sin and you can't get in." That's what James 2:10 says anyway. Whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles in just one point, is guilty of breaking all of it.
Before you despair of every getting in, let me tell you a little insider's secret. I'm a member of the kingdom of God, and I'm not perfectly righteous. I am a liar. I am a thief. I am lazy and greedy. But I am a member of the kingdom of God. How did I get in? I came in through the front door. Most people try to get in by sneaking through a window, or climbing over the wall, but the kingdom is too well protected. You can only come in through the front door. And though the door is front and center, illuminated with bright lights and big signs, most people don't see it. Most of the time, for those on the outside, the door has to pointed out by someone who is already on the inside. Someone from inside the kingdom has to come out, round up people, point to door, and say, "Here is the way in."
Let me do that for you. If you want to get into the kingdom, there is only one way. It is through the door. And the door is Jesus Christ. He says in John 10:9, "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved." Jesus says over in John 14:6 that He is the only way to get in. No one comes to God the Father, no one gets into the Kingdom of God expect through Jesus Christ. You see, as I indicated, entrance into the Kingdom requires perfect righteousness. None of us can achieve that, so Jesus Christ, God's only Son, came to earth, and achieved it for us. He lived a sinless life. But then, more than that, he died for us, and rose form the dead to purchase our entrance fees for us. Now, He says to you and to me, "I've paid the price for you to get into heaven. I'm offering it to you free of charge. All you have to do is believe in me to receive it." To get into the kingdom of God, to enter through the Door, all you have to do is believe in Jesus Christ for eternal life. It's that simple.
But although it is simple, it is so hard to accept. Most people have trouble finding the Door, because they think that in order to get into the kingdom, they have to do something. They have to repent of their sin, or commit to a life of Godliness, or promise God to change something in their life. What they do not realize is that Jesus already paid the full price. There is nothing left to pay. You just have to accept Christ's invitation, and walk through the Door.
Subscribe to Catholic Daily by Email
Quotes for the Christmas Season
Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, and Jesus for only 3. Yet the influence of Christ's 3-year ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of teaching from these men who were among the greatest philosophers of all antiquity. –Unknown
I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are very wise and very beautiful; but I never read in either of them: "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden." -Augustine
Buddha never claimed to be God. Moses never claimed to be Jehovah. Mohammed never claimed to be Allah. Yet Jesus Christ claimed to be the true and living God. Buddha simply said, "I am a teacher in search of the truth." Jesus said, "I am the Truth." Confucius said, "I never claimed to be holy." Jesus said, "Who convicts me of sin?" Mohammed said, "Unless God throws his cloak of mercy over me, I have no hope." Jesus said, "Unless you believe in me, you will die in your sins." -Unknown
Fundamentally, our Lord's message was Himself. He did not come merely to preach a Gospel; He himself is that Gospel. He did not come merely to give bread; He said, "I am the bread." He did not come merely to shed light; He said, "I am the light." He did not come merely to show the door; He said, "I am the door." He did not come merely to name a shepherd; He said, "I am the shepherd." He did not come merely to point the way; He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." --J. Sidlow Baxter
Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair. –Blaise Pascal
As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene... No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life. --Albert Einstein
There is something so pure and frank and noble about Him that to doubt His sincerity would be like doubting the brightness of the sun. -Charles Edward Jefferson
Jesus Christ is to me the outstanding personality of all time, all history, both as Son of God and as Son of Man. Everything he ever said or did has value for us today and that is something you can say of no other man, dead or alive. There is no easy middle ground to stroll upon. You either accept Jesus or reject him. -Sholem Asch
Jesus is God spelling Himself out in language that men can understand. -S.D. Gordon
It was this same Jesus, the Christ who, among many other remarkable things, said and repeated something which, proceeding from any other being would have condemned him at once as either a bloated egotist or a dangerously unbalanced person...when He said He himself would rise again from the dead, the third day after He was crucified, He said something that only a fool would dare say, if he expected longer the devotion of any disciples—unless He was sure He was going to rise. No founder of any world religion known to men ever dared say a thing like that! --Wilbur Smith
Because Christianity’s influence is so pervasive throughout much of the world, it is easy to forget how radical its beliefs once were. Jesus’ resurrection forever changed Christians’ view of death. Rodney Stark, sociologist at the University of Washington, points out that when a major plague hit the ancient Roman Empire, Christians had surprisingly high survival rates. Why? Most Roman citizens would banish any plague-stricken person from their household. But because Christians had no fear of death, they nursed their sick instead of throwing them out on the streets. Therefore, many Christians survived the plague. -“2000 Years of Jesus” by Kenneth L. Woodward, NEWSWEEK, March 29, 1999, p. 55.
Despite our efforts to keep him out, God intrudes. The life of Jesus is bracketed by two impossibilities: "a virgin's womb and an empty tomb". Jesus entered our world through a door marked, "No Entrance" and left through a door marked "No Exit." -Peter Larson
The most pressing question on the problem of faith is whether a man as a civilized being can believe in the divinity of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, for therein rests the whole of our faith. -Fyodor Dostoevski
The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the crowning proof of Christianity. If the resurrection did not take place, then Christianity is a false religion. If it did take place, then Christ is God and the Christian faith is absolute truth. -Henry Morris
People talk about imitating Christ, and imitate Him in the little trifling formal things, such as washing the feet, saying His prayer, and so on; but if anyone attempts the real imitation of Him, there are no bounds to the outcry with which the presumption of that person is condemned. -Florence Nightingale
There was no identity crisis in the life of Jesus Christ. He knew who He was. He knew where He had come from, and why he was here. And he knew where He was going. And when you are that liberated, then you can serve. -Howard Hendricks
The Lord ate from a common bowl, and asked the disciples to sit on the grass. He washed their feet, with a towel wrapped around His waist - He, who is the Lord of the universe! -Clement of Alexandria
How was it that, even in the common tasks of an ordinary life, Jesus drew the praise of heaven? At the core of His being, He only did those things which pleased the Father. In everything, He stayed true, heartbeat to heartbeat, with the Father's desires. Jesus lived for God alone; God was enough for Him. Thus, even in its simplicity and moment-to-moment faithfulness, Christ's life was an unending fragrance, a perfect offering of incomparable love to God. --Francis Frangipane
Jesus Christ: The meeting place of eternity and time, the blending of deity and humanity, the junction of heaven and earth –Anonymous
You cannot go outside of A and Z in the realm of literature; likewise Christ Jesus is First and Last of God's new creation, and all that is in between; you cannot get outside of that. -T. Austin Sparks
It is as if God the Father is saying to us: "Since I have told you everything in My Word, Who is My Son, I have no other words that can at present say anything or reveal anything to you beyond this. Fix your eyes on Him alone, for in Him I have told you all, revealed all, and in Him you will find more than you desire or ask. If you fix your eyes on Him, you will find everything, for He is My whole word and My reply, He is My whole vision and My whole revelation. -Anthony M. Coniaris
Whenever the method of worship becomes more important than the Person of worship, we have already prostituted our worship. There are entire congregations who worship praise and praise worship but who have not yet learned to praise and worship God in Jesus Christ. -Judson Cornwall
The message of Christ is not Christianity. The message of Christ is Christ. -Gary Amirault
To holy people the very name of Jesus is a name to feed upon, a name to transport. His name can raise the dead and transfigure and beautify the living. -John Henry Newman
God will answer all our questions in one way and one way only. Namely, by showing us more of his Son. -Watchman Nee
Christianity is not a doctrine, not truth as truth, but the knowledge of a Person; it is knowing the Lord Jesus. You cannot be educated into being a Christian. -T. Austin-Sparks
I have one passion. It is He, only He. -Count Zinzendorf
No comments:
Post a Comment