Ron Dunn Podcast - The Truth About Jesus Christ

Episode Date: February 1, 2023

Ron Dunn begins a new sermon series "To Tell The Truth"

I am going to begin reading with verse 1 and read through verse 5. Hebrews 1, the first five verses. Every new generation must rediscover God for itself. Every new generation must come to know the truth of God for itself. If it does not come to know personally and discover God personally itself, if it simply has a hand-me-down religion and a hand-me-down faith, then before long it will find itself worshiping an unknown God. And one of the most subtle dangers is to simply say, it was good enough for my fathers and it's good enough for me. Now, so far, so good. That is true.

But if we simply stop at that point and make no personal discovery as a result of personal investigation of that truth ourselves, then we do not really know the God that we worship. If you have ever worn hand-me-down clothes, you know that they never fit perfectly in all the right places and give you just a little self-conscious, insecure feeling out in public at times. I know a great many people whose faith doesn't seem to fit them very well. It's all right when they're at home in the church, but when they get out in the world

or when they graduate from high school and go to college, they become a little bit self-conscious of this faith and this religion. And they come back oftentimes with this, well, that was all right for then, but it just doesn't fit my lifestyle now. And there are a great many people that are going about saying the faith of the Word of God does not fit our contemporary society.

And I always know when a person says that, that what he has is a hand-me-down religion, that he has never himself personally discovered the truth about God. And any person, any person who ever for himself has a personal face-to-face encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ and comes away and says, now, this is the face of our fathers, but more than this, this is my own faith because I have investigated, I have inquired, I have sought, and I have found, and I know this personally to be true. I just don't have to take somebody else's word for it.

That person will never feel that his faith is ill-fitted to the times in which he lives. And he will never go away from a worship service having an empty feeling, a feeling of having missed it all because he has worshipped an unknown God. Every generation must rediscover or discover God for itself. You just can't go along on hand-me-down faith. And I think this is of such vital importance that I want to begin this morning a series of studies on basic Bible beliefs,

just calling the series to tell the truth. Because what every person needs to discover is the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ, the truth about the Word of God, the truth about man, the truth about sin, the truth about heaven and hell. And so we're going to begin this morning with the truth about Jesus and hell. And so we're going to begin this morning with the truth about Jesus Christ because this is where you have to start. And if you bypass Jesus Christ and try to discover truth apart from Jesus Christ,

you will always be seeking the truth and never coming to the knowledge of it. And the Bible has a great deal to say about teachers, vain teachers, and philosophers, and inquirers who are always seeking the truth but never coming to the knowledge of the truth. And the reason is because they leave out step one, and that's Jesus Christ. For he said, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the truth. Jesus doesn't simply have the truth, he is the truth. And so he is the starting place.

Now with that in mind, I want us to begin reading in Hebrews chapter 1, the first five verses. Or rather, the first four verses. We will deal with some other verses later on in the message this morning. But at the beginning, the first four verses of Hebrews 1. God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world, who being the brightness of his glory, and express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty

on high, being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. Now there is something unique about Christianity that separates it from every other religion. The thing that is unique about Christianity is Christ. Somebody says, well, that's not what makes Christianity unique, because you could say that about the religion of Buddha. The thing that makes Buddha unique is Buddha. Just as no other religion has Christ, so does no other religion have Buddha.

And if you are a follower of Confucius, you could say that no other religion has Confucius. If you are a follower of the Islam religion, you could say that no other religion has Mohammed. And so what is so unique about saying that the one thing Christianity has that no other religion has is Jesus Christ. Every religion has something like that. But there is a difference. You see, you can be a follower of Buddha without personally knowing Buddha. You can be a follower of Mohammed without personally knowing him. In other words, you can separate the religion from the person. All you have to salvage from him is his teaching or his example. And as long as you can salvage from that religion his teaching, his example, his doctrine, then that religion can thrive because he can be personally separated from that.

But Christianity is not simply taking the teachings of Jesus, nor the example of Jesus, nor the doctrine of Jesus, and emulating them and practicing them in the life. Christianity is not teachings about Jesus, nor following the teachings of Jesus. Christianity is Jesus Christ himself. Mohammed did not die for his followers. Buddha did not die to atone for the sins of his followers. Confucius did not die and rise again for the sins of his followers. Confucius did not die and rise again for the sins of his followers. And the one

unique thing about Christianity is that you cannot separate it from the person of Jesus Christ because he died to atone, to wipe away, to forgive the sins of his followers, and he was raised again for their justification, and he lives today to sustain their life and to give them life everlasting. And you cannot have Christianity without a personal involvement with Jesus Christ. The Bible speaks of him as the foundation, and you cannot have the building without the foundation.

The Bible speaks of him as the cornerstone, and you cannot have the building without the foundation. The Bible speaks of him as the cornerstone, and you cannot have the building without the cornerstone. He is our life, the Bible says. And so the most important truth that a man can ever discover is the truth about Jesus Christ. What is the truth about Jesus Christ? I think probably of all the passages in the Word of God that give to us a portrayal of who Jesus is and what he is,

you'll find no greater than in this first chapter of Hebrews. The letter to the Hebrews is very relevant for what I'm trying to talk about because these people to whom the writer addressed himself were in danger of apostatizing. They were in imminent danger of losing the truth about Jesus. There had come into their ranks some other teachers who were saying that Jesus is good, but he's not the only good. He is a God, but he is not the only God. He is a prophet, but he is not the only prophet. He is simply one in a succession of many. And then as today, there were people who all their lives had heard about

Jesus and had followed Jesus to a certain extent, but now because of a lack of dedication and devotion on their part from within and because of false teaching from without, they were in danger of losing the truth about Jesus. And so as the author begins this letter, the first thing he says, he points to the supremacy and the superiority of Jesus Christ. And really what he's saying is, we cannot say anything else, we can't talk about any of your other problems until we establish one thing, and that is the truth about Jesus Christ. And so this passage unfolds for us a threefold truth concerning Jesus.

Now, if you had to take the truth about God and categorize it, you could put all that God has done and all that God reveals to us under three categories. You could say three things about God, and having said those three things, have said it all in summary. First of all, God creates. Secondly, God speaks, reveals himself. And thirdly, God acts. God acts in salvation and in sustaining. Those three things sum up God as we know him or as we can know him. God as creator, God as revelator, and God as

actor. God acting on the stage of human history. Now, three things concerning the truth about Jesus Christ. Number one, Jesus Christ is God creating. Jesus Christ is God creating. You have this in the second verse. He says that God hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world. By whom also he made the world. And one of the very first things that is brought to our attention concerning Jesus Christ is that he is creator and that Jesus

Christ is the agency through which God created all things. You'll have this same thought repeated in the gospel of John chapter 1 where it says that all things were made by him through the power of Jesus Christ and without him was not anything made that was made. That's pretty final. That's pretty complete. Without him was not anything made that was made. If he didn't make it, it hasn't been made. Colossians chapter 1 speaks of the same thing, that Jesus Christ was the creator, or through the power, through the agency of Jesus Christ,

God the Father created all things, both visible and invisible. And so, by him, God created all things. There is where the superiority of Jesus Christ comes in. There is where his uniqueness comes in. For nobody else, nobody else has ever made that claim. No other religion, no other founder of religion can stand and say that he is the power of all creation. He is the power of all creation.

And you know, it's an amazing thing. The little babe that you find wrapped in swaddling clothes in Matthew chapter 1 is the creating God that you find in Genesis chapter 1. And that one who worked in a carpenter's shop painstakingly, fashioning something out of wood, perhaps getting blisters on his hand and splinters in his fingers, is the same one who with just simply a word created all things. And Jesus Christ is the power behind all creation. But there's something else that is revealed here to us. Not only is he the power of creation, he is

also the preserver of creation. In the third verse, it says that he upholds all things by the word of his power. He upholds all things by the word of his power. He upholds all things by the word of his power. Now, this to me is especially meaningful because for years and years we've been hearing a lot of talk about what's going to happen to the world, is the world going to come to an end, some fool one of these days is going to push the wrong button, we're all going to be blown to smithereens, and we're going to be cremated in one vast crematory. And everybody has been writing, and scientists have been scaring people. It hasn't been the preachers that's been scaring people. It's been the scientists who've been scaring people,

saying that before this age is over, before this decade is over, this whole world is just going to go up in smoke. Well, is that so? Well, I don't know if it's so or not, but I know this. It won't go up in smoke unless Jesus Christ says okay to it. Because he is the preserver of creation. It says he upholds all things. He upholds all things.

In Colossians chapter 1, it says that by him all things consist. And we get our word adhesive, our glue from that word consist. Jesus Christ is the glue that holds all things together. and we get our word adhesive, our glue from that word consists. Jesus Christ is the glue that holds all things together and he is the preserver of all creation. He makes this world a cosmos instead of a chaos. And if you'll study the laws of nature, the laws that govern the galaxies, you'll find that every law of nature is simply an expression of the mind of Jesus Christ. He keeps the planets on their course, and he keeps the sun shining, and he keeps the moon where it's supposed to be. He is the preserver of all creation. You say,

well, what difference does that make? Well, it makes a lot of difference. Because, you see, if you were to take Jesus Christ away, as the Bible says, all things would fade into their original nonexistence. If Jesus Christ were to remove his right hand of power, the earth would disintegrate. Now, I want to tell you something. Jesus Christ, it says, upholds all things. And that word uphold doesn't simply mean that he supports it, but rather he governs it, he guides it, he carries it along to its appointed course. And notice he's not simply saying he upholds the material world. It says he upholds all things. Is your life included in that?

I believe it is. Is your home included in that? I believe it is. Is the political system of our country included in that? I believe it is. Is the government included in that? I believe it is. He upholds all things by the word of his power. And so it's no wonder to me that people who leave Jesus Christ out of their life find their lives coming apart. It's no wonder to me that husbands and wives who feel they can do without the lordship of Jesus find their marriage coming apart. It's no wonder to me that our world that is established on an atheistic philosophy of life is coming apart at the seams today. It's no wonder to me that our government, our economic system,

everything we hold dear is coming apart at the seams. Why? Because we have left out the glue of all things, Jesus Christ. He is the preserver of all things. I'll tell you something. If he can hold this crazy planet together,

I believe he can hold your life together. And if he can hold this universe together. And if he can hold this universe together and keep it in its place, I believe he can hold your business together. And I believe he can hold your marriage together

if you came to discover him personally for yourself. He is the preserver of all things. I want you to know something else. He's also the possessor of all things.

It says there in that first verse that God hath appointed him heir of all things. He is the possessor of all things. Somebody asked not long ago, where do you think we're headed for? Where do you think the world is headed for? Well, I know where it's going. It's going to Jesus. It's his. And he is the heir of all things. And this universe, my life, your life, is his inheritance. And eventually an inheritance comes into the presence of its heir.

Where's the world headed for? Where are we headed? We're headed to Jesus Christ. And really, the world and human history is just like a boomerang. It all came from the hand of Jesus, and that's where it's headed. He's the goal of human history. And say, by the way, the word translated world in your King James Version does not simply refer to the material universe, but rather it is a word that means ages. And it refers not only to this planet upon which we live, but it refers to time and history. You see, Jesus Christ created human history, and he is the possessor of human history.

And when he says human history has had enough, human history will have had enough because he is a possessor of all things. And the gravest mistake a person can ever make is to believe that that little plot of ground that he pays $250 a month for to the mortgage company is his because he pays for it. The gravest mistake a person can make

is to believe that his life is his own because Jesus has been appointed heir of all things. He possesses that. He possesses that. And the man that said, I'm the master of my fate and the captain of my own soul, didn't have any slightest idea what he was talking about. Because if you're the captain of your fate and you're the master of your soul,

then why have things gone so bad for you? Why haven't you prevented it? And when it comes time for you to die and you don't want to die, why don't you just rise up off that bed if you're the captain of your fate and the master of your soul? I'll tell you why.

Because when Jesus Christ says, that's enough, that's enough. And He is the possessor of all things. He even possesses your life. The Bible says, in Him we move and have our being. He's Lord and He's owner of all things. Jesus Christ is God creating.

But more than that, Jesus Christ is God speaking. God speaking. You know, if God is a God of love, which he is, he must reveal himself. He must reveal himself. Because one of the basic characteristics of love is that it cannot shut itself up. Love must manifest itself in some

way or another. And because the God that we do not see and the God upon whom no human eye has ever rested is a God whose nature is one of love, and that love must manifest itself and must reveal itself. And so it says in that first verse that in times past, God has patiently revealed himself. He has patiently revealed himself. Now, he didn't reveal himself all at once because man just couldn't take it in. That'd be like taking a fellow in kindergarten and teaching him calculus or trigonometry. He couldn't take it in. You have to start with the basics. And as the human race, as the human race matured, as it advanced and got to the place where

it could begin to take in the full revelation of God, then the Bible says that God hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son. And Jesus Christ is God speaking to man. Do you think God has anything to say to us today in 1973? Yes, he does. He has a great deal to say to us. And you know what he has to say to us? Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ.

He is the perfect revelation of God. He's perfect because he is the final revelation. He is the perfect revelation of God. He's perfect because he is the final revelation. He is the final revelation. All through history, God has been revealing himself. God revealed himself in nature, but that's incomplete. You may look at nature and find out some things about God, but you could never know of a God who gave his son to die for you by looking at nature. God revealed himself in human conscience, and when you sin, when you do that which is wrong, the human conscience that you have lets you know about it. And God reveals himself, the Bible says in Romans chapter 1, through the conscience of

a man. But that's incomplete. That doesn't tell you much about God. He revealed himself through the law that he gave to Moses, but it was incomplete. He revealed himself through the prophets, but that was still incomplete.

He revealed himself through the events of human history, but that was still incomplete. And so finally, in these last times, God has spoken one last time to man, and the final revelation of God is Jesus Christ. And after Jesus Christ, there is no other revelation. Somebody comes along after Jesus and says, I have an additional revelation. I had someone ask me one time why I didn't investigate some of these other religions.

I remember after a service one night, a lady came up to me and handed me a book. It was the religious book, the Bible of another religion. She said, I want you to read this, investigate this. Now, I'd studied that several years before. There was no need to go further. Why? Because I was no longer seeking the truth. I'd found the truth in Jesus Christ. Now that's not to say that you're not on a continual search for more of the truth that you have in Jesus. But once you've found the treasure, all you have to do then is just to explore the treasure. You don't have to go looking somewhere else.

And there's always fresh discoveries of new insights about the truth that is in Jesus. But after Jesus Christ, there is no additional revelation from God because God has in these last days spoken unto us one last time, and he spoke to us in his Son. And I want you to know he doesn't have anything to say to us apart from Jesus Christ. And you can get your crystal ball, and you can get your new religion, and you can get your self-made prophets and your new gurus,us and you can say we're looking out for a new word from God and God says I have only one thing to say to you and I've said it and that's Jesus Christ. He is the final revelation of God but he's perfect not only because he's the final revelation he's the full revelation of God.

Look at the third verse. He is the brightness of His glory. The brightness of His glory. Now that word brightness is a tremendous word. It has two ideas in it. Literally, it means He is the shining light or He is the outraying of the glory of God. God who is invisible to our eyes, is the outraying of the glory of God. God who is invisible to our eyes.

Yet Jesus Christ is the light, the light that shines from God. But the word also has in it the idea of reflection. Because, you see, you and I could not look and gaze fully into that direct light. It would be too much for us. Just like gazing into the sun. If you were to go out here after the service is over and gaze directly into that sun for a period of time,

it would destroy your eyes. You need a reflection of that sun. Now, the reflection is no less real, but you can take it. You can stand it. Jesus Christ is the brightness of God's glory. He is the light shining from God, and it had to be reflected in Jesus because God just couldn't let us look at him directly. We could never stand it. That's why when they went into the Holy of Holies

and they had not been prepared and they cut the ark of God, they were immediately smitten. God said, no man can see me in Leo. No man can see me in Leo. The glory is too bright. But I have reflected my life in Jesus Christ and you can look at Jesus and see me there. But not only is he the light, notice it says that he is the express image of his person. He is the express image of his person.

That simply means, literally, he is the exact representation of his nature. Jesus was not a pattern of God. He was God and is God, and his nature is just as divine as the Father. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, co-equal, co-eternal, all of them one. You say, I don't understand that.

I don't either. And if I could understand it, there wouldn't be much to it. I mean, why does it bother us when finite cannot understand the infinite? Why should that bother us? I just want to say this, I really wouldn't have too much confidence in a God I could fully understand. I need a God who is so far above me, whose ways and thoughts are so much higher than mine, that in a million years I could never comprehend him.

I couldn't. I don't understand God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, three in one. I don't understand it, but the Bible doesn't tell me to understand it. It just says believe it. And Jesus Christ is the exact, the exact representation of the essence of the nature of God. He is the full revelation of God. All you ever need to know about God, you find in Jesus Christ. All you ever need to know about life, you find in Jesus Christ.

All you ever need to know about the hereafter, you find in Jesus Christ. He is the final and the full revelation. He is a perfect revelation of God, but he's also a personal revelation of God. And this is what makes Jesus Christ unique. He is a personal revelation of God. In times past, God spoke to us through impersonal means. The conscience, the law, the nature, the events of history, the messages of prophets. But now in these last days, he has spoken unto us through what?

Through his Son. And his Son shall be called Emmanuel, which is God with us. And it is possible this morning for a finite being such as yourself, one who is sinful and unholy and unrighteous and separated from God, it is possible for you to have a personal encounter and a personal relationship with the God of all things. Jesus made God personal. He made the invisible visible.

He made the unapproachable approachable. He made God real to us. And he is our God. And we personally can know God through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is God speaking. Then finally, Jesus Christ is God acting. Jesus Christ is God acting. And I suppose that there's nothing more important for us to understand than this.

That God does not sit passively by, watching with disinterest the affairs of the universe that he created. I have read after some men, heard some philosophies that seem to say that when God had finished creating the world, he just like a top gave it a spin and set back, and he's going to let it spin any way it wants to, and when it winds down, that'll be all. And that God is separated and removed and uninvolved in the affairs of this life. I want you to know that's not so. God is active and acting in the affairs of mankind. You know, he's interested in that argument you had this morning before you left home from church

that makes it so difficult for you to really worship like you want to. He's interested in that problem you're wrestling with right now he's interested in that disease that you have right now he's interested in your future and he's interested in your present and he's interested in your past because he has offered to blot it out Jesus Christ revealed to us that God cares and that God loves. I don't think I would ever have known that. I don't think you would ever have known that if Jesus Christ hadn't come. But the one thing that Jesus Christ is trying to say is, listen, the God who made you is the God who loves you and cares about you.

I have come that you might have fellowship with him and might know it. Jesus is God acting as Savior. It says in the third verse that when he by himself purged our sins. Now notice he did it by himself. He's a solitary Savior. He did it by himself. You know, the Holy Spirit knows just how to write the Word of God. He doesn't need any editors to rewrite it. And following the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the writer put in like this, he had by himself purged our sins.

He didn't need any help. And he doesn't need any help today. And there's nothing to be added to what Jesus Christ has done. Not joining the church. You ought to do that after you've been saved. Not being baptized.

That won't help. That won't help it a bit. That happens after your stay. That's an act of obedience. Turning over a new leaf. Keeping the law. All those things are good, but they won't help one bit.

Take away your sin. Jesus Christ, by himself, purged us from our sins. He did it by himself. And there's only one person today that can take away your sin, and that's Jesus Christ. The word purge means to make ceremonially clean. Now I want to show you something. means to make ceremonially clean. Now I want to show you something. When a person in the Old Testament days,

and in the New Testament days for that matter, contracted a disease, let's say leprosy, they became what was called ceremonially unclean. That means they became unfit to worship. They couldn't go into the temple. They couldn't offer sacrifices. They could not worship God. They could not approach God because they were unclean and unfit. Now, after that disease had been cured or had healed or had run its course, the diseased person would go to the priest and there would come about the process of purification. And this purification ceremony would then make this person fit to worship. Now he could come back into the temple. Now he could come back and offer sacrifices.

Now listen, when Jesus Christ died on the cross, he not only took away my sickness, he not only healed me of my disease of sin, he went a step further. He purified me and made me ceremonially clean and made it possible for me to go right into the very presence of God. He made me fit to worship God. He made me fit to go into the presence of God.

And that's why I can, this morning, tomorrow, on a plane, in a car, standing in the kitchen, walking down a street, I can, in a moment, standing in the kitchen, walking down a street, I can in a moment be in the very presence of God because Jesus Christ has made me fit to be in his presence. Jesus is God acting as Savior. He's also God acting as sovereign. It says in the third verse that after he had by himself purged our sins, he sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high.

He sat down where? On the right hand, the place of authority and exaltation. Now, we don't have time to go into all this. Let me just very briefly run through this because this is tremendous revelation about the Lord Jesus Christ. He has sat down, and that is an indication of his sovereignty. And it means three things. It means three things.

Very hardly, let me give them to you. First of all, it means a work completed. A work completed. When Jesus Christ sat down, that means he finished what he had come to do. What did he come to do? He came to purge us from our sins. And when he sat down, that was a sign that the sacrifice had been accepted. You go back in the Old

Testament and read carefully, and you'll find that the high priest never sat down. The high priest was always standing before the altar, always standing before the altar. And read to the book of Hebrews. He talks about it. The high priest standeth once a year. He stands continually, standing. Why? Why doesn't he ever sit down? He never sits down because his work is never finished.

Because no sacrifice is ever enough. But when Jesus, our high priest, brought the sacrifice of himself and laid it on the altar and the fire of God's wrath consumed it, he sat down because it was enough, it was sufficient. And the work has been completed.

And so the Bible says now that we don't need to bring new sacrifices and new attempts, nothing else is necessary because the work has been completed. But it also means a work begun. The Bible says he sits on the right hand of God today to make intercession for us. And it also means a work that's coming. How long is he going to sit there? How long has he been sitting there? Well, he's been sitting there for about 2,000 years. How long is he going to sit there? Well, it says in verse 13, But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool?

How long is he going to sit there? Until God says, OK, now we're ready to tie it all together in a pretty knot. And one of these days, Jesus is going to rise up off that throne. He's not going to be sitting anymore, but he's going to rise, and he's going to come, and the book of Micah says he's going to walk. And when he walks, the mountains are going to melt and the rivers are going to run out of their course and the oceans are going to spill over their banks because he's going to come walking in judgment and walking in glory. He sat down, a work completed, a work commenced, and a work coming. He's sitting there today, sovereign, but he's not going to be sitting there forever.

Trump's going to sound. The voice of the archangel is going to be heard. Jesus is going to give a shout. He's going to rise up off that throne when the Father says, OK, now it's time. And he's going to come and catch away his bride to himself.

And all of those of us who know Jesus Christ personally have come to know him for ourselves shall be taken to be with him, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. And then he will make his enemies his footstool. He is sovereign. Jesus Christ gave birth to history and I want you to know he is going to bury history. There is not going to be some fool, some fanatic that punches the wrong button that is going to end it. Now, he may use some foolish fanatic, he has done it before, but Jesus Christ is going

to end history. It is in his hands. Let me close by saying this one last thing. Jesus Christ is God acting, not only as Savior, not only as Sovereign, but also as Superior. He is much better than the angels. The highest created order, the highest moral order of all creation, the angels, God says he is much better. The key word to Hebrews is the word

better. It occurs 13 times. And what the author is saying is, over and over again, Jesus is superior. He's superior to Moses. Moses that brought the highest ethical law the world has ever seen. Jesus is superior to that. You parade the highest religion you could ever conceive, Jesus is superior to that. He's superior to Aaron and Melchizedek, the highest religious leader and the highest order of priests the world has ever seen. You trot out the highest moral priest you could ever find, Jesus is better.

Bring to me the highest religion you can ever conceive, Jesus is superior. Bring to me a man that almost touches becoming an angel because of the life that he leads, Jesus is superior. Over and over again, 13 times he says, Jesus is better, Jesus is better, Jesus is superior. And when you discover that truth about Jesus, then you have really discovered Jesus. When you discover that he is the pearl of great price, and you're willing to sell all the other pearls that you have accumulated through a lifetime in order that you might purchase this one pearl of great price, because he is superior, he's better than anything else you've ever experienced,

than anything else you've ever tried, than anything else you've ever tried, than any life that you've ever lived. Jesus is superior. They say about some people, to know them is to love them. And you never discover these things about Jesus until you come to know him. And I feel that there may be some who sit back and say, Well, Lord, if you will show me all of these things about Jesus, and show me that he is superior, that he does offer us a better life,

and show me that he is sovereign and savior and all of these things, then I will take the facts and run them through my little IBM machine. And I will make an evaluation. And if I come up with a conclusion that, God, you're right, then I'm going to do you a big favor. I'm going to come over to your side and join you. Now, you may not put it in words so crass and harsh as that, but really that's the way most of us do. We sit back and say, all right, God, prove yourself.

Come down from the cross and then we will believe. Do some miracle. Do some miracle and then I'll believe. You see, God doesn't need you. You need him. And God is not running a bargain basement business saying, I'll do anything to make a sale. I'll do anything to get converts.

I'll do anything to get people to join my side. I'll work miracles. I'll tickle your ears. I'll tell you facts you don't need to know. I'll do anything. God doesn't operate that way because he in himself is self-sufficient sovereign. And you'll know all of these things about him when you come and say, Father, I'm coming this morning to commit my life to Jesus Christ. And the only proof and evidence that I need that these things are true is because you've spoken it in your word. And I come this morning and I give up my right to live my life my way. I turn my back this morning on my life.

I turn away from my sin and I come to receive Jesus as my Lord and my Savior to commit my life to Him totally and absolutely. And when you do that, then God will open your heart and open your eyes and then you will taste and see that the Lord is good. The Ron Dunn Podcast is available only for personal edification, not to be duplicated, uploaded to the web, or resold without prior written consent. It is managed and operated by Sherwood Baptist Church. If you would like to listen to additional Ron Dunn messages, visit sherwoodbaptist.net slash bookstore and search Ron Dunn. For more Ron Dunn materials, including sermon outlines, devotions,

and scanned pages from a study Bible, please visit rondon.com.