Receiving Christ with Haste and Joyfully
What is Jesus to you and what has he done for you? - What do you think people would say about Christ today?
Today, if we were to have a Perry Mason type trial for Jesus Christ, put him on the stand, and call witnesses against him, what do you think people would say about Christ? Let's take the witnesses that were there in that day and let's see exactly what they had to say.
Apostle Paul Acts 26:5 Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. But that was before he was converted to Christianity. So, the life that they lived was not the life of Christianity.
Matthew 22:41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David.
Now let's call the unclean spirit to the stand, Mark 5:2 And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
This man dwelt in tombs and had a legion of devils about him...unclean spirits. They had him bound so bad that he wouldn't even have anything to do with his own family. He would bind himself with chains, fetters because he was so strong and so possessed that he wouldn't do anything good but Jesus Christ came his way. The man on trial came his way and reached him a hand.
Again, 2 When he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: The chains had been plucked asunder by him...neither could any man tame him.
5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
How sad that man had to be having to live that way. No one wanted to have anything to do with him. The bible said that after Jesus Christ had sent those spirits away...he drove them into the swine, they ran off the bank. The people that were caring for the swine got upset and went and told everybody what Jesus did. Instead of being happy that he had set a man free, they were upset that the unclean spirits caused the swine to get killed.
6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, 7And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
You know who was doing the talking. It was those unclean spirits that were in that man. Jesus knew those unclean spirits and could handle them.
Jesus had just went through the congregation and healing people. There was a great multitude and here's a sinner that most people probably don't have anything to do with him, and Jesus Christ found him. He made haste, and he came down and received him joyfully. Luke 19:5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. 6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.
Abraham. 10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Ever since Jesus Christ came into the world...since he was born on this earth, until they hung him on an old, rugged cross, this wicked world was after him. They wanted to crucify him. They wanted to persecute him. They wanted to spit on him. All they wanted to do was find him at fault. That's the way it was here with this situation.
Here's Zacchaeus, a man just wanting to get close to God...a man wanting to know the Lord and all they can do is find accusations against Jesus Christ. They were prosecuting him. They were putting him on trial. They were trying to destroy the goodness that God had...the goodness that Jesus was showing. They were trying to destroy that for their own personal gain. Had they known who Jesus was the bible said if they had known who he was earlier in life, they would have killed him a lot quicker. They didn't realize just how strong the power he had was.
But nevertheless, they are judging him and they are trying to put him down. Here is a man that's going home with a sinner. Oh...he is dealing with the sinners over there...You see how people can treat you when you start trying to treat other people good?
If today, Christ was to be put on trial, if today we were to have a Perry Mason type trial for Jesus Christ...and put him on the stand and call witnesses against him...what do you think people would say about Christ, today?
Learn more by visiting the online sermon from a Sunday Morning Service @ Youtube.com/DaltonServices. Pastor Stoney hopes and prays you will receive a blessing from these sermons.
"Consider what we say, and the Lord will give you understanding in all things."
To find more information about the Church of God of the Union Assembly in Dalton, GA, [visit] lookupnlive.net.
May God richly bless you!
