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THE PRECIOUSNESS OF JESUS No. II

By George W. Sinquefield

(1 Pet 2:7 KJV)  "Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,"

Jesus is precious because of who He is.

(Mat 21:10 KJV)  "And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?"

        Dr. O. A. Geiseman in his book Redeeming Love says, "Jesus has been treated in modern times as though He were some curious mysterious piece in an historical museum. Men have treated Him as though it were their perfect right to speculate about Him and exhaust their frail imaginations in trying to find the right interpretation of Jesus Christ. Every now and then somebody writes a new book and then they advertise it as a new interpretation of Jesus. My friends, nothing in all the world could be sillier than that. It is not at all for men to interpret Jesus."

        James Stalker said, "The penitent thief, in the most solemn circumstances, spoke to Jesus as to a king and prayed to Him as a God. How did Jesus respond? Did He say, "Pray not to me, I am a man like yourself and I know as little of the unknown country into which we are about to enter as you." This is what He should have said if He was not more than some men make Him to be. No! He accepted the homage of the petitioner. He spoke of the world unseen as a native familiar with his surroundings.

I.    The pre-existent Christ. He was with the Father from the beginning.

        When God said, "Let us make man in our own image," Jesus was present with God. "Let us," God said and that included the Trinity, God, the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

(John 1:1 KJV)  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

(John 1:2 KJV)  "The same was in the beginning with God."

        In John, the 17th chapter, Jesus spake of the glory He had with the Father before the world was made.

(John 17:1 KJV)  "These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:"

(John 17:2 KJV)  "As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him."

(John 17:3 KJV)  "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

(John 17:4 KJV)  "I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do."

(John 17:18 KJV)  "As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world."

        In the Old Testament we find many references to a heavenly messenger called "The Angel of the Lord." Notice the many times He is spoken of and the things He did:

            Who is this "Angel of the Lord" in the Old Testament? We believe He is the second person of the Trinity -- the Lord Jesus Christ. Before anything was -- Jesus was.

(Eph 1:4 KJV)  "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:"

(Rev 13:8 KJV)  "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."

(Phil 2:5 KJV)  "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:"

(Phil 2:6 KJV)  "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:"

(Phil 2:7 KJV)  "But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:"

(Phil 2:8 KJV)  "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

        Christ is He who was, in God's purpose of redemption, "made flesh." "He who in eternity rested on the bosom of the Father without a mother, in time rested on the bosom of a mother without earthly father."

        An uncreated -- Divine person -- took the form of a created being and became in time what He was not in eternity -- flesh

II.    Christ -- the Creator

(John 1:3 KJV)  "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."

        Dr. R. G. Lee says, "Light giver behind all the light is He who sent out the first ray of light across the uncharted dark like some flashing archangel with garments afire, who set the sun in his tabernacle in the heavens, who made the smallest atom that darkens the eye of the microscope and the largest star scanned by telescope, who has now uncontrolled and unlimited power over every department of the universe -- regulating the march of the seasons, harmonizing the tides with lunar cycles, designing the wings of the hummingbird, giving skill to the spider who spins his draperies across palace windows."

       (Col 1:16-17 KJV)  "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist."

        Yes, this is He who 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 worlds;" (Heb 1:2 KJV).

        Jesus who in creation "made all things" -- in incarnation was "made flesh."

        The pre-existent Christ came into the world He created -- was "made of woman." Jesus, who made all flesh was "made flesh." When a young Jewish woman -- a virgin, traveled the travail road into that mysterious land of motherhood and came back holding in her arms the only baby who never had an earthly father.

        This is He who stepped out of the written Word to become the living Word, who came out of promise to become its fulfillment, who stepped from the form of God to take on Himself the form of a servant.

III.    Jesus -- The only perfect Person this world has ever known.

(1 John 3:5 KJV)  "And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin."

(1 Pet 2:22 KJV)  "Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:"

        Joe Henry Hawkins says "The atheists, skeptics, infidels, agnostics and believers alike are of one accord in saying that His was the most wonderful life. His was such a life that not one single time did He ever make a mistake. Not one single time did He utter a word that He had to take back. Never did He have to apologize for anything He said or did. Not even His bitterest enemies, try as they did, could find anything of which to accuse Him. But He can challenge them all: "Which of you convinceth me of sin?" And not a single one is ever, even with their fake witnesses, able to convict Him of a single sin. Even the one who betrayed Him comes with that blood money and throws it at the feet of the Sanhedrin and says "I have betrayed innocent blood." Even the one who sat on the judgment seat and passed sentence on Him said, "I find no fault in Him."

        As the Hymn puts it:

No mortal can with Him compare,
Among the sons of men,
Fairer is He than all the fair,
That fill the heavenly train.
        Sometime ago twelve hundred men met together. The preacher who was to speak to them said, "I want you to be very frank with me. I want you to give me every objection to Christianity that you have in your minds." One man said, "Church members live inconsistent lives, they do not live up to their profession." Another said that preachers were not all they ought to be. Another called attention to the hypocrites in the church. In all 27 objections to Christianity were raised. Then the preacher said, "Fellow, all that you have said is true, but I noticed one thing. You did not say one word against Jesus Christ."

        NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE [of Jesus Christ]: "Gentlemen, I know men, and you may take my word for it, this was more than a man."

        Mount Mitchell in North Carolina is 6,711 feet high, making it the highest point in America east of the Rockies. If you stood on some nearby mountain peak you would be obliged to look up to Mount Mitchell. Yet Mt. Whitney in California is 14,501 feet high, more than twice as high as Mt. Mitchell. But Mt. Everest in Asia is 29,000 feet high, twice as high as Mt. Whitney. If these three mountains were placed side by side, a man standing on the top of Mt. Mitchell would have to look up to Mt. Whitney and a man standing on Mt. Whitney would have to look up to Mt. Everest.

        It is the same way with men. Here and there we find a great man, but there are others who tower above them. However if you stand with the tallest of men, the best of men, the greatest of men, you must always look up to Jesus Christ. He is always highest above all others. He stands out as the ocean stands out above a drop of water, as the sun in its glory stands out above a ten cent candle.

        A little boy who lived near Chartwell, England, home of Winston Churchill, was taken there by his nanny to see the man the nanny referred to as "the greatest man in the whole, wide world." Churchill had retired for his afternoon nap. While the little boy's nanny had tea, the child sneaked off to look for his hero and found him reading in bed. "Are you the greatest man in the whole wide world?" the boy asked. To which Churchill replied, in good Churchillian fashion: "Of course I'm the greatest man in the whole wide world. Now buzz off." Surely Mr. Churchill was joking for he was a sinner and needed a Savior as everybody else.

        It is said that Joshua Reynolds always closed his famous lectures on art by saying, "And now, gentlemen, I have but one name to present to you -- the incomparable name of Michael Angelo." To sinful, dying, hell bound humanity we have one name to present, the incomparable name of Jesus Christ.

        The Incomparable Christ -- "More than nineteen hundred years ago there was a Man born contrary to the laws of life. This Man lived in poverty and was reared in obscurity. He did not travel extensively. Only once did He cross the boundary of the country in which He lived; that was during His exile in childhood.

        He possessed neither wealth nor influence. His relative were inconspicuous, and had neither training nor formal education.

        In infancy He startled a king; in childhood He puzzled doctors; in manhood He ruled the course of nature, walked upon the billows as if pavements, and hushed the sea to sleep.

        He healed the multitudes without medicine and made no charge for His service.

        He never wrote a book, and yet all the libraries of the country could not hold the books that have been written about Him.

        He never wrote a song, and yet He has furnished the theme for more songs than all the songwriters combined.

        He never founded a college, but all the schools put together cannot boast of having as many students.

        He never marshaled an army, nor drafted a soldier, nor fired a gun; and yet no leader ever had more volunteers who have, under His orders, made more rebels stack arms and surrender without a shot fired.

        He never practiced psychiatry, and yet He has healed more broken hearts than all the doctors far and near.

        Once each week the wheels of commerce cease their turning and multitudes wend their way to worshiping assemblies to pay homage and respect to Him.

        The names of the past proud statesmen of Greece and Rome have come and gone. The names of the past scientists, philosophers, and theologians have come and gone; but the name of this Man abounds more and more. Though time has spread nineteen hundred years between the people of this generation and the scene of His crucifixion, yet He still lives. Herod could not destroy Him, and the grave could not hold Him.

        He stands forth upon the highest pinnacle of heavenly glory, proclaimed of God, acknowledged by angels, adored by saints, and feared by demons, the ever Perfect One -- He is the Chief among ten thousand, the only One who can satisfy the soul and give everlasting LIFE to those who have it not." -- Author Unknown

        One of the most widely known preachers of the last century was Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887). Speaking about Christ's greatness, he portrayed the coming together in one place of the greatest minds who had ever "adorned human life." They would be people whose contributions to civilization had made the world rich -- people who had "risen so high that their names have come down to us in history."

        Beecher then said, "Bring down from the highest point of heaven Christ, and let Him stand in their midst, and let one after another speak to Him." As they talk with Him, they discover that He is thoroughly familiar with the fields in which they each have excelled. Compared with Christ, the poet finds that he is but a prattling child. The sculptor is but an unbegun artist. And the orator's words, compared with the sayings of Christ, fall paralyzed upon his lips."

        Concluding, Beecher said, "They would , every one of them, bow before Him and say, "Were all of us gathered and tempered into one great nature, melted into one living being, we should still be less than nothing in the presence of this majesty of excellence."

        In 1956 a stamp was issued -- worth one cent. Today it is worth $100,000.00. Why? It is the rarest stamp in the world -- there is not another like it anywhere in the world.

        Why is Jesus so precious? Because He is one of a kind. There never has been or ever will be another like Him. No one ever loved like Jesus. No one taught like Jesus. No one ever gave His life for the sins of the world like Jesus.

        When Dr. John Henry Jowett was near the end of his days, he wrote another preacher who was also in poor health. Dr. Jowett said, "We have preached a great gospel, but remember Jesus Christ is greater than anything we have ever said about Him."

IV.    He is the world's only Savior.

(Luke 2:11 KJV)  "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

        Dr. A. J. Gordon says: "The Son of God was named by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. 'Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.' Thus He came, not to receive a name, ut to fulfill a name already predetermined for Him." -- Savior, Redeemer, Deliverer.

        Dora Greenwell states:

He did not come to judge the world,
He did not come to blame.
He did not only come to seek--
It was to save He came:
And when we call him Savior,
Then we call him by his name.
        Hear Jesus: "I am come that ye might have life." "I am the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except by me."

        Dr. O. L. Powers was a pastor in North Carolina. He had a long siege of sickness and the doctors feared that he would die. But his deacons met often and prayed for him. Soon he was on the road to recovery. When he was able to leave the house he went down to the drug store and asked the druggist, "How much do I owe you?" the druggist replied, "You were sick a long time and your bill is a large one." Then he told the preacher the amount. The preacher said, "I can't pay you now, but I will as soon as I can." He started out the door with a heavy heart, but the druggist called him back. He said to the preacher, "But look at the last page." And on that page he saw the words, "Paid in full." "Yes," said the druggist, "a good friend of yours came in and paid it all." With gratitude in his heart the preacher left the store, but he said his soul was singing with another song. He said, "I was thinking of another debt, the debt of sin. But I was remembering that Jesus paid that debt in full and I was free."

(1 Pet 1:18 KJV)  "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;"

(1 Pet 1:19 KJV)  "But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:"

(Heb 9:26 KJV)  For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

        Some years ago there as a tragic fire in downtown Atlanta. A big hotel building burned and more than one hundred people had perished in the flames.

        I came into the city a day after the fire and stood on the sidewalk and viewed the blackened building. a man was standing nearby and I said to him, "Did you see the fire?" He said, "Yes, I did. It was the worst thing I have ever seen in all of my life. I watched the people trying to get out of the building. Some were caught in the firemen's net, but some were killed when they struck the pavement."

        But you know, one of the most appalling facts of the Winecoff Hotel fire was this; Just two blocks away there was a fire station. They had men and they had equipment. When the fire broke out they rushed to the building.

        But when they put up their ladders on the side of the building, they were unable to reach the upper floors. The people stood at the windows and burned to death, or some of them in a frenzy of fear jumped to their deaths. The ladders were too short!

        But Christ is able -- Christ is sufficient. He can reach and save every man who will repent and believe. He is abundantly able to do all for you that needs to be done.

(2 Tim 1:12 KJV)  "For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."

(Heb 7:25 KJV)  "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them."

(James 4:12 KJV)  "There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?"

(Jude 1:24 KJV)  "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,"

        Mr. Kline was the little town's "scrooge." No one really seemed to care for him -- they made fun at him. One night he was walking past a church and heard the singing --

Saved by Grace alone,
This is all my plea.
Jesus died for all mankind,
And Jesus died for me.
        He had no family nor friends. He was discouraged, defeated, and convinced that life wasn't worth living. He didn't hear well. They sung "Jesus died for all mankind" -- he thought they said "Jesus died for Old Man Kline." "That's me," he exclaimed, went in, heard the gospel story and was saved. As Paul -- Jesus gave himself for me

        Jesus gave Himself for you. Have you accepted Him as Savior? Have you given yourself to Him? Why not do so now?

(John 3:16 KJV)  "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."