Jesus is Better R1288

One of the singular, most critical issues for the church is the issue of unity.

This is how you achieve that. You raise up spiritual leaders who understand what it means to speak boldly the truth of God. And you prostrate yourself in the presence of God, calling on his name, focusing on Jesus Christ, and he grants to you one heart and one mind. Doesn't take much in America to understand the meaning of dysfunctional disunity.

There are hundreds of churches across America that are so disunified. Here's the key. This is it. Focusing in on the sovereignty of God and the word of God and the divine purpose of God and the intervention of God and the outstretched hand that produce the miracles of God. You will always bear witness to the powerful response from God. Always. God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton about how Jesus is better.

That's right. Today's topic, Jesus is Better, from Dr. Don Wilton, will help us grow in our faith, help us understand that as we make choices, as we make decisions, the choice to follow Jesus is better than any choice we can make. As we study the word together, know that we're available for you. We'd love to pray with you and for you, maybe connect you with great free resources like the Daily Encouraging Word. It's all available online at theencouragingword.org or this phone number, 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673 or meet us online keyboard to keyboard at theencouragingword.org. Now, Dr. Don Wilton. I've got an announcement to make today.

I've been really looking forward to this. I want to announce today that Jesus is better. He's better than you and me. He's better than anybody in the White House. He's better than our bank balance. He's better than our own opinion.

He's better than every search of every life. And I want you to know that Jesus is better. I'm going to ask you to open your Bibles this morning to the book of Hebrews. You're going to need your Bibles because we are embarking on a 12-week study series in the letter to the Hebrews. And there's an incredible study that God is going to give us as we open this Word in our search for truth.

I couldn't help but think that when God gave to us the letter to the Hebrews, what he was saying is just look at me. Just keep your eyes upon my son. Just watch Jesus because he is better. He'll carry you through. He'll get you out. He'll set you up on your feet.

He'll save your life. So many people all across America today are wanting to know. They're wanting someone to tell them where to turn. The court of public opinion has taken root in our great society. Our minds are being controlled by media. As Dr. Ben Carson said, our people know more about their sport teams and their athletic programs.

They know more about their TV shows and who is on American Idol than they do about the things that really matter in life. We become so dumbed down in America that we become a nation of useless people because all we do is look to ourselves and God says Jesus is better. Here in Hebrews chapter 1 and in the first four verses. Long ago at many times and in many ways God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. But in these last days he has appointed and spoken unto us by his son, whom he appointed heir of all things.

I want to just stop right there. That little word heir is very, very significant. What does it mean? It places Jesus Christ in the very heart of God the Father. And the word heir carries with it the meaning that everything that exists will come under the full and complete control of the Son of God. In other words, his heirship is the very full extension of the authority given by the Father to the Son. But in these last days he has spoken to us by his son, whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he also created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of his nature. He upholds the universe by the word of his power. And after making purification for sin, he sat down at the right hand of majesty on high.

Having become much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. Isn't that a magnificent statement? You know, I really think that is one of the most powerful passages of all scripture. And it begins with three foundational truths. The three foundational truths, God, the prophets and the son.

Now I want you to just think about that. God has spoken, God. Single biggest battle you and I face today is our willingness to listen to God. So name any subject that you'd choose to name. Any issue, marriage, death, abortion, civil rights, work, life, love.

Name any subject you want to. Who do we need to hear from? God. God has spoken. And the Bible tells us that in time past he spoke through the prophets. I wish I had time to share with you some of what he said through the prophets. Just go back to the Old Testament. It's amazing what the prophets have to say. They were people who spoke after the heart of God.

You know, how many times do we not read in the Old Testament of the prophets going to the king or to a group of people and saying, Thus saith the Lord. One of my big challenges is to stand here today and speak to you from the heart of God. It's a real battle for me. It's a real battle.

My great temptation is to put aside God's word. Just close up this book and say, look, I'll tell you what we're going to do. Let's just put God aside and let's consider ourselves. Well, I'll tell you an even better way to do it. Let's vote about it.

Why don't we just go to the people? God has spoken through the prophets, but now he has spoken through the son, the third foundational truth of truth. God, the prophets and the son. This one who was appointed heir of all things.

This one, according to the word, that was given the full extension of the very authority of God. Because he was the only one who was empowered and authorized by God to complete God's plan and purpose for the redemption of mankind. That's why he is God's son. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. By the way, the word begotten there is inextricably intertwined into his heirship.

It is only by virtue of the fact that the son was appointed as heir of all that the father has. That he was abled or enabled to be designated as the begotten one. The only begotten, the unique one.

There is no other one. There's no alternative because Jesus is better. And the interesting thing here is that it's all put into the context according to this passage of the last days. Well, we know in context here that these people in the time of the writing of the letter of the Hebrews, they were looking at in terms of the messianic expectation. And these people had a messianic expectation.

They didn't believe that the Messiah had come. They were looking for the coming of the Messiah. And the period of time from the New Testament until their time was the period of the messianic expectation.

It's the period of the New Testament church in which we live today. The signs of the times, I'll tell you one thing. When you look at what's going on today, the executions, the movements of ISIS, the conflicts in Syria, the rise and fall of the Arab Spring, the configuration of states, the rattling of the saber of Putin's great bear, the armies of Gog and Magog, the constellation of the United States of Europe, the makeup of the pacts that are developing, the decline of the United States of America, the spirit of Antichrist which is so prominent and used to only reside in faraway countries, but now has taken up residence in the heart of the United States of America. Are we living in the last days where airplanes are going missing, where every day there's another earthquake or a volcanic eruption, where there are nearly over 100 wars being conducted all around the world, where there is ethnic violence, where there's a return to rank racism, where divisions are rife, where people hate each other, and where most significantly there is a massive worldwide persecution of Christians taking place. There has never on this scale been a greater persecution of Christians taking place than there is today, even in our own beloved nation.

Are we living in the last days? I submit to you today, my friends, that Jesus is better and in this passage we are told why. Number one, because He radiates God's glory. That's what the text says in verse three. By the way, the word radiate is only used in the New Testament.

Did you know that? It couldn't have been used in the Old Testament because it only refers to Jesus and the word literally, if you understand the word radiate, if you go back into John chapter 8 and verse 12 and 1 Corinthians chapter 14 and you look at the application of the word radiant or radiating in terms of Jesus Christ the Son, we know that it means that Jesus radiates God's glory in that He sends forth light. He radiated His own essential glory. You know, I'm just so convinced that when we get into heaven, you know, I battle to understand this that the greatest thing we are going to do in heaven is we're going to look upon His face. You know, my precious wife, I love her so much, but I think I said to her last night, I'm not trying to win points when I say this, but I, you know, I said to her last night, I said, you know, I just couldn't stop looking at you today. She's so beautiful to me. I think that's what God's trying to tell us about the Son. He's so beautiful to you. He's better because He radiates God's glory. Number two, He reproduces God's nature.

Now, I want you to just think about that. By the way, that word reproduce carries with it the idea of engraving. It's like a brand, like a stamp. You know, when you look about what God says here, He reproduces God's nature. He puts a mark on you that will never go away. But this is not some ugly kind of looking ink stain dabbed with a piece of blotting paper.

This is the indelible stamp of the perfect image and imprint of the very nature and essence of God Himself. You're listening to Dr. Don Wilton. He'll be back with the completion of today's message in just a moment. But he wants me to remind you that we're available for you. We are connecting 24 hours a day, both on our website at theencouragingword.org and this phone number 866-899-WORD.

We'd love to pray with you, pray for you. Maybe connect you with great resources like the Daily Encouraging Word Bible Guide. Details are on our website at theencouragingword.org. But if you want to call and ask for your copy, let us know. It's free for the asking. 866-899-WORD will connect you with us.

That is 866-899-9673. Ask for the Daily Encouraging Word Bible Guide. It will bless you tremendously.

Or if you're a little impatient like I am, sign up online today at theencouragingword.org and you'll get an email-a-phonically every single morning from Dr. Don. Even though the world is becoming an increasingly challenging place to live in as a Christian, Jesus' ultimate sacrifice on the cross remains a message of hope for everyone. Discover a deep understanding and appreciation for our Savior's death on the cross and Dr. Wilton's powerful sermon, The Cross, along with the bonus book, The Cross of Jesus, by Warren W. Wiersbe, which explores the entire crucifixion in detail. These powerful resources are yours to have with your gift of support to the Encouraging Word.

Thank you for listening today. Now back to today's message, Jesus is Better with Dr. Don Wilton. Jesus is better. He radiates God's glory. He reproduces God's nature. He sustains God's purpose. He sustains God's purpose. Look what he says here in that passage. He upholds the universe.

That is an amazing statement he sustained. If you go back into Colossians chapter 1 verse 17, for example, you get a greater understanding. It means that everything in the universe is sustained by him. And by the word, the sustaining of God through Christ also not only indicates that he upholds it, but it speaks to the movement of God in according to his own divine purpose. The sustaining by the son of all that God is, is God giving the son the right and the authority to pick up, uphold, to carry, to sustain and to move everything in God's creation according to his purpose.

That's what it means. It means that the son directs and moves everything toward the consummation of all that God is. That's why these are the last days. Everything is going to come to the point at which God has designed it to come to.

God's in control. I want to say something to someone today who's facing unprecedented trouble. You're in difficulty. You're struggling. Your marriage is falling apart. Perhaps you've lost your job.

Life is off track, so to speak. Jesus is better. Look to him.

Why? Because he is the sustaining one. And that word to sustain is unbelievable because what it reminds us of is that God spoke everything into existence by his word. He holds it together by his power. He speaks into it by his spirit, and he moves it through the universe unto the completion of God according to his purpose. Jesus is better. He also sits at God's right hand.

That's what the word says. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Why at the right hand? This is the place of power, the place of authority, and the place of honor. It's also the seat of subordination because it signifies the subordination of the son to the father, which explains the second coming of Christ.

No man knows except the father. It's a picture. This picture of Jesus seated at the right hand of the father is a picture of our victorious savior. It's not only a picture of his enthronement, but it's a picture of God's completion, the complete act of God's righteousness.

No wonder his name is better. No wonder the Bible says that it's at the name of Jesus that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. And you've heard me say this, folks. I'm going to say it time after time because you need to be reminded. Do you want an explanation as to why every movie you ever watch and in every football game, every basketball game, every mall, you're going to hear people taking God's name in vain.

I'm going to give you a guarantee, folks, not my guarantee. You will never hear a Hollywood star or a politician or an individual person ever stomp their feet and use any other name as a blasphemy other than the name of Jesus. You will never hear someone call out the name of Bill Clinton or Buddha. You've never heard anybody say Pope or Don Wilton.

You've never heard anybody say Confucius. You will definitely never hear anybody use the name Allah as a blasphemy. And it's got nothing to do with the fact that if you do, there will be a death warrant issued against you.

It's got nothing to do with that. God already established that because it's at the name of Jesus that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God. Somebody say amen today.

Somebody say amen. It's at the name of Jesus. I'm going to ask you to give your heart to Jesus. I'm going to invite you to trust Him. Turn your life over to Him. Receive Him because God loves you. Jesus died for you.

He's the hope of the world. Perhaps you've been searching, looking, wondering, yearning. I did, and I found Jesus. When I found Him, I realized He had already found me because He made me. He loved me. I turned my life over to Him. I received Him. He was knocking at my heart's door. Won't you do that today?

Won't you give your life to Him? Start brand new. Begin back at the beginning. Receive the complete work of Christ. Be completely forgiven. Have real meaning in life and peace in your heart. And I'm going to ask you to do that today. I'm going to ask you to put your life back on track. Say yes to Jesus.

Put Him at the center of your life today. He is truth. The search is over. We have found Him, the Messiah. I tell you what, I'm just a Christian man.

That's all I am, just like you, sinner saved by God's grace. Jesus. See, God in times past, God spoke. Spoke through the prophets, various times, sun replaces. Did all kinds of things, Steve, miracles, wonders, signs, didn't He?

Isn't it great? And you know, when you and I have traveled around the Middle East and you see all some of these things where Jesus went in Jerusalem and up there in Judea and Galilee and you watch all these things and you see all the different things that went on and we watch and see in our world how God in times past has done great things. But in these last days, He has spoken to us through His Son.

Jesus is better. Indeed, He has spoken to us, and if the Lord has stirred your heart, I pray that you would be ready to respond. Hearing God's Word is the first step, but acting on it, taking a decision and changing our path, adjusting our course, that course correction for today could be the most important thing you and I do by hearing the Word from Dr. Don Wilton and now applying it to our lives.

Speaking of Dr. Don, he's here with one more thought that I believe will bless and touch you in a powerful way. God has spoken to you, hasn't He? And you ready to give your heart to Jesus?

I'd love to help you right now. Would you pray this prayer with me and accept Jesus into your heart and life? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner.

I know that Jesus loves me and died for me on the cross. Right now, I repent of my sin and I confess my sin to the Lord Jesus Christ. Come into my heart and save me today and forgive me for my sin. In Jesus' name I pray.

Amen. If you've prayed that prayer, we'd love to get alongside of you and celebrate with you and send you some literature and help you as you begin to grow. And I want you to know that I love you very, very much. And by the way, don't leave.

Go away, whatever you do, because I'll be right back. If you'd like to call us, we would love to meet you at the phones. 866-899-WORD is the phone number.

If God stirred your heart, if you've made a decision, let us know. 866-899-9673. And if you'd like to let Dr. Don know how God is using this ministry in your life, email him. His email is simple to remember. It's just Don, D-O-N, at theencouragingword.org.

He would love to hear from you. That's Don at theencouragingword.org. And speaking of Dr. Don, this book, Totally Secure, such a powerful resource.

Here's Dr. Don with more. You know, in all my years of sitting at the feet of Dr. Billy Graham, he said this to me. He said, Don, the most important thing in life is to know that you belong to Jesus. And then he said, the second most important thing is that you know that you belong to Jesus. He encouraged me to write this book, Totally Secure, to help you find the answers to these important questions.

That's why he endorsed this book of mine. I want you to have a copy of this book. I want you to have the assurance that you are going to heaven.

Please pick up the telephone right now and call the number on the screen and request your personal copy of Totally Secure. The Encouraging Word broadcast ministry is supported by viewers and listeners just like you. We want to make a difference in the world. So thank you for requesting my book, Totally Secure. Your financial support enables us to continue moving forward for Christ. After the Encouraging Word broadcast is over, there's still a wonderful place to connect 24 hours a day.

It's theencouragingword.org. You can visit our message archives, download Dr. Wilton's sermons or sign up for our weekly podcast. A favorite button on our website is the prayer request button where you can share a prayer request or personal need. Maybe you have a praise report or a testimony.

Let us know so we can rejoice with you as well. You can also sign up for our daily Bible guide and have devotion sent to your email every single day. Now, if you have a question about your salvation, perhaps questions about how to share your faith with a friend, let us walk you through the steps to a personal relationship with Jesus and the ability to share that with others.

If you're looking for a book from Dr. Wilton or maybe a CD or DVD, we have resources ready to send to you at the click of a button. No matter what the reason, we hope you'll connect with us today online at theencouragingword.org. Our time's gone for the Monday edition, but don't forget 866-899-WORD is our phone number 24 hours a day. We'd love to speak with you, pray with you, connect you with these great resources. That is 866-899-9673, or meet us online at theencouragingword.org. And tomorrow, Dr. Don's diving into God's Word again with a wonderful message called The Ultimate Solution. We'll be headed to the book of Hebrews. That's tomorrow at the same time. I hope it's the Encouraging Word.