Our Unique Life – Part 1
Transcript of FLOT Line Episode 616 aired on June 18, 2017
Good morning and welcome to the FLOT Line. I’m your host Rick Hughes and for the next few
minutes, please, please stay with me. It’s going to be a time of motivation, some inspiration, a
whole lot of education and we do this without any manipulation. Surprise. No games, no
gimmicks, no appeal for money. We’re not asking you for anything. We’re not trying to sell you
anything. We’re not asking you to join up, fess up, give it up – nothing like that. This show is
dedicated to one thing only, to give you some accurate information. Information which I pray
will help you verify and identify God’s plan for your life. And if you can do that then you have
the freedom and the privacy to orient and adjust to the plan. It’s up to you because no one can
live your life for you. And by the way,
you cannot change anyone but yourself.
You are the
only one that can change you. You may have friends or children or grandchildren, you’re not
going to change them. They have volition just like you have volition and we can only change
ourselves. So how do we change? What do we do? Well, first of all we have to know what our
options are. If you don’t know what your options are then you don’t know which way to go.
Somebody once asked Yogi Berra when you come to the fork in the road which one do you take?
And Yogi had some kind of funny answer about that. The one less traveled, I guess. But you
know, people don’t know what to do sometimes. And so it’s very critical you understand your
options, your choices. This is why learning the Word of God, understanding the mind of Christ is
so critical. This is exactly why God gave you a Bible and put the Holy Spirit to live inside of
you, to guide you, to be a mentor, to tutor you. And this is exactly why God gives you a pastor, to
study and teach God’s Word and to lead you, as a shepherd leading sheep, in your Christian life.
My prayer is that you will be under a well-qualified pastor, that you will learn God’s Word under
a well-qualified pastor and that he will stick to his job of studying and teaching God’s Word. The
study that I’d like to begin with you now, a little study I’d like to do for the next few weeks, is a
study entitled “The Unique Life That We Live.” You and I are really unique people and I want to
give you a new fresh appreciation for God’s grace provisions if you stick with me. That’s what
this study is designed to do, give you a fresh appreciation for God’s grace provisions. Also, I
hope to give you a new self perspective. In other words, a new sense of your worth in God’s
eyes. And hopefully give you a view of the impact that you should have in the arena of
contention that we call earth. So I may review some things you already know and I could remind
you of what you might have forgotten or hopefully I’ll reinforce what your pastor has already
taught you. I want to study The Unique Life That We Live. And so what about this word unique?
I have a few weird friends that are rather unique but that’s not the thing I’m talking about. As an
adjective this word means solitary in type or characteristics or having no equal or being unusual.
So what I want to develop for you over the next few courses of this radio show is this unique life
we live as believers in the devil’s world. Saying that you are a bit unusual may be funny and you
may know that to be a fact but the truth is you have no equal. And I’m not being narcissistic but
it’s a true doctrinal statement from the Word of God. It’s not a reference to your unique church or
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your unique ministry. It’s a reference to you. You are a unique individual. You have unique
assets, you live in a unique time, you have a unique opportunity in your life in that time, you face
unique challenges that no one’s ever faced before, and you have a unique future. But before we
can look at any of that we have to see first and foremost the most unique Savior in the world.
Perhaps your pastor has covered His birth for you around Easter and you looked at that, you
examined that. You saw the life and work of the Lord Jesus Christ and it’s quite an exhaustive
study if you get into it. My pastor, my own pastor has been teaching the life of Christ for over
one thousand hours right now. And, by the way, that’s all available free of charge on MP3 or
DVD. This is how I study. I keep up with it. A thousand plus hours on the life of Christ. You say
how could anybody study a thousand hours on one subject? That’s not hard, my friend, when
you’re looking at the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we benefit from those insights, from the
illustrations that my pastor and your pastor teaches us. So let me skim over a few things, I bet
you remember these things, before we get into the meat of the study. Our Lord Jesus Christ had a
unique birth, He had a unique life and He had a unique death. So the birth of Christ fulfilled
numerous Old Testament Scriptures. You remember the prophecies given centuries before He
even walked on this planet. We were first introduced to the fallen angel Lucifer or Satan, a.k.a.
we know him as the devil, in the form of a serpent who sought to use Eve’s arrogance as an
attempt to vindicate his own sinful actions in eternity past. So let me give you a few principles
here. Here’s the first one. Satan used the beauty of a snake. The Bible says that he
“was more
subtle than any beast of the field,”
and he used that beauty to arouse the curiosity of the woman
and deceived her by baiting her very own arrogance. And point two, she took the bait, Genesis
3:6, and she deliberately disobeyed God’s mandate that was given to Adam in Genesis 3:15 and
17, don’t eat from that tree, anything else you can eat, that one tree don’t eat from it. And point
three, she was able to convince Adam to partake of the same fruit that had been forbidden, much
to Adam’s regret. Point four, sin uncovers you, sin exposes you to the guilt and the shame. Sin
exposes you to the elements. When they ate of that fruit the Bible says in Genesis 3:7,
“their
eyes were opened and they knew they were naked.”
Prior to that they didn’t even know they were
naked, they had no guilt, they weren’t thinking about the elements. So point five, this deliberate
interference by the devil, a.k.a. Satan, resulted in a curse being placed on that once beautiful
serpent and condemning that serpent to a life of eating dust. In Genesis 3:14,
“dust shalt thou eat
all the days of thy life.”
And that’s a metaphor for crawling on his stomach from now till the end
of time as we know it and you know it. Most people if they see a snake they’re going to kill it.
There are a few snake lovers and they don’t want to hurt them and I understand that also. But to
me, depends on what kind of snake it is. I see a lot of snakes when I’m fishing and I don’t mess
with them. I give them plenty of room. Eve would have been better off not to mess with that
snake. Point six, by means of Adam’s rebellion the entire human race (me and you) we’re all
condemned as well. Where did I get that? Romans 5:12,
“By one man sin entered into the world
and death by sin and so death has now passed to all men, for all have sinned.”
And point seven,
our redemption was promised by means of a prophetic judgment on Satan by God in Genesis
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3:15. This is, in Genesis 3:15, the first promise of a Redeemer. In Genesis 3:15,
“And I will put
enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. And he shall bruise thy
head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
The seed refers to satanic offsprings, unbelievers. John 8:44
says,
“You’re of your father the devil, in the lust of your father you’re going to do. He was a
murderer from the beginning, he did not abide in the truth because there’s no truth in him. When
he speaks a lie he speaks of his own for he’s a liar and the father of lies.”
Her seed, well that
refers to all of humanity beginning with Cain and eventually all humanity into which our Lord
Jesus Christ came – He was inserted. Why? For the express purpose of redeeming me, redeeming
you, purchasing us out of the slave market of sin. Listen to Romans 3:24-26,
“being justified
freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
[there’s the redemption]
who
God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood to declare His righteousness for
the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God, and to declare
[verse 26 of
Romans 3]
I say at this time His righteousness that He might be just and the justifier of those
who believe in Jesus.”
So point ten, the stage was set for the entrance of a redeemer, one who
would eliminate the argument of Satan once and for all, as well as satisfy the justice of God in
regards to man’s fallen state. Point eleven, His birth was unique in the fact there was no human
copulation involved. Yes, she was engaged to be married to Joseph but there was no sex.
Matthew 1:18,
“…she was found with child of the Holy Spirit”
which was a fulfillment of Isaiah
7:14. Isaiah 7:14 says,
“Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall
conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Emmanuel.”
So point twelve, His unique birth
caused a national crisis. A few weeks or months later the Magi showed up. You know, if they saw
the star at the moment of His birth, it would’ve taken them some time to arrive in Jerusalem.
Matthew 2:1 talks about these Persian Magi or magicians or scientists. But they were looking for
the king of the Jews. And Herod who was the king at that time had been selected by the Roman
Senate to be king of the Jews himself and he was even an adopted Jewish convert, you know, just
to keep the peace. Really he was an Edomite and he rebuilt the Jewish Temple. And when the
Phoenician Magi came to Bethlehem they were looking or actually they came to Jerusalem then
he directed them to Bethlehem with instructions that they should report back where this new king
of the Jews was so he could go and worship him too. That was not his real intention. Matthew
2:13 says his real intention was to kill Him. And this information prompted Joseph to take his
family and get out of Dodge. Joseph and Mary and baby Jesus moved to Egypt until Herod died,
Matthew 2:15. Herod, when he learned that the wise men took off and didn’t come back and
didn’t report back to him, he was so angry and so upset that he went to Bethlehem and he killed
every child from two years old and younger. That’s what a wicked evil man Herod was. Once
they returned from Egypt, after Herod died, they settled in Nazareth. Thus Jesus our Lord and
Savior was known as a Nazarene in Matthew 2:23. So that’s His unique birth. What about His
unique life? Remember, this was not an ordinary man.
This was the God-man. God and man in
one body forever – hypostatic union theologians call it.
God-man. The God-man. John 10:30,
“I and My Father are one.”
John 10:33,
“The Jews answered Him saying, ‘For a good work we
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stone you not, but for blasphemy because you being a man make yourself God.’”
In John 8:58,
“…before Adam was, I am!”
In John 1:1,
“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with
God and the Word was God.”
Jesus Christ was tempted by Satan during His evidence testing. He
had a unique life. Before He began His ministry in Matthew 4 He was led by the Holy Spirit into
the wilderness to be tested. You should read Matthew 4:1-4 and see how He handled it because
every test that Satan threw at Him, our Savior quoted Scripture. And there is your secret to
passing the test. Using the faith-rest drill means knowing Scripture. This is why it says,
“Study to
show thyself approved unto God, a workman that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word
of truth.”
So He was tempted by Satan during His evidence testing. And, by the way, if you have
any intention of growing to be a mature believer, you will be tested as well.
You will go through
evidence testing.
You will have to take the witness stand alone and demonstrate that you are
faithful. And so our Lord never sinned during His entire time on this infested planet. In spite of
all the hateful, vindictive people He encountered in the area of organized religion He never
sinned. Never. And thus in 2 Corinthians 5:21,
“He hath made Him
[He being God]
to be sin for
us, the One who knew no sin so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”
So in
three short years, this is what’s amazing, He took a group of dumb fishermen (like me, a dumb
fisherman), tax collectors and others and made them world changers. They rocked their world.
Think about this. Imagine if He took a group of dumb fishermen, a few tax collectors and some
others, imagine what He could do with you with your intellect, with your ability. Think about it.
But
you’ve got to be willing to follow Him.
He told Peter,
“Follow Me and I will make you
fishers of men.”
Whatever it was that was about Him which is so unique, Peter walked away
from the family business and followed Jesus and so did Peter’s brother, Andrew. Jesus Christ our
Lord has a unique priesthood the Bible says. In Hebrews 7:21-22 the Bible says He’s the first and
the only high priest in all of human history who was filled with the Holy Spirit. And the Bible
says He’s the only high priest that’s ever been resurrected from the dead. He’s the only high priest
who ever offered His own self as a sacrifice for the sin of the people. And He is the only high
priest that can provide eternal life for the entire human race beginning with you because He
makes intercession for us. Intercession for us as a high priest every day. Hebrews 7:25,
“Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since
He always lives to make intercession for them. For such a high priest was fitting for us – One
who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners and has become higher than the
heavens.”
Yes, He’s seated at the right hand of the Father. That’s His unique life. His unique
birth, His unique life, the God-man, our high priest. And what about some of the unique things
He did while He was on this planet? I mean I can’t list them all but let’s start with this one – He
walked on water. Not many people can walk on water. I mean there’s a few drunks that think they
can until they drown but Jesus walked on water. In Matthew 14:22,
“Immediately, He made the
disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side while He sent the crowds away.
And after He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. And
when it was evening, He was alone and the boat was already a long distance from the land
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battered by the waves
[they were rowing their hearts out]
the wind was contrary
[probably
blowing in their face and they were rowing and rowing, they didn’t have an outboard motor].
And
in the fourth watch of the night, Christ came to them walking on the sea. And when the disciples
saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified and they said, ’It’s a ghost!’ And they cried out
in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, ‘Take courage. It’s I. Don’t be afraid.’”
Yes, He walked on water. In Matthew 8:26 He calmed a stormy sea with one word – stop. All He
had to say was stop and all of the Sea of Galilee became slick as glass. He raised the dead. In
Mark 5:35-42,
“While Jesus was speaking some people came from the house of Jairus
[the
synagogue leader]
and they said, ‘Your daughter is dead,’ they said, ‘why bother the Teacher
anymore?’ Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.’”
See
Jairus had gone to the Lord to try to get Him to come and heal his daughter and they all said she’s
dead, don’t bother Him anymore, she’s dead. Jesus said don’t be afraid, just believe Me.
“He
didn’t let anyone follow Him, except Peter, James and John the brother of James. And when they
came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion with people crying and
wailing. He went in and said to them, ‘Why all the crying? Why all the wailing? The child is not
dead, just asleep.’ And they laughed at Him. So He asked them all to leave and He took the
child’s father and mother and the disciples were with Him and they went into where the child
was. And He took her by the hand and He said to her, ‘Little girl, I say to you, get up.’ And
immediately she stood and began to walk. She was twelve years old, and at this they were
completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to tell anybody about this and to give her
something to eat.”
You know that wasn’t the only person He raised from the dead. He raised
Lazarus from the dead and in John 11:38-44,
“Then Jesus again groaning in Himself came to the
tomb and it was a cave and a stone lay against it and Jesus said, ‘Take away that stone,’ and
Martha, the sister of Lazarus said, ‘Lord it’s been long enough now he’s going to stink. There’s a
stench in there. He’s been dead four days.’ Jesus said, ‘Did I not say to you that if you would
believe in Me, you would see the glory of God?’ And they took away the stone from the place
where he was lying and Jesus lifted His eyes and said, ‘Father I thank you that You hear Me. And
I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people that are standing by, I said this so
that they may believe You sent Me.’ And when He said these things, He cried with a loud voice,
‘Lazarus, come forth!’ And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes.
His face was wrapped with a cloth. And Jesus said to them, ‘Let him loose and let him go.’”
I
want you to remember
He will raise you from the dead also.
First Thessalonians 4:16 says,
“…
the dead in Christ shall rise first.”
I conducted the funeral this week for a wonderful saint in the
town of Memphis, Tennessee. I told the people in the attendance there, ‘She’s not dead. She
simply left this sin infected body.’ And He will raise you, same way. You’ve got to leave this
body. It won’t work in heaven. You’ve got to get a new body. A resurrected body like His. You
know, He fed the masses with just five loaves of bread and two fish – five thousand people –
heck, the quick burger places can’t do that (Matthew 14:19). If you showed up with five
thousand people on a bunch of buses they’d have a heart attack and shut the place down. Jesus
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fed them all. Speaking of fish, one of my favorite miracles is found in John 21:4-11, where they
caught 153 fish in the net. It was the third time they sighted Jesus after His resurrection.
“And it
was early in the morning and Jesus was on the shore and the disciples didn’t recognize Him and
He called them. He said, ‘Friends, have you caught anything?’ And they yelled back, ‘Nope,
nope, nothing.’ And He said, ‘Well throw your net on the right side of the boat and you’ll find
some.’ When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
And then the disciples, whom Jesus loved, said to Peter, ‘It’s the Lord!’ And he wrapped himself
in his outer garment. Well, as soon as Simon Peter heard a guy say it’s the Lord, he wrapped his
outer garment around himself because he took it off
[I guess he was fishing in his underwear or
something]
and he jumped off the boat and started swimming to Jesus. The other disciples
followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish. They were not far from the shore, maybe one
hundred yards
[the Bible says]
and when they landed they saw fire with burning coals and it had
fish on it and some bread and Jesus said, ‘Bring some of those fish you just caught.’ And Simon
Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore himself. It was full of large fish, 153
so many so but the net was not even torn.”
I like to catch fish. I find it interesting that they said
how many fish they caught – 153 – that’s a fisherman for you. What an amazing Lord we have. In
all, total, He performed more than forty miracles during His time on this earth. I would say He is
the unique person. There is some kind of beer commercial on television, you know, a beverage
commercial that claims to introduce the world’s most interesting man. The most interesting man
in the world is an advertising campaign set up by Dos Equis – some brand of beer, Dos Equis.
And then the ad features the world’s most interesting man, a bearded, debonair gentleman with a
voiceover that is intended to be humorous and outrageous. Not even close. An actor is not the
world’s most interesting man.
The world’s most interesting man is Jesus the anointed Son of
God, the Savior of the world, our Redeemer, the One who walked out of the grave alive, the
One who will come and live in you if you let Him.
Paul said,
“Christ in you the hope of glory.”
The most amazing thing in the world is that Jesus will live in you. When I accepted Christ as my
Savior, I prayed a simple prayer. I simply asked God to save me. And I was told,
“Jesus stands at
the door and He knocks if any man hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in unto him.”
I didn’t understand what the verse meant but I knew I wanted to have a relationship with Christ
and I asked Him to come into my life and save me. I didn’t feel it. I mean, I didn’t see the lights
flicker or I didn’t hear any tambourines, but it happened. Christ lives in me. And if you are
Christian, He lives in you. Our job is to replicate His life and to re-present Him to our family, to
our friends. How do we do that? By acquiring the mind of Christ, beginning to think like He
thought. We don’t have to look like Him. We just think like Him. That’s why the Bible says,
“Let
this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus, who thought it not robbery to be equal with
God made Himself of no reputation and humbled Himself all the way to the cross.”
What an
amazing Savior we have. What an amazing God we have. Our God, our Savior, our Redeemer,
our justifier, our Lord – Jesus Christ. He is the most unique man. He is the most unique man in
the history of the world. If you haven’t met Him and if you don’t know Him, you are missing out.
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You want to be a name dropper? You drop that name and see what happens. Tell somebody you
met some celebrity and they roll their eyes, but tell somebody that you met Christ and they look
at you like you are weird. He’s there and He’s waiting for an appointment with you. Ask Him.
He’s right there. I hope you’ll join me next week, same time, same place. Until then, this is your
host Rick Hughes saying thank you for listening to the FLOT Line.