Amen. I'm gonna preach something very controversial tonight. Okay, it's always a good way to start out a message, huh? This is very controversial. I'm gonna preach that Jesus Christ is the true God. You say, well, that's not controversial. Oh, yes, it is. Soon is religion is great and religions can get along just fine and denominations can get along just fine until you come to that one point that Jesus Christ is the true God. He said, I come not to to heal, not to men, but to bring a sword. Okay, whenever Jesus Christ enters the picture, there's always division. All right, the Jesus Christ of the King James Bible is very different than the Jesus Christ of the NIV, of the ESV, of the NASB, okay? All of those, if you take them for exactly as they're written, it makes Jesus a liar, it makes him the son of Joseph. Joseph would then be his father, Luke 2.33. It makes his blood sin-stained with Adam's blood, and it's just all, it's just a mess, okay? It's a mess. And that is reflected in a lot of things that we look at out in the world as you examine other things, you examine churches, you examine doctrine of churches, and you do it not with a critical eye, but you do it with a judgmental eye. Okay, we're told not to judge though, right? No, you're to weigh righteous judgment. Okay, to judge is to discern between good and evil. It's to discern between what's right and what's wrong. That's all that is. And if you go through life not judging anything, your life is gonna be a mess. But you need to discern what is right and what is wrong. Okay, according to the word of God. And so when you get into this idea that Jesus Christ is God, that God is Jesus Christ, that he is the true God and eternal life, that you see that he is the only way, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. These are all truths that we know, truths that we love, truths that we hold very close and dear to us, but this is a very controversial subject. So much so that you'll even find Sunday school material that will put out that you need to be careful, depending on the group of children that you have, you need to be careful about talking about the heavenly father being the father of Jesus, because some children don't have a good father and you don't want to offend them. Had somebody just tell me about that just the other day. Now, we've never seen anything like that in the stuff that we use, but it is, it is, it's out there. Okay. The Jesus of the King James Bible is a very controversial subject. And we're just going to look at three places very simply tonight that tell you that Jesus Christ is the true God. Okay. And it's going to be building one on top of another, and then it's going to crescendo and we're going to go to prayer. Does that sound good? Okay. 2 Chronicles chapter 15. I want you to start right in verse one with me. He says, And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded, and he went out to Measa, and said unto him, Hear ye Measa, and all Judah, and Benjamin. The Lord is with you, while ye be with him. And if you seek him, he will be found of you. But if you forsake him, he will forsake you. Now, last time Brother McVeigh was here and preached, now Pastor McVeigh, still getting used to that, I love it. I'm just still getting used to it. Last time he was here, he preached on this topic and this idea that God said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. But he says right here, if you forsake me, I'll forsake you. You seek me, you'll find me. You forsake me, I'll forsake you. As long as you're seeking me, I'm gonna be with you, he says, all right? Now this is the character of God. This is the character of God. This is the God of the Bible, all right? This isn't the God of common culture. This isn't the God of country music, okay? This isn't the God that'll let somebody in heaven even though they've got a little fire in their backside and a little dust on their halo and it's a little bent and maybe that halo's held up by a couple of horns, as some country musical put it, okay? No, this is the God of the Bible. This is the God of Israel. This is a righteous God. This is a just God. Again, this is a God without controversy that is the most controversial God you will speak of in this world. Okay, with that in mind, let's look at verse three. Says this now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God and without a teaching priest and without law. Now those things right there are very, very. Oh, the word I'm looking for isn't apropos, but that's the word I'm gonna use. It's very apropos to what today, what we have going on today, all right? It matches up almost perfectly with what we have going on today. America has been so long without a teaching priest, without the true God, without law, all right? You go any amount of time without those things, and it's too long. When we, when you all grew up, not all of you here, but the upper aged ones here, you grew up reciting psalms in public school. You grew up, you know, pledging allegiance to the flag, which they still do for now. And you grew up, you know, having Bible reading. You grew up with prayer in the schools, and then you get into your classes, okay? That's been long gone, okay? And it wasn't that woman that really pushed for it to get it out of the schools. That's not the one at fault. It was the parents for not having God in their homes. If the parents had kept God in the home, there would have been no way God would have been kicked out of the schools. All right? And so what's the cure for this? Do we take back Washington and do we take back all the upper government and get prayer back into schools and get prayer back in Congress and get prayer back? No. The only way to change America is to change your kitchen table. Make your kitchen table a place where God is welcome and glorified. Okay? Glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. All right? The Lord's fixated that with me this week, and he's teaching me what that means. All right? And I love it. It's good. This was the state of Israel. Now, if you're not familiar with Asa, Asa is the fifth generation away from David. All right, there was David, and Solomon, and Rehoboam, and then Abijah, and then Asa. Now, when you consider those men up from there forward, David, Solomon, Rehoboam, Abijah, what you find is you find men who were given over to women. They were given over to lust. David with Bathsheba. Solomon with all of his wives and concubines. Rehoboam with the filthiness of his life. Abijah with the filthiness of his life. And what you see is Exodus 20 verse five really played out perfectly. You see the iniquities of fathers being visited upon the children's children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. And then you have the fifth generation of Asa. Bible says some good things about Asa. He didn't do everything right. But this is the first generation of a man who was leading the nation, trying to seek God. All right, and this prophet comes up to, the Spirit of God came upon Azariah, and he comes up and he prophesies. But it says this, verse four. But when they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel and saw him, he was found of them. Imagine that. What God said, took place. If they would seek him, they would find him. Guess what? They saw him and they found him. So don't tell me you can't find God. It's because you're not looking for him. You think you are, but you're not looking for him where he actually is. You're looking for him in your own thoughts. You're looking for him to come through in a way that you were certain he was going to, and everything was going to match up just perfectly, and it was going to go right according to your plan. but all along he's still been in this King James Bible waiting for you, right? So when you can't find God, just remember you're looking in the wrong place because he said, if you seek me, you'll find me. Look at verse 12. It says this, all right, they have this whole to do and everything, and it says, and they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul. Now what's interesting about this is that they as a people were so far away from God that they knew they couldn't serve him. So they had to actually enter into a covenant to seek him first. They couldn't enter into a covenant to serve him. They ended up having to enter into a covenant to very much seek him first before they could ever serve him, right? And I think that's where we're at in America. We're wanting everything to be right back where it was as you were children, and it's not gonna happen. It's just not gonna happen. So rather than praying for revival, rather than praying that the whole thing would turn right around, and it's turning in a good way, I think. That's just my opinion. But I will tell you what, salvation is not in a president. The salvation of a country is not in a president. The heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord, and as the rivers of water, he turneth it whithersoever he will. It's in God's hand. Just keep that in mind. Keep that in mind. Whatever happens in the next four years, whether it goes well for our country or ill for our country, it's all in God's hand. All right? Now, but what we do need to do As a people who have gone so far from God that we've we've we've gotten our minds so far away from the things of God and so far away from the law of God and so far away from teaching the Word of God and preaching the Word of God. We actually as a people as the people who are sitting in this room tonight. We need to make a covenant with God that we would seek him. Okay. Now that's all extra. All right. The main thing I want to look at is verse 3. What does it say here? Now, for a long season, Israel hath been without the true God. All right, we're gonna look at that in another place here shortly, but I just wanted you to see these things of what's spoken of, of Asa and everything going on, because it really matches up perfectly with the temperature and the climate of our nation right now, okay? And I'm not talking about the 35 degrees outside, all right? I think it's wonderful. Some of you don't like it, and I'm okay with that. All right, let's go to Jeremiah chapter 10 next. Jeremiah chapter 10. I'm okay upsetting people if it's because of the word of God. I'm not okay upsetting people if it's because of my opinion. So if I upset you with my opinion about the cold weather, I apologize. If you're upset about the word of God, get right with God. Great peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them. It's still in the book. Amen. All right, Jeremiah chapter one, or chapter 10, sorry. Start at verse one. It says this, hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel. Now what you're about to see is Israel fully given over to idols. Okay, this is what you're gonna see. All right, this is basically what's happening. Thus saith the Lord, learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain, for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, and the work of the hands of the workmen with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold, and they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speaketh not. They must needs be born, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. For as much as there is none like unto thee, O Lord, thou art great, and thy name is great in might, who would not fear thee, O king of nations? For to thee doth it appertain. For as much as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee, but they are altogether brutish and foolish. The stock is a doctrine of vanities. Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish and gold from Ufaz. The work of the workmen in the hands of the founder, blue and purple is their clothing. They all are the work of cunning men. All right, now what we're seeing here is, is Israel given over to idolatry, all right? And they're following after the customs of the heathen, and they're doing the things that the heathen do, and they're calling it God, and they're looking to these idols that they're making, and these boughs and trees and everything that they're bringing in from the wood, and they're looking at these things for deliverance. They're looking at these things as gods. Now remember, as we've studied out gods with the little g, in the past, we've seen that they are devils, Okay, Deuteronomy clearly says that it clearly says it again in Genesis. Okay, but also they are given a God is something that can discern between good and evil. All right, you remember the very first place it's used in Genesis chapter 3, Satan tells Eve, if you eat of this tree, you shall be as gods knowing what good and evil. So, you're going to a small g god and you're looking for guidance, you're looking for direction, you're looking for some kind of a help to tell you which way to go, what way is right, what is right and what is wrong. You're looking for it to be a god unto you. Whereas God said, don't look at those things. All right, we could go to 29, 11. We could look at that. You know, I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of good and not of evil to give you an expected end. Their expected end was coming in 70 years. All right. That was, that was the expected end of their captivity. And they weren't to go after looking after the Mazaroth and looking after, uh, you know, the, the signs and wonders and the magicians and the wizards and the witches, and they weren't to be going into the soothsayers and, and all those things to get their future told to them. They were to just wait on God. Okay. And now we might, you know, not do it so much here in this church, but maybe you do. You look at that thing in the Zodiac and the newspaper, right? And you say, oh, it's just fun. No, that's not fun. That's God's. You're looking to those things to guide you. All right. I love a good fortune cookie. After you eat Chinese, I love them. They're tasty, they're good, and I think they're comical. But do you know there are people that will hold on to those as being absolute direction from the cosmos that this thing is gonna happen? It is. But this is, these are the same gods that they bowed down to and sacrificed their children to. These are the same devils were saving that same worship. She's be wise to those things All right If you're looking for to counsel for something anything other than going to God in his word Be careful because you're treading on very dangerous ground All right. Now that in itself was extra. What are we looking at here? Well, we're looking at very specifically I want to read verse 16. Look at this Says this, the portion of Jacob is not like them, for he is the former of all things. And Israel is the rod of his inheritance. And then look at that, the Lord of hosts is his name. Now, what do we know about the Lord of hosts? It's Jesus. We know that because in John, what is it? John chapter 12, verse 41, John is quoting the prophet, Isaiah's and it talks about when he saw him in his glory and he quotes Isaiah chapter six. And so you go to Isaiah chapter six, what is it? Verse three. And it talks about, you know, that one who is high and lifted up, his train fills the temple and all of that. And it calls him the Lord of hosts. So John tells us that the one that Isaiah saw on the throne was Jesus. As he says, when he saw him in his glory and spoke of him, and he had just been referring to Jesus. So the one sitting on the throne is Jesus. And then Isaiah tells us that that one sitting on the throne is the Lord of hosts. So every place you find the Lord of hosts throughout your King James Bible, it's speaking of the eternal word of God. It's speaking of Jesus Christ in eternity past. Okay. And so just keep those things in mind as we're, as we're looking at all this, as we're, as we're building on this, I would like to turn to Isaiah four, keep your hand right here. Turn to Isaiah 43 though. I want you to see this. Isaiah 43. I'm gonna read to you Jeremiah 10, 16 again, the first part. The portion of Jacob is not like them, meaning not like all the other gods, for he is the former of all things. Do you know what a former is? It's not the one that came before. He is the one that formed it, okay? Somebody that forms something is a former. Now, consider this, Isaiah 43, verse one. But now saith the Lord, now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that, what? Formed thee, O Israel. Right there he is, again, the Lord, the former of all things. We know that Colossians 119, I think in 119 and 20, says that all things were created by him and for him, and by him all things consist. All right, he is the one that created everything. God gave the order, the father gave the order, and he created it by Jesus Christ. Without him was not anything made that was made. Why? Because he's the former of all things. This is the Jesus Christ of the King James Bible. I'll say amen to that. He's the creator. He is the former of all things. He is the Lord of hosts. And he is the true God. Look at this. Look at verse 10. It says this, but the Lord is the true God. He is the living God and an everlasting King. At his wrath, the earth shall tremble and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. Now, what does that sound like, Brother Dale? Sounds like revelation to me. Sounds like Matthew 24 to me. Sounds like Daniel to me. It sounds to me like it's speaking of Jesus Christ. Now we're going to look at the very last place that the true God is used. That phrase is only three times in your King James Bible. Twice in the Old Testament, we just looked at it. And we're going to look at the final last place where it's used in your Bible. And though we have seen things that allude to it, we've seen things that as we've studied them out before, laying line upon line, precept upon precept. And we see that, okay, because John said this and Isaiah said that about this one, then that means that Jesus is the Lord of hosts, okay? Putting those pieces together doctrinally. We're gonna find a verse now that literally says that Jesus Christ is the true God. All right, go to 1 John 5. 1 John 5, look at verse 10 first. It says this, he that believeth on the son of God hath the witness in himself. He that believeth not God hath made him a liar because he believeth not the record that God gave of his son. And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life. And this life is in his son. Now understand this. Again, the difference between eternal and everlasting. Eternal is completely outside of time. It has no beginning. It has no end. It has no bearing. Time has no bearing on it whatsoever. And those things only pertain to God. They can only pertain to God. God is the only eternal being who had no beginning and will have absolutely no end. But now we have this word everlasting. Everlasting is something that has a beginning point and no end. It lasts forever. It is everlasting. Now you find an Isaiah where it talks about from everlasting to everlasting. What that is is you have a specific point in time that you are referenced in from, and from that point in time you are looking to eternity past because it's from everlasting. And then it is from that same point that you look into eternity future and it's to everlasting. Okay? So remember that difference between eternal and everlasting. And those two words are used in John chapter three, verse 15 and 16. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 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. Both of those words are used. That eternal life is in his son. I just said that. That eternal life is the person of Jesus Christ. And I can prove to you, I'm not gonna take the time to do it now, but we have in the past, but I can prove to you that that life is actually the body of Jesus Christ. What you see, what John would have saw, what Paul would have saw, what Peter would have seen, those things that they looked upon, that was eternal life. Okay, I can prove that with the scriptures. Now, go over to verse 20. And we know that the Son of God is come. Now the important thing with the word is, is it is an absolute. It is a complete present tense. If we were to say, now we know that the Son of God has come, that could imply that he was still here. But it is speaking of a period of time in the past. All right, I did this in the Men's Sunday School just this last Sunday, and I'm gonna do it again here, okay? Brother John Hall has come to this church. I could be talking about today. I could be talking about, when was it, back in the 80s? You were attending here as a member? Late 80s. So I could be talking all the way back then, almost 40 years ago. Okay? But if I say John Hall is come, that means he's here right now. I'm talking about this absolute moment in present time. And so how important is it that the son of God is come? It means he's here. That's the Jesus Christ of the King James Bible. The important thing with that is in chapter four, verse two. I'll wait till you get there. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God. All right, he's about to tell you how you can tell if it's the Spirit of God telling you something. Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. So what we just learned about is means that Jesus Christ is at present still come in the flesh. He is seated in his flesh at the right hand of God. Okay? Verse three. And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. And this is that spirit of Antichrist, wherever you have heard that it should come, and even now already is it in the world. Now, if you're able to receive it, consider this, most if not all modern translations will change that word is to has or have or did. And by the authority of the scriptures that was written by the spirit of Antichrist. It's just the word of God. Now, let's go back over to 520. Now we saw the true God spoken of in 2 Chronicles 15. We saw the true God spoken of in Jeremiah 10. Both places referred to that God as Jehovah. The true God, capital L-O-R-D, was in there, in those places, in those passages. Okay. Speaking of that true God. Now watch this. First John 5 20. And we know that the son of God is come and have given us an understanding that we may know him that is true. And we are in him. That is true. Even in his son, Jesus Christ. Watch this. This is the true God and eternal life. So we see that Jesus Christ is eternal life. We also see that he is the true God. And your Bible said that Jehovah is the true God. So your Bible tells you Jesus Christ is Jehovah God. He is the true God and eternal life. Very controversial message, very controversial. Because it deals in absolutes as God always does. That's all I have for us tonight. I have, oh, look at this. I have more. Okay. But as I was writing all of this out and it just kept coming and coming and coming, I thought to myself, that'll be for another time. And so we're going to see when the Lord lets me preach the rest of that. Okay. Um, I just wanted to go through this stuff here tonight. Um, I think Nathan, I think that's about the end of that.