Muhammad Ali

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(No Transcript)
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Muhammad Ali

• What exactly did he mean by that?

once known as Cassius Clay
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John Lennon

• "We're more famous than Jesus."

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John F. Kennedy

• predicted that America would put a man on the
  moon by the end of the decade.

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They all made outrageous claimsand capture our
imaginations. They change the landscape turning
ordinary people into heroes and icons.
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But of all the outrageous claims ever made
throughout history, none were as shocking, as
scandalous, or as revolutionary as the claims
made by Jesus of Nazareth.
"I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to me will
never go hungry."
"I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows me
will never walk in darkness."
"I am the Good Shepherd, who lays down his life
for the sheep."
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But of all the outrageous claims ever made
throughout history, none were as shocking, as
scandalous, or as revolutionary as the claims
made by Jesus of Nazareth.
"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one
comes to the Father except by me".
"I am the True Vine. Apart from me you can do
nothing."
"I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who
believes in me will never die."
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"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"
To some people, he's a great moral teacher. They
applaud his Sermon on the Mount, his parables,
his words of wisdom about life and relationships
and faith.

• A challenge on Jesus' claims about himself (v.
  13).
• Jesus and the leaders exchanged heated,
  escalating challenges (vs. 1953).
• Jesus' identity is defined in a variety of ways
  among religious leaders, from Jewish scholars to
  Deepak Chopra.

• The religious leaders asked Jesus,

Others say he's a great spiritual guide or
master. According to the Muslims, Jesus is a
prophet. In Hindu thought, Jesus is one of many
incarnations of the divine.
Deepak Chopra is a best-selling spiritual author
and adviser, claims that Jesus or Christ is a
state of consciousness we can all aspire to.
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"WHO is Jesus?"

• There are no easy answers to the question of
  Jesus' identity.
• That's perhaps the most pivotal question in human
  history. That question demands a response. First
  from Jesus, then from us.

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Jesus answered,

• At the peak of the heated exchange, Jesus said
  the strange words, "Before Abraham was, I am" (v.
  58).
• Jesus' use of "I am" was a reference to God's
  name, given to Moses (Ex 314).
• Jesus unequivocally declared that he is the God
  of Israel.
• The religious leaders recognized that Jesus had
  claimed to be God (v. 59).

I am who I am is a very difficult phrase to
translate into any words in any language. It's
called the tetragrammaton, identified by the four
Hebrew letters used to spell that name, YHWH,
from which we get the names Jehovah or Yahweh. As
a name, it speaks of existence I am. It speaks
of eternality I was, I am, I will be.
John 854-56 Jesus answered, "If I want glory
for myself, it doesn't count. But it is my Father
who will glorify me. You say, 'He is our God,'
but you don't even know him. I know him. If I
said otherwise, I would be as great a liar as
you! But I do know him and obey him. Your father
Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my
coming. He saw it and was glad.
John 858 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth,
before Abraham was even born, I AM!
It speaks of what theologians call aseity the
self-existence of God. God depends on no one or
no thing for God's existence. God is existence in
himself. It speaks of self-sufficiency. God has
all that God needs in God-self. Yahweh. I AM.
It's an unusual name to be sure.
When Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I am," he
was not only claiming precedence over Abraham, he
was claiming to be God himself. Jesus used that
phrase, "I am," very deliberately.

• "I am."

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Jesus stands alone among the significant
religious figures of history by making this
claim. "Before Abraham was, I am" as pointed and
provocative today as it was when he first spoke
it.

• Consider the patriarchs of Judaism.
• Consider Siddharta Guatama, a.k.a Buddha
• said, "Look not to me. Look to my dharma
  (doctrine).
• Consider Confucius,
• Consider Muhammad
• The primal creed of Islam is "There is no god
  but Allah. Muhammad is his prophet.

• Jesus is unique in claiming to be God.

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• The first possibility is that the story is
  LEGENDARY.
• We could point out that the events and sayings of
  Jesus' life are firmly grounded in real time and
  space, unlike other legends and myths.
• If Jesus' followers were trying to gain
  credibility for their message, why would they
  make a claim so outlandish that it would
  certainly get them laughed at or killed?

• How shall we respond to this claim?

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• The second option is to conclude that Jesus was a
  LUNATIC.
• The problem with that thinking, of course, is
  that Jesus displays none of the other
  characteristics of a madman.
• On the contrary, he comes across as one of the
  most self-aware, self-possessed, clear-thinking,
  level-headed persons who has ever lived. Under
  the most stressful circumstances, when he was
  physically and emotionally stretched to the
  breaking point, he never lost his composure,
  never broke under the strain. Jesus was the
  sanest person who ever lived.

• How shall we respond to this claim?

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• The third possibility was that HE WAS PURPOSELY
  DECEIVING PEOPLE.
• The problem is that if Jesus was a liar, he
  cannot have been the great moral teacher and role
  model that people have made him out to be.
• He wasn't a good man after all. He was a bad man,
  a con-artist, a fraud.
• But, of course, that assessment doesn't fit the
  portrait of Jesus we find in the Gospels. His
  character and teaching are of such caliber that
  he has won the affection and devotion of people
  from every walk of life and every nation on
  earth. Jesus was the finest, truest person who
  ever lived.

• How shall we respond to this claim?

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• The final option is that Jesus was speaking the
  truth, and HE is Lord.
• then his life and death and resurrection become
  the most important events in human history.
• then he has the right to rule our lives and world
  today.
• then he is alive, now, and can invade and
  transform your life today.

• How shall we respond to this claim?

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• By his outrageous claims, Jesus demands a
  verdict REJECT HIM or FALL ON YOUR KNEES BEFORE
  HIM.

• How shall we respond to this claim?