Transcript: Discovering Eternal Treasures in Christ: A Christian Perspective

La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días El tema de la palabra de la palabra de Dios es lo que sea el que sea el que sea. Also, the New Testament account in Matthew 1, verses 23-25 declares this truth. which when translated means God with us. Then Joseph, being aroused from his sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him. He took her to his side as his wife, but he had no union with her as her husband until she had borne her first son, and he called his name Jesus. This occasion is a celebration of the Nativity, and it is also called Christmas. Apostle Paul declared in Colossians 2, verse 9 About our Lord He said, In him Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily Our human minds cannot understand How Jesus can be fully God and fully man You see, Jesus could not come to this earth in any other way Dios dice que no persona puede ver y vivir Y sabemos esto por Moses experiencia Cuando se metió el Señor en el monte Y recibió el Ten Commandos Máses aprendió que no uno puede ver y vivir Porque él dwells en unaprochable light according to Exodus 33, verse 20, and in the New Testament, in 1 Timothy 6, verse 16. Verse 16 tells us, Who alone has immortality, and in the sense of exemption from every kind of death, and lives in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. Unto him be honor and everlasting power and dominion, Amen. So be it. You see, God has come near unto us in the person of his son, Jesus Christ. Jesus has taken on the form in which he can be seen, by which he can be experienced and understood by us as human beings. Jesus reveals God the Father to us perfectly since his human life because he is the image of God exhibiting full likeness of the Father Can I tell you that the unapproachable light is also called uncreated light? Just think about that Jesus Christ dwelled and lived in the realm of the uncreated light of eternity That means that he divested himself of his glory, the unapproachable, uncreated light that he was surrounded by to come to this earth and carry out the mission that his heavenly father had sent him to do. Uncreated light is not a light that is manufactured or created by humankind. The transfiguration of Christ on the mountain Where his three disciples saw him Elijah and Moses In a bright cloud That was so brilliant That they were only able to glimpse The three individuals And their radiant white clothing They had to shield their eyes From the bright light And what the disciples saw Was the bright shining of Christ's Own radiant uncreated light de su espíritu, que era supreme y sovereign sobre la vida y la clothing. Y también, en la parte de la creación de la creación, fue blindado por la creación de la creación de la creación de Cristo cuando Jesús confrontó a lo que estaba haciendo para hurt y killar la creación de la creación. Paul fue absolutamente blindado por tres días hasta que Jesús sentó a prophet para ir a la creación y bringecer al Señor. You see, what I have been sharing with you about the uncreated light of our Lord Jesus Christ is the same light that each believer who has confessed their sins, repented of their sins, asked Christ for forgiveness of their sins, and has committed their lives to live for Him and obey Him. In 1 John 1, beginning in verse 6, declares, So if we say we are partakers together and enjoy fellowship with him, when we live and move and are walking about in darkness, we are both speaking falsely and do not live and practice the truth which the gospel presents. But if we really are living and walking in the light, as he himself is in the light, we have true unbroken fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ and his son cleanses us, removes us from all sin and guilt, keeps us cleansed from sin and its forms and manifestations. Verse 8. If we say we have no sin, refusing to admit that we are sinners, we delude ourselves, lead ourselves astray, and the truth which the gospel presents is not in us and does not dwell in our hearts. If we freely admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, he is faithful and just and true to his own nature and promises and will forgive our sins, dismiss our lawlessness, and continuously cleanse us from all unrighteousness, everything not in conformity to his will and purpose and thought and action. Verse 10. And if we claim we have not sinned We contradict his word and make him out to be false and a liar and his word is not in us The divine message of the gospel is not in our hearts John's claim here is that Christians who profess to have fellowship with God, the Father, and his Son, Jesus, yet disobey God's commandments, is lying. John says in verse 7, But if we really are living and walking in the light, as he himself is in the light, we have true unbroken fellowship with one another. And the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses, removes us from all sin and guilt, and keeps us cleansed from sin in all of its forms and manifestations. You see, Apostle John makes it clear that a practicing sinner cannot have a close relationship or fellowship with a holy God. There's a story about a joyful Christian man who was walking along the road one day and met an Irish peddler and said to him, It's a wonderful thing to be saved. Yes, that is true, said the peddler. it certainly is true, but I think there is something more that is equally as good as that. Wow, what can you possibly think that is equal to salvation, said the joyful Christian man. The roadside peddler said, I believe that fellowship with the man who has saved me is equal to salvation. That was his reply. He continued, when we know that we can rejoice with John and say, Truly, our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. Dear listener, this is saying that just to be saved is not enough. There are a lot of professing Christians in name only who say they are saved and know Jesus. But their lives and fruit of their salvation does not depict a personal, intimate fellowship with their Savior. If we genuinely understand this as true believers in Christ, the source of the light that lives within us is the divine light of Jesus Christ's uncreated light. In John 8, verse 12, the word declares, Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the light, which is life. Jesus says, those that follow him shall not walk in darkness. In other words, those who follow him will be saved from ignorance, faithlessness, disloyalty, and sin. And this is saying that if we sincerely follow him, we become his disciple and will receive his Holy Spirit to bear witness that we are truly a child of God. Jesus said, we shall have the light of life, which brings the fountain of eternal life with it. You see, in a contrast analogy, the sun is the fountain of life by its vitalizing life, giving influences in all things in which neither animal nor vegetative life could exist if it were not for the influence of the sun. And who do you think created the sun? Jesus is the word who spoke all things into existence at the beginning of time. And we read this in the opening scriptures of Genesis. And according to Malachi chapter 4 verse 2, Jesus is the son of righteousness, and he is the fountain of all spiritual and eternal life. In the gospel of John, life is the main term that allows access to understanding of this key word. there are key necessities for human life and these four are described as light water, air and food and if the sun stopped shining everything would die and Jesus Christ is all of these he is the light of life and the light of the world and he is the son of righteousness which we just read in John chapter 8 verse 12 when he declared once more Jesus addressed the crowd and he said I am the light of the world he who follows me will not be walking in the dark but will have the light which is life and by his Holy Spirit he gives us the breath of life as stated in John chapter 3 verse 8 which declares The wind blows breathless where it wills. And though you hear not its sound, yet you neither know where it comes from or where it's going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. Precious Holy Spirit, who is noted as the water of life in John chapter 4 verse 10, when Jesus met the woman at the well and said to her, If you had only known and only recognized God's gift and who this is that is saying to you, give me a drink, you would have asked him instead and he would have given you living water. And as for food, Jesus is the bread of life that came down from heaven and not only has life but gives life. but he is life in which he himself in his own word declares I am the bread of life he who comes to me will never be hungry and he who believes in and cleaves to and trusts in and relies on me will never thirst anymore at any time John chapter 6 verse 35 Jesus is speaking here of the spiritual food that only he can give In John's gospel, light and darkness are reoccurring themes. God is light while Satan is described as the power of darkness. He teaches us that people who either love light or darkness, and this is what controls their actions and their words. You can find that in John chapter 3, verses 16 through 19. those who believe on Christ are the sons of light and just as when the first creation began with the word who is Christ and declared let there be light so the new creature or creation in Jesus Christ begins with the entrance of the uncreated supernatural light of life of Christ into their hearts as a believer In 2 Corinthians chapter 4 beginning, we read, But even if our gospel, the glad tidings, also be hidden, obscured, covered up with the veil that hinders the knowledge of God, is hidden only from those who are perishing and obscured only to those who are spiritually dying and veiled only to those who are lost. Verse 4. For the God of this world has blinded the unbelievers' minds so that they shall not discern the truth, preventing them from seeing the illuminating light of the gospel of the glory of Christ the Messiah, who is the image and the likeness of God. Verse 5. For what we preach is not of ourselves, but Jesus Christ is Lord, and ourselves merely as your servants, slaves for Jesus' sake. Verse 6. who said, let light shine out of darkness, has shown in our hearts, so as to beam forth the light, the illumination of the knowledge of the majesty and glory of God, as it is manifest in the person, and is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ the Messiah. Verse 7, however, we possess this precious treasure, the divine light of the gospel in frail human vessels of the earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not ourselves. You see, there is an excellency of power of the divine light in the gospel of Christ Jesus, which enlightens the mind, convinces the conscience, and is able to convert one's soul and cause the heart to rejoice. Hallelujah! But you must understand, dear listener, all of this power is from God and it is a gift from God who is the author of light this is not from man men and women may be instruments of imparting this truth but it must be God above all things who must be glorified because of his precious Holy Spirit opens up the spiritual understanding of this truth and imparts it as divine knowledge and revelation into a hungry heart. James chapter 1 verse 17 declares, Every good gift and every perfect, free, large, full gift is from above. It comes down from the Father of all that gives light in the shining of, whom there could be no variation, rising or setting or shadow, cast by his turning in an eclipse. this divine supernatural uncreated light of Jesus Christ brings life with it and they who walk in his light live in his life and grow in their relationship with him and this relationship grows and matures into a wonderful and beautiful treasure called fellowship with the almighty living God who waits for you to come to him. In 1 John chapter 1, beginning in, we read, we are writing about the word of life in him who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard, whom our eyes have seen, our own eyes, whom we have gazed upon for ourselves and have touched with our own hands. Verse 2, and the life, an aspect of his being was revealed, made manifest, demonstrated, and we saw as eyewitnesses and are testifying to and declare to you the life, the eternal life in him who already existed with the Father and who actually was made visible, was revealed to us, his followers. Verse 3, And what we have seen and ourselves heard, we are also telling you, so that you too may realize and enjoy fellowship as partners and partakers with us. And this is fellowship that we have, which is a distinguishing mark of Christians, is with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ the Messiah. And we are now writing these things to you, so that our joy in seeing you included may be full and your joy may be complete. Praise God. You see, without the light of our light, which is found in Jesus Christ alone, we cannot experience the divine and supernatural joy that Paul spoke of in Romans chapter 15, verse 13, which declares, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him. Dear ones, what we are talking about today is, what is the greatest treasure that you could ever have in this life on earth? And I think this little testimony involving a little child with her daddy portrays a simple analogy of a divine and supernatural happening in a true believer's life. It starts out by saying, If you really know God as your loving Heavenly Father, you consider companionship with Him your greatest treasure. I heard of a father who had to be away from home about seven months. On his return back, he took his family to a shopping center. Hending some money to his little girl, he said, Lydia, take this money and buy anything you want. The little child's eye is filled with tears. She clung more tightly to her daddy's hand. What's the matter, honey, he asked. She said, I don't want more money, daddy. I just want you. You see, from out of a child's heart and mouth comes the desire within because to a little one in the natural, Their daddy is the closest resemblance to God that they could ever have. And I remember this as a vivid truth as a little girl. My Italian father traveled a lot on business trips all over the United States. We would all gather around the telephone each night that he was gone, and Mother would pass the telephone around to each one of us five children to express how much we missed him. And of course, it was we girls out of one boy who would cry between our expressions of how much we missed him. And each one of us girls today think that our Papa was the most wonderful father that we could have ever had. But taking this into the supernatural realm, Our Heavenly Father is a true and revelatory truth that comes by inspiration of the Holy Spirit within each believer life and soul that makes it known that God is real and the cry from within us should be I need you my Heavenly Father, and I thank you for giving me the greatest treasure in your Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus becomes the Lord of your life. And you know that through the help and the power of precious Holy Spirit, you must guard and protect the knowledge of the truth that you have learned, which is inspired by the true light that came into your soul on the day that you invited Jesus into your heart and truth became illuminated in God's word. John, chapter 1, beginning in verse 9, declares, There it was, the true light was then coming into the world, the genuine, perfect, steadfast light that illumines every person. He came down into the world, and the world was made through him. The world did not recognize him, did not know him. He came to that which belonged to him, to his own, his domain, creation, things, world. and they who were his own did not receive him and welcome him. But to as many that did receive and welcome him, he gave the authority, the power, privilege, and right to become children of God. That is, those who believe, adhere to, trust in, and rely on his name. So, as we grow in this wonderful understanding, Our prayer should be like King David, who cried out, Keep me and guard me as the pupil of your eye. Hide me in the shadow of your wings, O God. David's intent in this prayer simply means that he needed God's constant care and oversight so that he might honor the Lord and enjoy all the promises and many blessings that only God could give him. God alone is good. And apart from him, oh dear listener, we have nothing. We come to understand that our greatest treasure on this earth that we could ever have is a wonderful relationship and fellowship with our precious Savior. Jesus is the highest privilege in life that we could ever desire or want. When we have this kind of relationship building in our lives, everything else is added in the blessing of becoming Christ-like in our outward demonstration of love and care and concern for others rather than just thinking of me, myself, and I. And when Jesus Christ is your Savior, your refuge, and the Lord of your life, you experience God's goodness even in the midst of fiery trials. Our relationship to our circumstances with other people in the future depends with our relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ. And what we're talking about here is the love of God in the hearts of each true child of God. God loves us much more than we could love our children or our spouse or siblings. He loves us more than we love ourselves. Our loving Creator loves His people so much that He gives them all that He has. How do we know this? Because He gave us His only begotten Son, who became poor and died a horrible death on the cross so that we could become rich in Him. Jesus Christ is the greatest treasure or gift that we could ever desire, dear ones. He is eternal life. In closing, we read in Romans chapter 8, beginning in verse 35, where Apostle Paul expresses, Who shall ever separate us from Christ's love? Shall suffering and affliction or tribulation or calamity or distress or persecution or hunger or destitution or peril or sword? Verse 36. Even as it is written, for thy sake we are put to death all day long. We are regarded and counted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through him who loved us. For I am persuaded, beyond a doubt and sure, that neither life, nor death, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening, nor things to come, nor powers. Verse 39 Nor height, nor breadth, or anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in our Lord Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah! This is divine love in motion, dear one. You will never find a limit in the almighty power, all-knowing and all-seeing God, who loves you dearly and gave you his Son to be cherished and worshipped, to be adored for what he has done in making eternal life possible for all who choose him as their Savior. God's steadfast love endures forever, and his knowledge extends to the fall of a single sparrow and the number of hair on our heads. Just think about that. Sparrows are some of the kind of birds that are very numerous, maybe one of the most numerous of all birds. God knows when one of them falls, And he knows on each and every one of you when one hair falls, he knows that. That is amazing. All-knowing, all-seeing, and all-powerful. Nothing will ever separate us from the love of God if you always make Jesus Christ your treasure, your greatest treasure in this life, and obey and worship and honor him until your very last breath on this earth. For all who do this, they have cherished and understood the supernatural divine light, the unapproachable light that lives within them. Hallelujah. Thank you.