Chico Alliance Church
December 15, 2002
Pastor David Welch
“The Ultimate Unlikely Hero”
Unlikely Heroes Part Eight
Introduction
Hebrews 11:32 mentions six individuals used by God to accomplish eternal purposes. All of these individuals had some attribute that qualified them as unlikely candidates for deliverer of the century awards. Yet God used them because of their willingness to listen, believe and obey. The whole eleventh chapter of Hebrews lists those who pleased God by their faith.
Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Hebrews 11:6
Beside these individuals, the Bible is filled with unlikely heroes and unlikely means. All of these names and the other mentioned in the Bible were greatly used by God in spite of sin. Why does God use sinners to accomplish his purposes on earth? Because that is all he has to work with. All have sinned. All are still sinning daily. All will continue to sin until Jesus comes back. Think about some others unlikely heroes recorded in the Bible…
Abraham grew up a pagan among pagans who became the father of Israel because of his faith.
God called Moses, a promising leader whose arrogance led him to murder and failure but whose faith enabled him to become a great deliverer of Israel.
Rahab, a prostitute, shows up in the genealogy of Jesus because of her faith in the true God.
Ehud even though generally looked at as a defective person was used by God to deliver.
Ruth a widowed foreigner shows up in the genealogy of Jesus because of her faith and loyalty.
Esther a beauty pageant winner was used by God to save her people from annihilation.
Nehemiah a simple cupbearer to a foreign king was used by God to motivate the people to rebuild the walls of the holy city.
Amos though not an educated teacher, a preacher or even the son a preacher was used by God to proclaim a message or repentance to a stubborn people.
Paul formerly called Saul killed Christians but was converted and mightily used by God.
All these along with many others, some unnamed heroes because they dared to listen, believe and obey God. All of the deliverances thus far in human history had been short lived and temporary at best. Sin continually dragged mankind back into bondage time and time. No mere human deliverer would be able to do what had to be done to bring about a permanent change in the human heart. What would God have to do to permanently rescue people from their sin and restore relationship with Him? What kind a plan would the infinite all-knowing God conceive and implement? Many missed it because it was not what they had expected or desired.
In spite of many specific prophecies before the fact, many still missed Messiah’s incursion into human life and history. The most anticipated super hero of all was Messiah. From the beginning, God promised a Savior who would save his people and the people of the world from their bondage to sin and people. So many aspects of the Advent of Messiah seemed unlikely; many of which were prophesied hundreds of years before the fact and became apparent only after the fact.
Unlikely nation -- _______________
A tiny little country in the Middle East.
Unlikely Town -- _________________
A tiny little insignificant town in a tiny little country.
Unlikely home town -- __________________
Nathanael said to him (Philip), "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?"." John 1:46
Unlikely teenage _______________ and bewildered ______________
Why would God choose an unknown young unmarried teenager to face pregnancy and the responsibility of bearing the Savior of the world? The man chosen to be the husband of the Messiah’s mother seemed unlikely by station in life. Neither a scholar not a priest, not even a religious or political leader. He was a hard working carpenter thrust into a personal dilemma on the even of marriage plans.
Unlikely Birth -- _______________
Many unmarried girls over the centuries would like to claim that their pregnancy happened without the benefit of a father. The plan included something that had NEVER happened before or since -- a pregnant virgin.
Unlikely _______________________ surrounding his birth
They were forced to travel far from family and friends in a crowded town to give birth in a filthy animal shelter. Not such a great entrance for the ultimate prophet, priest and king.
Unlikely __________ -- shepherds and foreign kings, widows and widowers
Shepherds were the losers of society. They were not well respected. In fact they were not respected at all. Yet God sent angels to them to proclaim the coming of the long awaited national hero. Angels hadn’t appeared to anyone up until Mary and Zachariah and Joseph in a dream. There were some interesting foreign dignitaries from the west who had studied Hebrew prophecy as well as the stars and followed the clues.
God granted some supernatural guidance along the way by way of the heavens which inspired a two year trek across the desert to check out this thing. A wonderful servant of God bore witness to his identity in the temple. An old man near death had been promised he wouldn’t die until he saw the Savior of Israel with his own eyes.
Unlikely _________________ -- Out of Egypt
Mary and Joseph took Jesus down to Egypt to stay our of Herod’s evil sights in fulfillment of a prophetic word.
Unlikely occupation -- ___________________
Many tripped over his beginning. Isn’t this Jesus the carpenter’s son?
Unlikely _________________
Fisherman, tax collectors, uneducated people. Not your typical Harvard graduate ready to impact the world with their intelligence. Simple men enlisted by the ultimate hero to accomplish world change.
Unlikely ________________ ______________________
The Bible says his physical characteristics did not distinguish him from others. On occasion His personal character and glory and excellence impacted those who had a mind to see.
Unlikely _______________ background not schooled in the regular schools
You would think that God would have had Jesus graduate from the school of Gamaliel or some notorious Hebrew scholar and university. We are not told that he was even educated anywhere yet possessed the wisdom of God even at an early age as he conversed with and confounded eh scholars of that day.
Unlikely _______________ beginning -- _ _years old
Why waste time. Why not get going early and begin the business of saving people before thirty. It wasn’t that he was not ready or able.
Unlikely __________________ of ministry __ short years
Why not a longer period of impact on this earth. Look what he did in three years, what would have happened in thirty?
Unlikely _________ touched -- lepers, prostitutes, poor, sinners, sick, lame
Unlikely and even unorthodox __________________
Spit in the dirt. Mud in the eye. Refusal to answer questions. Answer questions with questions.
Unlikely and outrageous _________________
I am the resurrection and the life. I am the way, the truth the life, man comes to the father but by me. Before Abraham was, I AM. I and the Father are one essence.
Unlikely __________________
Die in order to live. Give in order to received. Forgive as God has forgiven you. Love your enemies. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and curse not. Turn the other cheek. Happy are those who suffer. The meek will inherit the earth. Put eternal things first. He who seeks to save their life will loose it; he who looses his life will find it. The first will be last
Unlikely _________________
The eternal God clothed Himself in frail flesh
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philip. 2:5-11
The Lord of the universe entered the world as a baby “veiled in flesh the Godhead see hail the incarnate Deity”. The Creator of all took on the likeness of a created being.
In His prayer to the Father shortly before His suffering and death Jesus expressed his deepest longings.
"I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. "Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. John 17:4-5
The Master of the universe submitted to suffering, indignity, rejection by those he came to save. The sinless Holy one of Israel took on the guilt and the penalty for the sin of every person in the world. The faithful son bore separation from His beloved Father. The source of every living being gave up his own life in an early a horrible death leaving no wife, no children, no apparent legacy
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Cor. 1:18
The Lion of Judah became the sacrificial lamb
Why?
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. John 3:16-17
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. John 1:1-3
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14
By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4:9-10
We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 1 John 4:14
He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, John 1:11-12
And the story is not yet finished. The work is yet to be completed.
1 Cor. 15:20-28, 50-58
For now we groan and suffer the pains of childbirth along with the creation itself.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. Romans 8:18-23
Let us celebrate the ultimate hero.
Jesus Christ the ultimate union of Meekness and Majesty born to die that we might live.
Let’s come to Him
Let’s receive Him
Let’s worship and adore Him.
Let’s declare His Majesty
