Bruton reminds messengers ‘Jesus is truly God, fully man’

I’ve never known a time in my ministry when it was more demanding of us as preachers to proclaim who Jesus is than at this moment,” James Bruton, pastor of Birmingham’s Liberty Park Baptist Church said during the closing session of the Alabama Baptist State Convention.
   
Keeping the audience’s attention throughout his sermon, Bruton lived up to the reference made about him during his introduction when he was described as a “Bible preacher” by Don Carroll, retired director of missions for Calhoun Association, who read the sermon Scripture prior to Bruton speaking.
   
Focusing on Jesus as his sermon topic, Bruton asked the audience, “Who is Jesus? The question burns in our minds today when there is so much mass confusion about who He is.”
Bruton said some people today think Jesus is a product of men and legends or a new-age guru.
   
“Islam portrays Him as one of the prophets, but they have at least 124,000 in their list of prophets and Jesus doesn’t even rank at the top of the list,” he said.
   
“Listing Jesus as a prophet simply will not do,” he emphatically stated.
   
Bruton explained that some people during Jesus’ lifetime thought He was one of the prophets. “Jesus asked His followers, ‘Who do you say that I am?’”
   
Referring to a statement attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte during his final years of exile, Bruton said “the emperor stated that great warriors had built their empires with the point of the sword and they still eventually failed. But, Jesus built an enduring empire based on love,” Bruton said.
   
Triggering a loud chorus of ‘Amens’ from the crowd, Bruton told the audience, “In a world that is confused on who Jesus is — a world that needs to hear with clarity a persuasive, precise message about Jesus — let us proclaim Him as the Bible does — as truly God and fully man.”
   
Illustrating his point, the pastor said, “Every attribute of God is demonstrated in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.”
   
He used as an example Jesus’ calming of the wind and waves while on a boat on the Sea of Galilee with His disciples. “They listened to Him speak, they wondered at His words and the disciples finally said, ‘You know all things.’
   
Bruton pointed out that we see Jesus’ deity demonstrated in His willingness and ability to forgive sins.
   
“Even the Pharisees questioned His ability to forgive sins,” Bruton reminded the audience.
   
“Jesus said I am the Light of the World, I am the Living Bread come down from heaven, I am the resurrection and the way. Over and over again He declares ‘I am the way,’” Bruton explained. Bruton again emphasized, “The world is so terribly confused about Jesus.
   
“He was born a helpless baby in Bethlehem, growing up among sinners like you and me,” Bruton said.  “He was ridiculed by religious leaders and misunderstood even by His own friends. This person [Jesus] came to where we are and spoke to us in language we could understand,” he passionately said.
   
Illustrating his point, Bruton told an amusing story about a time when he and his wife realized a baby squirrel had fallen out of its nest.
   
The mother squirrel was making loud, distressing noises because of the close proximity of a cat.
   
Bruton said when they realized what the cause of the mother’s distress was, they ran the cat off and tried to communicate with her that it was now safe to claim her newborn.
   
Finally in frustration, they realized they could not get through to her. “We couldn’t speak her language,” he said.
   
“There was a time when mankind wanted a word from God and a demonstration of who He is. He Himself came to us [through Jesus] and spoke our language,” Bruton said. “We cannot truly appreciate His identity until we discover His purpose in coming.”
    
Bruton said that Jesus tried to explain this to His disciples. “Jesus told them that He would be rejected and killed, and then He would rise again.
   
“Jesus began to refine what is meant by Messiah. People were looking for One to deliver them and provide for their physical needs. Jesus Christ added a new layer of purpose for who He is.
   
“The Son of man has come not to be ministered to but to minister and give His life. Jesus kept making it clear — this is why I came to die on the cross.”
   
Bruton reminded the messengers that “today we live in an uncertain world. “In this age of pluralism many people believe that following any path will eventually lead them to paradise.”
   
But he reminded his listeners to recall the words of Jesus, “No man will come to the Father but by Me.”
   
In conclusion, Bruton quoted from the Bible, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”