One of the great military leaders of the 19th century was exiled on the rock of St. Helena. There Napoleon Bonaparte reflected on his life and accomplishments. He then called Count Montholon to his side and asked him, "Can you tell me who Jesus Christ was?" The count could not, so Napoleon said:
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"Well then, I will tell you. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I myself have founded great empires; but upon what did these creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions will die for Him... I think I understand something of human nature; and I tell you, all these were men, and I am a man: none else is like Him; Jesus Christ was more than man...have inspired multitudes with such an enthusiastic devotion that they would have died for me... but to do this it was necessary that I should be visibly present with the electric influence of my looks, my words, of my voice. When I saw men and spoke to them, I lighted up the flame of self-devotion in their hearts... Christ alone has succeeded in so raising the mind of man toward the unseen, that it becomes insensible to the barries of time and space. Across a chasm of eighteen hundred years, Jesus Christ makes a demand which is beyond all other difficult to satisfy; He asks for that which a philpsopher may often seek in vain at the hands of his friends, or a father of his children, or a bride of her spouse, or a man of his brother. He asks for the human heart; He will have it entirely to Himself. He demands it unconditionally; and forthwith His demand is granted. Wonderful! In defiance of time and space, the soul of man, with all its powers and faculties, becomes an annexation to the empire of Christ. All who sincerely believe in Him, experience that remarkable, supernatural love toward Him. This phenomenon is unaccountable; it is altogether beyond the scope of man's creative powers. Time, the great destroyer, is powerless to extinguish this sacred flame; time can neither exhaust its strength nor put a limit to its range. This is it, which strikes me most; I have often thougt of it. This it is which proves to me quite convincingly the Divinity of Jesus Christ.
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What a testimony of Jesus Christ! John the Revelator wrote; "The testimony of Jesus Christ is the Spirit of prophecy" (Revelation 19:10). Truly all who sincerely believe in Jesus do experience that remarkable supernatural love toward Him! He does demand completely and unconditionally that your heart is His.
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Jesus looked into the hearts of those who desired to follow Him and called out the things in their lives that would be an obstical to a relationship with God. For each person it is different, for some it is their money, others it is prestige, others it is family and other worldly obligations. Christ has to be above all things of the world, if not that obstical must be removed.
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On man came running to him desirering to be a follower, but Christ saw that money was more important in his love, so Jesus said, "Sell all you have and give it to the poor."
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Another wanted to follow Jesus, but first wanted to collect the inheritance of his dead father, to him Jesus said, "Let the dead bury the dead."
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Another man also wanted to become a follower, but Jesus looked into his soul and saw that his home was more important, and to him Jesus said, "Foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head."
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To others who own families where the center of their life, Jesus said, "Whoever, does not hate his father and his mother and his wife and his children, even his own life, cannot be my disciple."
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Jesus demands to be the center of our lives, to be number one in our life. Nothing short will do. To this I say:
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Yes, My God, it is You that elevates my soul and inspires me with hope. You, Jesus, are the God of my heart. When I am good it is You that makes me so. My Lord, it is You who animates my soul and my soul animates my body. You, O Lord, gave me my "self" therefore you require that I love You more than it!
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