WEBVTT 00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:16.079 In Revelation 12, we introduced the text and 00:00:16.079 --> 00:00:19.339 just the nature of the book and the nature of 00:00:19.339 --> 00:00:23.760 the literature last week. We considered the fact 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:28.039 that this is apocalyptic literature and must 00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:30.859 be understood. And the meaning must be pulled 00:00:30.859 --> 00:00:36.700 out from it as that kind of literature. This 00:00:36.700 --> 00:00:41.100 week we come to a great sign. Or a great symbol 00:00:41.100 --> 00:00:48.100 that appears in the sky. In heaven. The night 00:00:48.100 --> 00:00:51.320 sky. Imagine it dark. And then you have these 00:00:51.320 --> 00:00:55.320 great images appear in the sky. And what is the 00:00:55.320 --> 00:01:01.020 sign that John describes? What is the sign that 00:01:01.020 --> 00:01:05.840 the Apostle John characterizes? Well, he says 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:10.519 it's a woman. And this woman is on the brink 00:01:10.519 --> 00:01:18.200 of having a child. She's clothed in sun, meaning 00:01:18.200 --> 00:01:22.379 she's radiant. She's glorious. She's majestic. 00:01:22.680 --> 00:01:28.739 She's shining. This woman has the moon underneath 00:01:28.739 --> 00:01:33.640 her foot. She has something as her footstool. 00:01:33.700 --> 00:01:39.930 And on her head, She has a crown. Now, we think 00:01:39.930 --> 00:01:46.189 about this sign, and John is telling us something, 00:01:46.390 --> 00:01:51.010 brothers and sisters. He wants to explain something 00:01:51.010 --> 00:01:55.849 to us through this symbol. That's what we will 00:01:55.849 --> 00:01:58.890 consider today. Today, we're going to consider 00:01:58.890 --> 00:02:03.829 the woman. That is in the sign. We're going to 00:02:03.829 --> 00:02:08.020 consider the fact that the woman is in. She's 00:02:08.020 --> 00:02:12.139 in the midst of giving birth. And we're going 00:02:12.139 --> 00:02:16.360 to consider the woman's child that she travailed 00:02:16.360 --> 00:02:22.099 for. The son, this male child that was born to 00:02:22.099 --> 00:02:27.460 her. So beginning with the woman, the people 00:02:27.460 --> 00:02:31.960 of God in the Old Covenant. The Messianic community 00:02:31.960 --> 00:02:38.340 of old. that was given the promises of the coming 00:02:38.340 --> 00:02:42.780 Messiah. Now we can deduce or we can come to 00:02:42.780 --> 00:02:47.080 her identity in several different ways. We could 00:02:47.080 --> 00:02:50.080 look at the surrounding context and look a little 00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:54.139 bit later in the treatment of the woman throughout 00:02:54.139 --> 00:02:58.680 this chapter. But if we just consider how she 00:02:58.680 --> 00:03:05.180 is described in verses 1 through 2, to a point 00:03:05.180 --> 00:03:10.020 where we grasp her identity. So the first thing 00:03:10.020 --> 00:03:13.319 we have to consider, and as we think about this, 00:03:13.479 --> 00:03:17.319 we're not looking to answer it in this way. We're 00:03:17.319 --> 00:03:20.419 not coming to this sign in the sky and saying, 00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:25.000 who is that woman? That's not what we want to 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:27.960 do. We want to come to that sign in the sky and 00:03:27.960 --> 00:03:32.919 say, what does that woman represent? What does 00:03:32.919 --> 00:03:37.639 that symbol represent? What is it trying to teach 00:03:37.639 --> 00:03:42.460 me by what it represents? So we can consider 00:03:42.460 --> 00:03:46.120 several things about the appearance or the description 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:52.900 of this woman in the sky. First, her clothing 00:03:52.900 --> 00:03:57.319 or her garb. Notice this, a great sign appeared 00:03:57.319 --> 00:04:05.009 in heaven. A woman clothed with... Now, the sun 00:04:05.009 --> 00:04:10.789 is very bright. It's hard to look at the sun 00:04:10.789 --> 00:04:14.289 during the day directly because it's so bright. 00:04:14.430 --> 00:04:19.389 It's rays are shining forth so strongly. This 00:04:19.389 --> 00:04:24.029 is how John characterizes this woman in the sky. 00:04:24.670 --> 00:04:29.050 She is clothed. She has a robe of brightness. 00:04:29.810 --> 00:04:35.600 It's as though... She's a luminous, bright light 00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:40.920 that she is clothed in. She's majestic, the favor 00:04:40.920 --> 00:04:45.439 of God. She is glorious. She is utterly radiant. 00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:49.480 Now, we think about this and we go, well, what 00:04:49.480 --> 00:04:53.540 exactly is he talking about? We have a tendency 00:04:53.540 --> 00:04:56.540 to think, and John wants us to think, in terms 00:04:56.540 --> 00:05:01.769 of physical appearance. And he's using these 00:05:01.769 --> 00:05:04.490 symbols for that purpose. But the Old Testament 00:05:04.490 --> 00:05:09.269 actually talks a great deal about the glory and 00:05:09.269 --> 00:05:12.910 the beauty and the holiness and the majestic 00:05:12.910 --> 00:05:17.870 character of God's covenant people. We could 00:05:17.870 --> 00:05:21.089 think, or we could turn to the book of Exodus, 00:05:21.389 --> 00:05:31.680 chapter 19, which says this. In verses 4 -6, 00:05:32.079 --> 00:05:36.480 You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, 00:05:36.779 --> 00:05:41.980 and how I bore you on eagles' wings, meaning 00:05:41.980 --> 00:05:46.379 God gave divine protection to the people of God, 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:51.600 and brought you to myself, meaning God delivered 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:54.720 the people from Israel by His divine power, His 00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:57.240 divine protection, and He brought them out to 00:05:57.240 --> 00:06:01.199 the wilderness to Himself. He delivered them, 00:06:01.259 --> 00:06:04.680 he saved them, he rescued them in the exodus 00:06:04.680 --> 00:06:09.160 to bring them out to himself. Now then, if you 00:06:09.160 --> 00:06:13.540 indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then 00:06:13.540 --> 00:06:17.680 you shall be my own possession among all the 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:22.339 peoples. For all the earth is mine. Now, notice, 00:06:22.620 --> 00:06:25.839 God is saying you're going to be unique among 00:06:25.839 --> 00:06:29.439 all the peoples of the earth. You're going to 00:06:29.439 --> 00:06:32.199 stand out. You're going to be distinct. You're 00:06:32.199 --> 00:06:36.100 going to be special among all the nations of 00:06:36.100 --> 00:06:40.240 the world. And here's what he says in verse 6. 00:06:40.360 --> 00:06:43.500 And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, 00:06:43.699 --> 00:06:48.439 a holy nation. These are the words you shall 00:06:48.439 --> 00:06:53.120 speak to the sons of Israel. The people of God 00:06:53.120 --> 00:06:58.300 have always had the true church. Throughout the 00:06:58.300 --> 00:07:04.339 ages. Has always had a radiant holiness. That 00:07:04.339 --> 00:07:10.879 distinguishes it. From those around it. We could 00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:15.920 look. At Psalm chapter 48. Which says this in 00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:19.860 verses 1 through 3. Great is the Lord. And greatly 00:07:19.860 --> 00:07:24.220 to be praised. In the city of our God. His holy 00:07:24.220 --> 00:07:29.199 mountain. Beautiful in elevation, the joy of 00:07:29.199 --> 00:07:33.019 the whole earth is Mount Zion in the far north, 00:07:33.139 --> 00:07:38.779 the city of the great king. God in her palaces 00:07:38.779 --> 00:07:43.259 has made himself known as a stronghold. What 00:07:43.259 --> 00:07:48.620 is God speaking about? Dwelling with his people 00:07:48.620 --> 00:07:58.670 in his radiant glory. His people. His holy mountain. 00:07:59.009 --> 00:08:02.629 The joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion, brothers 00:08:02.629 --> 00:08:05.610 and sisters. The city of God. The people of God. 00:08:05.709 --> 00:08:11.370 Where God dwells. He is in her midst. He exudes. 00:08:11.449 --> 00:08:15.470 He gives His glory. His majesty. His radiance 00:08:15.470 --> 00:08:19.850 in and through His people. So their radiance 00:08:19.850 --> 00:08:23.449 and their glory finds its source and its root 00:08:23.449 --> 00:08:29.779 in God. and his character himself. We could look 00:08:29.779 --> 00:08:35.039 at the prophet Ezekiel and get a glimpse of what 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:39.500 John is talking about. We read this in Ezekiel 00:08:39.500 --> 00:08:46.779 16, verses 10 -14. I also clothed you with embroidered 00:08:46.779 --> 00:08:50.559 cloth and put sandals of porpoise skin on your 00:08:50.559 --> 00:08:54.019 feet, and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered 00:08:54.019 --> 00:08:56.860 you with silk. I adorned you with ornaments, 00:08:57.139 --> 00:08:59.840 put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around 00:08:59.840 --> 00:09:02.799 your neck. I also put a ring in your nostril, 00:09:02.820 --> 00:09:05.539 earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown 00:09:05.539 --> 00:09:10.480 on your head. Thus, you were adorned with gold 00:09:10.480 --> 00:09:13.720 and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, 00:09:13.779 --> 00:09:17.039 silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, 00:09:17.220 --> 00:09:19.960 honey, and oil, so you were exceedingly beautiful 00:09:19.960 --> 00:09:25.730 and advanced to royalty. That's talking about 00:09:25.730 --> 00:09:29.830 God's covenant faithfulness and love to his people. 00:09:29.950 --> 00:09:33.230 God has placed his love and his mercy and his 00:09:33.230 --> 00:09:38.730 grace on his covenant people. And that makes 00:09:38.730 --> 00:09:42.750 her glorious. That makes her radiant. That makes 00:09:42.750 --> 00:09:47.029 her majestic and vibrant. It makes her shine 00:09:47.029 --> 00:09:51.549 as the sun in a spiritual sense, brothers and 00:09:51.549 --> 00:09:55.289 sisters. Not because of anything innate. or inherent 00:09:55.289 --> 00:10:01.870 within herself, but because of God and His work 00:10:01.870 --> 00:10:06.769 and His blessing and His favor upon His people. 00:10:07.570 --> 00:10:12.169 The New Testament talks a great deal about the 00:10:12.169 --> 00:10:15.009 superior excellence of the new covenant church 00:10:15.009 --> 00:10:19.190 and the beauty and the glory that Christ has 00:10:19.190 --> 00:10:22.110 bestowed. We could think about 1 Peter chapter 00:10:22.110 --> 00:10:25.419 2. where it talks about the spiritual nation, 00:10:25.620 --> 00:10:29.899 which is related to Exodus chapter 19. And it 00:10:29.899 --> 00:10:33.379 talks about the glory of the spiritual temple 00:10:33.379 --> 00:10:37.179 and the spiritual acts of worship and service. 00:10:37.320 --> 00:10:40.259 We can think about Ephesians chapter 2, where 00:10:40.259 --> 00:10:44.059 God himself dwells in his people and they are 00:10:44.059 --> 00:10:47.500 being built up like a house, like a temple. We 00:10:47.500 --> 00:10:50.679 can think about Hebrews chapter 12, brothers 00:10:50.679 --> 00:10:54.029 and sisters. where it compels Mount Zion, the 00:10:54.029 --> 00:10:58.470 old covenant, the doom, the gloom, the death, 00:10:58.669 --> 00:11:02.049 the frightfulness of the old covenant and the 00:11:02.049 --> 00:11:04.570 law and the people of God, the church and the 00:11:04.570 --> 00:11:09.090 old covenant. And the glorious reality of the 00:11:09.090 --> 00:11:11.830 great gathering in the new heavens and new earth 00:11:11.830 --> 00:11:15.769 and in the intermediate period where the saints 00:11:15.769 --> 00:11:19.429 gathered with perfect righteousness and angels 00:11:19.429 --> 00:11:25.389 with Christ. So the people of God have always 00:11:25.389 --> 00:11:30.570 had a glory and a radiance, almost as though 00:11:30.570 --> 00:11:34.789 the sun is shining off of them as John speaks 00:11:34.789 --> 00:11:38.610 about. This is what she has clothed in, brothers 00:11:38.610 --> 00:11:42.809 and sisters. But we also see that she has a footstool 00:11:42.809 --> 00:11:47.529 and a crown. Now when we think about a footstool, 00:11:47.750 --> 00:11:52.429 what does that immediately... cause you to think 00:11:52.429 --> 00:12:00.570 about power, authority, dominion, victory, royalty, 00:12:00.889 --> 00:12:08.269 maybe kingship, kingdom, rule, and power. But 00:12:08.269 --> 00:12:12.309 it also talks about submission. It implies obedience 00:12:12.309 --> 00:12:19.029 and overcoming. What is it that made the covenant 00:12:19.029 --> 00:12:24.259 people of old? so special. What made them unique 00:12:24.259 --> 00:12:26.639 among all the nations, brothers and sisters, 00:12:26.940 --> 00:12:32.460 was the fact that God himself chose them. The 00:12:32.460 --> 00:12:35.840 fact that God himself picked them out. The fact 00:12:35.840 --> 00:12:40.639 that God himself gave them his law. Gave them 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:44.059 the law and the prophets. It's the fact that 00:12:44.059 --> 00:12:48.320 God himself gave those people the promises of 00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:50.960 a Messiah. It's the fact, brothers and sisters, 00:12:51.039 --> 00:12:55.539 that the Messiah would actually come forth from 00:12:55.539 --> 00:13:01.299 this covenant community, this covenant people. 00:13:01.559 --> 00:13:06.759 It's talking about the place of God's rule, the 00:13:06.759 --> 00:13:11.679 kingdom of God, where God rules perfectly and 00:13:11.679 --> 00:13:15.899 righteously in that mediatorial way and the hearts 00:13:15.899 --> 00:13:20.100 and minds of his people. The place where the 00:13:20.100 --> 00:13:24.200 prophets and the word of God speaks authoritatively. 00:13:24.220 --> 00:13:28.879 Where is this? It's talking about the people 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:32.759 of God, brothers and sisters. It's talking about 00:13:32.759 --> 00:13:36.659 those faithful believers in the Old Testament 00:13:36.659 --> 00:13:39.659 who looked forward to a coming Messiah because 00:13:39.659 --> 00:13:43.519 God had given them promises of a coming Messiah. 00:13:44.460 --> 00:13:49.960 God had made a covenant with them. So what is 00:13:49.960 --> 00:13:56.580 the identity of this woman who's wearing this 00:13:56.580 --> 00:14:00.340 crown and this robe? This crown which signifies 00:14:00.340 --> 00:14:04.460 her royal status and the totality of God's people 00:14:04.460 --> 00:14:07.620 where there was 12 tribes and the 12 apostles 00:14:07.620 --> 00:14:12.559 for the New Covenant Church. The whole of God's 00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:18.129 covenant people. It's talking about... The messianic 00:14:18.129 --> 00:14:23.409 covenant community of old preeminently. Those 00:14:23.409 --> 00:14:26.629 believers who look forward to Christ waiting, 00:14:26.889 --> 00:14:32.169 longing, and looking for a Messiah. For deliverance 00:14:32.169 --> 00:14:38.850 and for salvation. It's not talking about Mary. 00:14:39.850 --> 00:14:45.009 An individual person. It's talking about the 00:14:45.009 --> 00:14:50.669 people. That would bring forth the Messiah. The 00:14:50.669 --> 00:14:55.149 people that would produce and provide the lineage. 00:14:55.830 --> 00:15:01.289 And the heritage of the Messiah. The promised 00:15:01.289 --> 00:15:07.950 seed of Abraham. So we think about this. And 00:15:07.950 --> 00:15:10.669 we think about what John is teaching us through 00:15:10.669 --> 00:15:16.480 this sign. It shows us something about. the identity 00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:20.000 of the church and the people of God, brothers 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:23.620 and sisters, when we think about the church, 00:15:23.740 --> 00:15:28.039 when we think about the people of God throughout 00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:32.779 the ages, they're not always esteemed in the 00:15:32.779 --> 00:15:37.519 eyes of the world. The church is not always seen 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:42.279 as great and mighty in the eyes of the world, 00:15:42.360 --> 00:15:45.909 brothers and sisters. It's not always valued. 00:15:46.649 --> 00:15:50.129 The church is certainly not seen as distinguished 00:15:50.129 --> 00:15:54.389 and blessed. The church is certainly not seen 00:15:54.389 --> 00:15:58.029 as glorious and radiant and majestic and full 00:15:58.029 --> 00:16:01.370 of glory in the sight of the unbelieving world 00:16:01.370 --> 00:16:05.590 around us. It's actually what? The opposite of 00:16:05.590 --> 00:16:09.789 that. How is the church presented in the world 00:16:09.789 --> 00:16:13.940 and the culture? The true church. As backwards. 00:16:16.279 --> 00:16:19.639 As antithetical to that which is good for humanity. 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:27.559 As that which is fundamental and doesn't know 00:16:27.559 --> 00:16:31.399 what is right and wrong. But what does John teach 00:16:31.399 --> 00:16:38.139 us? How does God view the church? How does Christ 00:16:38.139 --> 00:16:42.419 view the church? What is heaven's perspective 00:16:42.419 --> 00:16:46.500 on the people of God, brothers and sisters? They 00:16:46.500 --> 00:16:54.139 are glorious. The people of God are highly esteemed 00:16:54.139 --> 00:16:58.639 in heaven's sight. That's you if you are in Christ. 00:17:01.480 --> 00:17:05.279 That is you if you have faith and repentance. 00:17:06.700 --> 00:17:12.539 God sees you as radiant. God sees you as majestic. 00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:16.720 God sees you as His prize, as His possession. 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:21.000 Christ loves you. His mercy and His grace is 00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:24.980 upon you. And that is why you are glorious in 00:17:24.980 --> 00:17:28.799 His sight. Because He has chosen you. Out of 00:17:28.799 --> 00:17:31.720 all the people who don't deserve it, He has chosen 00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:37.680 you to make new, to make holy, to make glorious. 00:17:40.269 --> 00:17:42.630 Brothers and sisters, we ought not to seek to 00:17:42.630 --> 00:17:47.390 be like the world. We ought to rest in the fact 00:17:47.390 --> 00:17:50.849 that we are who we are by the grace of God and 00:17:50.849 --> 00:17:56.210 that is what God wants us to be. And He loves 00:17:56.210 --> 00:17:58.910 us and He is satisfied with us and He sees us 00:17:58.910 --> 00:18:04.829 as that in Christ because of the work of Christ. 00:18:06.210 --> 00:18:13.259 We have to see the church. and ourselves as Christ 00:18:13.259 --> 00:18:19.880 sees us. You have to view the local church and 00:18:19.880 --> 00:18:22.500 the kingdom of God in this world. You have to 00:18:22.500 --> 00:18:27.079 view the place of the promises as God himself 00:18:27.079 --> 00:18:31.599 sees them. Change how you think about these things, 00:18:31.720 --> 00:18:35.420 brothers and sisters. Have you adopted worldly 00:18:35.420 --> 00:18:39.390 thinking with regards to the... the nature and 00:18:39.390 --> 00:18:44.470 the identity of God's people? Or do you see the 00:18:44.470 --> 00:18:48.009 church and think about the church in a way that 00:18:48.009 --> 00:18:52.069 is consistent with how she is put forward in 00:18:52.069 --> 00:18:58.309 this passage? As radiant, as glorious, as shining. 00:19:00.589 --> 00:19:04.589 That's how John puts her forth. That's how John 00:19:04.589 --> 00:19:07.559 pictures her. That's one of the things that John 00:19:07.559 --> 00:19:12.079 wants to teach us about her. Now, this woman 00:19:12.079 --> 00:19:19.500 in the heavens that John paints a picture of 00:19:19.500 --> 00:19:24.839 is a woman in travail. This is the second thing 00:19:24.839 --> 00:19:28.380 we have to consider. The people of God longing, 00:19:28.700 --> 00:19:37.019 waiting, and anticipating the Messiah. Now, there's 00:19:37.019 --> 00:19:44.180 a reason John, I believe, chooses this kind of 00:19:44.180 --> 00:19:49.380 imagery. When we think about the sign that he 00:19:49.380 --> 00:19:52.900 puts forward, he wants it to be loud and clear 00:19:52.900 --> 00:19:59.680 that she is on the brink of giving birth. She's 00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:02.759 on the brink of having a child. What does he 00:20:02.759 --> 00:20:07.680 say? A great sign appeared in heaven, a woman 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:10.839 clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet, 00:20:10.900 --> 00:20:14.259 and on her head a crown of twelve stars. We know 00:20:14.259 --> 00:20:17.940 who she is. But here's what else he tells us. 00:20:18.380 --> 00:20:21.319 And she was with child, and it's not just that 00:20:21.319 --> 00:20:25.720 she was with child, she's nearing the time of 00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:30.380 the child's birth. And she cried out, being in 00:20:30.380 --> 00:20:34.059 labor and in pain, to give birth. It's not as 00:20:34.059 --> 00:20:38.559 though she's early on in the pregnancy. She's 00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:42.579 into the pregnancy a good long while. She's on 00:20:42.579 --> 00:20:47.660 the brink of having a baby. She's in pain, but 00:20:47.660 --> 00:20:51.299 there's this joyful anticipation and expectation 00:20:51.299 --> 00:20:57.200 of what is to come as well. I believe John pictures 00:20:57.200 --> 00:21:01.859 this, and he chooses this because it shows us 00:21:01.859 --> 00:21:09.400 a Combination, a mixture of pain, grief, hurt, 00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:14.799 heartache, being distraught, despair almost at 00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:24.880 times, and great joy, hope, peace, longing, anticipation, 00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:32.299 and expectation. What does this mean? What is 00:21:32.299 --> 00:21:37.460 the travail of the woman that is put forth me? 00:21:37.859 --> 00:21:41.599 It's the redemptive groaning of God's people 00:21:41.599 --> 00:21:46.200 in the Old Testament, brothers and sisters. It's 00:21:46.200 --> 00:21:51.640 the redemptive heartache that took place all 00:21:51.640 --> 00:21:55.480 throughout the Old Covenant as the people of 00:21:55.480 --> 00:22:01.390 God had hardship waiting for the Messiah. but 00:22:01.390 --> 00:22:05.930 also as the people of God had great joy and anticipation 00:22:05.930 --> 00:22:10.170 and expectation as they looked to the Messiah 00:22:10.170 --> 00:22:16.789 for their hope, for what is to come, for victory, 00:22:16.910 --> 00:22:21.950 and for success, and for life. It's the redemptive 00:22:21.950 --> 00:22:27.829 groanings of God's covenant people before the 00:22:27.829 --> 00:22:34.059 coming of Christ. Now why are the people of God, 00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:40.160 of old, experiencing these redemptive groanings? 00:22:41.180 --> 00:22:45.779 Why are they agonizing and why are they travailing 00:22:45.779 --> 00:22:51.660 as they wait for the Messiah? One significant 00:22:51.660 --> 00:22:58.740 cause is the fact of sin and unbelief. Why is 00:22:58.740 --> 00:23:03.869 there any groaning? Why is there any suffering? 00:23:04.890 --> 00:23:08.910 Why is there any heartache in the world? Why 00:23:08.910 --> 00:23:13.349 is there any pain? Why is there any loss? Why 00:23:13.349 --> 00:23:16.289 is there any grief in this world at all? Because 00:23:16.289 --> 00:23:19.650 sin is coming to the world as a result of our 00:23:19.650 --> 00:23:22.650 forefather Adam being unfaithful to the covenant 00:23:22.650 --> 00:23:28.289 God made with him. Sin has ushered in these redemptive 00:23:28.289 --> 00:23:31.349 longings into the life of God's people. But it's 00:23:31.349 --> 00:23:35.789 not just the sin. It's unbelief. It's not believing 00:23:35.789 --> 00:23:40.170 what God has said and what God has told His people 00:23:40.170 --> 00:23:46.549 with regards to the promises. In a sense, the 00:23:46.549 --> 00:23:50.789 people of God, of old, the saints of old, brought 00:23:50.789 --> 00:23:56.900 this on themselves. Why are so many in heartache 00:23:56.900 --> 00:24:00.440 today? Why are so many struggling? Why are so 00:24:00.440 --> 00:24:03.220 many angry and bitter and hard -hearted? Because 00:24:03.220 --> 00:24:05.819 of their own actions and their own hearts and 00:24:05.819 --> 00:24:11.200 their own minds so often. Sin causes us to do 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:14.779 wild, wicked, hard things, and there are consequences. 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:18.900 The Bible teaches we reap what we sow, and that 00:24:18.900 --> 00:24:23.880 is true of the people of God as well. So, why? 00:24:24.440 --> 00:24:29.160 Or the people of old. Experiencing these redemptive 00:24:29.160 --> 00:24:34.720 groanings. Because of their sin. Because of their 00:24:34.720 --> 00:24:39.119 unbelief. In the life of the people. In the life 00:24:39.119 --> 00:24:42.180 of Israel. In the life of the patriarchs. In 00:24:42.180 --> 00:24:46.180 the life of the kings. In the time of the kings. 00:24:46.539 --> 00:24:50.140 And the prophets we see the same thing. When 00:24:50.140 --> 00:24:52.460 they were in exile. When they were not in exile. 00:24:52.500 --> 00:24:56.180 Sin and unbelief. had its way and brought about 00:24:56.180 --> 00:25:01.940 redemptive longings. But we also see it's not 00:25:01.940 --> 00:25:05.000 just sin and unbelief which bring these about. 00:25:05.140 --> 00:25:08.579 If we consider the Bible, it's actually, in addition 00:25:08.579 --> 00:25:13.880 to that, the consequences of their sin and unbelief. 00:25:15.299 --> 00:25:19.279 Why did the people of God have these redemptive 00:25:19.279 --> 00:25:23.160 groanings? Brothers and sisters, a large part 00:25:23.160 --> 00:25:26.700 of it is because their sin and their unbelief 00:25:26.700 --> 00:25:30.019 brought about the disciplining hand of God into 00:25:30.019 --> 00:25:36.900 their life. Why did the nation seemingly have 00:25:36.900 --> 00:25:40.000 success at times? If you read 1st, 2nd Chronicles, 00:25:40.160 --> 00:25:43.299 1st, 2nd Kings, why would some kings do well 00:25:43.299 --> 00:25:46.299 and other kings do poorly? Because of obedience 00:25:46.299 --> 00:25:49.519 or unfaithfulness, unfaithfulness, disobedience 00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:52.289 to God's covenant and God's word. And what would 00:25:52.289 --> 00:25:54.730 happen when they were disobedient and unfaithful? 00:25:54.769 --> 00:25:57.150 God would discipline them, judge them, and they 00:25:57.150 --> 00:25:59.369 would be overthrown and they would be defeated. 00:26:00.589 --> 00:26:04.970 The consequences of their unbelief and their 00:26:04.970 --> 00:26:09.869 sin. They experienced hardship in the life of 00:26:09.869 --> 00:26:12.569 the nation, in the life of the people before 00:26:12.569 --> 00:26:18.009 Christ, because there are consequences for not 00:26:18.009 --> 00:26:24.369 believing God. and His Word. There are consequences 00:26:24.369 --> 00:26:30.250 for volitionally and willfully choosing to sin 00:26:30.250 --> 00:26:33.789 against a holy and a righteous God who oversees 00:26:33.789 --> 00:26:38.630 and superintends all things in this world. So 00:26:38.630 --> 00:26:43.890 we see that they have these redemptive groanings 00:26:43.890 --> 00:26:48.750 as a result of their sin and their unbelief. 00:26:50.550 --> 00:26:56.269 Ultimately, this all came to a point when the 00:26:56.269 --> 00:27:01.589 nation was exiled. Do you remember how the nation 00:27:01.589 --> 00:27:04.890 was overthrown? The northern and then the southern, 00:27:05.069 --> 00:27:09.529 I believe, in that order. And they're taken off 00:27:09.529 --> 00:27:11.529 to Babylon. You could read the whole book of 00:27:11.529 --> 00:27:15.509 Daniel. And what's the basis for the book of 00:27:15.509 --> 00:27:21.660 Daniel? The people of God in exile. The people 00:27:21.660 --> 00:27:25.279 of God living in exile and banishment. And why 00:27:25.279 --> 00:27:27.940 were they doing these things? Why did they experience 00:27:27.940 --> 00:27:31.039 these things? Because of their unbelief and their 00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:36.720 sin. So we find that there are many, many reasons 00:27:36.720 --> 00:27:42.640 for these redemptive groanings in their life. 00:27:42.740 --> 00:27:46.279 This pain, this grief. this mourning, this sadness. 00:27:47.240 --> 00:27:53.380 Isaiah chapter 26 says this. Verses 17 and 18. 00:27:54.920 --> 00:27:57.759 As a pregnant woman approaches the time to give 00:27:57.759 --> 00:28:02.099 birth, she writhes and cries out in her labor 00:28:02.099 --> 00:28:08.720 pains. Thus were we before you, O Lord. We were 00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:11.640 pregnant. We writhed in labor. We gave birth. 00:28:12.750 --> 00:28:16.950 As it seems only to win. We could not accomplish 00:28:16.950 --> 00:28:20.250 deliverance for the earth. Nor were the inhabitants 00:28:20.250 --> 00:28:27.369 of the world born. It's talking about. Israel's 00:28:27.369 --> 00:28:32.049 unfaithfulness before God and his faithfulness. 00:28:32.529 --> 00:28:36.329 And the promises of what he would do. And what 00:28:36.329 --> 00:28:38.670 he would bring about. And what he would accomplish 00:28:38.670 --> 00:28:44.339 for the people. We could think about many of 00:28:44.339 --> 00:28:50.079 the barren women in Scripture. We could think 00:28:50.079 --> 00:28:54.579 about Rachel. Or before Rachel, we could think 00:28:54.579 --> 00:29:00.240 about Sarah, Abraham's wife. She was barren. 00:29:01.039 --> 00:29:05.059 She could not conceive. She could have no child. 00:29:05.200 --> 00:29:10.970 And that brought grief, shame, and sadness. into 00:29:10.970 --> 00:29:14.369 her life because that was the culture of the 00:29:14.369 --> 00:29:18.430 day. It was a shameful thing not to have children. 00:29:18.869 --> 00:29:23.769 It was a shameful thing not to have posterity 00:29:23.769 --> 00:29:26.609 or to leave a legacy, especially a male child 00:29:26.609 --> 00:29:30.710 in that day, in that age. And so it brought shame 00:29:30.710 --> 00:29:36.210 and ostracization in the life of a woman. But 00:29:36.210 --> 00:29:41.930 she experienced great joy. Great anticipation, 00:29:42.170 --> 00:29:47.130 as God promised she would, in fact, have a child. 00:29:48.210 --> 00:29:51.190 There was grief, there was mourning, there was 00:29:51.190 --> 00:29:54.470 sadness, but God opened her womb and brought 00:29:54.470 --> 00:29:59.730 forth a child, the child of promise. God brought 00:29:59.730 --> 00:30:03.809 about the lineage that would bring about the 00:30:03.809 --> 00:30:07.430 Messiah. And so he demonstrates and he proves 00:30:07.430 --> 00:30:11.960 his sovereignty the lineage, and the bringing 00:30:11.960 --> 00:30:16.319 about of the Messiah. There was great grief and 00:30:16.319 --> 00:30:20.279 sadness and heartache as the people of God waited 00:30:20.279 --> 00:30:26.880 for the Messiah that God had promised. But we 00:30:26.880 --> 00:30:29.220 also see, brothers and sisters, that there was 00:30:29.220 --> 00:30:33.940 great joy, peace. There was anticipation and 00:30:33.940 --> 00:30:39.470 expectation, hope. That the people of God enjoyed 00:30:39.470 --> 00:30:43.309 as they waited, looking forward to and longing 00:30:43.309 --> 00:30:48.470 for the Messiah that was promised. It wasn't 00:30:48.470 --> 00:30:54.450 just heartache. It wasn't just hardship and sadness 00:30:54.450 --> 00:30:58.589 and trial and difficulty and travail. This travail 00:30:58.589 --> 00:31:04.289 also shows that there was expectation. There 00:31:04.289 --> 00:31:07.880 was anticipation in the life. Of God's people. 00:31:08.380 --> 00:31:12.759 Would you read Isaiah 54. And you can just sense. 00:31:12.799 --> 00:31:17.480 The joy. That is being communicated. In this 00:31:17.480 --> 00:31:22.160 passage. Shout for joy. Oh barren one. You who 00:31:22.160 --> 00:31:25.900 have born no child. Break forth into joyful shouting. 00:31:26.099 --> 00:31:29.420 And cry aloud. You who have not travailed. For 00:31:29.420 --> 00:31:32.019 the sons of the desolate one. Will be more numerous. 00:31:32.200 --> 00:31:35.099 Than the sons of the married woman. Says the 00:31:35.099 --> 00:31:39.200 Lord. Enlarge the place of your tent and stretch 00:31:39.200 --> 00:31:41.960 out the curtains of your dwelling. Spare not. 00:31:43.000 --> 00:31:45.619 Lengthen your cords and strengthen your pegs 00:31:45.619 --> 00:31:48.200 for you will spread abroad to the right and to 00:31:48.200 --> 00:31:51.420 the left and your descendants will possess nations 00:31:51.420 --> 00:31:56.059 and will resettle the desolate cities. Restoration 00:31:56.059 --> 00:31:59.779 is coming. Renewal is coming. Regathering is 00:31:59.779 --> 00:32:02.859 coming. Salvation is coming. The new covenant 00:32:02.859 --> 00:32:07.380 is coming. The Messiah is coming. These are travail. 00:32:07.500 --> 00:32:11.880 These are birth pains as they wait for what God 00:32:11.880 --> 00:32:16.180 has promised. Fear not, for you will not be put 00:32:16.180 --> 00:32:20.420 to shame. And do not feel humiliated, for you 00:32:20.420 --> 00:32:23.019 will not be disgraced. But you will forget the 00:32:23.019 --> 00:32:25.579 shame of your youth and the reproach of your 00:32:25.579 --> 00:32:29.640 widowhood. You will remember no more. For your 00:32:29.640 --> 00:32:33.920 husband is your maker. whose name is the Lord 00:32:33.920 --> 00:32:37.859 of hosts. And your Redeemer is the Holy One of 00:32:37.859 --> 00:32:40.680 Israel who is called the Lord of all the earth. 00:32:40.859 --> 00:32:44.539 For the Lord has called you like a wife forsaken 00:32:44.539 --> 00:32:47.599 and grieved in spirit, even like a wife of one's 00:32:47.599 --> 00:32:52.359 youth when she is rejected, says your God. Hope, 00:32:52.480 --> 00:32:58.180 joy, anticipation, and expectation for what is 00:32:58.180 --> 00:33:03.940 to come because the Messiah was yet to come. 00:33:05.259 --> 00:33:08.420 This travail, all these redemptive groanings, 00:33:08.440 --> 00:33:12.579 don't just come in the form of despair. They 00:33:12.579 --> 00:33:16.980 come in the form of faithful waiting and expectation 00:33:16.980 --> 00:33:26.500 for God's promises. We think again about the 00:33:26.500 --> 00:33:31.000 world around us and our lives. Maybe even the 00:33:31.000 --> 00:33:33.079 things in our own homes, in our own families, 00:33:33.380 --> 00:33:37.940 in our own church life. Brothers and sisters, 00:33:38.240 --> 00:33:42.619 those things ought to cause and well up within 00:33:42.619 --> 00:33:48.920 us a desire, a longing for things to be righted, 00:33:48.960 --> 00:33:54.380 for things to be reconciled. But we mustn't let 00:33:54.380 --> 00:33:58.839 these things drive us to despair. We must let 00:33:58.839 --> 00:34:01.819 these things drive us to the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:34:01.960 --> 00:34:06.759 who is the only one who can and the only one 00:34:06.759 --> 00:34:14.420 who is able to fix these things ultimately, fully, 00:34:14.619 --> 00:34:21.119 and finally. But we also ought to look at the 00:34:21.119 --> 00:34:24.440 travails in our own life, the redemptive groanings 00:34:24.440 --> 00:34:28.590 that we experience as we wait. for the second 00:34:28.590 --> 00:34:33.130 advent of Christ. And let them remind us of the 00:34:33.130 --> 00:34:36.369 promises that have been made to us about what 00:34:36.369 --> 00:34:43.050 is going to take place. Just as real as the heartache 00:34:43.050 --> 00:34:46.389 is in the life of God's people, brothers and 00:34:46.389 --> 00:34:49.869 sisters, is the joy and the hope, the anticipation 00:34:49.869 --> 00:34:53.869 and the expectation of what is to come when Christ 00:34:53.869 --> 00:34:59.829 returns. We have to let those things drive us 00:34:59.829 --> 00:35:04.630 not to despair, but to Christ and to rejoicing 00:35:04.630 --> 00:35:08.389 at the fact that God has promised that these 00:35:08.389 --> 00:35:14.230 things will be fixed. These things will be fully 00:35:14.230 --> 00:35:17.489 and finally taken care of and made right. When? 00:35:18.130 --> 00:35:23.500 After a turn of the Lord Jesus Christ. when He 00:35:23.500 --> 00:35:30.360 comes to this world once again, we must let them 00:35:30.360 --> 00:35:35.960 drive us to Christ in joy and hope of what we 00:35:35.960 --> 00:35:40.019 have in Christ and what will be true of us in 00:35:40.019 --> 00:35:42.699 greater measure and greater degree in a manifest 00:35:42.699 --> 00:35:48.059 form when Christ returns. This was a woman in 00:35:48.059 --> 00:35:52.730 travail. And it teaches us about the redemptive 00:35:52.730 --> 00:35:58.070 groanings of God's covenant people before Christ 00:35:58.070 --> 00:36:02.469 came to this world. But what about the woman's 00:36:02.469 --> 00:36:09.690 child that she travailed for? The promised Messiah 00:36:09.690 --> 00:36:15.510 that the people of God waited for. Because she 00:36:15.510 --> 00:36:22.820 does give birth. The travails do end. The turmoil 00:36:22.820 --> 00:36:27.280 and the anticipation, in a sense, comes to a 00:36:27.280 --> 00:36:30.179 close in the image and the picture that John 00:36:30.179 --> 00:36:33.760 is using because we read in verse 5, And she 00:36:33.760 --> 00:36:37.559 gave birth to a son, a male child who was to 00:36:37.559 --> 00:36:41.440 rule all the nations, with a rod of iron, and 00:36:41.440 --> 00:36:45.780 her child was cut up to God and to his throne. 00:36:51.599 --> 00:36:56.280 We don't need to jump back and forth about who 00:36:56.280 --> 00:37:02.619 this figure is. Who is it that came forth from 00:37:02.619 --> 00:37:08.619 the covenant community of old? The Messiah, Jesus 00:37:08.619 --> 00:37:15.659 Christ. The groaning, in a sense, was taking 00:37:15.659 --> 00:37:20.250 place because one was to come. but had not yet 00:37:20.250 --> 00:37:25.449 arrived. One was promised, but those promises 00:37:25.449 --> 00:37:29.829 had not been realized, and they had not been 00:37:29.829 --> 00:37:36.449 fulfilled as they would be one day. It's speaking 00:37:36.449 --> 00:37:40.570 of the Messiah that was promised throughout the 00:37:40.570 --> 00:37:48.849 Old Covenant. The Messiah, who is Christ, That 00:37:48.849 --> 00:37:51.550 was spoken of and alluded to and foreshadowed 00:37:51.550 --> 00:37:56.590 in all kinds of ways throughout the Old Covenant. 00:37:56.730 --> 00:38:01.889 It's as though the Old Covenant, in all of its 00:38:01.889 --> 00:38:04.730 parts, in all of its portions, in all of its 00:38:04.730 --> 00:38:08.110 pieces, its stories, its characters, it's as 00:38:08.110 --> 00:38:12.750 though the Old Covenant is pregnant with the 00:38:12.750 --> 00:38:17.659 Messiah. With Messianic thought, with messianic 00:38:17.659 --> 00:38:22.880 truths, with Christ, brothers and sisters. It's 00:38:22.880 --> 00:38:26.940 as though it's gradually building and progressing 00:38:26.940 --> 00:38:31.500 to the point and place where Christ would come 00:38:31.500 --> 00:38:36.940 into this world, where the Messiah would arrive 00:38:36.940 --> 00:38:42.179 and appear on the scene for God's covenant people. 00:38:43.599 --> 00:38:47.940 The Messiah is the seed promised in Genesis 3, 00:38:48.239 --> 00:38:53.719 verse 15, where the offspring of the woman is 00:38:53.719 --> 00:38:59.280 going to crush the head of the serpent. The Messiah 00:38:59.280 --> 00:39:04.519 is the seed of Abraham that would bless the entire 00:39:04.519 --> 00:39:09.579 world, brothers and sisters. It's the promised 00:39:09.579 --> 00:39:13.119 Messiah that would come forth from Abraham's... 00:39:13.309 --> 00:39:18.590 physical lineage, and through the nation of Israel. 00:39:19.710 --> 00:39:22.769 He is the angel of the Lord that mediated the 00:39:22.769 --> 00:39:26.050 promises of God to the people of God that would 00:39:26.050 --> 00:39:30.110 one day become incarnate and take on flesh. The 00:39:30.110 --> 00:39:33.829 Messiah, brothers and sisters, is the seed promised 00:39:33.829 --> 00:39:38.369 all throughout the Bible. He is the one greater 00:39:38.369 --> 00:39:43.579 than Moses, the prophet greater. Than Moses. 00:39:44.659 --> 00:39:47.500 He is the servant of the Lord. As the prophet 00:39:47.500 --> 00:39:50.219 Isaiah spoke of him. And the suffering servant. 00:39:50.320 --> 00:39:57.019 Of Isaiah chapter 53. He is the one. Who would 00:39:57.019 --> 00:40:00.760 sit. And rule on the throne of David. Forever. 00:40:02.699 --> 00:40:07.800 Without end. He is the great shepherd. Of the 00:40:07.800 --> 00:40:12.039 sheep. That would regather and restore. And rebuild 00:40:12.039 --> 00:40:17.460 the nation of Israel. That would gather in. All 00:40:17.460 --> 00:40:22.139 the sheep. He is the great prophet. The great 00:40:22.139 --> 00:40:25.420 priest. And the great king. That would come and 00:40:25.420 --> 00:40:28.800 mediate. The greater sacrifice. And the greater 00:40:28.800 --> 00:40:33.260 salvation. And bring God and man together. In 00:40:33.260 --> 00:40:42.000 the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is the type. He 00:40:42.000 --> 00:40:47.099 is the antitype of all the types in the Old Testament 00:40:47.099 --> 00:40:52.000 that foreshadow him. The Messiah is the fulfillment 00:40:52.000 --> 00:40:58.440 of every promise and every prophecy regarding 00:40:58.440 --> 00:41:02.500 the Messiah, the Messianic community, the new 00:41:02.500 --> 00:41:05.139 heavens and the new earth, and the work that 00:41:05.139 --> 00:41:08.719 he would accomplish. Brothers and sisters, We're 00:41:08.719 --> 00:41:12.119 talking about none other than the Lord Jesus 00:41:12.119 --> 00:41:16.860 Christ himself. He was born in Bethlehem. We're 00:41:16.860 --> 00:41:20.840 talking about the Son of God who took on flesh 00:41:20.840 --> 00:41:25.739 and dwelt among us. The one that was the God 00:41:25.739 --> 00:41:32.579 -man and born of the Virgin Mary. The Alpha and 00:41:32.579 --> 00:41:35.980 the Omega, the great physician, the great I Am. 00:41:36.489 --> 00:41:38.989 the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, 00:41:39.030 --> 00:41:44.690 and the Lion of the tribe of Judah. We're talking 00:41:44.690 --> 00:41:51.869 about our Lord, our Master, our Savior, Jesus 00:41:51.869 --> 00:41:57.769 Christ the Lord. This is why when we come to 00:41:57.769 --> 00:42:01.610 the New Testament narrative accounts of the birth 00:42:01.610 --> 00:42:07.599 of Christ, we read this in Luke chapter 22. full 00:42:07.599 --> 00:42:11.579 of anticipation, as though the centuries have 00:42:11.579 --> 00:42:14.880 been culminating and building to this point. 00:42:23.500 --> 00:42:28.659 In Luke 2, starting in verse 22, we read this. 00:42:32.639 --> 00:42:37.110 Or verse 21. And when eight days had passed before 00:42:37.110 --> 00:42:41.650 his circumcision, his name was then called Jesus. 00:42:42.670 --> 00:42:45.869 He was given by the angel before he was conceived 00:42:45.869 --> 00:42:49.489 in the womb, talking about his name. And when 00:42:49.489 --> 00:42:51.849 the days of their purification according to the 00:42:51.849 --> 00:42:55.650 law of Moses were completed, they brought him 00:42:55.650 --> 00:42:59.030 up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. As 00:42:59.030 --> 00:43:02.090 it is written in the law of the Lord, every firstborn 00:43:02.090 --> 00:43:04.750 child that opens the womb shall be called holy, 00:43:05.210 --> 00:43:08.389 to the Lord, and to offer a sacrifice according 00:43:08.389 --> 00:43:11.949 to what was said in the law of the Lord, a pair 00:43:11.949 --> 00:43:15.849 of turtle doves or two young pigeons. And there 00:43:15.849 --> 00:43:19.710 was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. 00:43:20.110 --> 00:43:22.969 And this man was righteous and devout, looking 00:43:22.969 --> 00:43:27.190 for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit 00:43:27.190 --> 00:43:31.670 was upon him. What was he looking for? The consolation 00:43:31.670 --> 00:43:36.639 of Israel. The Messiah. The messianic hope that 00:43:36.639 --> 00:43:38.960 he had known about and he had learned about and 00:43:38.960 --> 00:43:41.639 he had come to long for and come to believe that 00:43:41.639 --> 00:43:44.300 was given to him and the promises that were in 00:43:44.300 --> 00:43:47.800 God's word and in God's law that was written 00:43:47.800 --> 00:43:51.320 down. That he knew in his heart and his mind. 00:43:52.719 --> 00:43:56.539 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit 00:43:56.539 --> 00:44:00.199 that he would not see death before he had seen 00:44:00.199 --> 00:44:05.800 the Lord's Christ, the Lord's Messiah. The Anointed 00:44:05.800 --> 00:44:10.739 One. Jesus Christ. And He came in the Spirit 00:44:10.739 --> 00:44:14.940 into the temple. And when the parents brought 00:44:14.940 --> 00:44:18.679 in the child Jesus to carry out for Him the custom 00:44:18.679 --> 00:44:22.599 of the law, then He took Him into His arms and 00:44:22.599 --> 00:44:27.460 blessed God and said, Now, Lord, You are releasing 00:44:27.460 --> 00:44:31.179 Your bondservant to depart in peace according 00:44:31.179 --> 00:44:35.159 to Your Word. For my eyes have seen your salvation, 00:44:35.500 --> 00:44:38.260 which you have prepared in the presence of all 00:44:38.260 --> 00:44:41.300 peoples, a light of revelation to the Gentiles 00:44:41.300 --> 00:44:44.960 and the glory of your people Israel. He's holding 00:44:44.960 --> 00:44:47.500 a baby in his arms. He's saying that this is 00:44:47.500 --> 00:44:49.960 the salvation, brothers and sisters. Christ, 00:44:49.980 --> 00:44:55.300 the child, the baby in the flesh. That is the 00:44:55.300 --> 00:44:59.500 salvation of the people. That is the light of 00:44:59.500 --> 00:45:03.150 revelation to the Gentiles, the glory. of God's 00:45:03.150 --> 00:45:07.329 covenant people. And his father and mother were 00:45:07.329 --> 00:45:09.550 amazed at the things which were being said about 00:45:09.550 --> 00:45:13.929 him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary 00:45:13.929 --> 00:45:18.030 his mother, Behold, this child is appointed for 00:45:18.030 --> 00:45:22.210 the fall and rise of many in Israel and for a 00:45:22.210 --> 00:45:25.590 sign to be opposed. And a sword will pierce even 00:45:25.590 --> 00:45:28.590 your own soul to the end that thoughts from many 00:45:28.590 --> 00:45:32.849 hearts may be revealed. And there was a prophetess, 00:45:32.849 --> 00:45:37.309 Anna, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of 00:45:37.309 --> 00:45:40.210 Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived 00:45:40.210 --> 00:45:43.150 with her husband seven years after her marriage. 00:45:43.730 --> 00:45:47.949 And then, as a widow at the age of 84, she never 00:45:47.949 --> 00:45:51.550 left the temple serving night and day with fastings 00:45:51.550 --> 00:45:55.409 and prayers. At that very moment, she came up 00:45:55.409 --> 00:45:58.269 and began giving thanks to God and continued 00:45:58.269 --> 00:46:01.909 to speak of Him. to all those who were looking 00:46:01.909 --> 00:46:08.369 for the redemption of Jerusalem. Messianic hope. 00:46:09.429 --> 00:46:14.130 And when does this messianic hope arrive on the 00:46:14.130 --> 00:46:19.090 scene? When does it become tangible? When are 00:46:19.090 --> 00:46:22.449 you able to see this messianic hope? When are 00:46:22.449 --> 00:46:25.429 you able to touch this messianic hope? When does 00:46:25.429 --> 00:46:28.210 salvation arrive for the people of God? When 00:46:28.210 --> 00:46:32.570 Christ arrives. When the Lord Jesus Christ himself 00:46:32.570 --> 00:46:38.369 comes on the scene. Salvation comes to the people 00:46:38.369 --> 00:46:43.329 of God. The hope of Israel. The dreams. The longings. 00:46:43.329 --> 00:46:46.250 The desires. The anticipation. The waiting. It's 00:46:46.250 --> 00:46:49.750 all fulfilled and wrapped up in the person and 00:46:49.750 --> 00:46:55.329 the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why. 00:46:56.809 --> 00:47:02.010 Christmas is important. Because it's talking 00:47:02.010 --> 00:47:06.329 about the coming, the first advent of the Lord 00:47:06.329 --> 00:47:12.190 Jesus Christ. Now, when we think about the first 00:47:12.190 --> 00:47:17.110 advent of Christ, there was much that was seemingly 00:47:17.110 --> 00:47:20.869 concealed. Wasn't there, brothers and sisters? 00:47:22.590 --> 00:47:28.280 It was still an element of mystery. in the Incarnation. 00:47:29.519 --> 00:47:34.519 His glory was not seen in His first advent, His 00:47:34.519 --> 00:47:40.639 first coming. His power, His authority, His majesty 00:47:40.639 --> 00:47:45.460 was not seen. It was not tangible. It was not 00:47:45.460 --> 00:47:48.420 on display as it could have been in His first 00:47:48.420 --> 00:47:51.539 coming. In fact, the first advent, the first 00:47:51.539 --> 00:47:56.510 coming of Christ definitively marked by humiliation. 00:47:59.369 --> 00:48:04.210 Lowliness on the part of the Son of God. He took 00:48:04.210 --> 00:48:06.730 on flesh and dwelt among us, brothers and sisters. 00:48:06.889 --> 00:48:13.210 He lived unto the law. And how did he die? As 00:48:13.210 --> 00:48:18.849 a criminal. In a shameful death being mocked. 00:48:19.449 --> 00:48:24.889 It was marked by humiliation. lowliness, pain, 00:48:25.329 --> 00:48:32.429 suffering. But those days came to an end. He 00:48:32.429 --> 00:48:35.630 didn't stay on the cross, did he, brothers and 00:48:35.630 --> 00:48:40.750 sisters? He came when he was born as a baby to 00:48:40.750 --> 00:48:44.630 go to the cross. But he didn't stay on the cross. 00:48:45.670 --> 00:48:49.989 Three days later, he rose from the dead of his 00:48:49.989 --> 00:48:54.280 own authority, his own power. And then he ascended 00:48:54.280 --> 00:48:59.460 to the Father's right hand sometime later. He's 00:48:59.460 --> 00:49:03.460 ruling and he's reigning. So the first coming 00:49:03.460 --> 00:49:09.340 of Christ really inaugurates and starts another 00:49:09.340 --> 00:49:13.659 period of waiting for the new covenant people 00:49:13.659 --> 00:49:20.000 of God. The church throughout the ages has always 00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:27.860 been a waiting. A longing church. A looking church 00:49:27.860 --> 00:49:33.599 to see what is ahead. An expectant church. And 00:49:33.599 --> 00:49:39.159 we are no different. Because there is another 00:49:39.159 --> 00:49:45.539 advent ahead of us. There is the second coming 00:49:45.539 --> 00:49:49.139 of the Lord Jesus Christ. But how will this coming 00:49:49.139 --> 00:49:57.500 be different than his first? That which was concealed 00:49:57.500 --> 00:50:04.800 and hidden and not seen in the first will be 00:50:04.800 --> 00:50:09.739 fully manifest and fully evident and fully witnessed 00:50:09.739 --> 00:50:14.960 and fully felt by every human being on planet 00:50:14.960 --> 00:50:20.460 earth when he returns. Just as all of redemptive 00:50:20.460 --> 00:50:25.840 history For the old covenant saint was culminating 00:50:25.840 --> 00:50:29.380 and leading and building to the first coming 00:50:29.380 --> 00:50:34.500 of Christ. Brothers and sisters, all human history 00:50:34.500 --> 00:50:43.340 is building, progressing, culminating, and heading 00:50:43.340 --> 00:50:48.800 to one distinct point and moment of time, the 00:50:48.800 --> 00:50:52.440 second coming of Christ. when there will be a 00:50:52.440 --> 00:50:56.519 reckoning for the entire world. He's already 00:50:56.519 --> 00:51:01.079 dealt with sin. He's already saved His people. 00:51:01.219 --> 00:51:03.940 He's already called in His elect. And now He's 00:51:03.940 --> 00:51:07.780 coming, not as a little baby, not as one concealed 00:51:07.780 --> 00:51:12.019 with His glory covered, but as one who is the 00:51:12.019 --> 00:51:15.000 Son of Man in power and glory and authority for 00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:21.429 all the world to see. There will be no mistaking 00:51:21.429 --> 00:51:28.130 about who this God -man is on that great day. 00:51:28.650 --> 00:51:32.110 Whether men like it, whether men rejoice in it, 00:51:32.210 --> 00:51:34.710 whether men run away from it, brothers and sisters, 00:51:34.849 --> 00:51:38.510 you will bow the knee to Christ when He comes 00:51:38.510 --> 00:51:46.010 in glory. Because He will not be coming in humiliation. 00:51:46.849 --> 00:51:52.690 He will be coming in glory and exaltation at 00:51:52.690 --> 00:52:02.309 His next coming. We wait for that. We look to 00:52:02.309 --> 00:52:07.949 that, brothers and sisters. Men in the world 00:52:07.949 --> 00:52:11.389 who do not know Christ have to reckon with the 00:52:11.389 --> 00:52:16.030 fact that they deal with Christ now or they deal 00:52:16.030 --> 00:52:21.440 with Christ later. You come to Him by faith and 00:52:21.440 --> 00:52:28.480 repentance now, or He comes to you in judgment 00:52:28.480 --> 00:52:34.500 on that great day. The gospel is being proclaimed 00:52:34.500 --> 00:52:38.659 to all the nations. The gospel is being preached 00:52:38.659 --> 00:52:42.599 among the nations. The gospel is being preached 00:52:42.599 --> 00:52:46.139 today, and that means there is time for sinners 00:52:46.139 --> 00:52:49.119 to turn from their sin and to trust in Christ. 00:52:49.480 --> 00:52:53.980 but that day will run out. When Christ comes 00:52:53.980 --> 00:52:56.980 back, there's no more gospel preaching, brothers 00:52:56.980 --> 00:53:00.739 and sisters. When Christ returns, there's no 00:53:00.739 --> 00:53:03.559 more call for repentance and faith because of 00:53:03.559 --> 00:53:06.360 your sin and immorality and because of the things 00:53:06.360 --> 00:53:10.820 in your life. That's done. But there is today. 00:53:11.639 --> 00:53:15.079 There is now. There is in this moment, there 00:53:15.079 --> 00:53:17.420 is as long as there is breath left in your lungs, 00:53:17.559 --> 00:53:21.059 you have time to turn from your sins and to trust 00:53:21.059 --> 00:53:25.480 in Christ or deal with Him when He comes again 00:53:25.480 --> 00:53:33.039 in glory and power. The church is to remain faithful 00:53:33.039 --> 00:53:39.539 and wait faithfully as we look to that day. We 00:53:39.539 --> 00:53:43.929 do that by living by faith. According to the 00:53:43.929 --> 00:53:50.590 word that God has given to us. Not getting squirmy 00:53:50.590 --> 00:53:54.070 and antsy in this world and antsy in this life. 00:53:54.590 --> 00:53:58.289 But brothers and sisters, waiting faithfully. 00:53:59.409 --> 00:54:04.250 Knowing what Christ has done in his first advent. 00:54:04.889 --> 00:54:09.650 That we are saved by grace. That we have eternal 00:54:09.650 --> 00:54:13.219 life. that our sins are forgiven, that when we 00:54:13.219 --> 00:54:16.139 die we go to be with God, we go to His throne, 00:54:16.179 --> 00:54:19.340 into His presence, and that we have no condemnation 00:54:19.340 --> 00:54:24.420 or judgment. But we wait, brothers and sisters, 00:54:24.659 --> 00:54:30.260 with faith looking unto Christ throughout our 00:54:30.260 --> 00:54:36.579 lives. Not squirming, but faithful, waiting, 00:54:36.639 --> 00:54:40.750 looking to the promises of God, knowing. That 00:54:40.750 --> 00:54:45.849 just as God faithfully brought about every promise 00:54:45.849 --> 00:54:49.070 to His covenant people at the first advent of 00:54:49.070 --> 00:54:55.010 Christ, He will bring about every promise to 00:54:55.010 --> 00:54:58.610 its full and final fulfillment and realization 00:54:58.610 --> 00:55:03.630 at the second coming for all of His people.