WEBVTT 00:00:05.740 --> 00:00:08.720 I believe that one can more easily look into 00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:12.580 the cloudless, frigid night sky of Minnesota 00:00:12.580 --> 00:00:16.559 and see no stars than to look into the Bible 00:00:16.559 --> 00:00:20.460 and miss Jesus Christ. He is the theme of the 00:00:20.460 --> 00:00:23.100 Bible. He himself said, search the scriptures. 00:00:23.399 --> 00:00:27.359 They bear witness of me. So we expect to find 00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:31.339 him when we open the word of God. Jesus himself 00:00:31.339 --> 00:00:34.179 gave us a key statement regarding that truth 00:00:34.179 --> 00:00:38.380 in Luke. chapter 24. I invite you to turn there 00:00:38.380 --> 00:00:41.420 with me again this morning as we talk about an 00:00:41.420 --> 00:00:50.520 Old Testament Christmas. Luke chapter 24. The 00:00:50.520 --> 00:00:55.320 context here is after the resurrection, Jesus 00:00:55.320 --> 00:00:59.020 speaks to his disciples and tells them that the 00:00:59.020 --> 00:01:00.880 things that have happened in those recent days 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:05.760 have been but the fulfillment of prophecy. And 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:09.959 he says in verse 44 of Luke 24, These are my 00:01:09.959 --> 00:01:12.840 words which I spoke to you while I was still 00:01:12.840 --> 00:01:15.819 with you, that all things which are written about 00:01:15.819 --> 00:01:20.500 me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the 00:01:20.500 --> 00:01:25.340 Psalms must be fulfilled. Jesus says, in other 00:01:25.340 --> 00:01:28.959 words, that in each division of the Old Testament, 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:32.430 as the Jews commonly divided it, There were things 00:01:32.430 --> 00:01:36.530 written about him which must be fulfilled. Some 00:01:36.530 --> 00:01:38.730 of those things have been fulfilled. Some have 00:01:38.730 --> 00:01:41.969 yet to be fulfilled. Some of those that have 00:01:41.969 --> 00:01:46.150 been fulfilled were done in his suffering, his 00:01:46.150 --> 00:01:49.090 passion, which is the immediate context here. 00:01:49.709 --> 00:01:52.209 But as well, there are things written in each 00:01:52.209 --> 00:01:55.510 division of the Old Testament about his coming 00:01:55.510 --> 00:02:00.030 in Bethlehem, the incarnation of the Son of God, 00:02:00.030 --> 00:02:02.569 and the mystery. that surrounds that Christmas 00:02:02.569 --> 00:02:05.709 truth. And so we're looking into the Old Testament 00:02:05.709 --> 00:02:10.270 to see our Christmas these weeks. We have seen 00:02:10.270 --> 00:02:13.490 already that the law of Moses points us to Jesus 00:02:13.490 --> 00:02:17.150 Christ. There are prophecies of him, for example, 00:02:17.150 --> 00:02:19.830 in the book of Genesis, as found in chapter 3, 00:02:19.870 --> 00:02:22.830 verse 15, in the Protevangelium. That is the 00:02:22.830 --> 00:02:26.789 first word of the coming Redeemer, the one who 00:02:26.789 --> 00:02:29.919 would be of the seed of the woman. and who, although 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:33.580 his heel would be bruised, would nonetheless 00:02:33.580 --> 00:02:38.419 crush the head of the serpent, Satan. And then 00:02:38.419 --> 00:02:40.979 we saw him in Genesis chapter 12 in the promised 00:02:40.979 --> 00:02:44.060 blessing that would come to Abraham and through 00:02:44.060 --> 00:02:47.759 Abraham to all the families of the earth. Jesus 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:50.840 Christ is the seed of Abraham in whom that blessing 00:02:50.840 --> 00:02:55.060 will be fulfilled. And then we saw him as well 00:02:55.060 --> 00:02:58.009 in the prophecy of Moses. When he said to the 00:02:58.009 --> 00:03:00.810 people of Israel, there will come a prophet like 00:03:00.810 --> 00:03:06.909 unto me. You must listen to him. And that prophet 00:03:06.909 --> 00:03:13.370 was Jesus Christ. Finally, we saw him last week 00:03:13.370 --> 00:03:15.810 as revealed in the provision that God made for 00:03:15.810 --> 00:03:17.830 worship for his people in the Old Testament. 00:03:18.849 --> 00:03:23.150 That was the tabernacle. The tent of the meeting, 00:03:23.349 --> 00:03:26.919 it was called. the place where God and man met 00:03:26.919 --> 00:03:31.979 together. And we saw very briefly how the tabernacle 00:03:31.979 --> 00:03:35.139 itself, as well as the veil in the tabernacle, 00:03:35.180 --> 00:03:37.479 the Ark of the Covenant, which was in the Holy 00:03:37.479 --> 00:03:42.319 of Holies, how all of those typify or speak about 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:46.580 the Lord Jesus Christ and point to his coming 00:03:46.580 --> 00:03:50.460 and to his work for our sin. And so what Jesus 00:03:50.460 --> 00:03:52.759 says here we have seen illustrated in the Law 00:03:52.759 --> 00:03:55.919 of Moses. Today I'd like for us to consider the 00:03:55.919 --> 00:03:59.659 Psalms and how the Psalms write about him things 00:03:59.659 --> 00:04:02.939 which must be fulfilled. Now when Jesus spoke 00:04:02.939 --> 00:04:05.439 about the division of the Old Testament called 00:04:05.439 --> 00:04:09.419 the Psalms, he was thinking of more than the 00:04:09.419 --> 00:04:14.580 150 Psalms that are in the psaltery. He was thinking 00:04:14.580 --> 00:04:18.819 about all the books of poetry. But for our consideration 00:04:18.819 --> 00:04:21.180 today, we're going to limit ourselves to the 00:04:21.180 --> 00:04:25.800 book of Psalms and find therein prophecies that 00:04:25.800 --> 00:04:30.139 reveal to us important truths about the Messiah 00:04:30.139 --> 00:04:33.660 in his first coming. We're going to begin by 00:04:33.660 --> 00:04:38.959 turning to Psalm 110, verse 1. If you're not 00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:41.459 very familiar with the Bible, that's right in 00:04:41.459 --> 00:04:43.680 the middle of the book. If you'll open it to 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:45.300 the middle, you'll probably come to the book 00:04:45.300 --> 00:04:48.339 of Psalms. Unless you have a lot of helps at 00:04:48.339 --> 00:04:54.879 the back of your Bible. Psalm 110 and verse 1 00:04:54.879 --> 00:04:59.399 is a dramatic and important messianic statement. 00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:03.800 It is a psalm of David, as the inscription says, 00:05:03.939 --> 00:05:08.180 and that's confirmed in the New Testament. The 00:05:08.180 --> 00:05:14.889 Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand. until 00:05:14.889 --> 00:05:19.110 I make thine enemies a footstool for thy feet. 00:05:20.029 --> 00:05:22.730 I'm particularly interested in the first part 00:05:22.730 --> 00:05:26.529 of that verse, in which David says, The Lord 00:05:26.529 --> 00:05:31.550 says to my Lord. If you notice carefully, the 00:05:31.550 --> 00:05:34.709 two words translated Lord are written differently 00:05:34.709 --> 00:05:39.329 in the English. The first is all in capitals, 00:05:39.329 --> 00:05:44.139 L -O -R -D. That is the English translator's 00:05:44.139 --> 00:05:47.860 way of saying that that word is the Hebrew equivalent 00:05:47.860 --> 00:05:53.899 of Yahweh or Jehovah. It is the name that God 00:05:53.899 --> 00:05:57.759 elaborated upon when he revealed himself to Moses 00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:05.639 at the burning tree on Mount Sinai. Moses said, 00:06:05.699 --> 00:06:09.180 well, Lord, who shall I say sent me? And he says, 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:14.399 Tell them that I am has sent you. That is Jehovah 00:06:14.399 --> 00:06:18.660 or Yahweh. We don't really know how the Hebrews 00:06:18.660 --> 00:06:21.540 pronounced that word. They considered it so holy 00:06:21.540 --> 00:06:23.899 that in fact they didn't pronounce it as they 00:06:23.899 --> 00:06:26.439 read through the scriptures. They refused to 00:06:26.439 --> 00:06:29.819 pronounce the word because of its fullness of 00:06:29.819 --> 00:06:34.220 meaning. It means the I am or the I am that I 00:06:34.220 --> 00:06:37.699 am. I am the self -sufficient one is the meaning 00:06:37.699 --> 00:06:42.620 of it. And so David says, the Lord Jehovah says 00:06:42.620 --> 00:06:46.980 to my Lord. And in that word, Lord, there is 00:06:46.980 --> 00:06:51.279 a capital L, but a small O -R -D. And that's 00:06:51.279 --> 00:06:54.000 because the Hebrew word there is not Yahweh, 00:06:54.100 --> 00:06:59.699 but Adonai. And the word Adonai is sometimes 00:06:59.699 --> 00:07:03.839 used of men. It is used that way, for example, 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:08.310 of David, or rather, I'm sorry, of Abraham. Back 00:07:08.310 --> 00:07:12.410 in Genesis chapter 23, verse 6, in that text 00:07:12.410 --> 00:07:15.430 he is dealing with the sons of Heth regarding 00:07:15.430 --> 00:07:19.029 a burial place for Sarah. And when they speak 00:07:19.029 --> 00:07:24.170 to Abraham, they say, Hear us, my Lord, my Adonai. 00:07:24.550 --> 00:07:27.050 And so, in a sense, it's roughly equivalent to 00:07:27.050 --> 00:07:32.750 sir, a word of respect. It is a word, however, 00:07:32.829 --> 00:07:36.699 that most prominently is used of deity. of God 00:07:36.699 --> 00:07:41.500 himself. In fact, in Exodus chapter 4, the same 00:07:41.500 --> 00:07:44.339 occasion as when God revealed himself as Jehovah 00:07:44.339 --> 00:07:47.899 or Yahweh to Moses, Moses, in conversing with 00:07:47.899 --> 00:07:52.199 the Lord, says to him, Please, Lord, I have never 00:07:52.199 --> 00:07:57.800 been eloquent. He says, Please, Adonai. And so 00:07:57.800 --> 00:08:00.699 Moses uses this term Adonai there in addressing 00:08:00.699 --> 00:08:05.360 God, Jehovah. Now in the text before us, David... 00:08:05.709 --> 00:08:11.949 It says, Jehovah says to my Adonai. What do we 00:08:11.949 --> 00:08:15.810 see there about the Messiah? Well, we see his 00:08:15.810 --> 00:08:19.509 distinction. First, the distinction of his personage. 00:08:19.930 --> 00:08:23.449 What we actually have here is an Old Testament 00:08:23.449 --> 00:08:29.029 statement of God the Father to God the Son. They 00:08:29.029 --> 00:08:32.049 were not revealed that fully in the Old Testament, 00:08:32.190 --> 00:08:35.779 although there are strong implications. of a 00:08:35.779 --> 00:08:40.379 plurality in the unity of the Godhead. The triunity 00:08:40.379 --> 00:08:44.240 of God can be seen with New Testament flashlights 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:48.700 as you explore the Old Testament. Here is an 00:08:48.700 --> 00:08:52.539 example of it. Jehovah, God the Father says to 00:08:52.539 --> 00:08:59.039 my Adonai, sit at my right hand. So there's a 00:08:59.039 --> 00:09:03.600 distinction of persons here in the Godhead. But 00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:08.299 there's also a distinction of position. God the 00:09:08.299 --> 00:09:11.379 Father says to God the Son, sit at my right hand. 00:09:11.779 --> 00:09:16.019 That's where Jesus is today, isn't it? When Stephen 00:09:16.019 --> 00:09:21.519 was martyred, he looked and saw Jesus standing 00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:25.460 at the right hand of God. The book of Hebrews 00:09:25.460 --> 00:09:28.220 tells us that he is seated at the right hand 00:09:28.220 --> 00:09:30.860 of God. That's where he is, at the right hand. 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:35.919 What does that mean? That's an oriental expression. 00:09:37.460 --> 00:09:40.399 One who is put at the right hand was one who 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:46.279 was honored. But it meant more than that, often. 00:09:47.820 --> 00:09:52.960 It often included the idea of equality. So that 00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:55.539 as one put another at his right hand, he was 00:09:55.539 --> 00:09:58.500 saying, this one is on an equal basis with me. 00:09:59.360 --> 00:10:03.480 Treat him that way. When a host wanted to highly 00:10:03.480 --> 00:10:06.500 honor a guest, that's where he was, at the right 00:10:06.500 --> 00:10:10.080 hand, indicating that this special guest was 00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:14.340 one who would be honored as himself. And so God 00:10:14.340 --> 00:10:17.740 the Father says to God the Son, you are at my 00:10:17.740 --> 00:10:21.740 right hand. You are in the place of equal honor 00:10:21.740 --> 00:10:26.000 with me. And so the Father and the Son are here 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:30.500 identified, though distinguished as well. There 00:10:30.500 --> 00:10:32.860 were those who thought that the Messiah was going 00:10:32.860 --> 00:10:37.299 to be a man, a very important man, one who would 00:10:37.299 --> 00:10:40.720 deliver the people of Israel from Roman oppression 00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:46.500 and domination. But clearly, David suggests that 00:10:46.500 --> 00:10:48.799 this one who was to come, the Messiah, would 00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:51.600 be more than a man. He would be the Lord himself. 00:10:52.039 --> 00:10:54.659 And this is confirmed in the New Testament record. 00:10:55.100 --> 00:10:58.919 For example, when the angels... spoke to the 00:10:58.919 --> 00:11:01.039 shepherds outside of Bethlehem. They said, For 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:04.740 unto you is born this day in the city of David 00:11:04.740 --> 00:11:11.000 a Savior who is Christ, Messiah, the what? The 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:14.460 Lord. Christ, the Lord. The two are identified 00:11:14.460 --> 00:11:18.360 together. The Messiah was to be more than just 00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:22.159 a man. He was to be God come in the flesh. Thus 00:11:22.159 --> 00:11:24.960 Peter, preaching on the day of Pentecost to the 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:28.950 Jews, says in Acts 2 .36, This Jesus, whom ye 00:11:28.950 --> 00:11:35.549 crucified, is both Lord and Christ. And so the 00:11:35.549 --> 00:11:38.289 two are put together, the titles Lord and Christ. 00:11:39.230 --> 00:11:43.389 Messiah is not just another man. The Messiah, 00:11:43.710 --> 00:11:46.970 the anointed one, the anticipated deliverer, 00:11:46.970 --> 00:11:53.450 was to be the Lord himself. Therefore, may I 00:11:53.450 --> 00:11:57.789 suggest that all of us Speak of him reverently. 00:11:59.210 --> 00:12:03.470 It grieves me when I hear someone speak of Jesus 00:12:03.470 --> 00:12:08.549 Christ as the man upstairs. I want you to know 00:12:08.549 --> 00:12:11.370 that that at least borders on blasphemy, if it's 00:12:11.370 --> 00:12:14.889 not blasphemy itself. To speak of him in those 00:12:14.889 --> 00:12:20.070 kinds of demeaning phrases. Jesus Christ is not 00:12:20.070 --> 00:12:23.440 just a man. He is God come in the flesh. and 00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:25.519 we should reserve for him, therefore, proper 00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:32.000 reverence. Ours is a day that emphasizes intimacy 00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:34.740 and familiarity, and sometimes I think we go 00:12:34.740 --> 00:12:39.259 too far with that, to the point of becoming careless 00:12:39.259 --> 00:12:43.240 and lacking caution, particularly when speaking 00:12:43.240 --> 00:12:48.019 of God. We are invited to call him our friend, 00:12:48.179 --> 00:12:53.649 but let us never forget that he is God. as well. 00:12:55.409 --> 00:12:58.590 This kind of over -familiarity is perhaps illustrated 00:12:58.590 --> 00:13:02.669 in what happened to Uzzah. You remember him? 00:13:03.289 --> 00:13:07.730 The ark was being brought back to its place in 00:13:07.730 --> 00:13:12.049 Israel, and as the cart was pulling it, which 00:13:12.049 --> 00:13:14.250 was an improper mode of transporting it in the 00:13:14.250 --> 00:13:17.950 first place, as the ark was pulling it, the oxen 00:13:17.950 --> 00:13:20.960 stumbled. And it appeared that the Ark of the 00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:23.879 Covenant was going to fall off the cart. So Uzzah 00:13:23.879 --> 00:13:26.259 reached out with his hand to hold it on there, 00:13:26.379 --> 00:13:31.919 and God struck him dead immediately. Was that 00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:34.120 not unfair of God to do something like that? 00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:38.000 No, it was not unfair. Because, you see, Uzzah 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:40.899 was a priest. He was of the family of the priesthood. 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:45.379 And therefore was familiar with God's word that 00:13:45.379 --> 00:13:48.299 no one was to touch the Ark. It was to be carried 00:13:48.299 --> 00:13:50.779 very carefully, and no human hand was to touch 00:13:50.779 --> 00:13:53.480 it because it symbolized the very presence of 00:13:53.480 --> 00:13:58.720 a holy God. But Uzzah, perhaps out of careless 00:13:58.720 --> 00:14:02.460 over -familiarity with holy things, reached out 00:14:02.460 --> 00:14:06.740 and was struck dead by God. I believe that we 00:14:06.740 --> 00:14:08.759 need to be careful when we talk about our Savior. 00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:13.620 I can remember a joke that was told me back when 00:14:13.620 --> 00:14:16.799 I was in junior high school. Isn't it interesting 00:14:16.799 --> 00:14:18.679 how you remember the jokes you'd like to forget 00:14:18.679 --> 00:14:20.220 and you forget the jokes you'd like to remember 00:14:20.220 --> 00:14:23.399 and tell again? This is one of those jokes I'd 00:14:23.399 --> 00:14:27.039 like to forget. It's a joke that blasphemes each 00:14:27.039 --> 00:14:32.360 person of the Trinity. You know, it's easy for 00:14:32.360 --> 00:14:36.960 us in a joking, lighthearted way to say things 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:40.019 about God which are careless. Let's be careful 00:14:40.019 --> 00:14:45.409 about that. David says, Jehovah says to my Adonai, 00:14:45.590 --> 00:14:49.629 sit in this place of equality, this place of 00:14:49.629 --> 00:14:53.690 honor at my right hand. Let's turn back a few 00:14:53.690 --> 00:14:56.909 pages to Psalm 102 as we see another truth about 00:14:56.909 --> 00:15:01.929 Messiah. First, his distinction, who he is. More 00:15:01.929 --> 00:15:08.809 than a man, he is God. Psalm 102 now tells us 00:15:08.809 --> 00:15:12.470 about his pre -existence. I'll explain what I 00:15:12.470 --> 00:15:14.809 mean in a moment, but look in that psalm at verse 00:15:14.809 --> 00:15:18.750 25, where the psalmist says, Of old thou didst 00:15:18.750 --> 00:15:21.330 found the earth, and the heavens are the work 00:15:21.330 --> 00:15:25.070 of thy hands. Even they will perish, but thou 00:15:25.070 --> 00:15:28.009 dost endure. And all of them will wear out like 00:15:28.009 --> 00:15:30.690 a garment, like clothing thou wilt change them, 00:15:30.830 --> 00:15:34.210 and they will be changed. But thou art the same, 00:15:34.370 --> 00:15:40.620 and thy years will not come to an end. If you 00:15:40.620 --> 00:15:42.620 and I want to illustrate something that endures, 00:15:42.620 --> 00:15:45.399 we often use the stars, don't we? Or the moon. 00:15:47.700 --> 00:15:49.840 This thought provoked me to consider that the 00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:53.120 moon that we look up at at night is the same 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:57.320 moon that Jesus looked at as he prayed late into 00:15:57.320 --> 00:15:59.580 the night or early in the morning to his Father 00:15:59.580 --> 00:16:03.559 in Heaven. It's the same moon that David spoke 00:16:03.559 --> 00:16:07.299 about in the Psalms as he pondered the miracle 00:16:07.299 --> 00:16:11.549 of God's creation. Those stars are the same stars 00:16:11.549 --> 00:16:14.090 that Abraham looked up at and God said, your 00:16:14.090 --> 00:16:16.429 descendants are going to be like the stars of 00:16:16.429 --> 00:16:20.230 the heavens. The very same heavenly bodies. They 00:16:20.230 --> 00:16:24.450 endure till today. The constellations that we 00:16:24.450 --> 00:16:26.269 look at, some of them are mentioned in the book 00:16:26.269 --> 00:16:30.549 of Job, the oldest book of the Bible, as far 00:16:30.549 --> 00:16:34.470 as this date of being written is concerned. When 00:16:34.470 --> 00:16:36.289 we think of something that endures, we think 00:16:36.289 --> 00:16:39.879 of the heavens. And yet the psalmist says, even 00:16:39.879 --> 00:16:42.559 they will be changed. They will be taken down 00:16:42.559 --> 00:16:44.600 like a garment and something else put in their 00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:49.500 place, but God remains the same. You say, well, 00:16:49.620 --> 00:16:52.019 I agree with all that, but how does that apply 00:16:52.019 --> 00:16:54.759 to Jesus Christ? We're talking about him as the 00:16:54.759 --> 00:16:57.659 Messiah. Well, turn with me to the New Testament 00:16:57.659 --> 00:17:02.620 now, to Hebrews chapter 1. The writer of Hebrews 00:17:02.620 --> 00:17:07.250 is presenting... the superiority of Jesus Christ. 00:17:08.269 --> 00:17:11.529 He says that he is superior to the angels, to 00:17:11.529 --> 00:17:16.089 Moses, to Joshua, to the priesthood of Aaron. 00:17:17.349 --> 00:17:19.750 In the first part of the book, he talks about 00:17:19.750 --> 00:17:23.670 his preeminence over the angels. And in talking 00:17:23.670 --> 00:17:26.349 about that, he quotes a lot of verses from the 00:17:26.349 --> 00:17:31.450 Old Testament. In verse 8, notice that the writer 00:17:31.450 --> 00:17:36.799 says, He, God, says, and then he quotes from 00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:40.940 Psalm 45. And then down in verse 10, he goes 00:17:40.940 --> 00:17:45.759 on to say, And, he says, Thou, Lord, in the beginning 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:48.759 didst lay the foundation of the earth, and the 00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:52.920 heavens are the works of thy hands. Who's speaking 00:17:52.920 --> 00:17:56.700 here? Well, God the Father is speaking. And he 00:17:56.700 --> 00:17:59.799 is speaking about his Son, whom he's described 00:17:59.799 --> 00:18:03.490 in the verses 1 through 4. as the fullness of 00:18:03.490 --> 00:18:07.049 his revelation. And God the Father says about 00:18:07.049 --> 00:18:11.670 God the Son, Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst 00:18:11.670 --> 00:18:15.829 lay the foundation of the earth. In other words, 00:18:15.849 --> 00:18:19.109 God the Father says that Jesus Christ was the 00:18:19.109 --> 00:18:22.789 instrument, the agent of creation. Paul agrees 00:18:22.789 --> 00:18:25.950 with that in Colossians when he says, By him 00:18:25.950 --> 00:18:30.670 were all things created. What does that imply? 00:18:31.880 --> 00:18:36.900 It implies that he existed before creation. If 00:18:36.900 --> 00:18:39.279 he's the creator, it means that he came before 00:18:39.279 --> 00:18:44.019 what was created. He is not a part of it. He's 00:18:44.019 --> 00:18:48.700 separate from his creation and over it. This 00:18:48.700 --> 00:18:51.539 ties together with what John, in John chapter 00:18:51.539 --> 00:18:54.079 1, says. I want you to turn over there because 00:18:54.079 --> 00:18:57.380 we want to look at that verse for a moment. Do 00:18:57.380 --> 00:18:59.160 you ever think about the fact that John doesn't 00:18:59.160 --> 00:19:02.109 talk about Bethlehem or the manger? for the wise 00:19:02.109 --> 00:19:05.970 men. But he doesn't leave out the Christmas story. 00:19:07.690 --> 00:19:10.230 He simply strips it of it, the wrapping of its 00:19:10.230 --> 00:19:12.809 narrative, and gives it to us theologically. 00:19:15.230 --> 00:19:18.609 He begins the whole book by saying, in the beginning 00:19:18.609 --> 00:19:23.349 was the Word, and the Word was with God, and 00:19:23.349 --> 00:19:26.769 the Word was God. What an amazing statement that 00:19:26.769 --> 00:19:29.210 is. I wish we had time to talk fully about it 00:19:29.210 --> 00:19:31.990 this morning. But I would point out to you that 00:19:31.990 --> 00:19:34.549 he simply says, in the beginning was the word. 00:19:35.390 --> 00:19:39.210 What is the word? Well, that is a Greek word, 00:19:39.349 --> 00:19:45.730 logos. To the Greeks, it meant a word or a concept 00:19:45.730 --> 00:19:50.990 or a thought which was expressed. That was a 00:19:50.990 --> 00:19:55.390 logos. And so John takes that term logos and 00:19:55.390 --> 00:19:58.940 applies it to Jesus Christ. And he says what 00:19:58.940 --> 00:20:03.819 God has thought, he has expressed in Jesus Christ. 00:20:03.980 --> 00:20:07.180 He is the logos of God. You see how that word 00:20:07.180 --> 00:20:12.180 so beautifully tells us about him? He says, in 00:20:12.180 --> 00:20:16.859 the beginning was the word. What is the beginning? 00:20:17.960 --> 00:20:21.759 The beginning of what? Well, he's talking about 00:20:21.759 --> 00:20:26.099 the beginning of all things. Back when matter... 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:30.420 was called into existence out of nothing by God. 00:20:31.220 --> 00:20:33.940 That was the beginning of the universe as we 00:20:33.940 --> 00:20:37.799 know it. That is the beginning. That's how Genesis 00:20:37.799 --> 00:20:41.680 1 also starts. What are the three words of Genesis 00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:45.660 1 -1? In the beginning. Didn't take a lot to 00:20:45.660 --> 00:20:48.480 recall that, did it? John starts the same way. 00:20:48.619 --> 00:20:52.940 He says, in the beginning. That is when that 00:20:52.940 --> 00:20:55.259 which characterized the beginning of all things 00:20:55.259 --> 00:21:00.609 took place. The Word was already. He existed 00:21:00.609 --> 00:21:05.809 before that. Then he goes on to say, And the 00:21:05.809 --> 00:21:09.710 Word was with God. Again, notice the distinction. 00:21:10.329 --> 00:21:15.690 God and the Word, they are separate here. The 00:21:15.690 --> 00:21:20.150 Word was with God. But he says that in such a 00:21:20.150 --> 00:21:22.529 way that he says they were face to face. The 00:21:22.529 --> 00:21:25.450 Word was face to face with God. In the most intimate, 00:21:25.900 --> 00:21:31.140 blessed kind of communion. The Word was with 00:21:31.140 --> 00:21:35.299 God, and then he says, and the Word was God. 00:21:37.579 --> 00:21:40.619 There could not be a more clear statement that 00:21:40.619 --> 00:21:43.500 Jesus Christ is deity than what says in verse 00:21:43.500 --> 00:21:47.059 1. Now there are some cults, prominently the 00:21:47.059 --> 00:21:50.420 Jehovah's Witnesses, who because of their heresy, 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:54.089 denying this, have changed what verse 1 says. 00:21:54.250 --> 00:21:57.650 They have their own version of scripture called 00:21:57.650 --> 00:22:01.309 the New World Translation. And if you read that, 00:22:01.329 --> 00:22:07.369 it says, And the word was a God. And they say 00:22:07.369 --> 00:22:11.069 that there is no definite article before God. 00:22:11.829 --> 00:22:14.650 Therefore, it's proper to say the word was a 00:22:14.650 --> 00:22:19.490 God. And they absolutely destroy. Proper Greek 00:22:19.490 --> 00:22:24.750 grammar and syntax construction, that is. When 00:22:24.750 --> 00:22:28.029 there's an absence of the article there, it's 00:22:28.029 --> 00:22:31.809 sort of like a mathematical formula with an equal. 00:22:31.930 --> 00:22:37.809 He's saying the word equals God, and God equals 00:22:37.809 --> 00:22:41.049 the word. The two parts equal each other. They're 00:22:41.049 --> 00:22:44.190 the same, in other words. And so it's a clear 00:22:44.190 --> 00:22:48.200 statement of who Jesus Christ is. Now, skip down 00:22:48.200 --> 00:22:54.240 to verse 14. He goes on to talk about Christ 00:22:54.240 --> 00:22:59.539 being the one by whom all things came into being. 00:22:59.900 --> 00:23:03.500 In verse 14 he says, And the word became flesh 00:23:03.500 --> 00:23:08.859 and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. 00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:15.079 He says this word became flesh and dwelt among 00:23:15.079 --> 00:23:18.759 us. He who was a part from creation, separate 00:23:18.759 --> 00:23:23.279 from it, became a part of it by his incarnation. 00:23:24.099 --> 00:23:29.619 How can we apply this? We're talking about the 00:23:29.619 --> 00:23:32.279 eternality of Christ, the fact that he existed 00:23:32.279 --> 00:23:36.019 before creation. Let me apply this one quick 00:23:36.019 --> 00:23:40.299 way. Folks, because Jesus Christ is who he is, 00:23:40.500 --> 00:23:46.539 because he existed before time began, Because 00:23:46.539 --> 00:23:49.539 all of history flows to its appointed destiny 00:23:49.539 --> 00:23:55.980 by his power. Because someday he will wrap it 00:23:55.980 --> 00:24:01.119 all up and begin eternity again. Because of who 00:24:01.119 --> 00:24:03.940 he is and what he has done, don't you think that 00:24:03.940 --> 00:24:06.160 one who's like that has the power to take care 00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:11.920 of you? Don't you think that the one who lives 00:24:11.920 --> 00:24:14.839 in you for Jesus Christ lives in the believer? 00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:19.059 That he's able to direct your life? Of course 00:24:19.059 --> 00:24:22.279 he can. If he can direct all of history, surely 00:24:22.279 --> 00:24:25.099 your life is not too big a challenge for him. 00:24:27.099 --> 00:24:29.700 How blessed we are then when we give ourselves 00:24:29.700 --> 00:24:32.960 to his lordship and he's able to direct us. And 00:24:32.960 --> 00:24:35.220 we say, Lord, because of who you are existing 00:24:35.220 --> 00:24:37.660 even before the creation of the world, direct 00:24:37.660 --> 00:24:40.099 my life in its brief span in this world that 00:24:40.099 --> 00:24:44.140 it can have significance. He is able to take 00:24:44.140 --> 00:24:48.839 even a... a broken, shattered life. Put the pieces 00:24:48.839 --> 00:24:51.299 back together again so that that life can have 00:24:51.299 --> 00:24:55.380 meaning and fulfillment. He can do that with 00:24:55.380 --> 00:25:01.619 you if you'll let him do it. He's preexistent. 00:25:02.059 --> 00:25:05.819 We see his distinction. But thirdly, we want 00:25:05.819 --> 00:25:10.299 to see his incarnation in the Psalms. So let's 00:25:10.299 --> 00:25:13.269 hurriedly turn back to Psalm 40. termed by some 00:25:13.269 --> 00:25:15.730 the Christmas Psalm because of a statement that 00:25:15.730 --> 00:25:19.849 we're going to read. It's one of the Messianic 00:25:19.849 --> 00:25:23.250 Psalms, that is the Psalms pointing to the coming 00:25:23.250 --> 00:25:29.670 of the Messiah. David is apparently in a difficult 00:25:29.670 --> 00:25:32.609 spot here, so he prays to God for deliverance. 00:25:35.049 --> 00:25:38.390 And as he writes, he says in verse 6, Sacrifice 00:25:38.390 --> 00:25:43.009 and meal offering thou hast not desired. My ears 00:25:43.009 --> 00:25:47.009 thou hast opened. Burnt offering and sin offering 00:25:47.009 --> 00:25:50.869 thou hast not required. Then I said, behold, 00:25:51.049 --> 00:25:54.529 I come. In the scroll of the book it is written 00:25:54.529 --> 00:25:58.890 of me. I delight to do thy will, O my God. Thy 00:25:58.890 --> 00:26:03.730 law is within my heart. My friend, as David pens 00:26:03.730 --> 00:26:06.109 these words, he's writing for more than just 00:26:06.109 --> 00:26:10.579 for himself. What he is pinning here is the very 00:26:10.579 --> 00:26:14.720 word of Jesus Christ as he came into the world 00:26:14.720 --> 00:26:19.480 to be our Savior. You say, now, Pastor, you're 00:26:19.480 --> 00:26:22.240 becoming a little fanciful here to say that those 00:26:22.240 --> 00:26:25.960 are the words of Christ. Not so. Turn back again 00:26:25.960 --> 00:26:32.880 to Hebrews with me. Turn to Hebrews chapter 10 00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:36.420 this time. Again, I say the writer is talking 00:26:36.420 --> 00:26:41.180 about Jesus Christ, showing how that his one 00:26:41.180 --> 00:26:45.460 sacrifice forever is God's provision for our 00:26:45.460 --> 00:26:50.000 sins. He says, for example, in verse 4 of Hebrews 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:53.359 10, it is impossible for the blood of bulls and 00:26:53.359 --> 00:26:58.019 goats to take away sins. Therefore, when he comes 00:26:58.019 --> 00:27:03.769 into the world, he says, question. Who is the 00:27:03.769 --> 00:27:06.950 he the writer is talking about when he comes 00:27:06.950 --> 00:27:09.890 into the world? He's talking about the Messiah, 00:27:10.150 --> 00:27:13.670 the Christ. And he says, when he comes into the 00:27:13.670 --> 00:27:17.849 world, he says, Sacrifice and offering thou hast 00:27:17.849 --> 00:27:21.150 not desired, but a body thou hast prepared for 00:27:21.150 --> 00:27:26.690 me. You see, those words written by David were 00:27:26.690 --> 00:27:29.630 the very words that expressed the heart of Jesus 00:27:29.630 --> 00:27:33.210 Christ. as he left the glories of heaven and 00:27:33.210 --> 00:27:35.970 came and incarnated himself in human flesh in 00:27:35.970 --> 00:27:41.430 the world. Oh, what words these are. David is 00:27:41.430 --> 00:27:44.529 saying there is someday coming a sacrifice that 00:27:44.529 --> 00:27:51.170 will do away with all other sacrifices. God does 00:27:51.170 --> 00:27:53.730 not desire sacrifice anyway. What does he desire? 00:27:55.349 --> 00:28:00.599 Above sacrifice. Obedience. Obedience. And that's 00:28:00.599 --> 00:28:03.220 why when the Messiah comes, he says, I come to 00:28:03.220 --> 00:28:07.819 do thy will, O God. Perfect obedience. He says, 00:28:07.819 --> 00:28:11.619 your law is written on my heart. Perfect obedience. 00:28:12.920 --> 00:28:15.039 But now if you're an astute reader, you will 00:28:15.039 --> 00:28:16.640 have noticed that there's a sentence that is 00:28:16.640 --> 00:28:21.339 different in Hebrews 10 from the origination 00:28:21.339 --> 00:28:24.339 of it in Psalm 40. It's the second sentence. 00:28:25.059 --> 00:28:29.819 In Psalm 40, David says, my ears you have opened. 00:28:31.500 --> 00:28:35.619 Here, the Holy Spirit writes it this way, a body 00:28:35.619 --> 00:28:39.240 thou hast prepared for me. Oh, you say, that's 00:28:39.240 --> 00:28:43.599 a mistake in the Bible. Not so. Don't you think 00:28:43.599 --> 00:28:45.480 that the author of the Bible has a right to do 00:28:45.480 --> 00:28:49.339 anything with it he wants to do? When he inspired 00:28:49.339 --> 00:28:51.819 David to write what he did, it was inerrant. 00:28:52.650 --> 00:28:55.190 And when he caused the writer of Hebrews to write, 00:28:55.289 --> 00:28:57.450 he caused him to write exactly what he wanted 00:28:57.450 --> 00:29:00.650 him to write, so it was inerrant. The Holy Spirit 00:29:00.650 --> 00:29:02.950 wanted this sentence changed in the New Testament 00:29:02.950 --> 00:29:07.289 to reveal another truth about the Messiah. Now, 00:29:07.329 --> 00:29:09.170 what does it mean in the Old Testament? My ear, 00:29:09.269 --> 00:29:13.349 you've opened. It probably relates to what God 00:29:13.349 --> 00:29:18.210 says regarding servants in the law. When a servant 00:29:18.210 --> 00:29:21.779 was due to be released, because perhaps it was 00:29:21.779 --> 00:29:25.099 the year of Jubilee or whatever, he could choose 00:29:25.099 --> 00:29:29.440 to remain in servitude to his master. But to 00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:34.740 symbolize that voluntary service, his master 00:29:34.740 --> 00:29:38.779 had to take a sharp instrument, an awl, and to 00:29:38.779 --> 00:29:42.380 punch it through his ear so that he was a marked 00:29:42.380 --> 00:29:47.339 man from that time on, indicating joyful, voluntary 00:29:47.339 --> 00:29:52.940 service. You see, what David is saying is when 00:29:52.940 --> 00:29:57.119 Messiah comes, that will be his spirit. Joyful, 00:29:57.140 --> 00:30:01.500 voluntary sacrifice of himself. As revealed in 00:30:01.500 --> 00:30:05.299 Philippians 2. When he became obedient unto death, 00:30:05.359 --> 00:30:08.240 even the death of the cross. But now in the New 00:30:08.240 --> 00:30:10.339 Testament, the Holy Spirit writes that a body 00:30:10.339 --> 00:30:14.420 you've prepared for me. Do you ever think about 00:30:14.420 --> 00:30:19.019 this? God has revealed in the Bible four ways 00:30:19.019 --> 00:30:23.579 he can make a body. He can make a body without 00:30:23.579 --> 00:30:26.940 a man or a woman, which he did in the Garden 00:30:26.940 --> 00:30:29.559 of Eden when he gathered some dust together and 00:30:29.559 --> 00:30:31.440 fashioned the body of Adam and breathed life 00:30:31.440 --> 00:30:37.259 into it. He can make a body with a man but no 00:30:37.259 --> 00:30:41.880 woman. That's what he did with Eve. He put Adam 00:30:41.880 --> 00:30:44.599 to sleep, performed surgery, took out the rib, 00:30:44.779 --> 00:30:50.109 fashioned Eve. He can make a body the normal 00:30:50.109 --> 00:30:55.490 way with a man and woman. And finally, he can 00:30:55.490 --> 00:30:59.089 make a body with a woman and no man, as he did 00:30:59.089 --> 00:31:02.029 in the virgin birth. And you see, it is that 00:31:02.029 --> 00:31:05.650 virgin birth that is in view when it says, a 00:31:05.650 --> 00:31:12.250 body thou hast prepared for me. The body in which 00:31:12.250 --> 00:31:16.349 Jesus, the Son of God, incarnated himself was 00:31:16.349 --> 00:31:20.250 a specially prepared body conceived within the 00:31:20.250 --> 00:31:24.069 womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit, a body you prepared 00:31:24.069 --> 00:31:27.549 for me. And so do you see how, again in the Psalms, 00:31:27.549 --> 00:31:30.730 we see his incarnation, his coming into human 00:31:30.730 --> 00:31:34.430 flesh to live a life of perfect obedience, that 00:31:34.430 --> 00:31:36.450 then he could be qualified to go to the cross 00:31:36.450 --> 00:31:39.930 and offer the sacrifice that will forever close 00:31:39.930 --> 00:31:46.960 the book on sacrifices. Now, there's a practical 00:31:46.960 --> 00:31:49.559 application to all of this. And to find that, 00:31:49.599 --> 00:31:53.759 go back quickly to Hebrews chapter 2. On your 00:31:53.759 --> 00:31:56.039 outline, you'll notice I've listed another text 00:31:56.039 --> 00:31:57.759 from the Psalms that we're not going to read 00:31:57.759 --> 00:32:01.680 this morning. It's Psalm 8, verses 4 and 5. It's 00:32:01.680 --> 00:32:03.779 mentioned in the first part of chapter 2. It's 00:32:03.779 --> 00:32:06.640 the verse that talks about, thou hast made him 00:32:06.640 --> 00:32:09.859 a little lower than the angels, or probably thou 00:32:09.859 --> 00:32:12.720 hast made him for a little while lower than the 00:32:12.720 --> 00:32:15.900 angels. David wrote it talking about man, and 00:32:15.900 --> 00:32:19.319 yet its fullest meaning, I think, is in Jesus 00:32:19.319 --> 00:32:23.500 Christ, who humbled himself, became a man for 00:32:23.500 --> 00:32:25.960 a little while, now crowned with glory and honor. 00:32:26.920 --> 00:32:30.819 But in verse 17 of Hebrews 2, he says, Therefore, 00:32:31.079 --> 00:32:35.519 he had to be made like his brethren in all things, 00:32:35.720 --> 00:32:38.539 that he might become a merciful and faithful 00:32:38.539 --> 00:32:43.599 high priest in things pertaining to God. to make 00:32:43.599 --> 00:32:50.559 propitiation for the sins of the people. For 00:32:50.559 --> 00:32:53.660 since he himself was tempted in that he has suffered, 00:32:53.859 --> 00:32:57.240 he is able to come to the aid of those who are 00:32:57.240 --> 00:33:03.900 tempted. What's the meaning here? A very wonderful 00:33:03.900 --> 00:33:07.920 thought. You know that no one can ever say, God 00:33:07.920 --> 00:33:12.799 doesn't understand me. No one is able to say, 00:33:12.940 --> 00:33:15.900 God doesn't know what it's like to be a man, 00:33:16.059 --> 00:33:20.720 be a human being. Because you see, God has become 00:33:20.720 --> 00:33:26.140 a man. And one of the reasons that he did was 00:33:26.140 --> 00:33:28.859 so that he could enter into our humanity, though 00:33:28.859 --> 00:33:33.460 a sinless humanity, and feel with us what we 00:33:33.460 --> 00:33:39.220 endure. There's not a heartache that you can 00:33:39.220 --> 00:33:44.480 experience, but that he, He's able also to experience 00:33:44.480 --> 00:33:47.680 fully that heartache with you. He can be a merciful 00:33:47.680 --> 00:33:51.480 and faithful high priest so that as he stands 00:33:51.480 --> 00:33:54.200 before God the Father and prays for you, as he 00:33:54.200 --> 00:33:58.960 does now, as he prays for you, he is able to 00:33:58.960 --> 00:34:04.400 feel with you the pressure, the tension. He's 00:34:04.400 --> 00:34:08.320 able to know the depth of your heartache. He's 00:34:08.320 --> 00:34:10.900 able to understand your anxiety. He's able to 00:34:10.900 --> 00:34:14.460 know all of that because he himself has suffered. 00:34:15.719 --> 00:34:18.119 He came in flesh and blood for that purpose. 00:34:18.460 --> 00:34:21.860 And he's able to express before God a request 00:34:21.860 --> 00:34:26.619 for you that encompasses your very need and what 00:34:26.619 --> 00:34:30.159 God the Father needs to do on your behalf. Isn't 00:34:30.159 --> 00:34:33.340 that great? Because of his incarnation, he does 00:34:33.340 --> 00:34:39.559 that for you every hour of every day. There's 00:34:39.559 --> 00:34:42.980 a fourth and final truth that we see about the 00:34:42.980 --> 00:34:46.440 Messiah. We'll look at this and be done. Psalm 00:34:46.440 --> 00:34:54.079 132. His distinction, his preexistence, his incarnation, 00:34:54.139 --> 00:35:02.039 and finally his destiny. I have not written on 00:35:02.039 --> 00:35:03.880 the outline another passage that is important 00:35:03.880 --> 00:35:06.559 for you. And you may want to jot it in there. 00:35:06.599 --> 00:35:10.579 It's Psalm 89, verses 3 and 4, and verses 27 00:35:10.579 --> 00:35:16.219 to 29. Psalm 89, verses 3 and 4, and verses 27 00:35:16.219 --> 00:35:19.059 to 29. But we're going to look at just one verse 00:35:19.059 --> 00:35:24.019 in Psalm 132, where it says, The Lord has sworn 00:35:24.019 --> 00:35:28.420 to David a truth from which he will not turn 00:35:28.420 --> 00:35:32.760 back. Of the fruit of your body I will set upon 00:35:32.760 --> 00:35:35.730 your throne. What the psalmist is doing here 00:35:35.730 --> 00:35:38.469 is quoting from what is called the Davidic covenant 00:35:38.469 --> 00:35:43.449 in 2 Samuel 7, verses 12 to 16. It is the covenant 00:35:43.449 --> 00:35:46.909 that God made with David. God said, David, you're 00:35:46.909 --> 00:35:50.269 going to die, but I am going to raise up one 00:35:50.269 --> 00:35:53.230 of your descendants who will be on an eternal 00:35:53.230 --> 00:35:56.570 throne, and he will reign forever and forever, 00:35:56.889 --> 00:36:02.349 says God. My friend, that son of David is Jesus 00:36:02.349 --> 00:36:06.909 Christ. That was a common messianic title in 00:36:06.909 --> 00:36:09.369 the days of Christ. The Jews spoke about the 00:36:09.369 --> 00:36:11.789 son of David who would come and deliver them. 00:36:13.030 --> 00:36:15.329 And I believe that's why, one reason at least, 00:36:15.389 --> 00:36:18.389 that Matthew begins his gospel. How many of you 00:36:18.389 --> 00:36:22.090 have memorized the genealogy of Matthew 1? Oh, 00:36:22.110 --> 00:36:25.389 you're in the majority, I'm sure. Have you ever 00:36:25.389 --> 00:36:28.809 noticed, though, how Matthew begins? The book 00:36:28.809 --> 00:36:32.210 of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of 00:36:32.210 --> 00:36:35.039 David. the son of Abraham, and then he begins 00:36:35.039 --> 00:36:37.800 to list all the descendants from Abraham. But 00:36:37.800 --> 00:36:40.579 he begins by saying the genealogy of Jesus Christ, 00:36:40.699 --> 00:36:44.119 the son of David. Now, why would Matthew particularly 00:36:44.119 --> 00:36:47.820 be interested in doing that? Because Matthew 00:36:47.820 --> 00:36:51.179 presents Jesus Christ as the what? As the king. 00:36:52.239 --> 00:36:55.039 And so he begins by pointing out he's the son 00:36:55.039 --> 00:36:57.679 of David. In Matthew 1, in the genealogy, he 00:36:57.679 --> 00:37:01.750 traces it through Solomon to Joseph. Now, though 00:37:01.750 --> 00:37:04.690 Joseph was not Jesus' natural father, he was 00:37:04.690 --> 00:37:07.269 his legal father, and so Jesus inherited from 00:37:07.269 --> 00:37:11.309 Joseph the legal right to reign as a descendant 00:37:11.309 --> 00:37:15.489 of David through Solomon. In Luke chapter 3, 00:37:15.550 --> 00:37:18.530 we have what we believe to be the genealogy of 00:37:18.530 --> 00:37:23.630 Christ through Mary, his natural genealogy, and 00:37:23.630 --> 00:37:26.230 again you trace it right back to David through 00:37:26.230 --> 00:37:30.250 his son Nathan. So both naturally and legally, 00:37:30.349 --> 00:37:33.389 Jesus Christ is the son of David, and he has 00:37:33.389 --> 00:37:36.670 the right to reign and to fulfill the promise 00:37:36.670 --> 00:37:40.150 that God gave to David. I will set a descendant 00:37:40.150 --> 00:37:47.309 of yours on the eternal throne. We speak about 00:37:47.309 --> 00:37:49.570 the millennium, Christ coming to reign for a 00:37:49.570 --> 00:37:52.989 thousand years. Did you know that that's just 00:37:52.989 --> 00:37:56.789 the beginning of his reign? When a king is coronated, 00:37:57.550 --> 00:38:00.429 These days, there is a week or maybe a month 00:38:00.429 --> 00:38:03.210 of celebration. But friend, when Jesus Christ 00:38:03.210 --> 00:38:05.530 is proclaimed King of Kings and Lord of Lords, 00:38:05.670 --> 00:38:08.130 it's going to take a thousand years for the celebration 00:38:08.130 --> 00:38:11.469 of the coronation to take place. And after that, 00:38:11.630 --> 00:38:14.409 the kingdom begins. It's an eternal kingdom. 00:38:15.070 --> 00:38:21.389 And he will reign forever and ever. Isaiah joins 00:38:21.389 --> 00:38:23.929 together by saying, of the increase of his government 00:38:23.929 --> 00:38:28.679 and of his peace. There will be no end. No end 00:38:28.679 --> 00:38:32.019 to it. When Jesus Christ comes, there will be 00:38:32.019 --> 00:38:33.940 peace. And the reason for that is that he will 00:38:33.940 --> 00:38:37.079 reign in righteousness. You cannot separate, 00:38:37.239 --> 00:38:39.320 in the Bible, peace from righteousness. Did you 00:38:39.320 --> 00:38:42.559 know that? That's why it says in Romans 5 .1, 00:38:42.619 --> 00:38:44.880 Therefore, being justified by faith, declared 00:38:44.880 --> 00:38:48.840 righteous by faith, we have peace with God. Righteousness 00:38:48.840 --> 00:38:52.340 and peace go together. Right now in our scene. 00:38:53.050 --> 00:38:55.550 In our society, we have an explosion of a peace 00:38:55.550 --> 00:38:58.969 movement. I agree with President Reagan as being 00:38:58.969 --> 00:39:02.449 manipulated from outside. I also believe the 00:39:02.449 --> 00:39:04.329 news media is doing some very interesting things 00:39:04.329 --> 00:39:07.329 with this whole ball of wax right now, anti -nuclear 00:39:07.329 --> 00:39:11.730 and so on. I'd like to say something that will 00:39:11.730 --> 00:39:14.869 shock some of you. What we're seeing today in 00:39:14.869 --> 00:39:18.429 all of that is an explosion of humanism. That's 00:39:18.429 --> 00:39:21.960 what it is. Because it is a desire, it is a cry 00:39:21.960 --> 00:39:27.780 for peace based upon what man can do. That's 00:39:27.780 --> 00:39:31.719 humanism. What we need is a peace based upon 00:39:31.719 --> 00:39:34.980 what God has done in Jesus Christ. There will 00:39:34.980 --> 00:39:37.920 be no peace of any kind in this world until Jesus 00:39:37.920 --> 00:39:41.139 Christ reigns righteously. The reason that there 00:39:41.139 --> 00:39:43.619 will not be a humanistic peace is because man 00:39:43.619 --> 00:39:46.340 is a sinner. And where there is no righteousness, 00:39:46.500 --> 00:39:50.429 there is no peace. But bless God, there is peace 00:39:50.429 --> 00:39:52.409 coming someday of which there will be no end 00:39:52.409 --> 00:39:56.530 when Jesus reigns. So let's anticipate that peace, 00:39:56.690 --> 00:40:00.269 true peace, and work for it. Anticipate his coming. 00:40:03.489 --> 00:40:07.170 In 1247 A .D., which is before most of us were 00:40:07.170 --> 00:40:09.610 born, maybe some exceptions here, I don't know. 00:40:10.590 --> 00:40:14.510 In 1247, there was a hospital that was established 00:40:14.510 --> 00:40:19.090 in England. It was named St. Mary of Bethlehem. 00:40:19.769 --> 00:40:25.190 For 200 years, St. Mary of Bethlehem was a place 00:40:25.190 --> 00:40:29.670 of healing, a place where people went to find 00:40:29.670 --> 00:40:34.630 peace and restoration physically. But 200 years 00:40:34.630 --> 00:40:38.750 after its founding, it was used for another purpose. 00:40:38.809 --> 00:40:42.449 It began to be used as an asylum for the insane. 00:40:43.690 --> 00:40:47.260 And in those days, Those who had mental problems 00:40:47.260 --> 00:40:50.679 were cruelly treated often. They were chained, 00:40:50.820 --> 00:40:55.900 incarcerated, imprisoned. So that St. Mary of 00:40:55.900 --> 00:40:58.599 Bethlehem became known not as a place of peace, 00:40:58.760 --> 00:41:02.400 but as a place of noise and confusion and screams 00:41:02.400 --> 00:41:07.000 and agony of people. Therefore, the people around 00:41:07.000 --> 00:41:11.440 the hospital renamed it. They shortened the name 00:41:11.440 --> 00:41:15.519 Bethlehem and called it St. Mary of Bethlehem. 00:41:15.239 --> 00:41:18.679 Bedlam. And thus the word came into the English 00:41:18.679 --> 00:41:23.679 language, Bedlam. And today Bedlam refers to 00:41:23.679 --> 00:41:29.159 anything that's noisy and confusing. That describes 00:41:29.159 --> 00:41:33.019 some lives here today, doesn't it? When God wants 00:41:33.019 --> 00:41:37.019 your life to be a Bethlehem, it has degenerated 00:41:37.019 --> 00:41:42.159 into Bedlam. When Jesus Christ reigns in righteousness, 00:41:42.400 --> 00:41:45.380 there is peace. There may be a storm outside, 00:41:45.539 --> 00:41:48.980 but there's peace that passes understanding inside. 00:41:50.059 --> 00:41:54.780 Would you know that peace today? You can qualify 00:41:54.780 --> 00:41:58.280 to know it by having peace with God through faith 00:41:58.280 --> 00:42:01.739 in Jesus Christ. And once you are saved, then 00:42:01.739 --> 00:42:05.360 you may enjoy that peace of God continuously. 00:42:05.599 --> 00:42:07.300 There are some of you here today who are Christians 00:42:07.300 --> 00:42:09.800 that are not enjoying that peace. And frankly, 00:42:09.860 --> 00:42:11.980 the reason is that Jesus Christ is not living 00:42:11.980 --> 00:42:15.969 as the Lord of your life. He's not the prominent 00:42:15.969 --> 00:42:20.309 one. Will you allow him today to be the Lord? 00:42:21.110 --> 00:42:23.610 Will you submit yourself to him, your desires, 00:42:23.929 --> 00:42:27.769 your plans, your goals, and say, Lord, I give 00:42:27.769 --> 00:42:34.030 it all to you? If you will, then his peace will 00:42:34.030 --> 00:42:38.519 fill your heart. Father in heaven. I pray as 00:42:38.519 --> 00:42:40.400 we conclude this service that you will bring 00:42:40.400 --> 00:42:43.880 to a proper culmination your work in our lives. 00:42:44.539 --> 00:42:46.360 There are some of us here that you've been working 00:42:46.360 --> 00:42:48.599 on for weeks trying to get us to make the right 00:42:48.599 --> 00:42:53.039 decision, and may that be made today. In Jesus' 00:42:53.179 --> 00:42:54.059 name, amen.