WEBVTT 00:00:01.930 --> 00:00:04.230 Thank you, Joshua. Let's open our Bibles together, 00:00:04.230 --> 00:00:10.869 please, to 100 and Second Psalm. I'm beginning 00:00:10.869 --> 00:00:13.589 today a series for this Christmas season entitled 00:00:13.589 --> 00:00:18.170 The Carols of the Christ. In this series, we're 00:00:18.170 --> 00:00:22.309 going to explore some of the texts from the Bible's 00:00:22.309 --> 00:00:25.870 hymnal, that is, the Book of Psalms, which point 00:00:25.870 --> 00:00:30.109 to the Messiah. The references that we will look 00:00:30.109 --> 00:00:35.630 at These prophecies that we call Messianic will 00:00:35.630 --> 00:00:38.869 be authenticated by the New Testament reference 00:00:38.869 --> 00:00:45.390 to them. Today we look at Psalm 102 and I'm going 00:00:45.390 --> 00:01:01.359 to begin reading in verse 25. And all of them 00:01:01.359 --> 00:01:03.539 will wear out like a garment, like clothing, 00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:06.620 thou will change them, and they will be changed, 00:01:06.739 --> 00:01:10.780 but thou art the same, and thy years will not 00:01:10.780 --> 00:01:14.340 come to an end." Now if you'll turn to the New 00:01:14.340 --> 00:01:16.780 Testament to Hebrews chapter 1, we'll see where 00:01:16.780 --> 00:01:20.099 the Holy Spirit authenticates the fact that this 00:01:20.099 --> 00:01:23.099 text that I've read refers to the Lord Jesus 00:01:23.099 --> 00:01:28.469 Christ. The Jewish rabbis did not consider Psalm 00:01:28.469 --> 00:01:32.069 102 to be a Messianic Psalm, but the Holy Spirit 00:01:32.069 --> 00:01:36.390 shows us, in fact, that that is the case. In 00:01:36.390 --> 00:01:56.609 Hebrews chapter 1 in verse 6, it says, In the 00:01:56.609 --> 00:01:59.030 beginning did slay the foundation of the earth, 00:01:59.890 --> 00:02:02.450 and the heavens are the works of thy hands. They 00:02:02.450 --> 00:02:05.849 will perish but thou remainest, and they all 00:02:05.849 --> 00:02:08.409 will become old as a garment, and as a mantle 00:02:08.409 --> 00:02:12.449 thou wilt roll them up. As a garment they will 00:02:12.449 --> 00:02:16.530 also be changed, but thou art the same, and thy 00:02:16.530 --> 00:02:20.750 years will not come to an end. Let's pray together. 00:02:22.060 --> 00:02:24.520 Father, I pray that you will open our eyes to 00:02:24.520 --> 00:02:27.520 see the Savior in these texts, these words that 00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:31.479 we have read. And having seen Him, may He be 00:02:31.479 --> 00:02:35.080 exalted in our eyes. May our hearts be drawn 00:02:35.080 --> 00:02:39.340 to Him in faith and love and devotion. In Jesus' 00:02:39.639 --> 00:02:46.120 name, amen. The carols of the Christ. The word 00:02:46.120 --> 00:02:48.860 Christ comes from the Greek language and the 00:02:48.860 --> 00:02:53.199 word Christos. That word in the Greek is equivalent 00:02:53.199 --> 00:02:58.699 to the Hebrew word mashia or Messiah as we say 00:02:58.699 --> 00:03:06.020 The word Messiah or the word Christ simply means 00:03:06.020 --> 00:03:11.539 the anointed one Jewish priests and kings and 00:03:11.539 --> 00:03:15.340 prophets were all said to be anointed but the 00:03:15.340 --> 00:03:19.379 superlative use of this idea of the anointed 00:03:19.379 --> 00:03:24.340 one is reserved for the promised, long -anticipated 00:03:24.340 --> 00:03:28.520 Deliverer of Israel. We recognize in light of 00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:30.879 the New Testament that Jesus of Nazareth was, 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:34.419 in fact, that Deliverer and Savior of Israel. 00:03:35.460 --> 00:03:40.400 Thus He is called Jesus Christ. Christ, you see, 00:03:40.479 --> 00:03:48.319 is His title. He is Jesus the Anointed One. Now 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:50.360 the Psalm that we're looking at today has an 00:03:50.360 --> 00:03:53.139 inscription or an introduction. And you will 00:03:53.139 --> 00:04:04.960 notice that it says, The Psalm is anonymous, 00:04:05.159 --> 00:04:07.280 although some attribute it to David, and that 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:10.860 may be the case. But whoever wrote it, he sees 00:04:10.860 --> 00:04:13.580 himself as one who is afflicted, and he offers 00:04:13.580 --> 00:04:18.240 to God his supplication. His complaint as it 00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:24.439 says here and he expresses his faith in God He 00:04:24.439 --> 00:04:29.680 acknowledges that his days are frail and even 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:33.079 suggests that God may have shortened his days 00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:37.060 in some respect You will see in the first eleven 00:04:37.060 --> 00:04:42.639 verses how he explains his situation and his 00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:46.370 life is passing away before him He is in pain 00:04:46.370 --> 00:04:51.009 of soul, as well as body. But beginning in verse 00:04:51.009 --> 00:04:55.850 12 he says, But thou, O Lord, dost abide forever, 00:04:56.089 --> 00:05:00.850 and thy name to all generations. Then he moves 00:05:00.850 --> 00:05:06.370 through his prayer until he comes to the text 00:05:06.370 --> 00:05:10.689 that we have read for this morning. To Jesus 00:05:10.689 --> 00:05:15.860 Christ, as we see in the book of Hebrews, To 00:05:15.860 --> 00:05:20.399 Jesus Christ is attributed this text. To Him 00:05:20.399 --> 00:05:25.079 is attributed the nature of one who is God. This 00:05:25.079 --> 00:05:27.620 morning I want to explore that idea as we find 00:05:27.620 --> 00:05:31.620 it revealed to us in these simple verses. That 00:05:31.620 --> 00:05:34.399 to Jesus Christ is attributed the nature of one 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:39.060 who is deity himself. In the first place I want 00:05:39.060 --> 00:05:43.759 you to notice that Christ stands apart from the 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:49.720 creation. He existed before the creation. It 00:05:49.720 --> 00:05:54.519 says, in the beginning He existed. From of old 00:05:54.519 --> 00:06:02.060 thou didst form the earth. Jesus Christ is pre 00:06:02.060 --> 00:06:05.980 -existent. That is, He subsisted before the time, 00:06:06.279 --> 00:06:11.800 space and matter universe came into being. As 00:06:11.800 --> 00:06:15.560 the prophet Micah would write, As for you, Bethlehem, 00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:19.100 Ephrata, too little to be among the clans of 00:06:19.100 --> 00:06:23.560 Judah, from you one will go forth for me to be 00:06:23.560 --> 00:06:28.699 ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long 00:06:28.699 --> 00:06:35.019 ago, from the days of eternity. An amazing statement 00:06:35.019 --> 00:06:37.860 that Micah makes prophetically to the people 00:06:37.860 --> 00:06:42.220 of Israel. He says that the one who will be born 00:06:42.750 --> 00:06:46.610 as a ruler in little insignificant Bethlehem, 00:06:47.430 --> 00:06:50.569 is the one whose goings forth have been from 00:06:50.569 --> 00:06:56.949 long ago, even from days of eternity. That is, 00:06:57.009 --> 00:07:02.610 before there was time, says Micah, this one existed, 00:07:03.649 --> 00:07:08.589 and one day Bethlehem, he will come forth from 00:07:08.589 --> 00:07:12.949 you. The Apostle John writes in the New Testament 00:07:12.949 --> 00:07:17.170 in his Gospel, the first chapter, in the beginning 00:07:17.170 --> 00:07:22.750 was the Word. The Word is a name, a title for 00:07:22.750 --> 00:07:28.350 Jesus. He says, in the beginning was the Word. 00:07:29.389 --> 00:07:32.730 He goes on to say, he was in the beginning with 00:07:32.730 --> 00:07:39.970 God. That is, when God spoke, everything into 00:07:39.970 --> 00:07:48.250 existence. In the beginning, He, Jesus, the Word, 00:07:48.649 --> 00:07:55.209 the Messiah, already was. My point is that He 00:07:55.209 --> 00:08:00.949 stands apart from the creation. Colossians 1 00:08:00.949 --> 00:08:09.509 .17 says, He is before all things. Therefore, 00:08:09.629 --> 00:08:12.790 He Himself is not among those things created. 00:08:15.310 --> 00:08:21.170 In fact, He was the agent of creation. In the 00:08:21.170 --> 00:08:25.389 beginning, it was by Him that all things came 00:08:25.389 --> 00:08:30.189 into existence. As John says in his Gospel, chapter 00:08:30.189 --> 00:08:34.350 1, verse 3, all things came into being through 00:08:34.350 --> 00:08:40.139 Him, by Him. And apart from Him, nothing came 00:08:40.139 --> 00:08:44.539 into being that has come into being. In other 00:08:44.539 --> 00:08:49.440 words, the fingerprints of the Christ are all 00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:54.279 over His creation. Paul again says in Colossians, 00:08:54.480 --> 00:08:59.620 By Him all things were created, both in the heavens 00:08:59.620 --> 00:09:03.580 and on earth, visible and invisible. where the 00:09:03.580 --> 00:09:06.159 thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, 00:09:06.460 --> 00:09:12.960 all things have been created by Him and for Him. 00:09:14.220 --> 00:09:18.259 And so the Christ stands apart from His creation. 00:09:19.419 --> 00:09:22.519 He founded the earth. He put into place the natural 00:09:22.519 --> 00:09:27.059 laws making life possible. The heavens are the 00:09:27.059 --> 00:09:31.500 work of thy hands. The Father says to the Son, 00:09:32.490 --> 00:09:35.090 The heavens are the work of thy hands. That is, 00:09:35.730 --> 00:09:39.929 you have arranged the physical, the astronomical 00:09:39.929 --> 00:09:46.710 principles that keep the world together. Today 00:09:46.710 --> 00:09:50.450 we observe those. We investigate them. We discover 00:09:50.450 --> 00:09:54.110 them. We don't create them. And we have a difficult 00:09:54.110 --> 00:09:59.470 time even comprehending what they mean. The November 00:09:59.470 --> 00:10:02.690 3rd issue of Newsweek. was devoted to a story 00:10:02.690 --> 00:10:06.549 entitled When Galaxies Collide Perhaps You Saw 00:10:06.549 --> 00:10:10.929 It. It talks about the Hubble Space Telescope 00:10:10.929 --> 00:10:14.490 and the amazing things that have been unveiled, 00:10:15.190 --> 00:10:18.450 revealed, discovered by this telescope. I think 00:10:18.450 --> 00:10:21.750 of all of the things in my lifetime that have 00:10:21.750 --> 00:10:28.350 astounded me and thrilled me. Hubble Space Telescope 00:10:28.350 --> 00:10:30.750 would be one of the five or maybe ten things 00:10:30.750 --> 00:10:33.870 that just stand out to me. As we're able to get 00:10:33.870 --> 00:10:37.029 out into space on a platform, as it were, and 00:10:37.029 --> 00:10:39.769 then look into the heavens away from the distortion 00:10:39.769 --> 00:10:44.169 of the atmosphere. I quote from Time Magazine, 00:10:44.549 --> 00:10:46.389 or excuse me, Newsweek Magazine, when it says, 00:10:53.080 --> 00:10:56.220 Collections of stars, gas and dust that speckle 00:10:56.220 --> 00:11:01.179 the universe like beacons in a dark sea are not 00:11:01.179 --> 00:11:04.279 the isolated static structures they were once 00:11:04.279 --> 00:11:08.919 thought to be. Instead, they collide and merge 00:11:08.919 --> 00:11:12.919 and cannibalize each other, fade and flare and 00:11:12.919 --> 00:11:20.070 change shape like flubber. This is a huge revolution 00:11:20.070 --> 00:11:22.889 in thought, says astrophysicist Alan Dressler 00:11:22.889 --> 00:11:25.590 of the Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, California. 00:11:26.409 --> 00:11:29.149 We all believe that galaxies look the same for 00:11:29.149 --> 00:11:33.269 all time, but they don't. The Hubble Space Telescope 00:11:33.269 --> 00:11:36.730 by telling us about how galaxies formed and evolved 00:11:36.730 --> 00:11:39.590 is telling us something about how we got here. 00:11:39.690 --> 00:11:43.710 It's amazing that humans could learn that. Well, 00:11:43.769 --> 00:11:47.580 not really. But he thinks so because he doesn't 00:11:47.580 --> 00:11:49.700 accept what God has said about how we got here. 00:11:50.799 --> 00:11:57.960 It goes on to say they can tell us this because 00:11:57.960 --> 00:12:01.139 the space telescope orbiting some 370 miles above 00:12:01.139 --> 00:12:03.200 the Earth has provided earthlings with front 00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:06.059 -row seats for some of the grandest shows the 00:12:06.059 --> 00:12:08.960 universe has staged. It has brought us spectacular 00:12:08.960 --> 00:12:11.980 in our own backyard like Comet Shoemaker Levy, 00:12:12.379 --> 00:12:16.990 pummeling Jupiter in 1994, as well as fireworks 00:12:16.990 --> 00:12:19.830 far, far away, like the black hole at the center 00:12:19.830 --> 00:12:23.769 of galaxy M87, slurping up surrounding matter. 00:12:24.750 --> 00:12:29.029 It has found exploding stars, supernovas, blowing 00:12:29.029 --> 00:12:32.750 celestial smoke rings, and pillars of creation, 00:12:33.029 --> 00:12:36.029 trillions of miles high where stars are being 00:12:36.029 --> 00:12:40.870 born. The thing that is so amazing says astronomer 00:12:40.870 --> 00:12:44.659 Mario Livio. of the Telescope Institute is that 00:12:44.659 --> 00:12:48.259 literally every place HST has looked, it has 00:12:48.259 --> 00:12:54.279 found something fantastic. It says of all the 00:12:54.279 --> 00:12:56.620 secrets that the Hubble has unlocked, its images 00:12:56.620 --> 00:12:59.399 of galaxies that formed when the universe was 00:12:59.399 --> 00:13:02.659 in its infancy would be at the top of my list 00:13:02.659 --> 00:13:06.279 of its achievements, says one astrophysicist. 00:13:07.039 --> 00:13:10.789 The images in the Hubble Deep Field The deep 00:13:10.789 --> 00:13:14.649 field means the furthest reaches into the universe. 00:13:15.509 --> 00:13:18.350 He says the images in the Hubble deep field appear 00:13:18.350 --> 00:13:24.110 as they were roughly 11 .7 billion to 10 .4 billion 00:13:24.110 --> 00:13:26.929 years ago. What do these objects look like today? 00:13:27.610 --> 00:13:30.690 Only an astronomer 10 billion years in the future 00:13:30.690 --> 00:13:34.149 will know. That's of course because light, we 00:13:34.149 --> 00:13:36.909 think, travels at a certain speed, and therefore 00:13:36.909 --> 00:13:39.190 we measure what we think the distances of the 00:13:39.190 --> 00:13:43.190 universe are. But then the article goes on to 00:13:43.190 --> 00:13:45.250 say, the second surprise from the deep field 00:13:45.250 --> 00:13:47.950 is that the universe's lights, listen to this, 00:13:48.710 --> 00:13:53.990 contrary to astronomers hunch, turned on in one 00:13:53.990 --> 00:13:58.230 great burst. It was as if every chandelier in 00:13:58.230 --> 00:14:01.190 a mansion were flicked on simultaneously on a 00:14:01.190 --> 00:14:05.100 moonless night. Did you hear that? It says the 00:14:05.100 --> 00:14:09.100 second surprise from the deep field is that the 00:14:09.100 --> 00:14:14.220 universe's lights turned on in one great burst. 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:18.320 You almost get the idea that someone might have 00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:23.279 said, let there be light. Right? Marvelous things 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:26.980 were discovering with this Hubble Space Telescope. 00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:32.120 Now whatever the times and the distances, the 00:14:32.120 --> 00:14:38.019 pictures coming back are truly fantastic. It's 00:14:38.019 --> 00:14:41.019 difficult for our minds to grasp the enormity 00:14:41.019 --> 00:14:46.639 of these galaxies that we are seeing. My friend, 00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:54.639 the Messiah, Jesus, is the one who created all 00:14:54.639 --> 00:15:01.399 of this. He's the one who holds together everything 00:15:01.399 --> 00:15:07.250 that's out there. He is the one who said, let 00:15:07.250 --> 00:15:11.090 there be light, and the chandeliers of God's 00:15:11.090 --> 00:15:16.269 mansion as it were came on. That is an attribute 00:15:16.269 --> 00:15:19.029 of deity that comes to Him who is our Savior, 00:15:20.049 --> 00:15:24.409 the Lord Jesus. Not only then depart from the 00:15:24.409 --> 00:15:28.149 creation, because He is the one who founded it, 00:15:29.389 --> 00:15:32.840 it says, But in our text it also suggests that 00:15:32.840 --> 00:15:37.299 Christ stands apart from change. You and I look 00:15:37.299 --> 00:15:41.500 out there at the universe and we marvel that 00:15:41.500 --> 00:15:46.779 our Lord Jesus looked at that same moon, so beautiful 00:15:46.779 --> 00:15:51.379 in its fullness, its brilliance. He prayed underneath 00:15:51.379 --> 00:15:56.440 that moon. He looked up at it, perhaps waved 00:15:56.440 --> 00:16:02.159 to it because He put it there. But then we think 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:04.600 of David who lived before that, or we think of 00:16:04.600 --> 00:16:09.139 Moses, hundreds of years before David. And they 00:16:09.139 --> 00:16:13.120 all looked up at that same moon and wondered 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:16.580 at its beauty. They lived under the same stars 00:16:16.580 --> 00:16:20.799 that we look at. Job talks about the constellations 00:16:20.799 --> 00:16:24.399 that we still know today by the same names that 00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:29.220 he used. And so we look at these heavenly bodies, 00:16:29.379 --> 00:16:32.919 and we think of them as changeless. But that 00:16:32.919 --> 00:16:37.259 is not the case. In fact, it says here they will 00:16:37.259 --> 00:16:42.419 perish. All of them will wear out like a garment. 00:16:43.179 --> 00:16:45.620 Now it's difficult for us to see that because 00:16:45.620 --> 00:16:50.659 our lifetimes are so brief. And the distances 00:16:50.659 --> 00:16:54.840 of space seem to be so enormous. that it's difficult 00:16:54.840 --> 00:16:58.179 for us to see and observe these changes ourselves, 00:16:58.940 --> 00:17:04.420 but we're able to see it through the HST. In 00:17:04.420 --> 00:17:08.339 fact, the scientists had this to say in the article 00:17:08.339 --> 00:17:11.319 that I quoted from earlier. The Milky Way is 00:17:11.319 --> 00:17:16.500 closing in on the Adromeda galaxy at 300 ,000 00:17:16.500 --> 00:17:19.980 miles per hour. The Adromeda, of course, is the 00:17:19.980 --> 00:17:23.470 closest galaxy to us. and it says that our galaxy, 00:17:23.670 --> 00:17:26.809 the Milky Way galaxy, is moving toward Andromeda 00:17:26.809 --> 00:17:30.490 at that enormous speed of 300 ,000 miles an hour. 00:17:31.829 --> 00:17:34.410 Now, don't exactly get worried about that at 00:17:34.410 --> 00:17:36.289 this point in your life, because the Andromeda 00:17:36.289 --> 00:17:41.569 is 2 .2 million light -years away. That means 00:17:41.569 --> 00:17:45.750 it's 13 billion billion miles away, and so it's 00:17:45.750 --> 00:17:48.049 going to take about 5 billion years for this 00:17:48.049 --> 00:17:51.039 collision to occur. Your life insurance will 00:17:51.039 --> 00:17:55.319 long have expired by that time. And it says, 00:17:55.480 --> 00:17:58.460 since galaxies are mostly dust and gas, the collision 00:17:58.460 --> 00:18:01.500 will not be like ricocheting billiard balls instead 00:18:01.500 --> 00:18:04.400 when the two galaxies are up on one another. 00:18:06.119 --> 00:18:09.259 The two cold clouds of gas in the milky way, 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:11.680 or excuse me, the cold clouds of gas in the milky 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:15.039 way will be compressed like those in the antenna, 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:18.940 another galaxy. and millions of new stars will 00:18:18.940 --> 00:18:22.279 ignite. The Milky Way's flat disk on the outer 00:18:22.279 --> 00:18:25.160 fringes of which our sun and nine planets orbit 00:18:25.160 --> 00:18:28.920 will be ripped apart. Eventually Andromeda will 00:18:28.920 --> 00:18:31.319 plunge into the heart of the Milky Way, triggering 00:18:31.319 --> 00:18:35.400 a fourth of July finale of starbursts. And then 00:18:35.400 --> 00:18:38.519 the two galaxies, originally shaped like pinwheels, 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:42.559 will be one shaped like an egg. Now as I say, 00:18:43.519 --> 00:18:46.140 don't wait for this to happen. because this is 00:18:46.140 --> 00:18:48.519 a long time in the future. But what we're saying 00:18:48.519 --> 00:18:51.319 is that indeed scientists are confirming that 00:18:51.319 --> 00:18:59.819 even our own galaxy someday will change. The 00:18:59.819 --> 00:19:02.839 heavens are wearing out. They're getting like 00:19:02.839 --> 00:19:07.700 an old garment that grows thin with age. Even 00:19:07.700 --> 00:19:09.960 the Bible says that the creation is not lasting, 00:19:09.960 --> 00:19:13.119 that it's going to be done away with. Peter writes, 00:19:13.339 --> 00:19:16.119 the day of the Lord will come like a thief in 00:19:16.119 --> 00:19:18.880 which the heavens will pass away with a roar 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:21.259 and the elements will be destroyed with intense 00:19:21.259 --> 00:19:24.319 heat and the earth and its works will be burned 00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:29.500 up. I imagine ancient people scratched their 00:19:29.500 --> 00:19:32.079 heads when they saw these words and they said, 00:19:32.119 --> 00:19:34.920 how could this be? God must light a match or 00:19:34.920 --> 00:19:37.079 something. But we know today that all God has 00:19:37.079 --> 00:19:42.410 to do is to release the energy that is in A few 00:19:42.410 --> 00:19:46.789 atoms will take care of this problem. In fact, 00:19:46.869 --> 00:19:49.210 what is described here is very much like anatomic 00:19:49.210 --> 00:19:55.390 explosion, isn't it? Since all these things are 00:19:55.390 --> 00:19:57.289 to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people 00:19:57.289 --> 00:19:59.589 ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness? 00:19:59.769 --> 00:20:02.210 Looking for hastening the coming of the day of 00:20:02.210 --> 00:20:04.869 God on account of which the heavens will be destroyed 00:20:04.869 --> 00:20:08.269 by burning and the elements will melt with intense 00:20:08.269 --> 00:20:12.630 heat. Jesus himself said, heaven and earth will 00:20:12.630 --> 00:20:18.410 pass away. And the apostle John stood at a certain 00:20:18.410 --> 00:20:21.529 place in the time spectrum and he said, and I 00:20:21.529 --> 00:20:23.769 saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first 00:20:23.769 --> 00:20:26.190 heaven and the first earth were passed away. 00:20:29.190 --> 00:20:31.569 Now my point is this, that we look at the heavens 00:20:31.569 --> 00:20:36.710 as a symbol of that which is unchanging. It represents 00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:40.299 in our thinking very often what is constant. 00:20:41.900 --> 00:20:46.140 But the Bible says not so. There is change going 00:20:46.140 --> 00:20:49.380 on even now in the heavens, and someday the heavens 00:20:49.380 --> 00:20:52.700 as we know them will be burned up. They will 00:20:52.700 --> 00:20:58.539 be destroyed, but Christ is unchanging. All of 00:20:58.539 --> 00:21:01.299 these things it says will perish. They'll wear 00:21:01.299 --> 00:21:07.349 out like a garment, but thou dost endure. says 00:21:07.349 --> 00:21:11.809 the psalmist about Christ. He says in verse 27, 00:21:12.849 --> 00:21:21.470 literally he says, the idea is, I think Luther 00:21:21.470 --> 00:21:28.109 captures it well in his translation, in other 00:21:28.109 --> 00:21:36.789 words, the Lord, the Christ of God. always remains 00:21:36.789 --> 00:21:39.630 the same, and the writer of Hebrews in the New 00:21:39.630 --> 00:21:42.690 Testament tells us this is true. It says, Jesus 00:21:42.690 --> 00:21:46.950 Christ is the same yesterday and today and yes, 00:21:47.329 --> 00:21:52.549 forever. Now that cannot be said of any mere 00:21:52.549 --> 00:21:57.589 man. We humans are frail. We are a part of this 00:21:57.589 --> 00:22:01.970 universe that is changing, that is passing away. 00:22:04.299 --> 00:22:08.920 We are created. We are inseparably linked to 00:22:08.920 --> 00:22:13.039 this created and fallen order. We are mortal, 00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:18.619 as we saw in our study in 1 Corinthians 15. But 00:22:18.619 --> 00:22:23.400 not so of the Christ. He not only stands apart 00:22:23.400 --> 00:22:29.279 from creation, He brought all of it into existence, 00:22:30.259 --> 00:22:34.519 but He stands apart from the change that is occurring 00:22:34.519 --> 00:22:40.819 within His creation. He does not age. He neither 00:22:40.819 --> 00:22:44.779 grows nor is diminished in wisdom or understanding. 00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:51.259 All knowledge is always His. He is never weakened 00:22:51.259 --> 00:22:57.539 by time. Being eternal and being the source of 00:22:57.539 --> 00:23:00.460 all knowledge, He has no need or capacity to 00:23:00.460 --> 00:23:06.339 be enhanced. or to be refined, or to be augmented, 00:23:07.019 --> 00:23:13.460 or to progress or evolve in any respect whatsoever. 00:23:14.819 --> 00:23:18.319 And as you may know, today, the theory of evolution 00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:20.700 is being applied to theology, like it has been 00:23:20.700 --> 00:23:23.859 to biology. And there are theologians telling 00:23:23.859 --> 00:23:28.200 us that God is changing and evolving with time. 00:23:29.039 --> 00:23:35.359 Bologna. God does not change, and His Son, the 00:23:35.359 --> 00:23:39.980 Christ, is likewise unchanging. And so in this 00:23:39.980 --> 00:23:42.500 messy, enic text that we've looked at in this 00:23:42.500 --> 00:23:46.559 carol of the Christ, we observe two attributes 00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:50.279 of deity and deity only. They are that God is 00:23:50.279 --> 00:23:56.559 eternal and that God is immutable. He is not 00:23:56.559 --> 00:23:59.099 a part of the creation. He is a part from time. 00:23:59.319 --> 00:24:02.650 He is eternal. And He stands apart from the change 00:24:02.650 --> 00:24:05.849 that occurs in the creation. He is immutable, 00:24:06.670 --> 00:24:10.309 unchanging. And we have seen that these attributes 00:24:10.309 --> 00:24:14.529 belong to Jesus Christ. He is eternal. He is 00:24:14.529 --> 00:24:17.369 not created. He is the Creator. He has always 00:24:17.369 --> 00:24:22.869 been. He will forever be. He is the I am. And 00:24:22.869 --> 00:24:25.950 He is immutable. He is constant. He is unchanging. 00:24:26.390 --> 00:24:29.960 And that is very good news for us. Let me tell 00:24:29.960 --> 00:24:34.000 you why. The Jewish background for this term, 00:24:34.660 --> 00:24:38.000 anointed one, I've already suggested, it was 00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:41.240 used in three offices of the Jewish people, that 00:24:41.240 --> 00:24:46.380 of prophet, priest, and king. Our eternal immutable 00:24:46.380 --> 00:24:51.619 Christ fills each of those offices in a unique 00:24:51.619 --> 00:24:59.599 sense. Christ is the anointed prophet. Therefore, 00:24:59.880 --> 00:25:05.380 his promises stand forever. It means that the 00:25:05.380 --> 00:25:08.359 one who loved us and who gave himself for us 00:25:08.359 --> 00:25:14.099 and who loves us forever will never change in 00:25:14.099 --> 00:25:19.539 that respect. He has promised us the gift of 00:25:19.539 --> 00:25:22.740 his own existence, his own endless existence, 00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:28.589 and we share that eternal life. Because Christ 00:25:28.589 --> 00:25:31.730 is the anointed prophet and His promises stand 00:25:31.730 --> 00:25:36.490 forever, you and I can rest with assurance that 00:25:36.490 --> 00:25:45.430 our souls' destiny are fixed. He has said, I 00:25:45.430 --> 00:25:51.710 love you with an everlasting love. Jesus Himself 00:25:51.710 --> 00:25:55.549 said, I give eternal life to them, my sheep. 00:25:56.009 --> 00:26:00.869 And they shall never perish, and no one shall 00:26:00.869 --> 00:26:04.970 snatch them out of my hand." Who said that? Christ, 00:26:05.690 --> 00:26:12.390 the eternal, immutable, anointed prophet. His 00:26:12.390 --> 00:26:15.950 promises must stand. He said, heaven and earth 00:26:15.950 --> 00:26:20.829 shall pass away, but what? My words shall not 00:26:20.829 --> 00:26:28.049 pass away. Christ is the anointed prophet. Secondly, 00:26:28.250 --> 00:26:33.089 Christ is the anointed priest. The priest of 00:26:33.089 --> 00:26:36.430 ancient Israel was also anointed. Christ is the 00:26:36.430 --> 00:26:40.990 anointed priest. And his prayers prevail forever. 00:26:41.630 --> 00:26:45.809 Forever. Think of that. The writer of Hebrews 00:26:45.809 --> 00:26:48.109 says it is evident that our Lord was descended 00:26:48.109 --> 00:26:51.529 from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses 00:26:51.529 --> 00:26:55.569 spoke nothing concerning priests. And this is 00:26:55.569 --> 00:26:58.170 clear still, if another priest arises, according 00:26:58.170 --> 00:27:01.970 to the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become 00:27:01.970 --> 00:27:06.170 such, not on the basis of a law, a physical requirement, 00:27:06.329 --> 00:27:09.069 but according to the power of an indestructible 00:27:09.069 --> 00:27:13.529 life, for it is witnessed of him, thou art a 00:27:13.529 --> 00:27:17.190 priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek." 00:27:17.190 --> 00:27:19.490 Now we're going to dip into this a little further 00:27:19.490 --> 00:27:23.240 in a coming week. But my point is here this morning 00:27:23.240 --> 00:27:27.400 is that Jesus Christ has been anointed as the 00:27:27.400 --> 00:27:35.160 high priest of an eternal order of priests. He 00:27:35.160 --> 00:27:41.799 is a priest forever. He is such not because he 00:27:41.799 --> 00:27:46.180 descended from a certain tribe of Israel like 00:27:46.180 --> 00:27:50.670 the Levitical priests. But he is this priest 00:27:50.670 --> 00:27:54.509 because of the power of an indestructible life 00:27:54.509 --> 00:27:59.869 that he has in his resurrection. And so he will 00:27:59.869 --> 00:28:04.250 always represent us before the Father. He will 00:28:04.250 --> 00:28:08.509 always be before the Father's throne there on 00:28:08.509 --> 00:28:17.680 our behalf. And he prays for you. I thank God 00:28:17.680 --> 00:28:19.720 for the many people in this church who pray for 00:28:19.720 --> 00:28:24.059 me. It means a great deal to me. And there are 00:28:24.059 --> 00:28:26.380 some who pray for me and for my family and for 00:28:26.380 --> 00:28:28.839 other pastoral staff and for the leaders of our 00:28:28.839 --> 00:28:32.940 church every day. That's invaluable. I thank 00:28:32.940 --> 00:28:35.079 God for that. But let me tell you, there's one 00:28:35.079 --> 00:28:38.539 who prays even more than that for me and for 00:28:38.539 --> 00:28:42.700 you. And that is the Lord Jesus, the anointed 00:28:42.700 --> 00:28:46.640 priest. Therefore, we can choose to believe that 00:28:46.640 --> 00:28:51.660 all of our circumstances are providential. There's 00:28:51.660 --> 00:28:54.579 nothing that befalls me in my life but has not 00:28:54.579 --> 00:28:58.240 first passed through the screen of His prayers 00:28:58.240 --> 00:29:04.740 for me. Do I face some disappointment today? 00:29:06.559 --> 00:29:11.519 Have I experienced a loss? Is my life in danger 00:29:11.519 --> 00:29:17.339 because of some disease? Is my security threatened? 00:29:19.299 --> 00:29:22.259 Whatever it be in my circumstances, it comes 00:29:22.259 --> 00:29:27.200 from Him. His prayers have gone before the events 00:29:27.200 --> 00:29:32.700 of my life, forging them, shaping them, determining 00:29:32.700 --> 00:29:38.240 that all things will work together for my good. 00:29:43.339 --> 00:29:48.500 He is my high priest. My Christ is yours too. 00:29:50.579 --> 00:29:53.779 Not only is he the anointed prophet and the anointed 00:29:53.779 --> 00:29:58.319 priest, he is the anointed king. Jesus Christ 00:29:58.319 --> 00:30:02.799 as the eternal immutable one is the anointed 00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:06.970 king. His power rules forever. In Revelation 00:30:06.970 --> 00:30:09.430 we read these words, the kingdom of this world 00:30:09.430 --> 00:30:12.170 has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His 00:30:12.170 --> 00:30:18.170 Christ, and He will reign forever and ever. That 00:30:18.170 --> 00:30:20.849 is His kingdom, and you and I, who are in His 00:30:20.849 --> 00:30:23.930 family, who have trusted Him, are already citizens 00:30:23.930 --> 00:30:28.329 in that kingdom that is forever. We are citizens 00:30:28.329 --> 00:30:31.130 of an eternal kingdom, therefore we need to live 00:30:31.130 --> 00:30:34.309 like it and determine to live for what is significant. 00:30:35.630 --> 00:30:39.509 How easy it is for us to live for what is self 00:30:39.509 --> 00:30:44.690 -fulfilling. How easy it is to focus upon that 00:30:44.690 --> 00:30:47.109 which is personally rewarding because everyone 00:30:47.109 --> 00:30:51.329 else in our culture does that. How easy it is 00:30:51.329 --> 00:30:55.609 to live for what is popular, but how significant 00:30:55.609 --> 00:31:00.490 it is to live for what advances his eternal kingdom. 00:31:03.079 --> 00:31:06.180 What a great way to bring focus and direction 00:31:06.180 --> 00:31:10.819 to our lives to determine that this week My number 00:31:10.819 --> 00:31:14.980 one priority is going to be to live with Kingdom 00:31:14.980 --> 00:31:21.480 values for Kingdom purposes Because the Christ 00:31:21.480 --> 00:31:25.539 who is eternal and immutable is the King of that 00:31:25.539 --> 00:31:28.339 Kingdom and I'm one of his subjects and when 00:31:28.339 --> 00:31:30.539 I choose to live for that Kingdom I'm living 00:31:30.539 --> 00:31:36.539 for what is truly significant. So do you see 00:31:36.539 --> 00:31:38.660 how important it is what we've talked about? 00:31:39.900 --> 00:31:44.339 That Jesus the Christ is eternal and unchanging. 00:31:44.920 --> 00:31:48.099 We're part of an unchanging kingdom. We're part 00:31:48.099 --> 00:31:51.440 of a priesthood that is eternal and unchanging. 00:31:52.400 --> 00:31:56.680 We have promises that will be fulfilled, that 00:31:56.680 --> 00:32:02.809 cannot change. An Eastern Monarch was one time 00:32:02.809 --> 00:32:06.069 brought his counselors before him and he asked 00:32:06.069 --> 00:32:12.490 them formulate a statement of wisdom that will 00:32:12.490 --> 00:32:15.289 be true in all times and in all circumstances 00:32:15.289 --> 00:32:17.490 and so the counselors went back and they began 00:32:17.490 --> 00:32:20.089 to think and to write and to come up with some 00:32:20.089 --> 00:32:23.869 proverb that would be eternally true and this 00:32:23.869 --> 00:32:27.049 is what they came back to him with it is just 00:32:27.049 --> 00:32:31.950 this little statement and this too shall pass 00:32:31.950 --> 00:32:37.910 away. Do you think about that? Is it a blessing? 00:32:38.190 --> 00:32:40.210 This too will pass away. Is it a disappointment? 00:32:40.529 --> 00:32:43.750 This too will pass away. Is it life itself? This 00:32:43.750 --> 00:32:47.930 too will pass away. That is a statement of wisdom 00:32:47.930 --> 00:32:52.210 for this world of friends. You and I, having 00:32:52.210 --> 00:32:54.670 trusted the Lord Jesus Christ, are part of a 00:32:54.670 --> 00:32:58.650 kingdom. We have a relationship with one who 00:32:58.650 --> 00:33:02.140 is forever. And that gives our lives significance 00:33:02.140 --> 00:33:07.200 that is beyond this time and beyond this world. 00:33:08.819 --> 00:33:16.240 Let's pray together. Father, if we are living 00:33:16.240 --> 00:33:20.099 for things of this world, the voting our energies 00:33:20.099 --> 00:33:25.839 to what is passing away already, then show us 00:33:25.839 --> 00:33:33.170 that convictus of that terrible waste. And show 00:33:33.170 --> 00:33:35.450 us how living in a world that is passing away, 00:33:35.549 --> 00:33:40.230 we can also live for what is eternal. And reorder 00:33:40.230 --> 00:33:44.990 the priorities of our lives, I pray. Reorder 00:33:44.990 --> 00:33:47.470 them so that we will live for what lasts and 00:33:47.470 --> 00:33:54.329 what is significant. I don't know how that may 00:33:54.329 --> 00:33:57.390 apply to your life. I know how it applies to 00:33:57.390 --> 00:34:05.890 mine. May God help us to determine today to live 00:34:05.890 --> 00:34:08.269 for those things that belong to the kingdom of 00:34:08.269 --> 00:34:16.730 our Christ. Lord Jesus, eternal God, unchanging 00:34:16.730 --> 00:34:20.789 deity, we worship You, and we give ourselves 00:34:20.789 --> 00:34:25.309 to be fully devoted followers of You. And as 00:34:25.309 --> 00:34:27.550 we go from here into the rest of this day and 00:34:27.550 --> 00:34:30.610 into the new week before us, may we glorify and 00:34:30.610 --> 00:34:35.449 bring honor to you, our prophet, our priests, 00:34:36.349 --> 00:34:39.349 and our eternal King. Amen.