Welcome to the NECF podcast, where we share our weekly sermons and faithfully interpret the Bible to encourage and direct you on your spiritual path.
We are devoted pastors and special guests, devout to the depths of the Bible, exploring its profound lessons and useful applications for your daily life.
God made an oath, and that oath is that he is going to fulfill the promise he has made.
Join us as we explore the timeless truth that have the power to change people's hearts and minds, promoting a closer relationship with God and a firm belief in his promises.
Was it 23?
Yes. Hebrew study says, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wearying.
For he who promise is faithful, the next verse.
Yes, and let us consider one another in order to stir up love and what? And good works.
So the believer is able to stir up another believer, right?
In love and good works. And if you are careful to listen to the administration that they did to them, the focus is the good works.
Amen. And what is the good works? The good works is the work of ministry. Hallelujah.
So what we are trying to demonstrate here is the ability that lies in every believer.
If you are new in this place today and you are a believer, you are born again, you have the Spirit of God in you, what we are announcing right now is that you have the capacity in you to do what?
To prophesy. You are trans. Acts chapter 2.
Acts chapter 2.
Verse 39, we'll come back to this, but let's lay a foundation from here.
Verse 38, it says, for then Peter said to them, Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For the promise, verse 39, which is my emphasis, for the promise is to you, that is to his audience, and to your children, the next generation of your children.
And to your children, the next generation, and who? And we now, now, the context, and we've entered into this promise.
And to all who are far off, as many as the Lord God will call.
And for you and for I, all of us have been called unto God.
And we have this gift of the promise and the promise specifically is talking about the Spirit of God and the context of this is utterance.
Hallelujah. It's utterance. So every believer have the capacity to work in the utterance because we have the indwelling of the Spirit in us.
Hallelujah. So our goal of this teaching, as I started previously, is understanding the Spirit-led life.
Understanding the Spirit-led life and the Spirit-led life is a life that is controlled and compelled and led by the Spirit.
Let's look at Romans 8, 14. Romans 8, chapter 14. Romans 8, verse 14.
Just for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are what? These are the sons of God, which means that the sons of God should be seen led by the Spirit of God.
And one of the ways by which the Spirit can lead you is in the aspect of utterance.
Galatians 5, verse 16. The Amplified. Galatians 5, verse 16.
I say, but I say, work habitually, which means that the natural disposition of the believer, the habit of the believer,
what becomes cultural to the believer is walking in the Holy Spirit. I say, work habitually in the Holy Spirit.
Seek him and be responsive to his guidance so the believer is expected to keep on responding to the leading of the Spirit of God in him.
And then he or you rather will certainly not carry out the desires of the sinful nature which responds impossible without regard to God, for God and his precepts.
Because you have the Spirit of God in you, you have the capacity to respond to the leading of God's Spirit that lives in you because you're born again.
Hallelujah. So we laid a foundation last time
on one of the most profound realities of the Christian life which is the indwelling of the Spirit in the believer.
We attempted to answer a very important question. When God created Adam, you know, did God give him the Spirit to dwell in him?
And the common knowledge that we tried to address is that Adam, of course the common knowledge, is that God created Adam and in him put his Spirit.
Then Adam sinned and then the Spirit was taken away from him.
You know, and in Genesis 1, 26, 27, we saw God's plan was for the man to be in his image, to be in Christ.
That is, God wanted man to have everlasting life. And this everlasting life is a product of possessing the Holy Spirit.
What makes the man having eternal life is the presence of the Holy Spirit in him.
In Genesis chapter 3, we see that what was presented to Adam was the gospel message.
The pastor was making a comment to read. He says, God presented the gospel message to Adam in Genesis 3, which he was expected to do, or to believe, to exercise faith.
So to live eternally is a function of, you know, faith. You exercise faith in the Word of God, in what God has said.
So the activity in Genesis 3 is symbolic. This typified the tree of life in Genesis 3.
Adam, on the other hand, shows unbelief towards the message that God presented him.
Therefore, the tree of life was figurative, as we said, expression or explanation of God's plan of life in Christ for man, of which we saw clearly Adam rejected as an act of his own will.
So God's intent was that the man would be led by the Spirit, and how you come into this leading or this life of the Spirit is by believing the Word of God.
And Adam disbelieved God. We concluded that Adam's sin was disbelief or unbelief in what God said to him, and not a behavioral misconduct, because we know that the mode of communication of Moses.
Moses was the one that wrote the story of the Garden of Eden, and he employed a means of communicating God's plan through signs and symbols.
So we concluded that Adam's sin was what was unbelief and not necessarily eating of a physical fruit.
To not eat of the tree of life is to reject what God said. His offering of life, the life in the Spirit, was what Adam rejected. Adam rejected the life in the Spirit.
Thus Genesis 1 verse 26 to 28 didn't come to pass at that moment in the life of this Adam, this first Adam that was created in Genesis 2.
So did God ever fulfill that promise of man created in the image of God? We answered, we said yes. And we said how? After Adam's sin, God became man.
That is the content of the gospel. God becoming man, right?
God becoming man.
Jesus Christ. Paul calls him the last Adam, the second Adam. Thus in Genesis 1, Genesis 1, 26, 28 is fulfilled in who was fulfilling Christ.
Summary of what we've seen. Genesis 1, 26, 28 was fulfilling Christ, who is the last Adam, the one that gives us his nature by faith and from there we walk in dominion.
Thus we concluded that the man in Christ has the capacity to do what? To love God. And loving God is not just in words but in our actions. And these actions must be founded on faith.
The actions must be founded in faith. It is a response to what? To the leading of the Spirit of God in a believer.
We who believe now have the capacity, we have the ability to love God, we have the ability to love others because the Spirit has been given to us.
Because the Spirit of God has been given to us.
So today we're going to continue in building this foundation. We'll move a step further in building this foundation truth, foundational truths.
That will enable us to understand the Spirit-led life. Step by step we'll move on.
We're going to focus on the promise of God. Or rather we can put the promises of God.
Luke 24 verse 25. Luke 24 from verse 25. Luke 24 from verse 25.
Then he said to them, O foolish ones, and slow of heart, to believe in all that the prophets have spoken.
Jesus here is the one speaking. And he's calling some people foolish.
Ought not that Christ, to have suffered these things and what? And to enter into his glory. 27. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures.
These things concerning himself. And let's jump to verse 44 to 49.
Then he said to them, These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you. That things, that all things must be fulfilled.
On the line, all things. All things must be fulfilled. On the line, fulfilled. Which were written in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms concerning me.
Verse 45. And he opened their understanding that they might comprehend the scriptures. Then he said to them, Thus it is written, and thus it is necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day.
And that the repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem.
And you are witnesses of these things. Verse 49, the last verse from this part.
So we will see the background of this text. Is that Jesus was arrested first of all. He was crucified. He died. And then he had resurrected from the death.
Look 24 from verse 13. Then we come back to this text.
Verse 13. He says, Now behold two of them were travelling after Jesus had died. He had resurrected. And then you know there was a commotion in the city. The disciples were disperse. They were in confusion. And Jesus appeared to some of his disciples.
The things that happened within those days. The death of Jesus Christ. How Jesus Christ was crucified. How Jesus was killed. And how you know he was no more.
So it was while they conversed and reasoned. They were conversing and reasoning that Jesus himself drew near and went with them.
But their eyes were restrained so that they did not know him. And he said to them, What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk out and as sad.
Why were they sad? They were sad because Jesus who came as a messiah. Who they thought was the messiah.
Because they were having a thinking that he is a messiah. He will see. Has died and they were disappointed. They were filled with disappointment and they were sad.
Verse 18. Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to him, Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem? Have you not read what has happened in the books and in the tablets?
Have you not heard what was done in these few days? Are you new in this town? Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem? Have you not known the things?
What things? Specifically the things that happened to Christ within the context of those days. Which has happened in these days.
Verse 19. And he said to them, What things? So they said to him, The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth.
Now their understanding of the things concerning Jesus of Nazareth is different from what the scripture has said about Jesus of Nazareth.
Who was a prophet? This is their explanation. Mighty indeed and words before God and all the people.
And this was what they were reasoning. So you can actually reason on something that is wrong. Right?
Verse 20. And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and crucified him.
But we were hoping now. This is where they got it wrong. Right?
They were hoping. What were they hoping? But we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel.
Indeed, beside all this, today is the third day since these things have happened.
So their hope was a messiah that would solve their fiscal problem.
The messiah that would come as a conqueror that would deliver them from what? From the colonial power of the day. Which is the Romans. Right?
Today is the third day since these things happened. Verse 22.
Yes, and certain women of our company who arrived at the tomb, Ailey astonished us.
They said something crazy that we were surprised by their craziness.
And what did they say? When they did not find his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.
How can a man die? We saw the way he was killed and you come telling us that he is alive?
And a certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.
And certain of them, right? Verse 24. Yes.
Alright, then Jesus now entered with his conversation. Verse 25.
Then he said to them, oh foolish, foolish ones, and slow of heart to do what? To believe.
Why were they called foolish? Because they were what? They were slow of heart and they were in unbelief.
And what did they disbelieve? They were acting in foolishness for not believing, for not exercising faith.
Hallelujah. So sometimes when we call you foolish, we have the license to call you foolish.
Paul also used that word in Galatians chapter 3, verse 1 to 3.
We will see similarly Paul referring to the Galatians as fools for not walking in faith. Galatians chapter 3, verse 1 to 3.
Oh foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth? And what is obeying the truth?
The obedience of the truth is faith, acting in faith. Before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified.
This only I want to learn from you. Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing of faith?
Are you so foolish? That first foolish was not a mistake.
He is re-emphasizing, are you so foolish? Having begun in the spirit which is faith, are you now being made perfect by the flesh which is works?
So let's go back to Luke 24-25. So we ask what were they to believe? What were they to believe?
What were the disciples supposed to believe? What were they supposed to believe?
They were supposed to believe all that the prophets have spoken.
They were supposed to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Spoken here referring to prophesying.
Because the prophets said something, the prophets prophesied. They prophesied.
Now the prophets were the mouthpiece of God. The prophets were, when I mean were, I mean the prophets of old, the old testament prophets.
Were the mouthpiece of God. And what was their work? Their work was to declare the word of God.
So if God wants to speak to men, he speaks through the prophets. He speaks through the prophets.
Hebrews 1 verse 1. Let's see Hebrews 1 verse 1. Hebrews 1 verse 1.
It says God who at various times, what are those times? Various times, that means time passed.
Various ways spoke in time passed to the fathers by what? How was the mood of God's communication to the fathers?
The fathers here refers to men of old, men that lived in the old testament era.
How did he speak to them? He spoke to them by what? Through prophets.
This was God's way of communicating to men through prophets. God's way of communication to men in that era were through prophets.
Second Peter chapter 1 verse 20. Second Peter 1 verse 20, 21.
Knowing this, that no prophecy, because I said what the prophets spoke, they were prophesying.
Now let's look at what they were prophesying. Knowing this, that no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation.
For prophets never came by the will of man. Never came by the will of man.
What the prophets were saying were not their own initiatives.
But holy men, who are these holy men? These prophets were called holy. What does it mean to be holy? It means that they were set apart.
For the purpose of that prophesying, for the purpose of speaking the council, for the purpose of speaking the words of God to the men of that time.
But the holy men of God spoke as they were what? They were moved by the Holy Spirit.
First Peter 1 verse 10. First Peter 1 verse 10.
10 and 11. It says, of this salvation, the prophets have inquired and searched carefully.
What did they do? Who prophesied of the grace that will come to you?
Searching, or what manner of time, the spirit of Christ who was on upon or in them was indicating when he testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that will follow.
So what was the content of their prophecy? The sufferings of Christ and the glories that will follow.
So the prophets, the words the prophets spoke, back to Luke 24-25. What the prophets spoke?
He said to them, O foolish ones, to believe, so of our to believe. So what the prophets were prophesying was meant to be believed upon.
As the prophets were speaking, the expectation or the response of the men of that time were what? Was to believe in what the prophets were saying.
They were not giving them things to do, but they were expecting them to believe in what God has said or what God is saying at that moment.
So the words of the prophets was meant to be believed on. So what was the centrality of their prophecy? Verse 26, Luke 24-26.
Jesus Christ says, Ought not the Christ. So when you summarize the content, right, the key thing that the prophets were saying concerning Jesus, concerning the Christ,
because the disciples were talking about the Christ, who they thought was the one to deliver them from what? From the power that is upon them.
So he said to them, Ought not the Christ to do what? To have suffered these things, the things that he suffered and he died.
And to enter into his glory, was it not supposed to happen? Was it not what the scriptures have said about the Christ who is to come?
So why is he so foolish to not believe what the prophets have spoken concerning the Christ?
The sufferings of the Christ and entering his glory. We see in verse 27, we see Jesus administrating the cure to their foolishness and slow of heart.
So, I'm beginning at what? At Moses and all the prophets he expounded to them in all the scriptures, the things, the things, the things concerning himself.
The things concerning himself. So when he said they were foolish and slow of heart, the solution to their foolishness and slow of heart is teaching.
Amen? The solution is what? It's teaching. The solution is what? It's doctrine. It's teaching.
How did he teach them? He expounded in the Selamite. We saw the word expounded, which implies to cut across the scripture, right?
He expounded to them. Beginning with Moses. Moses, we always make emphasis that it means Genesis, the writings of Moses, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, which is our focus in the Selamite.
These were the books of Moses. So Moses here refers to the writings of Moses and all the prophets. Prophets refer him to the writings of all the prophets.
He expounded, expounding here means he interpreted to them in all the scripture, in all the scripture simply means from Genesis to Malachi. Genesis to Malachi.
All the prophets, yes, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures from Genesis to Malachi. The things, the things concerning himself.
The things concerning himself. Let me draw your attention to this. It is not everything the prophets said or spoke or prophesied that is concerning Christ.
Amen. It is not everything the prophets said. Okay. For example, now they prophesied about Judas, whose name is, whose surname is Escarriod, right?
That one is not concerning Christ. So Jesus will not fulfill that one, right? So there were several things they prophesied about kingdoms, about nations and other things within their time.
But in the midst of their prophecies, there is a centrality of message. And when you look through all of them consistently, they prophesied about the Christ.
And what they prophesied about the Christ is that this Christ will come, he will suffer, he will die, and then he will rise again from the death.
So he explained to them right from Genesis. So the centrality of the message from Genesis to Malachi, you will see a straight line, an explanation, a prophecy through the prophets concerning Jesus, concerning his suffering, concerning the glory that will come after the suffering and the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Expanded to them. So in their prophecies contains the things, these things are very specific. And this specific is about Christ, his suffering, his sufferings and entering into his glory.
Let's move to verse 44.
Now the background here is that Jesus appeared to a group of disciples, right? He appeared to two and then after that, you know, he killed their foolishness and their lack of understanding.
He taught them. He did a very profound Bible study with them at that moment to kill their unbelief. Then he appeared to another group.
Let's look at verse 36. We'll read from verse 36.
Now as they said these things, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and said to them, Peace to you. But they were terrified and threatened and supposed they had seen a spirit, a ghost. And he said to them, Why are you troubled? Because these men have been disappointed. Oh, did Jesus himself.
We're thinking that he's a real man. We're thinking that he's actually what we've been expecting because their mind, what they were expecting was not what scripture have said.
So he said to them, Why are you troubled? And why do you doubt? Why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet that it is myself. It is I myself. Handle me and see for a spirit or a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. But while they still do not believe. So that means that these men have belief. They have issue of unbelief. All right. But while they still do not believe, he showed them touch, see, is he seeing me.
What happened? They still couldn't believe that it is him who has risen from the dead. They couldn't believe for joy and marvel. He said to them, Have you any food here? Let me move forward to prove to you that it is me and I'm not a ghost. I'm a physical person.
Right. So they gave him a piece of boiled fish and some honeycomb. And he ate. And we told you here sometimes they go that fish and honey is not a spiritual food. Amen. That was just what was available. So don't think that if you eat fish and honey, you're eating what Jesus ate. There's nothing special about that.
And he took it and ate in their presence, right, to prove his humanity to them. Then he said to them, These are the words. Now he began also correcting their foolishness and their unbelief. The cure for unbelief is what is teaching.
A cure for unbelief is what. So whenever you find yourself not believing, what do you do? You know the cure. What is the cure? You go out and look for teaching. Teaching will cure that unbelief. Then he said to them, These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you.
That all things must be fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses. The law of Moses, we know what the law of Moses is. The books written by Moses and the prophets, we've explained what the prophets and the Psalms in bracket, we've taught this concerning who?
Concerning me, specific things concerning Jesus Christ. Verse 45. And he do what? He opened, it is something here, he opened their understanding that they might comprehend the scriptures. Open their understanding.
So in verse 44 we see Jesus introduce a new word that was not used in previous verses, verse 25 to 27. He says, All things must be fulfilled. What does it mean to fulfilled?
It means to accomplish. It means to meet a demand. It means to take care of irresponsibility. All things must be fulfilled. All things must be accomplished. It's a Greek word play role.
P-L-E-R-O-O means to accomplish. It means to meet a demand. It means to take care of irresponsibility. So in verse 45 we see that he opened, he opened, he opened their understanding, right?
That they might understand because they had a wrong understanding previously. So he introduced them to a new understanding of what has happened. He opened their understanding into the light of the scriptures.
So that they might perceive in the scriptures the way it ought to be perceived. Genesis to Malachi. Away from what? From the wrong interpretation they were given about scriptures or the wrong understanding.
So now let's jump down to verse 49. Verse 49 specifically. Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you, by tarrying the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.
So I ask the question here, I say, is Jesus fulfilling a promise here or is he making one?
Verse 49. He said behold I send, behold I send the promise of my Father upon you, but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. Is Jesus making a new promise or is he fulfilling a promise?
Okay, sending a promise, he's fulfilling a promise, he's making a promise. Which one are we settling on? Because that's been prophesied, right? So what is he doing?
So is Jesus introducing a new promise? There is a promise. And where was the promise made? In the scriptures. By the prophets who spoke in the old times concerning what? Concerning Jesus and all that he would do.
Alright, so the answer is that he is fulfilling a promise that had already been made. This promise is found in the altar scriptures which contains many mysteries and commitments from God.
Acts chapter 1 verse 4 to 5. Acts chapter 1 verse 4 to 5.
And being assembled together with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for what? To wait for the promise of the Father.
The first time I came to light in this scripture, I discovered a lot of foolishness that we've been doing before. Oh, we have to wait for the Spirit to come.
We wait and the way my foolishness was unfolded here was when I heard a man of God say that you should have gone to Jerusalem to wait.
Because he said they should wait where? In Jerusalem. So why are you in Jerusalem if you are to wait the way they were waiting for the Spirit to come from somewhere else?
It therefore means that I was not what it meant. To them they were to wait but you, you have the Spirit in you. Hallelujah.
And being assembled together with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father which he said,
you have heard from me for John truly baptized with water. Right? But you shall be baptized with what? With the Holy Spirit not many days from now.
Okay? So let's look at the cross reference to where John said this. Matthew 3 verse 11 to 12. Matthew 3 verse 11 and 12.
Indeed, this is John saying, I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. But he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals am I worthy to carry.
He will what? He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Verse 12. His winnowing fan is in his hand and he will thoroughly clean out his station floor
and gather his wheat into the barn but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Let's look at another text that cross reference this Mark 1 verse 8.
Mark 1 verse 8. Indeed, I baptize you with water but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. So we see here clearly that John the Baptist or the baptizer with water,
not the Holy Ghost, makes a commitment on behalf of Jesus saying that Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit. So he's making an emphasis on what Jesus will do.
Jesus is a baptizer. What Jesus will do. Alright? Acts chapter 2 verse 37. After it had happened, Acts chapter 2 verse 37.
Now when they had this, the context says that they waited and the Holy Spirit was released and they spoke in tongues or trance, what was demonstrated here,
all trances occurred, alright? And then there was a commotion, some people accusing him of being under the influence of red wine with 33% alcoholic content.
He was drunk with wine actually. Now when they had this, they were cut to their heart. Peter now spoke and preached, right?
He preached to them concerning Jesus and in verse 37 he says, now when they had this, when they had what Peter said, Peter re-emphasized in the previous verses concerning the gospel message,
they were cut into their heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do?
Now for you to receive this, you are not to do anything. Are we together? There's nothing you need to do, right, to receive the promise of God.
Verse 38, then Peter said to them, repent. Now repent, right, is not an activity you do, it's a condition of the mind.
You change your perception and your mindset and let every one of you be baptized in the name, baptize is not water baptism, we've taught this before.
In the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
That means that you change your perception concerning the way you used to know Christ.
Move in belief and believe that he is a messiah who has been sent, then you will receive. Change of perception, believe and you will receive, alright, and you will receive.
Verse 39, for the promise, listen, this is very key, the promise is to you, who are you here? The you here where is audience, isn't it?
And to your children, whose children? Their own children of the audience and to all who are where, who are far off.
We are not part of this far off yet, right? And as many as the Lord will what? Will call.
Talking about we being included in this promise. There are many scriptures who will look into it, detail it later on.
How we are included in this promise.
Verse 16 and 18, let's go back to verse 16 and 18 and see where the promise was mentioned, where he was making quotation. He says, but this was what was spoken by what? What was spoken by the prophet Joel.
What did prophet Joel say? And shall come to pass in the last days that God says, God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, all flesh.
Your sons and your daughters and shall prophesy. Your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams.
As 18 and on my men's servants and on made servants, which means is for men and women.
That was why I call on a man to prophesy and I call on a woman to prophesy to prove to you that men and women can prophesy and can minister the things of the Spirit.
Hallelujah. And on my men's servants and on my maids servants, I will pour out my Spirit into those in those days and they shall what? They shall have all trance.
They shall have all trance. They shall have all trance. Hallelujah.
So these promises are anchored in what? In the Old Testament.
The people of Israel were waiting for the fulfillment of God's promise through the prophets.
Acts 13 verse 26.
Acts 13 verse 23.
Yes, we see that this prophecy, right? This prophecy have been fulfilling Christ. Amen.
From this man's seat, according to the promise, what promise? Remember we're talking about promise, promise or promises.
From this man's seat, according to the promise, God raised up Israel, a savior.
And this savior is very specific, is Jesus Christ. Verse 24.
After John had finished, had first preached rather, before his coming, the baptism of the repentance of all the people of Israel.
And as John was finishing his course, he said, Who do you think I am? I am not he, but behold, there comes one after me, the sanders of whose feet I am not worthy to lose.
Men and brethren, sons of the family of Abraham and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent.
All right. For those who dwell in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not know him, know even the voices of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning him.
So those prophets fulfill also the prophecy, but the prophecy they fulfill was the part that they will condemn the Savior. Right.
Verse 28. And though they found no cause for death in him, they asked Pilate that he should be put to death.
Now, when they had fulfilled all that was written, when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.
But God raised him from the dead. He was seen for many days by those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses to the people.
And we declare to you glad tidings, that is we declare to you good news that that promise which was made to the fathers, we declare to you that promise, that promise that was made to the fathers.
All right. That's it for God has fulfilled. Now look at that promise. All right. It's no longer a promise to us. It's no longer a promise.
God had what had fulfilled this for us, their children, in that he raised up Jesus as it is also written in the second Psalm, You are my son today I have begotten you.
That is, Sam is referring to the Psalms of the prophecy, right, and that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption.
He has spoken first, I will give you the sure mercies of David, verse 35, therefore he also says in another Psalm, so Paul here was using the Old Testament to teach about what Jesus has accomplished.
You will not allow your Holy One to seek corruption. That's six. For David after he had served his own generation by the will of God fell asleep, was buried with his fathers and saw corruption, verse 37.
But he whom God raised up now, raised up saw no corruption, verse that's it. Last verse from here.
Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this man is what is preached to you, the forgiveness of sin.
So we see here Paul purely and clearly establish, reminds the people the promise of God, the promise of God that was revealed to the prophets, have now seen its fulfillment in who?
In Jesus Christ. Hallelujah.
The prophets announced God's personal commitment and whatever he has promised is documented from Genesis to Malachi and we see it being fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Acts 3, verse 21.
Whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things.
This is the emphasis which God has spoken by the mouth of all his prophets since the world began.
This passage indicates that the promise of God were captured in the words spoken by the prophets and preserved in the Holy Scriptures.
So in Hebrews 6, verse 13, we see that God fulfilled the promise, showing his integrity.
Hebrews 6, verse 13 to 17.
For when God made a promise to Abraham, right? What was the promise? The promise was not Isaac.
For when God made a promise to Abraham, because he could sway by no one greater.
You know when you go to a bank, right? And you ask for your loan, what you are saying is that I will pay back.
And because the bank do not believe you, right? They say give us what we call collateral.
And even when you give collateral, most especially in this country they will say you should bring a guarantor.
What the guarantor does is that he guarantees. What the guarantor will say is, see, I am sure that this person will pay you the loan.
In case he doesn't pay this loan, what will you do? Call me responsible, I will pay.
Are we together? Call me responsible, I will pay.
So when God made a promise to Abraham, because he could not swear, he could not hold someone higher than himself to bring as a guarantor.
Because he could not sway by no one greater. He do what? He swore by himself.
He put his own integrity on a line and say, see, the next verse, verse 14, saying, surely, blessing I will bless you and multiplying I will multiply you, verse 15.
And so after, what happened?
He had patiently endured, he obtained the promise for men indeed swayed by the greater.
And all for confirmation is for them. And end of all this, verse 17.
God's God, right? Determining to show more abundantly to the errors of promise, of the promise, of promise, the immutability of his counsel, that is God's inability to turn from his words.
God's consistency and integrity, confirm it by an oath.
That is why in Egypt, Pharaoh could not what the promise of God.
He meant.
Harold could not scatter the plans of God.
All the activities of men could not sabotage the promise of God because God has integrity.
Hallelujah. Now let's look at it.
God swore by himself when he made this promise to Abraham, affirming his own integrity as the guarantee of this promise.
And I can assure you that Abraham understood this promise.
Amen.
Abraham understood this promise.
He understood that this promise would be fulfilled even seeing a glimpse of God's ultimate plan when Isaac was spared on Mount Moriah.
I don't want to go into those. We'll look at them later on in detail.
We're going to see how this promise was fulfilled.
So Jesus is the amen of God, meaning that Jesus is a fulfillment of God's promise.
Jesus is the one through whom God has designed to bring to fruition the promise that he has made to men.
Second Corinthians 1 verse 20.
For all the promises of God, what are the promises of God?
What are all these promises?
Now, there is nothing that you have, there is no promise you have.
God never promised you a car.
Are we together? God never promised you that you will have a PhD.
God never promised you that you will marry a husband that has money.
God never promised you a successful career.
All the promises of God have context.
And what is the context of God's promises?
All that the prophets have said.
So if your promises that you are claiming is outside the context of the conversation of Scriptures,
then they are not amen in God.
Because Scripture is not ambiguous about the all.
The all there is very specific to what?
To all the things that the prophets have said.
For all the promises of God in him are yes.
And in him amen to the glory of God through us.
The final fulfillment of all God's promises he brings to pass as was foretold in the Old Testament.
So Jesus is the embodiment of all God's promises.
Everything God committed to doing in the Old Testament, we see through the prophets,
whether concerning salvation, redemption at the point of the Holy Spirit,
or eternal life has been fulfilled and affirmed through Jesus Christ.
He should give us believers confidence in God's word and faithfulness.
The promises of God reveal progressively through our Scriptures.
We see from Genesis, you know the Bible says a prophet in part, right?
Progressively through Scriptures have come to fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
He is the embodiment of every commitment God made.
And to him we see the integrity and the faithfulness of God.
The promises made in Genesis through the prophets from Genesis,
from Genesis through the prophets, you know from Genesis to Malachi,
through the prophets we see them realized completely in Christ
confirming that God's word never fails.
Hallelujah.
That is to say, the promise of the Spirit has been given to men.
Are we together?
And all that the Scriptures say that we will do as a result of the receiving of this promise, right?
We're supposed to see it functioning in our lives.
Hallelujah.
You and I have the capacity to do what?
To function in all these things that have been prophesied.
Especially we see our transience in Acts chapter 2.
Every believer, right, has the fulfillment of God's promise.
We're not looking forward to a new fulfillment of this promise,
but we have the promises fully fulfilled in Christ Jesus.
So when you have Christ, what it means is that you have the completeness.
What it means is that you have the wholeness of the fulfillment of the promise of God.
There's no longer any promise that is made.
All the promises of God have been accomplished.
And we are partakers in this promise.
Hallelujah.
So we're going to go detail to look at how we will walk in this promise,
how we will manifest this promise, how we will receive this promise,
and how we can also preach this promise,
and how these promises should be seen reflected in our lives because we are men
that have the riches of God.
We have the riches of God in Christ Jesus.
Hallelujah.
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