Automated Transcript
<inaudible><inaudible> good morning. We are in revelation, chapter 14, continuing this morning.<inaudible> Where we are going to kind of go back a little bit and say a few things about the beginning of the chapter that we did not cover on Wednesday night, but then we’ll proceed forward. We’ll finish up chapter 14 and probably go through the questions as well before the end of class this morning and get into chapter 15 on Wednesday night,
let’s begin with a word of prayer. Our gracious father in heaven. We bound before your throne grateful for this day for its blessings. For all that. You’ve granted to us in this life to be able to live before you to serve you, to glorify your name and bring honor and glory to your name. We pray that as we go through our daily lives,
as we go through this existence on this earth, that we might do those things, which are in accordance with your will, that we might live in a way that is acceptable before you, that we might be an example to those who are around us to live closer to you, to obey you, to adhere to your word and to the truth that is in it.
We pray that you will forgive us when we sin and fall short of your glory. We pray that you will be with those who are struggling right now because of the loss of loved ones, because of illnesses, injuries. Those who are going through hard times because of COVID mindful, especially of those who are still at home because of the difficulty of this pandemic.
We pray that you be with them in the many different things that are struggles in their daily lives. We pray that you watch over each and every one of us, all this, we pray in Jesus name, Amen Revelation, chapter 14 begins with the word. Then, then I looked these visions that John is seeing occur and he’s seeing them at least the best I can understand in rapid Succession.
He sees one and then he sees another, and then he sees another. Then he sees another and he’s getting these things and he’s writing them down. We remember that he was told in chapter one to write the things which he saw, the things which are and the things which would be, but he’s told, or he tells us at the very beginning is,
you know, so you picture this, almost picture it in the, in this sense, you know, you, you do a lot of listening to authors and you will find out that the majority of them, right, the most, the majority of them, The book, and then they go back and write the first chapter, Right? The first chapter at the end,
because they want to bring in, you know, bring you into the story a certain way. You know, a lot of us think, well, they must write it the way that we read it. Now they don’t. Especially once an editor gets a hold of it. And it turns into one third of the book that they fought, they play in dog.
So John Is going to be given all of these visions, but he introduces Book to say, here’s what was going on when it happened. And These things Must shortly come to pass Time. After time, after time, we will return to those words. These things must shortly come to pass. There are often Times in old and new Testament where God gives prophecies about things that are going to happen and gives you no indication of how soon they’re going to take place.
No indication whatsoever about the timeframe, but then there’s other prophecies that God gives. For instance, Mark chapter nine, verse one, where Jesus said that some of you standing here shall not taste death until you see the kingdom of God, come with power. Now that one’s hard to mess up. There are people all over the world who mess it up,
but that’s hard to mess up because he’s talking to people and he says, some of you will not die until you see the kingdom Com and the people, People who are standing there specifically are his apostles. So if all of his apostles are dead and the prophecy wasn’t fulfilled, then problem, Jesus is a fault Profit. Those are your only two options either.
He was right or he Was wrong, but he put it in such a narrow frame Of time that He, he couldn’t be both right and wrong. He couldn’t go outside the frame of time. They’re all dead and still have the prophecy become true. Okay? John says, these things must shortly come to pass. Chapter 14, follows on the heels of the dragon coming up.
And we, I we’re, we’re told the dragon is who this isn’t supposition. This is what the text tells us. The dragons who Satan, the devil, the serpent. Okay. And then the dragon gives power to a beast that looks like him in one very specific shared attribute. The first beast that comes out of the sea, it looks like<inaudible> All right.
He’s a combination of a leopard, a bear and a lion. But what, what shared attribute does he have with the dragon? How many heads and how many horns, seven heads and 10 horns Daniel tells us clearly back in Daniel, chapter seven, when he gives us all four of these BS, he said, the fourth beast is an indescribable beast that has seven heads,
10 horns. And these are actually in Daniels bees. That’s the number of horns, not the number of heads, but Daniel makes it clear. This is the fourth kingdom. This is Rome. Okay. So when the beast comes up out of the sea, in Daniel’s visions, the sea carries with it, the idea of the nations. Okay. So when this beast arises out of the nations,
he comes up and he has seven heads and 10 horns. And we’re told in the text, these are Kings. It’s not just an idea that we’ve placed onto the text. That’s what the text told us. Okay? So we’re told they’re Kings. We identify the Kings that they are based upon Roman history based upon what, what Daniel tells us based upon what John concurs with exactly what Daniel tells us that all matches.
So the CBS comes up and he begins persecuting. And he begins to cause people to worship What The dragon, your God, isn’t Jehovah. Your God is in anyone else. It’s the dragon worship the dragon. And he deceives people. Well, then another beast comes up and this beast doesn’t look like the first two B’s he’s got just one head and two horns.
He looks like what? A lamb and cute little lamb. I mean, let’s, let’s talk about it here. If you are going to picture an animal coming up out of the earth and you’re going to picture a ferocious beast, let’s use that word beast. The next picture that is conjured in your mind is not a lamb. I mean, if you want ferocious,
you go with a dragon or a bear or a lion or not a lamb. But when the lamb opens his mouth, what comes out The sound of a dragon? You see the lamb looks innocent. He looks good. He looks even this carries with it in the book of revelation, because who’s pictured as a lamb all the way through Christ. He looks righteous.
He looks godly until he opens his mouth. And that’s what false teachers look like. False teachers look righteous, false teachers look godly, false teachers look like they’re pure and Holy and good until they open their mouth. And that’s the picture of the, the land beast. He comes up and he immediately begins to deceive the people in religious matters, convincing them not this time to worship the dragon,
but to worship who the first beast. So if you carry the, the idea from Daniel of the heads and the horns and the Kings to be Rome, then here comes this, this representative of the first beast. If the first beast is Rome, here comes this representative of Rome and he comes and he convinces people. You don’t even have to worship God anymore.
Worship Rome, worship Rome. And he does signs and wonders and convinces them of this. And then when he can’t deceive you into convincing you to worship Rome, he’ll do these signs and wonders. And if that doesn’t convince you, then he’ll keep you from buying and selling and doing anything in the marketplace. Because if I can’t convince you by religious matters,
I’ll convince you by economic matters, Hey, you can starve to death or you can worship Rome. But if you still won’t worship Rome, then he’ll just threaten to kill you. And if you still won’t worship Rome, he will kill you. And that’s what Rome did. And then chapter 14, when God’s told that his people you’re going to go through a hard time.
This is what’s going to happen. The beast is going to come up. He’s going to persecute you. It’s going to look like you’re going to be defeated. It’s going to look like there’s no hope. But then right on the other side, by the way, as we mentioned on Wednesday before any of this actually starts, God says, Oh, and here’s the outcome in chapter seven,
before any of it got started, he said, here’s the outcome in chapter 14, before any of it still gets started? Here’s the outcome. God never leaves his people to question the outcome. Did you think about this back? And we’ll get into the text here in a minute. In the old Testament, when Judah was in the days of Jeremiah,
Jeremiah was one of those profits that would begin prophesizing when times were good, would begin prophesying during Kings who were still righteous, but would have a very long lifetime of prophecy from his youth until his old age. And by the time he was old, the nation had been carried away into captivity. And he was drug along with a bunch of people down to Egypt.
But, you know, before it ever happened, before Babylon ever stepped foot one single foot into Judah, God told them how it would turn. Okay. And for those who were righteous for those who were godly for those who were God’s people all along, people like Daniel, Hannah, and I asked her I and Michelle, for those people, they didn’t go to Babylon,
get hauled off to Nebuchadnezzar as court. And thank God must not exist. How could he allow our nation to be decimated? How could he allow this to happen? When a Zeke keel is sitting on the shore in the land of Babylon and Shu Shan near the palace, and he’s writing his prophecy, he doesn’t go, Moses must have had it wrong.
There was no hope for us, a little tiny nation amidst all these giant nations. There is no hope for us. God must not exist. That’s not what he wrote. He wrote everything. God told you all along is exactly what he’s done. And the beginning of a Z kills prophecy is God’s on his throne. God’s on his throne and his throne looks like a war wagon.
God’s not given up and he’s not given up on Israel. So revelation carries this same idea, this same visionary aspect from Ezekiel and Daniel and Isaiah and Jeremiah and Zechariah telling the Christians. God told you in the days of Daniel and in the days of his Eagle, how this was going to turn out and God’s going to keep his word. It may be eight centuries later,
but God’s going to keep his word. And that fourth nation, that fourth nation, that was the, the thighs and the, the feed and the, of, of iron mixed with clay and that fourth beast that’s indescribable in its appearance in Daniel chapter seven, that nation will be destroyed by my kingdom. So chapter 14 opens. Then I saw, or then I looked and behold a lamb standing on Mount Zion and with him 144,000,
having his father’s name written on their foreheads. We mentioned on Wednesday and chapter 13 with people are getting six, six, six applied to them. Now the name or the number of the beast is six, six, six. What he’s, what they have written on them is the name of the dragon or the beast. And they are getting in their forehead.
And in their hand, the Mark of the beast, all of this is to indicate who they belong to. Okay. And here you see immediately following it. Here’s the lamb and everyone who belongs to him and they’re there on Mount Zion. Now, there are those who are pre-millennial in their view, who are still to this day, trying to get a throne that belongs to Israel and Judah set back up in physical Jerusalem,
on physical Mount Zion. So they can welcome back the most, the Messiah terrain for a thousand years on a physical throne in physicals, ion Jerusalem. I’m telling you it has shaped the politics of our country substantially for the last 70 years. Jesus, ain’t coming back to sit on a throne in Jerusalem. He’s already sitting on a throne and it ain’t here.
It’s in heaven. When Steven Was being pummeled by Shortly after the church and the kingdom had been established, he looked up to heaven and saw beyond physicalized could see. And where did he see Jesus standing? The ran hand of God, the position of a 40, by the way, where did the lamb come from in chapter five, the throne right next to God.
But he standing when a King sits he’s ruling, when a King is pictured as standing, he’s about to take action. And Steven sees him standing when his faithful servant is being killed and revelation regularly pictures Christ as standing. He’s going to take action. Okay. But then we read this chapter 14, verse three, or sorry, verse two. Then I heard the voice from heaven,
like the voice of many waters and the voice of thunder of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harvest playing with our hearts. And there are people who, unfortunately, number one, don’t know how to interpret revelation and its context. And number two don’t understand context at all. And they’ll go see, We can use mechanical instruments of music and worship Because there’s Harpers playing their harps On Mount Zion.
There were the lamb, therefore it’s authorized. Okay. We’ll just accept the logic for a moment because that means we also need to burn incense. You remember what went up with the prayers of the saints? Every time we see the prayers of the saints, what goes up Incense and where did it come from? The incense doesn’t just come out of it.
Nowhere. It’s an old Testament picture of the tabernacle. So where did the incense come from? The alter of Incense? So now if we’re going to keep this legit, if we’re going to just going to interpret this as literal, which we’re not, but if we were, and if we were going to accept the logic that, because there’s, harpists in revelation,
chapter 14, playing harps, therefore we can use the mechanical instruments of music. Then we can also an altar of incense and offer incense. Because if you want to ignore the context and claim everything in revelation is literal, then by all means let’s do it. But we’re also only going to have 144,000 people in it. Yeah. We’re also going to have to do war with a literal beast.
And before the end of the chapters out, we’re going to have to have blood filling a Valley 200 miles long, all the way up to the bride Of the horses. And none of that’s literal. Would we come over here and try to argue for it? Mechanical instruments of music and worship in a passage that has Nothing literal in it, it’s visionary.
But what instrument out of curious, Does the new Testament speak of us using in worship The heart And the passages in Ephesians five and Colossians three, use the language in the Greek of plucking The heart strings. So if the Hundred and 44,000, aren’t a literal number than are the highest Literal harps in the sense of physical ones will probably not either all that to say,
We need to be very careful with context in scripture. And most especially, we need to be careful about context in a visionary figure. It is context and not do damage to plain spoken passages of scripture written in prose, written in plain language, by manipulating them through visionary passages that aren’t trying to teach. What we’re trying to teach Out of them. He sees These hundred and 44,000 and they’re the redeemed from the earth.
These are the ones who are not definable women for their virgins all by the way, if we want to keep this all literal, not only can we have harps, but only virgins and unmarried people can. These are the ones who follow the lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men being the first fruits to God and to the lamb and in their mouth was found no deceit for they without fault.
Before the throne of God, then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people saying with a loud voice, fear God, and give glory to him. Now who’s this angel preaching to The ones who dwell on the earth. And we’ve gone through this many times,
those who dwell on the earth are described in every time in the book of revelation, as those who are what On righteous, But go back to chapter 13. There also those who have been deceived by signs and wonders into worshiping who the beast and the dragon. God’s not going to leave that alone. God’s not going to let that stand. God’s not going to say,
yeah, well the bees deceived a bunch of people and well, I’m just going to annihilate them and judge them and kill them. And you know, they got deceived. It’s their fault. No, God doesn’t leave people in that predicament. He gives them the opportunity to change and he does. So by declaring to them, the good news, The beast,
isn’t the one who’s on the throne. The dragon isn’t God Jehovah is. So the angel goes forth again, visionary picture. The angel goes forth and he tells all those who dwell on the earth. Every tribe, every tongue, every nation, Rome’s not your God. Jehovah is. And by the way, he does it after the lamb is already standing on Mount Zion.
He does it after the picture is the church and the lamb are victorious. So the good news goes for saying The beast doesn’t win. The dragon isn’t King. God is the lamb is. And then Notice, he says, fear God and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment has come and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the Springs of water.
Everything God can judge is everything. God made everything, God controls, And the dragon didn’t make anything. And the beast didn’t make anything. They have no authority than another Angel followed, saying Babylon is fallen is fallen that great city because she has made all nations to drink of the line of the wrath of her fornication throughout the old and new Testament. Idolatry is pictured as fornication,
as sexual sin in a spiritual sense. And here Babylon, the great city. We’ve identified that as Rome over and over again is tempting. People deceiving them into committing idolatry, fornication, Haitian against God. And he says, here’s the end For chapter 17. Before you even see this, this harlot riding in on the beast, looking like she’s going to win,
looking like she’s got the blood of the saints in her hands, drinking from the cup. No. Before any of that happens, God says Babylon fell it’s over. The end’s been declared before it ever got started. Okay. Then a third angel followed them saying with a loud voice, if anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his Mark on his forehead or on his hand,
he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation. Here’s a picture that’s carried forward from Isaiah chapter 63, the wine of the wrath of God, the judgment of the Messiah, bringing about his wrath, his judgment, and his vengeance on those who do not obey those who do not worship God.
Those who rebel against him, he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the Holy angels, in the presence of the lamb. Now here’s something again about context and being careful with context. This, as we mentioned on Wednesday, looks like hell right? Fire brimstone, torment looks like hell, but in a very clear plain-spoken passage in second Thessalonians,
chapter one, God says that hell is where in reference to the presence of God.<inaudible> Those who are judged. Those who obey, not the gospel will be put out of where the presence of God, but this torment, this fire, this brimstone as described as where in the presence of God, this isn’t hell it’s in the wrong place. This is exactly what we talked about on Wednesday in as a chapter 34,
where God pictures eat them as being destroyed in fire, brimstone, smoke and Ash and being forever and ever, and ever, and immediately follows up with and there’s animals living there. Wait a minute. What? There’s no animals living in hell. The point is God’s used this imagery all throughout the old and new Testament, starting all the way back at Sodom and Gomorrah,
which were destroyed with what fire and brimstone God’s used this image, recent Genesis to talk about judgment and point of time judgment on those who are unrighteous. Okay? So the smoke of their torment, ascends forever and ever, they have no rest day or night who worship the beast in his image. And whoever receives the Mark of his name here is the patience of the saints.
Here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. What, what’s the patience of the saints here? What, what is it that they can rest their assurance on and go through life and endure these hard times, knowing that they are pictured is standing on Mount Zion. And those who worship the beast are pictured in torment. That’s what they can go through life.
Knowing when the hard times come and when the bees tells them, you’re either going to worship Rome or you’re going to die. They can go. You might be able to take my life, but you can’t take my soul. Jesus said, fear, not Hill Who can kill the body, but fear him who can destroy both body and soul In hell.
And that’s the message of chapter 14. Okay? So That I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, right there are times where John has told, Nope, don’t write, don’t write this down, seal it up. Don’t tell anybody what’s going to happen. And then there’s times where God says, Make a note of this, put this down,
don’t miss this. Right? Bless it. Or the dead who die in the Lord from now on, yes. Says the spirit that they may rest from their labors and their works. Follow them. Here’s the patience of the saints. You might Die for the testimony of Christ, Just like revelation chapter two verse 10 way back there. 13 chapters ago,
He says you might die. But after that, there’s a crown of life. Okay. Crown of righteousness. Then I looked in my home, a white cloud. Every time we see the color white, What do we see? Christ and holiness every time. Yeah. Every time we see white, we see holiness. Every time we see white, somewhere nearby As Christ.
Okay. Then I looked in a whole, a white cloud and on the clouds at one like the son of man having on his head, a golden crown, that’s again, the crown of the triumphant one, not the crown of the King, the crown of the Victor. Okay. Having on his head, a golden crown. And in his hand,
a sharp sickle and another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, thrust in your sickle and reap for the time has come for you to read for the harvest of the earth is ripe. Now There’s going to be two rapings that happen in This chapter. And they end up in two very different locations.
Okay? If you, if you Draw forward, what’s happening. You picture it in your mind. You go, well, wait a minute. We’ve seen this before because Jesus gave a parable than me. About the kingdom. He gave a parable about one who had a field and he sowed good seed in his field. But then nighttime came and what happened?
Someone came along and so tears in his field and the angels come to them and saying the field workers they’re in the parable. They come to him and say, the deceiver that your enemy has come and sowed tares in your field, shall we go and pull them up? But he tells them no. He says, don’t pull them up until harvest time.
Because here’s the thing about wheat and tares during their growth process, before the fruit comes out, before the produce comes out of the stock, they look nearly identical. And the one who has the field says, you might pull some of the wheat with the tears, so leave them alone. But when harvest time comes, what would happen? They’d be separated.
He would go into the barn and the tears would be what Burn. God knows who belongs to him. He can discern the difference between the wheat and the tares. Now the one on the white cloud is about to reap. Okay, now we have in this picture, two, two different analogies and the scriptures do this all the time. They’ll mix metaphors.
Okay. Here’s a one with a sickle. He’s getting ready to weep or sorry, reap of field. But the very next picture is the vineyard hold onto it. It’s because the old Testament, Isaiah chapter 63 specifically have something to say about this. Okay? So then another angel came out of the temple, which is in heaven having also a Sharp sickle.
So there’s two People, wish it with Sickles. Both of them are ready to read. One of them comes out of heaven and he’s an angel. The other one is sitting on a white cloud and he’s pictured as Christ. Who do you think is going to reap the righteous Christ is and who do you? Think’s going to reap the unrighteous. The angel is,
okay, watch this. Then another angel came out of the temple, which is in heaven. He is also having, he also having a sharp sickle and another angel came out from the alter who had the power over fire. Do you remember the angel back in chapter six? I think it is Maybe it’s chapter eight. Yeah. It’s chapter eight. The,
the, the trumpets are getting ready to sound. And the seven angels come out with seven trumpets and they’re getting ready to sound it. And God says, well, wait a minute. Not yet. You stay right there. And then the prayers of the saints go up. The angel comes with the prayers of the saints. He offers the incense before God.
And then he goes and he takes a sensor and he puts it in the altar of burnt offering. And he casts the fire down to the earth. Okay. Before the seven angels sound. Oh, wait. Here’s the angel who has the power over fire. He’s back again. Okay. So another angel came out from the alter who had the power over fire.
And he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle saying thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth for her graves are fully ripe. Okay? So you’ve got kind of this, this field analogy, this weed analogy of the signal, but now we’re transitioning to a vineyard analogy of here are grapes. They’re fully ripe.
He says, you put in your Sigel and you reap the grapes of the earth. So the angel thrust in a sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth and threw it into the great wine press of the wrath of God. There’s Isaiah 63. Now wait a minute. Just so we’re clear. Okay. When you take grapes straight out of the vineyard and you throw them in the wine press and you try them out,
verse 13 or verse 20, and the wine press was trampled outside the city and the blood came out of the wine, press up to the horse’s bridles for 1,600 for long. When you tread out rapes in the wine press, what comes out in the Greek? What comes out in the original language is wine Buenos. Now, for anyone who wants to have a discussion about whether or not oil knows the Greek word for wine can mean great Jews.
All you got to do is ask them this question in the Greek. What happened when the people put the grapes in the wine press and trotted out what came out wine? Was it fermented or not? Couldn’t possibly even fermented. It just came out of the grape. Okay. Here’s just one example of that being true. Okay. Just because you see the word translated in English wine does not make it for a minute.
The context makes it the terminal determination. If it’s fermented or not, because you can’t get fermented wine out of a wine press can’t happen. Takes time. It doesn’t come straight out of the grape. Okay? So here’s what happens. The blood of the grape. That’s the word for wine, by the way, the blood of the grape comes out,
but what’s being read Literal grapes, physical grapes, or the earth, the earth, And the blood comes out of the wine. Press up to the horse’s Bridles. Imagine in your mind, here’s the picture. Here’s the visionary device. The blood of God’s enemies begins being spilt. Okay? Because Christ the one on the white cloud has already reaped. He already took care of the righteous people.
Just the same way before God ever started any judgment, the righteous people were sealed. God says, I know who you are. You belong to me. You’ll be fine here. Again. The righteous people are reaped before God’s wrath and God’s judgment ever comes. Every time you get the picture, God says, I’ve got you. I know who you are.
I know who belongs to me. And when my judgment comes on these people, they will be Fully and completely okay For what they’ve done to my church. And so they’re judged. This is before the judgment begins. This is the picture. The wrath of God is trod out in the wine press. And there so much blood. It fills 1,604 longs general estimate,
200 Miles, 200 miles. Okay. Some have suggested that from the Valley of mosquito to the red sea or to the Mediterranean sea 200 Miles. Now, if this is literal, you need to spill enough blood on the day of Armageddon and the battle of Armageddon. You need to spill enough blood. That the blood is all the way up to the horse’s bridles in,
in depth and 200 miles long. You got a problem there. You can do some math. You’re not going to have that much blood in the entire earth From humans. That’s a lot of blood. It’s not literal. Okay? It’s not intended to be historical, but it is God saying when I bring my judgment on my enemies, there’s nobody left.
I don’t miss anybody. I don’t overlook Anyone who was supposed to be judged. My Raff is final. Okay. That’s going to lead us into chapter 15. That chapter 15 is going to introduce the seven bowls, which are the final fulfilled, full wrath of God. Again, pictured as plagues. We’re getting, get the plagues again. We’re going to get Egypt all over again.
Okay. God’s judgment is going to be completed, but every time before he begins, he reminds the Christians. I’ve got you. I know who you are and I’ll T I’ll deal with your enemies. Okay? That’s all the time we have. Thank you for your attention.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Good morning. Welcome to the Collierville church. Christ’s Sunday morning worship service.
It’s good to see each and every one of you out this morning to our visitors and guests, we are so glad that you chose to come worship God with us this morning, for those of our members that are still unable to come out due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Let us say again, that you are still in our thoughts and prayers, and you will continue to be in our thoughts and prayers until this passes so that we can all assemble here again to worship God,
if you did not have a chance to pick up the Lord’s supper, it’s on the tables in the back, and now it would be a good time to do that. While I go through this announcements, if you do not get yours on our sick, please remember Joan Springer. Marie is here to smarter. And I was just talking to Marie. She’s still fighting in pneumonia,
but she does not have TB. They thought she had TB, but that test is negative, but she’s still dealing with the pneumonia and the medication she’s on for that is going to take some time. According to Maria, in order before it clears that up to continue to pray for Joan. Remember Dorothy Wilson, she’s still dealing with her high blood pressure issues.
And then Janet Jones, she’s still at home going through the physical therapy rehab from when she fell Robin woods. Who’s Jessica Dale’s mother had a heart bypass surgery last week, and they believe that she has had another stroke. She’s having lots of complications with their medications. They’re having some problems getting IVs into her because her veins are collapsing and stuff like that. So she is not in very good shape right at the minute.
So please pray for Robin woods and the entire Dale family, Jessica herself. She is having some issues with her stomach and she will see her gastro doctor when she gets back here from Arizona. So please continue to pray for that entire family, but especially Robin woods. Our song leader is going to be Steve Alrick. He is from GBN forest Hill is so glad that he is going to come and lead our song service for us today.
A reminder, daylight savings time ends this coming Saturday night, Sunday morning, next weekend. So fall back or set your clocks back one hour. Good thing about it is if you do forget, you will not be late for our worship service or our Bible study. You’ll be early and there’s nothing wrong with being early. And then please continue to remember both the O’Neill and the Sanderson families and their recent loss of their loved ones.
Our service today, like I said already, our song leader will be Steve Alrich. Opening prayer will be Jay Schaefer. Lord’s supper would be Joe caisson sermon will be Aaron coats, art and closing. Prayer is Tommy O’Neil. Thank you. Wrong books. We’ll be turning to page number five Oh eight song number five Oh eight, a wonderful savior singing verse,
or stands as one, two and four, one, two, and four. A wonderful save your is Jesus. My Lord, a wonderful savior to me. He hide is my soul and the cleft of the rock, where it is a pleasure. I see mine. So in the class of the rock that shadows a dry thirsty, and he hide his,
my life and the dab stuff is law and covers me there with his hands and, and covers me there with his hands. And a wonderful savior is Jesus. My Lord, he take is my burden a way he holds me up and I shall not be moved. He gives me strength as my day. He hide his mind. So in the class of the rock that shadows a dry thirsty,
then he hide is my life and the dab. So is LA and covers me there with his and, and covers me there with his and when closed in his brightness transported, I arise to me, him in clouds of the sky. I, his perfect, a salvation, his wonderful love. I’ll shout with the millions on a guy. He hide it’s my soul in a class of the rock that shadows a dry thirsty,
and he hide it’s my life in the DAP stuff is law. And there’s me there with his hands and, and covers me there with his hand And number 314, 314 beneath the cross of Jesus. Be singing stands as one, three and four. Mm. Beanie The, the cross<inaudible> would take my stuff and the shadow of a mighty rock with,
eh, we very and Oh man, and a wilderness rest upon a way from the burning, the noon side, he, and<inaudible> on that cross up. She sees my eyes at times can see the very dying form, one who’s for there for me and my smitten, hard with tears to<inaudible> fast. The wanders is good. And I own where the,
as I say,<inaudible> for my biding play. Yeah. Ask no, the sun shine, then sun shine his face comment. And to that a world go by too. No, no gay, no loss. My sense for self my on the<inaudible> my<inaudible> the CHRO Almighty God, our father in heaven, Holy and revered is our name. We are so very grateful for your presence with us this hour.
As we humbly come before your throne, we acknowledge you as the creator of this universe, the heavens and the earth and sea and all that in the news. We’re so very grateful that you chose to give us a very special place in that creation. And we’re so very grateful that you have provided through your son a means for us to be with you forever.
We’re grateful for this church that is established here in the city of Collierville. We’re grateful for the unity and fellowship that we’re able to share with one another. We’re also very grateful for the Cozort family. As a labor here with us, we’re grateful for the Dale family, as they too are suffering some hard times. Now we pray. You will be both of them blessed them.
And especially the Dale family by Jessica’s mother, feel your healing hands upon her. We’re so very grateful also for the many, many blessings that you have blessed us with with her material wealth, with our homes, our tables that are bountifully supplied. We thank you father for all of these material blessings, but most importantly, we are grateful for that home with you and heaven.
If we, but keep your commandments and follow your directions, help us each day to look at ourselves and evaluate where we stand. And especially where we stand in your sight, help us to have the courage to change those things that need to be, and to do those things that we have been slacking doing as we go through the further exercise of this service,
we do play pray for all of those that have been mentioned that are sick and are in need of your healing. We pray that you will comfort those that have recently lost loved ones, especially the old Neil family and the Sanderson’s well with this now, as we worship you may our worship be in spirit and truth and a sweet savor on today. We ask all these things in your son’s name.
Amen. Next song will be number 324. As we prepare our minds to enter into the Lord’s supper. Let us sing. Number 324, stanzas one, two and three last and did my, your bleed and did my sovereign. I would he Divo dad say grid head for such a wan as a guy at the cross at the cross where I first saw the light and a burden of my heart rolled away.
It was thereby a thigh. Racy saved my side and I am happy. Eh, was it for crimes that I have done? He groaned upon a tree, amazing pity, gray son, known and love B a N D. Agree at the cross at the cross where I first saw the line and a burden of my heart rolled away. It was thereby a thigh received,
saved my side and I am happy all the day. Well, my and Connect side and HSA his glories. And when Christ, the, my T may good died for man creatures and at the cross at the cross where I first saw the line and burden of my heart rolled away. It was thereby a thigh received my side, and I am happy all the day.
This morning. I’d like to read a passage from first Peter, the second chapter verses 21 through 25. And then we’ll have the Lord’s supper for even here on to where you called, because Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example that you should follow his steps, who did no sin. Neither was guile found in his mouth who, when he was reviled reviled,
not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him. That judges righteously, who was on his own self, bare our sins in his own body, on the tree that we being dead to sin should live unto righteousness. By whose stripes we were healed for. You are a sheep going astray, but are now returning to the shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
That bow, dear God, our father in heaven, we truly are grateful unto thee for your precious son, coming to this earth and living, being ridiculed rejected and ultimately sacrificed on the cross of Calvary father. We’re so grateful for the love that has been demonstrated to us. And we’re thankful for this time that we might have together to reflect upon that.
And as we look to our own central sales, that we realized that I redemption it was through our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. We pray that as we partake with this bread, which is representative of his body, that we might reflect upon him and examine ourselves that we partake in a manner pleasing and Jesus, we pray. Amen. Oh, there we go.
Through the Alma Lauer sales, as we are continuing to think about our savior, him hanging on that cross, we are mindful of the fact that his blood was shed there. And that through that blood, we have that hope would be eternal salvation. We pray father that we are thinking deeply about the love that was demonstrated there and the hope that was given to each and every one of us through that cleansing blood,
we pray that the protect of this part of the vine, which represents that blood in a manner that’s pleasing and Jesus, we pray, amen.<inaudible> At this time, we’re able to reflect upon the physical blessings that each one of us have been. So bountifully blessed with, and that we’ve been thinking about and purposing in our heart, what we would give back to the Lord today,
let’s bow father in heaven. There probably be no people more blessed than those in this country than we are. We pray father that as we go through life, that we are good stewards of those things that you’ve given to us, that as we look to our savior and look to the work of the church that we realize how blessed we are and that we should be mindful of as we receive those blessings and a great,
great amount of wealth that we would consider our giving, that we would return a portion of that to you in a liberal manner, we might continue spreading the borders of the kingdom, not only here in this area, in this community, but throughout the world, that we might be able to assist those in a benevolent way that are in need and help those that are suffering from other type infirmities and difficulties in their lives as they are in need,
that we’re aware of that and what we do it given a liberal fashion that these blessings that we’ve been bestowed upon us, that we can try to bestow upon others in Jesus name, we pray amen. 330 to 332 first, and last stands up as we sing the song, let’s focus on Just what it is that Christ did for us. We just partake of the Lord’s supper.
And this song challenges us to take that out into our daily lives and think about those things while we, while you’re saying yeah, King of my life, I crown thee. Now the nine shall the glory, baby last die four, get a thorn crowned, bruh. The me too calve a three last I forget<inaudible> money.<inaudible> money last die for get a love for me.
The me too. Count a three. May I be willing to bear day the, my cross for the E when I grief to share that ass born all for me last die for<inaudible> money.<inaudible> money. Last I forget for me, the me too calve a, sorry, I want to first and foremost say thank you to Steve for his willingness to come and lead singing on short notice,
but also to say how much we love and appreciate Michael and Jessica, and are mindful of them as they are in Arizona, dealing with the difficulties that come whenever you have complications as a result from surgery with Jessica’s mom. So keep them in your prayers and appreciate everyone’s willingness to step up and help in times like these take your Bibles, if you will,
And open them to Zechariah. As we continue our study of the book of Zechariah, we’re going to notice Zechariah chapter 12 in Our study this morning, Few weeks ago, As we covered Zechariah chapters nine through 11, we noticed what God said to Israel, what God said to Jerusalem, to Judah, what God told his people, that they would be blessed,
that he would be their protector, that he would provide for them. He gives them a surety and he gives them hope, but he also tells them that they would sell him for 30 pieces of silver, that they would value him as nothing more than an injured slave. Now it’s not all of them. It’s not every member of Israel and of Jerusalem and of Judah that would do this,
but the nation would. And as a result, they would follow after shepherds who were not shepherds, they would follow after those who were wicked and those who were evil. And they would do the works of those individuals that they led them to do. And they would be judged. Chapter 12 begins another vision. Another prophecy from Zechariah chapters nine through 11 is,
is one of the concluding prophecies chapters 12 through 14 is the other. And this one has threw out the text on that day, on that day, on that day, on that day, not to imply to us that on a single solitary day, that all of these things would occur, but that when God in the fullness of time brought these things to pass,
he would fulfill all of them to completeness Chapter 12. Okay. The burden of the word of the Lord against Israel thus says the Lord who stretches out the heavens lays the foundation of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him. First and foremost, Zechariah begins. This is it’s delivered through the Holy spirit, given and spoken through Zechariah. He says,
number one, it’s a burden Much Like as we’ve studied in our adult Bible class on Sunday morning and Wednesday night about revelation. When John is given the prophecy, he’s told to, to take that prophecy that comes from God, that the angel is holding in his right hand and he’s to eat it. He’s to consume it like as Eagle did in Ezekiel chapters two and three.
And it was sweet when it went in. Because when you consume the word of God, when you put it in your heart and in your mind, it is a sweet thing. Psalm chapter 19, the Psalmist writer there, David writes concerning this, the word of God being sweet as the honey in the honeycomb. He says it is that, which is to be desired more than gold or silver.
It is that which is precious above everything else because of what it does For us, But in is equal to, and in revelation, John is given this, this a prophecy and he consumes it the way his Eagle did. And when it goes down into his belly, it turns Bitter Because the prophecy is not of hope. The prophecy is not of a future filled with the glories of God.
It is of judgment While God’s word is always true in God’s word is always right in God’s word is always that, which brings hope to those who are righteous. God’s word brings judgment to them. Those who sin thus says the Lord who stretches out the heavens Lays the foundation of the earth forms the spirit of man within him here is God saying, I am ruler over heaven and earth.
I am the creator. I am the one who brought life and instilled it within humanity itself. And I’m the one who’s going to judge. But before we go too far onto a judgment about Israel, notice that Israel is going to become the judgment on the nations. Notice what he says. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples.
When they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem, God looks forward to a time when Jerusalem, when Judah would become the carrot that was too tasty to pass up. The thing that was dangling before the eyes of the nations, tempting them to do what they were not supposed to do to in a way they were not supposed to act to bring about on themselves,
their own judgment. He describes Jerusalem and Judah as a cup of drunkenness As if here is this cup of wine. Here is this cup of intoxicating drink and a drunkard is staring at it. He’s looking at that cup of intoxicating drink and thinking CoMMpass it up? And he looks at it again. I, I can pass it. I can walk away.
I can stop anytime I want. Well, then he looks at it again and again, until he finally gives in, in the book of Habakkuk as that Old Testament, prophet who only gives just a short prophecy Declares, God’s word concerning Babylon, destroying Judah and Jerusalem. He Declares this prophecy and Zen and Habakkuk is, is being told by God, this is my word.
This is my revelation. This is my prophecy. This is my judgment on Judah and Jerusalem. And Habakkuk has a hard time understanding how God can use a nation more wicked than Israel. Namely Babylon today, Destroy Israel who belongs to God is God’s people. And he doesn’t understand. And he expects God to give him an excellent explanation. And God does.
And the short version is the just shall live by faith. The judge, the one who’s righteous before God will be provided for no matter what comes, but God is going to use Babylon to judge Israel. And then in turn, God is going to use the nations to judge Babylon. So here you have Jerusalem presented as this tempting cup of intoxication that the nations will devour bringing about their own Condemnation.
God is going to judge Israel, Matthew chapter 24. Jesus tells his apostles that there was coming a day when there would not be one stone of the temple Left upon another. And we know from history that wrong would come and they would besiege the city of Jerusalem and they would destroy it. But before they did, because of the prophecy that Jesus set forth in Matthew 20 and Luke 21,
every Christian would leave. History tells us and the historians of that time tell us that every Christian, every disciple of Christ departed from the city because they knew what was coming. And yet Israel, Jerusalem was destroyed. Zechariah is going to make it clear in Zechariah chapter 12, there are two parts to Jerusalem. There are, there is Jerusalem. The people who live in the city,
the descendants of Abraham by blood, the nation that would sell their Messiah for 30 pieces of silver. And then there is righteous Jerusalem. There are those who are the descendants of David spiritually. There are those who maybe take part in the physical blood of Abraham, but ultimately their relationship to God is the spiritual connection to Abraham in that they obey God. And in these two pictures of Jerusalem,
one of them would be judged. One of them would be besieged. One of them would bring about the judgment on the nations and the other would be saved. Notice What we read behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples,
all who ha who heave it away will surely be cut in pieces though. All nations of the earth are gathered against it. God says here’s Jerusalem. And it’s tempting the nations to do, to take this action and they’re going to do it. But everyone who comes against it is writing their own death warrant. Everyone who opposes my people will be judged.
You ultimately see in our study in revelation, that very idea and the governors of Judah, I’m sorry. Verse four. In that day, he says in that day, says the Lord. I will strike every horse with confusion and its rider with madness. I will open my eyes on the house of Judah and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness and the governors of Judah shall say in their heart,
the inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the Lord of hosts. Their God notice we’ve transitioned to a picture, not of Israel of Jerusalem, not of Judah. That is unrighteous. That is going to be judged, but a picture of a people who declare Jehovah to be their God. They are righteous. They may go through difficulties. They may go through hardships.
They may go through difficult times and judgments because of the people around them, but they are reliant On Jehovah. And we read Verse six. In that day, I will make the governors of Judah, a fire, like a fire pan in a woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves. They shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left.
But Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place. Jerusalem. Okay, Here is the picture you have all throughout the old Testament Of the remnant of God, the righteous rebel, God says, I’m not going to the part from Jerusalem entirely in the spiritual Jerusalem sense. They’re going to go through a hard time. They’re going to kick get kicked. They’re going to be put down.
They’re going to be punished. They’re going to be judged in the sense of they’re going to go through that judgment. They’re going to go through that punishment. They’re going to go through this hard time, but I have not left Them And they will not be left alone. They will inhabit again, their own place. The Lord will save the tents of Judah first,
so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that. Of Judah. In that day, the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David. And the house of David shall be like, God, like the angel of the Lord before them.
God says, when I’m on your side, Jerusalem, when I’m fighting on your behalf, the weakest among you, the most feeble, the oldest person who can barely walk will stand like King David. He will stand in the mighty among. You will be like, God, no one will overcome them. Okay? But pictured at the front of all of this is obedience to God.
Pictured at the front of this. Always is, are those who declare I will rely upon the Lord. I will be faithful to him no matter what comes. When you come to the first century, when you go through from the time of Zechariah, because remember we’ve said over and over again, Zechariah is the bridge. It’s the bridge between the old and the new Testament between the old profits and the first and the coming of the Messiah.
As you look across that span of time and across that bridge, there are so many times where the people of God just stop Listening till It comes to a point where Christ is born into a world that isn’t even looking for him into a nation. That’s not even paying attention. Oh, there’s a couple Simeon is there in the temple. And he knows,
and there’s a few others, but it takes a wise man coming from the East to come to the nation before Herod and the leaders of the nation even realize the Messiah has been born. They’re not looking for the Messiah. They’re too focused on themselves. They’re too far Focused on physical power. They’re too focused on physical mind. They’re looking for a physical kingdom and they’re looking for a time when they can get out from under Rome.
And they’re missing that. The blessing that the Messiah is, is already there. But for those who are righteous for those who are godly, God says in that day, the Lord will defend them. Ish. There’ll be in that day verse nine, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I Will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
the spirit of grace and supplication. Now, as You read this beginning in verse 10, going through verse 14, we’ve kind of transitioned into a new section And God says, I’m going to pour out my grace, my supplication upon them. And if you turn over to acts chapter two, you’re going to read some In acts chapter two. You’re going to read a prophecy of Joel,
but I want us to connect a few things in acts chapter two on the day of Pentecost, spirit of God, descends upon the 12 apostles, the 11 apostles, no, wait, we’re back to 12. Get my, get my history, right? We’re back to 12. The 12 apostles are there on the day of Pentecost. They’re there in the presence of Israel because Israel is gathered together for the day of Pentecost for the feast of weeks.
And they’re there and the spirit descends upon them. And there’s a sound as a rushing, mighty wind, but there’s no wind there’s clothing. Things that appear as fire above their head and they begin to speak and everyone speaks. And each one who’s listening of all the different nations that are represented. They’re all Israelites, but they’re all for many places of birth.
And they are hearing in their own tongue End in chapter two, Beginning of verse 14. But Peter standing up with the, with the 11, raised his voice and said to them, men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and heed. My words for these are not drunk. As you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day,
but this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. And it shall come to pass in the last days, says, God, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. Your young men shall see visions. Your old men shall dream dreams. And on, on my men servants and on my maid servants,
I will pour out my spirit in those days. And they shall prophesize. I will show wonders in heaven, above and signs in the earth beneath blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Now, hold your hand there in acts chapter two and go with me to Amos chapter eight, another one of the minor prophets, another one of these old Testament prophets that has something to say about this time. Amos chapter eight, Beginning in verse seven, As God presents this prophecy. This is the prophecy in the book of Amos. That’s called the,
the vision of summer fruit or a basket of summer fruit. And it begins in verse two. With the end has come upon my people, Israel. I will not pass them by anymore. And the songs of the temple shall be wailing in that day. Hold on to that theme. There’s coming a day. God says when the songs of the temple,
those are songs of rejoicing. When you sing in the temple, you sing of the glory of God. You sing of the actions of God. You sing of the great things that God has done, but God says, I’m going to take your songs of rejoicing. And I’m going to turn them into whaling. I’m going to take your rejoicing and I’m going to turn it into sorrow.
I’m going to turn it into weeping, but he says in verse seven, the Lord has sworn by the pride of Judah. Surely I will never forget any of their works. Shall the land not tremble for this and everyone morn who dwells in it, all of shall swell like the river. He even subside like the river of Egypt and it shall come to pass in that day,
says the Lord, God that I will make the sun go down at noon and I will darken the earth and the broad day light. God’s going to flip everything on its head. God’s going to take their rejoicing and turn it in the morning. God’s going to take their noon tide and turn it into darkness. God’s going to shatter their reality To wake them up to what he is doing.
He says, I will darken the earth in the broad daylight. I will turn your feasts into morning and all your songs into lamentation. I will bring sackcloth on every waist and boldness on every head. I will make it like morning for an only son. Notice this phrase, Amos says, your morning, your rejoicing is going to get turned into morning and your morning will be as if your son,
your only son had, Okay, You will grieve as if your only child is now dead. I said, I will Make it like the morning for an only son and its end like a bitter day. Behold, the days of the Lord are coming, says the Lord, God. Now Amos says, there’s a time where God’s Going to take their rejoicing and turn It into morning.
There’s a time where God’s going to take their noon and turn it into dark. There’s a time when they’re growing to go from rejoicing to morning to morning as if their only son had died. Now go back over. Does that? Kariah Zachary Chapter 12 and in verse 10. Now remember Zechariah is the bridge from the earlier profits among whom was Amos to the new Testament CYA.
And as the bridge Zachariah, It says this and I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplication. First and foremost, God says, I’m going to give my spirit to you. When we just read acts chapter two, we just read about the prophecy of Joel Joel, chapter two, where God says,
I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. But in addition to that, we’ve just read about the Messiah in chapter 11. We’ve just read about the shepherd. We’ve just read about his being sold for 30 pieces of silver. We’ve read about all of these things, but we also need to remember John chapter one, John chapter one, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
When Christ entered into this world with him came grace and truth. Not as though there had never been grace before. Not as though there had never been truth before, but there had never been grace and truth departed and brought forth into him, mankind into humanity from God as it was then for God had never taken on flesh and dwelt with man Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Chapter 12, verse 10 says on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplication would be poured out. But then, then they will look on me whom they pierced In John chapter 19 John chapter, 19 beginning in verse 31, We read about Christ on the cross Verse 31 begins therefore, because it was the preparation day preparation day. For what?
For the Passover, The day, The feast in which Israel was to remember when they were captives, when they were in Egypt, when they were in bondage, when they were sold out to a people who wanted to kill them, I God passed over their first born son. I didn’t kill him As he did to all the firstborn in Egypt that didn’t have the blood on the doorpost do not miss the connection to the sons of Israel.
Here you are in a day, that is to be, or a remembrance of feast every year to remember what God did in allowing their sons to live and who is on the cross God’s son. The one who paid the price for their redemption is on the cross instead of them, Therefore, Because it was the day of preparation that the body should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath for that Sabbath was a high day.
The Jews asked pilot that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other, who was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers, peers, His side with a spear and immediately blood and water came out and he who has seen has testified.
Now who’s that that’s John. John is putting his pen to the, to the pages of this inspiration to say I was there. I saw this in, Sherian do it. I saw the one with the spear, Pierce him, my cell, He who has seen, has testified. And his testimony is true. And he knows that he is telling the truth so that you may believe for these things were done,
that the scripture should be fulfilled. Not one of his bones shall be broken. And again, another scripture says they shall look on him whom they pierced In acts chapter two. And in verse one, we read this When the day of Pentecost, feast of weeks, 50 days from the Sabbath day, that was about to happen in John 19. When the day of Cost had fully come,
they were all with one accord in one place. And you’ve got to go back to Deuteronomy. I’ve got it written down here somewhere. Hold on just a minute. Deuteronomy chapter 16, couldn’t read my own writing Deuteronomy chapter 16, beginning in verse nine, going through verse 14 and you’ll find out what the feast of Pentecost was all about. It was the feast of weeks.
It was the feast of in gathering. It was the feast of first fruits. All of these are names for the same feast. All of these were the time in which God says you come together with the very first thing that comes out of the harvest. You come together with the very first thing that comes out of the field. You come together with the very first and you remember that I delivered you from Egypt.
You remember that you were captives in Egypt and you were brought to a land of land that was already prepared. You didn’t build houses. When you got to the land of Palestine, you didn’t plan vineyards. You didn’t plant a harvest. You walked in and it was already there. And you give the first, every year to God. Now there would be a point in which they were to give the best to God,
but they were to give their first. And they were to give their best to God<inaudible>, But it was a feast of rejoicing. It was a feast where they take the first that God blessed them with and they come together and they rejoice. I do want to go over and just read this part of Deuteronomy 16. Before we go back to acts chapter two,
Deuteronomy chapter 16, beginning in verse nine, you shall count seven weeks for yourself. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain, then you shall keep the feast of weeks, which is Pentecost to the Lord, your God, with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the Lord,
your God blesses you. You shall rejoice before the Lord. Your God. Now notice that you shall rejoice before the Lord, your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant, and your female servant. The Levi who is within your Gates, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are among you at the place where the Lord,
your God chooses to make his name abide. And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and that you shall be careful to observe these statutes. You shall observe the feast of Tabernacles seven days. When you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your wine press, you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levi’s and the stranger who and the fatherless and the widow who are within your date’s gone says the feast of Pentecost was a feast of rejoicing.
Zechariah says, I’m going to turn your rejoicing into morning. I’m going to turn your joy into sorrow and watch it happen. They’re rejoicing. They’re taking part in the feast of Pentecost. When the day of the feast of Pentecost was fully come, they were all together in one accord and they begin to speak and they begin to preach. And the sound of the mush rushing,
mighty wind begins to come and they hear this and they come together and then they hear the disciples and the apostles preaching, and they begin to listen. Peter says, this is the fulfillment of what Joel said. Then go to verse 25 of acts, chapter two, or David says concerning him. I four saw the Lord always before my face for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken.
Therefore, my heart rejoiced and my tongue was made glad. Moreover, my flesh also will rest in hope for you will not leave my soul in Haiti’s. Whoa, who’s in Haiti’s. Why? Why is anyone in Hades? What, what happened? Why has anyone gone to the grave? Go back up to verse 22, a day of rejoicing, a day of joy.
The third hour of the day. Everyone’s happy. Everyone’s rejoicing. They’re taking part in the blessings. God’s given them in the very first fruits of their harvest. And Peter says, men of Israel hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God, by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did through him in your midst.
As you yourselves also know him being delivered by the determined purpose and for knowledge of God, you have taken. And with lawless hands have crucified and put to death. Stop the rejoicing right now Because you just went from a feast of joy to being a QS, standing, condemned and convicted as a lawless murderer. You want to change somebody’s disposition, take them out of a feast and call them The murderer.
But he goes on to say whom God raised up having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by a go to verse 2010 and 29 men and brethren. Let me speak freely to you of the patriarch, David, that he is both dead and buried. And his tomb is with us this day. Therefore being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him,
that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne. He foreseeing this spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ that his soul was not lifting Hades, nor did his flesh seeker corruption. This Jesus, God has raised up of which we are all witnesses, therefore being exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the father,
the promise of the Holy spirit. He poured out this, which you now see in here for David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, the Lord said to my Lord, sit on my right hand until I make your enemies. Your footstool, therefore let all the house of Israel know is Shirley, that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified Both Lord and Christ.
Now, When they heard This, They were cut to the heart. What did God just do? He turned their rejoicing into whaling. He turned their joy into sorrow. He turned their noon and at night and they mourned because here are Israelites descendants of Abraham descendants of Judah. And they knew going all the way back to the days of Jacob, that God said that the Sceptre would not depart from Judah Until the law giver came until Shiloh,
Okay. Till peace came and they wanted that piece and they wanted that hope and they wanted that Messiah. And now they just found out they put him on the cross, Go back to Zechariah chapter 12. Then they will look on me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for him as one mourns for his only son and grieve for him as the,
as one grieves for a first born in that day, there shall be a great morning in Jerusalem, Like the morning at, Hey dad, Rehmann in the plane of the ghetto. Now we won’t spend a great deal of time on this. I just want to mention it. There was a good King of Judah. He wasn’t perfect, but he was a good King.
His name was Josiah And he was one of God’s Kings that risk, The nation restored the worship, Brought them back to doing what God had said. Unlike any King who had gone before him up to David, he followed after God with his whole heart, but there came a time where Josiah went to war When God told him not to, He went to war with Pharaoh,
Neco from Egypt and he lost. He was slain. He was shot through by an Archer and he died. And in second Chronicles, chapter 35, we read that all the nation of Israel, mourned for Josiah and we In the Valley of Maketto because he had died. He wasn’t their son, but he was their righteous King. Yeah. And he was slain.
And they mourn. And for him as if he was there Acts chapter two, when those Jews who were honest, who would hear the word of God, who would expect Except what was preached to them and believe what they Saw when they Heard that they had put to death, the Messiah, their King, You remember pilot wrote above his head, The King of the Jews.
They put him to death when they heard them That they were cut to the heart. And every one of them said, verse 37 men and brethren, What shall we do? Zechariah chapter 12 ends This way. They showed grieve for him as one grieves for a first born in that day. There shall be a great morning in Jerusalem, like the morning at,
Hey dad, Ramon in the plane of ghetto. And the land shall mourn every family by itself, the family of the house of David by itself, the Y and their wives by themselves, the family of the house of Nathan by itself. Now there’s a lot of Nathan’s that we read about in scripture. This one’s important because this one is the son of David,
not the prophet who comes to David. This is the son of David Nathan, who happens according to Luke chapter three, to be the son of David through whom the, The Messiah comes, David Morin’s and his house and his wives more. And Nathan mourns and his House. Then we read in the fowls of the Levi of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves,
in the family of shimmy IO by itself and their wives by themselves. Remember the Messiah wasn’t King. He was King and priest House of David in the house of Levi, the Kings and the priests all more. And why? Because they’re descendants, The Messiah has been pierced and put to death. All the families that remain every family by itself and their wives by themselves.
And if you were to stop, right, Well there, you might get a picture of acts. Chapter two being a day, They were rejoicing is turned a weeping where sunlight is turned a dark, where reality has been shattered with Truth, Where the Messiah is pierced. And they finally realized what they did. And if you stop right there, There’s Just not a whole lot of hope there is,
But acts chapter two, doesn’t stop. There does it. And in brethren, what shall we do? Isn’t the end of the story because Peter responds to them, repent and be baptized every one of you because the story doesn’t end in judgment and the story doesn’t end in sin. The story ends in salvation, Zechariah chapter 13, verse one, we’re not going to go through chapter 13 and 14 today,
but you’ve got to have chapter 13. Verse one in that day of fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Slum for sin. And for uncleanness, God says in the day where I turned your rejoicing into sorrow and the day that you weep for the one who you pierced as if he was your only son in that day,
Yay. I will open a fountain of salvation for your sin and for your uncleanness. And you think all the way through the book of acts and what happens every time, every single time someone realizes their sins is convicted by their sin is preached the gospel and is immersed in water for the remission of their sins and rises up a new creature born again. What do they go away doing?
Rejoicing? What do you see? God took their rejoicing that they had no right to have that He had put the Messiah on the cross. They didn’t deserve to have a feast. They didn’t deserve to rejoice. They didn’t deserve to be in the presence of God, thanking him for his blessings, because the biggest blessing he’d ever given them, they just killed.
God says, I won’t allow you to rejoice. And so God turned there rejoicing in the morning, but then he gave them a ride Reason to rejoice. Cause when his sign was pierced, God says, I put forth a fountain, a fountain of blood and water for sin and for salvation. And now As those who enact chapter two, having heard many other words by the mouth of Peter and the others were convicted and were immersed in water for the remission of their sins.
We read in verse 40. And with many other words, he testified and exhorted them saying, be saved from this perverse generation. Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. And in that day, about 3000 souls were added to them and they continued steadfastly in the Apostle’s doctrine and fellowship and breaking of bread and in prayers and verse 46. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house,
they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart. What happened, praising God and having favor with all the people and the Lord added to the church daily. Those who were being saved. Peter said, you can be saved from this perverse generation that will have a feast of joy after murdering the son of God. And instead you could have rejoicing at fellowship with God himself.
The only thing that stands Between you and your sorrow and you and your salvation is the blood of Christ and salvation offered by God. So if you’re here this morning and you’re outside the body of Christ, if you’re outside the salvation, that is all. Or if you’re outside of the one place where God said salvia Is found and that’s in the church of Christ,
the body of Christ go read Ephesians. It’s all over there. If you’re outside of that place, you are like an Israelite in Jerusalem on a day of rejoicing. When you have no right to you have no hope. You have no salvation. You have only sin and uncleanness, but God doesn’t leave you in that state. If you’ll choose to here and repent,
if you will choose to be immersed in water and have your sins washed away. As those in the book of acts did, you can rise up to walk in newness of life. You can be added to the church, the body of Christ by God. You can do that today. If you have need of the call of salvation and redemption, why not come now?
As we stand in, as we sing Number nine, would you be<inaudible><inaudible> there is<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> no, there’s<inaudible><inaudible> there’s<inaudible> there is<inaudible> and<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> there is<inaudible><inaudible> Please be seated.<inaudible> rather stacks comes forward saying that he needs to do better. It needs to repent. He’s not doing everything he wants to do and the way he wants to do it,
being the example that he knows he needs to be. And I asked brother Joe, if he would to come and lead us in a word of prayer on his behalf, dear God, our father in heaven, we Realize that you’re loving God, Realize our father, our own shortcomings in life, Own inadequacies at times to be what we want to be and to be faithful children,
Yours, Oh, we all have fallen short from the way we ought to live our lives. And we’re thankful that we have the privilege and opportunity to make that right with the, as we repent of those sins and shortcomings. Thanks. We pray for Michael as he’s come forward. And we are thankful for him. Where is your willingness to confess to you that He is not Leo?
The way that he wants to live or ought to live from time to time, We know that each and every one of us have faced those moments in our lives. And there we are grateful for your willingness to forgive us if we repent of those sins, Oh, that we cannot help, but reflect upon your precious son’s blood and the sacrifice that was made for us in the shedding of his blood,
dying on that cross of Calvary. And we pray that we remember that each and every day of our lives and do our best to serve you and glorify you with the way that we live and how we conduct ourselves on this earth. No father that we are attempted in many different ways that we often succumb to those temptations and find ourselves leaving our righteous place.
One that takes us back into this world. We pray father that is we’ve had the privilege today to hear this lesson from Aaron and from your word that we realized the importance of letting Christ live within us, that others truly see him in us, knowing that we’re conducting our sales the way that he would want us to and serving the, and glorifying the,
trying to reach others with the gospel. I’m trying to be in the best example that we can be in this life would probably be with Michael and pray that he will continue to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and help each one of us to do the same, that when this day is over and we stand before the end judgment, we might hear well done.
Good and faithful servant in jesus’ name, we pray amen. Or we sing song number seven 55. Just want to thank you all for being such an encouragement to me today. It’s been great to be with my brothers and sisters in Christ, not too far away from where I am and for the stack. Thank you for challenging me. Be a better Christian.
So as we leave, let’s think about the words to this song and be charged to be the Christians that we ought to be in this world. God, be with you till we meet again by his counsel’s guide up hold you.<inaudible> the fall. You God be with you till we meet. And On behalf of Diane on myself, I’d like to take just a moment to think each one of her church members for the love and support.
You shown us just difficult time. We thank you for the texts, the calls, the beautiful cards, and four H prayer that has been offered to heaven. In our behalf. We want each of you to know that we love each and every one of our sisters and brothers. And we truly do appreciate you. Would you bow with me now as we go to God in prayer,<inaudible> Our heavenly father.
We thank you for each day of life that has given to us. We know dear God, that this life on earth is short and often filled with sorrow. Our heavenly father. We thank you for your plan of salvation that is offered unto all of those that would receive it. We thank you for the hope of heaven that we have of spending eternity with you,
where there’s no sin, no sickness and no sorrow.<inaudible> Our heavenly father. We thank you. So for Christ, our savior and his willingness to down across for our sins, we thank you that through his death, we can lift our voice to you and know that our prayers are heard by you. Our heavenly father, we ask that you be with each and every one of the sick mentioned here today.
We pray that if it be the wheel, that they might watch more, enjoy their health and be able to join us here. As a Christian feminine to worship you. We pray that you be with the tails with Robin woods, pray that if it, by the up wheel, she might recover and once more enjoy their company. Our Heavenly father, we ask that as we leave here,
that you would go with each of us strengthen us in this world. Dear Lord help us to be a Christian example to all of those around us and that these lost souls here and around us might search for yourself. Nation, help us to teach these. We think he wants again, your God for Christ, our Lord and savior and these things we ask in his name.