Advent Week Four: The GOSPEL of God! The Greatest Christmas Ever!

There is only one God and no other. And God is Trinity. The Father has sent and revealed himself in His son Jesus and the Holy Spirit who has descended and has been sanctifying the world. On this Fourth Sunday of Advent, 2021, As we gather to give our worship to our Triune God, we also become instruments and channels of God’s saving love to humanity. Today, the faithful are encouraged to celebrate an incomprehensive moment, with pure love just like the love that God has been giving us. It was love which moved God the Father to send his Son Jesus to save us. It is because of God’s love that we enjoy life. Love is the reason why God is still present among us through His Spirit, the Advocate, the Helper.

John 3:16-18 Authorized (King James) Version

¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. ¹⁷For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. ¹⁸He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

Christianity is the only organized religion and faith-system in the world wherein God also became man like the rest of us. This is really unimaginable and unfathomable to some—for God becoming man like us. God became flesh in Jesus who was born from a woman whose name was Mary. He lived among us, grew up, He ministered unto a people, and had done great things in the name of his Father in heaven. Jesus, the Son of God, was obedient to his Father until his death. He practically did everything except to commit sin, as He is God.

In the Hebrew (Old) Testament, God our Father through His Spirit had been calling, inviting, anointing, and sending people to the world as his messengers. We have witnessed God’s heart throughout the stories shared with us and in the prophesies found in the scriptures. In the different testimonies and messages of the patriarchs, prophets, judges, kings, and most significantly from the simple and lowly people, we come to know the heart of God. God who revealed Himself to the very heart of mankind who knew how to listen, keep his commandments.

The ancient prophecies have been fulfilled in Jesus: “For God so loved the world that he sent His only begotten son to save the people and would have eternal life with Him.”

In the New Testament, Jesus’ life and ministry is unfolded and was revealed to all who listened. The promise of love and salvation came to fulfillment in Jesus who was sent by the God so we may not perish and in order that we may live in forever God’s presence.

It was because of an immeasurable love, the love of the Father to us that he gave us his only Son for our ransom, so we may all live, so we may be restored to life.

This much-beloved verse of Scripture outlines the glorious GOSPEL of grace so clearly and simply. It reveals to everyone Jesus Christ died a sacrificial death on the Cross to pay the price for our sin and break its power in our lives. It tells that Jesus was sent of the Father as a glorious expression of the indescribable love of God our Father for us, Listen! “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”

This astonishing truth was told to Rabbi Nicodemus by Jesus, as He unfolded heavenly truths to this secretive, synagogue leader. He explained the kingdom of heaven was only open to those born of the Spirit, who look in faith to Christ – their Kinsman-Redeemer. He explained when Moses lifted up a brass serpent on a pole in the wilderness to heal all who believed; it was a type of Himself – the Son of Man Who would also be lifted up as the sacrifice for sin – and that ALL who believe on Him would be healed, declared righteous, and live eternally.

God hates sin, hates sin with a passion we cannot understand, and God hates with equal passion this long corrupted world-system, which is blinding the perishing to the glorious GOSPEL of grace and leading many more into a lost eternity. But sin must be punished because God is righteous, and the wage of sin is death. Every member of the human race is a sinner who has fallen short of God’s glory, so all are equally deserving of death – eternal separation from God.

It was God Who purposed that the only way man’s death sentence could be ever reversed was if a perfect, sinless Man was willing to pay the price for sin. But no man was good enough for all are sinners. And so out of love for us, God gave His only begotten Son as the sacrifice for sin and to take the punishment that WE deserve, “so that all who believe in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”

The maximum force of God’s wrath had to be poured out on a sinless member of the human race if the price of sin was to be paid, and God determined before the foundation of the world, that the eternal Son of God would become the sinless Son of Man. He would be born into His own creation and willingly pay the ultimate price for the sin of the world through His substitutionary death.

It was out of an unfathomable love for His creation that God gave His only Son… out of love for fallen humanity who were made in His image… yet who sinned against their Creator God, causing an unbridgeable gulf to be erected between man and his Maker. But in His infinite goodness, grace, mercy, and love, He gave us His beloved Son to live a perfect life and die a sacrificial death – so that all who came to believe in Him will not be condemned but shall live eternally.

The enormity of God’s sacrificial love should never be underestimated. The entire world was condemned to divine judgement because man sinned. God loves sinners with an unequalled passion but cannot look in sin – and so He Who knows the end from the beginning, had predetermined in eternity past to redeem His fallen race by providing a substitute for sin – One perfect Man Who would pay the price of sin and receive the punishment that WE deserve… so that WHOSOEVER believes on Him would not perish but have eternal life. GOSPEL!

The once and for all-time forgiveness of sin, life everlasting, and the gates of heaven itself are flung open wide to whosoever will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for everlasting salvation. There is no need for even one member of the human race to perish, for God’s invitation for salvation is open to ALL (Isaiah 1: 16-20, 2:1-5, 55:1-13) The only condition placed upon man, receive His free gift of salvation and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ – and you will be saved.

The eternal Son of God set aside His glory and was born into the fallen race of man, to die on Calvary for your sin and mine (Philippians 2:5-11). If you and I were to miraculously travel back to the furthest reaches of the universe, or go back to the beginning of time, there we will find love … for “God is love” …. the most precious treasure in the universe is know the reality of His love – by faith.

Come! Let us ask ourselves, how are we in our following of Jesus? Are we truly enjoying life and salvation in Him? Have we somehow arrived at that moment in time when we have genuinely changed our old ways to the GOSPEL of God?

Do we follow His will heartily just like Jesus who obeyed his Father until his last moment here on earth? Do we bring the gift of ultimate love and salvation unto our families, into our circle of friends, our neighbors, or into our communities?

The Lord has not condemned the world even if the people have disobeyed and displeased Him very much. He has come to save us all and do we believe in this?

During the time of Jesus, a few faithful faith-filled men and women believed in him and followed him. Though we are not always faithful and obedient, God’s mercy is enough for us. It is not of human standards but of God’s. Jesus is God’s best gesture of his love for us for only thru Jesus that we are reconnected to God every time we stumble over our own two feet, falter and fail. Do we truly believe the great love of God to us? Faith is a gift for those who are willing to receive it.

When a person has love, one has salvation. When a person has love, one truly experiences God. When a person has love, one is not condemned but they are saved. When a person has love, one grows in grace and lives in peace. The fact is, God the Father sent his Son, and the Son obeyed so too must we obey to God. When we are sent to love, do we love without conditions and boundaries? When we are sent to share His love, do we share it willingly and joyfully with others?

Let us pray, reflect, and ask ourselves:

Do I believe the GOSPEL of GOD?

Do I believe that Jesus is the only Son of the Father who saves and gives life?

Do I believe that God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are One, “One God” in three persons/characters?

Do I share the Trinitarian love with those who do not know God and to those who had gone away from God?

In the name of God, the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, let us pray,

Almighty and Ever-living God, we thank you for saving and loving us through Jesus your Son, who is our Lord, Savior, and brother. Thank you for giving us a life lived in grace through the blood of Christ. May we not forget your love for us and so we do our part of loving and serving others, friends and strangers. May your saving Word inspire us to take the challenge, task of new evangelization in our much-troubled world today. This we ask through Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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All The Highways and By-Ways. The High Roads and the Low Roads. The Roads Less Traveled. Our Pathways.

In life, there’s a substantial difference between all of the things that are just ok and things which are the best. The same is true with God. There are ok pathways you can take for your life and not so ok pathways to take. Many decisions aren’t bad, they just aren’t the best. God wants to show you the best path for your life.

Finding that best pathway takes spending time with God. You and I have got to be open to what He has to say and not be too busy with social media or Netflix or virtual reality to hear Him. Spending major time with God helps you know Him better and be ready to hear what He has to speak concerning our futures.

God knows us better than anyone. He knows what things will bring us peace and what will introduce us to more chaos than we really need. If we trust Him and His leading, we will be able to go down the best pathway for our lives. So today, decide to lay aside those things that are keeping you from spending time with God. Choose to be real with Him, let Him show you the best path for our lives.

Psalm 32:8AKJV

⁸I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go:
I will guide thee with mine eye.

The Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Yesterday, we devoted some significant time with Psalm 16:11 (AKJV)

¹¹Thou wilt shew me the path of life:
in thy presence is fulness of joy;
at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Just to review some of the inspiring and transformational thoughts which flowed through my heart and my soul – about maximizing our Joy in God.

Psalm 16 is one of my favorite psalms. I feel like I can do a Pray the Word on every verse here. I could not get out of Psalm 16 without thinking about and praying according to verse 11. We saw in 16:7 how we bless the Lord who gives us council, and the night also, he instructs our hearts, which leads down us to the very last verse in the chapter, “You make known to me the path of life.”

Again, God does not hide his will from us. God leads and guides us according to his will. He wants his will to be accomplished in our lives, far more than even we do. He makes known to us the path and paths of life, but please, don’t miss the connection here. The path of life involves walking in the presence of God. In your presence, there is fullness of joy. That’s the only true path of life. Being in the presence of God and enjoying the presence of God results in Fullness of joy.

Let this soak in. God’s plan for our lives involves fullness of joy in his presence. Oh, let me say that again. God’s plan for our lives involves fullness of joy in His presence. Walking with Him, enjoying Him. In the last phrase of this Psalm, “At your right hand are pleasures forever more.” Just picture this. His right hand is full of pleasures, and you and I take some of those pleasures, and there’s more. Take some more of those pleasures, there’s more. Take more pleasures, there’s more ad-infinitum. It’s forever! There is infinite pleasure to be found in God!

This is a life absolutely worth living. This is a path absolutely worth following.

This just causes me to pray; “oh God, help me to walk in your path. Lord, help me to follow your ways. I pray for this in my life, I pray for those who are and who are not listening right now. God, please, council us. Please instruct each of our hearts in the night. Please make known to us the path of life today, and we know that life is found in sensitivity to your spirit. We know that life is found in your presence. We know that life is found in constantly realizing that you are with us, that you are leading us, that you are guiding us, that you are directing us, and in your presence, we find fullness of joy.” This IS God’s Pathway for Me!

Turning our attention back to Psalm 32:8 Easy to Read Version,

⁸The Lord says, “I will teach you
and guide you in the way you should live.
I will watch over you and be your guide.

We discover God also desires to teach us the Direction We Ought to be Going.

We discover God desires to guide you and me in the way we ought to be living.

We also find assurance that God will watch over you and me and be our guide.

Need direction in life? Not sure of the way of Salvation? God is willing to teach, instruct and guide you. David identifies for his readers the promise in this text from Psalm 32:8. The sure and certain promise of God is for God’s abundant provision for those who are willing to receive Him by faith, follow His leading.

It is the Lord’s desire to teach His children in the way in which He would have them to go. His way of submission and obedience to His Word and His authority. As a believer, we MUST seek and obey with humility, strive to live in holiness, a daily walk-in integrity, be honest in our dealings with one another and faithful to God and the calling which He has assigned to our hands, just to name a few.

No, God did not save us to live life as we please. There is a clear standard of living repeatedly identified throughout and within the Holy Scriptures for the Christian in which God has established His pathway for each of us to live by.

Direction is inescapably important for without direction we will inevitably get lost. Many are lost today because they refuse to be taught by God, but instead by self, they refuse to walk the pathway in which God has already mapped out for us in His Word and they stubbornly refuse to be counsel by God and be guided by God’s eyes, but instead, they willfully choose to be instructed and guided by what their eyes sees in the world, interpret it, then follow after that counsel.

Man can instruct himself all he desires, but it is only God through His Holy Spirit who can make us understand truth for God says, “I will make thee to understand that which shall be done by me.”

Proverbs 16:1-9 ESV

The plans of the heart belong to man,
    but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
²All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
    but the Lord weighs the spirit.^[a]
³Commit your work to the Lord,
    and your plans will be established.
⁴The Lord has made everything for its purpose,
    even the wicked for the day of trouble.
⁵Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord;
    be assured, he will not go unpunished.
⁶By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,
    and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.
⁷When a man’s ways please the Lord,
    he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
⁸Better is a little with righteousness
    than great revenues with injustice.
⁹The heart of man plans his way,
    but the Lord establishes his steps.

As God continues to teach and instruct us in the way of salvation, He promises to keep His watchful eye on us (Psalm 121). He will not leave us to ourselves for He knows without His direction and His watchful eyes upon us, because like a sheep, we will surely stray away from the path of righteousness. (Isaiah 53:6)

In our pandemic times, much uncertainty about living life has been revealed. Are we looking for that socially distant, mask mandated, sanitized direction in life? Not sure where God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are in this equation?

Not sure about how to travel down the Highways and By-Ways, the High Roads and the Low roads, the Roads less taken, least effected, least touched, the least populated and paved over and deeply potholed by some Corona Virus Variant?

Where now is the road of Salvation having accepted the pathway of Jesus Christ? You are far from being alone in asking. So, get into the Word of God, pray, seek the Lord’s face for He promises to teach, instruct, keep a watchful eye over you.

In the name of God, the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, let us Pray;

The Aaronic Blessing

^22-23God spoke to Moses: “Tell Aaron and his sons, This is how you are to bless the People of Israel. Say to them,

²⁴God bless you and keep you,
²⁵God smile on you and gift you,
²⁶God look you full in the face
and make you prosper.

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Indescribable Joy! Immeasurable Joy! Inescapable Joy! Inevitable Joy! Jesus is our Souls Most Valuable Treasure!

I believe scripture truths form the stoutest hearts and the sturdiest souls. As we memorize encouraging verses and pray them again and again, the pathways of faith, strength, peace, and more become embedded—not only in our minds but in our spirits. Reciting them back to their Author propels us into his Presence.

Psalm 16:7-11 The Message

^7-8The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake
is confirmed by my sleeping heart.
Day and night I’ll stick with God;
I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go.

^9-10I’m happy from the inside out,
and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed.
You canceled my ticket to hell—
that’s not my destination!

¹¹Now you’ve got my feet on the life path,
all radiant from the shining of your face.
Ever since you took my hand,
I’m on the right way.

The Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

The Bible repeatedly teaches us that the “heart” of our lives is the control center of our lives, which means our “real” life, our inner life as well as our outer life, is a reasonably genuine reflection of the yearnings of our hearts.

Proverbs 4:23 says: “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” And so, we must carefully guard and watch over our hearts so that our hearts would passionately follows hard after the pathways of God – by joyfully embracing Jesus Christ, as the most supreme treasure of our hearts and lives.

Today we ask ourselves: “What is the greatest treasure of our hearts?” In an entitlement-minded, customer-service, rights-oriented world that is filled with so many mind-boggling choices – even those of us who claim Jesus Christ can easily get bogged down, confused as to what treasures captures our hearts.

Most people ultimately treasure their families, spouses, children, relatives, and friends. Culture and Society sledgehammers we should treasure ourselves – our needs, our wants, our desires. And the retail market accommodates that by our supplying our needs, our wants, our desires with products and possessions and position and power. With the scarcity of products on shelves, it’s more pressing.

We are given the broadest array of choices from which to choose just how much, how many, how far, how high, how deep, and what kind – and what size, color, weight, brand name, manufacturer, and what kind of guarantee or warranty can be provided on whatever product happens to be remaining on the grocery shelf.

Today we are looking at Psalm 16 which is a prayer of worship written by King David. David is a significant character in the Bible. He was the young shepherd who became a great king; the young boy who slew a giant with a single stone; the man who went into hiding out of fear for his life – from numerous Kings and countless armies and King Saul and even from his very own son Absalom.

David was the King whose descendants would bring forth the long-promised Messiah in the human form of Jesus Christ, in spite of the fact that David had committed adultery and murder and fearfully tried in vain to hide what he had done. We look at King David today because in the midst of his victories and his defeats and his own struggles with his own sin – David yearned, longed for, desperately sought to have an intimate relationship with the most sovereign God of the universe.

In spite of his own personal failings, he treasured God more than anything or anyone else. God was King David’s supreme treasure. So much so that God Himself declared to us: “I have found in David . . . a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22).

In our text for this morning, as David sings his heart out, he joyfully worships God in grateful prayer, he tells us why we also should supremely treasure God.

Psalm 16:1-6 The Message

16 ^1-2Keep me safe, O God,
I’ve run for dear life to you.
I say to God, “Be my Lord!”
Without you, nothing makes sense.

³And these God-chosen lives all around—
what splendid friends they make!

⁴Don’t just go shopping for a god.
Gods are not for sale.
I swear I’ll never treat god-names
like brand-names.

^5-6My choice is you, God, first and only.
And now I find I’m your choice!
You set me up with a house and yard.
And then you made me your heir!

With maximum joy in our hearts and expressed from deep within our souls, we should treasure God because He is our Gracious Protector. David speaks of this by describing God as a home, a haven, a refuge, one place where we can go and know with absolute assurance, we will be safe forevermore. Alleluia! Alleluia!

With maximum joy in our hearts and expressed from deep within our souls, we should treasure God because He is our Sovereign Presence. Regardless of what dangers/fears/catastrophes we will inevitably face in this life, the one, only true safe place we have is in the presence of the sovereign God of all the Universe.

The refuge which God provides is our personal relationship with Him. David knew his personal wellbeing – the well-being of his soul, his refuge every day and for all eternity – depended on his personal relationship with the living God.

Sadly, we all too easily and contentedly look for security in so many places other than God. Many of those places are artificial; some we even make up for ourselves. Often our places of refuge are geographical or social. But throughout his incredibly diverse array of life experiences, David doggedly learned the one and only true safe place on earth is in the Sovereign Presence of our Supreme God. “I say to the LORD, ‘You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.’”

With maximum joy in our hearts and expressed from deep within our souls, we should treasure God because He the foundation of Righteous Relationships.

While David speaks of the joy of treasuring God through our relationship with God – he takes a moment to mention how we should live out our lives with one another as God’s people through Jesus Christ.

From Psalm 16, David teaches us how we are to do so by means of a contrast. First, he calls God’s people “saints” which literally means “those set apart for God” – and he says they are “the excellent ones” – which means they are to be a people who exhibit highly distinguished spiritual and moral qualities.

In stark and vivid contrast, he then speaks of “those who run after another god” – those who will struggle with multiple “sorrows” because they find their joy in treasuring other gods and trusting in other gods for security. Here, David refuses to endorse what they do; he will not lower himself to naming their gods: “their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.”

David is telling us when we joyfully find our most supreme treasure in God – we will have a shared common communion of both heart and soul with others who are also faithfully trying to do so. In essence David is saying: “As I take refuge in the joyful sovereign presence of my safest refuge in God, I will find myself in the company of others who are tucked safely under the shadows of God’s wings. We are commonly linked at the heart and through our souls by our commitment to trust in God and live for God. Our confidence is in Him, not in the things of this world. We are His Heirs, citizens of heaven and fellow pilgrims on this earth.

With maximum joy in our hearts and expressed from deep within our souls, we should treasure God because He is our Beautiful Inheritance.

David continues to proclaim God as his most supreme treasure. By using the words “portion” and “cup” he is signifying God was all he needed to satisfy the hunger of his heart and soul. Besides his “portion” and his “cup” the Lord has also assigned him “a beautiful inheritance” which God Himself has measured out for him: “The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.”

This harkens back to the nation of Israel who came out of 40 years of wandering in wilderness into the promised land; as Joshua divided the land up, the people of God who had been freed from the bondage of slavery joyfully received their own property for the first time in many generations.

Imagine the joy of those ancient Israelites: “The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance!” This is the “beautiful inheritance” we receive when, by God’s sovereign grace, we are freed from the bondage of sin and death and are given the “beautiful inheritance” of eternal life through the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In Ephesians 1:3-4 the apostle Paul writes: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”

This is the “wondrously beautiful eternal inheritance” we will share with the people of God. Jesus said: “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28).

“The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.”

David was soul at war with himself much of his life. For many years he was
also, a fugitive with no home; he slept on the ground and often caves were his shelter. But despite his struggles and fears David was not only survived but he also thrived – because God had promised him “a beautiful inheritance.”

While that was not yet his when he wrote this psalm, he was secure in knowing God would do so. In treasuring God over himself, David possessed all that God promised and everything he needed. This is why David could write: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever”
(Psalm 73:25-26).

In God we have absolutely everything our hearts could ever want or ever need! (Psalm 23:1)

With maximum joy in our hearts and expressed from deep within our souls, we should treasure God because He is our Wonderful Counselor. (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Here, David again declares God to be his supreme treasure: “I bless the LORD!” Whether it be in the darkness of “night” or the light of day, God “instructs” (guides) hearts which treasure Him into the safest refuge of His will and His purpose.

This is the deep transformative work of God’s sovereign grace deep within our hearts and souls when we come to faith in Christ. By a providential work of the Holy Spirit, we are drastically and dramatically changed – worked upon, given a
different heart, a new spirit. Because God is the One who gives us His “counsel” – even in the darkest of nights God instructs our hearts to treasure and follow, in all things and ways, upon the pathways of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

But we are also reading here if we are to walk with God in the fullness of the new life, He has sovereignly given us through Jesus Christ – we will be “shaken” by struggles and fears when we fail, do not make God the supreme treasure of our hearts and lives. David says: “I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.”

God “gives counsel” spiritually, emotionally, vocationally, socially, morally, physically, and intellectually. When we “set the LORD always before” us – we will “not be shaken” spiritually, emotionally, vocationally, socially, morally, physically, and intellectually.

When God is our first priority and foremost upon the pathways of our hearts and lives, we can absolutely trust God that our souls will be secure and stable.

David could proclaim: “My heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure” because the “path of life” he had already walked in God’s presence in this life caused him to know the joyful anticipation of living in God’s presence in the future: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

David wrote these words about a thousand years before the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus; he lived in the hope of the cross and the empty tomb. By faith David believed God would fulfill His promise in sending a Savior; he prayed the gracious protection of God would save him from sin and death.

God fulfilled that promise; on this side of the cross, we no longer just hope in that promise. Jesus Christ has come; he did die on a cross for our sins; he has risen from the dead – and he has given us the same promise he gave David.

In John 11:25-26 Jesus said: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Well, if we do believe this, we treasure this we should live out our lives like that.

Well, if we do believe these words of God as spoken by David, then we ought to be the ones who with maximum joy and with deep expression from within our souls, treasure them beyond all other treasures offered by the wiles of our life.

In the name of God, the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, let us Pray,

Heavenly Father,

I praise and thank You for Your great goodness towards me, and the many blessings that You shower on each one of us day by day. Be with me each step of the way and help me to keep my eyes trained on the lovely Lord Jesus.

I thank You that I have been given everything I need for life and godliness and pray that I may experience the fullness of joy we have all received in Christ, not only in the world to come, but as a daily experience in this present world. Thank You, Father, that You have made known to me the path of life in Christ Jesus my Saviour, in Whose name I pray, and thank You that in Your loving presence is the fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore, Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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An Ode Unto my Joy! For YAHWEH, the LORD, is my Strength and Song; He also has become my Salvation.’

Today, in the first day of our devotional focus on joy, we are going to explore how we can be carriers for the joy of our God. Joy is contagious. It’s decisive! It’s direct! It’s powerful! It’s transformational! And it’s meant to be at the heart of our communication of who our God is, and what relationship with him is like.

May God fill us all with a greater measure of his joy every day, and a greater understanding of how to shepherd that joy into a world in desperate need of it.

Isaiah 12 Amplified Bible

Thanksgiving Expressed

12 And on that day you will say,
“I will give thanks to You, O Lord;
For though You were angry with me,
Your anger has turned away,
And You comfort me.
²
“Behold, God, my salvation!
I will trust and not be afraid,
For the Lord God is my strength and song;
Yes, He has become my salvation.”
³
Therefore with joy you will draw water
From the springs of salvation.
⁴
And in that day you will say,
“Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name [in prayer].
Make His deeds known among the peoples [of the earth];
Proclaim [to them] that His name is exalted!”
⁵
Sing praises to the Lord, for He has done excellent and glorious things;
Let this be known throughout the earth.
⁶
Rejoice and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

The Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Isaiah 12 is a short chapter that rings with praise for God. The context is ‘in that day’ (verse 1 and 4) which refers to the previous chapter where it is talking about the millennial kingdom where Jesus will reign (remember, His delight is in the fear of the LORD). So, it is saying, ‘in the millennial kingdom, this is the song that you will sing.’

There are a few things we need to give our undivided attention to which are praised, as you would expect, but the part that stuck out for me was verse 2.

Isaiah 12:1-2 Names of God Bible

A Hymn of Praise from the Lord’s People in His Kingdom

12 At that time you will say,

“I will praise you, O Yahweh.
    Although you had been angry with me,
    you turned your anger away from me, and you comforted me.
²Look! El is my Savior.
    I am confident and unafraid,
    because Yah is my strength and my song.
    He is my Savior.”

Here, not only is God portrayed as our Savior (in the person of Jesus Christ), but He is our salvation also. He is the object that we are saved to. He is the means and object of our salvation. It is hard to conceive in light of this verse of being saved for our own sake, or for our happiness or whatever other man-centered ideas have arisen over the time. We were not saved for ourselves but for God.

BEHOLD! Look! Take note! Think about and contemplate this glorious truth, “God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the LORD GOD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.” God, the Lord Who covers Himself with light and rides upon the wings of the wind is my strength, my song and my Saviour.

Behold, the everlasting God Who declared, I AM that I AM, is the author and Alpha, the beginning and source of my salvation and He is also the finisher, the Omega, the end and the absolute finality of my life. There is no created thing in heaven above or in the earth beneath that can claim the credentials of Jehovah my God, so how can I fear? Why should I not have this irresistible urge to sing? What can be done to me when the Lord God has become my eternal security?

This is the glorious song of ecstatic praise and great rejoicing that Israel will sing in harmonic unison in that future day, when the saved remnant of God’s chosen people will eat of the fruit of the land of Israel in peace and security.

This is the psalm of thanksgiving and joy that will be sung in the streets of Jerusalem when their Messiah-King returns from heaven to sit on the throne of His father David, “for Judah will be saved; Israel will dwell securely, and they will herald the Lord Jesus Christ as, ‘The LORD who IS our righteousness.'”

But this has already become a hymn of unparalleled rejoicing for generations of Christians. This has become part of that never-ending hymn of praise that is sung by all who have been saved by grace, through faith in His sacrificial death and glorious resurrection. We who have been born again can already say with certainty, “the Lord my God is Jesus Christ, He is the Lord my righteousness.”

In these vaccinated, mask on mask off, socially distant coming days of one more government regulation or mandate after another, before us, can we in any degree or measure of the Holy Spirit and in “Word of God for the Children of God Truth” cry out to God and say, “I have trusted Him, and I am not afraid – for nothing can separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus?”

Can we herald our heavenly Bridegroom as our God and Savior (John 14:6?) Is He or Covid19 our Lord Jehovah and can we confess with full assurance, “He, Jesus is MY Strength and MY Song, and He became MY Redeemer at Calvary?”

The worth of the gift is intensified by the worthiness of the Giver, and the immeasurable value and inestimable blessing of salvation to the unworthy sinner is without comparison in both the visible world and the invisible universe. Is it beyond human comprehension that Yahweh has become my salvation through the sacrifice of His own life on the cross of Calvary?

Knowing that my salvation is secure in Yahweh‘s worthy hands, every facet that touches my life is equally under the protection of His mighty power, for He has become the foundational bedrock upon which my confidence rests and He is the ever-flowing fountain of living strength that infills my heart and overspills into songs of worship and shouts of praise to His wonderful name. (Psalm 118)

If we indeed trust wholeheartedly in that salvation then we have no need to be afraid, for we are fully sheltered from the storm by Messiah Jesus. And when we are saved, God becomes two things (at least) to us: our strength and our song.

God being our strength is different from us needing God to give us strength. Isaiah is saying that God IS our strength! We are genuinely nothing without God. Secondly, God being our song portrays 100% joy. We should have immense joy in God because he has saved us! We should be singing out not only about our God, but God should be our song: that is, God should be the joy that inspires us.

This all should lead us to an attitude of ceaseless praise of God. Let each of us remember today God is the only one worthy of praise, and He is our salvation!

Psalm 118:19-29 Names of God Bible

¹⁹Open the gates of righteousness for me.
I will go through them and give thanks to Yah.
²⁰This is the gate of Yahweh
through which righteous people will enter.

²¹I give thanks to you,
    because you have answered me.
        You are my savior.
²²The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone.
²³Yahweh is responsible for this,
    and it is amazing for us to see.
²⁴This is the day Yahweh has made.
    Let’s rejoice and be glad today!
²⁵We beg you, O Yahweh, save us!
    We beg you, O Yahweh, give us success!
²⁶Blessed is the one who comes in the name of Yahweh.
    We bless you from Yahweh’s house.
²⁷Yahweh is El, and he has given us light.
    March in a festival procession
        with branches to the horns of the altar.
²⁸You are my El, and I give thanks to you.
    My Elohim, I honor you highly.

²⁹Give thanks to Yahweh because he is good,
because his mercy endures forever.

In the name of Yahweh, the Father, Yahweh the Son and Yahweh the Holy Spirit, let us enter His gates with thanksgiving, with humbled souls and with bowed hearts.

Thank You, Yahweh, for my wonderful salvation. Praise the Lord O my soul, for You are a great and mighty God worthy of my life of devotion and service. As I read, study and pray through your Scriptures, going into the world today as Your anointed and appointed representative, give me increased boldness to speak the name of Jesus. May my life reflect Your grace and goodness, to Your praise and glory. In Jesus’ name I pray, Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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“God Said to Me, I Will Personally Introduce You to One Like Moses!”

A prophet is a person who is called by God to speak on his behalf. At times, the prophet is given a vision of the future, but for the most part, his work is in the present. He is to instruct the people about what God says about their current situation. In Deuteronomy, God promised to Moses that there would come a future prophet whose work would be even greater. The people understood that this would be the proclaimer of the Messiah, and when Jesus appeared and he began to preach, they’d recognized him as the fulfillment of God’s promise.

Deuteronomy 18:15-18English Standard Version

A New Prophet like Moses

¹⁵“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— ¹⁶just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ ¹⁷And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. ¹⁸I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

The Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

As Moses approached the end of his life, he wrote the Book of Deuteronomy. He includes in that Book a sure and certain promise from God; that promise, God would send another like Moses to teach them. God did, God sent His Prophets into the affairs and works of mankind. From the great prophets Elijah to Elisha, from Isaiah through Malachi to John the Baptizer, God then sent His Son Jesus.

Remember in Exodus when the Children of Israel gathered at the foot of Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. There, from the top of Sinai, God had spoken to them in thunder and lightning, out of the midst of the fire and thick darkness. God spoke to the first two commandments to them directly; every word made their ears howl and their hearts and their soul’s tremble with fear.

They were so terrified that the whole congregation was ready to die with fear. In this fright, they begged God would not speak to them in this manner anymore, they could not bear it; it overwhelmed and distracted them. They begged Moses that God would speak to them by men like themselves, by Moses then, and afterwards by other prophets like unto him.

God agreed with the people’s righteous pleas and Moses did too. As Moses approached the end of his life, he wrote the people the Book of Deuteronomy. He includes in that Book a sure and certain promise from God; that promise, God would send another like Moses to teach them. God did, God sent Jesus.

Here is the promise of a great prophet, with a command to receive him and hearken to him.

A. I believe this scripture refers to the promise of a succession of Hebrew (old) Testament prophets we read of and learn from. Besides the priests and Levites, whose task was to teach God’s law, the Israelites would have need of prophets to reprove them for their faults, to remind them of their duty, to foretell things to come, to warn them of divine judgments and deliverances for their deeds.

1. Having these prophets, unlike the pagans, they need not use divinations nor consult with familiar spirits for they might enquire of God’s prophets even concerning their private affairs as Saul did when he was in quest of his father’s herds, 1 Samuel 9:6.

2. With the prophets among the Israelites, they could not miss the way or manner of their duty through ignorance or mistake for the prophets warned them continually. In every doubtful case, the people of Israel heard the cry of the prophets. Deuteronomy 34:10 these prophets were like unto Moses in many respects though in other ways, far inferior to him in overall leadership qualities.

B. It is legitimately arguable whether a succession of prophets ought to be included in this promise or not, we are sure and certain that it is primarily intended as a promise of Christ for God says that he will send “a prophet”.

Further, this is the clearest promise of Christ in all the Law of Moses. Acts 3:22 and 7:37 say this promise expressly applies to our Lord Jesus, the promised One. John 6:14 says “This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world”, and 1 Peter 1:11 that his Spirit spoke in all the other prophets, the spirit of Christ.

1. What God promised Moses at Mount Sinai in Deuteronomy 18:18 is the coming of Christ.

a. That there should come a prophet, great, above all the prophets, by whom God would make known himself and his will to the children of men more fully and clearly than ever he had done before.

b. John 8:12 says that he is the “light of the world.” John 1:1-5 and Hebrews 1:1-2 says that he is the Word by whom God speaks to us.

c. That God would “raise him up from the midst of them.” In his birth he should be one of that nation, should live among them and be sent to them. He was to be “raised up at Jerusalem”, thence his doctrine should go forth into all the world. Thus God, having raised up his Son, Jesus the Christ, He sent him to bless us all.

d. That he should be like unto Moses, only as much above him as the other prophets came short of him. Moses was such a prophet as was a lawgiver to Israel and their deliverer out of Egypt, and so was Christ: Jesus was not only a great prophet he saved and still does save souls in our times. Moses was the founder of a new dispensation by signs and wonders and mighty deeds. Christ by miracles proved himself a teacher come from God. Moses was faithful. So was the Messiah. Moses came as a servant, but Jesus Christ came as a Son.

d. Deuteronomy 18:18 says that God would put his words in his mouth. What messages God had to send to the children of men he would send them by him and give him full instructions what to say and do as a prophet. In John 7:16, our Savior says, “My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.” This Prophet has come. Immanuel, God who IS with US and God who IS within US, it is he alone that should come, it is he alone whom we proclaim, we are to look for no other.

C. John 1:14 proclaims the One like Moses, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Thus, in answer to the request of those struck with amazement by the law, God promised not just the great pantheon of His Prophets “to prepare the way of the Lord” but the genuine future incarnation of his Son, though we may suppose it to be far from the thoughts of those that made request before Moses and God.

Not only did God, through Moses, promise that Jesus would be a prophet like unto Moses,

A. through the ages, many prophets told that Jesus was coming.

1. It was by Abraham’s seed that all the families of the earth are to be blessed.

2. Later in the Old Testament, we are told that One is to be a king like David, a prince of peace as Solomon.

3. His kingdom is to be without succession and without end; Isaiah said, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, the government shall be upon his shoulder.”

4. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

5. Micah 5:2 predicts that the Messiah of the Jews would be born in Bethlehem.

6. Gabriel told Zachariah and Elizabeth things were about to happen.

7. The Virgin Mary saw Gabriel and believed.

8. God spoke to Joseph in a dream.

9. The Wise men saw a star.

10. The Sheppards heard the angles announce his birth. Since then we have learned much.

B. So how should we view Messiah Jesus?

1. Jesus was far more than a baby born in a stable and laid in a manger.

2. If you have not meet Jesus, give me the honor to introduce him to you.

3. His credits are too long to list. He has done the impossible time after time.

4. He comes to us out of a manger in Bethlehem of Judah by way of heaven.

5. His mother was blessed beyond all women of the world.

6. His Father is the author of a Book that has been on the bestseller list since the beginning of time.

7. He holds the record for the greatest fish fry. He feed 5,000 hungry souls with just two fish and five loaves of bread.

8. He can walk on water, turn water into wine — no special effects, no camera tricks.

9. Symbols reminding us of Him are in every Christian Church across the world.

Finally,

10. I proclaim unto each of you readers today and in the future, that Christ is the Word of God, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Bright and Morning Star, the Ruler of the Universes, the Author of Life, the Word, the Word of God, the Light of the World, the Second Adam, the Lamb of God, the King of kings, the King of the Jews, the Lion of Judah, the Lord, and the Lord of Lords.

Some call him Wonderful Counselor, and others the Rose of Sharon, the Lily of the Valley. He is our Advisor, the Deliverer, the Holy and Righteous One, the Anointed One, the High Priest of the Order of Melchizedek, Rabboni, Prince of Peace, The Head of the Church. He is Immanuel, Yehoshua, Son of David, the Son of Man, the Savior of the world, the Christ, the Son of the Most-High God, the Messiah, He is The Son of David, finally, He is the only begotten Son of God.

What are we now going to do in these contemporary of times to introduce Him?

In the name of Yahweh, the Father, Yahweh the Son and Yahweh the Holy Spirit, let us now graciously, humbly, reverently enter His throne room and Pray,

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your written word and for the living Word, who was made flesh, and dwelt amongst us. Thank You that He spoke words of life and hope to all who would trust on His name. Thank You for Jesus, our mighty Prophet, praying Priest and coming King, who offered-up Himself as the sacrifice for our sin – so whosoever believes on Him would not perish, but have everlasting life. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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Introducing: The Prophets of the Hebrew (Old) Testament. Discover How We Ought to Understand some of the Toughest Books in the Bible.

As Moses approached the end of his life, he wrote the Book of Deuteronomy. He includes in that Book a wondrous promise from God; that promise, God would send another like Moses to teach them. God did, God sent His Prophets of Old.

Deuteronomy 18:15-18 Amplified

¹⁵“The Lord your God will raise up for you a ^[a]prophet like me [Moses] from among you, from your countrymen (brothers, brethren). You shall listen to him. ¹⁶This is according to all that you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb (Mount Sinai) on the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear the voice of the Lord my God again, nor see this great fire anymore, so that I will not die.’ ¹⁷The Lord said to me, ‘They have spoken well. ¹⁸I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

The Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

The prophetic books are amongst the toughest books in the Bible to understand and to contextualize and make up about one quarter of the Hebrew Testament. What makes interpretation even more complicated is that not all the prophets in the Hebrew (Old) Testament are easily found in these prophetic books.

So first let us start from the top, what is a prophet?

Prophets were particular people who were chosen by God and given authority to speak on his behalf. God the Holy Spirit spoke in and through them. It was through the prophets that God chose to reveal himself, his promises and his plan. Before a prophet spoke to the people, they always made it clear, where the message was coming from. ‘This is what the LORD says…’ (Isaiah 48:17).

The prophets had a unique role as intercessors, as they spoke not only on God’s behalf to the people, but also on behalf of the people to God (Exodus 32:30-32/ 1 Samuel 7:5-9; 12:19-23/ 2 Kings 19:14 / Jeremiah 7:16; 11:14; 14:11).

The prophets’ predictions were sometimes given in order to deliver warnings and admonishments to God’s wayward people. People were spoken to, given a chance to turn away from their own ways and back to Gods. The prophets were reformers, who enforced God’s law and called God’s people unto faithfulness.

Who were the prophets?

Abraham was the first person to be designated as a prophet (Genesis 20:6-7). After Abraham the prophets came from a whole range of backgrounds. To just mention a few, Moses was raised as an Egyptian prince, Amos was a herdsman, Elisha was a plowman, Ezekiel and Jeremiah were priests and Daniel was a government administrator. It is clear that their authority did not come from their own merit but from being chosen by God.

Where and when did they prophesy?

It’s easy to understand what Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Nathan, Elijah and Elisha were saying to their audience because their prophecy is placed within a clear narrative. However, the prophetic books don’t always provide a clear narrative. Since context is everything to interpretation and application, here is a quick overview of the context of just some of the prophetic books.

Amos and Hosea were in the northern kingdom, in the lead up to its destruction in 722 BC by the Assyrians.
Prophets such as Isaiah, Micah and Jeremiah were in Judah (southern kingdom) and prophesied in the lead up to the exile in 597/586 BC.
Ezekiel and Daniel prophesied during the exile.
Prophets like Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi prophesied after the return from exile.

What was their message?

Their message was either of hope or judgment. Their proclamation to God’s people was centered upon the Mosaic covenant (Exodus 19-24). Through Moses, God revealed his law to his people, and it was this covenant that all future generations were to live by.

The prophets who followed Moses enforced the covenant, continually exhorting the people to obey God’s law, whilst reminding them of the consequences of their obedience (blessings) and their disobedience (curses).

The prophets communicated both orally and through symbolic action. For three years Isaiah went naked and barefoot to demonstrate to the people their future (Isaiah 20:1-6). God’s Prophet Hosea married the unfaithful woman Gomer, to demonstrate God’s relationship with His unfaithful nation of Israel (Hosea 1-3).

Who were they speaking to?

God’s chosen people. The promises made to Abraham revealed God’s plan for a people who would declare and reveal him to all the nations. In Exodus through to Deuteronomy, Moses revealed how they are to live in relationship with God and live as a kingdom of priests. The prophets who came after them therefore addressed Israel as God’s chosen people who have responsibilities to uphold (Jeremiah 2-6).
Unfaithful Israel. Israel continually broke the Ten Commandments (Jeremiah 7:1-15/Hosea 4:2), committed idolatry (Ezekial 8:1-18), mistreated others (Isaiah 1:21-31) and refused to repent (Amos 4:6-11).
Those who were to face judgment. Judgment was frequently called the “day of the Lord” (Isaiah 2:12-22/Joel 2:1-11/Zephaniah 1:7-18).
Those who have hope. After the Day of Judgment, where Israel suffers destruction and punishment, God will bring peace to the world (Isaiah 9:2-7; 11:1-16). A Savior must suffer and die and then rise from the dead (Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12). He will bring in a new covenant and he will cleanse the world of sin and make a new earth that will not pass away (Isaiah 65:17-25/Zephaniah 3:8-20). This Savior was first revealed as the king who could come from the line of David (2 Samuel 7).

Why Know Hebrew Testament Prophecy?

Throughout history humanity pretty much stays the same. As Christians, we now enjoy the blessings and hope of the new covenant through Jesus. To be out and about in the Kingdom of God offering the Good News of Salvation through Jesus Christ, we generally begin teaching with New Testament tracts and Bibles.

However, we cannot so easily disregard the absolute significance of Hebrew Testament prophecy. We still struggle to trust God and live his way. So, we are called by Yahweh the Holy Spirit into a time of sacred remembrance to solemnly re-listen to the prophets warning against idolatry, ignoring God’s law, giving into greed or being indifferent towards the poor and those who are suffering.

The ancient words of prophets remind us that we cannot get lost in our sin and presume that we are still members of the new covenant community. For we too will face judgment and failing to repent from our ways and continue to reject Jesus as Lord of our life will mean we too will face eternal separation from God.

Numbers 11:24-30 NRSV

²⁴So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord; and he gathered seventy elders of the people and placed them all around the tent. ²⁵Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again.

²⁶Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” ²⁸And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, “My lord Moses, stop them!” ²⁹But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!” ³⁰And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

In the Hebrew Testament it was clear that Moses spoke for God. God would meet with Moses in the tent of meeting and give him words to say to the people.

So, when Joshua heard about two men who had prophesied in the camp, it made sense that he (Joshua) would want to protect Moses’ singularly unique role as God’s prophet to the people of Israel. But Moses responded, rebuked, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” Moses was not threatened; instead, he saw what a blessing it would be if all God’s people would speak for and from God.

Moses’ desire was fulfilled centuries later when the Spirit of God came to God’s people on Pentecost (Acts 2). The prophet Joel had proclaimed that a day was coming when God’s Spirit would be poured out on all people. (Joel 2:23-32)

And on that very first Pentecost, the crowds of visitors from all nations heard the followers of Jesus declaring the wonders of God in their own languages. The age of the Holy Spirit had come because our chief prophet, Jesus, had provided us salvation and given his followers new life in the Spirit. (Acts 2:1-13)

If you are a Christian, Yahweh, the Spirit of God is very much living in you. You have been anointed and appointed by the Spirit to declare the praises of God. The contemporary world we call home needs bold prophets who speak God’s truth, hope, love, and grace. With whom will you share the truth of Jesus today?

In the name of Yahweh, the Father, Yahweh the Son and Yahweh the Holy Spirit, let us enter into the Tabernacle of God with thanksgiving, and let us each humbly pray.

Lord God, from those most ancient of days, you called men to speak to your people, to call them back into Your Presence. Lord, as your prophets today, may we share your message of grace and truth with the people around us. May others hear and see Christ in us. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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Advent Week Two: A Season of Peace. God’s Prophecies are Being Fulfilled!

If you are a Christian, the Spirit of God is living in you. You have been anointed and appointed by the Spirit to declare the praises of God. The world requires us to be bold prophets who would speak of God’s truth, hope, love, and grace. With whom will you invite into the Presence of God to share the truth of Jesus today?

2 Peter 1:16-21 ESV

Christ’s Glory and the Prophetic Word

¹⁶For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son,^[a] with whom I am well pleased,” ¹⁸we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. ¹⁹And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, ²⁰knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. ²¹For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

The Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

God has spoken to man through the holy Scriptures and His Word endures forever. God has spoken to us through men who have been called to speak to man. The Bible is the singular, unchanging and non-negotiable plumbline for truth, and it was holy men of God who were moved by the Holy Spirit in bygone days, who were entrusted to record the sacred; inerrant; God-breathed text.

The Holy Scriptures were not devised by the whimsical impulses of men, nor were they manufactured from their own creative imagination, but God in His sovereignty chose certain individuals, whom He called to be His Prophets, to be the human authors of His divinely inspired message of hope unto all mankind.

God chose shepherds and kings; fishermen and farmers; tax-collectors and priests… a physician and a Pharisee; old men and youths – and He moved them to record the sacred text. He embraced their interests and intellect; and their learning or lack of it; their experiences and individuality – their penmanship and their writing style to shine through in the inspired text, which they were moved to record. And yet God in a supernatural way directed their heart to inscribe the very Word of God, down to the final jot and the smallest tittle.

More that forty human writers over centuries of time were moved by the Holy Spirit of God to bring His sure Word of truth to a lost and dying world. Although their characters and interests were reflected in their own, individual scrolls, the verbal inspiration of the celestial Scripture shines though. as a shining light in a darkened world. And the Spirit-inspired Word of God became a window into the heart of our Creator, so man could be saved by grace through faith in Christ.

These selected prophecies are only but a few of the over 350 prophecies about Jesus Christ, our Lord. These prophesies are fulfilled directly by the birth, life, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. Please take time to read them. Please take the time to study them, meditate and pray over them with friends. Maybe in this season of Advent, you might take time to be with a stranger too. You might take some time to be with your churched, unchurched neighbors too.

Born of a Woman — Genesis 3:15; Galatians 4:4

Throne of David — Luke 1:32; 2 Samuel 7:12-14; Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 11:1-10

Everlasting Kingdom — Luke 1:33; Hebrews 1:8-12; Psalm 45:6; Daniel 2:44

Saved Us from Sin — Matthew 1:21; John 1:29; Ephesians 1:7; Revelation 1:5-6; Isaiah 53:5-6 ,8,10-12

Emmanuel, God with us — Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 7:14

Conceived of a Virgin and Born of a Virgin — Luke 1:26-31,34; Matthew 1:18-20,22-23; Matthew 1:24-25; Isaiah 7:14

Born in Bethlehem — Luke 2:1-6; Micah 5:2

Called out of Egypt — Matthew 2:13-15, Hosea 11:1

A Messenger will come before him to prepare the way — Mark 1:1-4; Luke 3:4-6, 7:24-28; John 1:6-9, 19-34; Isaiah 40:3-5; Malachi 3:1

Bring Light to Galilee — Matthew 4:12-16, Isaiah 9:1-2

King — Matthew 2:1-2; Luke 19:37-38; John 19:19; Psalm 2:6; Zechariah 9:9

There are a host more Prophecies which careful study and reflection of the Holy Scriptures, Yahweh the Holy Spirit will surely, certainly reveal unto each of you.

God bless each and every one of you as the Jehovah reveals His full, unfettered Truth to each of your souls. May Jehovah grant you such grace to receive it all!

In the name of Yahweh, the Father, Yahweh the Son, Yahweh the Holy Spirit,

Let us now Pray,

Heavenly Father, thank You that in Your goodness and mercy, You chose to redeem a lost and dying world and by Your grace and love gave us the inspired Scriptures through Your chosen apostles and prophets – so that we might KNOW that You are our Father in heaven… and that through the death, burial and resurrection of our Saviour Jesus Christ, we may have Light and Love and Truth and Life in Christ our Savior – to Whom be all honor and glory. Amen

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Advent Week Two: For unto Us a Son is Given. The Hope of Our Salvation!

One day, God came into this world to become our Savior. So that He could be the blameless lamb who was slain for our sins. He who knew no sin, became sin, so we should be saved. One day God came into this world with the fullness of love.

Isaiah 9:6-7 AKJV

⁶For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
The mighty God,
The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace.
⁷Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,
upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom,
to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice
from henceforth even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

The Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

At Our Children’s Center at the church where I was a Lay Pastor, we were supervising the construction of a manger scene in a corner of the classroom. These 4- and 5-year-old students were excited as they set up the little stable and covered the floor with real hay, and then arranged all the figures of Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the Wise Men, and all the animals. And in the middle was a tiny little crib, in which the tiny figure of the infant Jesus rested.

But one little boy walked up beside me and said he just couldn’t understand something. I asked him what that was as he was absolutely confused. He kept returning to the manger and stood there with his small, puzzled face. The teacher noticed him and asked, “Is anything wrong? Do you have a question?”

The boy replied, “What I’d like to know is: why is everything so small? What do you mean the teacher asked him? he said, “How will God fit in a small manger?” A very large and insightful question from such a small and very inquisitive boy!

How would we respond to such a question ourselves?

One day, all of God entered our teeny tiny world as a newborn baby in a manger.

But why did the God of heaven come down as a human infant? Could He have not come down from heaven with all His glory? The Book of Hebrews 5:8 says, “that though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” Jesus was made perfect and learned obedience through suffering.

This does not mean Jesus did not know obedience before His incarnation, or that his human flesh was not perfect. He is eternally perfect and always united, in will, with the Father. Rather, when Jesus left the throne of heaven and put on humanity, He experienced the frail and sinful nature of man.

He would have experienced all of the hunger, exhaustion, pain, sweat, and temptation any man did. He was tempted, but did not sin, for He was pure and filled with holiness. It was through this method, that Jesus became the lamb who was slain for our sins. A pure and sinless lamb who was slain for our sins.

Today, let us meditate on the day salvation was born on this earth. Jesus is the reason for the season. Let us meditate on 3 points: God came to the world as a tiny baby, God came to be our Savior, and God came with fullness of love.

God Came to be our Savior

Jesus came to the world as an infant, but He grew in wisdom and stature. He didn’t stay as a baby. He became a man; dedicated to sharing the good news of the Father for others. Just ask the angels what they think of Jesus, they will tell you: “A Savior has been born unto you, He is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11

• Ask John the Baptist and he will tell you, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” John 1:29

Ask the apostle Paul, what do you think about Jesus? He will tell you, “That nothing compares to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Philippians 3:8

• Ask the Roman Centurion what he thinks of Jesus, he will tell you. “Surely this is the Son of God.” Matthew 27:57

• Ask Peter, what do you think about Jesus, and he will tell you. “God has made this same Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Acts 2:39

We celebrate the fact that God came to us as a tiny baby, but we also celebrate that this tiny baby became our Savior, who saved us from the chains of sins and death. The night Jesus was born, angels came to shepherds near Bethlehem, and one said, “I bring you good news of great joy.” That was a very happy greeting.

Since Thanksgiving, our shopping malls have been telling us that “It is the most wonderful time of the year.” And it surely is – for at least some of them. For many others, however, it can have many mixed emotions. Christmas is not the same as it was when we were those children in Sunday School. As an adult, we see it is different, sometimes it can be economically difficult, buying so many gifts. This year especially, because many people have lost their jobs due to the virus and the Pandemic. This year a lot of families have lost their loved ones.

Perhaps, this year, we have not been able to go on the plans we had for Christmas, due to Covid-19 safety. There are many family members working in the healthcare force. There are many people this year who have been affected, directly and indirectly, by Covid-19 and cannot see their family during Christmas. And sadly, there are many who have lost their loved ones this year. But even through all the struggles, God finds a way to put joy and peace in our hearts.

In this Christmas season, hopefully we should remember the good gifts that the Creator has given us: the sun, the moon, and this good earth. All the blessings of the earth: the sky, the waters, plants and animals. And shall we all glorify Him for this incredible gift of life: of flesh and blood and of breath and memory. Every moment we have lived in our lives, through both joy and sorrow, God yet gives us meaning to our lives and proves that we are fully human and fully alive. And, above all, we must remember the gift of when the Word became flesh and was sent to save us, to heal us, to bring us joy, and to bring us back unto God.

God’s prophet Isaiah, speaking on behalf of God, had prophesied hundreds of years before, in Isaiah 9:7 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

And guess what? One day, an infant named Jesus came, just as God promised.

Those are magnificent descriptions of the long-awaited Messiah. “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

He is first called “Wonderful Counselor.” James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

He is called “Mighty God.” Colossians 1:15-16, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”

He is called “Everlasting Father.” Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”

And He is called “Prince of Peace.” Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Our Savior, our Messiah, and our redeemer was born to us. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulders. (Isaiah 9:6)” Can there be a more perfect place to be on Christmas, than God’s house? Can there be a more perfect story than the story of the first Christmas?

God Came to the World as a Tiny Baby

The Creator of the universe loved us enough to come into our world. And He did it not in power, but in the most helpless disguise possible: that of an infant. The Bible says, in Acts 3:26 “Unto you first God, having raised up his Son (child) Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.” KJV.

Now the way that God came into the flesh is a great marvel and mystery. The Apostle Paul himself called it that. “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh.” (I Tim. 3:16a) It is a marvelous event, a magnificent event, a majestic event.

John Phillips, the great English Bible scholar and Teacher, 1906-1982, (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5604570.J_B_Phillips) once said, “The great mystery of the manger is that God should be able to translate deity into humanity without discarding the deity or distorting humanity.”

One day, God came into this world to become our Savior. So that He could be the blameless lamb who was slain for our sins. He who knew no sin, became sin, so that we ought to be saved. God came into this world with the fullness of love.

However, there were a lot of trials and tribulations that laid between that the birth of Christ and the joy and salvation it promised. For the new-born child, trials and sufferings began almost immediately.

When He was just a baby, a jealous king tried to kill him.

When He grew up, the people of Nazareth threw Him out of their city.

He became a wandering teacher – homeless, often hungry, and weary, tempted and tried. He was hated, accused, denied, and betrayed.

At last, there came one Friday when a wreath of thorns was pressed down hard on his head, and He was spat upon, scourged with whips, nailed to a cross, and by mid-afternoon He was dead. Before sundown, His body was placed in a tomb.

However, through all the sufferings, the story does not end there. On the first Sunday following his burial, very early in the morning, Jesus met His friends outside the tomb, and His first word was this: the Greek word “Chairete.” Which means “All Hail” “Joy be to you!” “Be of good cheer!” Matthew 28:9

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/mat/28/9/t_conc_957009 https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g5463/kjv/tr/0-1/

This greeting was a happy one. Jesus fulfilled the message of joy which angels had declared more than thirty years before. And now, here today, nearly 2,000 years later, we still echo that theme again: “Be of good cheer: we bring you good news of great joy!” God came to be our Savior.

We spend so much time on things from popular culture and old folk stories, that we may accidentally overshadow the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas is a time for celebrating the day when heaven came down for us. The day God sent His only son as a lamb for our sins, so that we may also be called His children.

One moment He lived in glory, then in another moment, but gave it all up to become a tiny baby, who then became a grown man who suffered and died for the sins of the world. That humble baby in that tiny manger became our Savior.

He Came with the Fullness of Love

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder (Isaiah 9:6).” As a child of man, Jesus was born; but as the Son of God, Jesus was given. Notice the Son was not born, the Son was given.

Let us read the greatest verse in the Bible, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John. 3:16) God’s very first Christmas gift to the world was a newborn baby boy of deity wrapped snuggly in a frail package of humanity.

This tiny baby gave Himself for us. He stepped down from the throne of glory to carry our burdens. And for only one reason: God loves us, ALL of us. So, today, continue to contemplate the Prophecy, and give God the glory due to His name.

Many of us may have experienced troubles and struggles this year. This year has been a hurdle for many of us. However, the seasons of Advent and Christmas are a faithful, faith-filled, a hopeful, hope-filled reminder of God’s love for you.

No matter what struggles you and I may face during these Pandemic times, God is there working in your midst. He came into this world, so that you may have salvation, that you may have eternal life, be a part of His family and kingdom.

Welcome the depths of this Prophecy of God. So that He, the baby can live within you. So that no matter what difficulties we face, we know we are not alone, and we are loved. We are loved by the creator of the heavens and earth.

God came into this world as a humble and helpless infant. He did not come into this world with all His glory but came through the humble form of humanity.

For the sake of an indescribable, immeasurable love, He took on the fragile and sinful nature of human flesh. God came into this world to become our Savior. So that He could be the blameless lamb who was slain for our sins. He who knew no sin, became sin, so that we may be saved. God came into this world with the fullness of love. For we did not deserve His mercy, but still, He gave it to us through His grace. And by His grace, our sins and darkness are washed away.

In the name of Yahweh, the Father, Yahweh the Son, Yahweh the Holy Spirit,

Let us enter His presence with this prayer, with fervent hope for our Salvation.

Psalm 24 The Message

24 ^1-2God claims Earth and everything in it,
God claims World and all who live on it.
He built it on Ocean foundations,
laid it out on River girders.

^3-4Who can climb Mount God?
    Who can scale the holy north-face?
Only the clean-handed,
    only the pure-hearted;
Men who won’t cheat,
    women who won’t seduce.

^5-6God is at their side;
with God’s help they make it.
This, Jacob, is what happens
to God-seekers, God-questers.

⁷Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
King-Glory is ready to enter.

⁸Who is this King-Glory?
God, armed
and battle-ready.

⁹Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
King-Glory is ready to enter.

¹⁰Who is this King-Glory?
God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
he is King-Glory.

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Advent Week Two: For a Child will be Born to us, a Son will be Given to us; the Prince of Peace. The Government Will Rest Squarely on His Shoulders.

Politics and government. We seem to see them as necessary evils, bringing ceaseless frustration in the present but still giving us hope for the future. Our contradictory attitudes about politics and government are most revealing. We recognize the failure of human solutions, but at the same time we surely know something must be done to fix what’s broken in our nations and the world. What man cannot do; what man could not do; God has done; He’s given the Messiah.

Isaiah 9:6-7 NASB

⁶For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us;
And the government will ^[a]rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace
On the throne of David and over ^[b]his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of armies will accomplish this.

The Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Isaiah 9:6 may be the most familiar Old Testament prophecy about the birth of Christ. Handel included those words in one of the great choruses of his Messiah oratorio. Chances are excellent that sometime during this season of Advent you will either sing it or hear it several times on your radio this Christmas season.

Unfortunately, we only seem to pull this passage out of the box only during the Advent and Christmas season. It’s like one of the ornaments we use to decorate our houses. But have we ever truly thought about the rich truth this single verse teaches concerning the King of kings? Though we still await the full realization of His kingdom, the promised Messiah is the single greatest political ruler ever.

Do we remember that Isaiah wrote this prophecy at least a hundred years before Israel was taken into Babylonian captivity—nearly 600 years before the birth of Immanuel, God with Us, God within us, our Savior! Looking back at a litany of failed monarchs, and sitting in the rubble of Israel’s monarchy, Isaiah looked across the centuries to a time when God would rule on earth through His Son.

“A child will be born to us” underscores the Messiah’s humanity. He had to come to earth as a human being, from the depths of eternity, in the form of a child, so He could endure the temptations men face, yet be without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

“A son will be given to us” implies the Savior’s deity. He existed before His birth as the second Person of the Trinity: “Although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, of literally everything; taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:6-7). He came unto us as the Son of God—God in human flesh—to conquer sin and death forever (John 3:16-17), to live again!

“The government will rest on His shoulders” affirms His absolute lordship. This verse looks to a time still (God knows) somewhere in the future when Christ will reign over a literal, earthly, geopolitical kingdom that encompasses all of the kingdoms and governments of the world (Daniel 2:44; Zechariah 14:9).

In that day, the government of the entire world will rest on His shoulders. But until that time, His kingdom is unseen, an invisible form (Luke 17:20-21). The Messiah’s rule is over those who trust Him and obey Him as Lord. It’s currently an invisible kingdom but will one day become visible and universal as His rule extends even over those who do not acknowledge His lordship in their hearts.

What kind of kingdom is it? What distinguishes the Messiah’s kingdom from the other kingdoms of this world? The names Israel used for Christ each hint at four very distinct characteristics which make the Messiah’s kingdom—in all its manifestations—so welcomingly different from any other earthly government.

Pray and consider this, at this time when the world is weary and despairing of political solutions, when the political future looks bleak, this is welcome news.

No Confusion—He Is a Wonderful Counselor

First, this kingdom is free from confusion, because Christ is characterized as a “Wonderful Counselor.” The King James Version separates “Wonderful” and “Counselor” with a comma, but the words seem to go better together and appear that way in most modern versions and other translations of the Bible.

Every now and then, a politician, political affiliation notwithstanding, comes on the scene who “possesses”, according to some, messiah-like qualities. Whether it’s a reference to speaking their ability, charisma, or wisdom, it is certainly an ego massaging compliment. However, when you compare the greatest social or political leader with Jesus Christ, you will discover there is no comparison at all.

During His incarnation, Christ demonstrated His wisdom as a counselor. While I was writing The Gospel According to Jesus, I studied every major encounter Jesus had with individuals who came to Him for counsel. He always knew what to say, when to reach out to a seeking heart, and when to rebuke an impetuous soul.

Even his enemies testified, “Never did a man speak the way this man speaks” (John 7:45-46 NASB).

⁴⁵The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?” ⁴⁶The officers answered, “Never has a man spoken in this way!”

As God incarnate, Christ is the source of all truth. Jesus said, “I am 1000% the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:1-6). No politician can match that! It is He to whom we must ultimately turn and trust His loving rule of our lives.

Many of our politicians turn everywhere else but God for counsel. They go to one another; they listen to special interests; they have their own psychologists, psychiatrists, analysts, philosophers, spiritual advisors, gurus, astrologers, and other allegedly “highly educated subject matter expert” human counselors. But the King of kings keeps His own counsel. After all, “Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as His counselor has informed Him?” (Isaiah 40:12-15 NASB).

¹²Who has measured the ^[a]waters in the hollow of His hand,
And measured the heavens with a ^[b]span,
And ^[c]calculated the dust of the earth with a measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales?
¹³Who has ^[d]directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His counselor has informed Him?
¹⁴With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge,
And informed Him of the way of understanding?
¹⁵Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales;
Behold, He lifts up the ^[e]islands like fine dust.

The Messiah is the Wonderful Counselor because He is God, the source of truth. When He rules the earth, there will be no uncertainty in his administration. He is the ultimate and only true answer to all manifestations of political confusion.

No Chaos—He Is the Mighty God

Second, the Messiah’s kingdom is singularly free from chaos because He is the Mighty God. He is the One who in creation brought perfect order out of chaos.

Scripture says, “God is not a God of confusion but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). Chaos is antithetical to who He is. He is a God of order. Christ the King is orderly, and He brings order to the troubled lives of all who surrender to Him. In other words, He not only tells His subjects what to do as a Wonderful Counselor, but since He is the Mighty God, He can also energize them to do it.

Legislation can go only so far; it stops short of providing the power and the will to obey. Because of the sinful nature, people will always strain against law and order (Romans 7:7-13).

Add human fallibility to the inability to make people obey from the heart, and you can see the severe limitations of political and legislative solutions.

But when Jesus Christ comes to rule this earth, He’ll display His divine power by bringing order to the chaos. Those who do not submit to His leadership from the heart, He will subjugate with a rod of iron (Psalm 2:9; Revelation 2:27; 12:5 and 19:15). Those who humble themselves from the heart, bowing to Him as Lord and Savior, will find the power of the Mighty God unleashed in their lives to help them humble themselves in His presence and obey His commandments.

Because Christ is God, He can forgive sin, defeat Satan, liberate people from the power of evil, redeem them, answer their prayers, restore their broken souls, and reign as Lord— “Mighty God”—over their newly ordered lives.

That’s a politician this world has never seen and will never hope to witness to.

No Complexity—He Is the Father of Eternity

In comparison and contrast to human governments, the Messiah’s kingdom is uncomplicated because He is the “Eternal Father.” The phrase literally means, “Father of Eternity.”

That is a clear reference to the biblical truth that Christ is Creator of heaven and earth. In Hebrews 1:10-12 God the Father says to Christ the Son, “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands; they will perish, but You remain; and they all will become old like a garment, and like a mantle You will roll them up; like a garment they will also be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not come to an end.”

Nothing is too complex for the Creator and Sustainer of everything.

Infinity and all its intricacies and nuances are nothing to Him who is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

Human life is getting more and more complex. Technology has so improved communication and transportation that commerce, culture, and religion have become global in nature. And rather than organizing and making sense of it all, governments of the world seem to exist primarily to make things more virtual, more complicated than it needs to be. We build bureaucracies to deal with the complexities of life—and consequently life only just grows more perplexing.

Messiah’s government, however, is simple and uncomplicated. He is the sole ruler—no bloated bureaucracy—and He knows the end from the beginning because He is the Father of Eternity.

Isaiah, prophesying about the kingdom, wrote of the highway of holiness: “The unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein” (Isaiah 35:8 KJV). His way is so free from the complexities of life that even the greatest of all fools cannot lose their way.

That kind of simplicity characterizes Messiah’s entire government. As the Father of Eternity, He alone comprehends the complexities of time and eternity. He requires no bureaucracy; He shoulders His government by Himself.

No Conflicts—He Is the Prince of Peace

Finally, in the Messiah’s kingdom there are no conflicts because He is the Prince of Peace.

He offers peace from God (Romans 1:7) to all who are the recipients of His grace. He brings peace with God (Romans 5:1) to those who surrender to Him in faith. He brings the peace of God (Philippians 4:7) to all of those who walk with Him.

There never really has been peace on earth in the sense we think of it. Wars and rumors of wars have always characterized these entire two millennia since the announcement at His birth of peace on earth (Luke 2:14).

Did you ever take the time realize that angelic announcement of peace on earth was a two-pronged proclamation? First, it proclaimed that God’s perfect peace is available to men and women and children right now. Read the words of Luke 2:14 much more carefully, diligently, and prudently: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased” (my emphasis added.)

Who are those with whom He is pleased? They are those who have yielded their lives to the authority of His government: “The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy” (Psalm 147:7-11 AKJV).

⁷Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving;
sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
⁸who covereth the heaven with clouds,
who prepareth rain for the earth,
who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
⁹He giveth to the beast his food,
and to the young ravens which cry.
¹⁰He delighteth not in the strength of the horse:
he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.
¹¹The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him,
in those that hope in his mercy.

Why should we hope in His mercy? Because we are sinners who need His forgiveness (Romans 3:23). We must recognize that fact first of all if we are to place our lives under His government.

We must understand that He gave His own sinless, guiltless life on our behalf. He died for our sins to save us from God’s righteous wrath (Romans 5:6-9). And we must be willing to turn from our sins and embrace Him by faith, realizing that we can never earn His favor (Ephesians 2:8-10).

But secondly, the angel’s announcement of “peace on earth” declared the arrival of the only One who ultimately can bring everlasting peace on earth.

Jesus Christ will bring lasting peace in the final establishment of His earthly kingdom. As we already mentioned, He will ensure “peace on earth” over the rebellious at heart by wielding a “rod of iron.”

There will be no coup d’état, no insurrection, not even the slightest threat to disturb the peace He brings to the world.

Isaiah 9:7 continues, “There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace.”

In other words, His government and peace will keep expanding and improving.

The hymn “Like a River Glorious” accurately speaks of peace that is “perfect, yet it floweth fuller every day, perfect, yet it groweth deeper all the way.”

How can anything perfect improve?

That’s one of the mysteries of Messiah’s government. It gets better and better, and the perfect peace flows deeper and deeper.

I absolutely look forward to the day when He returns to execute the final political solution which will truly bring world peace.

His is the greatest government because it’s ruled by the greatest ruler—the “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

He is the only absolute and everlasting hope of mankind.

I also hope the government of your life rests securely and squarely upon His shoulders, that He rules and reigns even now in your heart. Only then will you experience the ever-growing peace that comes only from the Prince of Peace.

In the name of Yahweh, the Father, Yahweh, the Son, Yahweh, the Holy Spirit, let us now come together in an attitude of humility, reverence and prayer.

Thank You, Father, for sending Jesus as the Light of the world to enlighten everyone coming into the world. Thank You in Him is the light of the glorious gospel of grace that can never be quenched by the darkness of this world.

I praise and thank You His Light has come into my life and enlivened my spirit and enlightened my soul. Open my eyes more and more to see Jesus and to grow more like Him. Give me greater understanding of all You have achieved in my life, for without You I would remain in darkness and dead in my sin. Thank You for Your great salvation, to You be glory forever. In the name of Jesus, I pray, Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

Advent: “For Unto Us a Child is Born, and Unto Us a Child is Now Given.” A Glorious Messiah, the Messianic Age

Jesus is our Prince of Peace. A prince is someone in a position of authority and responsibility. He has certain rights that simply no one else has. He takes his responsibility as representative of the people he represents seriously. A prince endeavors to be a person of good character so that those he represents will trust and follow him. Jesus is the ultimate prince of life. There is no flaw in His character, ability to lead, motives for leading, or ability to do good for others.

Jesus gives to us a peace that the world can never give. In the world there is turmoil everywhere. No matter what others may promise us, there can be no peace in the world. The world is governed by evil and will be until Jesus comes.

Looking into the world for peace is utter foolishness and forever futile. The only peace that 100% steadies the soul and enables us to handle life victoriously is the peace that Jesus gives when our sins are forgiven. If there is no peace in the soul, there can be no peace in the world. The promise of our Lord is His peace, a peace that no one can understand except those whose sins have been forgiven.

Unto the end of the ages, His Peace is forever enveloping and surrounding us!

Isaiah 9:6-7 AKJV

⁶For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
The mighty God,
The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace.
⁷Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,
upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom,
to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice
from henceforth even for ever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

The Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

In spite of all the advances of civilization, the world today is still consumed with a desire for peace and a fear of war. When people observe the conflicts and the rumors of wars, gloom and despair often engulf them like a thick darkness. Not the least of the trouble spots is the Middle East. Peace there has been the pursuit for eons. While there have been scores of efforts to bring about peace between those ancient nations, no one would be surprised if war broke out tomorrow.

Peace movements and peace negotiations proceed all over the world. Stronger countries believe peace must be negotiated from an elevated and lofty position of economic and military power; radical groups believe that terror will force the issue. But we are left with a more dangerous and more frightening world than ever before. And we are left wondering if anyone is really interested in peace and righteousness and justice for all, or just in securing their own interests?

The problem is still the indescribable and immeasurable presence of evil. It sets family members against family members, and it sets nations against nations. Ultimately, the world’s gloom and despair is linked to this spiritual darkness.

The Bible comforts and reminds those of us who have come to trust in Jesus Christ not to despair as if there was no hope. We have the revelation of our Lord that not only announces His sovereign reign but also charts the course of world events. One of the most significant revelations is found in Isaiah chapter Nine.

Against the background of the prophecy of war and destruction, darkness and gloom (chapter 8) Isaiah gave this prophecy about the Messiah—the glorious coming king.

“Messiah” is a Hebrew term that means “anointed one,” that is, the anointed king. In a sense, every king who was anointed in Jerusalem as a descendant of David would be called a “mashiah” (pronounced mah-she-ack), a messiah.

But the Bible tells how ultimately a son of David would come who would be known as “the Messiah.” We believe that Jesus Christ is that Messiah.

The New Testament word “Christ” is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word “Messiah.” This Messianic Prophecy, then, holds out hope for both peace and righteousness through the reign of Jesus the Messiah.

The text can be divided into two sections: the Dawn of the Messianic Age (verses 1-5) and the Righteous Reign of the Messiah (verses 6 and 7).

Isaiah 9:1-7 AKJV

9 Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.

²The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light:
they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death,
upon them hath the light shined.
³Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy:
they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest,
and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
⁴For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder,
the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.
⁵For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood;
but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.
⁶For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
The mighty God,
The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace.
⁷Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,
upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom,
to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice
from henceforth even for ever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

While the entire passage is instructive for the message, the verses which focus on the nature of the Messiah are undeniably critical for our devotional today, for therein lies our genuine hope for everlasting peace. So most of our attention will be given solely to the meanings of the name of the Son, showing how these description fit perfectly the nature of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I. PEACE WILL COME WITH THE DAWN OF THE MESSIANIC AGE (9:1-5).

Isaiah declares that in contrast to his present age of war, gloom, and despair, there is coming an age when peace will reign universally. It will begin with the coming of the Messiah, the promised future king. So we call that period the Messianic Age. The prophet Isaiah here shows how it will unfold.

A. THE CHANGE IN CIRCUMSTANCES WILL END THE DESPAIR (1,2).

The passage begins with the announcement of the change: there will be no more gloom for those in anguish; in the past the LORD humbled the northern lands of Zebulun and Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee. Why? That is where the Messiah will first appear—Galilee of the Gentiles, a place looked down on for so long as less spiritual, less pure than Judea.

The explanation of this exaltation is found in verse 2. Those who walk in darkness have seen a great light, on those in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. The language is poetic: darkness signifies adversity, despair, gloom and evil, and the light signifies prosperity, peace, and joy.

The language is used elsewhere of the Messianic Age—Malachi says that the “sun of righteousness will rise with healing in his wings” (4:2).

So the people in the north who have suffered so much have the prospect of a wonderful new beginning.

We should note in passing Isaiah’s verbs are in the past tense—he writes as if it has already happened. That is prophetic language. The prophet was a “seer” or visionary. He received divine revelation and recorded what he saw. As far as he was concerned, if it had been shown to him from God, it was as good as done. It was certain, even though it had not yet worked out in history.

So “light” will shine on people who were walking in “darkness.” The initial fulfillment of this prophecy is beyond doubt. Matthew quotes this text in conjunction with the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. He is the true light of the world that lights every person. (Matthew 4:12-16)

From the beginning of His ministry, Jesus brings to a darkened world grace and truth, and the sure promise of peace. When He began to minister in Galilee with His teachings, His Rabbinical leadership and His miracles, He demonstrated He was indeed this Messiah. His proclamation of the kingdom through salvation is what ends the despair, for believers in Him are not lost in gloom and despair, for they know that what He promised will come to pass at His second coming.

B. THE MESSIAH BRINGS JOY AND PROSPERITY (3).

The prophet turns to address the LORD directly. His words explain what it means that light will dispel the darkness—joy and prosperity will follow. The prophet gives no clue as to how soon this would happen.³² But we who have the full revelation of God know that Jesus made it clear that he was the Messiah, and that the age of peace and righteousness was yet future.

The joy described here is extravagant. It is the kind of joy that comes at the harvest, or at the dividing of the plunder. Harvest was a regular time of joy in Israel; after a long time of labor in the fields the people would gather to eat and drink and celebrate. The Bible often uses the analogy of the harvest to describe the coming of the LORD (see Matthew 3:12) for the harvest and winnowing imagery). It is a thanksgiving celebration for the completion of the harvest.

Dividing the plunder, the other image here, is a bit more poignant since wars will lead up to the end of the age. The image is about the victors after the battle is over, dividing up the booty. Such would be an almost delirious celebration of triumph that would usher in an age of peace.

C. JOY COMES THROUGH THE CESSATION OF WAR (4, 5).

The imagery of joy at the division of the plunder leads directly into the explanation: the prophet foresees the time when the LORD will break the oppression of the enemies. He draws the analogy with the time of Israel’s victory over Midian through Gideon by the power of the LORD.

So shall it again be.

But this victory will be greater.

Verse 5 says that the implements of war will be burnt up. This will be no lull in the action, no temporary peace treaty.

War will end.

Elsewhere Isaiah has says, “They shall beat their swords into ploughshares,” that is, military weapons will not be needed in a time of lasting peace.

Isaiah 2:1-4 AKJV

2 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

²And it shall come to pass in the last days,
that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established
in the top of the mountains,
and shall be exalted above the hills;
and all nations shall flow unto it.
³And many people shall go and say,
Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
and he will teach us of his ways,
and we will walk in his paths:
for out of Zion shall go forth the law,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
⁴And he shall judge among the nations,
and shall rebuke many people:
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruninghooks:
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.

How can these things be, given the current world situation as we know it?

The answer to this question is found in the second half of the oracle which describes the nature of the Messiah who will bring in the reign of peace and righteousness.

If such an indescribable measure of peace is to come, someone must have the ability to produce it and maintain it and sustain it throughout all of the ages.

II. PEACE WILL FINALLY COME WITH THE RIGHTEOUS REIGN OF THE MESSIAH (9:6,7).

Isaiah now turns to introduce the One who will transform the gloom and despair of war into the joy and peace of a time of righteousness—the Messiah.

THE LORD WILL BRING ABOUT THE ADVENT OF THE MESSIAH (6A).

The first part of the prophecy is very familiar to Christians: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders.” God’s Prophet Isaiah is very precise here, as we now know. A child will be born into the family of David, and that there was a birth in Bethlehem is beyond question; but the Messiah will also be a Son that is given, and that Jesus did not come into existence in Bethlehem is clear from the Bible.

According to the Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7:14), the term “son” is a title for the king. The same is true in the vision of Daniel where the expression “Son of Man” is used (Daniel 7:9-14). Daniel’s vision shows this glorious king in the presence of the Almighty, the Ancient of Days, and that he would be given the kingdom of peace. Isaiah announces that the child to be born will be this Son given. This idea is then further clarified by the Apostle Paul: “In the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman … .” (Galatians 4:1-5 AKJV).

4 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; ²but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. ³Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: ⁴but when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, ⁵to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

The New Testament bears witness that Jesus is this Son who came into the world. In fact, Jesus Himself set about to prove His origin was in heaven, not in Bethlehem. When He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, he prayed and included these words in His prayer: “that they might know that You sent Me” (John 11:42). By this Jesus meant that He was from above, and they were from below.

Or, in debating with the religious leaders Jesus asked how David could call his descendant his “Lord,” clearly showing that the “Son of David,” the Messiah, was greater than David (Mark 12:35-36), regarding Psalm 110 AKJV.

Psalm 110

A Psalm of David.

¹The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand,
until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
²The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion:
rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
³Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power,
in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning:
thou hast the dew of thy youth.
⁴The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent,
Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
⁵The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
⁶He shall judge among the heathen,
he shall fill the places with the dead bodies;
he shall wound the heads over many countries.
⁷He shall drink of the brook in the way:
therefore shall he lift up the head.

And of course, to the woman at the well Jesus clearly revealed Himself: she said, “When the Messiah comes, He will declare all things to us.” Jesus said, “I that speak to you am He” (John 4:25-26).

It is clear, then, that Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, the Christ, the child born into the house of David, the Son given by God to be the long expected King.

The first advent of Jesus established His identity; it did not begin His reign, however, for He has yet to put down all enemies.

The prophecy that “the government will be upon His shoulder” will come to complete reality at His second coming—an aspect of the Messianic prophecies that the prophets did not see (see 1 Peter 1:10-11).

The reference to the shoulder is quite probably a reference to the wearing of an insignia of office on the shoulder (Isaiah 22:22).

There will be a time when this Son will rule as king.

We may say that Jesus now reigns above, and that is certainly true.

However, God’s Prophet Isaiah clearly envisions a time of universal peace and righteousness in this world. That has not happened yet. Hebrews 1 states that this exaltation will be complete when the Father again brings His firstborn into the world. So Isaiah does not know when all these things will take place; only that they will happen because the Word of the LORD has declared it, Because the mouth of the Lord has spoken it and God’s Word returns to God 1000% fulfilled!

Isaiah 55:10-11 AKJV

¹⁰For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven,
and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth,
and maketh it bring forth and bud,
that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
¹¹so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth:
it shall not return unto me void,
but it shall accomplish that which I please,
and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Jesus is our Prince of Peace amidst the stormy times of life. There is no storm that He cannot calm. There is never an obstacle too big for Him to overcome.

He calmly stands up and faces the angry storms of life and says, “Peace be still.” No storm can continue to rage when He takes control of it. In Christ we discover that no matter what the stormy season of our lives may be like, we can overcome them through Him. His presence reassures us that our storms do not determine or define our lives.

We can face positively our storms knowing we do not face them alone. He is our Immanuel, He is our forever “God With Us and Within Us!” and does for us what we cannot do on our own. Things may continue to be stormy for several times and for several seasons, but we know, undeniably so, that the storms do pass and on the other side of every storm there is calm, sunshine, peace, JESUS!!

We praise Him in the midst of the storm because we know that the victory is ours in Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:50-58, Romans 8:31-39). No storm can take us away from our Lord when we let Him hold our hand in the storm.

In the name of Yahweh the Father, Yahweh the Son, Yahweh the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray, (Psalm 24 The Message)

God claims Earth and everything in it,
God claims World and all who live on it.
He built it on Ocean foundations,
laid it out on River girders.

Who can climb Mount God?
    Who can scale the holy north-face?
Only the clean-handed,
    only the pure-hearted;
Men who won’t cheat,
    women who won’t seduce.

God is at their side;
with God’s help they make it.
This, Jacob, is what happens
to God-seekers, God-questers.

Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
King-Glory is ready to enter.

Who is this King-Glory?
God, armed
and battle-ready.

Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
King-Glory is ready to enter.

Who is this King-Glory?
God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
he is King-Glory.

In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

John 3:16-18 Authorized (King James) Version

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Psalm 32:8AKJV

The Aaronic Blessing

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Psalm 16:7-11 The Message

Psalm 16:1-6 The Message

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Isaiah 12 Amplified Bible

Thanksgiving Expressed

Isaiah 12:1-2 Names of God Bible

A Hymn of Praise from the Lord’s People in His Kingdom

Psalm 118:19-29 Names of God Bible

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Deuteronomy 18:15-18English Standard Version

A New Prophet like Moses

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Deuteronomy 18:15-18 Amplified

Who were the prophets?

Where and when did they prophesy?

What was their message?

Who were they speaking to?

Why Know Hebrew Testament Prophecy?

Numbers 11:24-30 NRSV

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2 Peter 1:16-21 ESV

Christ’s Glory and the Prophetic Word

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Isaiah 9:6-7 AKJV

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Isaiah 9:6-7 NASB

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Isaiah 9:6-7 AKJV

I. PEACE WILL COME WITH THE DAWN OF THE MESSIANIC AGE (9:1-5).

A. THE CHANGE IN CIRCUMSTANCES WILL END THE DESPAIR (1,2).

B. THE MESSIAH BRINGS JOY AND PROSPERITY (3).

C. JOY COMES THROUGH THE CESSATION OF WAR (4, 5).

II. PEACE WILL FINALLY COME WITH THE RIGHTEOUS REIGN OF THE MESSIAH (9:6,7).

THE LORD WILL BRING ABOUT THE ADVENT OF THE MESSIAH (6A).

Psalm 110

A Psalm of David.

Isaiah 55:10-11 AKJV

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