Maranatha!

Intro.: I have a couple of small classes this semester.

1. Not too unusual – we are a small department.

2. But it is interesting, that those two students almost always come into the classroom in exactly the same order. One will come 10 to 15 minutes early. The other will come right on time or up to 5 minutes late.

3. I can tell you exactly who will be present when the class is scheduled to begin.

4. Paul gives us a picture of what we are to expect as we come to the end of time as we know it.

Read: I Thessalonians 4:16-18

Pray

Trans: The letters to the Thessalonians are considered to be among the first of Paul's letters.

1. Paul first met the Thessalonians in 49 AD on his second missionary journey.

2. But Paul found himself at odds with the Jews of the area because he saw a many non Jews come to faith during his ministry.

3. Paul had to flee from Thessalonica and left Timothy and Silas to minister. Eventually Timothy and Silas let Paul know aobut the church's continued growth. And Paul's excitement about this fact led to his writing this first letter.

T.S. I want to look at four events that will signal the return of Christ.

1. Return of Christ I Th 4:16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, ...

   1. I don't want to spend a great deal of time focusing on the return of Christ – not because it is not important, but because we spent most of last Sunday on the Christ's return.

   2. Our point last week was that Christ will return – it is not a fairy story, it is not an imaginary story. It is truth.

(Ill.) Both the Old and New Testaments are filled with promises of the second coming of Christ. Someone has reported that there are 1,845 references in the Old Testament alone and a total of 17 books that give it prominence.

Of the 260 chapters in the entire New Testament, there are 318 references to Christ's second coming. That averages one out of every 30 verses. Furthermore, 23 of the 27 New Testament books refer to this great event. That leaves only four books that do not refer directly to the Second Coming. Interestingly, three of these four books are single-chapter letters which were written to specific persons on a particular subject.¹

3. I do want to make one more observation – Christ's return is a spiritual event. Look at Paul' description: ... the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, ...

4. Christ's return is in God's hands – he not only knows the time, he also is responsible for announcing it.

2. Resurrection of the dead I Th 4:16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

(Ill.) Sir Walter Raleigh is one of the great poets of Shakespeare's time. But because he was also a friend of the throne, his life was on the line when others attempted to install their own king in England. Though it appeared that his life might be spared, he was eventually beheaded. As he lay ready for the ax to fall, his final words were, "Strike man, strike."² These might seems like strange words from a man about to die, yet they make more sense when we listen to the words of Sir Walter Raleigh's final poem, written the night before his death:

Even such is time, that takes in trust

Our youth, our joys, our all we have,

And pays us but with age and dust;

Who in the dark and silent grave,

When we have wandered all our ways,

Shuts up the story of our days.

But from this earth, this grave, this dust,

My God shall raise me up, I trust!

1. Christ's return will be followed by the resurrection of the dead.

2. Though this passage focuses on the dead in Christ, there will also be a resurrection of those who have never placed their faith in Christ.

3. Christ, in His words to the thief on the cross makes it clear that we will enter God's presence at the time we die, but God is not finished with us at that point. At the resurrection believers finish the transformation that he began when we came to faith.

4. God is remaking us – for those who have died that process will be finished at the resurrection.

3. Rapture of the church I Th 4:17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

   1. But there is more – you see the dead will rise first. But Paul makes it clear that those believers who are still left will go to meet the Lord after those who are dead.

   2. Theologians call this "the rapture."

   3. Though they know what to call it, they don't always agree as to when it will occur.

      1. The most vocal group will tell you that the rapture will occur shortly after the resurrection of the dead. This group are pre-tribulation theologians.

      2. Another group will say it will come later – after a great deal of tough time – they call it the tribulation. These theologians fall into two categories – some who will tell you that the rapture will come part way through the tribulation. These are the mid-tribulationist. Or they will tell you that believers, as a group, will need to go through it all the tribulation. These are the post tribulationist.

(Appl.) Will we have to face the extreme hardship that is associated with the tribulation? I don't know – and you know I don't care. Because it my intention to be ready regardless of God has in mind. You see, if I, if we, remain obedient, if I choose to continue to listen to the scriptures – then I will be ready to meet Jesus, you can be ready to meet Jesus.

4. Rest for eternity I Th 4:18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.

   1. Paul sees this discussion as good news.

(Ill.) The early church had a wonderful expression that they shared with each other – "Maranatha" What it means is "Come now, Lord." The early church had two known uses for the word. The first was part of the communion service – asking for Jesus' presence as they gathered to remember his sacrifice. The other time that the word was used was when the church talks about Christ's return for His church. It was a way for the church to remind themselves that they needed Christ's presence day by day, but they also were never to forget his promise to return.

2. The truth that we will spend eternity with Christ is not just a theological fact to Paul, but it was to be a point of encouragement for the Church.

3. I was pleased last night when Rev. Merley closed her prayer with the words, "come, Lord Jesus, come." She was echoing the words of the early church – it is a prayer we still need to say.

Pray

12000+ Bible Illustrations. Accessed through E-Sword Bible Software on January 26, 2007.

2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Walter_Raleigh

Christ Returns

Intro.: I heard an amazing story this week.

Cat found hungry after 3 weeks in cargo hold

‘Pumpkin’ treated for starvation, dehydration, could return home in days. United Airlines plans to fly 12-year-old "Pumpkin" back home — on the lap of an employee.

DENVER - A 12-year-old orange tabby cat named "Pumpkin" is said to be doing well, after going three weeks without food or water in the cargo hold of a passenger jet that flew from England to Germany.

After the United Airlines flight to Munich last month, Pumpkin was supposed to board a connecting flight to Washington, D.C. but never made it.

Andrea Barlow says she found the cat's carrier broken and empty when she tried to retrieve it in Munich on December 28th. United Airlines crews searched for the cat, who was nowhere to be found.

Story continues below ↓ advertisement

On Wednesday United cargo workers found the tired, hungry animal at Denver International Airport. She was taken to a veterinary clinic for treatment of starvation and extreme dehydration. Vets say Pumpkin could be well enough to return to Washington by this weekend. United plans to fly the cat home — in the passenger cabin — on the lap of a United employee.¹

1. The church has waited a long time for Christ's return

2. We start a four-week series examining the key events at the end of this world.

Read: II Thessalonians 1:6-10

Pray

Trans:I will not answer all the questions – I really do not have all the answers.

1. There are six major answers to the question about the end of world rooted strongly in scripture

2. If one is willing to be a bit less faithful to scripture, then we can add another half dozen answer to the question, what will happen at the end of the world.

3. What I do think is neat is this – Wesley got it right. He was not as concerned with the details as he was concerned at making sure people were ready for that event.

4. That is a question we must must ask ourselves.

T.S. As we begin our study of the end of time, we must note that Christ's return has two characteristics:

1. Christ's return will be personal

   1. As children we lived for the make believe.

   2. Cartoons, superheroes, Saturday matinees, story books we read or we read to our children – all were or are parts of a children's imagination.

   3. But the return of Christ is never pictured as imaginary.

   4. It is central to Jesus' own teaching. In Matthew 26:64 Jesus tells those who seek his arrest, "In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."

   5. The angels attending the disciples as Jesus returns to heaven tell them, "'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.'"

   6. Paul said it too. He talks about the Lord Jesus being revealed "from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels."

   7. Sadly, we live in a world that has lost sight of this fact – those we live with, those we spend time with don't believe he will return.

   8. Even the church has lost sight of Christ's return. There are many who think that his return will be merely metaphorical – a picture of what will happen to those who know Christ.

(Ill.) It would be like me telling Sandra that she should plan on having dinner ready at 6:00 in the evening even though my plan was to stop for a meal at the local restaurant and then call her at 6:00 to say "Hope you are enjoying your dinner." Yes would have dinner ready, yes I was eating at 6:00, but I would not really be there.

(Appl.) Chirst has told us he will return – it may difficult to wait, but if he had come much earlier, we would not have met him. His delay allowed us to join the family. And he will return for the greates homecoming this world has ever seen.

2. Christ's return will be imminent

   1. Christ will be coming, of that there is no doubt. But there is a catch – I don't know when He will return..

   2. Christ does not know when He will return.

   3. Christ makes it clear that He will return, but He also makes it clear that only the Father knows when it will occur.

   4. The most common name for the timing of Christ's return is that it is imminent. Peter says it best, "The end of all things is near." He could return at any time.

   5. Pete wrote that 2000 years ago, but he knew that there was nothing that had to occur before he would return.

(Appl.) So what? Let me suggest two steps that would seem to derive themselves from the fact that Christ could return at any time:
a. Be ready – that means be sure that you know Christ as your savior, be sure that know that Christ died for your sins.
b. Live your lives without forgetting that Christ could return at any time..

(Ill.) Several years ago, there was a massive volcanic explosion in the state of Washington when Mount St. Helens erupted. Sheriff Bill Closner said, “People were in the danger areas around the mountain because they refused to obey roadblocks. The bottom line is that nobody would listen.” As a result, there were needless deaths and injuries.²

Even though danger was physically imminent, people still refused to obey the regulations. Christ's return is imminent – yet people still refuse to be ready.

6. Are you ready for His return?

Conclusion:

Pray

1© 2007 The Associated Press. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16692478/

2Green, M. P. (1989). Illustrations for Bilical Preaching : Over 1500 sermon illustrations arranged by topic and indexed exhaustively (Revised edition of: The expositor's illustration file.). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.

Focus on Jesus

The idea of this sermon came from a message heard at the 2007 United Methodist Congress on Evangelism.

Intro.: I get excited about preaching.

1. I get excited about studying scripture.

2. This is nothing new – I remember in the first few years as a Christian. Each day I would have breakfast with my prayer partner, Steve Wong, who was also the best man in my wedding. I leave breakfast and walk over to the library. finding a corner seat. I had my favorite corner – it was on the first floor right next to the Bible reference section of the library. I would sit with a blank sheet of paper and begin to study the scriptures.

3. It opened my eyes – it made me appreciative of God's word – a time that I still remember with great joy.

4. I had learned that Jesus had to be first.

5. But it was a lesson that early believers found hard to learn. Let's look at a passage that describes one example.

Read: John 3:22-36

Pray

Trans: Most of us are familiar with the first part of John 3

1. The late night visit Nichodemus made to Jesus.

2. It was during that visit that Jesus tells us that "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

3. And it is to Nicodemus that Jesus gives that wonderful verse that we all have memorized - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,f that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

4. But Jesus leaves Jerusalem and that is where we find him in today's passage.

T.S. During the next few minutes I want to look at three players in this incident in Jesus' life.

1. John's Disciples are jealous

   1. This was not the first time that Jesus had crossed John's path.

   2. Most of the first two chapters of John help us to understand that John had the task to introduce Jesus to the world - "There once was a man, his name John, sent by God to point out the way to the Life-Light. He came to show everyone where to look, who to believe in. John was not himself the Light; he was there to show the way to the Light."

   3. John knew his role, but his disciples did not quite understand.

   4. Jesus is now preaching along the Jordan river. The exact location is not known. But John is there is as well and we are told that the place is called Aenon. The name itself is from a Greek word meaning "Double Spring" and John tells us that it is a place where "the water was abundant". Many people think it was located at a spot along the Jordan River about 20 miles south of the Sea of Galilee.

   5. Do you get the picture, Jesus is baptizing on one side an John on the other.

   6. And John's disciples get jealous - “Rabbi, you know the one who was with you on the other side of the Jordan? The one you authorized with your witness? Well, he’s now competing with us. He’s baptizing, too, and everyone’s going to him instead of us.”

   7. Their leader was no longer the center of attention. Their leader was no longer being followed – they were jealous.

(Ill.) Erwin Lutzer, the pastor of Moody Church in Chicago, once said, "Envy is rebellion against God’s leading in the lives of his children. It’s saying that God has no right to bless someone else more than you."¹

8. Ultimately God is in control – and if we are able to leave our lives in His hands, then jealousy is not an option. It is only wen we are not trusting God, that Jealousy begins to sneak in.

2. John is the best man

   1. Though his disciples were bothered by Jesus' activities, John was not.

(Ill.) You see, John understands the Messiah's coming as being a part of a wedding – a holy, a heavenly, an eternal wedding. In the American wedding the best man has the responsibility to help and assist the groom in his preparations. In the first century during which the Jesus lived, there was on additional responsibility. When the groom is in place, it is the best man's responsibility to go and get the bride and present her to the groom.

2. John was not the focus – his role was to be best man. It was his job to bring the bride to the groom. It was his job to bring the people of God to God, to Jesus, the groom.

3. The brides responsibility is focus her attention on the groom. The church, today, is the bride, and we must focus our attention on the groom.

3. But we need to focus on the groom - Jesus

   1. And that is the point. We must focus our attention

   2. And I am sometimes at fault here. I really enjoy the fact that you appreciate my ministry of the last five years.

   3. But it becomes easy to relax in the fact that you appreciate me – and to forget that our attention must ever be on Jesus.

   4. The church is not about its pastor (regardless of how good), the church is not about its building (regardless of how beautiful), the church is not about me or you. The church is about Jesus.

   5. John understands this – listen: The One who comes from above is head and shoulders over other messengers from God. The earthborn is earthbound and speaks earth language; the heavenborn is in a league of his own. He sets out the evidence of what he saw and heard in heaven. No one wants to deal with these facts. But anyone who examines this evidence will come to stake his life on this: that God himself is the truth. The One that God sent speaks God’s words.

   6. So how does this work out in practice? How do we know when we have lost sight of Jesus? Let me suggest two tests that can help us evaluate our priorities::

      1. When we fail to put people before the the things we do, we have taken our eyes off of Jesus' priorities.

      2. When we become more concerned about how we look to people than by how people look at Jesus.

(Ill.) Elisha Hoffman helps us put this into perspective. Elisha was born in Pennsylvania and spent his life as pastor there. Once while visiting one who had been through deep trial, she cried: “Oh, what shall I do? I don’t know what to do!” Then her face brightened and she said, “I must tell Jesus!” On his way home, the words of the woman came to the pastor’s mind, and that night he wrote the comforting him, "I Must Tell Jesus"².

I Must Tell Jesus

I must tell Jesus all of my trials;

I cannot bear these burdens alone;

In my distress He kindly will help me;

He ever loves and cares for His own.

I must tell Jesus all of my troubles;

He is a kind, compassionate Friend;

If I but ask Him, He will deliver,

Make of my troubles quickly an end.

Tempted and tried I need a great Saviour,

One who can help my burdens to bear;

I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus;

He all my cares and sorrows will share.

O how the world to evil allures me!

O how my heart is tempted to sin!

I must tell Jesus, and He will help me

Over the world the vict’ry to win.

Chorus I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus!

I cannot bear my burdens alone;

I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus!

Jesus can help me, Jesus alone.³

Conclusion: Are you willing to tell Jesus all of your trials?
Are you willing to put your focus on the groom?

Are you willing to follow Jesus?

Pray

1Morgan, R. J. (2000). Nelson's complete book of stories, illustrations, and quotes (electronic ed.) (270). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

2Tan, P. L. (1996, c1979). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : A treasury of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers. Garland TX: Bible Communications.

3Eckert, P. (1998). Steve Green's MIDI hymnal : A complete toolkit for personal devotions and corporate worship. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

The Prophets and Jesus Christ

Intro.: Take out a pen or pencil.

1. Not long ago, a professor of psychology in one of our great universities gave a word suggestion test to his class of 40 students. He instructed them to write the word “Christmas,” and all the class did so. “Now,” said the professor, “right after the word ‘Christmas’ write the first thought that flashes through your mind regarding that day.” When the papers were turned in, such answers were given as “tree,” “holly,” “mistletoe,” “presents,” “turkey,” “holiday,” “carols,” and “Santa Claus,” but not one had written, “the birthday of Jesus.” As there was no room for the baby Jesus in the inn, there is no room for Him today in the celebration of Christmas.¹

2. During the next few minutes we want to look at how the prophets described the coming Messiah.

Pray

Trans: Too often we think of a prophet as being someone who tells the future.

1. But scripture presents a different picture of a prophet.

2. Rather than being a "foreteller", the scriptural prophet is a "forthteller".

3. Though much of our time this Advent has been spent looking at how the scripture, and today the prophets, looked ahead to the coming Messiah.

4. But, we have only done this because we are in Advent – the vast majority of the Old Testament has the prophets delivering God's word – and that dealt with the hearers present.

5. Don't read the prophets so much for details about the future, but to prepared for living the life of a believer.

T.S. During the next few minutes I want to look at four facts that the prophets give about the coming Messiah.

1. The prophets tell us the place of Christ's birth.

1. I have three sons – but at this point I have no grand kids. I have no idea when they will come, but I suspect they will.

2. But if any of you know when and where my first grandson will be born, I would really like to know. I mean, I could plan ahead. None of this six or seven months warning. I could even buy my plane tickets so Sandra and I could be there to hold our son and daughter-in-law's hand as they waited for that momentous event.

3. But none of you can help me – can you? I mean none of you can even give me a two or three year notice so I can plan. I wife would say it is time for crocodile tears.

4. It would really be amazing to get that information in advance.

5. And it was amazing when 700 years before Christ was born, Micah told the world that he would be born in Bethlehem:

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

though you are small among the clans of Judah,

out of you will come for me

one who will be ruler over Israel,

whose origins are from of old,

from ancient times.”

Therefore Israel will be abandoned

until the time

when she who is in labor

gives birth

and the rest of his brothers return

to join the Israelites.

He will stand and shepherd his flock

in the strength of the Lord,

in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

And they will live securely,

for then his greatness

will reach to the ends of the earth.

And he will be their peace. (Micah 5:2-5a NIV)

6. I doubt that Mary and Joseph had put it all together, but sitting here in the 20^th century, it is amazing.

7. And Micah was able to speak the truth because he was a forthteller – he was willing to speak God's words to broken people.

2. The prophets tell us the means of Christ's birth

   1. I suspect that if someone were to say that a baby would be born in Bethlehem, we would not be surprised. There were probably lots of babies born in Bethlehem.

   2. But Isaiah says something even more amazing – he tells us that the messiah will be born of a virgin:

      Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, andd will call him Immanuel - that is God with us. (Isaiah 7:22 NIV)

   3. I sometimes put God into a box – I expect him to work like I would. I mean, I expect him to work by the same rules that I do.

   4. But that is exactly what those who do not believe in miracles think. Miracles are not possible when we limit God to our rules – but God is god. That is what a miracle is – God working outside the rules.

(Ill.) Someone has noted, 'Miracles happen today. They are history-making, earth-shaking events, which change whole courses of history and the fates of nations. Arnold Toynbee says that believing in miracles is a basic necessity of mankind: “The fundamental need of our world today is a rebirth of belief in the supernatural. If this rebirth is not forthcoming from the more progressive creators of our mechanical culture, it may come from the “backward” peoples like the natives of Africa and Asia, to those who have not yet become victims of the proud materialism of the Great Powers.”'²

5. The virgin birth was a miracle – a miracle that confirms that Jesus was the Son of God

3. The prophets tell us the effects of Christ's birth

   1. Isaiah writes,

      "Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
      and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
      Then will the lame leap like a deer,
      and the mute tongue shout for joy.
      Water will gush forth in the wilderness
      and streams in the desert. " (Isaiah 35:5-6 NIV)

   2. Do you remember what Jesus said to John's disciples when they came to find out whether Jesus was the messiah in Luke 7. Jesus does not give a direct answer, but tells John's disciples, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor."

   3. Christ came to offer us salvation – but to show his world and ours, he did and does much more. And that is what the prophets tell us will happen.

   4. We all have times when we hurt, we all have times when we struggle – do you know what I mean. And Christ wants to meet those needs.

4. The prophets tell us the reason for Christ's birth

   1. I want to conclude with a familiar passage – a passage that we normally read during Lent. But it reminds us why Christ came.

   2. Read Isaiah 53:1-12 NIV

   3. Christ did many things during his three years of ministry, but the one with the greatest impact, the one with eternal consequences, was his death on the cross.

   4. Isaiah saw it coming, we know it happened.

   5. Today, if you have not placed your faith in Christ, do so today.

Conclusion:

Pray

1AMG Bible Illustrations. 2000 (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; Bible Illustrations Series. Chattanooga: AMG Publishers.

2Tan, P. L. (1996, c1979). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : A treasury of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers. Garland TX: Bible Communications.

Writings That Point To Christ

Intro.: Over the years I have dabbled in poetry.

1. In the fall of 1997 I was driving back from church. As I drove along, a leaf crossed my path. It looked as if it were a small animal creeping along the ground. A couple of days later I wrote the following:

   The Leaf

Today a leaf danced across my path.

It did a little jig as it moved upon the ground,

urged along by unseen hands.

Dry and tender, it waltzed in step with the trees

who clapped their hands to the tune of some

silent melody.

I moved on, perhaps never again to see that sight,

though leaves will dance and waltz tomorrow.¹

2. I can appreciate the dilemma that a writer faces – between writing a simple statement and then communicating what is coming from the heart.

3. Over the past two weeks, we have looked at the picture of the Messiah in the Law and the historical books of the Old Testament

4. Today we turn to those books that are grouped together under the title "The Writings".

Pray

Trans: The writing cover a broad period of time.

1. Job is considered one of the earliest pieces of writing

2. Though David is writing most of the Psalms in about 1000 BC, some of the Psalms date three or four hundred years later. Some would date them several hundred years earlier.

3. But regardless of when they are writing, the authors of these books, kept their eyes on God.

T.S. This morning, I would like to look at two passages from the writings that focus our attention on the coming Christ.

1. Job shows a man of great faith in the midst of great trouble.

   1. The author of the Word Biblical Commentary on Job that he makes no pretensions to understand what the book of Job is all about. Even given unlimited time – it would be an impossible task.²

   2. Here is a man who lost it all. He lost his health, he lost his wealth, and he lost his family – he had nothing.

   3. Even his friends seem to betray him – even seeking to get him to curse God.

   4. I would not want to be Job.

   5. Yet in the midst of all of his problems, Job keeps his faith. Not just once or twice or three times, but four times Job testifies to God's goodness even in the midst of crisis.

   6. Turn with me to Job 19:25-27. We are at the end of Job's story – yet he continues to praise God.

   7. Job know that a redeemer is available. Various translators have chosen different words to describe the word "redeemer" – defender, champion, but the vast majority of translators use the word with which we are familiar – "redeemer."

(Ill.) Those of you who went through the book of Ruth with me in Bible Study have seen this word before. It is the same word used to describe Boaz's responsibility to Ruth – where he is called the "kinsman redeemer". Just as Boaz offers to let Ruth join his family after his cousin, her husband, dies, Christ invites us to join his family.

8. And Job knows that he, in spite of his miserable circumstances, is a part of the family of God.

(Ill.) "I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God" – a Bill Gaither song actually had its roots in a similar circumstance in their church in Anderson, IN. They heard of a young man in the community who had been severely burned when an explosion demolished the garage where he worked. Doctors did not expect him to live through the night.

A church prayer chain was activated, and church members prayed all night for the young man. When church members gathered to celebrate Easter the next day, they received word that the young man was recover­ing. The pastor reported that he had just spoken to the doctor, who told him the young man had a good chance of pulling through. They rejoiced in the answer to prayer.

As Bill and Gloria Gaither went home after the church service, they talked about what a wonderful thing it is to be a part of a family of believ­ers and to be able to pray together to our Father in heaven. Before long, a new gospel song was born: "The Family of God."³ I am so glad I am a part of the family of God.²

I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God

I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood!

Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod,

For I'm part of the family, the family of God.

2. Psalms show a man of great insight who tells of one that brings us great delight.

   1. The biggest book included in what both ancient writers and modern writers call "the writings" is the book of Psalms. 15 Psalms have been identified as Messianic Psalms – Psalms that direct the readers attention to a coming Messiah.

   2. Though the Psalms are the work of multiple authors, many come from the pen the David the King. David can be dated from 1000 years before Christ.

   3. And writing 1000 years before Christ, David had some amazing things to say. Listen to what he wrote in Psalm 22:1-8, 16b-18

   4. I suppose that it would be simple to claim that Jesus merely memorized Psalm 22 and quoted it from the cross. But I see two problems with that.

      1. First, if I were in as much pain as Jesus had on the cross, I would not be able to quote the scripture I had memorized. It is much easier to assume that the words that came from the cross were truly the words of a man in pain and David was painting a picture of those moments 1000 years before they happened.19

      2. Secondly, though Jesus may have quoted the words that David wrote 1000 years before, there is no way in which he could have planned for the soldiers guarding the cross that day to follow the plan laid out in in verses 16-18. David could not know that death would come by crucifixion and putting nails into the hands and feet of the one being crucified. Jesus could not have arranged for the soldiers to cast lots for his clothing.

(Ill.) You see, the Messianic Psalms point to a coming King, a coming leader. Next week we shall see that the prophets point to a baby being born in Bethlehem.

Handel wrote his famous work The Messiah in 24 days – several months before traveling to Ireland. Finally, after spending five months in Ireland, it was performed – not is a church, not in a wonderful concert hall, but in a theater – where it would attract the common people in order to benefit people in debtor's prison.

And it was because it was performed in a rather common theater, that was not initially well received. In fact it would be ten years before it would begin achieve the critical success that it enjoys today. Yet, during those first years, a contemporary wrote, that "Messiah 'fed the hungry, clothed the naked, and fostered the orphan.'"⁴

5. The Messiah is still in the business of helping those most in need.

Conclusion: We can think of the Messiah in three ways:

1. He was promised in the Old Testament

2. He lived in the New Testament

3. But He thrives in the lives and hearts of those who believe in Him today.

Pray

1Copyright Floyd H. Johnson, 2006.

2Clines, D. J. A. (2002). Vol. 17: Word Biblical Commentary : Job 1-20. Word Biblical Commentary (xiv). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.

3Petersen, W. J. and Petersen, A. (2006). The Complete Book of Hymns: Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

4http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Fields/8616/composerfiles/handel.html