1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:06,240 Now, for these three weeks that are leading up to Christmas, I want for us to follow a 2 00:00:06,240 –> 00:00:14,340 series entitled, The Plan, God’s Design for the Universe and Your Place in It. 3 00:00:14,340 –> 00:00:21,340 We’re going to attempt a whistle-stop tour of the entire Bible story, showing the splendor 4 00:00:21,340 –> 00:00:29,740 of God’s breathtaking purpose, and celebrating all that God has for His people in Jesus Christ. 5 00:00:29,740 –> 00:00:36,139 Now, we attempted an overview some years ago, of the Bible story that ran for about two 6 00:00:36,139 –> 00:00:37,380 years. 7 00:00:37,380 –> 00:00:41,220 We’re now attempting to condense it down into just three weeks. 8 00:00:41,220 –> 00:00:43,799 So you’ll understand we’re going to go at quite a place. 9 00:00:43,799 –> 00:00:47,580 We’re going to touch on many, many Scriptures over these three weeks. 10 00:00:47,580 –> 00:00:55,139 But I want us to see the breadth, the scope of God’s saving purpose in Jesus Christ, 11 00:00:55,180 –> 00:01:00,279 so that we will see more fully why He came into the world, and therefore rejoice more 12 00:01:00,279 –> 00:01:03,320 deeply in all that is ours in Him. 13 00:01:03,320 –> 00:01:08,440 Now, I’ve called this the plan because God knows what He is doing. 14 00:01:08,440 –> 00:01:14,400 God is not like a scientist who is experimenting to see what works. 15 00:01:14,400 –> 00:01:21,639 God is not like a business hanging on by adjusting to prevailing market forces. 16 00:01:21,720 –> 00:01:27,160 God is not like the government responding to unforeseen circumstances, and then making 17 00:01:27,160 –> 00:01:30,519 adjustments for unintended consequences. 18 00:01:30,519 –> 00:01:32,440 God is God. 19 00:01:32,440 –> 00:01:37,180 Some folks have the idea that God once had a marvelous plan, but things went terribly, 20 00:01:37,180 –> 00:01:42,419 terribly wrong, and ever since that God has been sort of struggling along with us in process 21 00:01:42,419 –> 00:01:46,080 trying to make things better and sort out the mess. 22 00:01:46,080 –> 00:01:49,360 But that is never the teaching of the Bible. 23 00:01:49,360 –> 00:01:54,300 That’s why I want you to see Titus chapter 1 and verse 2 that tells us quite clearly 24 00:01:54,300 –> 00:01:59,639 that God promised eternal life before the beginning of time. 25 00:01:59,639 –> 00:02:05,720 Before the beginning of time He promised eternal life, and at His appointed season He has brought 26 00:02:05,720 –> 00:02:08,960 His Word to light. 27 00:02:08,960 –> 00:02:13,300 Bringing sinners to eternal life, in other words, was not something that God thought 28 00:02:13,300 –> 00:02:16,259 off after the fall. 29 00:02:16,300 –> 00:02:21,580 It was the plan of God for the universe before time began. 30 00:02:21,580 –> 00:02:26,380 That is why the Bible describes Christ, the Lamb of God, offered as a sacrifice for our 31 00:02:26,380 –> 00:02:32,419 sin as being the Lamb slain from before the creation of the world. 32 00:02:32,419 –> 00:02:37,440 So that the death of Christ on the cross was not something that God thought of, you know, 33 00:02:37,440 –> 00:02:42,300 after people were not able to respond adequately to the Ten Commandments. 34 00:02:42,300 –> 00:02:46,619 It’s not as if God’s changing course, and making corrections, and coming up with new 35 00:02:46,619 –> 00:02:49,399 things as history rolls out. 36 00:02:49,399 –> 00:02:54,880 No, God’s plan is very different from our plans, because God is very different from 37 00:02:54,880 –> 00:02:55,880 us. 38 00:02:55,880 –> 00:03:03,360 See, when I talk about a plan, or when you talk about a plan, our plans are always contingent. 39 00:03:03,360 –> 00:03:10,860 So that if I say to you, for example, I’ll meet you for breakfast on Tuesday, I mean 40 00:03:10,880 –> 00:03:16,039 that I will meet you for breakfast on Tuesday assuming certain things like, that I’ll be 41 00:03:16,039 –> 00:03:21,720 alive on Tuesday, that there won’t be an overwhelming emergency that suddenly comes up and takes 42 00:03:21,720 –> 00:03:26,419 precedence over everything else on Tuesday, that I’m not a hostage on Tuesday, that I 43 00:03:26,419 –> 00:03:29,679 have transport on Tuesday, that there’s still a restaurant on Tuesday, and that they’re 44 00:03:29,679 –> 00:03:31,080 serving breakfast Tuesday. 45 00:03:31,080 –> 00:03:35,320 In fact, the more you think about it, the more you realize that there may be a thousand 46 00:03:35,320 –> 00:03:38,940 reasons why I may not be able to fulfill my plan. 47 00:03:39,860 –> 00:03:43,800 But God is sovereign. 48 00:03:43,800 –> 00:03:48,800 What that means is that God fulfills His own plan in His own time, by His own power, according 49 00:03:48,800 –> 00:03:52,720 to His own will, and nothing can stop Him from doing it. 50 00:03:52,720 –> 00:03:54,720 Think of this. 51 00:03:54,720 –> 00:04:01,240 Nothing that you have done in your life has taken God by surprise, nothing. 52 00:04:01,240 –> 00:04:06,279 Nothing that has happened to you in your life has taken God unawares. 53 00:04:06,759 –> 00:04:10,800 There has been no event in your life that has left God in heaven saying, 54 00:04:10,800 –> 00:04:15,220 oh, now, what are we going to do about this. 55 00:04:15,220 –> 00:04:18,779 That means that nothing you have done, and nothing that has ever happened to you can 56 00:04:18,779 –> 00:04:24,920 stop God from fulfilling His purpose, or even slow Him down in doing so. 57 00:04:24,920 –> 00:04:28,260 That is what it means for God to be God. 58 00:04:28,260 –> 00:04:32,119 So I hope that by the end of this series we will be seeing more clearly that God knows 59 00:04:32,720 –> 00:04:38,019 what He is doing at every point in human history and that His plan will lead to the greatest 60 00:04:38,019 –> 00:04:44,220 possible display of His glory and the greatest possible happiness for all of His people. 61 00:04:44,220 –> 00:04:49,040 Now, we are going to attempt this overview in just three weeks. 62 00:04:49,040 –> 00:04:51,480 And obviously that means breakneck speed. 63 00:04:51,480 –> 00:04:56,320 We’ll just take the small matter of the whole Old Testament today and next week the Gospels 64 00:04:56,320 –> 00:04:59,200 and then the week after that the New Testament letters. 65 00:04:59,200 –> 00:05:01,600 I want us to see the big picture. 66 00:05:01,600 –> 00:05:06,260 And I want to suggest to you today that you can think of the whole Old Testament story 67 00:05:06,260 –> 00:05:12,200 in terms of a sevenfold promise of God. 68 00:05:12,200 –> 00:05:15,519 Promise number one lies in the creation. 69 00:05:15,519 –> 00:05:19,700 And so we begin in the book of Genesis and right at chapter one. 70 00:05:19,700 –> 00:05:25,079 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 71 00:05:25,079 –> 00:05:29,399 Now this is of obvious importance because what you create you own. 72 00:05:29,399 –> 00:05:34,679 And since God has created all things, all things belong to God. 73 00:05:34,679 –> 00:05:38,980 That is why the Bible insists that the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness, everything 74 00:05:38,980 –> 00:05:43,160 in it, the world and all who live in it belong to God. 75 00:05:43,160 –> 00:05:47,940 That’s the first thing that you need to know about yourself, that God made you. 76 00:05:47,940 –> 00:05:52,600 He made you a unique creation, never made anyone like you before and he will never make 77 00:05:52,600 –> 00:05:55,040 anyone quite like you again. 78 00:05:55,040 –> 00:06:00,640 He made you for himself and he made you for his own glory and joy. 79 00:06:00,640 –> 00:06:03,320 You are not an accident. 80 00:06:03,320 –> 00:06:06,640 Your life is not the product of random chance. 81 00:06:06,640 –> 00:06:11,040 You were made by God and you were made for God. 82 00:06:11,040 –> 00:06:18,799 And while the whole creation reflects God’s glory, God has done something unique in the 83 00:06:18,799 –> 00:06:21,320 creation of men and women. 84 00:06:21,320 –> 00:06:27,420 And that’s where the promise lies in Genesis 1 and verse 26 where God says, let us make 85 00:06:27,420 –> 00:06:31,339 man in our image. 86 00:06:31,339 –> 00:06:35,619 In the image of God, you are made. 87 00:06:35,619 –> 00:06:42,579 That is why you are different from plants or animals or fish or a bird. 88 00:06:42,579 –> 00:06:50,079 They were all made by God, but you were made like God in His image. 89 00:06:50,380 –> 00:06:57,739 And God made you in His image so that unlike plants and animals and fish and birds, you 90 00:06:57,739 –> 00:07:04,220 made in His image, you could reflect the beauty of His holiness and live in the joy of His 91 00:07:04,220 –> 00:07:05,619 love. 92 00:07:05,619 –> 00:07:10,000 You were made to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. 93 00:07:10,000 –> 00:07:11,480 So what does God promise? 94 00:07:11,480 –> 00:07:17,720 Here, God promises to give life to people who will reflect His glory. 95 00:07:17,899 –> 00:07:22,440 People who will radiate His image. 96 00:07:22,440 –> 00:07:25,640 Think of what that could mean to you. 97 00:07:25,640 –> 00:07:35,600 To reflect the holiness and live in the joy of God’s love in a community of people who 98 00:07:35,600 –> 00:07:44,059 reflect that glory forever and forever. 99 00:07:44,119 –> 00:07:48,559 When God created the man and the woman, evil already existed. 100 00:07:48,559 –> 00:07:54,959 The Bible never really gives us a full explanation of the origin of evil, but simply tells us 101 00:07:54,959 –> 00:08:00,980 that God placed the man and the woman in a garden where everything was good. 102 00:08:00,980 –> 00:08:05,959 He told them that they were not to eat from one tree. 103 00:08:05,959 –> 00:08:10,079 It was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 104 00:08:10,079 –> 00:08:14,040 Since they already had the knowledge of everything that is good, all that could possibly 105 00:08:14,040 –> 00:08:19,059 be gained from taking the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would be the knowledge of 106 00:08:19,059 –> 00:08:21,239 evil. 107 00:08:21,239 –> 00:08:27,320 A serpent came into the garden and enticed them with this knowledge of evil. 108 00:08:27,320 –> 00:08:31,540 You need this knowledge of evil. 109 00:08:31,540 –> 00:08:32,539 This is what they chose. 110 00:08:32,539 –> 00:08:33,859 They disobeyed God. 111 00:08:33,859 –> 00:08:39,080 In that act of disobedience, as in every act of disobedience, they got a knowledge of evil, 112 00:08:39,080 –> 00:08:42,320 and we have been stuck with it ever since. 113 00:08:43,059 –> 00:08:48,119 This right there, God brings the second dimension of his great promise. 114 00:08:48,119 –> 00:08:50,760 It is the promise of destruction. 115 00:08:50,760 –> 00:08:58,539 For God said to the serpent, who had introduced evil into the world and into human experience, 116 00:08:58,539 –> 00:09:03,000 God said to the serpent cursed are you. 117 00:09:03,000 –> 00:09:07,619 Now that’s a great promise that brings us hope because the word cursed means assigned 118 00:09:07,619 –> 00:09:10,840 or consigned to destruction. 119 00:09:10,840 –> 00:09:17,359 God is promising right at the beginning of the Bible story that he will destroy the evil, 120 00:09:17,359 –> 00:09:24,080 that he’s saying to the serpent, what you have done will not stand in my world. 121 00:09:24,080 –> 00:09:29,840 You will be destroyed and all that is evil will be destroyed with you. 122 00:09:29,840 –> 00:09:35,520 And this promise of the destruction of evil is the promise of God and it is the hope of 123 00:09:35,520 –> 00:09:37,880 this world. 124 00:09:37,919 –> 00:09:43,559 So how can that be a hope since evil is in humanity and has been passed from Adam and 125 00:09:43,559 –> 00:09:47,280 Eve into us all, the knowledge of evil? 126 00:09:47,280 –> 00:09:54,739 Well when God turns to Adam he said to Adam, cursed is the ground because of you. 127 00:09:54,739 –> 00:10:00,260 You say, well the ground didn’t do anything wrong. 128 00:10:00,260 –> 00:10:03,820 But you see we’re learning right at the beginning of the Bible story something very wonderful 129 00:10:03,820 –> 00:10:04,840 about God. 130 00:10:04,880 –> 00:10:10,599 The God of the Bible is the God who diverts the curse away from the man and away from 131 00:10:10,599 –> 00:10:19,200 the woman onto another place in order to create room for men and women to be reconciled to 132 00:10:19,200 –> 00:10:21,020 himself. 133 00:10:21,020 –> 00:10:22,599 So what does God promise here. 134 00:10:22,599 –> 00:10:30,280 God promises to deliver his people from evil, the destruction of evil, and yet room is created 135 00:10:30,400 –> 00:10:36,400 for Adam and Eve to be separated from it and to be reconciled to God? 136 00:10:36,400 –> 00:10:39,640 I want you to think about the extent of this promise. 137 00:10:39,640 –> 00:10:51,280 A world without evil, life in a world with no lies, no hatred, no cruelty, no murder, 138 00:10:51,280 –> 00:10:59,000 no fear, no abuse, no torture, no war, no weapons. 139 00:10:59,059 –> 00:11:07,900 A world without selfishness, a world without pride, a world with no evil. 140 00:11:07,900 –> 00:11:09,419 This is the promise of God. 141 00:11:09,419 –> 00:11:14,340 I mean, it is spectacular even to think about it. 142 00:11:14,340 –> 00:11:19,020 Now, you say, how could this happen? 143 00:11:19,020 –> 00:11:24,460 Well, God says to the evil one, I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between 144 00:11:24,500 –> 00:11:30,260 offspring and hers, and he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. 145 00:11:30,260 –> 00:11:32,820 Now, what does that mean? 146 00:11:32,820 –> 00:11:37,280 Enmity between you and the woman means that God was saying that throughout human history 147 00:11:37,280 –> 00:11:42,479 in this world there would be a great struggle between the human race, between humanity, 148 00:11:42,479 –> 00:11:44,659 between us and evil. 149 00:11:44,659 –> 00:11:48,280 And that, of course, has proved to be the case in every personal life, in every culture, 150 00:11:48,280 –> 00:11:51,520 and in every generation. 151 00:11:51,520 –> 00:11:59,440 Humanity always struggles with evil, but God says there will be an offspring. 152 00:11:59,440 –> 00:12:04,320 There will be someone who will come into human history, born of the woman, and he will stand 153 00:12:04,320 –> 00:12:07,799 with us in this great struggle with evil. 154 00:12:07,799 –> 00:12:08,940 He’ll be on our side. 155 00:12:08,940 –> 00:12:12,219 He will be for us against the powers of evil. 156 00:12:12,219 –> 00:12:18,400 Satan, of course, will seek to stamp him out and the—you see that beautiful image? 157 00:12:18,539 –> 00:12:23,859 There’s a serpent biting at the heel of this champion who comes and stands with us, but 158 00:12:23,859 –> 00:12:34,500 in the same act, this offspring, steps on the head of the serpent and destroys him completely. 159 00:12:34,500 –> 00:12:37,080 This is the promise of God. 160 00:12:37,080 –> 00:12:43,400 So we’re looking for someone who will bring humanity into the full reflection of the image 161 00:12:43,400 –> 00:12:54,859 of God, and who will destroy all evil and usher in a world in which sin and evil and 162 00:12:54,859 –> 00:12:59,880 all its consequences, including death itself, will be no more. 163 00:12:59,880 –> 00:13:06,140 Now, you follow the story and you find that disobeying one command of God, which might 164 00:13:06,140 –> 00:13:10,880 have seemed fairly innocuous in the garden, it gives a knowledge of evil that grows in 165 00:13:10,880 –> 00:13:11,880 its power. 166 00:13:11,880 –> 00:13:13,320 That’s the thing, evil is never static. 167 00:13:13,580 –> 00:13:14,880 It’s always a growing power. 168 00:13:14,880 –> 00:13:19,559 Whenever it gets its root in, it grows in a person’s life. 169 00:13:19,559 –> 00:13:21,599 And that was true in human society. 170 00:13:21,599 –> 00:13:28,299 The very first human family was torn apart as this evil manifested itself again in Cain 171 00:13:28,299 –> 00:13:35,000 becoming angry with his brother Abel and then murdering him, murder in the first family. 172 00:13:35,000 –> 00:13:39,799 And as violence increased, people came together to build a city in order to provide some kind 173 00:13:39,799 –> 00:13:43,219 of collective security. 174 00:13:43,260 –> 00:13:48,640 Their project, which began in great hope, ended in great disappointment as people dispersed 175 00:13:48,659 –> 00:13:56,960 to the north and the south, and the east and the west, driven by fear and divided by language. 176 00:13:56,960 –> 00:14:03,739 And as you follow what the Bible tells us, you find that out of all the emerging tribes 177 00:14:03,739 –> 00:14:12,619 and all the emerging cultures of the world, God chose one man. 178 00:14:12,619 –> 00:14:16,739 That’s why I’ve called the third part of this promise election. 179 00:14:16,739 –> 00:14:20,179 And I’m thinking especially of Genesis, in chapter 12. 180 00:14:20,179 –> 00:14:25,419 This man God chose knew absolutely nothing about God. 181 00:14:25,419 –> 00:14:26,419 He wasn’t seeking God. 182 00:14:26,419 –> 00:14:27,659 He wasn’t praying to God. 183 00:14:27,659 –> 00:14:30,219 In fact, he was an idolater. 184 00:14:30,219 –> 00:14:34,219 He lived in total spiritual darkness. 185 00:14:34,219 –> 00:14:37,159 But God appeared to this man and spoke to him. 186 00:14:37,159 –> 00:14:44,500 God swept into this man’s life uninvited and changed him forever. 187 00:14:44,500 –> 00:14:46,859 The man’s name was Abraham. 188 00:14:46,859 –> 00:14:48,099 And God said to him, 189 00:14:48,099 –> 00:14:51,140 “‘I will bless you, and you will be a blessing, 190 00:14:51,140 –> 00:14:58,919 and all peoples on earth will be blessed because of you.’” 191 00:14:58,919 –> 00:15:01,400 So you see what God is promising here? 192 00:15:01,400 –> 00:15:06,760 God promises to bless people from all nations. 193 00:15:06,799 –> 00:15:10,359 He’s going to bring people from every imaginable background 194 00:15:10,359 –> 00:15:16,479 from across the globe into the knowledge of his blessing. 195 00:15:16,479 –> 00:15:19,919 His blessing is not going to be known simply to people in the West, 196 00:15:19,919 –> 00:15:22,080 or simply in the East, or the North, or the South, 197 00:15:22,080 –> 00:15:24,320 or simply people who are of a certain income 198 00:15:24,320 –> 00:15:28,440 or a certain background or a certain privilege. 199 00:15:28,440 –> 00:15:31,419 He is going to sweep into the lives of people 200 00:15:31,419 –> 00:15:35,700 of every description from all over the globe. 201 00:15:35,719 –> 00:15:38,580 And He is going to bring them into the knowledge of his blessing 202 00:15:38,580 –> 00:15:40,979 just as he did for Abraham. 203 00:15:41,820 –> 00:15:46,760 God made it clear that this marvelous, amazing promise 204 00:15:46,760 –> 00:15:49,880 would not come directly through Abraham himself, 205 00:15:49,880 –> 00:15:53,700 nor even through all of Abraham’s descendants. 206 00:15:53,700 –> 00:15:59,960 But rather it would come through one child referred to as The Seed. 207 00:15:59,960 –> 00:16:04,179 One child in the line of Abraham who would fulfill this promise. 208 00:16:04,179 –> 00:16:06,859 That is why the Old Testament story from this point on 209 00:16:06,859 –> 00:16:08,679 follows the line of Abraham. 210 00:16:09,479 –> 00:16:12,460 Abraham and Sarah were getting old, they didn’t have a child. 211 00:16:13,059 –> 00:16:16,580 Then in a miracle of God’s grace, Sarah conceived in her old age, 212 00:16:16,580 –> 00:16:23,880 gave birth to Isaac, and then Isaac and his wife, a son Jacob, 213 00:16:23,880 –> 00:16:27,479 and Jacob twelve sons who became the fathers 214 00:16:27,479 –> 00:16:30,159 of the twelve tribes of Israel. 215 00:16:30,799 –> 00:16:33,299 And God cared for this family. 216 00:16:33,299 –> 00:16:36,380 It was the focus of his promise in a very special way. 217 00:16:37,119 –> 00:16:39,700 When a famine came, he provided for them 218 00:16:39,700 –> 00:16:41,500 preserving their lives in Egypt. 219 00:16:42,820 –> 00:16:44,900 And during the time that they were in Egypt 220 00:16:44,900 –> 00:16:47,400 that extended over many years, 221 00:16:47,700 –> 00:16:51,080 the group of about seventy in the original family 222 00:16:51,080 –> 00:16:54,799 who went there multiplied and became a great community 223 00:16:54,799 –> 00:16:56,799 of about two million people. 224 00:16:58,080 –> 00:16:59,580 But as they grew in Egypt, 225 00:16:59,599 –> 00:17:02,280 they were increasingly despised, hated. 226 00:17:03,799 –> 00:17:07,339 They were made slaves and God saw their suffering 227 00:17:07,339 –> 00:17:09,040 and he had compassion on them. 228 00:17:10,500 –> 00:17:13,239 That brings us to the fourth dimension of God’s promise 229 00:17:13,239 –> 00:17:14,739 which I’ve called redemption. 230 00:17:15,540 –> 00:17:16,380 Because God says, 231 00:17:16,380 –> 00:17:20,119 I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt 232 00:17:20,119 –> 00:17:22,540 and I have come down to rescue them 233 00:17:22,540 –> 00:17:24,479 and to bring them into a land 234 00:17:24,479 –> 00:17:27,859 that will be flowing with milk and with honey. 235 00:17:28,819 –> 00:17:32,760 And God at this time raised up a man by the name of Moses 236 00:17:32,760 –> 00:17:35,680 and sent him to Egypt’s pagan king 237 00:17:35,680 –> 00:17:37,339 with the command of God 238 00:17:37,339 –> 00:17:40,880 that this king should let God’s people go. 239 00:17:41,780 –> 00:17:46,579 But Egypt’s pagan king did not accept the authority of God 240 00:17:46,579 –> 00:17:48,060 and disobeyed his command, 241 00:17:48,060 –> 00:17:52,979 dug his heels in and so came under the judgment of God 242 00:17:52,979 –> 00:17:57,099 which was poured out in the form of a series of plagues 243 00:17:57,099 –> 00:17:58,900 each more severe than the last 244 00:17:58,900 –> 00:18:01,959 culminating in a final judgment 245 00:18:01,959 –> 00:18:05,500 in which death came upon the whole land. 246 00:18:07,219 –> 00:18:11,300 At that time God gave to his people a very simple command. 247 00:18:11,300 –> 00:18:12,800 He said to his own people 248 00:18:12,800 –> 00:18:15,199 you are to slaughter a lamb 249 00:18:16,219 –> 00:18:18,280 and you are to take the blood of the lamb 250 00:18:18,280 –> 00:18:20,839 and you are to paint the blood of the lamb 251 00:18:20,839 –> 00:18:24,500 over the door frames of your houses. 252 00:18:24,500 –> 00:18:26,579 And then God said this, 253 00:18:26,640 –> 00:18:28,219 when I see the blood 254 00:18:30,260 –> 00:18:32,020 I will pass over you. 255 00:18:35,839 –> 00:18:40,000 And on that night that became known as the Passover 256 00:18:41,000 –> 00:18:45,239 God brought his people out of their slavery in Egypt 257 00:18:46,479 –> 00:18:49,060 and gathered them at Mount Sinai 258 00:18:50,319 –> 00:18:53,739 where he made a covenant with them. 259 00:18:53,739 –> 00:18:56,000 God gave them commandments. 260 00:18:56,920 –> 00:19:00,619 Although significant, while God was giving the commandments 261 00:19:00,619 –> 00:19:02,119 to Moses at the top of the mountain, 262 00:19:02,119 –> 00:19:03,979 at that very moment, the people were breaking 263 00:19:03,979 –> 00:19:06,239 the commandments at the bottom of the mountain. 264 00:19:07,180 –> 00:19:09,900 Which reminds us that God’s people 265 00:19:09,900 –> 00:19:11,900 need more than commandments. 266 00:19:13,560 –> 00:19:15,239 We need the sacrifices. 267 00:19:16,140 –> 00:19:20,000 And so God gave to them the sacrifices 268 00:19:20,000 –> 00:19:22,260 and he gave them this promise. 269 00:19:22,260 –> 00:19:24,500 He said, I will walk among you 270 00:19:25,339 –> 00:19:30,060 and I will be your God and you will be my people. 271 00:19:31,219 –> 00:19:34,339 And then giving them the gift of these sacrifices, 272 00:19:34,339 –> 00:19:35,619 he made it clear to them 273 00:19:35,619 –> 00:19:38,479 that just as they had been delivered 274 00:19:38,479 –> 00:19:41,979 from the fearful prospect of death by God’s judgment 275 00:19:41,979 –> 00:19:45,900 through the blood of a slaughtered lamb in Egypt, 276 00:19:45,900 –> 00:19:49,900 so their fellowship with God would be sustained 277 00:19:49,900 –> 00:19:54,380 through a sacrifice offered for the sins of God’s people. 278 00:19:55,339 –> 00:20:00,339 And a high priest was appointed to offer such sacrifice. 279 00:20:02,780 –> 00:20:04,739 Now what is God promising here? 280 00:20:04,739 –> 00:20:06,319 Wonderfully. 281 00:20:06,319 –> 00:20:09,920 God is promising to reconcile sinners, 282 00:20:09,920 –> 00:20:14,060 as all God’s people, we all have our many sins, 283 00:20:14,060 –> 00:20:18,780 he offers to reconcile sinners to himself 284 00:20:18,780 –> 00:20:23,780 through a sacrifice offered for our sins. 285 00:20:24,479 –> 00:20:26,739 He pledges himself to a relationship 286 00:20:26,739 –> 00:20:28,719 in which he will walk with us, 287 00:20:28,719 –> 00:20:31,099 in which we will know Him, 288 00:20:31,099 –> 00:20:32,739 and His presence in our lives. 289 00:20:32,739 –> 00:20:36,420 He says, I’ll be your God and you will be my people. 290 00:20:36,420 –> 00:20:37,900 But this relationship, 291 00:20:37,900 –> 00:20:40,560 this covenant into which I bind myself, 292 00:20:40,560 –> 00:20:43,140 it will be sustained and it will be sealed 293 00:20:43,140 –> 00:20:46,300 and it will be kept and it will be forged 294 00:20:46,300 –> 00:20:49,579 by the shedding of blood through a sacrifice 295 00:20:49,599 –> 00:20:53,160 for your sins so that you may be brought into 296 00:20:53,160 –> 00:20:57,880 and kept in this glorious relationship with me. 297 00:20:57,880 –> 00:20:58,859 That’s redemption. 298 00:21:00,760 –> 00:21:02,219 Now, as you follow the Bible’s story, 299 00:21:02,219 –> 00:21:03,500 we get to the fifth dimension 300 00:21:03,500 –> 00:21:05,780 of God’s great Old Testament promise. 301 00:21:05,780 –> 00:21:07,540 I’ve called this simply Dominion. 302 00:21:08,459 –> 00:21:11,540 Because as God’s people came into the land of Canaan 303 00:21:11,540 –> 00:21:13,000 that He had promised to them, 304 00:21:13,000 –> 00:21:15,739 and after they had been there for a while, 305 00:21:15,739 –> 00:21:17,800 they felt that they would like to have a king. 306 00:21:17,800 –> 00:21:18,839 And so they chose one. 307 00:21:19,260 –> 00:21:21,400 And the guy was an absolute disaster. 308 00:21:21,400 –> 00:21:24,199 And so God chose a king for them, 309 00:21:24,199 –> 00:21:25,819 a man by the name of David. 310 00:21:25,819 –> 00:21:30,619 And to this king, God gave extraordinary promises. 311 00:21:30,619 –> 00:21:32,359 Second Samuel, chapter seven, 312 00:21:32,359 –> 00:21:36,060 God says to David, I will raise up your offspring, 313 00:21:36,060 –> 00:21:39,699 and I will establish his kingdom. 314 00:21:39,699 –> 00:21:42,020 More than that, God says I will establish 315 00:21:42,020 –> 00:21:45,140 his kingdom forever. 316 00:21:45,199 –> 00:21:46,920 Forever? 317 00:21:46,920 –> 00:21:50,400 How can any king reign forever? 318 00:21:51,359 –> 00:21:52,619 There is no kingdom in the history 319 00:21:52,619 –> 00:21:54,680 of the world that has existed forever. 320 00:21:54,680 –> 00:21:57,079 They all rise and fall. 321 00:21:57,079 –> 00:22:00,560 But God says to David, I will raise up your offspring, 322 00:22:00,560 –> 00:22:03,859 and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 323 00:22:03,859 –> 00:22:05,079 Forever. 324 00:22:05,920 –> 00:22:09,260 And then God added this even more amazing promise 325 00:22:09,260 –> 00:22:10,920 of the offspring God says, 326 00:22:10,939 –> 00:22:17,939 I will be his father, and he will be my son. 327 00:22:19,660 –> 00:22:21,640 So you see what God is promising here. 328 00:22:21,640 –> 00:22:24,060 God promises that His people will live 329 00:22:24,060 –> 00:22:27,819 under the blessing of His rule. 330 00:22:27,819 –> 00:22:30,859 Forever and forever. 331 00:22:32,219 –> 00:22:35,380 Now as the Old Testament promise of God is shaping up, 332 00:22:35,380 –> 00:22:39,319 it’s becoming obvious that we are looking for someone. 333 00:22:40,199 –> 00:22:44,180 Someone who will fulfill this amazing promises of God, 334 00:22:44,180 –> 00:22:46,520 and we know of this person, 335 00:22:46,520 –> 00:22:48,640 that this person will be born of a woman, 336 00:22:48,640 –> 00:22:51,000 we know that from Genesis in chapter three. 337 00:22:51,000 –> 00:22:53,839 Will be of the seed of Abraham. 338 00:22:53,839 –> 00:22:55,579 Will be a descendant of David, 339 00:22:55,579 –> 00:22:57,939 will be a king who will bring in 340 00:22:57,939 –> 00:23:00,079 the blessings of God’s rule. 341 00:23:00,079 –> 00:23:03,719 We know of this person now that God will be his father, 342 00:23:03,719 –> 00:23:05,739 and that he will be God’s Son. 343 00:23:05,739 –> 00:23:08,680 And that God will establish his kingdom, 344 00:23:08,680 –> 00:23:12,020 his throne, forever and forever. 345 00:23:14,020 –> 00:23:16,880 And then as you roll on through the Old Testament’s story, 346 00:23:16,880 –> 00:23:20,920 you find a sixth dimension to this amazing promise of God, 347 00:23:20,920 –> 00:23:23,199 which I called correction. 348 00:23:23,199 –> 00:23:24,680 And you’ll see that in fact, 349 00:23:24,680 –> 00:23:25,800 just to keep you awake, 350 00:23:25,800 –> 00:23:27,599 it says connection in the bulletin. 351 00:23:27,599 –> 00:23:30,119 Which means, that you need to make a correction. 352 00:23:30,119 –> 00:23:32,839 So now you’ve understood the simple point. 353 00:23:32,900 –> 00:23:36,459 After David, there was a whole line of kings. 354 00:23:36,459 –> 00:23:40,699 Some of them were good, but most of them were bad. 355 00:23:40,699 –> 00:23:44,520 God’s people wonder to their own ways, 356 00:23:44,520 –> 00:23:47,439 going after other gods. 357 00:23:47,439 –> 00:23:52,339 And God sent prophets to call them back to obedience. 358 00:23:52,339 –> 00:23:56,020 And you can read what these prophets said 359 00:23:56,020 –> 00:23:57,459 in the books that bear their names 360 00:23:57,459 –> 00:24:00,180 like Isaiah and Jeremiah and Damas and Hosea 361 00:24:00,180 –> 00:24:01,619 and so forth and so on. 362 00:24:02,619 –> 00:24:05,140 The message of the prophets was largely ignored, 363 00:24:06,400 –> 00:24:10,619 but God never allows His words to fall to the ground. 364 00:24:10,619 –> 00:24:12,339 You see, even if you shut out the Word of God, 365 00:24:12,339 –> 00:24:13,939 God will accomplish His purpose. 366 00:24:15,619 –> 00:24:16,699 In some other means. 367 00:24:17,839 –> 00:24:22,839 He stepped in the God who never lets His people go, 368 00:24:23,839 –> 00:24:27,239 and He brought a severe discipline into their lives. 369 00:24:27,239 –> 00:24:28,400 Thank God for this. 370 00:24:28,400 –> 00:24:30,079 He never lets His people go. 371 00:24:32,380 –> 00:24:35,560 He allowed enemies to overrun the land that He had given, 372 00:24:35,560 –> 00:24:38,520 and His own people became exiles outside of that land 373 00:24:38,520 –> 00:24:41,160 for a period of 70 years. 374 00:24:43,540 –> 00:24:46,500 And yet, even in this more severe discipline, 375 00:24:48,719 –> 00:24:50,579 God did not abandon His promise 376 00:24:50,579 –> 00:24:53,760 and that is why we read from Jeremiah, in chapter 29, 377 00:24:53,760 –> 00:24:56,199 this is what the Lord says. 378 00:24:56,300 –> 00:25:01,000 In 70 years, when they’re completed for Babylon, 379 00:25:02,459 –> 00:25:07,040 I will come and I will fulfill my gracious promise to you. 380 00:25:07,040 –> 00:25:08,920 I bring you back to this place, 381 00:25:08,920 –> 00:25:11,640 for I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord. 382 00:25:11,640 –> 00:25:14,839 There are plans to prosper you and not to harm you. 383 00:25:14,839 –> 00:25:18,079 Plans to give you hope and a future. 384 00:25:18,079 –> 00:25:20,839 Even where God steps into your life 385 00:25:20,839 –> 00:25:23,760 in the disciplining love of a Father, 386 00:25:24,260 –> 00:25:27,020 it is to bring you back to Himself, 387 00:25:27,859 –> 00:25:29,260 because His covenant love 388 00:25:29,260 –> 00:25:32,500 will never, never, never let His people go. 389 00:25:34,719 –> 00:25:36,800 So what does God promise here? 390 00:25:36,800 –> 00:25:39,660 God promises that all of His people will walk in his way. 391 00:25:41,920 –> 00:25:43,520 You’re one of God’s people, 392 00:25:43,520 –> 00:25:47,640 the ultimate future for you is that you will love God 393 00:25:47,640 –> 00:25:50,199 with all your heart and all your soul 394 00:25:50,199 –> 00:25:52,140 and all your mind and all your strength, 395 00:25:52,160 –> 00:25:56,420 and you will love your neighbor as yourself, 396 00:25:56,420 –> 00:25:57,239 and not only you, 397 00:25:57,239 –> 00:25:59,540 God will gather a whole community of people 398 00:25:59,540 –> 00:26:01,439 from every generation 399 00:26:01,439 –> 00:26:03,599 and from every nation under the planet 400 00:26:04,459 –> 00:26:07,619 in whom his ways are evident, 401 00:26:07,619 –> 00:26:10,579 in whom his image is reflected, 402 00:26:10,579 –> 00:26:14,579 in whom his glory is fully seen. 403 00:26:14,579 –> 00:26:16,479 He never abandons His people. 404 00:26:16,479 –> 00:26:20,800 He always completes the work that He has begun. 405 00:26:20,880 –> 00:26:23,439 And that leads to the seventh part of this great promise 406 00:26:23,439 –> 00:26:25,560 that I’ve simply called restoration. 407 00:26:25,560 –> 00:26:27,160 Because for 70 years, 408 00:26:27,160 –> 00:26:29,000 when the people were exiled in Babylon, 409 00:26:29,000 –> 00:26:31,680 it must have seemed impossible to them 410 00:26:31,680 –> 00:26:35,739 that God could ever make good on His promise. 411 00:26:35,739 –> 00:26:36,839 I mean, here they were now, 412 00:26:36,839 –> 00:26:38,579 exiles in Babylon, 413 00:26:38,579 –> 00:26:41,500 and at that time God gave a marvelous vision 414 00:26:41,500 –> 00:26:44,260 to a man by the name of Ezekiel. 415 00:26:44,260 –> 00:26:49,079 Ezekiel saw in a vision a valley of dry bones. 416 00:26:49,079 –> 00:26:50,079 And in that vision, 417 00:26:50,079 –> 00:26:55,079 he saw a wind representing the Spirit of God 418 00:26:55,359 –> 00:26:58,900 blowing over this whole valley, 419 00:26:58,900 –> 00:27:00,479 filled with dry bones, 420 00:27:00,479 –> 00:27:03,400 and the bones were moving, 421 00:27:03,400 –> 00:27:04,680 and in the wind, 422 00:27:04,680 –> 00:27:07,880 coming together and being covered with flesh, 423 00:27:07,880 –> 00:27:09,439 and then with skin. 424 00:27:09,439 –> 00:27:12,560 And then these corpses came to life, 425 00:27:12,560 –> 00:27:15,920 and God was bringing new life from the grave. 426 00:27:17,520 –> 00:27:18,719 God said to Ezekiel, 427 00:27:18,719 –> 00:27:21,939 these bones are the whole house of Israel. 428 00:27:23,640 –> 00:27:26,719 They say, our bones are dried up, 429 00:27:26,719 –> 00:27:27,640 our hope is gone, 430 00:27:27,640 –> 00:27:28,640 and we are cut off, 431 00:27:28,640 –> 00:27:29,540 you ever felt that? 432 00:27:29,540 –> 00:27:31,719 You know, I don’t have the power, 433 00:27:31,719 –> 00:27:33,000 I don’t have the resources, 434 00:27:33,000 –> 00:27:35,520 I can’t change the situation. 435 00:27:36,819 –> 00:27:38,760 And God says prophesy and say to them, 436 00:27:38,760 –> 00:27:40,300 this is what the sovereign Lord says, 437 00:27:40,300 –> 00:27:43,500 I am going to open your graves 438 00:27:43,500 –> 00:27:45,579 and bring you up from them 439 00:27:45,579 –> 00:27:48,400 and then you will know that I am the Lord. 440 00:27:49,719 –> 00:27:51,979 And you see what God is promising here, 441 00:27:51,979 –> 00:27:56,979 God is promising here to bring new life from the grave, 442 00:27:57,319 –> 00:28:00,020 to do what is humanly impossible, 443 00:28:01,099 –> 00:28:02,819 to do for these people what they had 444 00:28:02,819 –> 00:28:07,400 absolutely no capacity to do for themselves. 445 00:28:09,459 –> 00:28:14,459 Now this is a breathtaking sweep of extraordinary promise. 446 00:28:15,400 –> 00:28:20,400 I want you to try and take in just how much God promises 447 00:28:20,900 –> 00:28:24,140 in the scripture and for us to see 448 00:28:24,140 –> 00:28:27,380 that all of God’s promises hang on someone 449 00:28:28,459 –> 00:28:33,359 who can actually deliver what God has said. 450 00:28:35,020 –> 00:28:38,060 To create people who fully reflect His image. 451 00:28:39,280 –> 00:28:43,680 To destroy evil and rid the world of it’s curse. 452 00:28:43,719 –> 00:28:45,380 To bring the blessing of God 453 00:28:45,380 –> 00:28:48,880 to people of all nations and backgrounds. 454 00:28:49,719 –> 00:28:51,300 To serve as a high priest 455 00:28:51,300 –> 00:28:54,680 offering the sacrifice for our sins. 456 00:28:55,540 –> 00:28:59,699 To build God’s house and to establish His kingdom. 457 00:28:59,699 –> 00:29:04,439 To teach us how to live and give us the power to do it 458 00:29:04,439 –> 00:29:06,780 and to restore what has been lost 459 00:29:06,780 –> 00:29:10,479 even bringing new life from the grave. 460 00:29:11,300 –> 00:29:16,040 And you look at the extent of the promise of God 461 00:29:16,040 –> 00:29:17,760 and you ask the question, 462 00:29:17,760 –> 00:29:20,500 who in all the world can do this? 463 00:29:23,280 –> 00:29:26,719 And then you hear these words from John’s gospel. 464 00:29:26,719 –> 00:29:29,839 In the beginning was the Word. 465 00:29:29,839 –> 00:29:34,079 And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 466 00:29:34,079 –> 00:29:36,579 And all things were made by Him 467 00:29:36,859 –> 00:29:40,380 Him and the Word became flesh 468 00:29:41,979 –> 00:29:44,780 and made His dwelling among us. 469 00:29:46,599 –> 00:29:49,959 Who can deliver what God has promised? 470 00:29:52,339 –> 00:29:53,800 Only God can. 471 00:29:55,719 –> 00:29:56,739 And that’s the miracle. 472 00:29:56,739 –> 00:30:00,819 That the Creator enters His own creation. 473 00:30:00,819 –> 00:30:05,500 God is the one who delivers His own promise. 474 00:30:05,540 –> 00:30:07,800 That is why the promise is secure. 475 00:30:09,180 –> 00:30:11,359 Because not only did God say it, 476 00:30:12,839 –> 00:30:14,339 but it’s God who does it. 477 00:30:15,380 –> 00:30:16,439 It’s God who does it. 478 00:30:18,300 –> 00:30:23,300 Now, God’s design for the universe and your place in it. 479 00:30:23,619 –> 00:30:27,020 What’s your place in all of this? 480 00:30:29,599 –> 00:30:31,619 You see, I want you to think about 481 00:30:31,619 –> 00:30:34,579 what God offers to you in Jesus Christ. 482 00:30:34,579 –> 00:30:36,300 Maybe as you come to the service today, 483 00:30:36,300 –> 00:30:39,979 maybe you’re just visting the church, so glad you’re here. 484 00:30:39,979 –> 00:30:42,500 And perhaps you’re not even sure if you’re a Christian, 485 00:30:42,500 –> 00:30:45,459 how does all this great purpose of God 486 00:30:45,459 –> 00:30:47,900 actually relate to me and to my life? 487 00:30:47,900 –> 00:30:51,380 I want you to see today what God offers to you 488 00:30:51,380 –> 00:30:53,000 in Jesus Christ. 489 00:30:54,640 –> 00:30:57,900 That you should become a new creation, 490 00:30:59,260 –> 00:31:03,079 reflecting the image of the glory of God. 491 00:31:04,979 –> 00:31:08,119 That you should be delivered from all evil 492 00:31:09,579 –> 00:31:14,359 and one day brought into a new creation of God 493 00:31:14,359 –> 00:31:17,699 where sin and evil and death is no more. 494 00:31:19,719 –> 00:31:22,060 That you should enjoy the blessing of God, 495 00:31:22,060 –> 00:31:24,619 not on your own, but in the community 496 00:31:24,619 –> 00:31:26,739 that God is creating, of people drawn 497 00:31:26,739 –> 00:31:29,579 from all nations and languages from around the globe 498 00:31:29,579 –> 00:31:31,420 and every generation in history. 499 00:31:32,300 –> 00:31:35,959 That you should be reconciled to God 500 00:31:35,959 –> 00:31:39,219 through the sacrifice offered by Jesus Christ 501 00:31:39,219 –> 00:31:40,380 for your sins. 502 00:31:41,319 –> 00:31:43,900 That you should live in the joy and under 503 00:31:43,900 –> 00:31:46,939 the blessing of the rule of His kingdom 504 00:31:46,939 –> 00:31:49,239 forever and forever and forever. 505 00:31:49,239 –> 00:31:50,699 That you should walk in His ways 506 00:31:50,699 –> 00:31:53,420 and become a person who for all eternity 507 00:31:53,420 –> 00:31:56,180 will love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength 508 00:31:56,180 –> 00:31:58,459 and you will love your neighbor as yourself 509 00:31:58,459 –> 00:32:00,339 and you will find the same reality 510 00:32:00,339 –> 00:32:02,020 in every person you ever meet. 511 00:32:03,680 –> 00:32:08,439 And that you even though you die 512 00:32:10,000 –> 00:32:14,500 should receive new life from the grave. 513 00:32:16,739 –> 00:32:18,380 And if you’re a Christian today 514 00:32:21,040 –> 00:32:24,579 will you try with me to open your mind more fully 515 00:32:24,579 –> 00:32:29,079 to the extent of all that is yours in Jesus Christ? 516 00:32:30,719 –> 00:32:33,219 Because if you are a Christian today 517 00:32:33,219 –> 00:32:38,219 you can say, Father thank you 518 00:32:38,239 –> 00:32:41,739 that in Jesus Christ I am a new creation 519 00:32:43,180 –> 00:32:45,680 and that your spirit is at work in me 520 00:32:46,619 –> 00:32:50,680 to restore the reflection of your image 521 00:32:50,680 –> 00:32:54,339 and one day that glory will be complete even in me. 522 00:32:56,060 –> 00:32:57,619 Thank you that by your spirit 523 00:32:57,680 –> 00:33:01,099 you are already setting me free from the grip of sin 524 00:33:01,099 –> 00:33:04,920 and one day you will bring this redeemed life 525 00:33:04,920 –> 00:33:09,920 into a world where sin will be no more. 526 00:33:12,520 –> 00:33:15,359 Thank you, Father that I live under your blessing 527 00:33:16,859 –> 00:33:21,859 and that in Christ you have already made me one 528 00:33:22,180 –> 00:33:25,380 with thousands upon thousands upon thousands 529 00:33:25,380 –> 00:33:30,060 of brothers and sisters in Christ from all over the globe 530 00:33:30,060 –> 00:33:32,939 and all through the centuries of human history. 531 00:33:32,939 –> 00:33:36,420 The vast vast majority of whom I have never met 532 00:33:36,420 –> 00:33:38,599 but who are already my family 533 00:33:38,599 –> 00:33:41,099 with whom I will share eternity, 534 00:33:42,780 –> 00:33:44,619 and thank you that through Christ’s blood 535 00:33:44,619 –> 00:33:46,420 that was shed on the cross for me, 536 00:33:46,420 –> 00:33:49,439 my sins have forgiven and I’m reconciled to you. 537 00:33:49,439 –> 00:33:52,339 You are my God and I am your child 538 00:33:52,339 –> 00:33:55,219 and it will always be so because it is sealed 539 00:33:55,219 –> 00:33:57,800 by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. 540 00:33:57,800 –> 00:34:01,300 No wrath, no condemnation as far as I am concerned 541 00:34:01,300 –> 00:34:04,020 but grace and mercy and peace and love 542 00:34:04,020 –> 00:34:06,719 streaming from your throne through Jesus Christ 543 00:34:06,719 –> 00:34:08,219 into my life, 544 00:34:09,419 –> 00:34:11,459 thank you that you are Lord of my life, 545 00:34:11,459 –> 00:34:13,659 that you have brought me into your kingdom, 546 00:34:13,659 –> 00:34:16,540 that you have given me the undeserved dignity already 547 00:34:16,540 –> 00:34:19,580 of bearing the name of the Lord Jesus Christ 548 00:34:19,580 –> 00:34:22,379 and anticipating his return when together 549 00:34:22,379 –> 00:34:23,979 with all of your people, 550 00:34:23,979 –> 00:34:26,939 I will enter into serving you forever. 551 00:34:26,939 –> 00:34:29,939 I begin it now but I will do it forever 552 00:34:29,939 –> 00:34:32,500 and with fullness of joy in the blessing 553 00:34:32,500 –> 00:34:34,780 of your never ending kingdom. 554 00:34:34,780 –> 00:34:37,580 And Lord thank you that until that day, 555 00:34:37,580 –> 00:34:40,780 you are teaching me how to live in this world. 556 00:34:40,780 –> 00:34:43,459 You’d give me your Holy Spirit to guide me 557 00:34:43,459 –> 00:34:45,419 and to correct me and to rebuke me. 558 00:34:45,419 –> 00:34:47,760 You never leave me and you never forsake me, 559 00:34:47,760 –> 00:34:49,340 you never abandoned me, 560 00:34:49,719 –> 00:34:51,719 you empower me to walk in your ways 561 00:34:51,719 –> 00:34:53,959 and when I wander from your ways, 562 00:34:53,959 –> 00:34:56,360 your fatherly love and discipline 563 00:34:56,360 –> 00:34:57,360 brings me back. 564 00:34:57,360 –> 00:34:58,919 And Father, thank you. 565 00:35:00,159 –> 00:35:05,159 Thank you that when I was stone deaf to your voice 566 00:35:08,320 –> 00:35:10,500 and blind to your glory 567 00:35:12,020 –> 00:35:16,719 and dead in my own trespasses and sins, 568 00:35:19,379 –> 00:35:23,459 you swept into my life, 569 00:35:23,459 –> 00:35:26,280 giving me new life from that grave 570 00:35:27,860 –> 00:35:31,820 and assuring me of your promise that though I die, 571 00:35:31,820 –> 00:35:36,100 yet I shall live through Jesus Christ your son 572 00:35:36,100 –> 00:35:41,100 who is the resurrection and the life. 573 00:35:41,100 –> 00:35:44,580 Now folks, do you see the breathtaking sweep 574 00:35:44,580 –> 00:35:47,659 of God’s promise in Jesus Christ? 575 00:35:47,659 –> 00:35:50,620 Do you see in the familiarity of Christmas 576 00:35:50,620 –> 00:35:55,620 that this is why Jesus Christ came into the world? 577 00:35:57,699 –> 00:36:00,739 And if you see that and as you do increasingly, 578 00:36:00,739 –> 00:36:03,360 you will find yourself with a full heart saying, 579 00:36:03,360 –> 00:36:08,360 thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift. 580 00:36:09,620 –> 00:36:13,300 Father, help us, we pray, more deeply and fully 581 00:36:13,300 –> 00:36:16,939 to rejoice in all that is ours in Jesus Christ. 582 00:36:16,939 –> 00:36:19,360 Thank you that you are the one 583 00:36:19,360 –> 00:36:23,439 who delivers what you have promised in Him. 584 00:36:23,439 –> 00:36:25,620 And in this we rejoice in Jesus’ name 585 00:36:25,620 –> 00:36:27,280 and everyone said, amen.