Perspective of the Prophets

Everybody out this morning have some faces that we missed the last few weeks here. So glad and happy that you're here with us this morning to be able to worship and they're still others that are sick from our church family dick still in the hospital. So just ask for continued prayer for him. And Jim is at home recuperating still and everyone has lots of ailments this time of year. So just keep our church family in prayer and the Lord will heal them and will be able to meet together as a full body. I have this vision of everyone in our church family being here on a Sunday morning and singing praises to God. So let's just keep our loved ones in prayer. And if you're a visitor here this morning, thank you for being here. It's always a pleasure to be able to have gas with us this morning my family and I moved here about 6 months ago from Utah and we came up to Canada at this church in The reason why we accepted the call is because of the people who are the people here are amazing loving bunch of Christians. And I hope that you have that opportunity to experience that today and I also want to make sure that you have we have a visitor gift outside in the foyer just has some stuff about who we are and a couple gifts for you inside of that bag as well. So original this morning, please be sure to grab one of those that be great. So it's Christmas season. How many of you all are bah humbug don't like good Christmas and brother and they're going to admit to that no-good. Hey, man, I love the Christmas season. It's a time for us to be able to slow down and be able to think about and contemplate on the Glorious birth of Jesus our savior who went to the cross and died for our sins. And if he was not born in this stuff is not take on human a human body take on flash. You could not have done that for us. And so it's a Time for us to have that perspective right that perspective of what Jesus who Jesus is and what he's done for us on our account and that's kind of these next few weeks, but I want to focus on our perspective perspective means the capacity to view things in their true relations are relative importance that's perspective and perspectives capacitive you things and so we can come in to Christmas season and we can we can there's a danger that we can lose perspective on Christmas. The Bible doesn't command us to celebrate Jesus's birthday, but throughout church history. It's been in such a time where we can manifest of the world this glorious birth of our of Our Savior Jesus Christ. It's an opportunity people's hearts 10 to soften up of around the holidays and we can we can share that wonderful message. But we know as far as the West anyway, Chris Christmas is increasingly viewed as a is the time of holiday cheer just parties and good time and good feelings right now habits gift-giving right seems like the gifts are bigger and bigger every year and at least it's been my experience in the last year that they just every year the world wants to keep your kids Jesus further and further away from this holiday season, and we're not allowed to talk Christmas party anymore at work where I have to call it a holiday party and all those things and then so we can we can lose perspective. We can get wrapped up in what the world thinks of this time of year and lose our perspective as Christians and that would be a travesty but as Christians the Christmas season can be an opportunity to reflect on what God has done. God has done great things for the gospel. And as great as his death Jesus's death burial and Resurrection is says I said earlier. It would not have happened without the birth of Jesus. And we have to keep our perspective on that that this is the time of year where we can just focus and meditate on the Glorious good news of the Gospel. The birth of Jesus is not some cute Fable or fairytale. It's a historical account. Of Our Lord our Creator God stepping into his creation to save Sinners Like You and Me. That's what this Christmas season is our God in our creator stepping into his creation to save. Sinners Like You and Me and we can do if you're not careful. We can become numb to that make me sit in the Magnificent on spires inspiring astonishing sacrifice. There was way too many were too many syllables. Once right there never be sad again out there and set up magnificent formed by Jesus on our account. We can come to that because it is on Sperry This Magnificent is awesome. What he's doing? What are good Creator God has done and the Furious as we come to another Christmas season, we can just pack up in the Book of Luke and we can read the Christmas story and just become numb to the what God God is truly truly done and when you lose perspective when we do that The gospel story and in the birth of Jesus is like hey because you know the oldie but goodie songs, you know back in the day when you're you know, young and alive just doing crazy things in though that music that we still use listen to Back Then when when when you're driving in your car and maybe you have the radio on and I'll send that song comes on and it's it's years and years old baby boy just brings back such good memories, right? It's the oldie but goodie any other than that, it's all coming around. The good ones real good ones, they get remake and they they they completely wreck them. But yeah right there. But that's that's what the gospel should be like to us doesn't matter how many times we hear the gospel story of the birth of Jesus. It is. That thing that this weekend as pretty as Christians, we can have perspective perspective understand the Glorious good news that when Jesus came to his Earth has about 4 to that. I was Garth Brooks is my favorite growing up and my wife and I had an opportunity to to go to his concert was a bucket list for me. I always wanted to go to Garth Brooks concert. I was too broke to do it. And so we were able to do that a few years ago for an anniversary. You know what it was great, but I just sat there and it was there's lights and flashy stuff out going on. I just sat there with tears welling up in my eyes. I know some of your like dark roast come out, but for me that are coming back to X amen sister and she he is good at hurting me back to time of of life my formative years and she's playing that I wasn't I didn't like to have a man-crush right, but it was because every time you play the song These Memories would just come up well up inside of me and it was just a great time for me to reflect back on that those times in my life and and those songs You have a lot of intent and meaning in my life and the gospel that the the story of Jesus's birth should be the same for us. Just stop and don't let this world change it into how big are gifts are, you know, all that the lavish parties and and you know, all that baby can Christians but only reflect on the goodness of the Gospel. That was afforded To Us by the birth of Jesus, but also be able to share it with our friends and our neighbors and we can be a voice of resistance to what this world says instead. We can stand up and say no this time of year is much deeper has much more meaning. then what the world claims it has the time for us to be able to spread the good news. And so perspective. That's what I want to focus on the next few weeks. Just having the perspective the good healthy Christian biblical perspective of what the this time of year really should be about and we always you read them the gospel or that the birth of Jesus if you read that account in Luke chapter two, most of us read that maybe a Christmas Eve or Christmas morning with our families. and I

is you read the verse that always jumps out to me? Is verse 19? Verse 19 says this is right in the middle of the cash to Jesus that I have been born. The shepherd's of come the shepherds are going to leave and go back and declare the glory of what has been done to those around Bethlehem. But this person is always jumped out to me cuz it it provides a good perspective of how Isis Christians should be says but Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart. So Jesus was born shepherds are there, but Mary was taking this time, but Mary was Treasure and of all these things in her heart and meditating on them. I think that's a good verse for us as Christians to to take this time to treasure up the riches and glory of the Gospel message and to meditate on those things and the teachers to our children and our grandchildren. It's a beautiful time of year. and we see there's different perspectives that are rent to us as we going to open up the scriptures. There's many different perspectives. We can see this to time does birth of Jesus Through The Eyes of those that are recorded in scripture. And so this this week I want to focus on the perspective of the prophets and Jim mentioned earlier of the the Messianic prophecies that were pointing towards are looking forward towards the time when that he that person that would that God said would come to to crush Satan's head in Genesis 3 15, the he who would come as God use the Old Testament to lay out through His prophets this person that would come who is called the Messiah. And so let's look at the birth of Jesus to the perspective of the profits if you will this morning and so the first one is there Luke chapter 1 before the birth of Jesus. This is a recording of of Zachariah prophesying about his son. That was to be born John the Baptist in just a few weeks ago and John we saw how John was the last of many prophets that where do Portell of the coming of the Messiah and we went through that the Lamb of God. He he was the last of many had the privilege of declaring that the Messiah had arrived but he was the last in a long line of profits with this prophecies. Just amazing and I just want to take the time to go through this this this prophecy of Zachariah and 67 then his father Zakaria was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied praise the Lord the god of Israel because he has visited and provided Redemption for his people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David. Just as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets in ancient times salvation from our enemies and from the clutches of those who hate us he has dealt mercifully with our fathers and remembered his Holy Covenant the old he had swore to Our Father Abraham had he has given us the privilege since we have been rescued from our enemies clutches to serve him without fear. And Holiness and righteousness in his presence all our days and child speaking of John hair John the Baptist you will be called a prophet of the most I are you will go before the Lord prepare his ways to give his people knowledge of Salvation to the Forgiveness of their sins because of our God is merciful compassion the dawn from Aunt I will visit us to shine on those who live in darkness and the shadow of death to God our feet into the way of Peace. He can put Sarah the child grew up and became spiritually strong and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel. Where you was to arrive on the scene and be baptizing for the Forgiveness of sins and and declaring the Jesus was the Lamb of God. And so he is the long last in a long line of prophet that were to able to to testify of the goodness of God and who he in the Salvation. That was the come through the Messiah and so that's just a a great way to start the Christmas story. Is the Racine and drawing together the culmination of God's plan for salvation his Redemptive rescue mission that he laid out the way back in Genesis 3 15 Jesus stepping into the Flash's the culmination of that. History of I forget who who played claim this but history is really can be laid out or made you say his story right? It's God's story his Redemption story and God uses human history to be able to unveil and for us as God's people to see this great Plan of Redemption given to Jesus and it goes back to 15. You mentioned that he would crush the Serpent's head. And then he would use human history in the profits in recorded scripture to declare the different aspects of who this Messiah would be in. The first one is Messiah from would be from the tribe of Judah. And this is fountain in Genesis 49 verse 10. this prophet What's the cleanest in Genesis 49 through 10 misses? This is actually Jacob talking to his 12 sons would be the 12 tribes of Israel. And he's prophesying to them and telling each one that the things that they were going to be special and then God is blessing and then within warnings and stuff like that and they came to Judah and then this is what he said. The scepter will not depart from Judah or the staff from between his feet until he whose right it is comes and The Obedience of the people belongs to him. The scepter that's the the the sign of authority. Jacob's Towing judai, look this stuff thority that the list of the sign of authority from Judah or the staff from the between his feet. It will not depart from Judah. until he there's the he he the Genesis 3 15 he until he whose right? It is comes and The Obedience of the people's belongs to him. And so we have this Messianic prophecy way back in Genesis 49:10 written in the 15th century committed to writing in the 15th century, BC.

It's amazing.

The Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah the scepter the mark of royal power would not depart from Judah. So the Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah the next is it the lineage of David. That's found in 2nd Samuel chapter 7 verses 11 through 13.

Says this the Lord declares to you. The Lord himself will make a house for you. When your time comes in your rest and you rest with your father's hour raise up after you your descendant to come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. He's talking to David hear that the the prophet Nathaniel is talking to David King David and Nathaniel prophesied that this Messiah would come from his lineage from his line. When your time comes in the rest of your father's I will raise you up after you your descendant who will come from your body and I will stab us his kingdom or searching he will build a house for my name and I will establish the Throne of his kingdom forever. the lineage of David from the perspective of the prophets we see that God has been planning this Messiah Jesus to come to to free his people from sin to and from the person and the bondage of sin and to reconcile him through the Messiah and it was it was prophesied. This is around 1100 BC. 1100 BC he's saying it from the tribe of Judah from the lineage of David. He will come and then we see it here and Isaiah 7:14. This is around 750 B C the prophet Isaiah says it's there for the Lord himself will give you a sign the Virgin will conceive have a son. And name him Emmanuel.

Again, thousands of years are a thousand years removed from the last prophecy God's using human history to to lay out who this Messiah would be. And then we find in my cat five first two that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

Micah 5:2 says that's Bethlehem ephrathah. You are small among the clans of Judah one will come from you to be a ruler over Israel for me. His origin is from Integrity from eternity. your default born in Bethlehem, and he would not be like you and I His origin is from Antiquity from eternity our Creator God stepping into his creation our Eternal God stepping into his creation to come and to save those who are lost its wrestler Specter from the prophets. We have this Rich of Revelation from God. That this Messiah this Jesus Christ is one that can be trusted on and you're interested it in in full because it's not just by the wayside. He just didn't show up and happen to be very charismatic person. That's a lot of people follow them two thousand years removed from his death. There's millions of Christians throughout the world because we can open up. Scripture. We can see God's story his story being revealed through time and the prophets and the prospective they had are very important concerning that Tell me if you wrote The First Peter chapter 1 Peter writes about this this perspective from the prophets versus the perspective that we have and I think it's good for us to just contemplating and meditate on this morning First Peter chapter 1 verse 10.

And so Peters riding nieces concerning this salvation, that's through Jesus the prophets who prophesied about the grace that would come to your house first and carefully investigated. So we have these prophets of God. They're the ones that we just reviewed and Peter saying look the Salvation that you have the prophets who prophesied about those things right with the grace that would come to you surf and carefully investigated this. They didn't have the complete story like you and I do today. They had a different perspective. Their perspective was looking forward to the Messiah computer drawing that I say look, this is such an amazing gift that we have because we have a different perspective. Now. We're now looking back to the Messiah into the cross. They searched and carefully investigated. They wanted to know. They didn't have all the answers. They they weren't on Mission fee. They were prophesied through the spirit of the Lord of me. They were told to the prophesy what they prophesied but they weren't told all the answers obviously verse 11 been quiet until what time or what Circumstance the spirit of Christ within them was indicating when he testified in advance to the Messianic sufferings in the glory that would follow us up there inquiring Lord what's going on here. They wanted to know if it's hard to know they see God moving and God setting up the then the Messianic rain when they see their prophesying the suffering of this conquering King write. This is a text message in the Old Testament of this Messiah would come as a conquering King, but yet there's others passages that they claim to be a suffering servant and it wasn't clear to them. As it is for us.

We are in a blessed time of privileged position because we have received the gospel more looking back what God has done.

And we have the knowledge of the very things the ancient prophets search for we have that knowledge has been revealed to us. What a great perspective that we have. I'm 2018 as we come to this Christmas season as we see the goodness that God has provided through sending his son into his creation to save us first 12 goes on it was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you it's us that's Advocates. This isn't you're going to not going to be around for the Fulfillment of these. By the grace of God we are.

It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves. But you these things have now been announced to you through those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from angels are Sent From Heaven. And either you can close the start with saying angels even desire to look into these things God's angels are just looking wonder and awe of the gospel story that God stepped into his creation to say since save sinners like you and I Angels desire to look into these things the prophets desire to know what is coming. We have the benefit of knowing God's Plan of Redemption. What a great perspective for us to have And just to hold onto is be going to this Christmas time this perspective of privilege of knowing what God has done and Hebrews chapter 11. That's the that's the gospel or the Hall of Faith. There's many people listed in the Hall of faith in Hebrews chapter 11 who believe and trust in God layout the definition of what faith is things as faith is the things hoped for the substance of not saying that's not saying and so many piston Hebrews chapter 11, the all these people who believe and trust in God for God's promises. But he concludes chapter 11 by saying this all these were approved through their faith. They trust in God and because of their faith they were approved by God, but they did not receive what was promised. Since God has provided something better for us. so that they would not be made perfect without us and so those

Saints those godly people who have faith and trust in God they did not were not able to see what was promised because it was reserved for a later time in human history. We were looking forward to those promises and we have this opportunity in this perspective of looking back and being thankful for what God has done on our behalf.

I just prayed this morning that we can all have a good perspective of what this Christmas season can really be about as Christians. We can see this amazing demonstration of God's glory and God's unmerited love to the saving of Sinners through stepping into his creation taken upon the form of a servant.

Being the Spotless Lamb of God who knew no sin who went to the cross. And that's across God's Wrath was poured out on him for not his Sim, but for arson. that all for the all those who would believe and trust in his sacrificial work on the cross if they would just trust in that in the band and hoping all that but in Christ vicarious working trusting that God will save you he will make you knew he will adopt you and his family. Best perspective that we have and it all started with the Messiah being born into this world through the Virgin birth of Mary. If you do not know Jesus as Savior this morning, I pray that today would be the day. If you would have been in all hoping all other things and Trust completely on the sacrificial work of Christ Alone, he came into this world to save Sinners and if you save the sinner like me, I promise you you can save anybody. I hope today would be the day that you trust. Jesus is savior. But you can be a part of his story. This wonderful story that's being played out through human history is being played out today. It played out in my life 10 14 years ago when this gospel message was preached to me and I've trusted and believed in Christ and I would never been the same since I was added into his story of rescuing Redemption that same thing can happen to you this morning. You can be added into his story of rescuing Redemption. I just trusting in Him and him alone. Let's pray father. We just love you and are so thankful. For the gospel. We're thankful for this holiday season for us as Christians been spotted what this world will do we have this opportunity to go before and go into this world and end in demonstrate with the right perspective of what you've done to the gospel. So God, we just ask that you would help us Lord help us stay free the distractions at this world will throw at us this holiday season. Help us to keep the right perspective and that is the birth of our Messiah our Lord Jesus Christ. What are the amazing gift Lord? Thank you for that. We ask these things in Christ precious name for the gym since just the time of