“Prophecies of Jesus” – Genesis 3

I want to tell you a story. I think you will really like this story because the main character in this story…is you. In this story, you have been through a lot. You have worked hard all your life. You have a good family that loves you. You have a loving church family here at Christ Fellowship. You aren’t perfect but you are getting better and you have seen God’s blessings on your life.

You are finally seeing some fruit in your life from the work you have done and it feels good. You aren’t wealthy by any means but you are getting by and the future looks promising and interesting. There is great potential in how your life is finally turning out. You like your life and you like yourself. How do you like my story so far?

Then one day, you have a thought about moving away. The thought comes out of nowhere and surprises you. You don’t want to move anywhere. Your family is here. Your church, your friends, your job; it’s all here. So, you just blow off that thought. But then, one night you have a dream about moving. “I had the weirdest dream” you say.

Then, pretty soon, you are thinking about it more and more and finally you ask God if this is coming from Him and He tells you plainly, “I want you to move to Australia.” You pray and pray and that is all you get. “I want you to move to Australia.” You “inform” God of all the reasons why that will never work. You fight it. You put it off but you have no peace about not being obedient. Finally, you tell your spouse, “Honey, I feel like God wants us to move.” And your spouse says, “Yes, I know. To Australia. He has told me too.”

What do you do? What’s the end of this story? We would all like to think we would be obedient to God’s calling but that’s a hard one. But what if God revealed to you that if you would just be obedient and move to Australia that He would bless you in every way? He would bless you and your family. He would bless the whole world by your obedience and through you the whole world would be blessed. Would that convince you?

It convinced Abram. Abram – who later became Abraham - lived in what was called Ur of the Chaldeans. It was in probably modern-day Iraq. God told him to move to Canaan, which is roughly what we call Israel today. That doesn’t look too far away on a map but for Abram, it meant a trip of about 500 miles which would be like moving to Australia for us today.

Let me read to you exactly what God said in Genesis chapter 12. It was a life-changing promise from God; life-changing for Abram and his family and it continues to change lives even today. What a huge thing God asked of Abram and I want you to see that, the huge promise that God makes and Abrams epic response to it. Let’s read Genesis 12:1-5.

The LORD had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you. 2"I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." 4So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

Let me ask you a question. Why? Not, “Why would Abram agree to this promise and be obedient?” That’s not hard to see at all. He was going to make out like a bandit in this deal. I want to know why God would offer this promise in the first place. And…why Abram? What had Abram done to deserve to become the father of the great nation of Israel?

But, this is not to diminish the sacrifice Abram had to make and the huge leap of faith he had to take. Abram had to walk away from everyone and everything he knows and go to a place God had yet to reveal. But when he did, God promised three big blessings. God will bless him. He will be a blessing and he will be a channel of blessing.

The first means that Abram will come under God’s care, protection and favor. The second means that Abram will provide care and protection to those in favor with him. Lot is an example of that in chapter 14. The third means that God will bring blessing to other people through Abram and his family. (NIV Application Commentary)

Those are huge, in fact, unfathomable promises from God. There is no way Abram could have foreseen all that this would mean just for his own family, not to mention the world. But, I go back to the question, why? What’s in it for God? We see some of what it means for Abram but what’s in it for God? Well, I have come to understand that the ultimate reason that God does anything is for His glory. There may be other reasons for things happening but all things are for God’s glory.

In Psalm 19 it says He created the world to declare his glory. Isaiah 43 says He made man for His glory. He gave us the Law for His glory. I could go on and on. He allows some to get sick and some to be healed for His glory. And He should! That is why He is God. God made people out of a desire to glorify himself. If it didn’t glorify God to make us, to save us, to love us, he wouldn’t have done it. God never ever puts anything above himself. The fact that God made and commands all living creatures to worship him is the very evidence he alone is God. (Mark Ballenger)

So, the ultimate reason that God made this deal; this promise; this covenant with Abram was for God’s glory. But I see at least three other specific reasons why God did this and as we have been focusing on seeing Jesus in the Old Testament, I believe that all three reasons make this a prophecy that is completely fulfilled in Jesus. I didn’t set out to make them all start with the letter “R” but it just worked out.

The first part of this prophecy is a promise for a relationship. In verse 2, God says, "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you.” Think about your kids and your grandkids for a minute. What is the absolute best thing you can do for your them? Would giving them a million dollars be best for them? I don’t care how old they are. Lots of money is rarely the best thing for anybody.

If you want to make your kids grow up into great people, the best thing you can do for them is have a good relationship with them. When they are little, you don’t have to be their friend. You teach them how to behave and how to interact with others and to show character and have morals and love God and they will be great.

That’s what our Heavenly Father promised Abram. "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you.” What better way of doing that; what better way to make a person great than to have a relationship with God? Does God give you everything you want? Does He spoil you? Does He ever give you anything that is going to harm you? Sometimes we get our hands on things (or people) that are not good for us but that is not God’s will. James 1:17 says every good and perfect thing comes from God.

Imagine this with me. Triune God; God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are looking down from Heaven to earth. God has created all things and now wants to have a closer relationship with what He has created so the Spirit goes down to Abram and starts to place thoughts in his mind about something better and something different. He causes Abram to have dreams about moving. He does the same for Abram’s wife, Sarai, giving her peace about packing up and leaving so that when God speaks to Abram, His word is verified by Sarai and makes the choice to be obedient an easy one.

But God cannot tolerate sin. He can’t be around it. He doesn’t want to look at it and for God to have a better relationship with man, He gives man the institutions of sacrifice and the Law of Moses. With the Law, man can see he is sinful and with the sacrifice of an animal, his sins are covered over.

But we have Jesus. We don’t need the Law. We follow Jesus. We don’t need the sacrifice anymore. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice. Do you see how Jesus was the perfect fulfillment of the prophecy and the promise God gave to Abram back thousands of years before Jesus came to earth in the flesh? God doesn’t want your sacrifice. He doesn’t want your religion. He wants you and only you but all of you and we can now have that relationship with God through His Son, Jesus.

The second part of this prophecy is a promise for revelation. I’m not talking about just the last book of the Bible. I mean God has revealed Himself to us. At the end of verse 2, God tells Abe, “I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” It’s not going to be long before people start seeing Abram and seeing how he is blessed and how he’s a blessing and they start saying, “I don’t know who his God is, but I need to find out.” And God will reveal Himself to them. Can you imagine not having that revelation of who God is?

There is an ancient Babylonian story of two Hindu men on their way to their temple. One is happy and whistling on his way to worship their thousands of gods while the other one is a bit upset. Ayyab is the name of the happy guy and Rab-ilu is not so much. (I didn’t make up this story.)

Ayyab asks Rab-ilu why he is so upset. He should be happy. They are both going to the temple to feast and worship and Ayyab has been very blessed by the gods so he doesn’t understand what Rab-ilu’s problem is. Rab-ilu gets angry and says, “Gods? What gods? Which ones? Who are they? What do they want? What does it take to earn their favor? Your circumstances are good. Your family is growing and healthy but I am losing everything even though I sacrifice and pray and worship. What do the gods want?”

Isn’t that a sad story? That must be miserable. You may snicker at that illustration but too many churchgoers today have a lack of knowledge about God that leads them into wrong thinking. God is not your genie that is going to make all your dreams come true and all your problems disappear. If God wants to make a deal with you like He did with Abram, that His business but you can’t make a deal with God. Foxhole religion or jailhouse religion is just that – religion. It is not a relationship and in this relationship you may go through some very difficult times.

But a big part of being a disciple of Jesus is the peace and joy we can have even in the difficult times and we have that peace and joy because we know God.  And God wants to reveal Himself to us. How does God reveal Himself to us today? He has given us His Holy Spirit to live inside us. 1 Corinthians 3:16 says, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

He reveals Himself through His creation. Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

He reveals Himself through prayer. David prayed in Psalm 143:10, “God, Teach me to do your will.” What God wants is revealed to us through prayer. Don’t you know Rab-ilu would have loved to know what his god’s will was? All we have to do is ask. God wants you to know His will and He wants to reveal it to you.

But the greatest way that God reveals Himself to us is through the life of Jesus as found in scripture. In John 14:8-10 Philip said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father.”

Again, Jesus fulfilled the promise of God to Abram. He wants a relationship with us and so He has revealed Himself to us, mainly through His Son, Jesus. And the last part of this promise to Abram is the prophecy that Jesus fulfilled of redemption. One of the most world-changing verses in scripture is found in this passage in verse 3 where God says, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

Abram became the father of the nation of Israel, the same nation of Israel that still sits over in the Middle East and is hated by every country around it. You know, I’m not a very smart guy (you don’t have to say amen right there) but I wish I could give one piece of advice to every world leader. All you democrats that hate Israel, all you countries around Israel, the leader of Russia and China and everybody else, let me give you this advice.

God, the Creator of the universe, the Almighty, the One who is and was and is to come made a promise several thousand years ago to a little guy named Abram and that promise has no expiration date. If you bless Israel, you will be blessed. If you curse Israel, you will be cursed. Period. So, when the president says we are going to give Israel millions of dollars, that is a great investment. Go for it. We should all support Israel, if no other reason than because God says we will be blessed if we do.

But there is more to this than just supporting Israel. God said that all peoples on earth will be blessed through Abram and Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of that because it is through Jesus that we are redeemed. Do you know what it means to be redeemed? Somebody tell me what it means to you.

I was walking the dogs the other day and the little boy across the street was out playing so I went over to that side of the street to see what he was doing. He had a beat-up old dog crate with a little wild bird in it. It looked like the bird had something wrong with its wing and the boy said he caught it and put it in that cage.

I asked what he was going to do with it and he said he didn’t know. He was probably just going to feed it to one of the cats that live around here. So, I told him I’d give him $2 for the bird and the beat-up little cage and he said, “Aw, you don’t want this bird. There’s something wrong with him. And he doesn’t even sing very well.” But I pulled out two dollars and he didn’t argue.

So, I brought the bird back over here, took it out back and opened that cage door and you should have seen that bird take off! He hopped around for a second but finally was able to get some air and then he was gone. And while he might not have been much of a songbird, I’m pretty sure I heard him sing, “I Am Redeemed” as he flew off. (Okay, that’s not a true story but it could be.)

That is just what Jesus has done for us! God told Abram that all peoples on earth would be blessed through him and we have been because Jesus has paid the price that we could never pay. His death on the cross was the price that God charges us for our sin. In the Old Testament, animals were required to die to cover over their sin. For us, Jesus died and our sins are forgiven, forgotten and thrown away as far as the east is from the west.

We are redeemed to have a new life in Christ. My friend Arthur, who lives in Livingston, Texas, wrote me this week and said, “I am a new creature in Christ Jesus, who Himself was crucified on the Old Rugged Cross, but three days later, He defeated the tomb and sin, death could not hold him. I also crucify my sin nailed it to the cross with the old man.”

Arthur gets it! He is a new creation. He’s not a better man or an improved person. He is new, changed, different and alive. Yes, like he said, we all have that old man living inside of us but it is our responsibility to crucify that old man every day. Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”

If your life has never changed; if you can sin and it doesn’t bother you; if you don’t have a desire to be more and more like Jesus, then you are not a true Christian. A true believer is a new creation, redeemed; bought with a precious price and we ought to fly off every day believing, remembering and singing about our redemption that we have through Jesus.

Galatians 3:16 has a fitting word to close us with. It says, “the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. (Paul is talking about this passage in Genesis.) Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ.”

Because Abram was obedient, we have all been blessed through Jesus. He was born, lived, died and rose again to bring us a relationship with God, revelation of God and redemption by God. Do you believe that? Does your life reflect that belief? If not, let’s get it right today. You are either blessed by God or cursed by God. There is no in between.

Ask God to forgive you of your sins. Repent of those sins and allow God to change your life and make you a new creation as God’s Spirit comes to live in your heart. I’d love to pray with you about that or anything else right now as the music plays.

“Jesus, Noah and the Ark”

Where do you stand on spanking a child as part of the disciplinary process? Is that okay? What if a child hits another child? Should you spank that child as part of teaching them not to hit? Is that not hypocritical?

Let’s take that further. What about the death penalty? If someone murders somebody, should we kill them? “I’ll teach you not to kill. I’ll kill ya!” What’s the difference?

The difference in spanking a child is the child is acting out on uncontrolled physical aggressiveness and is disciplined in a controlled way. If the father doing the spanking is uncontrolled and violent, then it’s abuse.

The murderer is likewise acting out his uncontrolled physical aggressions and society has a responsibility to protect the rights and welfare of its citizens. But if the execution of capital punishment is not a thoughtful, controlled process and is just a tool of repression and tyranny, then it becomes equal to murder.

We are told in Genesis 6:5 that “the LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” So…you know what He did? He killed ‘em. Now, we have had this conversation before and some of you still struggle with the concept of God doing anything that is bad.

I know. I know. You like to say that God allows bad things to happen but He causes good things to happen. Well, how do you explain the great flood? It was a really, really bad, horrible thing that happened to 99.99% of all people and animals on the earth and God takes full credit for it. In chapter 6, verse 7, God says, "I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created.”

Is that hypocritical? “Man is really, really bad so I will do something really, really bad.” No, that’s not hypocritical. They deserved it. God had given them every opportunity to repent of their evil ways and follow Him but they chose not to. Noah was the only one who was obedient. And since Noah did it, we know it could be done. God showed them mercy for a long time but finally He had enough and brought justice. My only question is how much longer does the world we live in have before God brings His justice again?

From the beginning of time, God has been preparing the world…for the end of the world. He has been preparing man for the end of life as we know it. All through the Old Testament, God was showing that, while God’s creation was, as He called it, good, it wasn’t perfect. All the way back to the Garden of Eden and the forbidden fruit, God has been telling man that one day there will be something better.

With the institution of the blood sacrifice that covered over their sins, God was telling mankind, “Just wait. Something better is coming.” With the Law of Moses came a window to show them how sinful they really were but what they really needed was a door to escape that sin. God gave prophets to tell the people to be looking for something bigger and better and we now know that something was actually someone and His name is Jesus.

We are continuing our focus on finding Jesus in the Old Testament and this week we get to look at the incredible story of Noah and the Ark. I said something about this last week at Bible study and Cindy kind of laughed and said, “Noah?” And I thought, “Oh, no! Did I say the wrong guy? Is it Jonah? Is it Moses? No, it’s Noah.” Cindy, it’s Noah. And if I say it wrong in this message, you know who I’m talking about and you know who to blame, right?

Now, before we get into reading about it, I need to know something. Are you like I am when I read a book or watch TV? I spend way too much time thinking about all the reasons why whatever I’m seeing is impossible. “You can’t do that. That wouldn’t happen that way. That’s not how you do it!” And it ruins the whole show for me but I can’t help it.

If you are that way, then you will hate this story. You thought David and Goliath was unbelievable! But there are two things you need to know about this story. First, a lot of the questions you will have get answered when you do deep research and find out just how big this ark was and how long they were there and all the details help explain a lot of things.

But secondly, a big part of being a Christian is having faith. It’s not blind faith but at some point, you will have some questions that don’t get answered and you just trust that the same God who spoke all of creation into existence could get a bunch of critters on a boat and keep them safe from a flood. Like usual, if you get bogged down in the details, you will miss a beautiful jewel.

So, let’s start reading in Genesis chapter 6. We are going to read 6:9-22 and then skip over a few verses and read some more to get the whole picture without having to read three whole chapters.

This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. 11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. 16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.” 22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

Now, skip over to 7:11. In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

17-19 For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. ¹⁸ The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. ¹⁹ They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered.

8:1-5 But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. 2 Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. 3 The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, 4 and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5 The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.

Let’s stop there. There is a little more to it but that much will keep us busy for a while. So, I sent out an email this past Friday encouraging you to read this story and be looking at this as a picture of Jesus. Does anybody see anything in this story that might point to Jesus or have some characteristics of Jesus or make you think of Jesus in any way?

This is another story that is just dripping with symbolism. I can’t wait to get to Heaven so Jesus can show me all the symbolism all through the Bible and tell me everything that pointed to Him or was Him but until then, this is some of the symbolism I uncovered in my studies this past week.

Do you remember that song you used to sing in Sunday School as a kid called “Rise and Shine”? Rise and Shine and give God the glory, glory. Rise and Shine and give God the glory, glory. The Lord told Noah to build him an arky arky. The Lord told Noah to build him an arky arky. Build it out of…gopher barky barky.

That comes from chapter 6, verse 14 that the NIV and most others translate Cypress wood. The KJV interprets that as gopher wood. It is a type of wood that would have been common and plentiful in those days and it was used and still is used to make things that you want to last. It didn’t rot or decay easily.

In Psalm 16:10, David is speaking of Jesus when he prophecies, “you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.” Jesus, the “root of Jesse”, who it is said in Daniel 9 will be “cut off” is our Ark of salvation.

Okay, I’m going to have to go through some of this pretty quick because we don’t have time to do them justice. But we will see this and more tonight at 6 pm. I love this next one. In chapter 6, verse 14, God told Noah to build the ark and then cover it inside and out with pitch. That word “pitch” is the same basic Hebrew word for “atonement” which is what the blood of Jesus does for us. It covers us. Jesus died on the cross to atone for us or reconcile us back to God. We can have a relationship with God through His Son Jesus because of that atonement or pitch. Isn’t that cool?

Another point is there is only one way to enter the ark and it’s through the one and only door. Jesus calls Himself the one and only way (John 14:6), which He is (Acts 4:12), and the door to His sheepfold. Jesus said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9). If not, they have the wrath of God abiding on them (John 3:36b). Even though Noah had to choose to enter the ark, “the Lord shut him in” (Gen 7:16), showing it is God alone Who saves us and preserves us.

The waters represent God’s judgment, but Noah didn’t save himself…it was God who instructed him how to do so. Today, God instructs us how to be saved and that’s by trusting in Christ. Noah trusted the ark, and we can trust in Christ. The ark was made of wood, just as the cross was. The pitch protected the people inside, making a water-tight seal, and Jesus’ blood covers our sins and protects us from the wrath of God. God prepared a place for Noah and his family when the ark settled. Jesus said He will return for us and is preparing a place for us too (John 14:3).

One last bit of symbolism I have to mention is the date on which the ark rested on the mountain. Look again at chapter 8, verse 4. and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. The Hebrew calendar started in October and so the 7^th month would have been what we call April. The 14^th of April was Passover and also the day Jesus died. Remember? And so what happened on the 17^th day of April, 3 days after the Passover? Jesus rose up out of that grave and rested in His glory. By the way, “Ararat” means glory. Just like the ark rested on the mountains of glory, Jesus rested in His glory. You think that is coincidence?

Okay, so all that symbolism is well and good and some of you maybe thinking I made some of that up or that it doesn’t really matter and that’s okay. You can just leave and never come back. Just kidding. Before you leave, I want you to see three quick things with me about this story.

What’s the problem in this story? God is about to flood the world. That’s a pretty big problem. I know you are going through some stuff right now but I bet it doesn’t compare with that. You may be pretty stressed out but the rest of the world is not going to die. Noah was faced with a choice. Do it God’s way or do it his way. Twice it says, “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.”

You have that same choice. Even as a Christian, we sometimes think we know better than God. “God, I know your Word teaches that we should tithe but I just can’t afford it so, obviously, I know better than you.” “God, I know your Word says I shouldn’t worry but that’s just how I’m made so, obviously, I know better than you.” God, I know your Word says all things are possible with Jesus but I’m an addict so obviously I know better than you.”

God told Noah to build a huge ark in the middle of the desert and fill it with animals and it says, “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.” I know you are either going into a storm, coming out of a storm or about to go into a storm. All you have to do is be obedient. Just do what He tells you to do and continue to do it until He tells you to do something else. And if He’s not telling you to do anything, just be still and know He is God! (Psalm 46:10)

Next, abide in Him. If the ark is symbolic of Jesus, then we see that Noah was abiding in Him. He was living there, camped out there. It’s all he could see. It was all he needed. He didn’t crawl out the upper window and look at the storm. If he had he probably would have fallen away. The ark was shelter. It was provision, protection and a covering. It was a blessing of God. Noah went through the same storm that killed everybody else. The difference was abiding in Him.

We abide in Jesus when we go where He goes and we do what He does. We live in Him and through Him. Bible study starts to be a necessity. Prayer is unceasing and church is our happy place. 1 John 2:6 says, “whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” We will start to look, act, sound, probably even taste and smell like Jesus. That is abiding in Him. An hour or so at church every couple of weeks is most definitely not abiding.

Obey Him. Abide in Him. And lastly, have faith in Him. Now, this last one sounds easy, right? Faith. What is faith? In Hebrews 11 it says, “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.” When warned about things not yet seen, Noah made the decision that is was better to do what God said to do even if it was hard, even if it made him look foolish, even when nobody else was doing it.

“Jesus, David and Goliath” – 1 Samuel 17

Maybe it’s just because I’m a guy. Maybe it’s because I was raised watching boxing with my dad. Or maybe it’s entertaining to everybody. I don’t know. But I love to watch a good fight. I’m not talking about street-fighting or when some loser punches his wife. I just mean I like to watch 2 athletes box or wrestle or kick box or Karate or that MMA stuff in a ring. And the best fights are always when the underdog wins.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a whole Rocky movie but isn’t that the premise behind most of them? Rocky is too young or too old or too something and he surely can’t win the big fight…but he does. I think everybody likes a story like that even if you don’t like to watch boxing. Maybe that’s why they made 6 of them and I think they made just about as many Rambo movies but that’s another sermon.
Everybody likes an underdog. It is true in every sport from boxing to tiddlywinks, but it is also true in every other aspect of life.  We have a political season coming up and you will hear certain politicians being referred to as the underdog. Don’t be fooled.  That is not an accident.  If somebody calls them an underdog, they are most likely being paid by that politician to say it because politicians know that being an underdog works heavily in your favor.  Studies have shown that being labeled an underdog can make your actions seem more virtuous and your face appear more beautiful. (The Underdog Effect -Why do we love a loser? By Daniel Engber)
Being labeled an underdog gives the impression that you try harder, have more heart, more courage and more gumption.  And that may or may not be true but that is how we look at underdogs.  What it boils down to is that everybody likes an underdog because everybody sees themselves as an underdog.
We can all relate to being the underdog and for most of us we never seem to win anything and so we root for the underdog because we long for some kind of justice in this world.  How much more so when we see the underdog as being young and pure and on the “right” team and his opponent is just a big ol’ meanie-headed jerk!  Which is what makes the story of David and Goliath such a timeless classic and the perfect underdog story.
If you would like to read along with that story, turn to 1 Samuel 17.  And since most of you have not read this story in a good while, and probably haven’t turned to the book of 1 Samuel in a while, I will set the story up for you as you find your place in 1 Samuel chapter 17.  The Samuels are in between the books of Ruth and 1 Kings.
I have been looking forward to preaching from this passage for a long time.  It is my all-time favorite story in the whole Bible.  I have said many times that I grew up reading about David growing up and now it seems like we are old friends.  And this story has fascinated me since before I could read it for myself.  And it has continued to fascinate me as I have been studying it lately.
I called my mom just this week and said, “Mama!  Did you know that Goliath was 9’6” tall???  His armor weighed 150 pounds!  The head of his spear alone weighed like 16 pounds!  That’s incredible!”  I felt like a little kid again saying, “Mama, look at this!”  I love this story!  It has action, drama, suspense, an underdog and a big ol’ meanie-headed jerk.  And the big ol’ meanie-headed jerk gets his big ol’ meanie head cut smooth off.  How great is this?

So, let’s read 1 Samuel 17. I won’t read the whole chapter but I am going to read most of it so just sit back and enjoy the story.

Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah. 2 Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. 3 The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them. 4 A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him. 8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified. Skip over to verse 22. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. 24 Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear.
Now skip over to verse 32.  32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” 33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.” 38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. 41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!” 45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” 48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground. 50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. 51 David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath[f] and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. 53 When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp. 54 David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem; he put the Philistine’s weapons in his own tent.

What a great story! Do you believe it’s true?  I hope so.  I sure do.  And while some scholars disagree about just how tall Goliath was – some say only 6 something while others say he may have been as much as 11 feet tall – it doesn’t matter.  Again, as in all great biblical stories, critics want to pick it apart and say that there is no way this could have happened because of such and such reason.  I won’t even go into the ridiculous things they said about this story.  Either God did a miracle or He didn’t.


Either the story is true or it isn’t.  Either the whole Bible is true or none of it is true!  And when you get distracted by debating if Goliath’s helmet covered his forehead or not or if both of his legs were covered in armor or just one of them, then you miss seeing what this story is all about. We have started a focus on how to see Jesus in the Old Testament and here, in this great story, David is a type of Messiah. I’m not saying he is the Messiah or a Messiah. He is a type of Messiah.

I have an idea that this story has had as many sermons preached on it as any other story in the Bible and the most common theme you will hear is something along the lines of, “With God, you can face your giant and overcome your adversity” and that’s not wrong, necessarily, but it’s not really the point of the story. I’ve said the last two weeks that it is obvious that the whole Bible is written about Jesus. Even the Old Testament has prophecies, types, pictures, foreshadows and illustrations of Jesus. And while we would all like to envision ourselves as David, the truth is…we are the Israelites cowering in fear because we know we can never face our enemies and we need a David to save us. We need a Savior because we can’t do it.

You see, we have a problem. In fact, we have a huge, giant problem. Scripture calls him Satan, the devil, the enemy, the father of lies, the great red dragon, the old serpent, the prince of this world, the power of the air. Some people believe Satan is just a representation of evil; that he doesn’t really exist but he is named and shown to be real all through the Old Testament and into the New Testament.

Job knew he is real. Jesus knew he is real. Deep down, you know he is real. I heard about the time Satan showed up at a church service one time. Everyone starts screaming and running for the front entrance, trampling each other in their efforts to get away from Evil Incarnate. Soon, everyone is evacuated from the church except for one man, who sat calmly in his pew, seemingly oblivious to the fact that God's ultimate enemy is in his presence. This confuses Satan a bit. Satan walks up to the man and says, "Hey, don't you know who I am?" The man says, "Yep, sure do." Satan says, "Well, aren't you afraid of me?" The man says, "Nope, sure ain't." Satan, perturbed, says, "And why aren't you afraid of me?" The man says, "Well, I've been married to your sister for 25 years."

Maybe that guy wasn’t afraid but we should be. Did you know that nowhere in the Bible does it tell us to fight back against Satan? Nowhere does it tell us to do battle with him or go up against him in any way. In Ephesians 6 and some other places, it tells us to stand against him but the context is standing up behind Jesus and, as it says in Ephesians 6:10, stand in the mighty power of Jesus.

Now, none of us, even on our best day would ever say that we are stronger than Satan on our own. But I see it all the time when people think, “I’m just going to drink a little bit. I’m just going to do a little bit of drugs. It’s just a little porn and it’s not that bad.” I guarantee you that every addict in the world said that, consciously or unconsciously. Nobody ever starts out thinking they can’t wait to become addicted. This is going to be fun. I hope I go to jail and ruin my life and my family’s lives.

Our enemy is too big and too powerful for us to take on in our own strength. Did you see in the story in verses 38 and 39 how Saul tried to dress David in his armor? That just makes sense that we should try real hard to fight against the devil but, just like if David had gone out there relying on that armor to help, so we too would get slaughtered if we try to take on Satan with our own strength, wisdom and willpower.

Just like the rest of the Israelites just allowed David to go out there and fight Goliath, so should we just go to the Lord and say, “God, I can’t do this. I need your help. I’m tempted to do this or that or even just give up but I know I can get through this in victory if You go before me.

I love in verse 45 where it says, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head.”

That’s just what Jesus has said, is saying and will say to Satan every time we turn our problems and temptations over to Him. But Satan wants you to think you are pretty strong. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10, “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!” Satan says, “You got this. You’ve been a Christian a long time. You are a leader in the church; a pillar of the community. You’re a tough guy.”

But let me tell you, not only is our enemy huge, but he’s also a liar. Look again at verse 9. Goliath steps onto the battlefield and tells the Israelites, “Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” After that, some versions say that Goliath offered to sell him some oceanfront property in Arizona. Yours may not say that. It’s a pretty obscure rendering of the text. 😊

That is a huge man telling a huge lie. But don’t you know it had to be tempting to some of the Israelites? I’m quite sure Goliath wasn’t the only huge warrior they had and the options for getting out of this alive were pretty bleak. But there was no way anybody was going to beat Goliath on their own and even if they did, the Philistines weren’t just going to put down their weapons and surrender.

Has Satan ever lied to you? Of course, he has. He is the father of lies and the truth is not in him. He can’t help but lie. That’s just what he does. And I know that you know that you are spiritually mature and you usually know when Satan is lying to you. But it’s that person sitting next to you in the pew that I’m worried about. Now, don’t be nudging them with your elbow! That’s not helping anything.

They may not be as mature as you are and you remember when you were a young Christian how often you fell for those lies of Satan so show them grace when they fall. You know it’s a lie when Satan says, “That woman did that to you on purpose. She obviously doesn’t like you.” But the young Christian may not discern that.

You know it’s a lie when Satan says, “I know that church is important but the Cowboys come on at noon so maybe next week.” But the young Christian may not discern that.

You know it’s a lie when Satan says, “Just give in. Even God can’t get you out of that addiction.” But the young Christian may not discern that. And the unbeliever can’t discern that. So, show them grace. Show them forgiveness. Show them love because you have been shown grace, forgiveness and love. I’m not saying to overlook unrepentant sin. I’m saying that everybody is struggling with something. Everybody falls for those lies sometimes. Let the church be where the sick come to get well. Let the church be the lighthouse for the blind and the family that loves unconditionally. Lord, help us to do that!

So, we have seen that Satan is huge and he is a huge liar. Now, I want us to see that just like Goliath, Satan is defeated. Let me remind you of verse 51 again where it says, “When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines. Just like those men shouted with victory, let me remind you of the shout of Jesus on the cross.

Just before He died and took all of my sins and shipped them off as far as the east is from the west, He cried out “Tetelestai!” It means it is finished! He wasn’t talking about His life. He was going to rise up and live again in three days. It was a cry of victory! The price has been paid. The sacrifice has been made once and for all.  Colossians 2 says, “When you were dead in your sins, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

That means that once Christ died and rose again and you believe in Him with all your heart then sin is no longer what you are expected to do. Unbelievers sin. That’s just what they do. They can’t help it. It’s their nature. But for us as believers in Jesus, we are alive and new creations. We are no longer slaves to sin. The Old Testament Law is not our master. Sin is not our master. Jesus is our Master and He defeated Satan, sin and death when He died and rose again. “Tetelestai!” is the victory cry.

As long as we are alive on this old earth, we will have problems. We will struggle. There will be things we don’t understand. Life will rarely be fair and you will be persecuted for being different from the world. That’s okay. We don’t have to understand. Yes, Satan is huge. He is more powerful than you or me. He will always be a liar. Just be ready for it. But we don’t have to be afraid. We don’t have to worry. Satan is defeated just like David defeated Goliath. All we have to do now is live like it.

Have you trusted Jesus to be your Master and Savior? All you have to do is believe but that belief will be lifechanging. Do you have a problem with that? Well then, how is it working out for you so far with you being in control? I’m not telling you to be a better person. I’m telling you to give up. Tell God you can’t do it anymore and that you want Him to do it through you from now on. Ask Him for forgiveness and then repent of that sinful lifestyle. Turn away from it and let God bring you peace and joy in this life plus the promise of eternity with Him in Heaven. Do it right now as the music plays.

“The Passover Lamb” – Exodus 12:1-13

I did some exhaustive research again – I googled it – and found out that today is a holiday. Did you know that? It is. Today is National Ampersand Day. Don’t you just love National Ampersand Day? Does anybody know what time the parade is? I can never figure out what to give as a present for National Ampersand Day. I assume you have to give two things so you can say you are giving this & that.

For those that don’t know, the ampersand is the little Latin symbol for “and” (&).  I don’t know why that symbol gets its own holiday. I don’t know who gets to declare these stupid holidays but I guess you just do it and hope it catches on. And if you celebrate National Ampersand Day, I hope you enjoy it and truly find meaning in it, because I really can’t.

Some holidays are more important than others. Some are more meaningful. Most major holidays are to remind us of important things that have happened in the past. Thanksgiving and Christmas come to mind pretty easily. This Wednesday is September 11 and is Patriot’s Day when we remember what happened in 2001 when nearly 3,000 people were killed in those attacks. It is important to remember those times and so we make them into holidays and that’s good.

Americans celebrate our independence from the British on July 4^th. It is important to celebrate that. It’s a big deal. A lot of people died so we could have that independence and it would be disrespectful to forget them. But did you know there is another celebration of independence that most of us never celebrate? The Passover is a celebration of independence that has its roots in the book of Genesis when young Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. It’s a long story but Joseph was sent to Egypt. Then as an adult, he saved his family, who lived in Israel, from starving and had his whole family move to Egypt and that’s a great story.

But after some years went by, the Israelites became a problem for the Egyptians and they made the Israelites slaves and they were slaves for 400 years. But finally, God raised up Moses and instructed him to go to the pharaoh and tell them to let God’s people go. And do you remember what happened? Well, first, Pharaoh said, “Uh…no. Thanks though. Now go back to work.” But after God sent a bunch of plagues, Pharaoh started to waiver.

Pharaoh was tough but after nine plagues that included blood, frogs, flies, hail, locusts and all kinds of bad stuff, God knew He had Pharaoh on the ropes. He knew that with this next plague, Pharaoh would give in so He called Moses and Aaron together and told them…well, let’s just read what God told Moses and Aaron in Exodus chapter 12.

We have just started our series on seeing Jesus in the Old Testament. We saw last week that Jesus is the subject of the entire Bible. Some people might not see it but they just need to look a little closer. There is prophecy about Jesus all through the Old Testament. There are signs and pictures and types of the Messiah on nearly every page if you start to look for them. Today we are going to see a foreshadowing of Jesus in the Passover. When you look at it with Jesus-focused glasses, it will be obvious. So, let’s start with Exodus 12:1 and go through just verse 13. Exodus 12:1-13.

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover. 12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

Can you imagine the response of the Israelites when Moses and Aaron told them what God had said to do? “We are supposed to take a what? And do what with it? And eat it how? That doesn’t make any sense.”

Has God ever told you to do something that didn’t make any sense? Teresa, I know God told you to marry Cody and that doesn’t make any sense but you just hold on. Maybe it will some day. 😊 Seriously, somebody tell me a time when God told you to do something that didn’t make sense but you did it anyway.

I don’t know why God chooses to do some things like He does, but this story is practically dripping with symbolism and it all points to Jesus Christ. This is such a perfect picture or foreshadowing of Jesus, starting with the lamb. Is there anything anymore helpless than a lamb? Is there anything any sweeter than a young lamb, besides my sweet Sara dog of course? I saw a video the other day where somebody had put some little lambs and goats in custom pajamas and let them run around. If you can look at that and not say, “Aw!” then something inside you is dead. They are cute and helpless and sweet…and the perfect symbolic animal of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

I’ll show you why. So, let’s figure that the exodus of the Hebrew people from Egypt happened about 1300 AD, give or take a century. Then in about 700 AD, Micah prophesied in Micah 5:2, “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." That’s an incredible prophecy fulfilled by Jesus 700 years after it was written.

Did you know that for centuries Passover lambs were raised in Bethlehem?  In those very same shepherds’ fields outside Bethlehem, a special breed of sacrificial lamb was raised and nurtured to be brought to Jerusalem at Passover to be slaughtered to cover the people’s sins.  How fitting that Mary’s Lamb, God’s perfect Lamb, the Lord Jesus, would be born there!

And He was born in a stable. How fitting that a sacrificial Lamb would be born in a stable. This Lamb was the final Passover lamb, the Lamb slain from the foundations of the world (Rev. 13:8), the one sacrificed to cover the sins of the world, past, present and future—forever. (Adrian Rogers)

Then, in Matthew 27, it says that as Jesus stood before Pilate, being accused of crimes He didn’t commit, Jesus did not answer. It says that He made no reply to any charge. He didn’t fight back. He didn’t argue. He didn’t cry and beg. He just allowed them to do what they wanted to do; what had been prophesied that they would do thousands of years before. Jesus just allowed Himself to be killed. What a picture of the Lord Jesus, the Lamb of Bethlehem Who said, "No man takes it (my life) from Me, but I lay it down..." (John 10:18).

Even today, God does not force Himself on anybody. Have you noticed that somebody can slander God, call Jesus all kinds of names and blaspheme the Holy Spirit and God just allows it? Oh, there are definitely consequences but, if that’s what you want to do, God allows it. If I were God and you took my name in vain…Boom! Fire from Heaven, plagues on your house and the bird of paradise is definitely flying up your nose! But God allows you to be disrespectful. He allows you to misuse His name and mock Him or even believe He doesn’t even exist.

He just waits patiently for you to try all the other ways first. Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom. Sometimes it takes years of doing it your way and finally when your life is as big of a mess as you can make it, you turn around…and there’s Jesus quietly waiting to be asked into your life.

I’m reminded of the old hymn Softly and Tenderly. Written in 1880, it says, “Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me; O for the wonderful love he has promised,
promised for you and for me! Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon,
pardon for you and for me.” Softly and tenderly, like a beautiful little lamb.

Now, can you imagine taking that perfect young lamb in from the rest of the herd; bringing it into your house and caring for it- making it a part of your family - for four days? Then the head of the house takes that lamb and sacrifices it and uses the blood to cover the entrance of the house. As an animal lover, that seems almost horrific. God specified that you are to use its blood and to eat its body and when you do, God will see that and pass over. Does that remind you of anything else; even something that we do today?

That’s why we take the Lord’s Supper or Communion. We drink the juice and eat the bread to remember and honor the blood and body of Jesus and how, because He died on the cross, that our sins are not counted against us and God’s wrath passes over us even today. In 1 Peter 1 it says, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world but was revealed in these last times for your sake.”

In Revelation, John the apostle sees Jesus as “a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6). In 1 Corinthians 5:7 it says, “Get rid of the old yeast, (Yeast is symbolic of sin – get rid of the sin in your life) so that you may be a new unleavened batch-as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”

If you truly know Jesus, you will be hurt by your sin. It will pain you the more you know Him. Just like spending time with that little lamb before the first Passover would have hurt those people when they had to sacrifice him, your relationship with Jesus should make you want to never sin again, and when you do, it should pain you. God allows us to have free will but just know that it is your sin and my sin that put Jesus on the cross to suffer and die.

This passage of scripture is pregnant with symbolism and we will see more of it tonight when we meet again but right now, I have to tell you the good news about this story. Look again at verse 11. This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover. Do you know why they were supposed to eat it like that? They would tuck in their cloak so they could be ready to run! It was almost time for God to pass over and when he did Pharaoh would tell them to get out and it was time to go. So, God is telling them to get your shoes on and get packed up. Don’t even sit down to eat it. It’s almost time. “Eat it in haste.”

How many of you remember the old Charles Atlas ads in the back of magazines and comic books back in the day? Do you remember? The little skinny, scrawny guy got sand kicked in his face by the big bully, so he went home and started lifting weights “the Charles Atlas way” and got all buff and went back to the beach and beat up the bully. Do you remember those hand-drawn ads?

Okay, keep that visual in the back of your mind as I read something. Now, remember, we have just seen the little lamb sacrificed and we have seen Jesus allowing them to kill Him and we have felt the pain of our sins. But hang on just a second. In fact, maybe you ought to be standing up as I read this. No kidding. Stand up for just a minute. Now, do you remember the sweet little lovable lamb that wouldn’t hurt a fly?

Well, let me set the scene for ya. First, from 2 Timothy 3, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.  2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips…” Sounds like today, doesn’t it? Well, the rapture could happen at any moment. Matthew 24 says, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” So, are you getting the picture? That sweet Lamb is in Heaven now just waiting and He doesn’t need Charles Atlas to make Him strong. And one day soon – are you ready? – one day soon, as it says in 1 Thessalonians 4, we will be caught up with Jesus in the air and He will rapture us to Heaven, and won’t that be a glorious day? Jesus said in Revelation 22, “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.” But that’s not the end of the story. Oh no! There is a Second Coming. At His first coming, He was a suffering servant and sacrificial Lamb. At the Second Coming, He is the conquering King!

Revelation 1:7 says, “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.” But then it says in Revelation 19, speaking of this, “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. (That’s us, by the way.) Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

There’s your sweet little lamb! Sit down if you can. Sit down if you dare but you might want to be ready because it could happen at any second. We are going to be looking at some Old Testament prophesies that Jesus fulfilled pretty soon but I will just tell you that there are no prophesies left that need to be fulfilled. Everything has happened. Everything is done. We are just the bride waiting for her Bridegroom and it could happen any time.

Are you ready? If He came right now (and I pray that He does) are you doing what you want Him to find you doing? Have you told the people in your life that need to be told? Is there any sin in your life that you are aware of that is unforgiven and unrepented of? Is there any barrier between you and God right now? In Psalm 139, King David said, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. 24See if there is any offensive way in me.” Let’s do that right now. If you have never asked God for forgiveness and accepted what Jesus did on the cross for you, today is the day of salvation. Allow God’s Holy Spirit to come into your life and change you. Do it right now as the music plays.