12.12.2010 The Story of the Bible - The Prophets Point to Jesus

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Tony Abrusci had to go to the hospital and is in the ICU. Let's pray for him as well. (Update on Tuesday, December 14 - Tony was released from the hospital today and is doing much better - thank you for your prayers.)

Lord, as we go to Your word, we pray for our brother, Tony. We ask that You would help the doctors to know what is going on and help to bring him back to health. I ask for Sue – this is a stressful time – comfort her – give grace and mercy. We are in such desperate need of You and we must trust You because there is nothing else to do, but to trust. We pray for Sue, that she would be able to trust You in this time – that You would show Your love and kindness in the life of the Abruscis.

Next week is the week before Christmas – and then we have Christmas Eve.

We have been going through The Story of The Bible. Today, we are looking at The Prophets – they have a three-fold ministry – maybe more, but that is what I'll look at today. First – to pronounce Judgment on Israel (and Judah) due to their unfaithfulness. There are 4 reasons God judged Israel – there are 4 ways their unfaithfulness was revealed, and we can see this in our own lives today.

1. They mixed the ways of the world into their worship of Yahweh God – and the result was idolatry. It wasn't that they went completely into idolatry, but they would bring aspects of the culture into their worship.

2. Israel introduced political and social structures of oppression. That played a key role – if you read the prophets, they are always condemning Israel for their oppression of the poor and needy.

3. They failed to do justice for the poor

4. They experienced complete moral decay.

That is their first role – the second is to call them to repentance. There were a few times where the nation repented, but for the most part, they rejected the call of the prophets – and the result was that Israel and Jerusalem were captured – and the people taken into captivity. They rejected the call to turn and repent.

As a result of the exile, being captive and oppressed, the prophets also proclaimed God's faithfulness to His covenant. God promised that He would renew things – that even when we are unfaithful, God is faithful. That is what we will look at today.

I will read parts of a bunch of verses – there are some wondrous promises made to/through the prophets. Some are hard to read, but if you can't read through all the prophets, read Isaiah 40-66. I will give a smattering...I don't know if you should ever smatter the Bible...

Amos 9:13 "Behold, days are coming," declares the Lord, "When the plowman will overtake the reaper And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; When the mountains will drip sweet wine, And all the hills will be dissolved. 14 "Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, And they will rebuild the ruined cities and live [in them], They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, And make gardens and eat their fruit. 15 "I will also plant them on their land, And they will not again be rooted out from their land Which I have given them," Says the Lord your God.

Jeremiah 16:14 "Therefore behold, days are coming," declares the Lord, "when it will no longer be said, 'As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,' 15 but, 'As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them.' For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.

The exodus from Egypt was always a marking point. Jeremiah is saying that there is something even better.

God is saying – you are in this situation you are in now, but I have something better for you! The greatest things are still to come! Do you believe that? There is something better on the way! IT is coming!

Joel 2:28 "And it will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. 29 "And even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days

This is unique – there is this introduction to the concept of The Spirit – but for them this was new!

There is this new thing coming.

Jeremiah – there is this new covenant.

Jesus introduced this. This something brand new about to emerge.

They are looking to this continually. Israel had been under an oppressive rule for close to one thousand years! That is a long time! The good periods were small in comparison to the bad – to the down times.

Then the promises become more specific – and it brings us to where we are going through Advent.

Isaiah 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of [His] government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this

So now, Isaiah begins to promise this New David – this new golden age. There is an ultimate king coming – and His name is Everlasting Father...

Isaiah 7:13 Then he said, "Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well? 14 "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

The people receiving these promises didn't understand. They thought what was, in the time of David and Solomon, will be again. That is as far as they could understand.

Isaiah 49:6 He says, "It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth."

Isaiah 60:1 "Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. 2 "For behold, darkness will cover the earth, And deep darkness the peoples; But the Lord will rise upon you, And His glory will appear upon you. 3 "And nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.

He has a greater plan than just Israel. They didn't understand it – God called them to be blessed and to be a blessing to the nations. They are not to hold the blessing for themselves – and they tended to forget that.

Isaiah 65:17 "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.

There is this promise of a whole new time -a new earth, a new creation – new heavens – we know, from our perspective – that that time is coming – and that is what God has called us to live for, and to look for. Was we celebrate Advent and look for the coming of the Messiah -

We are on the other side – the reality – none of the people who heard the promise ever experienced the promise fully. These promises were given 4-5-6-700 years before the majority were fulfilled.

Heb. 11:13 All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

Most of those in the exile died there – before the return ever happened. And here is the thing – the promise of return/building of the temple, etc – those were just shadows of the real promise.

This was confusing to them – and they did not see and understand. They had to live in this wandering as strangers in this shadowy valley of time.

God is bound to His promises – He is bound to His promises to Israel and bound to the ones made to you. He must fulfill His promises – because that is who He is.

He is also completely free to fulfill them in his own way and time.

He is completely free to fulfill them the way He chooses – and in His time. This becomes a stumbling block – yes, God is faithful, but He is able to determine – how what, and when.

We miss and determine that His faithfulness should look a certain way.

That is where the downward slope begins – not giving God free reign to decide how and when He will be faithful.

For Israel, it was this promise of a King -

Matt. 1:23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which translated means, "God with us."

What this tells us – and the next couple – all these promises of the Old Testament were fulfilled in voe event – or, should I say, one person – He is the answer to the promises.

God is setting up all of history to bring Jesus in – to become a Man who would save His people truly and forever. It must always come back to Jesus – and His coming. And that brings us to Christmas.

Luke 1:31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end. "

The Kingdom is not a physical kingdom – but this new kingdom that Jesus is about to bring in.

Luke 2:11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 "And this [will be] a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger."

Think of all the different little stories – Mary's song in Luke is basically a repeat of 12 of the prophecies of this coming King. She recognized, in these events, the fulfillment of all the Old Testament promises – in Jesus.

Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are downtrodden, 19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord."

These were all about Me. Think about all He did – all the miracles – like John said – if everything were written, all the books couldn't contain it.

And the amazing thing – for the most part – they didn't get it.

John 1:9 There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, [even] to those who believe in His name,

They wanted things to happen in their way – and they missed it. God was fulfilling the promises in His way and in His time – as He will do in our lives. Even those who were closest to Him. Mary – she had times of struggles and great confusion. She had an angel come to her and tell her she was going to be pregnant – but you read the rest of her life – and there were struggles.

The disciples - There is this constant unmet expectations of what their savior has done.

Romans 5:3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us

We were looking at this verse in our men's time Thursday night.

We rejoice in our tribulations – and he explains why.

We rejoice in suffering. The new testament is filled with that. Rejoice in difficulty. KNOWING that it produces endurance, proven character – and hope. God is trying to produce HOPE in our lives -and it is not about this earth. Something that will be filled in the future.

We are to look to the Messiah – our hope has to be in that. It is not in our children, jobs, retirement, in Christmas – our hope is in this future event – God's kingdom permanently coming to the earth – Jeff said it in his prayer – three things that go for eternity – God, His word, and People – and we are to live our lives for that time.

As we get ready for Christmas – go back to

Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are downtrodden, 19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord."

1. How do we live advent – awaiting the great day of His coming?

   We tell this story – I challenge you – have you told the story to anyone? Have you told this whole story – good news – good story. We have the good story – and people love stories – and I challenge you – lives must be transformed by hearing the story.

Dick was telling me that his son Andrew has had some friends for years – and Andrew has not always felt comfortable proclaiming things – but he was out with the friends – and they said – Andrew, you have convinced us to become Christians... - by what you believe and how you live. May we all believe and live the good news!