The Key To Joy: Where It Began

Luke 2:8–11

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

It is Christmas Eve, and the limitation of our acknowledgment respecting the birth of Christ extends ONLY to the fact that indeed there was a day that he came into the world, born of a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph (Lk 1:27), conceived in her of the Holy Ghost (Mt 1:20), and announced of the angel of the Lord in this passage, to those who kept watch over their flocks by night.

It is the account of history that has been told of ancient times that a Saviour, Christ the Lord, would come into the world to rescue mankind from his sin, and give to all eternal life who believe in him.

It is the account of the beginning of our joy, the eternal sprouting of the seed of our first faith. That Faith being the KEY TO JOY and WHERE IT ALL BEGAN.

 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

“Good tidings of great joy”, is how the gospel is presented that we see for the first time in the historical context of the scriptures, and it refers to the birth of the Saviour himself. 

This is THE “good tiding”, aka The Gospel, and not just a gospel, not just “Good News”, but Good tidings of “Great Joy”. In the greek language it is “μεγα χαρα”, χαρα being transliterated into the English language as “hurrah”, or “hurray”. With the greek word for Great, we also get the word Mega.  The news of the the coming of Christ into the world is Mega Hurray, or best translated as we have it in the scriptures as “Great Joy”.

Truly, there could not be a greater joy in all the world than this joy. The coming of the promised one, the one for which all the scriptures speak of. 

When Jesus condemned the Pharisees who read the scriptures he said to them, 

John 5:39

39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

And now we have the angel of the Lord here testifying to the Great Joy that Christ is finally come.

Beloved this is where it all began. 

The beginning of your great joy was believing the Gospel. YOUR JOY BEGAN BY FAITH. Christ our Lord was the “Light that lightened the Gentiles” and you have experienced his light in you as your life revived when you believed the Gospel.

The greatest joy in your life was when you believed God by Faith….

My beloved Christians, and beloved children of the Living God, hear my words please I beg of you; 

if the beginning of your great and eternal joy was by faith, should not your temporal  joy be maintained in living by faith?

 Is this not this the reason for which God had chosen to have written “The just shall live by his faith”?

Turn forward to Romans 1 that we may have the context of the phrase in the LIGHT of our eternal joy.

Romans 1:16–17

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

If, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” 2 Cor 13:1, what are we to say when this very principle, established in the Old Testament book of Hosea, is repeated no less than three times in the New Testament? 

If the key to our eternal joy is our faith in Christ, does it not therefore stand to reason that the key to our temporary joy is to LIVE BY FAITH?

 

Our Joy Was Pr

The consideration for this series is one where I fear many of our brethren seem to be struggling so greatly in these days. The struggle is with faith and with the KNOWLEDGE of how valuable each of them are to the kingdom of God and that, abiding in the kingdom, we are to live in a constitution that is diametrically opposed to that manner of living evident in the world.

Those who honour me I will honour. (1 Sam 2:30)

There are a mixed bag of scripts we will give consideration in this series, those that are seen in reproof I will preach as a reproof, those that are seen as an exhortation and correction, I will match as best as I can, those that are encouragement, I will move to motivate and encourage and finally those that are doctrinal I will employ to bring authority to the removes, the exhortations and the encouragments. 

We did not believe him.

He told us at the first that we could sustain our lives with the fruit of every tree in the garden but one, that one would see us die eternally. We had been given life, full life, even eternal live, created immortal, never to die, always to have fellowship with our creator so long as we enjoyed all the provisions he had given us.

Perfect joy, perfect peace, perfect life, perfect comfort. We walked with the Lord in the cool of the day, heard his voice and spoke to him. 

For how long? the scriptures do not say, but it did not seem to take long before we chose to disbelieve his words and believe the words of a serpent. We rejected the word of the living God and he rejected us from the perfect habitation of his creation, Eden.

If it was our LACK of faith that led to the sin that damned us, It does not surprise me therefore that FAITH is what saves us. “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3)

Just as our lack of faith led to sin and brought death, so too our faith brings life through the blood of the one who died for our sin.

It should not surprise us that if it is the lack of faith that led to death and eternal misery, and believing by faith that leads us to life and eternal happiness, that living by faith is the key to joy!

“The just shall live by faith” (Hab 2:4, Rom 1:17, Gal 3:11 & Heb 10:38).

Every time we choose to believe God at his word we honour him and rejoice in his faithfulness to us. The greatest example of this is our salvation. How much more can we have joy in life if we are willing to trust him and be faithful to his word?

21  His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Matthew 25:21.

Beloved, stay with me in this as we see the word of God come alive so wonderfully.

If unbelief so angered the Lord to lead to our damnation and misery, and believing God at his word by faith so pleased him to lead to our salvation and happiness, and then living our lives honouring God by faith enters us into the “Joy of the Lord”, IT STANDS TO REASON THAT LIVING OUR LIVES UNFAITHFULLY will lead us to both sadness and sorrow AS WELL AS his contempt.

“Them that honour me will I honour, and them that despise me shall be lightly esteemed” 1 Sam 2:30. 

In other words, all of history and all of the scriptures teach us that living unfaithfully in life leads to our sorrow and his anger, while living faithfully pleases him and brings us joy.

FAITH therefore, IS THE KEY TO JOY, but the converse is ALSO TRUE, our lack of faith is the KEY to Misery.

All through the scriptures is threaded this exact same theme where God is angry with those not believing him by faith, and pleased with those who believe him by faith. 

Chastisement and sorrow fall on the lives of those who will not trust the Lord, blessing and joy on those who do. 

Blessing and cursing is seen from the very beginning of the Bible, annotated in clarity by Moses in Deuteronomy, played out

He will Feed Me, He will Clothe Me, He will keep me.

Cody Kereopa 24/09/2023

Matthew 6: 24 – 34

24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. 

Long before Jesus was called Christ, he was called Master, Rabbi, Teacher the Sermon on the Mount is one of the many examples why. Jesus demonstrated his ability to expound on Gods will and word without hesitation or ambiguity and most importantly with authority. It is a masterclass in not only preaching but doctrine and shows why Jesus is the true Shepard. It begins in Mathew 5 and concludes in chapter 7. I can only show you a glimmer of what is in this passage, and the focus is really verses 31 -34. I implore you to read the whole sermon frequently, let its words sink in and meditate on what Jesus himself greatly desired you to know. You can live by these words. These passages mean more to me than money or gold, they are precious in so many ways I will never be able to convey their potential value to you but today I’ll try to demonstrate their value to me. I want to focus Money, God, and You. The scriptures deal frequently with Idolatry, covetousness, and filthy lucre (the desire for money specifically). Earlier in chapter 6 this is at the forefront and is clearly presented and warned. I do see the potential to apply what Christ is saying in this passage to those inclinations, Idolatry, covetousness, and filthy lucre I find when I really consider his words, I find he is not dealing with a wicked person but a faithless person. He’s not dealing with the active sin of the flesh but a more passive weakness of the spirit. Trust, contentment, comfort, and assurance are worlds ill use frequently this morning, but they don’t really convey the depth of peace I experience and desire you to experience. So I apologise if I sound rather repetitive. When taken literally and in context what Jesus is presenting is astounding but also logical. There is a point I believe Christ is making in this part of his sermon that is both easy to understand and difficult to enact, I want to share what my experience has been enacting this in my walk and how I’ve identified and cultivated the sensation of trust and how I have trained my heart to apply it to God by reason of use. It’s far too simplistic to identify this sensation as “content” because its far more than that. Afterall a growing faith and trust in God doesn’t just lead to contentment but confidence, power, and fearlessness, wisdom and discernment, among others. God will feed me, and God will clothe me, G

The Devil

His Beginning

Reading: Ezekiel 28:11–15

Introduction

As we move on through the wonderful doctrines of the word of God, having established now the base and foundation of all Scripture through first our acknowledgment of the Bible and its own nature (while not ignoring the efforts of corruption now current in all English versions but one), then moving toward the author himself, God the father, Jesus Christ (The Word Incarnate) and God the Holy Spirit.

Nine sermons given on the foundation of our faith, The Bible. Those desiring to understand more of it should give the 43,000 words I had written on the subject some consideration.

Seven on the nature and reality of God the Father

Seven Sermons on Christ, God the Son

Seven Sermons on God, the Holy Spirit.

To date having written some 140,000 words on those subjects that are the very basis of all we know and all we believe.

Today, and for the six weeks that will culminate this next set of sermons, we are going to learn of the antagonist of all history, The Devil.

WHY?

No doubt there are those who have no interest in giving this person the time of the pulpit. The idea that we should spend the precious time of Church taken up by somewhat elevating such a defiled character as Satan to the point of preaching is distasteful to many, and I understand it.

It would be for the same reason that some had little interest in the recent “Getting Deeper Study” Series that we have undertaken speaking of 12 of his disciples.

Nevertheless, the Bible itself, undefiled by shortcomings of those who preach it, teaches of who the devil is:

His Beginning

His Fall

His Will

His Nature

His Devices

His End.

So beloved, if all Scripture is given by inspiration of God (1 Tim 3:16), and if the foundation  verse of this Church states, “For whatsoever things were written afore time were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Rom 15:4), are we to ignore the very person who is the influence of all that is evil in the world?

Does God want us to remain ignorant of him?

As we give our consideration to the Devil and his nature, let us also give consideration to the nature of those who have not the Spirit of God in them. Let us give consideration even to the nature of our own flesh and how it too often manifests the devils character.

Pray

 

He Was Created

Ezekiel 28:11–15

11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. 14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

The first point to note as we look at the beginning of this person is that he was indeed “Created”, we see this in verse 13;

Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

Though there has long been disputes respecting this passage of the Bible with claims that it is refereeing to the “physical King of Tyre”, it is clear by the words in the passage that no physical, present king living in the City of Tyre could ever be describ

The post Be Bold appeared first on Hope Baptist Church.

Power, Love and a Sound Mind

2 Timothy 1:6–14

6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. 7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; 9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: 11 Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. 12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. 13 Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 14 That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.

Introduction

2nd Timothy is one of the four Epistles written by the Apostle Paul that are distinct from every other letter written in the New Testament. These four letters (1st and 2nd Timothy, Titus & Philemon) are Pastoral letters written to individuals.

This is their form and function, they are Personal, and they are Pastoral.

We contrast these four Epistles with the NINE letters that are before these four, and the NINE letters that come after these four; They are all Doctrinal and they are corporate.

The first nine given to Gentile Christian Churches, to teach them the truth of their faith and how they should live.

The last nine (including the book of Revelation) are given distinctly to the Hebrew Christian Churches, to teach them the truth of their messiah and to prepare them to endure the trials to come.

These four pastoral letters are centrally located between the two pillars of letters to the Gentile and Hebrew Churches, and are for the benefit of PERSONAL INSTRUCTION.

Now, because they are known as “Pastoral Epistles”, it does not mean they are written for the benefit of pastors alone. Certainly there is a role there, yet the personal application specifically to men is difficult to ignore.

In this second letter Paul identifies the Character of the Holy Spirit manifesting itself in four distinct ways, and we will conclude our consideration of the Spirit of God with this sermon today.

The four ways have one negative aspect; telling What the Spirit is NOT, and three positive aspects; Stating with clarity what he is.

The verse we will have as our focus in verse 7;

 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

PRAY

 

NOT OF FEAR

 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Timothy was a young man relatively speaking, indeed anyone under the age of 50 were considered unworthy of being given the title of teacher in the Ancient Greek world. 

The Philosopher Plato, in his volume simply titled The Republic, none would be considered experienced in the maters of life and wisdom under the age of 50 years. 

This was not necessarily the case in the Hebrew culture, but Timothy was a Greek and not a Jew, well, at least half Greek (Acts 16:1) and because that half was his father, he was treated as a gentile.

As such, he is likely to have had some anxiety to formally enter into the ministry to which he was called.

There are times when we have a natural fear of attending to those things the Lord has called us to attend to and that fear most frequently has nothing to do with any physical harm. It often has

The Unity of the Holy Spirit

Ephesians 4:1–6

1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 

2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Introduction

The letter to the Ephesians was written by the Apostle Paul from prison and directed to the church which is at Ephesus, a church that is predominantly a GENTILE church. It was written, not to Jews but to gentiles, those like you and I. 

It is six chapters in length; 

the first three being largely doctrinal, but most importantly points out what our state was like BEFORE we were saved through the blood of Christ. 

But it now turns to the last three chapters that are largely application. There are instructions on living our life since we believed, and in the likeness of God

Doctrine:

From the first verse we see the instruction begin;

Ephesians 4:1–6

1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 

Now in verse 2 Paul immediately relates to us the need for perfect relationships;

2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 

As can be seen by the text, relationships begin with humility and the expected trials are to be willingly ‘longsuffered’ and ‘borne’, not by the other, but by us all individually. 

Much more can be said on that, but the manner with which it is all to be dealt with is LOVE.

2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

Then we come to our summary text describing both the Spirit of God, and his manifestation in our lives;

3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 

Though the text is instructive to us, it is also descriptive of God. It is in the likeness of God that we are instructed.

Ephesians 4:4–6

4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

When our text above speaks to keeping in the “Unity of the Spirit”, it speaks to determining to do all we can to live our lives in the likeness of God in ALL our relationships, to be unified as one!

When Jesus prayed to the Lord in John 17, it was his same desire that his disciples would likewise be united as he is with the father;

 John 17:21

21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

Just like all the doctrines we have given consideration to respecting the Holy Spirit, UNITY is also one of perfect application to each one of us.

Philippians 2:2

2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

Peter wrote;

1 Peter 3:8

8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

The UNITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

 

ENDEAVOURING

Ephesians 4:3

 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 

“Endeavouring” speaks to the ongoing desire of the subject of the sentence, that’s you and I, we are to be “Endeavouring”. 

We are to be ‘Striving, aspiring, trying, longing, intending, determining, aiming’. These are all synonyms of that which we are to be.

I would like you to first notice that the instruction that is given is to be consciously Endeavoured.

Paul gives the instruction as one that has the primary objective as “the bond of peace”, knowing that the worst state of any relationsh

The Apostasy of the Last Days (Hope Baptist Church)

Reading: 2 Timothy 4:1-8

2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Introduction:

The issue of apostasy is close to my heart. 

For those of you who are unfamiliar:

Apostasy might briefly be described as a “falling away”…and in particular a falling away from the TRUTH of God’s word and what it teaches.

I’ve been a believer for 28 years and was saved in a Pentecostal Church and was immediately immersed in apostate churches and teachings from the very beginning of my Christian walk.

I was thrust into the false anointing of Rodney Howard Brown and the Toronto blessing.

I drank of the contaminated water of false teachers like Joyce Meyer.

I was indoctrinated by the poison of Hillsong conferences and was definitely seduced by their music.

I sat under the teaching of clowns who were only interested in entertaining goats.

And…I’ve seen the damage that such an environment causes both to myself and others. 

But…I have also seen God’s faithfulness in continuing to complete the work that he began in 1995. 

One of the greatest things that I did for myself as I came out of my spiritual slumber, was to commit myself to reading my bible from cover to cover. 

In coming back to the word of God, I was fully awake to the apostasy of these last days. Despite the depressing realization regarding the state of the church, the Lord gave me a very precious promise:

“Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.” (Jeremiah 3:14-15)

As I placed one foot in front of the other and began moving in the right direction, the Lord directed my paths to where I am now. 

In RECOGNIZING the days that we are living in…

I’ve come to hate every false way and pray that as you listen to today’s message you will likewise develop a love for the truth and a hatred for error. This will only be possible through your OWN commitment to reading the scriptures daily…DAILY

4 points today:

The Foretelling of Apostasy

The Form of Apostasy

The Following of Apostasy

The Forsaking of Truth 

Let’s pray:

The Foretelling of Apostasy:

“For the time will come….”

The bible foretells of many things, in fact a third of the bible is prophecy. And at times, in foretelling certain events, it also warns us…

The bible ALSO warns us about: 

The imminency of death

The certainty of judgement 

The consequence for sin

In the case of today’s message we are warned of an end-times  apostasy or falling away from truth. 

The FIRST challenge is this:

ARE YOU GOING TO BE A PART OF THE APOSTASY or ARE YOU GOING TO BE A PART OF A FAITHFUL REMNANT. 

It’s always good to know something in advance: 

It helps us to prepare. The word of God not only helps us to prepare but also enables us to make sense of this world…to discern good from evil.  

We NEED to discern the times that we are living in: 

LEST WE FALL INTO OUR OWN PERSONAL APOSTASY AND TO THE APOSTASY AT LARGE

The Lord often exhorts us to take heed with words to this effect…”He that hath an ear, let him hear”

But it’s very possible for a warning to be held at arms length…held there long enough to ignore it. 

A HARDENED HEART CAN LEAD TO UNBELIEF

This immediately places the individual in a dangerous position. 

Unbelief doesn’t change reality or the consequences. 

Ignoring the alarm in the morning doesn’t prevent you from being late for work. Ignorance is never bliss…

MOST TIMES 

Warnings aren’t pleasant… Or at least the CONSEQUENCES of not heeding

What is the purpose of Prophecy??

“that ye may know” “ye may believe”

When our Lord tarried at Jerusalem two more days after he was told that Lazarus was sick,

Lazarus died. In John 11:11 Jesus then told his disciples the news saying;

John 11:11–15

11… Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. 12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. 13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. 14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.

In the night Jesus was betrayed he told his disciples that he would be betrayed by the very person that “Eateth bread with me”, then he states in;

John 13:19

19 Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.

When God spoke of all the signs that he would do in Egypt; when he spoke to Moses on the mount and showed him both his power of the elements of the earth by changing a stick to a serpent, and his power over life and death by making the clean hand leporous and the Leper cleansed, when he spoke of that which had not yet been or come to pass in exact detail before it came to pass, he did so that the people may KNOW that he is the LORD.

Exodus 10:2

2 And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the LORD.

Even in his judgment of the nation in the time of Jeremiah

Jeremiah 44:29

29 And this shall be a sign unto you, saith the LORD, that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil:

Even in the very obeying of his commandments does the result and benefit testify to the LORD;

Ezekiel 20:19–20

19 I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; 20 And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.

Everything we see in the Bible that speaks of that which is not yet come is given to us that WE MAY BELIEVE.

That we may KNOW GOD IS TRUE

That we may be ENCOURAGED TO TRUST IN GOD AND GOD ALONE

THAT IS WORDS ARE TRUE AND WE CAN REST.

And one of the greatest signs of all is ISRAEL.

The Dispersion Foretold

It was the first century.

The King neared the city.

Almost 4,000 years had gone by since God testified to Adam of the one who would come to bruise the Serpents head, referring to Christ.

Almost 2,000 years had gone by since God had made a promise concerning the coming of Shilo through Jacob to his sons, saying;

 Genesis 49:10

10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Almost 1,500 years had gone by since Moses spoke of the Lord raising up a prophet from the midst of the people and of their brethren, “Like unto me” said he, “unto him ye shall harken” in Deut 18:15

And Daniel gave the exact day “the Messiah the Prince” would present himself by a PUBLICLY EVIDENT EVENT as a reference point in Daniel 9:25.

The ordering of the EVENT was Identified by NAME Isaiah 44:26-45:4, and THE EVENT was recorded as a double witness EVENT HISTORICALLY at the end of the Chroniclesand the first chapter of Ezra. 

Jesus even held the people accountable to KNOW of the VERY DAY OF HIS COMING RELATED specifically to that commandment of Cyrus, “to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince” in Daniel 9:25

And now he stands at the edge of the City and weeps.

Luke 19:41-44

41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now

Someone Saved

We had six, or perhaps more individuals today who have chosen to brave the weather conditions and be Baptised.

Six people who testify to the most dramatic transformation a person can ever have, to go from death to life. A light has sparked in them that has brought them overwhelming joy and it’s a testimony those who are closest to them can see and have witnessed.

They have been SAVED.

It’s an expression that understands the just condemnation each and every one of us deserved for our sin.

When the jailor of Acts 16 cried out saying “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”, certainly the single most important question that anybody could ever ask, he was given the answer, 

 Acts 16:31

31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

The name of Jesus Christ is the name above all names. No man can come to the father but by him, he is the way, the truth and the life, all who have believed on his name shall not perish but have eternal life.

He is the one who died for their sins, it’s in his name each of these individuals have believed, and now all of them have eternal life. NOT FROM WHAT THEY HAVE DONE, NOR FROM WHAT THEY DO, but simply because they have believed with all their heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

Which leads us to our text this morning.

Acts 8:32–38

32  The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. 34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

The passage in Acts chapter 8 gives an historical account of a wealthy and important man, an official who had taken his journey into Israel and had previously arranged for the purchase of the word of God. Unless the man had remained in the city for some months before, we must assume that its purchase must have been previously arranged.

A private copy of the Hebrew Bible would not have been inexpensive and so it seems evident  he was a man of means and wealth 

We are not told in the scripture how much of the Old Testament he took with him, we know only of a certainty of the book that he was reading the book of Isaiah, for we have the same copy in our own bible. 

We know also that the copy we have is precisely that which he was reading a the time of the first century, how do we know this?

In 1946 an account is given of two cousin teenagers, shepherds with a small flock of sheep, herding them in the area of Wadi Qumran, near the Dead Sea in Southern Israel. 

One of the cousins threw a rock into one of the caves and, hearing the breaking of a clay pot, went to investigate the source of the sound. In that first cave he discovered a number of large clay jars containing leather scrolls, another 10 caves would be found with more earthen vessels containing a total of some 850 manuscripts.

The Scrolls were written by a Jewish sect known as the Essenes. They date as far back as the 3rd Century BC.

The cave Muhammed ed-Dib cast his stone, is known as ‘Cave 1’, it was in this cave that a full copy of the book of Isaiah was found and is today housed in a building known as “The Shrine of the Book” in Jerusalem, Israel.

What is fascinating is tha