Seventh day-Adventist Church of Adairsville

Where is Jesus?

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Easter Stats: 

8 in 10 Americans will celebrate this weekend 

#1 Christian Holiday – 1 out of 3 people on earth celebrate this holiday 

Resurrection of Jesus often celebrated 

Thursday night (Friday) 

Satan with his fierce temptations wrung the heart of Jesus. The Saviour could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father's acceptance of the sacrifice. He feared that sin was so offensive to God that Their separation was to be eternal. Christ felt the anguish which the sinner will feel when mercy shall no longer plead for the guilty race. DA 753.2

Jesus’ objective was to reconcile the prerogatives of Justice and Mercy, and let each stand separate in its dignity, yet united. Through Christ, Justice is enabled to forgive without sacrificing one not of its exalted holiness.       

In many eyes in Israel 2000 years ago and echoing through time still today, Justice and Mercy stood apart, in opposition to each other, separated by a wide gulf. The Lord the Redeemer of all the earth - clothed His divinity with humanity, and lived out on behalf of mankind a character that was without spot or blemish. 

Jesus planted His cross midway between heaven and earth, and made it the object of attraction which reached both ways, drawing both Justice and Mercy across the gulf. 

Justice moved from its exalted throne, and with all the armies of heaven approached the cross. There it saw One equal with God bearing the penalty for all injustice and sin. With perfect satisfaction Justice bowed in reverence at the cross, saying, it is enough. 7BC 935-936

Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” Psalm 85:10

Jesus died on what many today call Good Friday 

Satan saw that his disguise was torn away. His administration was laid open before the unfallen angels and before the heavenly universe. He had revealed himself as a murderer. By shedding the blood of the Son of God, he had uprooted himself from the sympathies of the heavenly beings. Henceforth his work was restricted. Whatever attitude he might assume, he could no longer await the angels as they came from the heavenly courts, and before them accuse Christ's brethren of being clothed with the garments of blackness and the defilement of sin. The last link of sympathy between Satan and the heavenly world was broken. DA 761.2

Man as well as angels must see the contrast between the Prince of light and the prince of darkness. We must choose whom we will serve. DA 761.3

John 20:11-18 – Mary and Jesus 

Emmaus – Luke 24 – Where is Jesus? 

5 Great Yet Forgotten Truths – The 5 Lost teachings of Christianity were validated on this weekend 2000 years ago: 

Spirit of Prophecy – 

Sabbath – 

State of the Dead

Second Coming – 

Sanctuary Symbolism

Prophecy: Daniel 9:24 – Anoint the Most Holy – 70 prophetic weeks – 490 years given to Israel to accomplish a few things – 9:26 – the Messiah will be cut off…Vs. 27 – in the midst of this 7 year period the Messiah will die. 3.5 years of ministry of Jesus. I tell you these things before hand…

Sabbath – He could have died and been resurrected on Saturday…

State of the Dead – His words to Mary were very clear – He had not ascended to the Father. His words to the thief were not a lie – Today you shall be with me in paradise

Second Coming

– Acts 1:11 – Same Two Angels – same two at the grave, same two that had been with Jesus throughout his life… “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” 

John 14:3 - I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

But where is Jesus today? Why the delay? 

Sanctuary - 

Hebrews 8:8 Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven.2 There he ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle,[a]the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands.

3 And since every high priest is required to offer gifts and sacrifices, our High Priest must make an offering, too.….. (Earthly Priests) serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.”[b]

6 But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.

7 If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it.

Daniel had another prophecy – The Angel showed him in Daniel 8:14 – that in the Fall of 1844 – 2300 days into the future from Daniel’s day that Jesus would finally transition to the last stage in the controversy between good and evil – into the Most Holy Place – the antitypical day of atonement 

A special day – a solemn day – Cleansing by the High Priest… A day of judging in favor of the saints

Hebrews 9 - 9 This is an illustration pointing to the present time. For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them.

Hebrews 9:11-13

11 So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come.[e]He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world.12 With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.

13 Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity.14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds[f]so that we can worship the living God.

Hebrews 9:23 – 

23 ….the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals.

24 For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf.25 And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal.26 If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age[k]to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice.

27 And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment,28 so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. 

Jesus says in the Revelation – Behold I come and my reward is with me …I will never leave you…I will be with you until the end.

(At any moment in this controversy) - God could have destroyed Satan and his sympathizers as easily as one can cast a pebble to the earth; but He did not do this. Rebellion was not to be overcome by force. Compelling power is found only under Satan's government. The Lord's principles are not of this order. His authority rests upon goodness, mercy, and love; and the presentation of these principles is the means to be used. God's government is moral, and truth and love are to be the prevailing power. DA 759.1

It was God's purpose to place things on an eternal basis of security, and in the councils of heaven it was decided that time must be given for Satan to develop the principles which were the foundation of his system of government. He had claimed that these were superior to God's principles. Time was given for the working of Satan's principles, that they might be seen by the heavenly universe. DA 759.2

As the “whole creation groans and travails in pain together” (Romans 8:26, 22), the heart of the infinite Father is pained in sympathy. Our world is a vast house of disease and sickness, a scene of misery that we dare not allow even our thoughts to dwell upon. If we realized it as it is, the burden would be too terrible. 

Yet God feels it all. In order to destroy sin and its results He gave His best Beloved, and He has put it in our power, through co-operation with Him, to bring this scene of misery to an end.

If the Love of Jesus, the Life of Jesus, the New Life in Jesus is attractive to you and you have a desire to show that kind of love to others… will you stand with me this morning?