Promised Messiah: To Appear Again

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:04.400 Various portions of scripture this month. I will continue to do so this morning. 2 00:00:05.480 --> 00:00:11.230 Today we consider again the Promised Messiah, the one who has been a 3 00:00:11.910 --> 00:00:16.989 promised in the Old Testament, and we have seen those promises fulfilled in Jesus 4 00:00:17.030 --> 00:00:23.859 Christ. So we look at several scriptures today. I want to begin front 5 00:00:24.019 --> 00:00:30.699 with acts, the book of acts, Chapter One, ten through eleven. 6 00:00:31.019 --> 00:00:52.640 Two verses. There Acts One, versus ten through eleven. And while they 7 00:00:52.679 --> 00:00:56.799 were gazing into heaven as he went behold, two men stood by them in 8 00:00:56.960 --> 00:01:02.359 white robes and said, men of Galilee, why do you stand looking to 9 00:01:02.439 --> 00:01:07.590 heaven? This Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, will 10 00:01:07.670 --> 00:01:11.510 come again, or will come in the same way as you saw him go 11 00:01:11.069 --> 00:01:37.370 into heaven. All right, let's turn now to first Thessalonians for first Thessalonians 12 00:01:37.450 --> 00:01:55.959 for verses thirteen through eighteen. First Thussalonians four, verse thirteen. But we 13 00:01:56.079 --> 00:02:00.319 do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, 14 00:02:00.200 --> 00:02:05.629 that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope for since 15 00:02:05.709 --> 00:02:09.270 we believe that Jesus died and rose again. Even so, through Jesus, 16 00:02:09.990 --> 00:02:15.150 God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare 17 00:02:15.189 --> 00:02:17.340 to you, by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, 18 00:02:17.460 --> 00:02:21.939 who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not proceed those 19 00:02:21.979 --> 00:02:25.740 who have fallen asleep, for the Lord himself will descend from Heaven with a 20 00:02:25.900 --> 00:02:30.689 cry of command, with the Voice of an archangel and with the sound of 21 00:02:30.810 --> 00:02:36.090 the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then 22 00:02:36.210 --> 00:02:38.729 we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with 23 00:02:38.849 --> 00:02:43.810 them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we 24 00:02:43.930 --> 00:02:49.080 will always be with the Lord. Therefore, encourage one another with these words. 25 00:02:52.319 --> 00:03:16.460 And now Hebrew use nine Hebrews Nine, verses twenty seven and twenty eight. 26 00:03:24.020 --> 00:03:28.530 And just as it is appointed for man to die once and after that 27 00:03:28.729 --> 00:03:32.370 comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of 28 00:03:32.449 --> 00:03:38.530 many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to 29 00:03:38.689 --> 00:03:45.159 save those who are eagerly waiting for him. And then one more revelation, 30 00:03:45.280 --> 00:03:53.039 Chapter Twenty One, the last book of the Bible. Revelation twenty one, 31 00:03:53.120 --> 00:04:14.099 versus one through seven. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, 32 00:04:14.979 --> 00:04:17.139 for the first heaven and the first Earth had passed away in the sea 33 00:04:17.300 --> 00:04:20.939 was no more, and I saw the whole only city, New Jerusalem, 34 00:04:21.459 --> 00:04:26.930 coming down out of Heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her 35 00:04:26.930 --> 00:04:30.730 husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, behold, 36 00:04:30.730 --> 00:04:34.889 the dwelling place of God is with Ma'am. He will dwell with them and 37 00:04:34.970 --> 00:04:39.839 they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their 38 00:04:39.959 --> 00:04:44.360 God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall 39 00:04:44.360 --> 00:04:48.720 be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain 40 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:55.829 anymore, for the former things have passed away. And he who was seated 41 00:04:55.870 --> 00:04:59.910 on the throne said, behold, I am making all things new. Also, 42 00:04:59.949 --> 00:05:02.790 he said, write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. 43 00:05:03.709 --> 00:05:08.060 And he said to me, it is done. I am the Alpha 44 00:05:08.220 --> 00:05:12.220 and the Omega, the beginning in the end, to the thirsty. I 45 00:05:12.259 --> 00:05:15.699 will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one 46 00:05:15.740 --> 00:05:20.449 who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will 47 00:05:20.490 --> 00:05:30.170 be my son. So number of passages here this morning, all that speak 48 00:05:30.290 --> 00:05:35.720 to the coming of our Lord and Savior. It's a reminder to us why 49 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:42.399 Jesus came, why the son of God became incarnate, why he took on 50 00:05:43.279 --> 00:05:48.759 human flesh? It was so ultimately, that he would die and then rise 51 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:56.029 from the dead, victorious over death, and that victory, that resurrection, 52 00:05:56.269 --> 00:06:01.189 was the beginning of the end, the beginning of the accomplishment of making all 53 00:06:01.389 --> 00:06:09.740 things new, including our own resurrection from the dead and our own entrance into 54 00:06:10.819 --> 00:06:18.250 glory, perfect fellowship, consummated life, splendor, holiness, with no more 55 00:06:18.410 --> 00:06:27.370 pain or crying and more sorrow. The humility by which Jesus came into the 56 00:06:27.410 --> 00:06:30.649 world, with which he came into the world, that form that he took 57 00:06:30.769 --> 00:06:35.879 on, was not the final thing. It was leading somewhere, was leading 58 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:43.000 to the Cross and ultimately to heaven, not only for himself but for all 59 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:46.389 of us. As we've considered the Promised Messiah, we've seen him as the 60 00:06:46.430 --> 00:06:50.509 final word, as the mediator of a new covenant, as the Son of 61 00:06:50.629 --> 00:06:54.709 God, as the son of man. We've seen him as the one who 62 00:06:54.750 --> 00:06:59.069 is anointed by the spirit, the one who comes gentle and lowly, and 63 00:06:59.269 --> 00:07:04.180 all of these things are fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. Today we come to 64 00:07:04.379 --> 00:07:09.139 one more, but certainly not the last. Thing that we could say about 65 00:07:09.139 --> 00:07:12.339 him. There's much, much more that we can and and do say, 66 00:07:12.660 --> 00:07:15.290 we do confess, but today we come to this last one, that the 67 00:07:15.490 --> 00:07:21.410 promised Messiah is one who is to appear again, to appear again. In 68 00:07:24.089 --> 00:07:30.000 the Old Testament, the coming of the Promised Messiah was was seen in as 69 00:07:30.040 --> 00:07:35.160 a single event, or often expressed in that way, which was confusing in 70 00:07:35.360 --> 00:07:41.720 some ways, a difficult to fully understand, because on the one hand you 71 00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:45.110 have the coming of the son of man, born of a bit virgin and 72 00:07:45.269 --> 00:07:49.470 all of those things, but you also have the the cataclysmic end of the 73 00:07:49.550 --> 00:07:56.310 age, the crushing of all things, and we do not yet see those 74 00:07:56.350 --> 00:08:01.540 things consummated. Yet we know that he's come. How does all this fit 75 00:08:01.660 --> 00:08:05.180 together? Well, the New Testament makes this clear. Jesus himself teaches on 76 00:08:05.300 --> 00:08:09.060 these things, he explains them and he just and he shows us how these 77 00:08:09.180 --> 00:08:16.850 events are one, but not all at the same moment in time. There's 78 00:08:16.889 --> 00:08:24.209 some complicated things here, but the thing to impress on your hearts today is 79 00:08:24.290 --> 00:08:28.519 that this one who is promised to come and finish all things, finalize everything, 80 00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:33.240 consummate everything, he has begun that work. Indeed, as I said, 81 00:08:33.320 --> 00:08:39.960 the Resurrection has already begun in Christ, in his own resurrection from the 82 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:43.070 dead, and and we are very soon nearing the end. This is the 83 00:08:43.110 --> 00:08:46.509 way that the New Testament speaks, and it points us to this hope of 84 00:08:46.669 --> 00:08:52.149 things to come, a hope that I want to dwell with you on and 85 00:08:52.269 --> 00:08:58.139 perhaps even in a little bit this morning. So let's consider what the scriptures 86 00:08:58.220 --> 00:09:05.340 say. First Acts One, we are told that Jesus will come again. 87 00:09:05.500 --> 00:09:09.850 He they see him ascend up to heaven, and we and they are told 88 00:09:09.970 --> 00:09:16.009 that he will descend in a similar way. When we come to first Thessalonians, 89 00:09:16.090 --> 00:09:22.169 for we see that there is a particular thing that Paul wants us to 90 00:09:22.289 --> 00:09:26.639 know. I love this. It's a it's a good reminder of how closely 91 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:33.559 tied our doctrine and practice in our lives. Listen to how Paul says this 92 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:37.830 again in verse thirteen. He says, I don't want you to be uninformed, 93 00:09:37.870 --> 00:09:41.149 brothers, or in other words, I want you to know something. 94 00:09:41.710 --> 00:09:46.509 Whenever you hear something like that from the Bible, that's time to pay attention. 95 00:09:46.629 --> 00:09:50.389 Right. I want you to know something now. Here's what it is 96 00:09:50.870 --> 00:09:56.059 about those who have fallen asleep. That is those who have died don't grieve 97 00:09:56.460 --> 00:10:03.899 as those do who have no hope. Okay, why? Why do we 98 00:10:03.059 --> 00:10:05.419 grieve as those who have no hope? Or another words, why do we 99 00:10:05.580 --> 00:10:11.889 grieve as those who do have hope? Because, he says, we believe 100 00:10:11.929 --> 00:10:16.929 that Jesus died and rose again, and even so so will those who have 101 00:10:18.090 --> 00:10:22.200 fallen asleep. You see the connection he makes. He says that because this 102 00:10:22.519 --> 00:10:26.720 happened to Jesus, those who are in him, those who have followed him, 103 00:10:26.759 --> 00:10:31.399 those who are his disciples, and if trusted him, the same thing 104 00:10:31.559 --> 00:10:35.110 will be true of them. Paul wants us to know something about those who 105 00:10:35.110 --> 00:10:41.110 follow asleep. He wants us to know what happens to those who die, 106 00:10:41.629 --> 00:10:46.909 and he tells us how. That how what he tells us by that word 107 00:10:46.950 --> 00:10:50.659 itself, Asleep. We are to think of them as if they were asleep, 108 00:10:50.700 --> 00:10:54.860 because they will wake up. They will rise up as a as a 109 00:10:56.100 --> 00:11:00.820 sleeping person rises up from their beds. These dead people will just as easily 110 00:11:00.899 --> 00:11:05.049 rise up when the Lord calls them and says wake up, time to get 111 00:11:05.049 --> 00:11:09.610 up. The resurrection is here, of course, with the voice of an 112 00:11:09.610 --> 00:11:20.919 Archangel and a trumpet and his all his mighty angels. We know how sorrowful 113 00:11:20.279 --> 00:11:28.840 death is. We know how final death feels. If you've been near dead 114 00:11:30.120 --> 00:11:33.110 body of either a person or an animal, even plants in a way, 115 00:11:35.070 --> 00:11:48.059 the stillness of that body is always remarkable. Least I think it is the 116 00:11:48.379 --> 00:11:52.940 stiffness of the body, the fact that there is a body there, that 117 00:11:52.059 --> 00:11:56.419 it is the person, and yet it's not the person. Something is missing, 118 00:11:56.659 --> 00:12:07.570 something is gone. That death is always striking. There is such inability 119 00:12:07.690 --> 00:12:13.769 in it. It can't do anything, that person can't do anything anymore. 120 00:12:16.120 --> 00:12:20.360 There's no more one conversation to have, no more one more plan to make, 121 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:24.759 one more thing to do. And in all of our deaths there are 122 00:12:24.840 --> 00:12:33.470 always unfinished projects, poems, symphonies left undone, things that were planned, 123 00:12:33.669 --> 00:12:39.269 we're anticipated, we're hoped for and it's just not going to happen. When 124 00:12:39.309 --> 00:12:48.019 we die, death as this way of making things stop and feel so final, 125 00:12:48.179 --> 00:12:52.500 and for that it rightly makes us cry, it makes us grieve, 126 00:12:52.700 --> 00:12:58.850 it's sorrowful, it's terrible. But what if you knew that, as final 127 00:12:58.970 --> 00:13:05.169 as death is, what if you knew that death didn't get the last word? 128 00:13:07.490 --> 00:13:11.570 What if you knew that the last word to come was in fact the 129 00:13:11.730 --> 00:13:16.759 Lord himself, descending from Heaven with a cry and command, in a voice 130 00:13:16.759 --> 00:13:22.200 of an Archangel and the trumpet of God, because when those who hear the 131 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:30.830 Voice of Christ, they rise to life in him. Augustine says, it's 132 00:13:30.830 --> 00:13:33.710 unavoidable, after all, that you should be saddened, but when you feel 133 00:13:33.750 --> 00:13:41.740 sad, let hope console you. But where does hope come from? Where 134 00:13:41.860 --> 00:13:48.779 does a hope come from that is greater than death itself, this final stopping 135 00:13:50.019 --> 00:13:54.340 force that comes to us, the one who conquers death, of course, 136 00:13:56.769 --> 00:14:03.610 the one who came and died, complete, final, full stop, put 137 00:14:03.690 --> 00:14:13.240 in a tomb and then rose from the dead, amazing his result. That's 138 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:18.879 why it is so important for us to understand that our resurrection is connected to 139 00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:22.759 his resurrection. That's why, Paul says at the end of this passage in 140 00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:28.870 First Thessalonians, encourage one another with these words. Talk about this, tell 141 00:14:28.909 --> 00:14:33.710 about this, sing about it, pray about it, encourage one another. 142 00:14:35.309 --> 00:14:43.179 The reason now that our resurrection is connected to his resurrection is because our judgment 143 00:14:43.379 --> 00:14:50.779 is connected to the judgment that he underwent. Let's look at that from Hebrews 144 00:14:50.820 --> 00:14:58.809 nine. I mean, if you're turning with me turn a few more pages 145 00:14:58.370 --> 00:15:03.929 towards the end of your Bible's Hebrews Nine, verses twenty seven through Twenty Eight, 146 00:15:07.320 --> 00:15:09.919 to remind you of this passage. It says, and just as it 147 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:16.639 is appointed for man to die once and after that comes judgment, so Christ, 148 00:15:16.799 --> 00:15:22.029 having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a 149 00:15:22.190 --> 00:15:26.750 second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly 150 00:15:26.870 --> 00:15:33.870 waiting for him. So here the author connects a new thing to what we've 151 00:15:33.870 --> 00:15:37.860 already considered. We've considered death, and now he connects judgment to it. 152 00:15:37.059 --> 00:15:43.259 Two things, death and judgment. Now some people think that there's no connection 153 00:15:43.340 --> 00:15:48.340 between these things. Some people think that after you die nothing happens. But 154 00:15:48.460 --> 00:15:54.210 of course these people are only fooling themselves. How do we know that death 155 00:15:54.370 --> 00:15:58.529 comes after judgment? Well, I think there are two things at least we 156 00:15:58.570 --> 00:16:03.649 can point to. One God tells us, and to it's a knowledge he's 157 00:16:03.690 --> 00:16:10.919 embedded in our very own souls, perhaps our bodies. Even God reveals this 158 00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:15.919 to us. So on the first one, that death and judgments are connected, 159 00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:19.669 we have the first reason I gave, that God tells us. I 160 00:16:19.870 --> 00:16:23.509 think that's a pretty good reason. I hope you do too. We are 161 00:16:23.549 --> 00:16:27.990 always wondering about who to believe, what to pay attention to. Hear. 162 00:16:29.789 --> 00:16:36.379 The one who made you tells you that after death comes judgment. The one 163 00:16:36.419 --> 00:16:41.379 who created you and everything in this world says that this is the way it 164 00:16:41.539 --> 00:16:48.169 is. Don't be so quick to discount that fact. And one of the 165 00:16:48.250 --> 00:16:52.649 ways that God tells us, as I mentioned, is embedding this in our 166 00:16:52.929 --> 00:17:00.049 own selves. For one, he gives us a conscience, a conscience that's 167 00:17:00.129 --> 00:17:04.799 sensitive to right and to wrong. What do I mean by this? That's 168 00:17:04.839 --> 00:17:11.160 kind of the same way that you know instinctively which way is up, the 169 00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:18.430 difference between loud and soft, the difference of smell between a rose and a 170 00:17:18.509 --> 00:17:23.910 can of garbage. You just know the difference. You can tell you were 171 00:17:25.029 --> 00:17:29.509 made to be able and to be capable of these things. It's what humans 172 00:17:29.549 --> 00:17:34.140 can do. It's yes, and and are are moral sense of knowing right 173 00:17:34.259 --> 00:17:37.900 and wrong is the same way. It's a sense, of course that can 174 00:17:38.059 --> 00:17:41.339 need to be developed. It's a sense that we can ignore, but it's 175 00:17:41.460 --> 00:17:48.650 generally consistent, even across time and cultures. And the second thing that God 176 00:17:48.809 --> 00:17:52.289 tells us in the way that he made us in the way that he made 177 00:17:52.369 --> 00:17:56.809 this world. Is that this right and wrong, this sense of one and 178 00:17:57.009 --> 00:18:04.559 the other, are not arbitrary. They have meaning, they are not arbitrary 179 00:18:04.759 --> 00:18:12.150 things chosen. There are real differences between good and evil because of the thing 180 00:18:12.349 --> 00:18:18.109 that makes them what they are, which is God himself. Good is good 181 00:18:18.150 --> 00:18:22.910 and evil is evil because of their relationship to him, who is the source 182 00:18:22.950 --> 00:18:30.140 of all things, who is the determiner of all things. What makes good 183 00:18:30.180 --> 00:18:33.740 good and evil evil is not how we feel about them, but it is 184 00:18:33.980 --> 00:18:38.980 in relation to God, who is good and God who condemns evil. In 185 00:18:40.099 --> 00:18:44.609 other words, there aren't just rules, there is a rule maker, a 186 00:18:44.690 --> 00:18:52.450 rule enforcer, a judge and therefore a judgment. After death comes judgment. 187 00:18:52.490 --> 00:18:56.680 When you can no longer do anything, it's time to find out how you 188 00:18:56.839 --> 00:19:03.400 did the test, the final exam, the end of the semester and accounting, 189 00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:08.359 death and then judgment, one then the next. This is the order 190 00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:17.829 of things and it is appointed by God. But here's what God does in 191 00:19:17.990 --> 00:19:22.950 Christ, in the promised one, in the Messiah, in our Savior. 192 00:19:23.500 --> 00:19:29.660 By becoming a man, he was able to die and did as a man, 193 00:19:30.779 --> 00:19:33.900 as a human being, and he did so as a mediator. What 194 00:19:33.019 --> 00:19:41.690 does God say? To bear the sins of many? This means that Jesus 195 00:19:41.809 --> 00:19:52.049 takes our judgment on himself. He takes our judgment on himself so that when 196 00:19:52.130 --> 00:19:57.759 he appears again, we will not undergo judgment for our sins. Why? 197 00:19:59.400 --> 00:20:04.599 Because judgment has passed. That part has already been accomplished. As Paul says, 198 00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:10.390 in Romans, there's no condemnation for those who are in Jesus. Why? 199 00:20:10.829 --> 00:20:19.589 Because our sins have already been condemned in Christ. Jesus US amazing for 200 00:20:19.829 --> 00:20:26.700 us. After we die, we don't face the judgment again because we have 201 00:20:26.740 --> 00:20:33.660 already died. In Christ, because, though our bodies have not yet died, 202 00:20:33.819 --> 00:20:37.930 the Work of Resurrection has already begun, not only in Christ but in 203 00:20:38.049 --> 00:20:45.730 you two. You are, after all, those who are born again by 204 00:20:45.809 --> 00:20:51.400 the Holy Spirit himself, that same spirit who lifted up Christ from the dead 205 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:56.880 and who will one day also lift up your body from the dead. Jesus 206 00:20:56.920 --> 00:21:00.119 went to the Cross for us to suffer judgment, to suffer its penalty, 207 00:21:00.200 --> 00:21:07.230 and then he rose from the dead, victorious over sin, victorious over death 208 00:21:07.950 --> 00:21:14.430 itself. So when he comes again for those who are as the prescripture says, 209 00:21:14.549 --> 00:21:18.380 eagerly waiting for him. He doesn't come to do another judgment. That's 210 00:21:18.420 --> 00:21:26.380 already happened. He comes to save us, to save those who are eagerly 211 00:21:26.460 --> 00:21:30.420 waiting for him, and that salvation takes us to our final passage and revelation 212 00:21:30.579 --> 00:21:38.049 twenty one, a salvation that is so beautifully described there, when the Lord 213 00:21:38.289 --> 00:21:45.609 comes and his kingdom is revealed, this new Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven, 214 00:21:48.359 --> 00:21:52.039 a city which is perfect in every way, and I only read you 215 00:21:52.200 --> 00:21:57.920 seven verses. There are many more on that describe this wonderful place. The 216 00:21:59.000 --> 00:22:03.829 experience of that is described in the Old Testament. Listen to Isaiah Forty thirty 217 00:22:03.910 --> 00:22:08.109 one. But they who waited on the Lord shall renew their strength, they 218 00:22:08.150 --> 00:22:11.950 shall mount up with wings like Eagles, they shall run and not be weary, 219 00:22:12.069 --> 00:22:18.779 they shall walk and not be faint. It is very easy, is 220 00:22:18.859 --> 00:22:23.740 it not, to become discouraged in our walk, to become discouraged in this 221 00:22:23.980 --> 00:22:30.490 world one year after another, two thousand and twenty has been hard. But 222 00:22:30.650 --> 00:22:33.369 you know what, if you look back at some of the other years, 223 00:22:34.329 --> 00:22:41.730 they weren't a lot great either. Life is hard, it's full of difficulties, 224 00:22:41.890 --> 00:22:45.079 trials, deaths over and over again. And it doesn't mean that all 225 00:22:45.160 --> 00:22:48.839 are exactly the same. There of course differences from one year to the next. 226 00:22:48.880 --> 00:22:55.759 But it's easy. What I'm saying is it's easy to feel the vanity 227 00:22:55.839 --> 00:23:00.190 of this world, the way things just keep going and going and spinning and 228 00:23:00.309 --> 00:23:06.789 spinning and dying and dying, and it's hard. It's easy to become discouraged. 229 00:23:06.910 --> 00:23:12.420 In our own Christian lives we face so many obstacles. We fail again 230 00:23:12.660 --> 00:23:17.819 and again and again. We mess it up again and again and again, 231 00:23:18.700 --> 00:23:22.900 even when we write our goals down really clearly and we put our key objectives 232 00:23:23.099 --> 00:23:29.609 and we measure things and we could set up accountability and and then we fail 233 00:23:29.650 --> 00:23:34.250 again. It doesn't mean there's no growth. There is. God is working 234 00:23:34.329 --> 00:23:40.130 in us. I just mean that I understand and even more importantly, Jesus 235 00:23:40.210 --> 00:23:47.400 understands, that it's hard. But remember that Jesus didn't just become human to 236 00:23:47.640 --> 00:23:52.279 sympathize with us, which he certainly does, but he became human to lift 237 00:23:52.319 --> 00:24:02.509 us up out of these things, to give us perfection and hope and final 238 00:24:02.589 --> 00:24:07.869 accomplishment. John Calvin wrote, and I've shared this with some of you recently. 239 00:24:08.549 --> 00:24:11.700 He says most of us are so oppressed with weakness that we make little 240 00:24:11.700 --> 00:24:17.059 progress in this life. Staggering, limping, crawling on the ground. And 241 00:24:19.660 --> 00:24:26.529 Crawling is hard work, right, as our little ones know. Your knees 242 00:24:26.609 --> 00:24:30.970 gets scraped, it doesn't come fast. You try again and again and again. 243 00:24:33.890 --> 00:24:41.480 But you know what, dead people don't crawl, and we're not dead. 244 00:24:42.160 --> 00:24:45.880 They crawl and they stagger and they limp, but they are doing things 245 00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:52.200 and they are doing those things by the power of God's grace working in us. 246 00:24:52.829 --> 00:24:57.509 And so you may want to soar with eagles wings, and one day 247 00:24:57.630 --> 00:25:07.180 you will. One day your struggle in sanctification will reach its highest end, 248 00:25:08.220 --> 00:25:18.779 perfect holiness, total glory to God. But until then we must remain steadfast. 249 00:25:21.019 --> 00:25:26.369 We must encourage one another in the things that God has promised. Because, 250 00:25:26.369 --> 00:25:30.890 beloved all the things that God has promised, this good news about the 251 00:25:30.970 --> 00:25:37.960 Promised Messiah who has come and has been fulfilled. Surely that should encourage us 252 00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:47.440 for the final thing to come, his second appearing. Things are imperfect now, 253 00:25:47.759 --> 00:25:52.869 but God will make all things right. God will finish what he started 254 00:25:53.069 --> 00:26:00.430 because, as Paul writes, he who calls you is faithful. I love 255 00:26:00.549 --> 00:26:06.180 this wine. He will surely do it. He will surely do it. 256 00:26:07.740 --> 00:26:11.339 So, as you reflect on the promises of God that he has fulfilled in 257 00:26:11.380 --> 00:26:15.619 the past, let your confidence be built in his promises for the future. 258 00:26:18.019 --> 00:26:22.250 And so, as you seek to do well in this next year, let 259 00:26:22.329 --> 00:26:27.130 your hope first rest on Christ, who already did well for you. If 260 00:26:27.210 --> 00:26:30.730 you are in him, then there's nothing that you can do to add or 261 00:26:30.890 --> 00:26:36.319 take away from his work. Guaranteed success. That's what the Lord Promises. 262 00:26:37.400 --> 00:26:45.440 So work, work hard, encourage one another and do not dread what is 263 00:26:45.519 --> 00:26:48.710 come. What is to come. You have no need to toil away like 264 00:26:48.910 --> 00:26:53.349 some kind of convict hoping to get out on good behavior after breaking all the 265 00:26:53.430 --> 00:27:02.220 laws. Instead, you can live as one who has been forgiven, released 266 00:27:03.299 --> 00:27:07.700 and set free. You can eagerly wait for him. So think about it, 267 00:27:07.339 --> 00:27:11.579 dream about it, hope in it and let it be reflected in all 268 00:27:11.660 --> 00:27:15.059 your life, your prayers, your songs, your emails, your schedules. 269 00:27:15.140 --> 00:27:21.809 Let the Lord encourage you. May he give us this hope. Amen. 270 00:27:22.170 --> 00:27:26.089 Let's pray. Our heavenly father. We thank you for the glorious grace that 271 00:27:26.170 --> 00:27:27.890 you give to us in Jesus Christ,