Sunday April 1, 2018 – Easter
Sunday April 1, 2018 – Easter
By Dennis Huebshman
Satan has tried to destroy God’s creation from the very beginning. We all have heard about the story of Adam and Eve and the initial fall of mankind. Right from the very start, God knew He would have to be the one to offer a sacrifice that would satisfy all His anger toward sin once and for all!
He didn’t stop there. At one point the world became so evil, God destroyed all but 8 people and selected animals. From these 8 He repopulated the world. However, this did not end evil, and the time was not yet right to send in His Son.
Later, certain cities (Sodom/Gomorrah) became so evil, God destroyed them. There weren’t even 10 righteous people in Sodom, because if there had been, God promised Abraham he would spare those cities
Abraham had 2 sons, Ishmael and Isaac. He did not follow God’s plan which said He would father a son through Sarah, but he attempted to make sure he had a son through unapproved methods. As a result, Ishmael was banished, and Isaac was the chosen son. Since then, there has been conflict with their decedents to this very day. This should be a lesson to all of us who try to “Do It My Way”.
All through the Torah – aka Pentateuch – or the first 5 books of the Bible, we have stories of people being faithful to God, but also a lot of stories of rebellion. When we get to Joshua, we are in the period of the Judges.
Satan knows of God’s covenants and throughout the Bible, even when not mentioned, we can see his negative influence. He also knew and knows God had a plan to save all mankind. His greatest tool is for man to not believe he exists and that he is creating all the confusion present in today’s world.
During the times of the Judges, I believe satan tried to stop God’s plan through the deaths of Elimelech and his sons. Yet, God brought Ruth and Boaz together in order for His divine providence to rule. Through their marriage, David became king after Saul fell from grace.
God’s covenant with David was that the Messiah would come from his blood line. After David, Solomon became the king, and the cycle of descendants was never broken all the way to Jesus.
God made sure the line didn’t get wiped out even through the Babylonian captivity, God kept His covenant and David’s blood line can be traced as shown in the New Testament.
God’s people split into 2 kingdoms after Solomon. The northern kingdom which was Israel was made up of 10 tribes, and for the most part had the most wicked kings, therefore the most wicked people. They worshiped other gods (little g) and many believed in child sacrifice. Then went into Babylonian captivity first.
The southern 2 tribes were of Judah and had more kings that followed the will of God, but eventually even they fell away from His will and as a result went into captivity as well.
After the 70-year captivity period was over, a remnant returned to the land, but the majority did not. Through the prophesies if Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Zachariah and others, we are given an insight of the future from the end of captivity to the coming of the Messiah the first time. There is even a great deal of information given of the last days of this earth before the 2nd coming of the Messiah.
Just to make sure of the timing, Jesus will come to gather His Church, but this will not be the 2nd coming as we will rise to meet Him “in the clouds”. This is in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. The actual 2nd coming will find Jesus coming directly to the earth at the end of the 7-year tribulation to conquer the evil forces which are persecuting His people.
From the writings of the last Old Testament prophet Malachi, there’s a silent period of about 400 years. As we arrive in the New Testament, Matthew gives us one of the lineages of Jesus. Because he is Jewish, it is believed the blood line he gives is that of Joseph which gives Jesus credibility. In those days, as with the Islamic world today, women were second class citizens. Luke gives a different line, but it is believed this is the lineage of Mary. We must remember Luke was a Gentile Physician.
Both Joseph and Mary go back to David, but just different paths. Jesus could not have been able to be the “perfect sacrifice” if Joseph and Mary’s blood combined to conceive Him. Man’s sin nature would have been in Him, and God would not be able to accept a less-than-perfect sacrifice. By the Holy Spirit putting the “seed” in a virgin (Mary), the blood of the Messiah would be uncorrupted.
The Pharisees should’ve seen in old transcripts especially of Isaiah, that “A virgin shall bear a child”. Even so, the arrival of Jesus should have surprised no one. However, they were so full of pride they could not see beyond their rituals; not what God had given them. If they had carefully studied the writings of Daniel, he told the actual day that the Messiah would enter Jerusalem. (9th chapter) They should have been at the front of the group yelling “Hosanna, Blessed be the Name Of The Lord”.
Gentile kings from the east, probably the area of modern Iran, knew more than the Jewish priests and came to Jerusalem looking for the Promised One. By the way, just because there were only three gifts mentioned, this does not mean there were only 3 kings.
Now, the Pharisees were taken totally of guard, because they expected the Messiah to come in on a great white stallion with much pomp and circumstance and defeat all their enemies and take His place in the temple. They believed they would be given special privileges by Him because of their titles. When Jesus didn’t do this, He became their enemy. They didn’t understand this was His “sacrificial” visit, and His “Triumphant” entry for real will be at the end of the 7-year tribulation.
Just so we understand, He didn’t come up to their expectations, but they came down to His. He knew He would be rejected as was said in several Old Testament prophesies. He orchestrated everything that would happen over about a 3-year period leading right up to Calvary. Satan continued to be a force to deal with, but Jesus was always one step ahead all the way. He controlled the entire crucifixion. This is from John 10:17-18.
Now we go to the cross. Jesus made 7 statements before dying:
1. Father forgive them for they do not know what they do. (Luke 23:34) He demonstrated how we are to love our enemies.
2. Assuredly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise. (Luke 23:43) Not only did Jesus pardon the criminal on His right, but He let us know that when we die we will be immediately with Him if we have accepted Him.
3. Woman, behold your son (John 19:26) Jesus blessed Mary by making sure she was taken care of after He would be gone.
4. My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me? (Matthew 27:46) Jesus knew He would have to be separated from the Father to become the perfect sacrifice, and this terrified him. This is also the beginning of Psalm 22.
5. I thirst. (John 19:28) This showed Jesus, even though fully God was fully man and had normal human reactions to the physical torment He had to endure.
6. It is Finished (John 19:30) The work He had come here for was finished. The sacrifice was complete.
7. Father, into your hands I commit My Spirit. (Luke 23:46) Jesus died immediately after these words. He died voluntarily. The human side was dead, but His Spirit was immediately with the Father, and He was there to welcome the pardoned thief
We know these were not the final words spoken by Jesus on this earth. Three days later He arose and before ascending to Heaven had many witnesses to His resurrection.
Now, about the resurrection, Jesus’ spirit was not in the grave – only His earthly body. On that 3rd day, the stone was “rolled away”, and the seal broken. He could’ve walked through the stone, but this was done to show He was just who he said he was.
Up to the resurrection, satan was confident he would win. He’s so vain He still believes He will overcome the Trinity. However, with the redeeming blood that was shed, there was a Red Stain left behind that satan will never be able to “get rid of”, and it is the seal that signifies the doom of him.
Once and for all, sin/death was conquered.
CONCLUSION:
Now, it’s your choice totally. Accept Him and be with Him forever. Or reject Him and be separated from Him forever. Remember how He called out when He was separated from the Father for only a brief moment. This is serious – it’s real – Eternity is Forever!
Sometimes, newer believers are more in tune with Jesus than those who’ve been around all their lives. They’re hungry to learn, however, unless they continue to learn it becomes dull and boring to them also. It just becomes a ritual and they begin to turn to “entertaining” religion.
Before you tune me out and say, “He’s not talking to me”, I ask you to really search your heart. Our Savior is very serious about us accepting Him, and the Father won’t accept us unless we do. Jesus said (paraphrasing) we must come to Him as little children. In other words, accept Him without overanalyzing everything, and turning from the true word to do things our way as the Pharisees did. He spoke plainly so we could understand.
He paid for our sins in full, and all we have to do is accept the free gift. Not doing so will separate us from Him forever. His sacrifice – His terms! Point is, either you love and trust Jesus, or you don’t. Saying, I don’t know is to tell Him No!
Today, I am asking everyone to really evaluate your relationship with the Savior. Thirty years ago, I thought I was ok with God, but had I died back then I would be waiting for the White Throne Judgment.
All of us can be totally confident we will spend eternity with Our Lord. You must develop a true love for Him. I’m not talking about romantic or the icky gooey type love, but a love and respect for the One that has given you Eternal Life. It doesn’t develop immediately but has to have time to grow. We gain growth through talking to Him daily – tell Him your concerns, fears, hurts, needs, mistakes (sin). I tell Him my concern for others and ask His help in reaching them. You can pray anytime, anywhere and without speaking anything. Just think it – He hears you. Just talk to Him, nothing formal. I especially thank Him for My Savior Jesus! We all like it when someone praises our loved ones especially our children.
He is not hiding from us. If you truly seek the Father, Son and Holy Ghost they will find Him. If you’re just going through the motions, you aren’t fooling God. He knows our thoughts and needs even before we do. So, my challenge to you is to really search your hearts. If you have a relationship and truly love Him, you will be secure in that knowledge, and will be patiently be waiting for His return.
If you have any doubts, it’s time to make things right with Him. Please don’t hesitate. We’re not guaranteed tomorrow, and the end-time clock is rapidly approaching midnight. We could hear the Shofar/Trumpet sound at any second. That’s just how close we are. Just look around you at the world’s news. It’s being taken right from the scriptures.
Call on the name of the Lord right now, and you will be saved. (Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13)
Maranatha! (Come Lord Jesus)