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050320am Palm-Prophetic Exactness

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The prophetic Exactness of Palm Sunday

Matthew 21:1-11

One thing you can be sure of—God keeps His Word.

 

You can count on Him, trust Him, and believe His Word. We have been looking at the future for the last few weeks in our Prophetic Series What’s Next. But this morning, as we remember Palm Sunday we are assured that God will keep His Word about the future. How do we know that for certain? Because He has kept His Word so perfectly and exactly in the past!

 

What chapter have we been studying for several weeks now? Matthew 24. As we have looked at doomsday for planet earth in verse after verse of Matthew 24, have you ever wondered what the context of that passage is? When in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ did that incredible prophetic look into the future occur?

 

To find out, please open with me to Palm Sunday in Christ’s life in Matthew 21. We find Palm Sunday in all four Gospels (Matthew 21; Mark 11; Luke 19; John 12). But our reading this morning will be Matthew 21:1-11.

 

If you read closely the events of Matthew 21 you find that two days later Jesus is sitting on the side of the Mount of Olives describing the future of the world to His disciples. Sunday was Christ’s triumphal entry and two days later was His sober reporting of what was coming.

 

We could say all that this way–Palm Sunday was followed by Doomsday Tuesday.

 

Yes, just two days after this Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem Jesus saw and described the destruction coming in the near and far future.

 

In fact, in each of the synoptic Gospels, as soon as the dust has settled from the Palm branch strewn road to Jerusalem, Christ is talking about things to come. Note what Matthew records after our text this morning. Palm Sunday is Matthew 21:1-11. Look at:

  1. Matthew 21:41 They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease [his] vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” (NKJV)
  2. Matthew 22:13 “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast [him] into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ (NKJV)
  3. Matthew 23:33 “Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? (NKJV)
  4. Matthew 24:51 “and will cut him in two and appoint [him] his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (NKJV)
  5. Matthew 25:30 ‘And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ (NKJV)

 

The application of Palm Sunday is clear.

He repeats it over and over—if you do now bow to me as the Lamb of God for sinner slain, then you face inescapable judgment. I the Christ am returning and will Judge sinners who have not repented and bowed to me!

 

The context of Matthew 24 and the end of the world is Matthew 21 and the Palm Sunday entry of Jesus.

 

Please stand with me as we listen to Christ’s Palm Sunday entry in triumph.

Matthew 21:1-11. Pray

 

This morning we have remembered one of the greatest days of history, the day Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem as the Passover Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world.

 

Palm Sunday is a day of Prophetic Exactness!

What God’s Word will happen in the future as clearly as it has in the past.

Palm Sunday is a day in the life of Christ that mirrors literally scores of prophecies God made in the Bible that are fulfilled with pin point accuracy!

 

We should remind ourselves of just how unique, and how powerful is our God. Why? For just one reason this morning – the prophetic Exactness that God demonstrates though dozens of pinpoint accurate promises He sent in His Word centuries before the events occurred!

 

And as we see all this our hearts should be strengthened to trust even more our great God who wants to direct our paths, wants us to trust and obey Him, and wants us to do His will, not our own!

 

This morning we are looking at the Prophetic Exactness of Christ’s Death. In fact there were thirty-three prophecies fulfilled on the single day when the Lord Jesus died.

 

Always remember that one[1] of the strong evidences of divine inspiration of the Bible (not found in other religious books of either past or present) consists of its hundreds of fulfilled prophecies. These are not vague or ambiguous (as in various occult writings) but are specific and detailed, often made hundreds or thousands of years in advance of the event. Many are being fulfilled today, thereby indicating the probable soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

So, the most powerful evidence that God wrote the Bible is the phenomenon of fulfilled prophecy. The Bible is unique among all the religious books of mankind in this respect. Some of them contain a few vague forecasts, but nothing comparable to the vast number of specific prophecies found in the Bible.

 

It is easy, of course, to prophesy that someone will die. Everyone must die sooner or later, and it surely takes no gift of prophetic insight to predict death.

 

There is nothing in all human history, however, comparable to the prophecies associated with the death of Christ. These were not vague and hidden, like those of fortune-tellers, nor were they given only a short time before they were fulfilled, as are those of modern occultists.

 

There are scores, perhaps hundreds, of such prophecies in the Old Testament that focus on the death of the coming Messiah, and many of them are very detailed and specific. All were recorded hundreds of years, some over a thousand years, before they were fulfilled. There are over 90 such Old Testament prophecies which are specifically quoted by New Testament writers in a Messianic sense.

 

THE PROPHETIC EXACTNESS OF CHRIST’S FINAL NIGHT

 

PROPHETIC EXACTNESS IN THE PALM SUNDAY ENTRY: The time when He would come into Jerusalem to die was prophesied in Daniel 9:24-26, and this was fulfilled exactly 483 years later, as predicted, when He entered Jerusalem for His last week before death, as recorded in Luke 19:37-44. After this, as Daniel (or, rather, the angel Gabriel) had prophesied, He was “cut off, but not for Himself.” Also Zechariah 9:9-10 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O  daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation,

Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.

 

PROPHETIC EXACTNESS IN THE PASSOVER PLOT BETRAYAL: His betrayal by one of His close friends was forecast, and even the price of thirty pieces of silver for His betrayal was given.  The shameful mockery of the judicial process which constituted His trial is prophesied.

 

I read Congregation look up

 

Psalm 41:9 Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me. Mark 14:10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them.
Zechariah 11:12-13 Then I said to them, “If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.” So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter.

Actually the statement paraphrases Zech. 11:12, 13. But the Hebrew canon was divided into 3 sections, Law, Writings, and Prophets (cf. Luke 24:44). Jeremiah came first in the order of prophetic books, so the Prophets were sometimes collectively referred to by his name.

Matthew 27:3-10 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” 5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. 6 But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.” 7 And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. 8 Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, 10 and gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”
Isaiah 50:6 I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. Matthew 26:67 Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, Matthew 27:26 Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.
Psalm 35:11 Fierce witnesses rise up; They ask me things that I do not know. John 18:22 And when He had said these things, one of the officers who stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, “Do You answer the high priest like that?”

 

So in every way God’s Word promised Christ’s suffering was fulfilled—God always keeps His Word!

 

PROPHETIC EXACTNESS OF CHRIST’S CRUCIFIXION:

 

The awful details of His sufferings on the cross are portrayed graphically in the 22nd Psalm, written by David almost 1,100 years before its fulfillment. As I point out the details you follow along in Matthew 27.

 

Here is what we will see. Psalm 22 begins with the cry from the cross in Matthew 27:46: “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Then each of the dreadful details of Christ’s suffering is captured—the unnatural darkness, the mocking priests and others at the foot of the cross, the sufferings caused by the crucifixion process are recorded, piercing of His hands and feet, the stripping of His garments, the gambling over His possessions, His awful thirst, and despite the intensity of His sufferings, none of His bones would be broken, is foretold. Psalm 22 is surely one of the most marvelous passages in all the Word of God, and will richly repay detailed and prayerful study by each individual Christian.

 

I read Congregation look up

 

Psalm 22:1 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning? Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
Psalm 22:2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent. Also Matthew 27:45 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.
Psalm 22:7-8 All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8 “He  trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!” Matthew 27:49 The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.” Mark 15:29 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days,
Psalm 22:14 I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. Matthew 27:35a Then they crucified Him,

John 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

Psalm 22:15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. Psalm 69:21 They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. John 19:28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said,  “I thirst!”

Matthew 27:48 Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.

 

Psalm 22:16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; Matthew 27:35a Then they crucified Him,

 

Psalm 22:17-18 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. 18 They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots. Matthew 27:35b Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: “They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.”
Zechariah 12:10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. John 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
Psalm 34:20 He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. John 19:33, 36 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.”

 

So in every way God’s Word promised Christ’s death was fulfilled—God always keeps His Word!

 

PROPHETIC EXACTNESS IN THE SUBSTITUTIONARY DEATH OF Christ The 53rd chapter of Isaiah (actually beginning at Isaiah 52:13) is also a marvelous chapter devoted to the future death of the Savior, written by Isaiah 750 years before it came to pass. Especially emphasized in this chapter (which is quoted in at least six different places in the New Testament) is the fact that the death of the Messiah would be a substitutionary death, offered up in sacrificial substitution for the sins of others. Turn there with me please, to Isaiah 53.

 

Paul summarizes the Gospel as “He gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20b). This emphasis on substitutionary suffering is repeated over and over in Isaiah 53. It says, for example, that:

  • v. 4 “He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows”.
  • v. 5 “He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, chastised for our peace, and striped for our healing”.
  • v. 6 says “The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
  • v. 11 says “He shall bear their iniquities,”.
  • v. 12 that “He was numbered with the transgressors, and bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

 

Also we can see the PROPHETIC EXACTNESS IN THE DETAILS OF CHRIST’S TRIALS AND DEATH: The details of His trial and death are also given in this chapter.

  • The abuse He bore at the hands of the soldiers and others is graphically portrayed in 52:14: “His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men.”
  • The serenity He exhibited before His accusers at His trial is predicted in 53:7, “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.”
  • The verdict of that mock trial is given in verse 8, “He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.”
  • Then, death with the criminals, and His burial by a rich man, is recorded in verse 9, “And they made His grave with the wicked—But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.”
  • Finally, Christ’s resurrection from the grave is promised in verse 10: “He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days.”

 

So in every way God’s Word promised Christ’s death was fulfilled—God always keeps His Word!

 

The Prophetic Exactness of Christ’s Burial

 

The great defining passage on the Gospel is 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Here, the Gospel is defined as the good news that “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” Thus the Gospel involves three main parts—the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ—and further emphasizes his post-resurrection physical appearances in confirmation thereof.

 

So the Gospel we declare affirms that it is absolutely vital for all men to know beyond any doubt that it was the human Jesus who rose from the grave. Therefore, it must be certain that His body was carefully buried after His death, and that this burial was known to all, both friend and foe. Then, on the great morning when He arose from the dead, the emptied tomb would stand forever as the infallible proof of His bodily resurrection. Look at Matthew 27:62-66.

 

PROPHETIC EXACTNESS IN THOSE WHO BURIED CHRIST’S BODY:

Matthew 27:62-66 On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, 63 saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.

Such an important ministry as the burial of the body of Jesus could not be entrusted by God to the Roman soldiers, who would merely further defile it and then throw it in with the bodies of other executed criminals, nor to the Jewish authorities who would probably do even worse. Nor would these authorities have permitted it to fall into the hands of His disciples, as they were afraid they would seek to hide it and then claim He had been resurrected (Matthew 27:62-66).

  1. GOD PREPARED THOSE WHO HAD AUTHORITY TO BURY CHRIST’S BODY: The solution was for God to have the body buried by one or more of the authorities themselves who were also disciples. For this purpose, God chose two of the members of the governing Jewish body, the Sanhedrin, Joseph and Nicodemus. Thus, they would have access to the necessary information about the time and circumstances of His death, they would also have access to the Roman governor in order to make the required arrangements to acquire the body before the soldiers could dispose of it, and they would have enough wealth of their own to be able to make the needed preparations for a suitable resting-place for the body until it could be raised from the dead.
  2. GOD PREPARED THOSE WHO WOULD BURY CHRIST’S BODY: Of course, they would have to be prepared ahead of time for this ministry. God therefore somehow touched the heart of Nicodemus, as he listened to John the Baptist, then later to Jesus, and as He saw the miracles which Jesus did. Eventually, he made his way into the presence of Jesus one night, where the Lord spoke to him of the necessity of being born again, even though he was already the greatest “teacher in Israel” (John 3:7, 10). The Scriptures do not tell us the outcome of that interview, except that sometime later Nicodemus defended Jesus on one occasion before the Sanhedrin (John 7:50-51). Similarly, we read that Joseph did not concur in the decision of the Sanhedrin to condemn Jesus (Luke 23:50-51).
  3. PROPHETIC EXACTNESS IN THE PLACE PREPARED FOR THE BURIAL OF CHRIST’S BODY: Some such background as this is necessary to understand the otherwise inexplicable prescience of Joseph. Why, for example, should he, a rich man of Arimathaea, buy a burial ground in Jerusalem instead of his own home town? And, especially, why should he purchase it in such a place as this—adjacent to the hill of Golgotha, where day after day there would come the cries of dying criminals and the wails of mourning families? Furthermore, it was a brand new tomb, not one in which others of the family had been buried (John 19:41), one that Joseph himself had hewn out in the rock (Matthew 27:60), perhaps not wishing others even to know about its preparation.
  4. PROPHETIC EXACTNESS IN THE PREPARATIONS FOR THE BURIAL OF CHRIST’S BODY: Strange also was the fact that Joseph knew exactly when Jesus died, and was immediately able to rush to Pilate with the request for His body, before others even realized He was dead (Mark 15:43-44). Even stranger was the fact that immediately thereafter came Nicodemus carrying one hundred Roman pounds (or 66 pounds in our terms, the Roman pound was 12 ounces) of ointment for the burial (one does not carry even one hundred Roman pounds very far!). Then, while the women watched from a distance, no doubt in amazement, these two respected members of the Sanhedrin gently lowered the body from the cross, wound it in the linen clothes, applied the spices and ointments, laid the body in the tomb, and then departed. Never, so far as the Biblical record goes, were they ever heard from again, but there can be no doubt that this one act cost them their positions and probably their possessions, and possibly even their lives.

 

So in every way God’s Word promised Christ’s burial was fulfilled—God always keeps His Word!

 

So, as we have seen all this,

  • Is your heart strengthened to trust even more our great God?
  • Do you want to follow Him who wants to direct our paths?
  • Will we trust and obey Him who wants us to do His will, not our own!

 

So Palm Sunday affirms the Prophetic Exactness of God’s Word. How can we relate that to life in Tulsa in 2005? If God has always kept His Word—and He has, then He will continue to do so.

  1. We should live our lives yielding to God’s will–like Christ’s! Hebrews 10:7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come— In the volume of the book it is written of Me—To do Your will, O God.’ ”
  2. We should live our lives obeying God’s Will–like Christ’s! Matthew 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
  1. We should live our lives wanting God’s Will–like Christ’s! Look at His life again in Matthew 26:39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a precious word of comfort in this dark hour of doom and judgment. Jesus says, don’t be troubled, I will take care of you my own! This is John’s introduction to the second event in God’s plan for the future: the Rapture (the parousia or royal return Paul describes in I Thessalonians).

 

Out of the gloom and doom of Matthew 24,  Mark 13 and  Luke 21 comes hope . . . let’s look at three promises God gives His church through the Rapture:

  1. A promised Homegoing John 14
    1. Though suffering and enduring this world’s wrath is tough, there is a bright future coming.
    2. Christ is personally preparing a place for us.
    3. He will return for us, so the Rapture is a promised home going!
  2. The Rapture is a Promised Rescue Matthew 24 from coming wrath!
    1. First of all the Scriptures portray a rescue in the lives of Noah, Lot, Enoch and Elijah:
      1. Look at Matthew 24:38 “For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, (NKJV). What happened to Noah in his day? He was saved from the Flood!
      2. Look at Luke 17:24-37 24 “For as the lightning that flashes out of one [part] under heaven shines to the other [part] under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day. 25 “But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 “And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 “They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 “Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 “but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed [them] all. 30 “Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31 “In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods [are] in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. 32 “Remember Lot’s wife. 33 “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34 “I tell you, in that night there will be two [men] in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. 35 “Two [women] will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. 36 “Two [men] will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.” 37 And they answered and said to Him, “Where, Lord?” So He said to them, “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.” (NKJV)
    2. Secondly, not only is it portrayed, it is described:
      1. 1 Thessalonians 1:10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, [even] Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. (NKJV) delivers in greek is rhuo “rescued with power”. God has promised in His power to rescue us!
      2. 1 Thessalonians 4:17 Then we who are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (NKJV) Paul said we would be harpadzo “seized hastily and drawn with swift and sudden movement to oneself” kind of like how you pull someone from being hit by a speeding car!
    3. Finally, it is not only portrayed and described, it is promised as a rescue from coming wrath:
      1. 1 Thessalonians 5:9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, (NKJV)
      2. Revelation 3:10 “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. (NKJV)
  • So the rapture is a promised Homegoing in John 14, a Promised Rescue in Matthew 24 from God’s coming wrath, finally it is a promised transformation of our bodies. But that is for tonight.
  1. What should our response be? The King has spoken. We should respond in three ways: expectance, patience and preparedness.
    1. expectance
      1. We can’t know when it exactly will be! Acts 1:7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. (NKJV)
      2. We can know it is near because the Lord says Revelation 22:20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (NKJV)
      3. We must remember that it is for us to watch Matthew 25:13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. (NKJV)
      4. God expects from us a patient expectancy of instant readiness for eternity. We must always be ready for the last things first thing each day. Why? Because Jesus said Luke 12:35-36 “Let your waist be girded and [your] lamps burning; 36 “and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. (NKJV)
    2. patience
      1. Remember James 5:8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. (NKJV)
      2. Beware of calculating and speculating. There are equally great and saintly teachers with very divergent views. Remember it is not for us to know!
        1. Some sad predictions[2]:
          • Luther said the world would end in 1556.
          • Famous Bible commentator John Cocceius said it would be in 1667.
          • Amos Comenius said it would be in 1672.
          • Scientist Isaac Newton predicted the Lord would come in 1715.
          • Noted scholar J.A. Bengal taught it would be in 1836.
          • Beyond those are all the contradictions of the Millerites or Seventh Day Adventists, the recent prophecy hounds “88 reasons for 1988” and then 100 for 1989 . . .
        2. Some sage advice: Eschatology or Bible prophecies about future events should Rebuke dogmatism, induce forbearance and provoke inquiry! Finally Expectance, Patience and lastly –
      3. How do we prepare? Try answering these three questions:
        1. Do you know Christ personally ?
        2. Do you serve Christ constantly ?
        3. Do you love Christ completely ?

 

He is coming again ! Hallelujah!

 

 

 

 

The Countdown to the Cross Matthew Mark Luke John
179.        Jesus heals a blind beggar 20:29-34 10:46-52 18:35-43
180.        Jesus brings salvation to Zacchaeus’ home 19:1-10
181.        Jesus tells the parable of the king’s ten servants 19:11-27
182.        A woman anoints Jesus with perfume 26:6-13 14:3-9 12:1-11
183.       Sunday: Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey 21:1-11 11:1-11 19:28-44 12:12-19
184.        Monday: Jesus clears the temple again 21:12-17 11:12-19 19:45-48
185.        Jesus explains why he must die 12:20-36
186.        Most of the people do not believe in Jesus 12:37-43
187.        Jesus summarizes his message 12:44-50
188.        Tuesday: Jesus says the disciples can pray for anything 21:18-22 11:20-26
189.        Religious leaders challenge Jesus’ authority 21:23-27 11:27-33 20:1-8
190.        Jesus tells the parable of the two sons 21:28-32
191.        Jesus tells the parable of the wicked farmers 21:33-46 12:1-12 20:9-19
192.        Jesus tells the parable of the wedding feast 22:1-14
193.        Religious leaders question Jesus about paying taxes 22:15-22 12:13-17 20:20-26
194.        Religious leaders question Jesus about the resurrection 22:23-33 12:18-27 20:27-40
195.        Religious leaders question Jesus about the greatest commandment 22:34-40 12:28-34
196.        Religious leaders cannot answer Jesus’ question 22:41-46 12:35-37 20:41-44
197.        Jesus warns against the religious leaders 23:1-12 12:38-40 20:45-47
198.        Jesus condemns the religious leaders 23:13-36
199.        Jesus grieves over Jerusalem again 23:37-39
200.        A poor widow gives all she has 12:41-44 21:1-4
201.        Jesus tells  about the future 24:1-25 13:1-23 21:5-24
202.        Jesus  tells about his return 24:26-35 13:24-31 21:25-33
203.        Jesus tells  about remaining watchful 24:36-51 13:32-37 21:34-38
204.        Jesus  tells the parable of the ten bridesmaids 25:1-13
205.        Jesus tells  the parable of the loaned money 25:4-30
206.        Jesus tells  about the final judgment 25:31-46
207.        Religious leaders plot to kill Jesus 26:1-5 14:1, 2 22:1, 2
208.        Judas agrees to betray Jesus 26:14-16 14:10, 11 22:3-6
209.        Disciples prepare for the Passover 26:17-19 14:12-16 22:7-13
210.        Jesus washes the disciples’ feet 13:1-20
211.        Jesus and the disciples have the Last Supper 26:20-30 14:17-26 22:14-30 13:21-30
212.        Jesus predicts Peter’s denial 22:31-38 13:31-38
213.        Jesus is the way to the Father 14:1-14
214.        Jesus promises the Holy Spirit 14:15-31
215.        Jesus teaches about the vine and the branches 15:1-17
216.        Jesus warns about the world’s hatred 15:18-16:4
217.        Jesus teaches about the Holy Spirit 16:5-15
218.        Jesus teaches about using his name in prayer 16:16-33
219.        Jesus  prays for himself 17:1-5
220.        Jesus  prays for his disciples 17:6-19
221.        Jesus  prays for future believers 17:20-26
222.        Jesus again predicts Peter’s denial 26:31-35 14:27-31
223.        Jesus agonizes in the garden 26:36-46 14:32-42 22:39-46

 

 

 

Luke 2:22 Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord…

 

This morning is parent and child dedication Sunday.

 

You will see in a few moments, parents who want to present their children in dedication back to the Lord.

 

What they are saying is that these children belong to you Lord. We want to publicly acknowledge that.

 

God never holds us responsible for our children turn out—only for how we raised them.

 

Dedication is when parents say—

  • I will raise your children as my very own.
  • I will surrender them back to you.
  • I will have your peace when it is hard and when they are making their own choices that will shape their future lives.
  • I will always pray for them, always love them, and no matter what happens—
  • I will have your peace because I gave them to you, raised them for you as best I knew how and could do.

 

As I call these parents up here and lead them in this dedication, why not go over these truths in your own hearts as parents. If you have surrendered your children to the Lord already, then reaffirm in your heart these five simple truths:

  1. I will raise your children as my very own.
  2. I will surrender them back to you.
  3. I will have your peace when it is hard and when they are making their own choices that will shape their future lives.
  4. I will always pray for them, always love them, and no matter what happens—
  5. I will have your peace because I gave them to you, raised them for you as best I knew how and could do.

 

[1]  Much of these points are quoted or adapted from Henry Morris, Creation Trilogy, Many Infallible Proofs Appedices, electronic edition, n.p.

[2] Erich Sauer,

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