Looking Forward
Revelation 1:9

Possibility
A Christian’s view of the future

“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

Psalm 42:5 (NKJV) Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance.

Psalm 42:5 (NLT) Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again — my Savior and my God!

Psalm 42:5 (Message) Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues? Fix my eyes on God — soon I'll be praising again. He puts a smile on my face. He's my God.

Revelation 1:9
“I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

Five words of identification

• brother – <Gk> adelphos
  • A brother, born of the same father
  • Identity with the family of God.
    • God is a Father in search of a family!
  • John 13:3 “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God”
    • Authority – Identity – Destiny
• companion – <Gk> sugkoinoônos
  • He is a participant with others
    • a joint partner
    • a partaker
  • We are the Body of Christ
  • We are on pilgrimage together
• tribulation – <Gk> thlipsis
  • a pressing, pressing together, pressure (gethsemene)
  • metaphorically oppression, affliction, tribulation, distress, straits
  • Life is a test.
  • John 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."
• kingdom – <Gk> basileia
  • Denoting:
    • royal power
    • Kingship
    • Dominion
    • rule
  • The reign of the Messiah
  • Matthew 6:33
• patience – <Gk> hupomone
  • A steadfastness, constancy, endurance
  • The characteristic of one who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings
  • ~ patient enduring ~ sustaining ~ perseverance ~ waiting for

A life of faith!

• Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is!”
  • Our reality = “NOW”
• Your “now” is really your reaction to the past and your expectation of the future!
• The “imagination” or “faith” of the “now” is the substance of things hoped for!
• God gives us “grace” for the moment!

Our life is a choice!
Spiritual reality

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them. Deuteronomy 30:19-20

Why Did Jesus Come?

Luke 2:8-14
Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.

Three Mysteries (concerning Jesus)

• The Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Resurrection
  • Our faith must include these three mysteries.
  • They are difficult to understand.
  • They are not unintelligible—God understands them.
• But for us there is an element of mystery.
  • I Corinthians 4:1 "… servants of Jesus Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God."
• The greatest error anyone can make is to think they can fully understand these three mysteries.

He became like us that He might make us like Him.

• "The best way to send an idea, is to wrap it up in a person."~ scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer
• Incarnation, meaning "in the flesh."
  • Jesus was the way that God sent His "idea" to humanity; there was and is no better way!
• One of the early church fathers whose name was Ignatius explained that "by the Incarnation, God broke His silence."
• John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
• Christmas is all about the Christ.
  • Cultural confusion or denial?

Why Did Jesus Come?

• Incarnation
  • God becoming human; the union of divinity and humanity in Jesus of Nazareth.
• John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
• Christ's incarnation brought the infinite God within reach of finite men.
• "He who never began to be, but eternally existed, and who continued to be what he eternally was, began to be what he eternally was not."

Incarnation

• <Latin> incarnatio = being or taking flesh
• A biblical idea, but not a biblical term.
• Derived from the Latin version of John 1:14
  • "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
• The affirmation that God, in one of the modes of His existence as Trinity and without in any way ceasing to be the one God, has revealed Himself to humanity for its salvation by becoming human.
• Jesus, the Man from Nazareth, is the incarnate Word, the Son of God.
  • As the God-Man, He mediates God to humans
  • As the Man-God, He represents humans to God.
• By faith-union with Him, men and women, as adopted children of God, participate in His filial relation to God as Father.

The Purpose of the Incarnation

• Matthew 1:21 "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."
• Luke 19:10 "for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
• John 3:17 "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
• I Timothy 1:15 "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief."

The Humanity of Jesus

• During His earthly ministry, Jesus displayed common physiological needs:
  • He experienced fatigue John 4:6
  • His body required sleep Matt. 8:24, food Matt. 4:2; 21:18, and water John 19:28
  • Human emotional characteristics accompanied the physical ones: Jesus expressed joy John 15:11 and sorrow Matt. 26:37; He showed compassion Matt. 9:36 and love John11:5; and He was moved to righteous indignation Mark 3:5.
• Acts 2:22 – Peter, in his sermon at Pentecost, declared that Jesus is "a man approved of God among you...".
• The respective genealogies of Jesus serve as testimonies to His natural human descent
  • Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-37

The Deity of Jesus

• Colossians 1:19 "For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell"
• John 10:30 "I and My Father are one."
• Scriptures affirm the preexistence of Jesus:
• John 1:1-2 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God"
• Philippians 2:5-11
• With the "I am" sayings, He equated Himself with the God who appeared to Moses in the burning bush of Exodus 3:14.
• John 6:51 "I am the living bread which came down from heaven."
• John 10:7 "I am the door of the sheep."
• John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd"
• John 11:25 "I am the resurrection and the life"
• John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life"
• John 15:1 "I am the true vine"
• John 8:58 "Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."

In Jesus divine omnipotence
moved in a human arm;
In Jesus divine wisdom
was cradled in a human brain;
In Jesus divine love
throbbed in a human heart;
In Jesus divine compassion
glistened in a human eye;
In Jesus divine grace
poured forth in human lips.

God Has No Plan B (part 2) - Why? #6
If God, then why …?
Since God, then why …?
Matthew 1:1 NASB

Sermon in a sentence
God gives us beauty for ashes Isaiah 61:3

Why ??? - Looking at the BIG questions of life
Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
I Corinthians 4:1

The God of Promise ~ He is:

• The God of History
• The God of the Covenant
• The God of Blessing
• The God of Mercy
• The God of Mission

God is

• God is never surprised!
• God is not evil.
• God is not a failure that had to start over!
• God is neither a puppeteer nor a masochist.
• God is a provider, He had a solution to the “love” problem before man’s sin occurred.
• God is willing to pay the greatest price for our restored life in Him.

Man is

• Man is made in God’s image
  • a free moral agent
  • existing in multi-dimensions
• Man is a finite creature – a limited parameter.
• Man is able (within God’s generous parameters) to choose his destiny and create his reality.
• Man is living the consequences of his choices.
• Man is in need: The consequences of his choices produce the need for God’s mercy, providence and intervention.
• An image bearer of God in His creation.
• Called into cooperation with God in His creation as kings and priests.
• Created to live by faith!

Man is called to a life of faith!

• Faith honors God, and God honors faith!
• "Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading." - Oswald Chambers
• If we abide in His will and trust Him implicitly, the Lord will reward our confidence.
• Three Scriptures:
  • II Chronicles 16:9 ~~ searching
  • Hebrews 11:6 ~~ pleasing
  • Acts 16:5 ~~ growing

Now faith is!

• Faith is not believing that God can. It is knowing that God will.
• Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.
• Faith’s opposite = FEAR
  • False – Evidence – Appearing – Real
• "Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength."  - Corrie Ten, Boom
• "Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe." - Augustine

What happened at the new birth?

• What happens in the new birth is not getting new religion but getting new life.
  • Maximus the Confessor "Christ showed us an entirely new way to be human."
  • John 3: Jesus and the Pharisee, Nicodemus
• What happens in the new birth is not merely affirming the supernatural in Jesus but experiencing the supernatural in yourself.
  • John 3:3 "You must be born again or you will never see the kingdom of God."
• What happens in the new birth is not the improvement of your old human nature but the creation of a new human nature
  • a nature that is really you, and is forgiven and cleansed; and a nature that is really new, and is being formed by the indwelling Spirit of God.
• We are to begin to see God’s purpose – the way they were intended to be!

God Has No Plan B - Why? #5
If God, then why …?
Since God, then why …?
James 1:12-18 NASB

Sermon in a sentence
"God gives us beauty for ashes"

Why ??? - Looking at the BIG questions of life
Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
I Corinthians 4:1

God is

• God is never surprised!
• God is not evil.
• God is not a failure that had to start over!
• God is neither a puppeteer nor a masochist.
• God is a provider, He had a solution to the “love” problem before man’s sin occurred.
• God is willing to pay the greatest price for our restored life in Him.

Man is

• Man is made in God’s image
  • a free moral agent
  • existing in multi-dimensions
• Man is a finite creature – a limited parameter.
• Man is able (within God’s generous parameters) to choose his destiny and create his reality.
• Man is living the consequences of his choices.
• Man is in need: The consequences of his choices produce the need for God’s mercy, providence and intervention.
• An image bearer of God in His creation.
• Called into cooperation with God in His creation as kings and priests.
• Created to live by faith!

Job 1 – 2:10

• The conclusion:
  • Job 42:10-17
• The promise:
  • Romans 8:28
• The illustration:
  • Genesis – The story of Joseph
  • A Tapestry of Grace!

Who You Are Meant To Be - Why? #4
What Does It Mean To Be Human? - Part 2
Ephesians 3:1-11 (Message Bible)

Why?
Looking at the BIG questions of life
I Corinthians 4:1 “Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.”

For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body Romans 8:22-23

What is life all about?
What we can count on? - St. Augustine

1. God’s mercy for our past mistakes
2. God’s love for our present needs
3. God’s sovereignty for our future

All things are wearisome (boring); man is not able to tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing. That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:8-9 (NASB)

A Meaningful Life
I Peter 1:17-21 (Vs18)

• KJV = your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers
• NKJ = from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers
• NASB = from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers
• ISV = from the worthless way of life handed down to you by your ancestors
• Message = to get you out of that dead-end, empty headed life you grew up in.

Valuable to God

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. Romans 8:18-19

Imago Dei

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:26-28

Image Bearers

• Genesis 1:27 ~ Image of God
  • A biblical description of the unique nature of human beings in their relationship to the Creator God.
  • This passage contains a key to the understanding of humans and their nature.
• Psalm 8:4 - The psalmist asked, “What is man?”
  • Philosophers, theologians, psychologists, and anthropologists have constantly explored the topic.
• Psalm 139:14 “fearfully and wonderfully made”
• “Image and Likeness”
  • The repetition represents the Hebrew literary style of parallelism used for emphasis.

Fix your eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith
Hebrews 12:2

Kings and priests

• Genesis 1:28 “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
• Revelation 1:4b-6 “Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
• Revelation 5:9-10 “And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth”

Pieta' by Michelangelo

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
II Corinthians 5:17

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
II Corinthians 5:21