Prophecies Fulfilled Part 2

 

We will continue this week to look at Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah that are fulfilled in the New Testament by Jesus.

 

Isaiah 9:6-7

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulders, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of host will do this.

 

The Messiah would come as a male child.

 

This is fulfilled in Luke 2:7 where it says, “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”

 

The Father said that the Messiah would be a male and Jesus came as male.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is believing God, taking Him at His word because He is a faithful God who fulfills everything He says.

 

The Messiah will be:

 

The Wonderful Counselor – Jesus’s teaching has an eternal character about it

 

The Mighty God – The miracles Jesus did show Him as the Mighty God

 

Everlasting Father – Jesus says in John 10:30 that He and the Father are one

 

Prince of Peace – In Ephesians 2:14 Paul says that Jesus is our peace

 

Jesus fulfilled all of the things that Isaiah said the Messiah would be.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is letting Jesus be who He really is in your life.

 

The Messiah would have a zeal for God.

 

In John 2, when Jesus cleanses the temple, in verse 17 it says, “His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume Me.’”

 

Jesus had a zeal for the will and word of God. We are to share that same zeal or passion for the will and word of God.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is having a passion to know and do the will of God and to obey God’s word.

 

Psalm 2:7

I tell you of the decree: The Lord said to Me, “You are My Son; today I have begotten You.”

 

The Messiah is uniquely God’s Son.

 

Matthew 3:17

And behold a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

 

The Father declares that Jesus is His Son.

 

The word Son here does not mean offspring. It means of the same substance. Jesus and the Father are of the same substance. Jesus is God in the flesh.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing and serving Jesus as God.

 

Isaiah 61:1-2

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God.

 

The Messiah would bring a message of forgiveness and hope to all people.

 

In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus reads this passage from Isaiah and in Luke 4:21 Jesus said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.

 

Jesus is saying that He had come to proclaim this message that Isaiah said the Messiah would proclaim, and He did.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is us as the church, God’s people, proclaiming the message of Jesus.

 

As God’s People Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                         Joe

Prophecies Fulfilled Part 1

 

I have been studying the Old Testament a lot over the past several months. I am teaching out of Isaiah and Ecclesiastes and reading through the prophetic books in the Old Testament.

 

There are two things that have come out of my study as I have shared it with others.

 

#1: People say that they don’t know the Old Testament very well.

#2: People say that the Old Testament and New Testament are not really

      connected.

 

So, over the next several weeks I want to show the prophecies in the Old Testament about the Messiah and their fulfillment in the New Testament.

 

Isaiah 11:1-5

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what His eyes see, or decide disputes by what His ears hear, but with righteous He shall the poor, and decide with equality for the meek of the earth, and He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His waist, and faithfulness the belt of His lions.

 

The Messiah would come from the line of David, and would be a righteous judge.

 

This is fulfilled in Jesus. In Matthew 1:1 It says, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the son of Abraham.”

 

Jesus is from the line of David.

 

In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus reads from the book of Isaiah a passage about the ministry of the Messiah.

 

In Luke 4:21 Jesus says, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

 

Jesus claims that the Spirit of God is upon Him and that He has come to proclaim good news to the poor, proclaim liberty to the captive, recovery of sight to the blind, set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is believing that Jesus comes from the line of David and is our righteous Judge.

 

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

 

The Messiah will have a unique birth, which itself would be a sign from God.

 

This is fulfilled in Luke 1:34 and 35. In verse 34 Mary asks how she can bear a son when she is a virgin. In verse 35 the angel Gabriel explains that the Holy Sprit will come upon her and by a miracle Mary will have a son who will be the Son of God.

 

In Matthew 1 Joseph is told that the child Mary will have is from God and in verse 23 He will be called Immanuel.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is believing that Jesus is the Son of God and He is Immanuel, God with us.

 

Micah 5:2

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for Me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.

 

The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, yet He would have a prior existence.

 

This is fulfilled in Matthew 2:1 where it says, “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem.”

 

Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

 

But according to John 1:1 Jesus is the Word and He was with God in the beginning and He was God.

 

Jesus the Son of God, God in the flesh, is the eternal God and was given a body as He became human in Bethlehem.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is believing that Jesus born in Bethlehem is the eternal, one and only God who became flesh.

 

With Jesus the Eternal God Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                            Pastor Joe

The Church is Different

 

The church is the community of faith that Jesus established in the new covenant based on His blood.

 

In the Book of Acts there are five functions of the church.

 

The five functions are:

Worship

Discipleship

Ministry

Evangelism

Fellowship

 

The church fulfills these functions so that they can do what Jesus commanded in Mathew 28:19 - to make disciples.

 

The church is also to operate based on God’s Kingdom principles and not as the world operates.

 

Matthew 5:43-46

You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate do your enemy.” But I say to you, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. He makes His sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?”

 

The church loves our enemies.

The church prays for those who persecute us.

 

The world system says love people who are nice to them and who love them, and hate and hurt those who are not nice to them or do not love them.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is loving and praying for those who don’t love us and even try to harm us.

 

Acts 5:34-35

There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands and houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

 

The church gave sacrificially to meet the needs of all needy people.

 

The church is commissioned by Jesus to serve the powerless and marginalized people of the world.

 

Jesus welcomed children and raised the widow’s son from the dead.

James tells us to look out for widows and orphans.

Peter reminds us to minister to the poor.

 

The church is to not show partiality to certain types of people but to welcome all who come seeking Jesus.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is giving sacrificially to meet the needs of others.

 

Matthew 20:25-28

But Jesus called them to Him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must ve your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

 

The church is to serve.

 

The church is not to demand that the culture honors and serves us but that we, as the Body of Christ, serve the people of the world.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is humbling ourselves and serving the people around us.

 

Amos 5:21-24

I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer Me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from Me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

 

The church is to be a people who are righteous and practice justice.

We live in a broken and fallen world. In the world there is injustice and wickedness. The church is to show the world the kingdom of God and manifest justice and righteousness.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living as God’s righteous people and showing forth real justice.

 

As God’s People Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                            Joe

Freedom to Know and Serve Jesus

 

I love God’s Word! I have just finished a one-on-one study of the Book of Galatians with a friend and was again reminded of the power and relevance of God’s Word.

 

Galatians 1:1-2

Paul an apostle – not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead – and all the brothers who are with me. To the church of Galatia.

 

Paul reminds us that our calling to know and follow and serve is not from a human source but from Jesus.

 

I have had the great privilege to serve God through the local church for almost forty-seven years and there have been times when I wanted to quit and go do anything else. I was reminded that it was not people who called me into ministry and only the One who called me into ministry had the authority to call me out of ministry.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is following God’s call on our lives and staying with that calling until God tells us something different.

 

Paul also reminds us of the power of God. God the Father raised Jesus from the dead.

 

There is no greater power than to bring life to someone who is dead. Jesus performed three resurrections of others in the New Testament. He raised Jairus’ daughter, the widow of Nain’s son and Lazarus. Each of these resurrections show Jesus’ power and Jesus’ resurrection shows the power of the Father over sin and death and Satan.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is experiencing the power of new life through Jesus.

 

Paul reminds us that following Jesus is not an individual thing but a community thing.

 

Paul and all the brothers who are with him.

 

Jesus called twelve disciples. Paul didn’t go on missionary trips alone; he had others with him. Paul planted churches in the towns and cities he went to.

 

Jesus gives us new life and then puts us into faith communities to grow and serve.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is doing life together with other brothers and sisters in Jesus.

 

Paul reminds us that through God’s grace we can have God’s peace.

 

Knowing Jesus, following Jesus, and serving Jesus bring peace. It brings a rest and security because we know that Jesus loves us and has the power and authority to handle anything that comes into our lives.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is experiencing the peace of God because we have received the grace of God.

 

Paul reminds us that it is through Jesus’ death that we are delivered from the penalty and power of sin. It is also through Jesus’ death that we are delivered from the power of this present evil age.

 

Jesus’ death paid for our sins, and when we acknowledge our sin and ask God for forgiveness, that forgiveness is given because Jesus paid for our sins.

 

Jesus’ death also gives us the grace, mercy, hope, and strength we need to live in a fallen world and not be controlled by it or overwhelmed by it.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing our sins are forgiven and experiencing the overcoming power of God in our lives daily.

 

Paul reminds us that Jesus is due our praise and worship forever.

 

The truth is that all humans and all things that are human are imperfect and cannot truly satisfy us. That people will let us down and disappoint us. But that God will never let us down or disappointed us. That truth is what makes Jesus the only One worthy of our worship and service.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is worshipping Jesus and only Jesus.

 

Galatians is a book about freedom in Jesus. That freedom begins with knowing that, by God’s grace, we can know Jesus and follow Jesus and serve Jesus, and that then we will experience God’s peace.

 

In Freedom Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                     Joe

Our Words

 

Words are important because they impact people’s minds, people’s attitudes, and people’s lives. Jesus says it’s not what goes into a person’s mouth and into their stomach that defiles a person. It is what comes out of a person’s mouth that originates in the heart that defiles a person.

 

Words make a powerful impact in others’ lives and their spirits.

 

James in James 3 gives three illustrations of the power of words.

 

James 3:3

If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.

 

Bits control horses and guide them in the direction the rider wants to go. Words can control people and guide people’s lives.

 

Words can guide to truth.

Words can guide to lies.

 

Words can lead a person to a relationship with Jesus and salvation.

Words can lead a person to reject a relationship with Jesus and away from salvation.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is sharing words that lead others to the truth and to know Jesus and experience salvation.

 

James 3:4

Look at the ships also; though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.

 

James is speaking of sailboats. The ships are big and they are driven by strong winds, but they are guided by a small instrument, the rudder.

 

Words can be used to direct people’s lives. They can overcome even large influences and strong emotions of our lives.

 

Our words can be used to guide others for good or bad. Words can encourage and positively influence or they can condemn and judge and negatively influence.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is using our words to encourage others to have faith in the one true God, Jesus.

 

James 3:5-6

So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course life, and set on fire by hell.

 

A fire can provide light and warmth or it can total destroy something. It all depends on the words and how they are spoken.

 

Words can bring comfort and healing or they can bring hurt and harm.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is using words to heal, not hurt.

 

As people transformed by Jesus, we are to live and act differently from the rest of the world. James connects our living differently with the words we speak and especially words that we speak into other people’s lives.

 

Each of the illustrations James uses shows the great power that words have, a power that we must learn to use in God-honoring ways.

 

Colossians 4:5-6

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

 

Our words are to be:

Flavorful – creating an appetite for Jesus

Preserving – continuing to speak truth no matter the reception

Healing – bring healing and spiritual health others

Gracious – speaking grace, not condemnation

Wise Reponses – answering other’s question with godly wisdom

 

With Godly Wise Words, Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                                  Joe

God Said

 

Over 50 times the Bible records, “God said.” We hear that phrase, but do we believe that?

 

As a preface to the Ten Commandments Exodus 20:1-2 says, “And God spoke all these words saying, ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of slavery.’”

 

God speaks to the people of Israel and tells them that He is the Lord their God and that He is the one who delivered them out of slavery in Egypt.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing that God is our Lord and that He has delivered us out of the slavery of sin.

 

Then in Exodus 20:3-17 God gives us the Ten Commandments.

 

We tend to see the Ten Commandments as rules that God demands we keep so He can control us. But what if we looked at the Ten Commandments with a different view?

 

The Ten Commandments are a moral code that help us to navigate through life.

 

Isaiah 30:21

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.

 

God speaks and gives us the moral direction for our lives that is righteous and leads us to real life.

 

God is holy (morally up right) and righteous (right in God’s sight) and He is the only one that can be a reliable moral compass for our lives. If we don’t have God directing our lives and giving us righteous moral direction, our lives can lead us to destruction.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is having God as your moral compass.

 

The Ten Commandments are a way God protects our lives.

 

Each of the commandments in the Ten Commandments is a way God is giving us protection for an area in our lives.

 

Have no other gods – there is only one God and God is directing us to seek Him, find Him, and worship Him.

 

No idols – protecting us from the frustration of worshiping and serving something that cannot do what we need.

 

Not taking God’s name in vain – protecting us from offending God and offending others with our language and revealing a low moral character.

 

Remember the Sabbath and keeping it holy – protecting us from working everyday and not taking a day off to recharge physically and refresh spiritually.

 

Honor you father and mother – helping to set a pattern in our lives to properly respect authorities that God has placed in our lives.

 

You shall not murder – protecting us from, out of emotions, doing something that will destroy other’s lives and our own.

 

You shall not commit adultery – protecting us from violating sacred vows that give us real joy and provide powerful security for our children.

 

You shall not steal – protecting us from a life of dishonesty and hurting others.

 

You shall not bear false witness – protecting us from a life of deceit and deception.

 

You shall not covet – protecting us from a life spent on wanting what we don’t have and overlooking what we do have.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is letting God’s word protect us from a life that is empty and headed in the wrong direction.

 

We wrongly view the Ten Commandments as rules that are meant to control us and restrict our lives.

 

The right way to view the Ten Commandments is to see them as:

God’s direct word to us

God’s way of giving us a righteous moral compass

God’s way of protecting us from things that will harm us

 

Following God’s word honors God and benefits us.

 

Following God’s Word by Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                               Joe

Jesus Pursues and Accepts Us

 

There are some scripture passages that we read so many times that we miss some of the important aspects of the passage. One those is the three parables in Luke 15.

 

The first is the lost sheep in verses three through seven.

 

A shepherd has a flock of one hundred sheep and one of the hundred wanders off. The shepherd leaves the ninety-nine and goes to seek the one who had wandered off.

 

The nature of sheep is to wander off. The shepherd pursues the sheep and brings him back to the flock. Then once the sheep is back in the flock, they celebrated the wandering sheep’s return.

 

Our old nature is to wander away from Jesus. Jesus nevertheless pursues us and when He has brought us to His body, the church, there is a celebration. The celebration should be by the body but, if not, there is absolutely a celebration in heaven.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is Jesus pursuing the wandering person to bring them to Him and His body.

 

The second parable is the lost coin in verses eight through ten.

 

A woman has ten coins and loses one of them. She seeks that coin diligently until she finds the coin and invites her friends and neighbors to celebrate that she has found it.

 

The coin was lost because of a circumstance. The coin is important because it’s part of the bridal veil. It represents a love relationship with her husband. She spares no effort to seek and find the coin. She seeks the coin till she finds it and, again, there is a celebration.

 

We may find ourselves lost because of circumstances. We may not have the opportunity to really hear the gospel or to understand the reality of Jesus’ love. Jesus will still pursue us because He created us to have a relationship with Him and He will pursue us to establish it.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is Jesus pursuing a love relationship with us no matter the circumstances.

The third parable is the lost or prodigal son in verses eleven through thirty-two.

 

A man had two sons and the younger son demanded his part of the inheritance. The father didn’t have to give it to him but he sold some of his property and gave the money to him. The young man squandered the money in reckless living. A famine hit the land and the young man found himself feeding pigs. He realizes the foolishness of this and goes back to his father seeking to be a hired servant. The father sees the young man returning a long way off and goes running to greet him. The father hugs him and restores him as his son. There is then a celebration that a lost son is found and that a son thought dead is alive.

 

The young man made a choice to leave his father and pursue his will and not his father’s will.  The father welcomed him back as a son, not a servant, and celebrated his return.

 

We make ungodly choices that separate us from Jesus and lead to reckless living. Jesus will welcome everyone back who sees their sin and returns to Jesus. He will restore us as His children and welcome us back into the family.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is recognizing our sin and coming to Jesus so we can become children of God.

 

Life is not hopeless because Jesus pursues us if we wander away or circumstances push us away.

 

Life is not hopeless because no matter how badly we sin, if we confess our sins and come to Jesus, He will accept us and make us children of God.

 

Many people think that it is too late to experience God’s love and be accepted by Him as His child – It Is Not!

 

Many people think that they are too bad to experience God’s love and be accepted by Him as His child – It Is Not!

 

Jesus’ invitation is to come to Him and follow Him, and it is given out to all.

 

Knowing and Following Jesus

by Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

Joe