The Gospel of Christ

Q: What does the Bible say about the purpose of the law?

The Bible teaches that the law reveals sin but cannot save; only Christ can bring about perfection. According to the Bible, particularly in Hebrews 7:18, the law is described as weak and unprofitable since it made nothing perfect. Its purpose was to highlight the need for a Savior rather than to provide salvation itself. Christ fulfilled the law and established a better hope through His sacrifice. Now, believers are called to live in the freedom of grace and not rely on the law for righteousness, as emphasized in Galatians 5:1.

Q: How do we know Jesus is our true hope?

Jesus is our true hope because He fulfills the law and the prophets, providing ultimate salvation. The Scriptures testify that Jesus brings a better hope as outlined in Hebrews 7:19. The Old Testament law and sacrifices only foreshadowed His redemptive work. Christ’s coming was prophesied, and His fulfillment of these prophecies is central to the Christian faith. He is the promised Redeemer who, unlike the ceremonial law, is of infinite value, making Him the foundation of our faith and the source of our hope in salvation.

Q: Why is preaching important in Christianity?

Preaching is vital because it proclaims the truth of God’s Word and declares the Gospel to those in need. The act of preaching is not merely for entertainment or debate; it is the declaration of God's truth, meant to communicate the good news of salvation through Christ (Isaiah 61:1). Jesus Himself was anointed to preach to the poor and to bind up the brokenhearted. In the tradition of this anointing, preachers today continue the mission to communicate God's saving grace to a world that desperately needs it. The focus must always remain on declaring God’s promises and truth, rather than merely interpreting or analyzing them.

Q: What does it mean to be poor in spirit?

Being poor in spirit refers to recognizing one's own sinfulness and spiritual need before God. Being poor in spirit, as stated in Matthew 5:3, signifies an awareness of one’s own sin and utter dependence on God for salvation. It is not about material poverty, but a humble acknowledgment of our spiritual bankruptness. This state of heart attracts the grace of God, allowing individuals to see their need for repentance and faith in Christ. The Gospel is proclaimed to those who understand they are destitute of righteousness on their own and can only find hope in the Savior.

Q: Why is the Gospel described as good news?

The Gospel is called 'good news' because it proclaims salvation, forgiveness, and freedom from sin through Jesus Christ. The Gospel is referred to as good news for several reasons. First, it declares God's mercy and love towards sinners, emphasizing that through Christ's sacrifice, we have been set free from the burden of sin (Isaiah 61:1). This includes freedom from the guilt and power of sin, which the ceremonial law could not achieve. Furthermore, it includes the promise of eternal life and reconciliation with God, which brings profound joy and hope to believers. The declaration of this truth is essential for the life and growth of the Church.

All that these men wrote about
Israel, about the prophets, about the promises, about the tabernacle,
about the priesthood, about the ceremonies, and the holy days,
and the special days, and the sacrifices, and the duties, and
laws, and Sabbaths. He said, you search the scriptures.
For he said, in these scriptures, in these laws, And in these ceremonies,
and in these holy days, and in these religious duties, which
you find in the Scriptures, you think you have eternal life. You think you have eternal life.
You think you are accepted of God, that you live before God
because you approve of these duties and these laws. And because
you try to do these things, because you keep these days, Pay your
tithes and go to the synagogue, offer your sacrifices. You search
these scriptures, study these things, and in these things you
think you have life. But he says, listen, they are
they which testify of me. The key to these scriptures is
they bear witness of me. The Old Testament laws and types
and pictures and shadows and ceremonies have no power in themselves
to do anybody any good. Anybody. Not even these men that
studied them. Moses wrote the law, but he didn't
look to the law. He looked to Christ. And that's
the reason the Lord said to these men, had you believed Moses,
you'd have believed me. He didn't even trust the law.
He wrote of me. He said, Abraham is your father.
You boast of being children in seed of Abraham. He said, Abraham
rejoiced not in these things. He rejoiced in my day. You see that? Terry, let me show
you something. Hold that passage there in John
5. Just put your hand there and turn to Hebrews 7. Hebrews 7. I don't know that I've ever emphasized
this verse of Scripture from Hebrews 7, verse 18, like I should
have emphasized it. But I read it again this morning,
and I thought, this needs to be read again, emphasized again. Especially in the light of what
Christ is saying here to these religious men. You're searching
the Scriptures. You're debating the laws, the
Sabbaths and Holy Days, all these things. In these things you think
you have life. But there they which testify
of me, they point to me. Now listen to what he says about
the law. In Hebrews 7, verse 18, For there is verily a disannulling
of the commandments, A disannulling of the Old Testament economy,
the Mosaic law, the Levitical laws and ceremonies, a disannulling
of them, of the commandment going before, because of the weakness
and the unprofitableness thereof. The weakness of what? The weakness
of these ceremonies. They're unprofitable in themselves. This law made nothing perfect.
Nothing. All this blood shed didn't put
away any sin. All of these sacrifices and ceremonies
and feast days never made anything perfect. You know what it says?
It says the law made nothing perfect, made nothing acceptable,
but the bringing in of a better hope did. What is this better
hope? Christ. Christ brought in a better hope.
He brought in a better covenant. He's surety of a better covenant,
of a better testament, of a better hope. So this is what we're saying
here, what the Lord is saying to these men. You search the
Scriptures. You study all of these types
and shadows and ceremonies and pictures and requirements and
duties Holy days and all of these things, in them you think you
have acceptance with God, and you live before God, and these
things never made anything perfect. Never made anything acceptable
before God. But the bringing in of a better
hope did. The bringing in of a better hope. One other scripture,
John 5, now turn to Hebrews 11. There's one more here that I
want to read. Hebrews 11. In this 11th chapter,
somebody called chapter 11 of Hebrews the Hall of Faith, talks
about Abel and Abraham and Noah and Sarah. It says in verse 13
of Hebrews 11, these all died in faith. In faith. Not having received the promises. Not having received the fulfillment
of the promises. promises of Christ, of a Messiah,
of a Redeemer, but having seen them afar off, and they were
persuaded of this bringing in of a better hope, they were persuaded
of the coming of a Redeemer, of a true sacrifice, and they
embraced these promises. They didn't receive them in person,
in reality, to sight and But they believed them. And they
what? And they confessed that they
were strangers and pilgrims walking through this earth. So what the
Lord is saying to these men here and to us too, don't trust these
things. Don't trust this law and ceremonies
and duties. It never could make anybody perfect.
The men who wrote it didn't trust it. The men in that day didn't
receive it. They looked for the promise.
They looked for the coming of Christ. And back in John 5 now,
in verse 40, and here's the terrible accusation. He said, you search
the Scriptures, the Old Testament Scriptures, in them you think
you have life, and there they which testify of me, and you
will not come to me that you might have life. Now, our elders and our preachers,
and I hear them on tape and I hear them in person occasionally,
and I find more often than not, Our elders and our preachers
here, more often than not, and there's a good possibility Myles
next Sunday will do the same thing. They'll read and preach
to you from the Old Testament Scriptures, showing to you how that Christ
died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was
buried and rose again according to the Scriptures. And the older
I get, The more I believe that this is the wise way to preach,
this is the way God would have us to preach. John, the older
I get, the more I use the Old Testament. Our Lord used it. His apostles
used it. The Old Testament is really,
if the new never comes along, it's meaningless. Really, isn't
it? The Old Testament is meaningless.
These sacrifices without Christ are meaningless because they
point to Christ. And let me tell you this, in
Christ's coming, when he did, it would be very difficult for
us to accept if we didn't have the Old Testament to show us
the right pattern. He died for our sins, and we
have a pattern and promise and picture and type of how the Messiah
will die, so he was recognized by those who understood these
things. And when these men stand up here and preach, they're doing
what our Lord did. Now we'll show you that. That's
why I've done all this, just to get you to turn to Luke 4
and show you this is the way our Lord preached. This is the
very way our Lord preached. Here in Luke chapter 4, in Luke
the fourth chapter, Our Lord Jesus Christ, while he was here
on earth in the flesh, now he grew up in a little town called
Nazareth. He lived there with his family
and worked as a carpenter. And I don't know what happened
during that 30 years, but when he was 30 years of age, he left
Nazareth and he began his ministry. and the revelation of his person
and work. He began that about 30 years
of age. He left Nazareth and word spread
about his wonderful works and his wonderful words and the wonderful
wonders that he performed. And it says here in verse 14
of Luke 4, and Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to
Galilee. And there went out a fame of
him through all the region round about. Now he's just begun his
ministry on the earth here, in the flesh. And he taught in their
synagogues, being glorified of all. No man ever spake like this,
so forth. So he came to Nazareth, came
back home where he was brought up. And as his custom was, you
know, he was born a Jew. circumcised when he was eight
days old, went through all the ceremonies his parents did. He
went to the synagogue, as his custom was. He went to the synagogue
on the Sabbath day, and he stood up for to read. In other words,
Christ in the flesh had to be born under that Levitical law.
He had to obey the Levitical law. He kept the law. He kept
the law. Fulfilled it. He didn't come
to destroy it, he came to fulfill it. And so he stood up to read,
and there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias,
which is Isaiah. And he opened the book and deliberately
turned to the place where it was written. Now here, the Lord
Jesus, and what I'm saying is that when I do this and when
these men do this, we're acting wisely. This is what our Master
did. Tom, this is a critical time
now. He's gone out from Nazareth,
raised right here in this town among these people. They said,
we know him, the carpenters, Mary's mother, brothers and sisters.
Went out famed concerning his words and works and wonders and
so forth. So he comes back and he's going
to speak to them. And they've packed the place.
It's completely full. And our Lord Jesus stood up to
read, they delivered him the scriptures, the Old Testament
scriptures, and he carefully turned to a passage of scripture
and read it and spoke from the Old Testament. He's going to
identify his person, he's going to identify his work. And even
the master himself, Charles, turns to the Old Testament. And
he says, this is my person, this is my work. He died for our sins
according to the Scriptures. If what he says and does and
is is not according to the Scriptures, then it's not of God. It's got
to be according to the Scriptures. Not one jot or tittle shall pass
till it's all fulfilled in Christ. So he turned to the Scripture
and he read it, and then looked down here at verse 20. I'm going
to read it in a minute, but verse 20. And he closed the book. And
he gave it to the minister, and he said, I am. And the eyes of
all them that were in the synagogue were glued, were fastened on
him. And he began to say to them,
listen, this day is this scripture fulfilled. It hasn't been up
until this day. You know what he's saying? This
scripture, this promise, See, Isaiah wrote this promise, but
Isaiah hadn't received the promise when he wrote it. But he looked
for the promise. When Abraham saw the day of Christ,
he hadn't received the day, but he looked for it. When Moses
wrote of him, it wasn't that Moses had seen him in his personal
work, he looked for him. And our Lord read this passage
in Isaiah 61, and he said, This day is this scripture fulfilled
in your ears. This is really what he said,
listen. This day is this scripture fulfilled while you're present
and hearing it read. Oh, isn't that phenomenal? Isn't that something? Here, four
thousand years of human history. All the way back to Abel when
he came and brought that first lamb. on the first lamb that
we read about. But he brought that lamb and
sacrificed it. And how many lambs were sacrificed?
How many turtledoves? How many bullocks? How many atonements? How many priests that came? And
here it is, in this day, thousands of years later, millenniums,
decades, centuries, and our Lord turns back and reads this scripture
and says, While you're listening, the Scripture
is fulfilled in your ears. And this is what we're saying
when we stand up here, and I'll get serious about this in a minute.
This is what we're saying when we stand up here like I did Sunday
morning, Sunday night, and read these Old Testament Scriptures
and preach them to you. I can literally say to you, if
this is the first time you've heard it, then this day, this
Scripture, while your present is fulfilled in your ears, if
it's the first time you heard it. If it's the first time you've
seen it, then it's fulfilled right there to you. And all the
tremendous responsibility that then becomes yours concerning
that scripture and that revelation. Isn't that right? He that increases
knowledge increases sorrow. Better not to hear the truth
than to hear it and walk away from it. Then that's the burden
that he's putting on these people right here. He's saying to them,
while you're present, while you're present, while you're listening,
this is fulfilled. Let's see what scripture he's
talking about, Isaiah 61. Isaiah 61. Now this is what he
read. This is that day, that day of
days, that wonderful day when our Lord They're all sitting
there gazing at him, their eyes fastened upon him. This man,
nobody understood, never been one like him before or since.
This man grew up right in their midst, this son of God, son of
man, and they're all watching him. And he turns to scripture
and says, this is who I am, and this is what I came to do. It's
found right over here. It's been in your hands all these
years. but it hadn't been fulfilled until right now. Isaiah 61, he
said, he read this, the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me. Why
would the Lord Jesus have to have the Holy Spirit? He's God. God the Father, God the Son,
God the Spirit. One God, three in one. The Lord
Jesus is God, their God of their God, yet he's a man. Now, I can't
explain the bringing together of those two natures, but I'm
simply saying it had to be done in such a way that the Lord Jesus
Christ, as a man, must literally have the Spirit of God upon him
to do what he did. Must have. I can't explain. I just know that yet he's God,
but he's so clothed and robed in human flesh and taking upon
him the weakness of it, man of sorrows acquainted with grief,
the temptation of it, the weariness of it, that he had to have the
same strength and spirit that you and I have to have. But the
Holy Spirit was given to him without measure. A lot of difference. A lot of difference. gave him
the Spirit without measure, and the Scripture says he was vindicated
by the Spirit, justified, 1 Timothy 3.16, justified in the Spirit,
that is, the Spirit vindicated. Every claim he made, the Holy
Spirit vindicated him. All right, notice the next thing
he said, Spirit of God is upon me. He said, because the Lord
hath anointed me, the Father hath anointed me, the Lord God
hath appointed me, ordained me, anointed me to be the surety,
representative, and Savior." I want you to turn with me to
Psalms 45. Psalm 45, the Lord God hath anointed
me. Psalm 45 says here, verse 6 and
7, you recognize this was quoted in Hebrews. Psalm 45, 6 and 7. Thy throne, O God, is forever
and ever. The scepter of thy kingdom is
a right scepter. Remember, the Father said that
to him. Thy throne, O God, is forever. Verse 7. Thy lovest
righteousness, hatest wickedness. Therefore thy God hath anointed
thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Jesus of Nazareth. is anointed of God, appointed
of God, ordained of God, predestinated by God, to be the surety, verily
the representative and Savior of all his covenant people. God
ordained him. And the Scripture says God sent
him forth as a propitiation. The Scripture says God sent him
into the world, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem
them that were born under the law. Now, one other scripture,
turn to Hebrews 10. He's telling them who he is.
Spirit of God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me, appointed
me, sent me. In Hebrews 10, look at verse
5. Wherefore, when he cometh into
this world, he Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not. All
of these Old Testament sacrifices and offerings, they never satisfied
God. They never pleased God. He found
nothing in them. They made nothing perfect. But
a body hast thou prepared me. God ordained him. In burnt offerings
and sacrifices for sin, thou hast had no pleasure. But when
he looked at Christ, he said, this is my beloved Son. in whom
I have pleasure." Well, please, read on. Then said I, Lo, I come,
in the volume of the book it's written of me, to do thy will,
O God, I'm the only one who can, above what he said, sacrifice,
offering, burnt offering, offering for sin, thy will is not, neither
has pleasure therein which are offered by the law. Then said
he, Lo, I come to do thy will, and he taketh away the first."
What is this first he taketh away? The law. The Levitical
law. The Mosaic economy. The tabernacle. Priesthood. Sacrifices. Passovers. Holy days. All these things.
Takes them away. How can he take them away? He
fulfilled them. How can he put them away? He
replaced them. How can he say they have no more
value? Because he is of infinite value. You don't need them. He
put them away. Listen. That he may establish
the second. The law made nothing perfect,
but the bringing in of a better hope did. See? By the rich will of our still
we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all. And every priest, standeth daily
ministering, offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, same can
never put away sin. But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sin forever, sat down where? Of all places
on the right hand of God, accepted. Accepted. From henceforth expecting
till his enemies be made his footstool, for by that one offering
he hath perfected. The law made nothing perfect,
but he made everything perfect that he undertook today." You
know what it says? The law made nothing perfect.
It's a picture. It's a pattern. It's a promise.
It's fulfilled. It all points to Christ. He said,
in these you think you have life. They just show me. God has no
pleasure in these things. Don't resurrect them. But by
one offering He perfected forever them that are sanctified. Now
that's all that came before serves its purpose and reveals Him who
fulfills it. All right, let's go back to Isaiah
61, just briefly. That's who He is. Now what did
He come to do? Same verse, verse 1, Isaiah 61. He anointed me, number one, to
preach good tidings to the meek, good news to the poor, glad tidings
to the poor. He hath anointed me to preach.
Now listen to me. Hear what I've got to say right
here. This is important. Preaching. Preaching in the 19th and 20th
century. Maybe before, I don't know, but
it's degenerated into all sorts of things. Preaching now is entertainment,
it's screaming and yelling, it's debates, it's arguments, it's
fellows trying to glorify themselves, it's everything but what it ought
to be. Our Savior says, the Father hath
anointed me to preach. You know what preaching is in
the case of our Lord and the apostles? Preaching is proclaiming
and declaring God's truth. Preaching is not for entertainment. Preaching is not for argument.
Preaching is not to establish my point. Preaching is not even
to interpret the Scriptures. Preaching is to proclaim something. It's to declare something that's
so. They said, John, who are you? I'm just a voice. But I'm a voice to speak what
He says speak. And that's what preaching is.
Preaching is proclaiming. Preaching is declaring God's
good news, the truth of salvation. Let me show you a scripture over
here. You don't need to turn to it. Let me just quickly look
over here. We talked about the Lord Jesus being that prophet.
God said, I will raise up, I will raise up a prophet, a preacher
from among their brethren, like unto thee Moses. I'll put my
words in his mouth, and he'll speak unto them all
that I shall command him. This preacher is to preach God's
Word. He's not to make it Kind of,
after he hears it, kind of reword it for God, you know. God, that's
too strong. Let's reword that, you know.
So people, that's not his business. He said, I'll put my words in
his mouth and he'll speak them. And he'll come to pass that whosoever
will not hear my words, which he shall speak, I'll require
it of him. And that's what the Lord said
here that the Father anointed him to do first, is to preach
good news. Declare it. To whom? To the poor. To the meek. That
doesn't mean necessarily materially poor. There's none of us here
who are necessarily materially poor. You might claim to be poor,
but you're not poor. Now you go to Mexico, you find
out you're not poor. You're rich. So when he talks
about the gospel to the poor here, he's talking about poor
in spirit. Not materially poor, but poor
in spirit. People who are sensible of seeing.
People who know that before God, they are nothing. They have nothing. They know nothing. They can do
nothing. They're bankrupt. They're poor.
They're penniless. They have no money. You see,
nothing with which to bargain. No deeds. No good works. They're
poor. See that? I've come to proclaim,
he said, good news to them. This good news is that God loves
sinners. God's merciful to sinners. God
sent a Savior to die for sinners. His atonement is effectual. That's
the good news. We're not here to argue. Isn't
that right? Just tell it. If you hear it,
wonderful. If you want, that's all right.
We'll find somebody that will. But don't camp on the same guy's
doorstep all the time trying to make it acceptable to him,
shake the dust off your feet and move on. We're here to declare
the truth. But it's good news to the poor.
Well, I'm not poor. Well, I'm not talking to you.
We're sent to invite the thirsty. Well, I'm not thirsty. Well,
I'm not talking to you. I'm here to talk to sinners.
Well, I'm not a sinner. Well, I'm not talking to you.
Forget it. Forget how you're sitting there.
If I can find me a penniless, bankrupt, broke, homesick, sinful,
undeserving, ill-deserving beggar, I'll tell him something good.
I'm not going to argue with him. I'm not going to say, EF, EF,
EF. I'm just going to say this, God saves sinners. That's what
Christ said. And He sent me, listen, to bind
up the brokenhearted. Now, there's no person here tonight twenty years of age that hadn't
had a broken heart, over natural calamities or disappointments,
but that's not what this is talking about. We're talking about, turn
to Psalm 34. Here's what we're talking about. Christ said, I came to heal the
brokenhearted, to bind up the brokenhearted. Turn to Psalm
34. This is what we're talking about. People who are brokenhearted
over sin. You know what we're talking about?
In Psalm 34, verse 18, the Lord is known to them that are of
a broken heart. He saveth such as be of a contrite spirit, a
repentant spirit, a broken spirit. Turn to Psalm 51. The Lord resisteth
the proud. He giveth grace to the humble.
Pride goeth before destruction. Hard is spirit before the fall.
If you can't come down, you can't be lifted. That's right, if you
can't come down, you can't rise. It says here in Psalm 51, now
David starts off, Have mercy on me, O God, according to your
lovingkindness, according to your multitude of your tender
mercies, brought out my transgressions, wash me throughly from my iniquity,
cleanse me from my sin, I acknowledge my transgression, my sin as ever
before. What's this talking? It's a broken
heart. In verse 17, he says, the sacrifices
of God, a broken spirit, a broken, a contrite heart, O God, thou
wilt not despise. Christ said, I came to heal the
brokenhearted, to comfort those who have bowed
down. Bowed down. I asked, go on. What he came to do? Preach good
news. It's done. to heal the brokenhearted,
listen, to proclaim, to proclaim liberty to the captives. Listen
to me. This liberty that Christ purchased,
it's no invitation, it's a proclamation. Isn't that right? You know, in
September of 1862, Mr. Lincoln issued an emancipation
proclamation. This was September of 1862, effective
January the 1st, 1863, freeing all slaves. This was not a request. This was not a suggestion. The
President was not suggesting they let them go. Am I right
about this one? This was no suggestion. It was
no invitation. It was called a what? A proclamation. He said on January the 1st, 1863,
they are free. And anyone who holds one after
that date, breaking the law. And when Jesus Christ came into
this world, he freed his elect from the curse of the law, from
the bondage of the ceremonial law, from the penalty of sin,
and from the law of sin and death, and he didn't invite or suggest
or request, he proclaimed. He said, I am proclaiming liberty
to the captives that pray. And anyone who holds one after
this point is holding them against my will and my word. And the
Father lets them go. That's right. We're sons of God.
He said I claim, that's what I said preaching is. It's proclamation. It's proclamation. And it's for
all who believe. Listen, go further. The opening
of prison to them that are bound. That door is open for every believer. Bound. All of us were bound by
sin and bound by the law and bound by the justice of God.
And Christ died and set us free. But I'll tell you something else.
Some of us, like Saul of Tarsus, were bound by false religion. That's right. wrapped up in bondage
to false religion. And Christ said, now I want you
to turn to Galatians. Hold Isaiah 61, just turn for
a moment to Galatians 5. Now, I'm not talking here about
the moral law of God. The law of God that has to do
with integrity and holiness and honesty and morality. We're not
set free. We're free to do the will of
our master. His commandments are not grievous.
But I'm talking about this religion of works and this religion of
duties and this bondage of ceremonialism under which some of us were brought
up. Touch not, taste not, handle not. You know what I'm talking
about, don't you? That was ingrained in us from the time we were children,
to do certain things. If you didn't, you know, you
tithed. On Sunday was a Sabbath day where
you didn't do certain things. And there were different rules
and regulations that some of you were brought up under. And
that's the same thing Solitarsis was brought up under the law
of Moses. And here he says in Galatians
5, now you stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ
has made you free. And don't you become entangled
again with the yoke of bondage. A fellow comes along talking
about it's evil to eat pork, and don't listen to him now. A fellow comes by and says, forbids
folks to marry, forbids you to eat certain things or drink certain
things, And things of that nature. Don't fall for that. You won't
find any holiness in these things. Even those that tried to obey
them never found any. The holiness is in Christ. So
you stand fast in this liberty. And that, back to Isaiah now,
61. He came, the last line in verse
1, to open the prison to them that are bound and give them
a rest in Christ. You understand what I'm saying?
a liberty in Christ. Not a liberty to licentiousness,
not a liberty to sin. God's children don't want that
anyway. But a liberty to be free from this outward form of religion
that the whole world seems to be wrapped up in. All right,
let's read on quickly. He sent me to proclaim the acceptable
year of the Lord. You know what I believe this
refers to? I believe it refers to the year of Jubilee. Don't
you turn, Jill. Let me quickly go over to Leviticus
25, if you want to, you can make it over there with me, too. But
Leviticus 25, there was the year of Jubilee. Now, here's what
it is. In Leviticus chapter 25, verse
8, there was the year of Jubilee. And he says in verse 8, And thou
shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times
seven years. That's 49 years. You got it? Verse 8, 49 years. Then shalt
thou cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth
day of the seventh month in the day of the atonement, shall you
make the trumpet sound throughout all the land, and you shall holler
the fiftieth year. That's the year of Jubilee. and
proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants
thereof. It shall be a jubilee unto you,
and you shall return every man unto his possession, you shall
return every man to his family." You know what this is saying? Seven Sabbath years. Every seventh
year, God let the ground rest. You remember? Ground. One year
they didn't farm. was seven of those seven years,
and on the 50th year was the year of Jubilee. And every man
that had been sold into slavery, any time during that time, was
free. Totally free. Secondly, all property
and family land was restored to its original owner, or their
sons. All the land they'd sold, lost,
whatever, came right back to home. All debts were discharged. A year of jubilee. Nobody owed
a nickel. And then a year of rest was proclaimed. You know
that was a jubilee, wasn't it? Good gracious alive. Don't you
know they were shouting in the camp? Well, thus the Lord Jesus
said, Spirit of God's on me. The Lord's anointed me to preach
good news to the meek. Heal the broken hearted, set
the captive free, open the prison, and to preach the year of Jubilee.
Let me tell you something, in Christ, you're free. Satan, don't
pay attention to these preachers all the time about Satan. He's
got nothing on us. We're free. All our souls are
restored. Everything we lost in our daddy
Adam is back home in Moab. Our debts are paid. I don't owe
spiritually nothing. That's right. Who can condemn
me? And I've entered into his rest. Jubilee. That's what he says here in Isaiah
61. I proclaim. I'm not suggesting
it. I'm not even inviting it. I'm
telling you. This is the jubilee. Jim, it's
yours. That's all there is to it. You
believe it's yours. And the day of vengeance of our
God. Some people say that's the Lord exacting all the vengeance
for our sins upon Christ. Maybe. But God's also going to
have vengeance on his enemies too. He kept me to comfort those
that mourn. Now watch this. I love this and
I'll quit. To a point unto them that mourn
in Zion. What is Zion? Zion's a church.
I'm sure of that. He sent me to give them beauty
for ashes. Why would he refer to us as ashes? Three reasons. When you see ashes,
it means, number one, the fire's out. That's the first thing it
means, the fire's out. In Adam, the fire went out. But
Christ has restored his beauty for our dead ashes. Second, when
you see ashes, it means death. Dust to dust. Ashes to ashes. He has given us his life for
our death. When you say ashes, it's sorrow. Sackcloth and ashes. But I'll
tell you, let me read you a psalm over here. I'll just read it
quickly. Psalm 30, verse 10. Listen. Be merciful unto me, O Lord,
be thou my helper. Thou hast turned for me my mourning
into dancing. Thou hast put off my sackcloth
and girded me with gladness. To the end that my glory may
sing praise to thee and be not silent, O Lord my God, I give
thanks. You've turned my sackcloth into
gladness." That's what he said. Beauty for ashes. Listen, mourning,
the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness. Anybody know anything about the
spirit of heaviness? He's given us the garment of praise. That
they might be called trees of righteousness, planted by the Lord, that he
might be glorified. These trees are planted by the
Lord. These trees have their roots
in the living water. He shall be like a tree planted
by the rivers of living water. His leaf also shall not wither. Can't wither because the life's
in him. The life of the tree's in the tree. The beauty of the
tree is the outward, but the life is the inward. And the beauty
of the tree is the fruit it bears. and they shall bear fruit. His
leaf shall not wither, and his fruit shall be multiplied." Love,
joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness. Because trees that God plants
never wither. And the last thing, and this
is what I tried to deal with Sunday, listen to the last line,
that he might be glorified. There's none of this for Oh,
we're going to take part in the glory, my goodness, yes. But
none of it's for our glory, it's for His glory. None of it's to
glorify any of us, but they shall be trees of righteousness planted
by the Lord. He said every plant my father
didn't plant is going to be rooted up anyway to His glory. All right, Mike, come lead us
in a song, please.

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The Gospel of Christ

What does the Bible say about the purpose of the law?

How do we know Jesus is our true hope?

Why is preaching important in Christianity?

What does it mean to be poor in spirit?

Why is the Gospel described as good news?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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