Post by foxjj on Apr 25, 2022 7:09:52 GMT
The Time Was At Hand
The Hebrew Scriptures are full of God’s promises proclaiming the coming of Messiah The Promised One. Came that time in history
when the Heavenly Host announcer the birth of Messiah: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:11-14) The Father looked down upon the scene as the virgin mother gave birth to The Son.
The time for The Son to be publicly recognized was at hand, when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan as The Father announced: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22) Then began a three year ministry where Jesus announced to the people: “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15)
God’s time was at hand when the Son was betrayed, falsely accused, and executed. As the Passover Lamb Jesus bore the sins of humanity: "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21)
The atoning sacrificial death of Messiah was foretold in Isaiah 53:4-7: “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”
Death could not hold The Son of God, as Isaiah 53:11 foretold: “After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.” The Father was looking down when the third day dawned and The Son arose: “death has been swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54).
The message of The Gospel has been proclaimed in each generation since Jesus’s redemptive sacrifice. Into each life there is a time when God arranges that we hear the life changing Gospel. To all who accept its message there is the wonderful experience of sins forgive, and the knowledge that they are now children of God. I pray that you also have had this experience just as I did when my time was at hand.
Then we who have been forgiven can rejoice with Paul when he states in 1 Corinthians chapter 15:55-57: "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Today, let us praise our Heavenly Father for promises fulfilled.
John Joseph Fox.
The Hebrew Scriptures are full of God’s promises proclaiming the coming of Messiah The Promised One. Came that time in history
when the Heavenly Host announcer the birth of Messiah: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:11-14) The Father looked down upon the scene as the virgin mother gave birth to The Son.
The time for The Son to be publicly recognized was at hand, when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan as The Father announced: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22) Then began a three year ministry where Jesus announced to the people: “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15)
God’s time was at hand when the Son was betrayed, falsely accused, and executed. As the Passover Lamb Jesus bore the sins of humanity: "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21)
The atoning sacrificial death of Messiah was foretold in Isaiah 53:4-7: “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”
Death could not hold The Son of God, as Isaiah 53:11 foretold: “After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.” The Father was looking down when the third day dawned and The Son arose: “death has been swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54).
The message of The Gospel has been proclaimed in each generation since Jesus’s redemptive sacrifice. Into each life there is a time when God arranges that we hear the life changing Gospel. To all who accept its message there is the wonderful experience of sins forgive, and the knowledge that they are now children of God. I pray that you also have had this experience just as I did when my time was at hand.
Then we who have been forgiven can rejoice with Paul when he states in 1 Corinthians chapter 15:55-57: "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Today, let us praise our Heavenly Father for promises fulfilled.
John Joseph Fox.
