I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Isaiah 2:1-5
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The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.
Romans 13:11
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And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our Salvation nearer than when we believed.
And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve, that thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! The golden city ceased! The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the scepter of the rulers. He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.
Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee even all the chief ones of the Earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into Heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to Hell, to the sides of the pit.
Luke 21:31-36
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So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the Kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole Earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man.
Everybody should pray this prayer every day at least once if not twice a day: Pray that God provides Christian nurses to attend to the dying Covid-19 patients. Pray that these nurses tell the dying patients about the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ and how He can wash away their sins. Pray that these nurses explain in detail how the patient, dying in their sins, will not be allowed to enter into God’s Kingdom because their soul is covered with slimy, oozing sin. Pray that the nurses explain how Jesus died and took the patient’s death punishment for their sins. And that accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is the only way to stop them from going to eternal Hell. Pray that the nurses tell of how the criminal hanging on the cross next to Jesus was accepted into Heaven, when he asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His Kingdom. Tell them that Jesus told the criminal “Today you will be with me in Paradise”. Pray that the Christian nurses tell the dying Covid-19 patients that this too can happen to them if they accept Lord Jesus as their Savior.
Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.
Luke 23:28-29
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But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave nursing.
Galatians 4:27
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For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
The book of Luke the 2nd chapter, I urge all of you to read when you go home. In our text, the shepherds are in the field and angels show up telling them about the birth of Jesus. The angels tell them to go to Bethlehem and see the baby in a manger. Question, where did the angels come from? Heaven! They came from Heaven, from God. The Psalmist said the Heavens declare the Glory of God. Many people believe that the closer they get to Heaven, the closer they get to God. Some astronauts believe that in the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth. Some astronauts that were in space looking down on Earth felt the power of God like they never felt before. When they came back they became preachers and missionaries for the Lord.
Where can we go to be close to God? Do we have to climb to great heights to be near Him? No. The bible tells us that we don’t have to climb up to Him. God has repeatedly stepped down from Heaven to Earth to be with us. In the Old Testament, God came down and dwelt in the tabernacle. In Exodus 40, God came down in a cloud and the Glory of God filled the temple. Wherever the tabernacle went, the Glory of God with it. In fact, the Glory of the Lord led the children of Israel thru the wilderness in the form of a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. After the temple was built and the ark was inside it, God filled the temple with a cloud. I Kings 8:1-0-11. The Glory of the Lord filled the temple. God came down and dwelt among his people. They didn’t have to ascend, go up into Heaven or the sky to be with God. God stepped down from glory to be with them.
This is the way it was for centuries. But the day came when the Israelite’s sin became too much and God had had enough! Ezekiel 9:9. God said the sins of Israel and Judah were very great and the land was full of bloodshed. The city was full of injustice and people said the Lord would not see their sins so they could do whatever they wanted to do. They said God was not looking and the He was not around. They said God has left town. Since they thought this then that is what God did. God’s spirit first left the temple and then it left the city. Ezekiel 11:23. The glory of the Lord went up from the city. The Glory of the Lord left the temple and never returned for the rest of the Old Testament era.
All this has changed, thank God. In Luke chap 2, the Glory of the Lord was now returning to Judah. The shepherds in the field saw the angels of the Lord and the Glory of the Lord was around them. A few days later, an old man named Simeon would meet baby Jesus in the temple. Simeon would prophesy that Jesus would be a light for revelation to the Gentiles and be glory to the people of Israel. God had once again stepped down from Heaven and came to his temple in Jerusalem. The Glory of the Lord had returned to dwell with his people. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We have seen the Glory of the Son of God, full of Grace and Truth. John 1:14. Jesus was born, came down from Heaven to be the consolation of Israel. He came to be their glory. This means that Jesus first came to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. Matt 10:5-6. Jesus sent his disciples to the sheep of Israel and they were not to go to the Gentiles yet. In Romans 1:16, Paul wrote that the gospel of Jesus Christ was for everybody that believed, the Jew first and then the Gentile.
Jesus said forgiveness of sin would be preached in His name in all nations beginning at Jerusalem. The gospel was to be preached first to the Jews. In the first three to four years, the early church was made of Jewish believers. This is because God wanted them to get first shot at the gospel. Why? There are four reasons:
1. The Jews had been set apart as part of a covenant with God. God had created a contract with the children of Israel that was exclusive for the nation of Israel. The Gentiles didn’t have a contract with God.
2. The Jews were the tribe of the Messiah. Jesus was born a Jew.
3. The Jews and Israel were the holders of the written Word of God. Israel was responsible for studying and guarding this religious literature. God did not intend for the books of the Old Testament to remain only in their hands. These books they had guarded for so many years, He had plans for them. God planned for the day when the Old Testament would be available to all people in the four corners of the Earth. We sing a song…red and yellow, black and white. All are precious in His sight!
4. Because Israel had kept the Old Testament books of the Bible, they provided Jesus a paper trail. My wife got a bill that she knew she had paid so she went to a box of paperwork. She dug in and researched until she found the paper trail. She had the date it was paid and the check number! She was on the phone with the bill company to set the record straight! There is paper trail for everything that is important. Jesus was born according to the scriptures. It had been recorded that He would be born in the Bethlehem. He came as the prophecies stated and He did at the prophecies said He would do. He taught what they said He would teach. Jesus was the fulfillment of over 300 prophecies.
Let us compare Jesus’ fulfillment of prophecy with other religious leaders. Buddha was thought to be a powerful teacher. But…nobody ever said that someone like Buddha would be born or where he would be born or what he would say or what he would do. Buddha just popped up in history and his teachings began a world religion. Then 500 years later, Jesus Christ was born. After Jesus was born, there was a man named Muhammad. People thought Muhammad was a powerful teacher. The world religion, Islam, grew out of his writings and teaching. But…..nobody ever said that somebody like Muhammad would be born or where he would be born or what he would say or what he would do or what he would teach. Muhammad simply popped up in history and his teaching became a world religion. But….when Jesus was born, He didn’t just pop up in history or just have a few teaching. Jesus came in fulfillment of prophesy that the Jews had guarded for centuries. The Jews were set aside to provide a service to God and in this service they would provide it to all mankind. God was returning the favor.
The Jews did not have a lock on God’s salvation. They were not the only ones that Jesus came to save. The Gentiles had always been a part of the plan of God. In the early church, the Jews looked down on the Gentile believer and the Gentiles didn’t like the Jews either. In Romans, Paul explained why they should not look down on each other but to consider the kindness God had showed them all. The Jews were saved by the same way all of us are saved. Saved by the belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, by the repenting of our sins and by making Jesus the Lord of our lives. We are to live for Jesus for the rest of our lives. We are to be transformed into the likeness of Christ.
Jesus came for the glory of Israel but when He died and rose from the grave, He became the glory of everyone who became his children. All Christians have a glow for Jesus in their face like the glow Moses had on his face after being with God in the mountain. The glow we Christians have is something that comes from inside. It is the reflection of the light of God in our hearts. The song goes….Something on the inside that’s working on the outside, oh what a change in my life! As Christians, we reflect God’s Glory. The closer we get to God, the more we reflect His Glory. We are being transformed into His likeness. We are changed into the same image from Glory to Glory as by the Spirit of the Lord. Jesus became our light so we can reflect His glory and His light in what we do and say. Jesus said to let our light shine before men so they see our good deeds and praise God our Father.
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy; Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good; Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts; Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.
For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul? Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him?
Job 27:16-17
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Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay; he may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.
Lamentations 3:22-26
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It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
Psalm 37:25
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I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as He said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all His works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief.
Hebrews 4:7-12
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Again, He limiteth a certain day, saying in David, Today, after so long a time; as it is said, Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would He not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into His rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Be thankful to the Lord and be wise unto the Lord. God wants us to be known as a thankful people. We are to do all we do in the name of Jesus and to always give thanks to God. We are to give thanks and praise to God’s name. He wants us to be thankful because it shows people that we have faith in God. Our being thankful is a witness to the world that God is a Good God.
We are to be eager to proclaim the blessings God has done to us and for us. We are to be thankful for all things in all of our circumstances. We are to NOT be anxious for anything but thanking the Lord for everything. Being thankful is not always an easy thing to do. I am not thankful for Covid-19 or for the violence in the world. There are two types of thankfulness: Comparative and This Will Pass Away.
1) Comparative Thanksgiving:
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This is when you compare how your situation could be a lot worse than where you are at right now. Example: You are to be grateful that you have two feet even though you don’t have any new shoes.
2) This Too Shall Pass Thanksgiving:
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This isn’t going to last forever. Whatever you are going through, this will pass. Rejoice in the Lord always and present your requests to God. God will give you Peace. Don’t be anxious but ask and receive God’s peace because the Lord is near.
Don’t be anxious or controlled by your bad circumstances but remember that the Lord is near and will never leave you. The Lord is your Shepherd and you shall not want. The Lord is with you and will have His goodness and mercy follow you. Psalm 23. The Lord is near. He leads you and comforts you and prepares a table for you in front of your enemies. The Lord promises that He will never forsake you. Don’t be afraid for the Lord is near and this is what we can be the most thankful for. God will NEVER leave us. God, our Father will never leave us or forsake us. The Lord remains nearby even when we can’t see Him in the darkness.
