Key to the Universe

Pastor's sermon today was God filled and awesome!
Ps.103:19 The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.
Eph.1:21-23
21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Remember the holiness of God!
God is sovereign over all!


Deut.4:25 that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.


From the beginning, we have denounced His sovereignty, and despised His righteousness! We totally disregard His wrath and continually deny his love! How can righteous God be loving to rebellious sinners who are due his wrath? God's forgiveness of our sin is a threat to His character! Before the cross is for anyone else's sake, the cross is for His sake! Tremble at the horror of man's wickedness! Jewish leaders, Roman leaders, soldiers, crowds, and even His disciples were all wicked and sinful toward the Lord. The Jews rejected Him, had Him arrested, accused Him of being blasphemous, and judged Him as a liar. The Romans sentenced and crucified Him. The soldiers stripped, scourged, mocked, beat, and spat on Him. The crowds ridiculed, reviled, and shouted at Him. Even those who believed and loved Him, His disciples betrayed, denied, disobeyed, and deserted Him and scattered and left Him alone. 


Matt.27:1 When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.


John 11:46-48 

46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 
47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Council and said, "What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 
48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." 

Matt.26:57 Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered.

Matt.27:20-22 
20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 
21 The governor again said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" And they said, "Barabbas." 
22 Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?"They all said, "Let him be crucified!"


Matt.27:28-31 
28 And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 
29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" 
30 And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 
31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.


Matt.26:49-50 
49 And he came up to Jesus at once and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" And he kissed him. 
50 Jesus said to him, "Friend, do what you came to do." Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.


Matt.26:56 But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples left him and fled.


Matt.27:45-50 
45Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" 
47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, "This man is calling Elijah." 
48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 
49 But the others said, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him." 
50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.


Behold the humility of Christ! He was our substitution! Jesus died our death! He is the Passover Lamb who saves us with His blood. He is the covenant keeper who seals us with His blood. Before the cross, we were headed for eternal death; we now have eternal life. The definition of propitiation: the turning away of wrath by an offering or an atoning sacrifice
Jesus was our propitiation, He endured our condemnation! The cup of the cross is not primarily physical suffering; it is predominantly spiritual suffering. Jesus was not a coward about to face Romans soldiers; He was a Savior about to experience divine wrath. Before the cross, we were afraid of God; because of the cross, we are now friends with God. We are reconciled only through Christ who suffered our separation. The cry on the cross was not a cry of unbelief, confusion, or despair but it was a cry of physical agony, spiritual anguish and relational separation. The curse of the cross; Jesus was cut off from the Father's favorable presence. Jesus was given the full recompense of our disobedience. Before the cross, we were cast out of God's presence; because of the cross , we are now invited into God's presence!

Ex.12:23 For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.


1Cor.5:7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.


Ex.24:8 And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, "Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words." 


Matt.26:28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.


2Cor.5:18-21 
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 
19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 

Want you surrender your heart to God?  I am now proclaiming to you the hope I have found in the gospel. Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved!
Lord God, maker of heaven and earth and everything in them, melt hearts today with Your Word. Amen

The Power of the Empty Tomb

The truth of the reliable story of the empty tomb is far more involved than we think. It begins long ago, before the birth and death of Christ. We only get, God revealed glimpses, of the mysteries contained in the story as told in the bible. Christ birth and death were ordained by God. God had a plan! That plan is still working out in the lives of those waiting for it's culmination. That plan's end will result in Christ coming for His bride and a new heaven and earth that has been promised to those who know and love the Lord. Christ is God, spirit and man!

Old Testaments saints testimony:
Job19:25-27
For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, 27 whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!

As Messiah:
Romans 9:5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
Titus 2:13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ


As God:
John 1:1-14
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own peopledid not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.John 1:18  No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.Phil.2:5-115 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant,being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
One with God the father:John 10:30 I and My Father are One.Matt.11:27All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
In Spirit:John 15:26 "But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
As Creator:Neh.9:6 6 "You are the LORD, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.John 1:3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.Col.1:16-20 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Supernatural raising of the dead:John 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.John 6:40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."John 6:54-58 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever." John 10:17-18 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father."
Sweet Jesus, reveal Yourself to us. We long to deeply know You. We want to reflect you to the world. Teach us to "turn the other cheek", to "love our enemies", and to show forgiveness when the world thinks it impossible. Amen

Wisdom and Comfort for the Dying Christian

In the written truth of God's Word, we have a real assurance of what happens to us when we leave this place called Earth. If you believe God sent His Son, Jesus, to die as the only acceptable sacrifice for sinners, taking the wrath due man, nailing it to the cross and therefore making a way for man to be reconciled to a holy God. You have God's authority about eternity through His Son! I am trusting Christ for my salvation, so I must trust Him, with assured peace, in life and death. There is no other option! If you deny Christ, then you have no peace in life or death! There is no comfort or peace left for you! Most of us think of dying as something that comes suddenly as with an accident, or because of illness, but the truth of the matter is that, the minute you were born, you began to die. Your death has been going on, simultaneously as you live life. God's plan, your number of days have been ordained by God and written in His book, before you ever had one.


Matt.28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.


Col.1:15-23

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 

16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. 

17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 

18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 

19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 

20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 

22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 

23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

His promise:



John 14:1-4 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.”



Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

We die and live through Him:


John 11:23-26 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”


1 Corinthians 15:54-57 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.


Philippians 3:20-21 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.


He will do:

1 Corinthians 15:20-23 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.



Philippians 1:23-24 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.


1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.


1 John 3:1-2 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.


Revelation 21:1-4 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

In death:



Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,


Psalm 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.


John 10:27-29 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” (Jesus speaking)


Romans 8:38-39 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.


Romans 14:8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.


Revelation 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”


Hallelujah and Amen, Praise God for He alone is worthy!!!

Acceptable Burnt Offerings

Judges 11:30-31 
30 And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, "If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, 
31 then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering."

If you read and know God's word, you know that burnt animal sacrifice was acceptable to him! You also know that the most cherished sacrifice to God was Christ! You also know that the false god Molech demanded human sacrifice which God abhorred! Now for the rest of the story of Jephthah's vow.


Judges 11:32-40 

32 So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the LORD gave them into his hand. 

33 And he struck them from Aroer to the neighborhood of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim, with a great blow. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel. 

34 Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter. 

35 And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, "Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the LORD, and I cannot take back my vow." 

36 And she said to him, "My father, you have opened your mouth to the LORD; do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the LORD has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites." 

37 So she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go up and down on the mountains and weep for my virginity, I and my companions." 

38 So he said, "Go." Then he sent her away for two months, and she departed, she and her companions, and wept for her virginity on the mountains. 

39 And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow that he had made. She had never known a man, and it became a custom in Israel 

40 that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.

There is no way that her father sent her into the fire knowing that God would not accept this abomination! However, she was given to the service of the Lord, knowing no man her whole life.



Leviticus 18:21  
You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. 

1 Samuel 15:22 
And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. 



Lord, thank You for the truth contained in Your Word. Let us search it, know it, follow it and teach it. Amen

More Than A Prophet

The central idea of the word prophet is, one to whom God reveals himself and through whom he speaks.
John the baptist, sent by God, to prepare the way for the coming of Christ was called more "than a prophet". John preached repentance and reformation of heart and life. Christ is so much more because He lives through us! We have direct access to Christ! We have His written word! It is food for our souls! We must tell the world!!
Eph.2:20-22 

20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 
21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 
22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.


1 Peter 1:3-5,19-25 
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 
4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 
5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 
20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 
21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 
22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 
23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 
24 for "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 
25 but the word of the Lord remains forever."And this word is the good news that was preached to you. 

Christ foretold:
Deut.18:18  
18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

Anointed with the Holy Spirit:
Luke 4:18
18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed

Christ alone knows and reveals God:
Heb.1:1-6
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you"?Or again, "I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son"? 6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."
Same as the Father:John 12:44-50 44 And Jesus cried out and said, "Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment--what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me."
Salvation in Christ alone:Heb.2:3-4 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his willActs 4:11-1211 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." 

Lord, You took our wrath due us. There is no payment we can give! We can never forget the terrible price of sin! We can never forget the cost to You! We must always remember that sin separates us from You. We must cling to the wonder of the cross! Amen