Sabbath Sanctuary: Rest in the Greatest Gift

The first Sunday of Advent we prepared our hearts for the coming of Christ, and our hearts were filled with the hope of the promise of His coming to this lost and fallen world.

The second Sunday we were challenged to spread the love of Christ in this season; He is the reason for the season. When we share His love, we are His light to lead the world to Him.

The Third Sunday of Advent we breathed in one of the greatest promises in the Word—joy—His Joy. The arrival of the incarnate Lord was a joyful event—the angels could not suppress their joy at His arrival, how much more should we rejoice?

In this last Sunday in Advent, as we are preparing to give and to receive gifts, we remember the ultimate gift ever given; all gifts this season pale in comparison.

God, who first ordered light to shine in darkness, has flooded our hearts with his light. We now can enlighten men only because we can give them knowledge of the glory of God, as we see it in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6 J.B. Phillips).

The glory of God in the face of Christ; this is the greatest gift. When I remember how broken and lost I was; how deep in bondage I was to sin, it amazes me that the Father sent His only Son to set me free. He came to redeem us and to reconcile us to the Father.  He came to dwell with us. He has given us many wonderful gifts and many precious promises (see 2 Pet. 1:4), but of all His gifts, none is greater than the gift of His Son Jesus. In giving us His Son He gave us himself.

I traveled to Israel many years ago, and I walked through the shepherds fields in Bethlehem. I tried to imagine a stable, and where it may have stood. I thought of Joseph and Mary, and the baby Jesus. How he slipped into the world quietly in the night. Stable animals were his company. Humble shepherds came and worshiped.  A sense of wonder came over me as I imagined the angels appearing to announce the greatest gift that would change the world forever, and celebrating His arrival. 

Rest in the greatest gift this world has ever been given, Jesus Christ, the reason for this season. There is not a gift that you or I can give this Christmas season, as great as giving the gift of Jesus Christ. Give Him to everyone you know, by sharing the Message that will change their world.

Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful (2 Corinthians 4: 5-6 Message).

 

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The Wonders of God's Word Part II: Prophecies of Christ's Birth

Nicodemus is one of my favorite characters in the Bible. I feel his inner struggle as he seeks Jesus in the garden, desperately longing to wrap his head around kingdom principles. After his encounter with Jesus, he would discover his need to be born again; kingdom ways compel our spirits, not our intellect.

Scripture does not mention Nicodemus beyond his collaboration with Joseph of Arimathea in burying Jesus; but again, my favorite portrayal of Jesus’ life and ministry, Jesus of Nazareth (1977), beautifully portrays Nicodemus’ aha moment, when his heart overruled his mind; he stood afar off and beheld the Lamb of God, Isaiah 53 dripping like honey off his tongue:

“He was despised and rejected of men; man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth and is brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before his sheerer is dumb. Surely he has born our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we would esteem him stricken and smitten of God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was abused for our iniquities, and through his wounds we are healed…and born again.”[1]

I cannot remember how many times I have watched that scene, but it moves me every time. Nicodemus has his eyes on the Messiah, the fulfillment Israel has been awaiting, since the first prophecy spoken in the Garden of Eden; his first encounter with that promise, came too, in a garden. From garden to garden. The Word of God is beautiful and witnessing the fulfillment of prophecy is awe-inspiring.  

I pray as we continue to see the prophecies of Christ’s birth and their fulfillment the wonder of God and His Word pierce your heart.

Place of Birth

Prophecy:

But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them. Isaiah 9: 1-2 NASB.

Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. Isaiah 11:1 NASB. 

Note: {When Isaiah spoke of Jesus being the branch (shoot), he used the word neh-tzer, meaning the separated One, or the Nazarene.[2]}

When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son. Hosea 11:1 NASB

But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity. Micah 5:2 NASB

Fulfillment:

and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: "He shall be called a Nazarene. Matthew 2:23

So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: Out of Egypt I called my son. Matthew 2:14, 15. NASB

Jesus was born in Bethlehem. (Matt. 2:1; c.f. 2:5-6; John 7:42). [3]

The Forerunner to His Birth

Prophecy:

A voice is calling, Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Isaiah 40:3 NASB

Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says the LORD of hosts. Malachi 3:1

Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. Malachi 4:5

Fulfillment:

Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the lord, make his paths straight!” Matthew 3:1,3 NASB

I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. John 1:23 NASB

This is the one about whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you. Luke 7:27

One more important subject is yet to be uncovered; the names given at birth. A third post will be necessary. His names are too important to ignore and requires some space.

I pray the Word is penetrating your soul, and that Jesus is being revealed to you in these ancient truths. I also pray you see prophecy in a new light, and the weaving together of the Old Covenant and the New.

In His grace,

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[1]A paraphrase of Isaiah 53 by Nicodemus, in the 1977 miniseries, Jesus of Nazareth.

[2]Lockyer, Herbert, All The Messianic Prophecies (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1973), 64.

[3]Ibid.