We often separate the Old and New Covenant in our Theology! However the word Covenant is the same word used in both the Old and New Testament! There is only one word used in the Greek for Covenant in the New Testament! So the only thing that separates them is time! It is the passage of time that proves the Covenant! The passage of times confirms the Covenant to the Jews, Israel and to the Gentiles! Four thousand years later from Abraham we have the nation of Israel. The word Constitution is another word for Covenant! Our U.S. Constitution is a Biblical document! Remember a Covenant is conditional. Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved! Whosoever believeth in me shall not perish but have everlasting life! Here are some words that describe Covenant: determination, stipulation, league, treaty, alliance, constitution and a sacrifice! It was sealed by passing between the divided parts of a sacrifice! It is a divisor will, to put apart! Jesus will one day separate the sheep from the goats! We see in Genesis 15:18 that God promised much more land to the Jews than Canaan. However the Covenant is conditional and the Jews broke the Covenant! Captivity was their lot when they did this! A Covenant is a contract accompanied by signs, a sacrifice and a solemn oath which sealed the relationship with promises of Blessings for obedience and cursing’s for disobedience! Jesus was obedient even to death on a Cross! The Jews rejected human sacrifice! That is what the Heathen did! Therefore their Messiah could not be human! This is the challenge Jesus met in 1st Century Palestine! They were puzzled? How could Jesus do miracles that only God could do yet He appeared human? They understood God created humans yet their sacrifice could not be human! Their concept of God was He would come down as a knight in shining armor riding a white horse and destroy the Roman government! What they were really envisioning was Jesus second coming! What Jesus was trying to tell them is that He was God! A human telling them He was God was blasphemous to them! The Jews could not put all this together in their minds? God created human beings who sinned against Him and then He sacrificed Himself for them? This defied their understanding so they Crucified Him! They executed the sacrifice! What was missing was Faith! By Faith Abraham believed God! Counted as righteousness! Without Faith it is impossible to please God! We know He loves us! We will never know everything about God because then we could control Him! Could you imagine what the Judas Iscariot’s of this world would do with that! A jet aircraft flies through the air at hundreds of miles per hour! It does not think about it’s designer but simply does what it is designed to do! We are designed to worship God! When we do that in Faith we are fulfilled and find purpose in Him! Happy Easter! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Tag: messiah
Coronation at Bethlehem! 1 Samuel 16:13
Samuel the Priest anointed David at Bethlehem to replace King Saul. The estimated date is around 1030 B.C. About 1000 years later another King was born in Bethlehem! The Jews recognized that the Messiah, the Christ would come through David’s lineage. One of the key titles given to Jesus during His earthly ministry was “Son of David.” David was more than a King he was a warrior! Jesus was more than an earthly King! He is King over heaven and earth! He pre-existed Creation! He is Prince of peace but He is also a warrior! He will lead the armies of Heaven when He returns for His Millennium Rule here on earth! Those that do not submit to His rule will be ruled with a rod of iron! The war here on earth is a war between good and evil! Between light and darkness! Between Christianity and Islam! The coronation of Jesus at Calvary made a way for us to repent of our sin! Man has declared war on God! Peace will come when man accepts the King! Left to our own capacity sin will rule us! Submit to the King and let His peace reign in you! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Wonderful Councilor! Isaiah 9:6
God chose to make His dwelling place with men! A councilor is one who fixes problems! My dad was my best councilor growing up as an adolescent! He rescued me many times! Kids should learn important lessons in life from their parents! With all those close calls I had growing up God never took His eyes off me! Today many youth are exposed to a flawed view of God! There are four basic views how people view God. 1. God is a troubleshooter! We do not bother Him unless we get in a crisis! 2. God is a distant power! God is not really interested in us. This pro-active disengagement leads to many problems in marriages and home life. 3. God is a grandparent. God wants what I want! God is an ATM machine to give me my every desire! 4. God is Lord and center of my life! God is the source of all wisdom and I submit to His rule over my life! Is God a wonderful councilor to you? Are you busy and distracted by the cares of this life? I will ask God council over every area of my life! We live in cultural chaos! There are competing voices for your life! Slow down! Take time to be Holy! Pay attention to Christ! A sheep only responds to the voice of his shepherd! He will ignore all other voices! Take time to listen to the Master’s voice! People that hear from God wait on Him! John 14:26 The councilor, the Holy Spirit will teach you all things! He will remind you of everything He has taught you in His Word! Jesus was the original home schooler! Teaching requires patience, diligence, and staying with it everyday! Teaching is not a lucrative occupation! Jesus disciples were slow and rebellious! Teaching requires kindness and being intentional! The Holy Spirit teaches us and reminds us of all things! We as a church recite the Nicene Creed because it teaches us and reminds us of very important things! What do good parents do for us from the cradle to the grave? They teach us and remind us! As we take communion this morning Jesus taught us and reminded us to do this in remembrance of Him! God is personal and interested in you! That is why He came to earth! God came from Heaven wrapped in flesh! Fully God and fully man! He told us He would be born of a virgin, die on a Cross, be raised from the dead and ascend back to Heaven! He taught His disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit! The original Passover meals took hours to prepare! It was not fast food! God has taken great preparations for us! All we do is just receive the gift! Christ was broken for you yet His brokenness heals the world! At Passover in Jewish tradition the Messiah’s cup was always displayed meaning one day He would drink with us! At the Passover Jesus took the ceremonial cup and drank from it saying I am the long awaited Messiah! Jesus invites you to His table this morning! Jesus asked the Father if He could take this cup away from Him! Let thy will be done! God’s will was very costly to deliver us from our sin! Drink with Him this morning. He is a wonderful councilor and much more! No one can crash this party because everyone is invited! Source; Excerpt from Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado. His complete messages can be seen on his Podcasts. Go to NewLifeChurch.org
Judaism and Christ!
Judaism was the womb that birthed forth Christ and Christianity! Let us never forget the unbreakable link between the Christian and the Jew. Though some Jews today reject Christ let us not forget that their history was foundational to bring our Messiah into the earth! The Jewish history and culture prepared the way for God to position His Son to enter history at the exact appointed time. The Jews are still the apple of His eye and God will deal with them and open their eyes to Christ especially during the tribulation period as described in the Book of Revelation. In our ambitious Evangelism programs let us not forget our foundation! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
A King In Zion ! Zechariah 9:9-17
Zechariah predicts a coming King of Zion, the Messiah! It begins with the scene of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Remember Zachariah made this prediction 520 years before it happened! Remember there is no evolution with God! God does not get better with time! He made time and all history revolves around His plans for the redemption of man. His plans are revealed through His Word The Holy Bible. Jesus entry into Jerusalem and the people’s rejection of Him marks the end of Daniel’s 69th week. Briefly Daniel’s 70 weeks is a period of 490 years. This period of time began when Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem with the Jews from Babylon after 70 years of captivity. We have a gap of over 1900 years between the 69th and 70th week which is the Church Age. The 70th week will begin with the Rapture of His Church and the 7 year tribulation period and consummated by Christ’s second coming to earth. Zechariah’s prophecy then continues with a discussion of God’s dealing with Israel in the 70th week of Daniel. During the tribulation period Israel will no longer rely on military power but on the Prince of Peace who will exercise worldwide dominion over the entire earth. Conclusion; God stopped the clock so that during the Church Age gentiles would have the opportunity to accept Christ as Savior. This window will not remain open long for long! Why you still have time do not reject Christ but accept Him so you can spend the remainder of your life here and all eternity with Christ and a peace that this world can never deliver to you! When you look back your entire life will boil down to either accept Him or reject Him! Your life here and hereafter spent in Heaven or Hell rests with your choice! Be wise! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Micah Nails Down Place of His Birth! Micah 5: 1-2
Micah prophesized the Messiah’s birth place about 700 years before the event! The chief priest’s and scribes quoted it to Herod when they were asked where Christ was to be born. The prophet Isaiah had a lot of revelation about Christ hundreds of years before He came including birth, death and resurrection! It is interesting that the revelation of Christ was spread out among several old testament prophets. This is also true in the Body of Christ today! Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all prophecy! He is the Chief Prophet and it says in Revelation 19:10, “Jesus Christ is the Spirit of Prophecy!” Remember Christmas is more than about His birth! Remember that during the future tribulation period (7 years), the religious ruler of the world (false prophet), will force the inhabitant’s of earth to worship the anti-Christ (World political ruler). If you have rejected Christmas and Christ then you have chosen to follow the false prophet and worship the false Christ or anti-Christ! This will lead to your destruction! Micah a old testament prophet prophesized the coming righteous and Holy Prophet and Savior who pre-existed time and created all things both visible and invisible! Christmas is not just a point in time and a place in time but all time and all history past, present and future revolves around Him! Merry Christmas! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com