2019-04-14T08:00:00-05:00
118:1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let Israel say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the LORD say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
5 Out of my distress I called on the LORD;
the LORD answered me and set me free.
6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
7 The LORD is on my side as my helper;
I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.
10 All nations surrounded me;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
12 They surrounded me like bees;
they went out like a fire among thorns;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
13 I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
14 The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
15 Glad songs of salvation
are in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the LORD does valiantly,
16 the right hand of the LORD exalts,
the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!”
17 I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the LORD.
18 The LORD has disciplined me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the LORD.
20 This is the gate of the LORD;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 This is the LORD’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save us, we pray, O LORD!
O LORD, we pray, give us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!
We bless you from the house of the LORD.
27 The LORD is God,
and he has made his light to shine upon us.
Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,
up to the horns of the altar!
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God; I will extol you.
29 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” 14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright (c)2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. http://www.esv.org
1 in 128 billion. Every year the probability of creating a perfect bracket for the NCAA basketball championship tournament are at least 1 in 128 billion. We all know (painfully so) that no one has overcome those odds. We would love to predict the future. There are massive amounts of resources that corporations and individuals expend in an attempt to forecast the future. Sabermetrics, game theory, probability theory or other fields in mathematics are vexing to predict the outcomes of uncertain events. Humans have advanced significantly over the centuries but no has come close to a perfect bracket.
What are the odds that a person could fulfill the entire Mosaic Law? The answer is easy, zero. It is impossible. But you already knew the answer. Likewise, you know that Jesus flawlessly satisfy the Law and lived the perfect life. He is The One! What is impossible for man is possible with God.
The Lord God almighty did not simply predict the future, He ordained it. One example of how our sovereign Lord governs over all is the way He revealed Jesus in the Old Testament. The Messianic prophecies that prepared His people for the coming of The Christ are astounding. These are not predictions but pre-written history.
During Holy Week, our church featured sermons from a few Psalms that clearly revealed Christ. It is amazing how Jesus fulfilled every Messianic prophecy. Just consider a few.
• He would be born in Bethlehem of Judah (Micah 5:2).
• He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14).
• He would be called “Wonderful Counselor,” “Mighty God,” “Everlasting Father,” “Prince of Peace,” and would possess an everlasting kingdom (Isaiah 9:6-7).
• He would enter Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).
• He would cleanse the temple (Psalms 69:9).
• He would be the Stone builders rejected (Psalms 118:22-23).
• He would be betrayed by a friend (Psalm 41:9) for 30 pieces of silver and the money would be used to purchase the potter’s field (Zechariah 11:12-13).
• Many profound specifics of Christ’s life and crucifixion are revealed in Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 and 88.
• God would resurrect His son and not allow Him to suffer decay (Psalm 16:8-11).
There are well over a 100 Messianic prophecies that Christ fulfilled in His mere 33 years on this earth. All of these prophecies were written centuries before He was born in a stable. Scholars and scientist say it is a mathematical impossibility for anyone to personally fulfill even half of these prophecies. As you might expect there are many that scoff at all of these Messianic prophecies. Ironically, even the scoffer’s actions are foretold in Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53:3.
The time has come to let go of your dreams of a perfect bracket and fall on your knees and worship your perfect Savior. This Easter celebrate that He is Risen just like He promised. Celebrate the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” If you do this, the odds are great that you will never be disappointed!