2019-04-14T08:00:00-05:00
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.”
12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
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!