This Week's Sunday School Lesson, "Jesus, The Final Authority", 10/2/2016

JESUS, THE FINAL AUTHORITY

Hebrews 1:1-9

THE OLD TESTAMENT , THE AGE OF THE LAW

V:1. " After God spoke long ago in various portions and in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets."

A. The Old Testament is the recording of God's Word to the Jews.

     1. God used 30 different people to record the Old Testament over  1500

         years starting around 1450 BC.

     2. Each writer wrote what God revealed to them at that time.

     3. The revelation to each writer was unique in some ways and confirmation

         of the Word in other ways.

 B. God chose the Jewish nation in which Jesus would have His fleshly

      descendants to be the first to receive His Word. 

     1. God gave the Jews His Law which served as a tutor until Grace came

         in the form of His Son.

    2. Israel had an exclusive relationship with God.

       a. God freed them from slavery.

       b. God opened their eves to see Him.

       c. God opened their ears to hear Him.

    3. According to the dating of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Old Testament was complete

        at least 300 years before the birth of Christ.

    4. Christ referred to the Old Testament throughout His ministry.

        a. Why did He refer to the Old Testament?

        b. Because it was His Word.

        c. It was the righteousness of God.

        d. Because the Old Testament condemned man for his sins.

        e. Because it recorded all of God's commands.

        f. Because it is a record of Israel's disobedience and rejection of God.

        g. Because it foretold His coming as the Messiah for mankind.

THE NEW TESTAMENT, THE AGE OF GRACE

V:2. " In these last days he has spoken to us in a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world."

A. With Jesus death on the Cross, He fulfilled all the requirements of the Law.

    1. The age of the Law ended with Jesus death and the Age of Grace began with His

        resurrection.

    2. The New Testament began with the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

    3. Jesus is King, High Priest and prophet.

B, Jesus is the creator of all thing.

    1. According to John 1:3 everything was made by Him and nothing was made

       without Him.

    2. God the Father appointed Him the inheritor of all things.

        a. This points to the unity of Jesus and the Father.

        b. This also points to Jesus and the Father as the co creators of all things.

C. Jesus is the person of the Son in the Holy Trinity.

    1. Jesus was always Son, who was presented to the world through His birth in

        in Human flesh into humanity.

    2. Jesus is the Spirit of God that took on human flesh for our salvation 

D. In the Old Testament God's revelation was through His prophets.

    1. In the New Testament times, the Age of Grace, God's final revelation

        is though His Son.

   2. God's revelation through His Son is that salvation of mankind is through

       death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

   3. While we were yet sinners Christ death on the cross paid our sin debt in FULL.

     4. The Will of Father in the Age of Grace is communicated  through the Son.

         a. The future judgment of unbelievers  is communicated through the Son.

         b. The future glory of believers is communicated through the Son.

THE GLORY OF THE SON OF GOD

V: 3 "The Son is the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word, and so when he had accomplished cleansing for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."

A. Jesus and the Father are one

    1. Jesus in the flesh was the exact replica of the Father.

    2. Jesus in the flesh was man and God.

    3. He was holy and without sin,

    4. He loved righteousness and hated sin.

    5. He walked on earth with all the aspects of the Father.

    6. He told His disciples, that whoever has seen Him has seen the Father.

    7. The world came into being by His Word and is maintained by His Word.

B. His death on the cross was the victory over sin.

    1. All believers in Jesus Christ are made clean by His shed blood on the cross.

    2. He ratified the New Covenant with death on the cross putting an end to

        all animal sacrifices for one time atonement of sins.

    3. His death and resurrection established Him as the final and only High Priest.

    3. The blood of Jesus is the atonement of all sins, past, presence and future.

C. Jesus came down from heaven to satisfy our sin debt.

    1. Jesus returned to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father

        making intercessions for you and I.

    2. All of our prayers are directed to the Father through Jesus.  Matt 21:21-22

HIS POSITION IN HEAVEN

V: 4-5. " Thus he became so far better than the angels as he has inherited a name superior to theirs. The Son Is Superior to Angels 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my son! Today I have fathered you"? And in another place he says, "I will be his father and he will be my son."

A. Angel are created being. Ezekiel 26:12-15

    1. They are messengers of God.

    2. They were created to give God praise.

    3. Lucifer, an Arch Angel, who we know as Satan, was part of God praise team until

        his pride  forced him out of heaven.    Isa 14:12

 B. Angel after their creation, were capable of sin.  Ezekiel 26: 12-15

    1. In Genesis, God created the heaven and the earth.

    2. Angels were created before the earth was created.           Job  38:4-7

   

C. Jesus being spirit is elevated above all spiritual beings.

    1. Jesus is the creator of angels.

    2. Jesus became  Son to be salvation of mankind.

        a. Angel were not called on for this task.

        b. They announced the birth of Jesus in human flesh.

    3. Angels have only the limited power God gives them for specific task.  Ex 14:19

    4. Jesus has all power.

 D. God the Father established the Son relationship with Jesus.

    1. Jesus being equal to the Father submitted Himself to the will of the Father.

    2. Jesus said, not my will but the Fathers will.

HIS MISSIAHSHIP

V:6-7. " But when he again brings his firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all the angels of God worship him!" 7 And he says of the angels, "He makes his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire,"

A. God is spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

    1. The Lord makes it clear that there is a hierarchy of spiritual being.

    2. Jesus is the supreme spiritual being.

    3. Jesus the creator, always was and always will be.

    4. Jesus has no beginning or ending.

B. Angels are commanded to worship the Lord.

    1. Angels are the Lord's ministers.

    2. Angels are under the command of Jesus.   Matthew 26:53

C. Angels worship the Lord Jesus in His first coming and will worship Him in His second

     coming.   Matt 16:27

HIS KINGDOM

V: 8-9. " But of the Son he says,  "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,  and a righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom.  9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. So God, your God, has anointed you over your companions with the oil of rejoicing."

A. Jesus is the King forever fulfilling the promise God made with David.

   1. Jesus is the author and the sustainer of righteousness.

   2. Jesus is the author and the finisher of our faith.  Heb 12:2

   3. His blood shed on the cross to make us righteous before the Father

B. God has empowered Jesus to be our joy.

   1. Life is in Jesus Christ.

   2. Jesus said, I am the way the truth and the life.  

LETS PRAISE GOD FOR OUR SALVATION IN JESUS CHRIST.

Rev. M. Mitchell

Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church

5510 West Sam Houston Parkway

Houston, Texas 77010

For more messages visit my blogs and follow me on facebook

goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com and www.revmmitchell.com

This Week's Sunday School Lesson, "The Work Of Christ", 9/25/2016

THE WORK OF CHRIST

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

HIS ANOINTING

V:1a. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me.

 A. This verse  shows the existence of the Holy Trinity.

      1. Two words are used for God the Father

          a. Lord = Adonay, which is the "I AM", the proper name

          b. God = Yehovih, which is He who is or He who will be who He will be

 B. God the Holy Spirit = ruwach= wind or breath.

     1. Notice that the Spirit was upon Him not in Him

     2. God the Holy Spirit represents power.

     3. Jesus walked the earth with all power.

     4. He had the authority to do what He was charged to do.

 C. The "ME" in the verse in God the Son, Jesus Christ.

     1. Isaiah spoke of the unity of God the Father, God the Holy Spirit and

         God the Son.

     2. One God in three persons.

HIS MISSION

V:1b. " Because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

A. To proclaim the Good News.

    1. In the Garden of Eden, God promised victory over sin would come in

        human flesh through a woman's seed.  Gen 3:15.

   2. The promise was a super natural being  in a super natural way since a woman does

        not have a seed.

   3. The promise was the woman's seed would defeat the serpent; Satan.

   4. The Good News is God fulfills His promises.

   5. The Good News is that God will redeem man from his sins.

B. Those selected to receive the Good News;

    1. The meek.

        a. The humble

        b. Those who think low things of themselves.

    2. The broken hearted.

        a The ones who are convicted of their sins and grieves over them.

        b. Jesus came to relieve them of their grief with His atoning death.

        c. Jesus provides full forgiveness. 

   3. The captives.

      a. Israel was commanded to celebrate a year of Jubilee every 50 years,

          in which all land was returned to the original owners, all debts were

          cancelled and any slaves set free.

      b. Jesus first coming set all believers free from the bondage of sin.

      c. Jesus created in us a new heart which set us free from the world's ways.

      d. We are set free from bondage of unforgiveness

      e. We are set free from the sadness of this world.

      f. We are set free from hatred.

      g. We are set free to love our families as well as our enemies.

HIS FIRST COMING

V;2a.   "To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."

A. The first coming of Christ is the acceptable year of the Lord.

     1. Those who accept Christ as the personal Lord and Savior are living

        in the year of Jubilee.

     2. Christ death on the cross was the victory over Satan.

 B. We have been set free to enjoy eternal life with Christ Jesus.

     1. We are free of all our worries if we trust the Word of God.

     2. We have protection from Satan and his demons.

     3. We have the ability to enjoy all the promises of God.  

THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST

V:2b.-3 "And the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified."

A. At the second coming of Christ . The Church will be taken up to

    reign with Christ ( 1 Thes 4:16-18)

  1. Christ will do battle with Satan who will be doomed to the eternal hell.  (Rev 20:3)

  2. A New Israel will grow up in Jerusalem in the one thousand year reign of

     of Christ.  (Rev 20).

  3. Satan will be bound, so the new Israel will grow up in the righteousness of God.

  4. With sin put completely to rest, the Father will be glorified by His people.

B. Praise will be the nature of the new Israel.

   1. Everything that has breath will praise the Lord.

   2. Every head will bow and every knee shall bend in His presence.

LIFE WITH CHRIST

Verse 4.  And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations,   

  and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.

A. A life without Christ is a life of ruin.

    1. The nation of Israel was reduced to ruins do to their disobedience of God's

         commands.

    2. The temple in Jerusalem and the city was burned to the ground.

        Israel was taken captive by the Babylonians.

 B. True life only exist in Christ Jesus.

     1. Those who accept Christ as their Lord and Savior are created

         new in Him.

     2. Old things are past away and life of peace, joy and abundance begins.

     3. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.   John 14:6

 Isaiah 61:8-11

LIFE IN THE MILLENNIUM KINGDOM

V:8. " For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them."

A. Jesus established a new covenant in His blood for all believers.   Luke 22:20

    1. His death on the cross was the ratification of the New Covenant.

    2. The New Covenant fulfilled all the requirements of the Law.

    3. The New Covenant paved the way for all believers to inherit eternal

         life.

 B. The Jews as a nation did not take part in the New Covenant because of their

       unbelief.

     1. They were to involved in their traditions to see Jesus as the promised Messiah

          and the Son of God.

    2. At the end of the Church age, all nonbelievers will endure the tribulation

       in which much of the earth and most of those left will not survive.  Mark 13:20

    3. God will save a remnant of Jews  to rebuild His nation of chosen Jews.  Isa 10:20,

        Rom 9:27

ITS GOD THAT BRINGS BLESSINGS

V:9. " And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed."

A. Some Jews and Gentiles will survive the tribulation described in  Revelation chapters

     6-17.

   1. The first born of the Church was the Jews, because of their rejection of Christ

       as Lord and Savior, the Gospel was taken to the Gentiles.  Acts 13:46, Rom 1:16

   2. During the Millennium reign of Christ, the Jews will return to their

       first son position.

   3. The Jews will be known by other nations that grow up in the Millennium as the

        promised seed of Abraham. Gen 17:4

B. The purpose of the Millennium reign of Christ is to bring Israel to faith in Him.

   1. The  Church Age ends without the faith of the Jews in Christ.

   2. The Millennium reign begins with Jews faith in Christ.

   3. God is in no hurry to fulfill His promises, but they will be fulfilled.

   4. We must not get weary doing God's work, because He will fulfill

        His promises to us.

  

ENJOYING THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD

V:10. " I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels."

A. Everyday when we awake, we should start with praise and thanksgiving.

   1. We should reflect on how good the Lord is to us.

   2. His greatest gift to us is His only Son.

       a. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever

           believes in Him shall not parish by have eternal life.

       b. The Father gave us the gift of salvation when we were incapable of asking for it.

       c. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

   3. Notice, Isaiah talks about what God did for us, not what we have done for God.

   4. God provide our salvation and a knowledge of righteousness through His Word.

       a. We have no part in our salvation.

       b.  It is all about God's sovereign plan for our lives.

B. We ought to be forever grateful that the blood of Jesus continues to cover our sins.

   1. Before God we are filthy rags. But the righteousness of Jesus is imputed to us.

   2. Jesus is the bridegroom and we are His bride.

   3. Jesus has made us clean before the Father with His blood.  

THE PRAISE OF THE LORD

V:11. " For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations."

A. Jesus death on the Cross says a numbers of things about us, the Church.

     1. We have worth.  We are worth the death of Jesus on the cross

     2. We have a purpose, Purpose is to glorify God the Father

    3. We have a mission. Spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

B. We are commanded to study the Word so that we can rightly divide the Word,

   1. God expects us to grow in the Spirit.

   2. Our lives should imitate Jesus Christ.

   3. We should bear the fruit of love.

   4. We should bear the fruit of forgiveness.

   5. We should bear the fruit of service.

   6. We should bear the fruit of encouragement.

   7. We should bear the fruit of righteousness.

   8. We should bear the fruit of the Gospel.

   9.  We should bear the fruit of repentance.

  10. We should bear the fruit  of role modeling for Christ.

WE SHOULD PRAISE GOD WITH OUR ACTIONS NOT JUST OUR WORDS

Rev M. Mitchell

Asst Pastor of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church

5510 West Sam Houston Parkway, Houston Texas, 77010

For more lessons, see my blogs and follow me on facebook.

"www.revmmitchell.com" and "goodnewsrevmitc.blocspot.com"

This Week's Sunday School Lesson, "God Is In Control", 9/18/2016

GOD IS IN CONTROL

Isaiah 40:21-31

UNDERSTANDING WHO GOD IS

V:21-21. "Have you not known? Haven’t you heard about him? Hasn’t it been told to you from the beginning? Haven’t you understood it ever since the earth was made?22 God sits on his throne high above the earth. Its people look like grasshoppers to him. He spreads the heavens out like a cover. He sets it up like a tent to live in."

A. We need to have a clear understanding of who God is.

    1. We know that God is the creator of everything.

    2. We need to know that He has all power and all authority.

    3. We need to understand that there is none equal to Him.

B. We need to understand that He is eternal.

   1. God has no beginning or ending.  He is Alpha and Omega

   2. There is none equal to Him

C. This verse can be viewed in this manner;

 "The whole world may be considered as a house built up; heaven its roof; the stars its lamps; and the fruits of the earth its table spread. The Master of the house is God, blessed forever; and man is the steward into whose hand all the business of the house is given. If he always consider in his heart that the Master of the house is continually over him, and that he keeps his eye upon his work, and if in consequence he acts wisely, he shall find favor in the eyes of the Master of the house. But if he find wickedness in the house, then will he remove him 'from his stewardship. "  (Adam Clark).

GOD HAS ALL AUTHORITY

V:23-24. " He takes the power of princes away from them. He reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.24 They are planted. They are scattered like seeds. They put down roots in the ground. But as soon as that happens, God blows on them and they dry up. Then a windstorm sweeps them away like straw."

A. God is the source of all good.

    1. From the beginning, God placed Adam in His creation and gave him dominion

        over it.

    2. Adam had unlimited freedom to do good.

    3. Adam was given stewardship of God's creation in the Garden of Eden.

 B. It was when Adam disobeyed God's command not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge

      and of Good and Evil that he lost his freedom and his authority.

    1. God allowed sinful man to populate the earth, establish kingdoms and to govern

        himself.

    2. From time to time, because of man sins, God destroyed kingdoms and reduces

        those in authority to nothing.

 C. God is in complete control of His universe at all times.

     1. He allows good and evil to exist.

     2. God's people endure hardships because of their sinful behavior.

     3. Trouble don't last always and evil will not prevail over God's people.  

NONE EQUAL TO GOD

V:25-26. “So who will you compare me to? Who is equal to me?” says the Holy One.26 Look up toward the sky. Who created everything you see? The Lord causes the stars to come out at night one by one. He gives each one of them a name. His power and strength are great. So none of the stars is missing"

A. God is Sovereign.

    1. There is none like Him or equal to Him.

    2. God is unique in all His attributes.

    3. God would not be God if there was anything comparable to Him.

B. God proclaims His holiness

    1. God is sacred and pure.

    2. There is no shadow of sin around Him.

C. We know the glory of God by observing our environment.

     1. If you look to the sky, you can see how vast and limitless He is.

     2. We see God's glory in the sun during the day and in the moon and stars

         at night.

     3. By observing the sky we can understand the limitless of His power.

     4. By observing the sky we can understand that God is bigger than anything

         we can imaging.

     5. God is omniscience; He knows everything about everything.

     6. God keeps track of everything and looses track of nothing.  

 D. It is God's power that keeps the universe in order.

     1. God is omnipotent.

     2. We can't imagine how much power God's has.

     3. Any number we can imagine is not big enough to describe God's power.

NEVER DOUBT GOD'S LOVE FOR YOU

V.27. " Family of Jacob, why do you say, “The Lord doesn’t notice our condition”? People of Israel, why do you say, “Our God doesn’t pay any attention to our rightful claims”

A. The reason we question God is because we are unaware of His divine plan for our

     lives.

   1. We must consider that God knows the end from the beginning.

   2. Believers must come to the conclusion that everything that happens in our

       lives will work out for our good.

   3. The trouble we face in our lives serve several purposes.

       a. Our troubles are allowed to disciplines us.

       b. Our troubles are allow to lets face the consequences of our actions.

       c. Our troubles are allowed to cause us to repent

       d. Our troubles are allowed to draw us closer to God.

       e. Our troubles are allowed to strengthen our faith.

B. Since God is omniscience He cannot be unaware our condition.

    1. God has an intimate knowledge of everyone.

    2. God has an intimate relationship with each believer.

    3. God pays enough attention to each us to number the hairs on our

        heads.

    4. It is devils influence that causes us to say God does not care when He

      has not answered our prayers on our schedule.

  5. It takes faith to stand on the promises of God in difficult times.

GOD IS THE ETERNAL CREATOR

V:28. " Don’t you know who made everything? Haven’t you heard about him? The Lord is the God who lives forever. He created everything on earth. He won’t become worn out or get tired. No one will ever know how great his understanding is"

A. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

    1. Only a fool would say in his heart that there is no God.

    2. We hear from God every moment of our lives.

         a. Every heart beat is a word from God.

         b. Every breath we take is the glory of God.

         c. Every thought we have comes from the knowledge of God.

         d. The blood that flows warn in our bodies is the power of God.

   3. The flowers, the trees, the birds of the air and all Gods creatures

       give God praise.

   4. Man can claim nothing in God creation.

B. God never sleeps or slumbers.

C. God's eyes sees all and knows the heart of every person individually.

     1. His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways.

     2. We have a finite mind and cannot understand His infinite wisdom.

GOD IS OUR SOURCE OF POWER

V:29-30. " He gives strength to those who are tired. He gives power to those who are weak.  Even young people become worn out and get tired. Even the best of them trip and fall."

A. In God we live, move and have our being.   Acts 17:28

    1. God is our strength and our salvation.

    2. God provides strength for our minds and our bodies.

    3. In Jesus, when we are weak, He is strong.

B. The human body gets tired and will eventually become worn out.

   1. The good news is God never changes and His immeasurable power

        never diminishes. 

   2. The body declines  but the spirit is renewed in the Lord

PUT ALL YOUR TRUST IN THE LORD

V:31. " But those who trust in the Lord will receive new strength. They will fly as high as  

  eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not grow weak."

A. The operative word is "trust".

   1. You not only have to know the Word, but you must rely on the Word of God

       in everyday actives.

   2. We are burden down with worry and trying to rely on ourselves.

   3. Trusting God frees us from the burdens of life.

   4. We have to trust that what we can't handle, God will handle for us.

   5. It is God who renews our strength each day to handle the concerns of the day.

B. For believers who trust God, the sky is the limit.

   1. There is nothing to hard for God.

    2. If God is for us, He is more than the whole world against us.

    3. If we set our minds to do God's will, He will enable us to accomplish

      all that He has planned for us.

C. For the Christian, life is a journey with Jesus that ends in heaven.

    1. The steps of a good man/woman are ordered by the Lord.

    2. Since God's power is unlimited, the power in us is only limited by our

        desires to please God.

    3. Gal 6:9 states, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall

        reap, if we faint not.

       a. This is God's promise that our efforts to serve Him will be successful.

       b. This is also a promise of comfort. As we go through the trials of life,

            He is there to strengthen us.

          

THANK GOD FOR CHOOSING US

  

Rev. M. Mitchell

Asst Pastor of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church

5510 West Sam Houston Parkway

Houston, Texas 

For a complete listing of my lessons, visit my blogs

"goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com"

"www.revmmitchell.com"

  

This Week's Sunday School Lesson, "A New Beginning", 9/11/2016

A NEW BEGINNING

Isaiah 25:6-10

The prophet Isaiah was given a vision of the end times; a vision of the future reign of Christ.

The time  is  after the second coming of Christ, when the church will be taken up to be

with Christ. It is a time when Satan has been bound and can no longer influence

man to sin. It will be just man and Christ or man and the righteousness of God.

Jesus said, Heaven is near (Matt 11:11).  The Church ought to be enjoying this                  time with Christ today. The problem is that we go through life with the

blinders of sin.

We see life as a journey to the grave. Everyday we see a casket being driven to

a grave site, with people weeping and mourning following the funeral car.

Image a life when all your worries are stripped away. When the desires of the flesh

has been laid to rest and you have no desire to sin. Image a time when the journey

does not include a grave, just a life with Christ. This is Isaiah's vision of a glorious

life with Christ. For the believer, this is the life when everyday is a banquet with Christ.

THE BANQUET AT  THE LORD'S THRONE

V:6. "On this mountain the Lord of Armies will prepare for all people a feast with the best foods, a banquet with aged wines, with the best foods and the finest wines."

A. The scene on earth take's place in Jerusalem where Christ will have His

     earthly reign.

    1. Some commentaries see this mountain as the heavenly Zion, or the mountain of

        the Lord's house.

    2. Those invited to this banquet are all the redeemed of Christ. Jews and Gentiles of

         every nation.   Matt 22:2-12.

B. At the banquet we will be served  spiritual food and spiritual drink

    1. The bread of Life.    John 6:35

        a. The Word of God is the bread that fulfills all hunger.

        b. God's provision are all filling and all sufficient.

        c. Our hope and strength comes from the Word of God.

    2. Living water.    Rev 7:17

       a. The fine wine is the spirit of the Lord

       b. Wine influences the mind and the heart.

       c. The spiritual wine bring peace and joy.   

   3. In this verse, pay attention to three Hebrew phrases.

       a. Fat things (shemen) = rich

       b. Wine on the lees (shemer) = preserved, settled

            i. When wine is fermented, there is a settling at the bottom .

               Wine that stands on that settlement is considered especially strong.

            ii. We are especially strong when we summit ourselves to the Spirit of  God.

       c. Full of marrow (machah) = smooth, consoling the mind

  4. God has saved the best for last for us.

      a. That which God serves in His kingdom will be rich, strong and consoling.

      b. When we are settled on the Word of God, life is rich and powerful with the

          spirit of the Lord.  

LIFE OF HARMONY

V:7. " On this mountain he will remove the veil of grief covering all people and the mask covering all nations."

A. The covering over us is death caused by our sinful nature.

    1. We cannot see clearly because of our sin and fleshly desires.

    2. Sin blinds us to the truth that is in the Word of God.

    3. The shadow of death hangs over our unbelief and disobedience.

B. Jesus paid the price for our sins with His death on the cross.

    1. Our sin debt is paid in full.   Romans 3:25

    2. God has removed the covering of death and replaced it with eternal life.

ETERNAL LIFE

V:8. " He will swallow up death forever. The Almighty Lord will wipe away tears from every face, and he will remove the disgrace of his people from the whole earth. The Lord has spoken."

A.  Once saved, always saved.   Eph 4:30

    1. All of our sins has been atoned; past, present and future.

    2. Not only that, but we are sealed to the day of redemption.

B. It is a sin for us to worry about death.  This shows a lack of faith.

    1. Our physical death is the means to the end which is eternal life with Christ.

    2. Certainly we have disgraced ourselves before the Lord.

    3. The Lord has covered our disgrace with the blood of Jesus on the cross.

C. Since death has no power over us, all tears should be dried up.  1 Cor. 15:55-56

   1. In this life we are enabled to endure all suffering with the joy of the Lord.

   2. We put on the Christian badge, but it does not help us unless our life

        reflects our faith in everyday living.

THE GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD

V:9. " On that day his people will say, "This is our God; we have waited for him, and now he will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him. Let us rejoice and be glad because he will save us."

A.   "That day" is second coming of Jesus Christ.

    1. For the Church, The Day of Lord" has already taken place.

    2. Jesus death on the Cross paved the way for all tears to be dried up and

       all sorrow to be removed.

    3. The Lord Jesus is our salvation.

    4. The earth is the Lord and the fullness there of, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

B. Unbelieving souls are still waiting on the salvation of the Lord.

   1. We wait on the second coming of the Lord  to reign with Him

        doing the millennium. Rev 20:2-7

   2. We wait on the coming of the Lord to spend eternity in the new heaven and the new

       earth.

   3. Every day for a Christian is a day to rejoice and to be thankful.

THE AUTHORITY OF THE LORD

V:10. " The Lord's power will be on this mountain. Moab will be trampled beneath him   

  like straw that is trampled in a pile of manure."

 A. God is on His throne and is in control of the universe.

     1. God allowed sin in His creation to give Him glory through His chosen people.

     2. Moab represents the enemies of the Lord.

     3. All the enemies of the Lord will be destroyed.

 B. Satan and His demons will be put in check and doomed to an eternal hell.

     1. Everyone whose  name is not written in the Lambs book of Life will be

         judged and condemned to the eternal hell.   Rev 20:15

     2. There will be peace and joy forever.

THANK GOD FOR INCLUDING US IN THE LAMB'S BOOK OF LIFE

Rev. M. Mitchell

Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia Baptist

5510 West Sam Houston Parkway

Houston, Texas

For a complete list of my lessons visit my blogs

"www.revmmitchell.com"

"goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot,com"