I hope you have had a tremendous week. I sure have. I’m starting to feel pretty good and my cardiology visit this past Wednesday went very well. I do not have to see Dr. Towe again for at least 6 months. They put me on a new medicine and said I’d have to take that for one year. It is to help the body grow a coating over the stints so they are not rejected. I didn’t know they could be since they are non-living material, but I’m told they can. The medication is called Plavix and the doctor really stressed, “do not run out of these and take them faithfully.” I wish I could stock a year’s supply just to be sure. However, Medco Pharmacy said they would send them as needed, so I’ll let them keep them stocked. Anyway, I’m thankful to the LORD that I’m living when I am. If this were 50 years ago, I would not have survived.
I’m also sure that 50 years from now, our current treatments will be outdated, but I’m thankful that medical technology is where it is.
Yesterday was another great day here at Friendship Harmony Baptist. I can’t wait for you winter visitors who are coming down after Christmas to get here and experience this Church. You talk about the presence of God….. In Sunday School, we continue to look at Jewish festivals and holidays. Yesterday we looked at Purim found in the ninth chapter of the book of Esther. Christian, these Jewish festivals should be important to you; they were to Jesus. He celebrated them. Ask your Pastor if he would consider doing a series of messages on the major and minor holidays. You will be blessed by them and so will he as he studies and prepares. We have now examined Hanukah and Purim, both minor holidays. They are not considered minor because of a lesser significance, but because they are not in the list of seven convocations God gave Israel to observe in Leviticus chapter twenty three. In 2011, Purim will begin at 6:00pm on March 20 and run for two days.
In the worship hour, I preached the message, “God’s Greatest Promise.” In my opinion, and I stress it is just my opinion, God’s greatest promise was given to us by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 7:14,15 which reads, “ Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.” Butter and honey is what the plain folk ate; it was nothing fancy. The angel announced the Child could be found lying in a manger; plain folk, nothing fancy, yet He was Israel’s long expected Deliverer, their Messiah --- their King.
Below is the outline I used to deliver this message. Feel free to use it in your personal Bible study. You preachers and teachers are free to adapt it to fit your needs and use it to God’s glory.
God’s Greatest Promise
Isaiah 7:10-16
By Victor Cooper
12/11/10
Intro: God’s greatest promise was that a child would be born. Nothing great about that; it happens every seven seconds somewhere in the world. What made it so great was that the promised Son was His Son, and His name would Emmanuel, meaning “God with us.”
I. The promise was great for Israel.
A. Isaiah told Ahaz that both Israel and Judah were going into captivity.
B. Humanly speaking this spelled their end.
C. However, God had made a covenant with David. ( 2 Samuel 7)
1. God promised the lineage of David would be an eternal line.
2. If Israel and Judah were to be captured, a deliverer would be needed.
D. Isaiah said a Deliverer would come. Isaiah 7:14 is that promise.
II. Ahaz rejected Isaiah’s words and Israel would reject her Messiah.
A. Messiah means, “anointed one.”
1. The next logical question should be, “Anointed to do what?”
2. He was anointed to be the King; the Deliverer.
A. In Israel and Judah, the king was the anointed one, i.e. a messiah.
B. The Jews were looking for a full grown warrior-king to appear on the scene and deliver them from foreign subjugation.
C. Isaiah 7:10-16 told them to expect a Child; a Son. They were, “looking for love in all the wrong places.”
1. It isn’t like this was a veiled prophecy, Isaiah could have not have been more clear.
2. The angel announced it in Luke 2:10-12. The angel, too, could have not been more clear.
III. The promise is great for Jew and Gentile in our day.
A. The promised Son came, “… to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)
1. Paul tells me it was for me. Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
2. That same verse tells you the promise was also for you.
3. The greatness of the promise is not that it is a promise, but that it is your promise. Is it?
I hope these articles and sermon notes are a blessing to you. I hope they brighten your day and enhance your knowledge of God’s word. If you ever have any Biblical questions you’d like an answer to, please shoot an E-mail my way. Prayer requests are also welcomed. If you are in the area on Christmas Eve, we are having a Christmas Eve service at Friendship Harmony on December 24, sat 6:00pm. Have a good, safe, and healthy week, and I’ll see you next Monday Morning With Pastor Vic!
[Late breaking note: We apologize to our subscribers if this edition of “Monday Morning” was late. At 11:10pm Sunday night, we experienced a power outage which lasted well into the night. It wasn’t until just a little past six on Monday morning that we had electricity again and could post. Sometime we find ourselves at the mercy of nature and can do nothing about it. Again, we apologize for any late blog arrivals!]
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