I'm going to begin by saying, if you don't have a copy of God's Word with you this evening, there's no shame in that.
In fact, people were asking me even this week, what exactly is the Good Friday gathering going to look like?
And I would say, I don't know. I'm not sure yet exactly what we're going to do.
I would tell those people that I will be preaching, but they may not have known to pass that information on to you.
And so we want you to have one if you would like to have one.
And so if you don't have a copy of God's Word with you, again, there's no shame in this, and you'd like one,
if you'll slip your hands up. We've got Matt and Tyler around the room. They can get one to you.
You can also be quick on the draw with your phones and pull open something.
Okay, nobody. Okay. All right. Very good, then.
I'm going to assume that you're ready to go, and we're going to get into a text together.
As we gather this evening to consider the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross of Golgotha,
I would like for us to consider some of Jesus' final words as He suffered on our behalf
and reflect upon what may have been some of His final thoughts as He gave His life for the sake of ours.
To do so, please turn with me in your copy of God's Word to Psalm 22.
Psalm 22.
This psalm serves as a divine commentary on much of what Jesus uttered on the cross,
as we will see that three of His statements come from this psalm.
Because Jesus cites this psalm so prevalently,
I believe that it is safe to assume that He was pondering this psalm as He suffered.
It may not have been the only text of Scripture that He meditated upon,
but it was surely one of them.
It may well have been the dominant one,
and therefore can grant us some level of insight into His thoughts.
The author of this psalm is King David,
and no events of his life match the description found here,
as many of his psalms do.
You could say, oh, we know when David wrote this particular psalm,
the trouble that he was experiencing at this time,
but not in this case.
So it is widely agreed that this psalm is prophetic,
that David was speaking of the suffering of Jesus.
In that, it alludes to five different incidents
that occurred in the process of Jesus being tried and crucified.
We also know that Peter, the apostle,
refers to David as a prophet in Acts 2, verse 30.
There he's referencing a different psalm,
but he calls there David the prophet.
So, as we take some time this evening
to consider some of Jesus' final words,
and most likely some of His final thoughts,
I want to invite you to have your heart warmed
by the loving kindness of God to us
in the death of Jesus Christ.
Before I read Psalm 22,
as is my habit,
I want to remind you, beloved,
this is God's Word to us.
It was written for His glory
and for our good,
and we would all do well to listen to it
in order to believe its promises
and obey its commands.
Psalm 22, beginning in verse 1.
My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me
from the words of my groaning?
Oh, my God, I cry by day,
but you do not answer,
and by night,
but I find no rest.
Yet, you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our fathers trusted.
They trusted,
and you delivered them.
To you they cried
and were rescued.
In you they trusted
and were not put to shame.
But I am a worm
and not a man.
Scorned by mankind
and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me.
They make mouths at me.
They wag their heads.
He trusts in the Lord.
Let Him deliver him.
Let Him rescue him.
For He delights in him.
Yet you are He
who took me from the womb.
You made me trust you
at my mother's breasts.
On you was I cast from my birth
and from my mother's womb.
You have been my God.
Be not far from me
for trouble is near
and there is none to help.
Many bulls encompass me.
Strong bulls of bashan surround me.
They open wide their mouths at me
like a ravening and roaring lion.
I am poured out like water
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax.
It is melted within my breast.
My strength is dried up like a pot shirt
and my tongue sticks to my jaws.
You lay me in the dust of death.
For dogs encompass me.
A company of evildoers encircles me.
They have pierced my hands and feet.
I can count all my bones.
They stare and gloat over me.
They divide my garments among them
and for my clothing they cast lots.
But you, O Lord, do not be far off.
O you, my help, come quickly to my aid.
Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dog.
Save me from the mouth of the lion.
You have rescued me from the horns
of the wild oxen.
I will tell of your name to my brothers.
In the midst of the congregation,
I will praise you.
You who fear the Lord, praise Him.
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify Him
and stand in awe of Him,
all you offspring of Israel.
For He has not despised or abhorred
the affliction of the afflicted.
And He has not hidden His face from Him,
but has heard when He cried to Him.
From you comes my praise in the great congregation.
My vows I will perform before those who fear Him.
The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied.
Those who seek Him shall praise the Lord.
May your hearts live forever.
All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before you.
For kingship belongs to the Lord,
and He rules over the nations.
All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship.
Before Him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
even the one who could not keep Himself alive.
Posterity shall serve Him.
It shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation.
They shall come and proclaim His righteousness
to a people yet unborn,
that He has done it.
So, first, let's look at the five incidents
that occurred in the process of Jesus being tried
and crucified that this psalm alludes to.
I hope that you're familiar enough
with the New Testament text
that speaks of these things,
the Gospel accounts,
that you were picking up some hints of them
as you moved throughout it.
Now, those of you who are used to me
working verse by verse through a text,
beginning at verse 1 and working my way down,
I'm not going to do that tonight.
We're going to take it in fragments,
although I will reference every bit of Psalm 22.
In fact, for a test of that,
I wrote down 1 through 31
and checked them off
as I was sure that I referenced it in my notes.
But it'll come in a different order
than 1 through 31
because it's my hope for our thinking
to move from those matters
which aren't unimportant,
but they're less important to those matters
that are more important for us this evening.
So, let's look at these five incidents
that occurred.
Number one,
the dividing of Jesus' garments
and the casting of lots.
We can read in John 19,
verse 23 and 24,
when the soldiers had crucified Jesus,
they took His garments
and divided them into four parts,
one part for each soldier,
also His tunic.
But the tunic was seamless,
woven in one piece from top to bottom.
So they said to one another,
let us not tear it,
but cast lots for it
to see whose it shall be.
This was to fill the Scripture
which says,
and here citing directly,
John does Psalm 22 and verse 18.
They divided my garments among them
and for my clothing,
they cast lots.
So the soldiers did these things.
So first,
the dividing of Jesus' garments
and the casting of lots
we find in Psalm 22.
Secondly,
the piercing of Jesus' hands and feet
and His severe beating.
Now, we only find out
about the piercing of Jesus' hands and feet
because of doubting Thomas.
Now, it was understood
that this is the way people were crucified.
Big nails put through their wrists
and through their feet.
But we don't know for sure
this was the case with Christ
except John's record again,
chapter 20, verse 24,
and following,
where John records for us,
now Thomas, one of the twelve,
called the twin,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples told Him,
We have seen the Lord,
but He said to them,
Unless I see in His hands
the mark of the nails
and place my finger
into the mark of the nails
and place my hand into His side,
I will never believe.
Eight days later,
His disciples were inside again
and Thomas was with them.
Although the doors were locked,
Jesus came and stood among them
and said,
Peace be with you.
Then He said to Thomas,
Put your finger here
and see my hands
and put out your hand
and place it in my side.
Do not disbelieve,
but believe.
And Thomas answered Him,
My Lord and my God.
So we see, right,
that Jesus' hands
were nailed through
in His feet.
We know that Jesus
was severely beaten
from texts like Matthew 27
and the prophet Isaiah
wrote in Isaiah 52 and verse 14,
As many were astonished at you,
His appearance was so marred
beyond human semblance
and His form beyond that
of the children of mankind.
And again, we find this
in Psalm 22,
verse 16 and 17.
The psalmist says,
For dogs encompass me,
a company of evil doers
encircles me.
They have pierced my hands
and feet.
I can count all my bones.
The flesh is ripped off my body.
They stare and gloat over me.
Third, the mocking of the soldiers.
In Mark 15, verse 16 and following,
we read,
And the soldiers led Him away
inside the palace.
That is the governor's headquarters.
And they called together
the whole battalion.
And they clothed Him
in a purple cloak.
And twisting together
a crown of thorns,
they put it on Him.
And they began to salute Him.
Hail, King of the Jews!
And they were striking His head
with a reed
and spitting on Him
and kneeling down
in homage to Him.
When they had mocked Him,
they stripped Him
of the purple cloak
and put His own clothes on Him.
And they led Him out
to crucify Him.
And then Luke adds
in Luke 22,
verse 63 and following,
Now the men
who were holding Jesus in custody
were mocking Him
as they beat Him.
They also blindfolded Him
and kept asking Him,
Prophesy!
Who is it that struck you?
And they said many other things
against Him,
blaspheming Him.
And so,
Jesus became a mockery,
an object of derision
and sport
for the Roman battalion.
The Creator of all the universe
became a laughingstock
to those whom He created.
And we see this
in Psalm 22,
verses 6 and 7.
A psalmist wrote,
But I am a worm
and not a man,
scorned by mankind
and despised
by the people.
All who see me
mock me.
They make mouths at me.
They wag their heads.
Fourth, we see
the mocking of the bystanders
and religious leaders.
So not just the Roman guard.
Matthew 27,
verse 39 says,
And those who passed by
derided Him,
wagging their heads,
which was a sign
of that disapproval.
Psalm 22,
verse 7 and 8,
All those who see me
mock me.
That's fascinating.
Let's go back again.
Psalm 22,
verse 7 and 8.
Without the polka music
this time, please.
All who see me
mock me.
They make mouths at me.
They wag their heads.
He trusts in the Lord.
This is the speaking
of derision.
Let Him deliver him.
Let Him rescue him,
for He delights in him.
In Luke 23,
verse 35 and following,
Luke records,
And the people stood by.
So everyone who's passing by,
according to Matthew,
is mocking Jesus.
Here Luke says,
And the people stood by,
watching,
but the rulers
scoffed at Him,
saying,
He saved others.
Let Him save Himself.
If He is the Christ of God,
His chosen one.
The soldiers also mocked Him,
coming up and offering Him
sour wine and saying,
If you are the King of the Jews,
save yourself.
There was also an inscription over Him,
This is the King of the Jews.
Now, we'll read in just a moment
a bit of interesting text
in John chapter 19.
Most of us know
that there was this sign
placed over Jesus' head
that declared Him
the King of the Jews.
The religious leaders
did not want such a sign
to exist above Him.
It was this very claim
that they were crucifying Him for.
And so,
as this claim stood above Him,
they had to stand around
and make light of it.
They had to say,
Oh, here's the proof
that He's not who He claimed to be
or that this sign waves over Him
because He can't save Himself
from the cross.
In John chapter 19,
verse 19 and following,
we read this,
Pilate also wrote an inscription
and put it on the cross.
It read,
Jesus of Nazareth,
the King of the Jews.
Many of the Jews
read this inscription,
for the place where Jesus
was crucified was near the city
and it was written in Aramaic,
in Latin,
and in Greek.
Everybody could read it.
So the chief priest of the Jews
said to Pilate,
Do not write,
The King of the Jews,
but rather,
this man said,
I am the King of the Jews.
And then Pilate answered,
and I don't know if it's because
Pilate was beginning to believe
or if Pilate just was tired
of placating them,
but he answered,
What I have written,
I have written.
So this statement stood over Christ
as He hanged there and died.
And the people had to make light of it
to justify His murder.
Fifth,
the fifth incident we see
in Psalm 22
is the mocking of the criminals.
Those that
hung on His left and His right.
Matthew 27 and verse 44.
And the robbers,
plural,
the robbers who were crucified with Him
also reviled Him
in the same way.
Luke tells us
that one of these robbers
came to believe
that Jesus was the Christ
in Luke 23,
verse 39 and following.
Luke records this,
one of the criminals
who were hanged
railed at Him saying,
Are you not the Christ?
Save yourself and us.
But the other,
now believing,
rebuked Him saying,
Do you not fear God
since you are under
the same sentence
of condemnation?
And we indeed justly,
for we are receiving
the due reward of our deeds,
but this man has done
nothing wrong.
And he said,
Jesus,
remember me
when you come
into your kingdom.
And Jesus said to him,
Truly,
I say to you,
today you will be with me
in paradise.
Again,
we see in Psalm 22
and in verse 8,
these words of derision,
He trusts in the Lord.
Let Him deliver Him.
Let Him rescue Him,
for He delights in Him.
Jesus was even mocked
by those found guilty
and experiencing
the same death.
In Luke 23,
we find Him
so willing to forgive
the transgressions
at whose hands
He suffered.
In Luke 23,
34,
He utters the words,
Father,
forgive them,
for they know not
what they do.
He pitied the ignorance
that would murder
the one who came
to save their souls.
And we see the promise
of paradise
given to a repentant criminal
who hung at Jesus' side.
So can you see
that Psalm 22
is speaking toward
this event
that would happen
one day?
These things are going on
just as Psalm 22
said that they would.
And what must have been
going through
the mind of our Savior
as He experienced
the most cruel of deaths
ever employed
by a nation state?
This form of death
was not only
extremely painful,
but it was meant
to be a spectacle.
The condemned
were placed on display
in a place of prominence
for all to see
and to consider
the cost of law-breaking.
So not only
is Jesus dying
a painful physical death,
He's being rejected
at every turn
by those
that He's dying for.
In Psalm 22,
verse 12 and 13,
what must Jesus
have been thinking,
right?
Thinking about this Psalm.
We're going to see
that He speaks
directly from it
in a moment.
Verse 12 and 13 say,
many bulls encompass me.
Strong bulls of passion
surround me.
They open wide
their mouths at me
like a ravening
and roaring lion,
right?
Seeking my life.
In the midst of all
of David's prophecy
of the coming Christ,
he writes for us,
carried along by the Spirit,
these reprieves,
like these moments
of rest and reflection
from all of the suffering.
And here, I think,
we get the most
wonderful glimpse
of the mind of Christ.
So try to put yourself
in His place.
And we can't do this
perfectly, to be sure.
But considering
the great horrors
around Him
and Him thinking
about Psalm 22
and running through
the writing of,
inspired writing
of David.
So we read in Psalm 22
verse 9 through 11,
Yet,
this is a wonderful word,
Yet,
You are He
who took me
from the womb.
You made me trust You
at my mother's breasts.
On You was I cast
from my birth
and from my mother's womb.
You have been
my God.
Be not far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is none
to help.
So we can imagine
that Jesus,
in this great anguish,
turns to God
in the writing of David
in Psalm 22
and finds comfort.
Yet,
You are God.
The psalmist,
and as I've argued,
Jesus suffering greatly,
looks to God the Father
who was with Him
from the very beginning
and is,
therefore,
to be trusted
for help,
comfort,
for peace,
and for
final
deliverance.
So,
we get these reprieves
in the midst
of Psalm 22.
Now,
to think about this
a bit more,
let's take a look
at the three statements
that Jesus uttered
on the cross
that are found
in this psalm.
The first,
we can read of
in Matthew 27
and verse 46,
also Mark 15,
34.
Matthew records for us
about the ninth hour,
Jesus cried out
with a loud voice
saying,
Eli,
lama sabachthani,
sabachthani,
that is,
my God,
why have you forsaken me?
At about 3 p.m.
on that Friday,
the sky went dark
and Jesus laid down
His life.
The sinless for the sinful,
the worthy for the unworthy,
the blessed for the destitute.
John Stott once said,
our sins blotted out
the sunshine
of His Father's face.
Christ became sin
on our behalf.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5,
21,
for our sake He made Him
to be sin,
who knew no sin,
so that in Him
we might become
the righteousness
of God.
That great exchange
that we talk about
so often
as Christ followers.
In the Garden of Gethsemane,
the night before
Jesus' crucifixion,
He prayed,
as recorded in Matthew 26,
verse 39,
and going a little farther,
He fell on His face
and prayed saying,
My Father,
if it be possible,
let this cup
pass from Me.
Nevertheless,
not as I will,
but as You will.
Now, beloved,
it's important to understand
that Jesus' anguish
over His coming crucifixion
was not due to the
physical suffering
He would experience.
As great as it was,
this was not what was
causing Him
to sweat blood.
But rather,
He was in such anguish
because of the wrath
of God
that He was going
to bear.
Jesus had in mind
passages like
Jeremiah 25.
This is verse 15 and 16
of Jeremiah 25.
Thus the Lord,
the God of Israel,
said to Me,
this would be Jeremiah,
Take from My hand
this cup of the wine
of wrath
and make all the nations
to whom I send you
drink it.
They shall drink it
and stagger
and be crazed
because of the sword
that I am sending
among them.
And then verse 27,
Then you shall say to them,
Thus says the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel,
Drink,
be drunk,
and vomit.
Fall and rise no more
because of the sword
that I am sending
among you.
This is the type of thing
that Jesus has
in His mind.
He knows that He has come
to be a propitiation,
a replacement sacrifice
for all that would trust
in Him.
And He is looking to
this next day
God's wrath
being poured out on Him.
And this is the cry.
If there's any other way,
let this cup
pass
from Me.
God is
just.
And God is
unchanging.
And therefore,
God must
punish
sin.
God does not
deal with disobedience
the way so many of us
imperfect parents
deal with disobedience.
Right?
My grace to my children
is often
my laziness.
I just overlook
the things
that they're doing.
This is not
the way
the just God
of the universe
functions.
There have been
infractions
and they must
be paid for.
If you and I
were to have
any hope
of the forgiveness
of our sin,
we needed
a substitute.
The sins
must be
paid for.
Jesus came
to die
our death.
So as He hung
on that
cursed tree,
He bore
all of the wrath
for all of the sin
do you
and I
and all those
who will ever
or will
whoever
or will ever
be called
by His name.
God the Father
turned His face
away from His Son
and poured
infinite wrath
out
on Him.
We see the beginning
of Psalm 22
verse 1.
My God,
my God,
why have you
forsaken me?
This is what
Jesus is uttering.
He is
citing from.
So we get
a little more,
a bit of an expansion
when we look at
Psalm 22
verse 1
and then into
verse 2.
The psalmist says,
Why are you so far
from saving me
from the words
of my groaning?
Oh,
my God,
I cry by day
but you do not
answer and by night
but I find
no rest.
Can you feel,
I hope you can,
the expanding
anguish?
What's wrapped up
in this phrase,
my God,
why have you
forsaken me?
Why have you
turned away
from me?
And then,
Psalm 22
gives us
another reprieve
and I suggest
the hope
that pulled
Christ,
the man,
through this
immeasurable
suffering.
The writer of Hebrews
tells us in Hebrews 12
too that Jesus
endured the cross
for the joy
set before him.
So,
what I'm postulating
and we have no
clear evidence
of this
is that Jesus
says the words,
my God,
why have you
forsaken me?
And he's thinking
about in this time,
he's meditating
upon,
he's pondering
verses 3
and 4
and 5,
yet you are
holy
and throned
on the praises
of Israel.
In you our fathers
trusted,
they trusted
and you
delivered them.
To you they cried
and were rescued.
In you they trusted
and were not
put to shame.
Jesus knew
that he was fulfilling
the will of the Father,
his good Father
and his will
would be
accomplished.
The second utterance
and a bit briefer
in this case.
We can read in
John chapter 19
verse 28.
After this,
Jesus,
knowing that
all was now
finished,
said,
and John includes
the parenthetical,
to fulfill the
scripture,
I thirst.
Now this is
certainly a direct
reference to
Psalm 69
and verse 21
which says,
again prophetic,
they gave me
poison for food
and for my thirst
they gave me
sour wine
to drink.
So Jesus says,
I thirst
so that this
scripture would
be fulfilled.
But I think we also
see it in
Psalm 22.
It's a little more
difficult to get at
but let me make the case
for you briefly
and then we'll move on
to the third
statement.
Psalm 22
verse 14
and 15.
David writes,
I am poured out
like water
and all my bones
are out of joint.
My heart
is like wax.
It is melted
within my breast.
My strength
is dried up
like a pot shirt
and my tongue
sticks to my jaws.
You lay me
in the dust
of death.
You hear the dry
and thirsty
language found
throughout
those two verses
and so Jesus
utters,
I thirst.
finished.
Thirdly,
and I think
most importantly,
in John 19
and 30,
when Jesus
had received
the sour wine
he said,
it is
finished
and he bowed
his head
and gave up
his spirit.
Jesus,
upon accomplishing
the task
that he became
a man to accomplish
uttered these
simple
but profound
words,
it is
finished.
He had done
all that he
was sent
to do
when he died
upon
the cross.
The writer of
Hebrews says
in Hebrews
chapter 1
verse 3,
Jesus Christ
is the radiance
of the glory
of God
and the exact
imprint
of his nature
and he upholds
the universe
by the word
of his power.
After making
purification
for sins,
he sat down
at the right
hand
of the majesty
on high.
Beloved,
this is so
significant
to the Hebrew
hearers
of the book
of Hebrews
because
in the temple
worship
all of the
continual
ongoing
ceremonial sacrifices
that had to be made,
blood flowed
constantly
from the temple
and it was meant
to show
God's people
their great need
of a perfect
sacrifice
was meant
to show them
that all
these sacrifices
are inadequate
to cover
your sins.
So keep at it,
Israel.
Just keep making
sacrifice.
Keep making
sacrifice.
And all of the
careful instruction
for how the temple
was to be laid
out,
there's a piece
of furniture
that does not
exist in this
place
anywhere
to sit.
The priests
did not sit
down.
They were at
work constantly.
They worked
in shifts
and they did
not rest.
But our Lord
and Savior
Jesus Christ
finished the
work
and he sat
down.
This would
have been
astounding
to them
when they
heard it.
To us
we go,
yeah,
cool,
he's sitting.
No,
he is at
rest,
right?
He has made
that full
and final
sacrifice.
He drank
the entire
cup
of God's
wrath.
And when
he finished
it,
he turned
it over
and he
set it
down
and he
said,
it is
finished.
A complete
and perfect
sacrifice
for all
time
for those
who believe
in him.
Now,
I've been
making the
case that
this comes
from Psalm
22.
If you're
tracking me,
it's okay
if you're not,
if you're
tracking me
and you're
being astute,
you go,
where is that
found?
Let me
show you.
Psalm
22,
I'm going
to start
at verse
29 and
read through
31.
David
says,
All the
prosperous
of the
earth eat
and worship.
Before him
shall bow
all who
go down
to the
dust,
even the
one who
could not
keep himself
alive.
Posterity
shall serve
him that
shall be
told of
the Lord
to the
coming
generation.
They
shall
clumb
and
proclaim
his
righteousness
to a
people
yet
unborn.
And here
it is,
that he
has
done it.
And in
Hebrew,
this phrase
could have
very easily
been
translated
for us
that it
is
finished.
It would
have been
very precise
and faithful
to the
original text.
He
has
done it.
It
is
finished.
So,
I hope,
just considering
Christ's
death for
us,
you are
moved to
worship.
Let me
give you a
little more
specific
application,
and I
want to
do it
quickly,
and here's
where I'm
picking up
some of
the verses
I haven't
referenced.
I won't
read them
for the
sake of
time,
but
first,
note
how
we're
believing,
and I
think it's
a fair
belief,
that Jesus
Christ,
as He
hung on
the cross,
is carried
through
suffering by
considering,
He's
pondering the
Word of
God.
He's
looking back
to the
promises of
Scripture,
and He's
picking them
up.
He's
meditating
upon them,
and He's
turning that
into belief.
He's
pondering the
Word of
God.
And,
beloved,
we are to
do the
same.
Look to
Christ and
His great
anguish.
We have
never
experienced
such
suffering,
and we
never
will,
praise the
Lord,
because of
Him.
But when
you are
going
through
tough
times,
ponder
the
Word of
God.
Secondly,
we can
see that
Christ is
praying to
God for
help in
His time
of need.
So,
Psalm 22,
verse 19
through 21,
we see Him
cry out to
God.
Verse 21,
Save me
from the
mouth of
the lion,
and in
this sure
confidence,
you have
rescued me
from the
horns of
the wild
oxen.
Cry out to
God for
help in
times of
need.
Third,
we see
Jesus
praising
God for
the purposes
of suffering.
Psalm 22,
verse 2
through 5,
we see
Him seeing
how God
is working
in the
midst.
And we
know,
Romans 8,
that God
is bringing
about purpose
in all of
our suffering.
He's working
to bring us
to be like
our Lord and
Savior,
Jesus Christ.
So,
He is
pondering the
Word of
God.
He's praying
to God for
help in time
of need.
He's praising
God for the
purpose of
suffering.
And finally,
proclaiming
God's
goodness
to one
another
and to
the world.
To one
another,
we see in
Psalm 22,
verses 22
through 26.
I'll skip
down to
verse 25.
From you
comes my
praise in
the great
congregation.
My vows
I will
perform before
those who
fear Him.
We're to
sing God's
praises
to one
another.
And praise
God that
Jesus has
counted us,
those who
have placed
believing faith
in Him,
amongst the
congregation.
Again,
the book of
Hebrews,
the writer of
Hebrews says
in chapter 2,
verse 11
and 12,
for He
who sanctifies
and those
who are
sanctified
all have
one source.
That is why
He is not
ashamed to
call them
brothers,
saying,
I will tell
of your
name,
to my
brothers.
In the
midst of
the congregation,
I will
sing your
praise.
And because
Christ has
purchased us,
we are not
ashamed to
call one
another brother
and to share
His goodness
with each
other.
And we're
also meant
to do
this to
the world.
Again,
Psalm 22,
27 and
28,
all the
ends of
the earth
shall
remember
and turn
to the
Lord,
and all
the families
of the
nations
shall
worship
before
you.
For
kingship
belongs
to the
Lord,
and He
rules
over the
nations.
This
good news
of Jesus
Christ
is meant
to be
proclaimed
to all
people
everywhere.
So I
hope,
once again,
that your
heart has
been warmed
by the
loving kindness
of God
to us
in the
death
of Jesus
Christ.
Please join me
in prayer,
and then
we're going
to close
in a
couple
of songs
of praise.