All right, we're in Luke chapter 24 and we'll start in verse number 26 where the Bible says
ought not Christ who have suffered these things and to enter into his glory and beginning
of Moses and all the prophets he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things
concerning himself and the title of the sermon this morning is the witness of the prophets
the witness of the prophets now by way of introduction let me start off by saying that
Jesus Christ obviously is the main character of the entire Bible when you read the scriptures
all 66 books obviously they cover an array of different subjects and doctrines but the
main person and the main doctrine that it's emphasizing is the Lord Jesus Christ he is
the theme of the word of God and so it should come as no surprise that every single book
would have an aspect of him within that book even in the Old Testament you see Jesus Christ
did not come it was his first appearance was not in Bethlehem's manger he's always
been okay he is the son of God he is from everlasting and in fact throughout the Old
Testament we will see different pictures of him and appearances of him as well go with
me if you went to Acts chapter number 10 Acts chapter number 10 and we're gonna look at
that this morning you say well you know brother Mahia I came to church because I got a problem
with my marriage or I got a I got an issue I'm going through you know I was kind of hoping
that I would hear something that would help me with that situation well you know what
this sermon will help you increase your love for the word of God okay it'll help you increase
your love for the Bible which is where you're gonna find your answers to the problems that
you have and it's important that when we come to church you know we exhort one another daily
of course in regards to the issues and problems that we have but we need to grow in knowledge
as well we cannot be spiritually illiterate when it comes to the word of God we need to
know the details of the Bible and the fact of the matter is when we study the details
of the Bible we actually grow in our appreciation and our love for the word of God and that's
the goal today look at Acts chapter 10 and verse 42 by the way this is a perfect verse
to use for the dispensationalist all right you know the ones who don't believe that it
was by believe only in the Old Testament that it was by sacrifices and all these foolish
things look what the Bible says in verse 42 and he commanded us to preach unto the people
and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead to
him give all the prophets witness that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall
receive remission of sins what is it saying there it's saying through the prophets those
in the Old Testament they've witnessed what was their witness that whosoever believeth
it doesn't say whosoever believeth and does the sacrifice whosoever believeth and keepeth
the Sabbath or does the commandments or whatever works that they can conjure up it just says
whosoever believeth but the main thrust of that verse is that to him give all the prophets
witness now there are four ways that Jesus Christ has been witnessed of or pictured of
in the Old Testament and these are in no particular order but I'm just going to give them to you
we're going to focus primarily on one of them the first one is through cardinal ordinances
okay as the Bible says in Hebrews meets drinks and diverse washings for example you have
the sacrifices in the Old Testament these were a picture a shadow of things to come
because the Bible tells us in John chapter one behold the Lamb of God who should take
away the sins of the world and we see that throughout the whole whole whole Testament
under the Levitical law God's people were commanded to do sacrifices daily weekly monthly
yearly and it was just as a reminder to God's people that one day a Savior would come who
is the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world he would provide himself
a sacrifice but we see that through carnal ordinances he's pictured but not only that
through inanimate objects as well because if you remember there's there's the story
in numbers regarding the brazen serpent okay and that brazen serpent was an inanimate object
but it was picturing what Christ would do when he was lifted up when he was crucified
and whoever look look at the punishment believeth on him shall receive the remission of sins
they shall be saved we see that in John chapter three of course another inanimate object would
be the manna you know he says in John chapter six that he was the bread the bread of light
that came down from heaven to give life unto those who believe on him then we also see
the literal appearances of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament you see he didn't just appear
through figures and symbolism in regards to the sacrifices the carnal ordinances inanimate
objects he actually appeared himself okay you have the the story of Melchizedek brother
Mark preached on that on Friday you have the appearance of him in Genesis chapter 19 when
he appears to Genesis 18 and 19 when he appears to Abraham and he's about to destroy Sodom
and Gomorrah all right you have the appearance of him when he when he appears to Gideon and
so many different parts of the Bible he actually appears to people one of the most famous ones
is in Daniel when he appears with Meshach Shadrach and Abednego in the furnace of fire
that is a literal appearance of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament but then the last one
is this so we said the carnal ordinances the inanimate objects the literal appearances of
him but then it's also through literal people that he symbolically shows himself okay these
are people who were normal people but they had certain attributes and characteristics
and were highlighted in the Bible to basically attribute who Jesus Christ is and was and
who he was going to be what he was going to do when he came to this earth and that's primarily
what we're going to look at today the witness of the prophets speaking specifically about
people who basically showed the Lord Jesus Christ in themselves now go with me if you
go to Romans chapter number five we're going to look through some of the Old Testament
Bible characters and see how they symbolize Jesus Christ example number one we're going
to look at Adam okay Adam was a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ you said well hold on
a second you know there Adam didn't do anything good you know he basically damned the entire
world how can you say he's like symbolic of the Lord Jesus Christ well the way he's symbolic
of the Lord Jesus Christ is because of his colossal impact on mankind okay look at Romans
chapter 5 verse number 12 it says wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world and
death by sin and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned for until the
law sin was in the world but sin is not imputed when there is no law nevertheless death reigned
from Adam to Moses even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's
transgression look what it says who is the figure of him that was to come so the Bible's
telling us here that Adam was a figure now obviously if you look at it just that face
value Adam does not really look like a really good you know symbolism of the Lord Jesus
Christ but let's read on we'll see why and not as it was by one that sinned so was the
gift for the judgment was by one to condemnation but the free gift is of many offenses unto
justification for if by one man's offense death reign by one much more they which receive
abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one Jesus Christ therefore
as by the offense of one judgment came upon all to condemnation even so by the righteousness
of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life for as by one man's
disobedience many were made sinners so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous
so in other words what we see here is a good comparison of the impact that these men made
you have Adam who by his actions condemned the entire world that's why we're all sinners
what on the other hand we have Jesus Christ that because of his obedience not disobedience
many can be made righteous his impact will affect many for thousands of years and many
will be saved from that condemnation that was to be blamed upon Adam and of course Eve
so that's one similarity that we see and in fact Jesus Christ throughout the gospel specifically
excuse me in the book of John he's known as the son of God right capital S well in Luke
chapter 3 when we see the the genealogies the last person is Adam and it says who is
the son of God lowercase s now go with me we went to 1st Corinthians chapter 15 so Adam
was flesh and blood he was given a soul he was the son of God lowercase s we see Jesus
Christ who's made a quickening spirit right who is also the son of God capital S now Jesus
Christ is also referred to in the New Testament as the last Adam okay that's why he's good
a good symbolism of who excuse me who Adam is a good symbolism of who Jesus Christ is
Jesus Christ is referred to as the last Adam and in fact throughout the every Christmas
we sing a call a song called heart the herald angel sing right and one of the verses says
second Adam from above reinstate us in thy love and that's in 1st Corinthians 15 is what
it's referencing there look at verse 21 for since by man came death by man came also the
resurrection of the dead so one of the comparisons that we're seeing here is the contrast it's
not necessarily Adam's failures it's the complete contrast of his failure where we see the where
we see the similarities with Jesus Christ we see the corresponding characteristics that
both of these men have all right one of them caused death the other one will cause a resurrection
let's skip down to verse 44 I'm sorry I'll read from you from verse 22 says for as an
Adam all die even so in Christ shall all be made alive verse 44 says it is so in a natural
body it is raised a spiritual body there is a natural body and there is a spiritual body
so the reason Adam is being used as an example here in 1st Corinthians 15 is because chapter
15 is teaching the doctrine of the resurrection and in order to understand it clearly he's
using Adam and Jesus Christ as an example of what they were as a body Adam was a was
a living soul Jesus Christ was a quickening spear why because flesh and blood shall not
inherit the kingdom of God you see as a person our life is found in our blood but the Bible
tells us that when we die we're not going to have the same body when we're resurrected
it's going to be changed okay and the life that's now going to cause this body to live
is not going to be the blood it's going to be the spirit okay look what it says in verse
45 and so it is written the first man Adam was made a living soul the last Adam was made
a quickening spirit how be it that was not first which is spiritual but that which is
natural and after that which is spiritual so it even gives the the sequence of order
there okay just as Adam came first and then Jesus Christ so it is with us you know we're
born a physical body with flesh and blood but when we get saved and when we die we're
going to be made a quickening spirit as well verse 47 says the first man is of the earth
earthy the second man is the Lord from heaven as is the earthy such are they also that are
earthy and as is the heavenly such are they also that are heavenly and as we have borne
the image of the earthy we shall also bear the image of the heavenly so it's trying to
give us a picture here of what the resurrection is going to be like because you know everyone
always wonders what did Adam look like well I think he just looked like us probably different
skin tone I don't know don't ask me if he had a belly button or not I have no idea but
he probably looked like us okay just different hair color but he looked like us and why because
we're bearing the image of the earthy we're bearing the image of that man Adam and then
it says we shall also bear the image of the heavenly in reference to the glorified state
after we resurrect verse 50 says now this I say brethren that flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God neither does corruption inherit incorruption so this is talking about
the resurrection and it pictures it perfectly and he uses Adam as a reference to how we
look now Jesus Christ how we will look in the future now you don't have to turn there
but in first John chapter 3 and verse number 2 it says beloved now are we the sons of God
and it did not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall
be like him for we shall see him as he is now now we see through a glass darkly we don't
necessarily know what we're going to look like in our resurrected bodies okay you know
the Bible constantly gives us different parables to help us to really imagine what it's going
to be like to have some sort of understanding for example in Matthew chapter 13 you have
the parable of the mustard seed that is sown but when it comes out it doesn't come out
a huge mustard seed you know it comes out as a tree where birds and fowls can can nest
into their tree so it comes out something completely different and so it is in the resurrection
when we die our bodies are buried once we resurrect we're going to look completely different
and in first John chapter 3 it says we shall be like him what does that mean we're going
to be glorified is what it's talking about so Adam is a good picture of Jesus Christ
why because of the colossal impact that he made on mankind likewise Jesus Christ has
also made that impact by saving many by making many righteous unto eternal life now go with
me to Genesis chapter number 4 Genesis chapter 4 so example number 1 we saw Adam okay example
number 2 we're going to look at Abel now I don't even know if we're going to get through
all of these I might do a part 2 tonight because there's so many pictures in the Old Testament
of people and obviously their entire life doesn't symbolize Jesus Christ but different
events that took place in their personal lives you can actually see you know a symbolic meaning
of who Jesus Christ is and we're going to look at each and every one of them example
number 2 would be Abel now why was he symbolic of Jesus Christ well simply because of what
his blood spoke of okay look at Genesis chapter 4 now Abel had a very short ministry okay
you just see him in Genesis 4 and that's it you know he's doing right and then he gets
killed for doing right look at Genesis 4 verse 1 it says and Adam knew Eve his wife and she
conceived and bare Cain and said I have gotten a man from the Lord and she again bare his
brother Abel and Abel was a keeper of sheep but Cain was a tiller of the ground and in
process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground and offering
unto the Lord and Abel he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat
thereof and the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering but unto Cain and to his
offering he had not respect and Cain was very wroth and his countenance fell so let me just
stop right there and just explain what what's taking place here you see a lot of the things
that took place in the Old Testament God specifically wanted us to be symbolic of salvation of Jesus
Christ and what would happen is you would have someone like Cain who's supposed to bring
a sacrifice right he's supposed to offer an animal to picture what Jesus Christ was going
to do in the future but what does he do instead he brings his own work he brings the fruit
the fruit of the ground is what he does what is that a picture of it's a picture of working
for your salvation the sacrifice is the picture of Jesus Christ already doing the work the
fruit of the ground is a picture of someone trying to do the work and the Bible clearly
tells us in the New Testament for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of
yourselves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast the Bible says not
by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us the
Bible tells us the Bible also says in Romans chapter 3 verse 28 therefore we conclude that
a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law so this is a great picture of what
Abel did right here of salvation he brought that sacrifice which is the sacrifice that Jesus
Christ would one day do whereas Cain he went in the way of Cain which is works okay he was the
first he was the first vegan vegetarian in the Bible we're not against vegans but hey doesn't
look like he did a very good job as being the first one to do it look at the Bible says in
verse 6 and the Lord said unto Cain why art thou Roth Roth means angry okay wrathful and why is
thy countenance fallen if thou doest well thou shalt not be accepted and if thou doest not well
sin lieth at the door and unto thee shall be his desire and thou shall rule over him and Cain talked
with Abel his brother and it came to pass when they were in the field that Cain rose up against
Abel his brother and slew him so Cain was so upset he was so wrathful he hated his brother so much
because he did not God did not have respect into his offering that he even was willing to kill his
own brother he slew him in the field and the Bible says in verse 9 and the Lord said unto Cain where
is Abel thy brother now does God not know where he was that you know what he wants he wants a
confession you know just as when he went to Adam in Genesis chapter 3 and says where art thou you
know and he's hiding it's not it's not like God didn't know where he was at he was looking for a
confession and look what he says verse verse 9 says in the Lord sent to Cain where is Abel thy
brother and he said I know not am I my brother's keeper you liar verse 10 and he said what has
thou done the voice of thy brother's blood cries unto me from the ground and now art thou cursed
from the earth which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand when
thou tell us the ground it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength a fugitive in a
vagabond shall thou be in the earth and Cain said unto the Lord my punishment is greater than I can
bear behold thou has driven me out this day from the face of the earth and from thy face shall I
be hid and I shall be a fugitive in a vagabond in the earth and it shall come to pass that everyone
that findeth me shall slay me now go ahead and go to Matthew chapter 23 Matthew chapter 23 pretty
sad story this guy hated his brother so much that he was willing to kill him just because he was
envious just because he was mad that God didn't have respect unto his offering what Cain should
have done was this just correct it maybe before he even killed his brother he should have just
been like you know what Abel did it right I did it wrong let me go ahead and do it right so God
can I have respect unto my offering as well but let's say he didn't do that and he kills his
brother he should have just confessed it you see he that confesseth his sin the Bible says
shall have shall obtain mercy who so confesseth and forsaketh his sin shall obtain mercy those who
try to hide it don't obtain mercy now look at Matthew Matthew chapter 23 and verse 34 here are
in the New Testament Abel is mentioned just a few times some of them are repetitious times but
Matthew right here in Matthew we see that he's mentioned verse 34 says wherefore behold I send
you unto the prop I sent unto you prophets and wise men and scribes and some of them he shall
kill and crucify and some of them shall you scourge in your synagogues and persecute them
from city to city that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth from the blood
of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias the son of Barakas whom he slew between the temple and
the altar so the question remains what was Abel's blood saying when it was when it was crying from
the ground what was it saying well based upon this scripture what it was crying out for was revenge
because you if you read later on in Genesis chapter 4 that's why Cain says someone's gonna
slay me God cursed him and someone was gonna slay him so it was crying out revenge he wanted to be
avenged for the blood that was there was there was a spilled now go to Hebrews chapter 12 I'm
gonna prove this to you Hebrews chapter 12 I'm gonna read to you from Hebrews 11 and verse 4
where it says by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain by which he
obtained witness that he was righteous God testifying of his gifts and by it he being
dead yet speaketh look at Hebrews chapter 12 and verse number 22 so we see Cain slain Abel Abel's
blood cries from the ground God curses Cain and he's afraid that someone's gonna take vengeance
upon him look at Hebrews 12 verse 22 says but ye are coming to Mount Zion and unto the city of the
living God the heavenly Jerusalem and to an innumerable company of angels to the general
assembly and Church of the firstborn which are written in heaven and to God the judge of all
and to the spirits of just men made perfect and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant and to
the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel so we understand that
in Hebrews when it's referencing the blood of Christ is talking about that which was spilled
in order to start the New Testament or the New Covenant okay and without the shedding of blood
there is no remission the Bible says so we can look at the story of Jesus Christ and his blood
being shed and Abel's blood being shed and what could we take away from those two well one blood
cried out revenge the other one's blood cried out redemption you see Abel's blood though he was
righteous he was still a sinner so when his blood was spilled God saw that and guess what
vengeance is mine say the Lord I will repay but in the New Testament when Jesus Christ spills his
blood it's actually crying out redemption that's why it's speaking better things than that of Abel
why is that because simply for the fact that when someone kills somebody guess what there's a
consequence to that okay there are consequences and there are penalties there's revenge that's
gonna be taken upon you because of the sin that you've committed for the wages of sin is death
the Bible says but we see that in the New Testament obviously throughout the scriptures
but specifically when Jesus Christ came he spilled his blood and it spoke redemption that's what his
blood was spilled for in order to start that New Covenant and the Bible says he speaks better
things why because it's a better covenant okay it's a better testament go to Genesis chapter 22
Genesis chapter 22 so we see the relation there a righteous man being slain his blood spilling his
blood speaking things but that which Jesus Christ spoke was obviously a lot better but it'll
symbolic of what Jesus Christ's blood was gonna say when he came in the New Testament so number
one what do we look at so far we looked at Adam Adam is a picture of Jesus Christ because of his
colossal impact upon mankind we see Abel he's a picture of Jesus Christ why is that because of
what his blood spoke about number example number three we're gonna look at Isaac now Isaac is
probably one of the ones that we all are most familiar with being a picture of Jesus Christ
and why is that because of his sacrifice that he made look at Genesis 22 verse number five
we're not gonna spend too much time on this one but I think it's worth mentioning the Bible says
in verse 5 and Abraham said unto his young men abide here with the ass and I and the lad will
go yonder and worship and come again to you and Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and
laid it upon Isaac his son and he took the fire in his hand in the night and then went both of
them together and Isaac spake unto Abraham his father and said my father and he said here am I
my son and he said behold the fire in the wood but where is the land for a burnt offering and
Abraham said my son God will provide himself a lamb first burnt offering so they both went so
they went both of them together so we see there in verse number eight the picture right because
he is gonna provide himself because later on we see a ram caught in the thicket but this is
actually a foreshadowing of what Jesus Christ was gonna do because Jesus Christ was gonna provide
himself an offering for mankind look at verse number nine it says and they came to the place
which God had told him of and Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order and bound
Isaac his son and laid him on the altar upon the wood and Abraham stretched forth his hand and took
the knife to slay his son and the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven and said Abraham
Abraham and he said here am I and he said lay not thine hand upon the lad neither do thou anything
unto him for now I know that thou fear is God seeing thou has not withheld thy son thine only
son from me and Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked and behold behind him a ram caught in the
thicket by his horns and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering
in the stead of his son and Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah Jireh as it is said
to this day in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen now what mountain is he referring to I believe
he's talking about Mount Calvary because in in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen what is that
when Jesus Christ actually offers himself God will offer himself an offering for us now go to
Hebrews chapter number 11 Hebrews chapter number 11 that's why it's important that as we read the
Bible on our personal time we take time to really meditate upon the stories and the phrases that we
see within the Word of God there's a lot of nuggets of truth a lot of gold and silver and
precious stones that are found within the Word of God and if you just breeze over your Bible reading
just because you want to get over it you're gonna miss a lot of these things read it carefully you
should never speed read the Bible well I'm a fast reader well you don't read everything else fast
you know read the newspaper fast read your books the novels and and love novels fast in fact don't
even read those at all right read them so fast you don't even read it but the Bible you ought
to read slowly carefully meditate on it ruminate on it chew on it because there's a lot of precious
jewels that you can find in it and look when you find these jewels in the Bible it does something
to you right your heart leaves it's like wow this is this is awesome I knew this is the Word of God
but it's just confirming even more than it's the Word of God because it's so precious it's
beautiful look at verse 9 it's our excuse me in Hebrews chapter 11 verse number 17 it says by
faith Abraham when he was tried offered up Isaac and he that hath received the promises offered up
his only begotten son of whom it was said in that in Isaac that shall thy seed be called accounting
that God was able to raise him up even from the dead from whence also he received him in a figure
so we not only see that Isaac is a great picture of the sacrifice but Abraham's faith the new the
fact that he knew that he was gonna raise him up was also a great picture of the resurrection
of Jesus Christ okay now go with me if you would to Genesis 37 Genesis 37 we're gonna go back and
forth from Old Testament New Testament so just get ready for that so great pictures here we have
Adam who made a colossal impact on mankind just as Jesus Christ did when he came in and offered
himself for the whole world we see Abel whose blood spoke revenge whereas Jesus Christ blood
spoke redemption we see Isaac and how Isaac was a figure of not only his death and the sacrifice
that he was gonna make but also of his resurrection and the faith that Abraham had of that the next
one we're gonna look at is Joseph Joseph is a great picture of Jesus Christ now throughout
this story Joseph really is only mentioned this time he's not even mentioned in the New Testament
at all but throughout the in Genesis he's one of the main characters of the book of Genesis and
throughout this the the story of Joseph we see a lot of symbolic symbolism and really I think it's
because of his obedience you know you if you think of when Moses God commanded Moses to speak
into the rock so that water can come out he was supposed to he was supposed to speak into the
rock what do you do instead he smote it and because of that Moses was not allowed to enter
into the Promised Land because he basically marred the symbolism that he was trying to give to him by
his disobedience so we see Joseph there's a lot of symbolic meaning of Joseph and the Lord Jesus
Christ and I think it's because of his obedience okay one of them do we see is that he was sold by
his brethren for 20 pieces of silver just as Jesus Christ was sold by Judas for 30 pieces of silver
now another similarity that we see is that they both brought up their evil report of their
brethren look at Genesis 37 verse number two it says here in verse number two these are the
generations of Jacob Joseph being 17 years old was feeding the flock with his brethren and the lad
was with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah his father's wives and Joseph brought
unto his father their evil report now hold your place there and go to John chapter number seven
hold your place there in Genesis chapter 37 so we don't necessarily know what they were doing
wrong but we know that what they were doing was wrong okay it was an evil report maybe they're
just being lazy by the way being lazy is evil okay being slothful is evil he brings up their
evil report and he doesn't necessarily get a good reputation from his brethren because of this in
fact you see later on that they hate him and they're really they're even contemplating on
killing him but instead they decide to sell him for 20 pieces of silver but he brings up their
evil report and we see the same thing with Jesus Christ because look at John chapter 7 verse number
7 it says the world cannot hate you but me it hated because I testify of it that the works
thereof are evil so what was Jesus Christ doing in the New Testament he was talking about he was
basically writing out people is what he was doing talk about how evil they were and let me just park
it here for a minute that we as God's people we as Christians that's what we need to be doing you
know you know why are you always calling people out and saying the names and talking about other
churches you should mind your own business no because the Bible says here that we're supposed
to testify of the world that the works thereof are evil so anything that evil that comes up on
the news anything evil that we hear about in different churches if they have a public ministry
guess what it needs to be called out we need to testify of those things that those things are
evil why so that others can fear so that others can be knowledgeable of these evil and wicked
people and let me just remind you that this world is filled with evil and wicked people this is not
Candyland this is not a make-believe place where there's no evil people around evil people exist
and we as God's people because we're the light of the world we're supposed to shed light in this
dark world and expose the wickedness thereof just as Jesus Christ just as Joseph you know Joseph he
could have just said you know man I want to have good with my brothers and I don't want them to
hate me I want to I want to make sure that they that I fit in with them I want to make sure that
they like me and they include me but in order to please his father what do you do he would bring up
their evil report and likewise in order for us to please our Heavenly Father we need to make sure we
testify of the works that they're evil in this world regardless of our brethren don't like us
you know regardless if if our fellow man who are not saved don't like us regardless of safe people
don't want to agree with us he said oh you know I got these people who are saved and they're
they're against me and my beliefs then you know what bring up their evil report and let God sort
them out you know those people need to get right with God it's not you if you're the one doing if
you're the one living for God you're walking in light as he is in the light you're living a life
that's pleasing unto the Lord you know mark it down you're gonna have enemies if you don't have
enemies you're not being persecuted you're probably not being a very good Christian oh no
no no I think Jesus you know God is love yeah God is love but he's wrathful and hateful as well
and guess what not everyone in this world loves God newsflash there's people who actually hate
God okay and if they hate God they're gonna hate us as well and look why would we desire to be
loved by the world if Jesus Christ was not loved by the world he was criticized he was he was spat
upon they crucified him okay they hated his guts and it should be the same with us okay now obviously
we might not go through that extent but the Bible does say yay all that will live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution I'm not saying someone's gonna crucify you but you know what
there's gonna be a lot of people are gonna rail on you they're gonna hate you for your beliefs
and you know what don't let that discourage you let that confirm that what you're doing is right
let that be a measure to say okay that person hates me these people people are talking trash
about me I guess what I'm doing is right and look persecuted for righteousness sake okay not because
you're some lazy bum at work who can't come in on time we're not doing your job or whatever it may
be you know I'm being persecuted for righteousness sake no you're just a bad worker you being
persecuted for laziness sake is what you're doing I'm talking about be persecuted for righteousness
sake because you believe right you're doing right and people are getting on you because of that
maybe it's family members okay maybe it's other Christians maybe it's pastors don't let that
discourage you let that confirm hey what I'm doing must be right now Joseph he brought up the evil
report Jesus Christ brings up the evil report go back to Genesis chapter 37 hold your place there
in John so not only that were they sold for pieces of silver one for 21 for 30 you know they also
brought up the evil report of their brethren but they also both received specific instructions
from God look at the Bible says in Genesis 37 in verse number five it says in Joseph dream the
dream and he told it his brethren and they hated him yet the more so to add you know to the fact
that they hated him you know he's bringing up the evil report then he's telling them the dream
they're like man we need you even more for this and he said unto them here I pray you this dream
which I have dreamed for behold we were binding sheaves in the field and lo my sheaf arose and
also stood upright and behold your sheaves stood round about and made obeisance to my sheaf and
his brethren sent him shout thou indeed reign over us or shot down indeed have dominion over us and
they hated him yet the more for his dreams and for his words and he dreamed yet another dream and
told it his brethren and said behold I have dreamed a dream more and behold the Sun and the
moon and the 11 stars made obeisance to me and he told it to his father and his into his brethren
and his father rebuked him and said unto him what is this dream that thou has dreamed shall I and
your and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth and his
brethren envied him but his father observed the same now go back to John go to John chapter 5
we're also gonna go we're gonna go back to John chapter 7 so I don't know if Joseph is just naive
or something you know and he's just like they hate him and he's just gonna add to that and say
and by the way I got a dream and you're gonna go ahead and reverence me later on in the future
isn't that great you know hey mom dad you know I had this dream that you guys are gonna make
obeisance to me isn't that wonderful you know and they're just and his dad even rebuked them for it
they're like what are you talking with you little 17 year old you know like mom and mom and dad's
typically tell a older child I wiped your behind when you heard like a little baby you know that's
probably something they were they were saying so they didn't appreciate his dream right look at
John chapter 5 verse 30 says says I can of mine own self do nothing as I hear I judge and my judgment
is just because I seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which hath sent me by the way
there's two wills there right go to John chapter 7 John chapter 7 unless Jesus Christ is schizophrenic
he's got bipolar disorder or something John chapter 7 in verse 15 it says in the Jews marveled
saying how know what this man letters having never learned Jesus answered him and said my
doctrine is not mine but his that sent me if any man will do his will he shall know of the doctrine
whether it be of God or whether it speak of myself so you look in Genesis chapter 37 Joseph's
brother didn't even believe in him right in fact they hated him they envied him they did not
believe that which would he that which he received from God and the same thing we see in the New
Testament that the Jews did not believe Jesus Christ as well in fact the Bible says he came
into his own and his own received him not but not just them his own brothers did not believe on him
either look at John chapter 7 verse number 1 says and after these things Jesus walked in Galilee
for he would not walk in Jewry because the Jews sought to kill him you know just like Joseph's
brothers sought to kill Joseph now the Jews feast of Tabernacles was at hand his brethren therefore
said unto him depart hence and go into Judea that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest
they're being facetious here's what they're doing for there is no man that doeth anything in secret
he himself seeketh to be known openly if thou do these things show thyself to the world for neither
did his brethren believe in him then Jesus said unto them my time is not yet come but your time
is always always ready the Bible says so what do we see here we see the the parallel that just as
Joseph's brethren did not believe on Joseph Jesus Christ on brethren did not believe on him okay
they they saw him to be a joke all right they mocked him but in like manner we see in the
latter end of Genesis that his brethren Joseph's brethren did trust in Joseph in fact they came to
Egypt and the Bible tells us that Joseph actually rescued his family because of that he saw many
people alive the Bible says and likewise later on in the Gospels we see that Jesus brethren ended
up believing on him as well okay go to Luke chapter 19 but one common thing that we see
if you if you if you paid attention to the to the reading there in Genesis what is the brethren
tell what did Joseph's brothers and Joseph's father say will thou reign over us are you gonna
reign over us you're gonna be like a ruler of us what does that sound like to you look at Luke
chapter 19 in verse number 11 and as they heard these things he added and spake a parable because
he was nigh to Jerusalem because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear he
said therefore a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive himself a kingdom and to return
and he called this ten servants and delivered them ten pounds and sent them to them occupied
till I come but his citizens hated him and sent a message after him saying we will not have this
man to reign over us and we're not gonna read the entire portion of Scripture but what is this
referring to it's referring to Jesus Christ and is referring to the Jews and the Jews did not want
to have Jesus Christ reigning over them so we see that parallel there that just as the Jews didn't
want Jesus Christ to reign over there neither did his brother nor his father want Joseph to reign
over them as well you see that parallel there you don't have to turn there I'll go to Luke chapter 2
I'm gonna read to you from Philippians chapter 2 it says that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth and that every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father so one day even if the
people are in hell guess what every knee shall bow everyone becomes a believer when they die even in
hell they become a believer in God and in Jesus Christ and in fact one day every knees going to
bow so that reprobate God hating atheists he's gonna bow what's that atheist name that died what
Stephen Hawking he's gonna bow with wheelchair and all I don't appreciate you saying that about him
well I don't appreciate him spreading his garbage about atheism and turning people away from God
God will make sure that he and his robotic self will bow down what's the other guy's name Christian
what Christopher Hitchens you know he died of cancer thankfully you know he's gonna bow down
as well I just you're too harsh I don't think well you know what then you need to go listen to Joe
Osteen where it's all flowers and roses he's gonna bow as well you know all these people
doesn't matter who they are so don't don't don't be offended when when some God hating reprobate
rails on God just know their time will come and in fact you could go ahead and leave that
conversation and say hey one day you're gonna bow your sheaf will bow to his one day okay because we
saw that just as his Joseph's brethren you know they're mocking him but later on they bowed well
guess what later on everyone's gonna bow to Jesus Christ okay another thing that we can see here is
that though Joseph excuse me though Joseph's father rebuked Joseph the Bible the the chapter
ends with him saying that his father observed these sayings well if you remember look at Luke
chapter 2 verse 47 and says and all that hurt and were astonished at his understanding and answers
and when they saw him they were amazed and his mother said unto him son why hast thou thus dealt
with us behold thy father and I have sought these sorrowing and he said unto him how is it that he
saw me was he not that I must be about my father's business and they understood not the same which he
spake unto them and he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them but
his mother but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart and Jesus increased in wisdom and
stature and in favor with God and man so likewise we see Mary though she doesn't quite understand
everything that Jesus was saying she hid those sayings in her heart as well now go with me to
first Kings chapter 19 first Kings chapter 19 let me do a bit of a review here so we're talking
about the witness of the prophets okay and many of these some of these are not prophets but they
are prophets in the sense that they're prophesying of the coming Christ we see number one the first
example was Adam Adam was an example of Jesus Christ because of the colossal impact that he
made on mankind he damned all of mankind just as Jesus Christ is making a way for all mankind to be
saved we also see the example of Abel Abel was an example because of what his blood said he spoke
revenge whereas the Jesus Christ blood speaks redemption then we saw the example of Isaac and
of course we see the most obvious one is the fact that Isaac was willing to sacrifice himself we see
the example of Joseph and we saw many examples of that his evil report that he brought up the the
fact that the sheaves were gonna bow down to him just as the whole world's gonna bow down to Jesus
Christ so on and so forth now here's one that I really like and Elijah is a great example of
Jesus Christ now obviously when we read the New Testament we see that John the Baptist came in
the spirit of Elijah okay excuse me Elijah and that is true okay but if you read the story in
first Kings chapter 19 you can't help but see that he is a great picture of Jesus Christ and
Elisha is a great picture of the believer Elisha is a picture of the believer now look at first
Kings chapter 19 and verse 18 let me take a drink of water here verse 18 says yet I have left my
seven thousand in Israel left me seven thousand in Israel all the knees which have not bowed
unto Baal and every mouth which has not kissed them now this is a very famous portion of scripture
the seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal we see that reference referenced in Romans
chapter number 11 and the concept there is that in every age in every generation there is always a
group of people who God considers the remnant who are living for God and I don't I say without
apology that we are that remnant not just us but churches who are like-minded with a soul winning
Baptist churches are the remnant why because these churches these people who have not bowed
the knee to Baal there were great preachers they did great exploits they see a lot of people say
they do great works for God and God sees fit to highlight these people in the Bible okay but in
context of what we see in first Kings chapter 19 he says look there's seven thousand who have
not bowed the knee to Baal and then he goes into verse 19 so he departed thence and found who
Elisha so Elisha was one of those seven thousand so though there were seven thousand not all seven
thousand are named but one of them the people who are named is Elisha and if you look later
on in Elisha's ministry he actually does some great works for God the power of God was on his
life okay and we'll get that in just a little bit but look look at verse 19 says so he departed
thence and finally Elisha the son of Shaphat who was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen before him and
he with the 12th and Elisha passed by him and cast his mantle on him and he left the oxen and
ran after Elijah and said let me I pray thee kiss my father my mother and then when I follow thee
and he said unto him go back again for what have I done to thee and he returned back from him and
took a yoke of oxen and slew them and bore their flesh with the instruments of the oxen and gave
them to the people and they did eat then he arose and went after Elisha and ministered unto him so I
hope that rings a bell of a story that we see in the Bible in the New Testament you don't have to
turn in Luke chapter 9 verse 60 verse 61 it says and another also said Lord I will follow thee but
let me first go bid them farewell which are at my house at home at my house and Jesus said unto
him no man having put his hand to the plow looking back is fit for the kingdom of God now in Luke
chapter 9 we see Jesus Christ being a little rough you know the guy's like yeah I need to bury my
dad he just died you know and and and Jesus said let the dead bury their dad and we would read
something like that like whoa man that's good that's kind of rough but you got to understand
that Jesus Christ ministry he only had three years to accomplish the most incredible task
that needed to be accomplished you know he didn't have time for people to be lagging it okay so
that's why he said that but we see the parallel there with Elisha that he was plowing you know
and guess what once he started following Elijah he never looked back now Elijah Elijah ministry
was longer than Jesus Christ ministry that's why he was able to wait for him but we see the
parallel now go to 2nd Kings chapter 2 and look the same rings true for us today we need to make
sure that in order for us to be fit for the kingdom of God in other for us to be fit to preach the
kingdom of God it's that's what it's talking about we need to make sure we put our hands to
the plow right what is that talking about talking about work talk about soul winning talk about
doing great works for God and we can't constantly be looking back okay looking back at your old
girlfriend or looking back at the money that you used to have or looking back or whatever it is
that's holding you back from going forward for God you need to press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of Jesus Christ we need to make sure that when we're plowing we're working
for the Lord we're not double-minded because the Bible tells us that a double-minded man is
unstable in all his ways okay look be all in for God make sure you're counting the cost make sure
you're building upon that foundation and make sure you're not looking back don't be like remember
Lot's wife right when I first got saved I preached a sermon about Lot's wife and I was really into
hip-hop and rap before I got saved that's that was basically what we grew up on you know my family
put me to sleep listening to rap I'm just kidding but it was basically like that and I remember
like it helped me to like rhyme all my my points when I would when I used to when I first started
preaching and one of the sermons I can't remember exactly what the theme of the sermon was but I was
talking about how hey don't go back to the world don't go back to your flesh and all these things
and you know the bad habits they used to have and I use Lot's wife as an example I said look it's
nobody's fault if when you turn back you're a pillar of salt and what I was saying was
basically you know Lot's wife she looked back she became a pillar of salt well you know what
anybody who decides to look back you could become a pillar of salt as well but the only difference
is is that you'll be salt without savor cast out to be trodden under the foot of men you know so
we got to make sure that that's not us that we're plowing forward and preaching the kingdom of God
look at second Kings chapter two verse number one and it came to pass when the Lord will take
up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind that Elijah went went with Elisha from Gilgal so right off the
bat we see a good picture of Jesus Christ why because Elijah Elijah was taken up by a whirlwind
just as Jesus Christ was received up into the clouds when he ascended up to the right hand of
the father verse number two look what it says and Elijah said unto Elisha Terry here I pray thee
for the Lord has sent me to Bethel and Elijah said unto him as the Lord live and as thy soul
liveth I will not leave thee so they went down to Bethel now we're not going to read the entire
portion of scripture but over and over again Elijah is telling Elijah hey Terry here Terry
here you don't have to turn to Luke 24 verse 49 Jesus the scripture that we started off with says
and behold I send the promise of my father upon you but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until
you be endued with power from on high so we see almost the same instructions being given
there as well look at the Bible says in verse number seven and 50 men of the sons of the
prophets went and stood to view afar off and they too stood by Jordan and Elijah took his mantle
and wrapped it together and smote the waters and they were divided hither and thither so that they
too went over on dry ground and it came to pass when they were gone over that Elijah said unto
Elisha ask what I shall do for thee before I be taken away from thee and Elisha said I pray thee
let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me and he said thou hast asked a hard thing nevertheless
if thou see me when I am taken from thee it shall be done it shall be sowed unto thee but if not it
shall not be so now go with me if you would to uh John chapter 16 John chapter 16 and I'm sure you
know where I'm going with this because it's not pretty obvious what's taking place here
so Elijah is about to be taken up into a whirlwind he says what do you want from me before I leave
and he goes I want a double portion of what you have okay what he's saying was I want the power
of God on my life just as you did great works I want to do double of those great works you don't
have to turn there you're in John 16 I'm gonna read to you from John 14 it says in verse 15 if
you love me keep my commandments and I will pray the father and he shall give you another comforter
that he may abide with you forever even the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive
because it seeth him not neither knoweth him but ye know him for he dwelleth with you and shall be
in you look at John 16 verse 7 nevertheless I tell you the truth it is expedient for you
that I go away for if I go not away the comforter will not come unto you but if I depart I will send
him unto you so the Bible's telling us here that when Jesus Christ ascended that's actually when
when the Holy Spirit began to indwell the believer in the Old Testament the spirit of
God will come upon the believers upon great men of God but in the New Testament we're given the
promise that when Jesus Christ ascended he would be indwelling the believers but guess what had to
happen he had to ascend just as Elijah said hey if you see me ascend I'm gonna send you that double
portion of my spirit but if you don't see me then you're not gonna get it okay look at John chapter
14 go to John chapter 14 he said well hold on a second you know in in John he's just gonna send
a spirit but you know in what Elijah's asking for is a double portion of his spirit how does
that make any sense well look at John chapter 14 and verse number 12 it says verily verily I say
unto you he that believeth on me the works that I do shall he do also and greater works than these
shall he do because I go unto my father the Bible says so what do we see with Elijah he did greater
works than Elijah in fact he did double the miracles that Elijah was able to do why because
he had the double portion of his spirit and likewise in the New Testament us as believers
guess what we get a double portion as well though we have one spirit we can do greater works than
yea even Jesus Christ that's blasphemous he said it he says it right there and greater works than
these shall ye do you know what that tells me if God has given me the green light to do greater
works than Jesus Christ let's do it you know I don't want to live this just mediocre just boring
average Christian life you know what I want to do I want to do greater works I want the double
portion of God's spirit to do greater works I want to be like Elisha who didn't live in the
past with Elijah and say man I can't be like Elijah you know I can't be like the great man
of God I can't be like a Jack Hiles like a J. Frank Norris no yeah you're right you can't be
like them you actually be greater than them you know and the greatest man you know that ever
lived obviously the Bible talks about John the Baptist but the greatest man it was Jesus Christ
he did the greatest works yet the Bible tells us that we can do greater works than him
are you talking about the miracles no I'm not talking about the miracles because look
miracles are temporal every person that Jesus Christ brought back to life died again you know
all the food that he multiplied people ate and it was gone okay miracles are great and everything
but you know they're temporal I'm talking about the words of soul winning I'm talking about
seeing people saved I'm talking about when we went to the mission stripper we saw 700
excuse me not 700 377 people saved I'm talking about a church here that we've seen over 1800
people saved in just a little over a year that is a greater work year one down year two to go
year 20 you know we want to make sure that as the years go by that we're doing the greater works
why because we have a double portion of the spirit of God you know but it's not practical you know
the way you guys do ministry the way you preach and the way you guys do all those things it just
doesn't work you know it's you're not you're going to scare people away I the people here I haven't
scared any of you have I I haven't seen anybody walk out yet I mean we had someone walk out a
couple months ago but hey you know gotta replace them amen we believe in replacement theology
when one leaves another one comes back okay look it's we just need to trust God
you know we need to make sure that we're asking God for a double portion of his spirit what is
that we're talking about the power of God in our lives you know we talked about it on Thursday
that we ought to prove ourselves as the ministers of God through the power of God the holy ghost
you know it's good to be practical we we do practical things at our church
but more than anything we need people who are relying on God okay you're like man but I'm not
eloquent good you need the power of God then you're going to become more reliant upon him
and every single person in this church can't be some self-proclaimed just talented christian
you need to make sure that you're asking you're praying for the power of God in your life
God fill me with your holy spirit to preach the word of God boldly that I may see people saved
that I may do great works for thee so we can be just like Elijah and in fact another parallel
that we see with Elijah is that even though Jesus Christ died 2000 years ago and he resurrected
his life is still affecting people today well there's a story in the bible and I don't know
the exact passage it just came to me where Elijah or excuse me Elijah is buried and his bones are
there there's a group of men who are going to bury another man and some some some of the opposing
nations who they were beefing with they come and what do they do they throw the body into the grave
of Elijah's grave and what happens that guy comes to life because even his bones have power
you know we want to make sure that just as Jesus Christ's life even though it was 2000 years ago
that he was on this earth is still affecting lives today then guess what our lives will still affect
people years from now okay then we will make such an impact that we will be affecting the second
generation that our life even when we're when we're gone we being dead yet speaking okay through
youtube amen all right now let's see here go with me go back to first kings excuse me second kings
chapter two we're almost done second king chapter two and look at verse number 11
says when it came to pass excuse me let me make sure I have the right passage here
yeah second kings verse number 11 it says and it came to pass as they still went on and talked
that behold there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire and part of them both asunder
and elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven and elijah saw and he cried my father my father the
chariot of israel and the horseman thereof and he saw him no more and he took hold of his own
clothes and rent them in two pieces and he took up also the mantle of elijah that fell from him
and went back and stood by the bank of jordan and he took the mantle of elijah that fell from him
and smote the waters and said where is the lord god of elijah and when he also had smitten the
waters they parted hither and thither and elijah went over by the way i like elijah you know he's
grieving over the fact that his master was taken from him but immediately what does he do puts on
the mantle what does he start smiting the waters doing the same exact thing that elijah did he
didn't waste any time and here's the good principle is that once you get saved just hop right in
the water's fine okay you know peter where's peter is he here peter got baptized on thursday
and you know if you've been baptized here you know we're not very kind when it comes to baptism
we're working on it right it's a little cold that's what i'm saying you know you have people
they're just like they're like having a seizure while they're getting in seconds it's so cold
peter he's just like boop he's like wasn't shaking or nothing it's like man this guy's got it you
know he's he's manning up hey man but you know what that's how we need to be in our christian
lives is that as soon as we get saved let's just hop right in don't wait to that major event in
your life you know i'm gonna start soul winning and i'm gonna start going to church i'm gonna
start getting serious about the things of god once x y and z takes place no do it now okay now's the
time to start doing things for god you know boast not thyself with tomorrow for that no it's not
what a day may bring forth and that's what elijah is doing here verse 15 says when the sons of the
prophets which were which were to view at Jericho saw him they said the spirit of elijah doth rest
on elijah and they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him and they said
and said behold now there be with thy servants 50 strong men let them go we pray thee and seek thy
master let's pray adventure the spirit of the lord hath taken them up and cast them upon the mountain
or into some valley and he said ye shall not sin so what do we see there well we see 50 servants
just as jesus christ was seen above 50 men you know after his resurrection before his ascension
and a funny thing here that we see is that these 50 men they're like hey um we got 50 strong guys
you know we should go on and look for elijah in case you know god just took him up
and you know he didn't take him all the way and he just dropped him off on some mountain or
something you know but elijah knew he's like well you're not gonna find him you're not gonna find
him and when they urged him verse 17 till he was ashamed he said send they send their four 50 men
and they sought three days but found him not and when they came against him for he tarried at
jericho he said unto him did not i say unto you go not now go to act chapter one this is the last
passage we're going to act chapter one because we're going to look at a similarity that we see
here in act chapter number one so what happens he's taken up by a whirlwind the spirit comes upon
elijah he begins immediately to do great works you know and look once you first get saved the
the the thing you need to hop into other than church is soul winning we're not saying you have
to go out there and actually preach the gospel but go with someone go see it done go see a live
birth you know of someone getting saved all right so these 50 men they come to light let's go look
from here they're gazing to look for elijah and elijah says hey he's not there and look what act
chapter one verse number seven says and he said unto them uh it is not for you to know the times
or the seasons which the father has put in his own power but you shall receive power after that
the holy ghost has come upon you and he shall be witnesses unto me both in jerusalem and in all
judaea and in samaria and then to the uttermost parts of the earth and when he had spoken these
things while they beheld he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight and while
they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up behold two men stood by them in white apparel
which also said ye men of galilee why stand ye gazing up into heaven this same jesus which is
taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven
so you see the parallel there just as these men were gazing looking for elijah you know these
guys were just like and then the angels coming like hey guys he's not there anymore you know
he's going to come back again in like manner is what he's going to do and look the the the
spiritual application that we make to that is look we're not to be like pre-tribbers
amen right just gazing like he's coming right now right now no he's not you know occupy till i
come the bible says and there are certain events that we do got to look for for the second coming
of christ but the main event is not the second coming of christ that we're looking for you know
obviously the anti-christ has to come and the six seals and so on and so forth but we need to make
sure that we're not like these pre-tribbers we're just we just want to head out as soon as possible
you know no occupy till i come okay making sure we're working we're not just gazing elijah or
excuse me elijah was just like you guys are just looking for nothing he's not coming right now
all right you know we need to go to work is what we need to go do and a lot of pre-tribbers the
reason why they're so lazy is because they're gazing they need to make sure that they're
looking onto the fields that are white already to harvest instead of looking to see when jesus
christ is coming okay so what did we learn today we learned that in the old testament there's many
many pictures and we've only scratched the surface okay there's a lot of people in the
old testament to picture him we saw of course adam we saw able um isaac uh we saw also who do
we go over here i already forgot adam able isaac joseph and lastly we saw elijah okay elijah and
elijah and so i hope that that sermon i hope these these scriptures that we looked at would
would would put a fire in your heart to say man i want to find some stuff like that this is great
look that goes to show you that if you're only stuck in the new testament you need to
put yourself in the old testament as well okay because they both work hand in hand with one
another and you'll get a greater understanding when you compare both all right let's go ahead
bow our heads and have a word of prayer father we thank you so much for the word of god thank you
so much for these scriptures that you've placed within your word and these gems and i pray god
that you'd help us to be like these great men of god and lord you said that we're ambassadors for
christ we're supposed to be representing the lord may our lives reflect uh our savior and i pray
god that you'd help us to do so and bless the soul wanting to follow and all there is and in
jesus name we pray amen