Four Perspectives of the Plan of God - Genesis 49:1-33 (11.18.20) - Dr. Jordan N. Rogers

[Music] god includes and values us in his plan but ultimately it's all about him so this evening we're in genesis 49 beginning there in verse 1 down through verse 33. this evening it's my intention to talk to you to share with you four perspectives of the plan of god four perspectives of the plan of god what i want what i want you to to walk away with is ultimately this one truth and i think you'll see it out of these four perspectives put together but i want you to write down this one summary truth with me god includes and values us in his plan but ultimately it's all about him god includes and values us in his plan but ultimately it's all about him if it's ultimately all about us god would be an idolater for worshiping someone other than god but god is not an idolater god god adores and worships the the highest being in all the universe himself it's right and it's good and the fact is that because god's plan is ultimately about him that actually provides us with the greatest safety the greatest security because of who god is god is gracious god delights in demonstrating the glories of his grace to us as his chosen people god delights in demonstrating the glories of his grace in this world and who better to demonstrate the glories of his grace than on those who are the least deserving and that's us and so god being determined to demonstrate his grace has chosen not because of anything we have obligated him to do god has chosen to show us his grace to make us the objects of his mercy the objects of his grace and so god has done that and so in this way god includes us in his plan in this way god values us in his plan god's ultimate purpose is to glorify himself but in so doing he showers his grace on us what what an incredible reality that we have to live in that that's true that that's true imagine a reality where that's not true where god is not determined to demonstrate his grace where god is strictly determined to demonstrate his goodness that would not be good for us would it if god were strictly determined to demonstrate only his goodness then we would all pay for our sins but god is determined on demonstrating both his goodness and his grace his wrath and his kindness he pours out his wrath on jesus so that he pours out his kindness on us he shows jesus no mercy on the cross so that he can show us every mercy in this life and forever and those on whom god has placed his pleasure he never removes it he never removes it that's a glorious truth i'm glad that god's plan god's plan is not primarily about me and i'm glad that god's plan is far bigger than me but we we don't need to think that because god's plan is far bigger than us that it doesn't also include us intimately in the details so in this passage this evening this is really a it it's a passage that changes your perspective from verse to verse you you go from one verse looking at an individual and then in the very next verse the very next uh couplet there in this poetry the very next couplet you go from looking at a person individually to a people as a whole and you you just zoom in and out and in and out and then you you read of the death of one of the patriarchs one of the fathers of the faith you read of the death of jacob and you come to understand that our faith is not dependent on jacob living the the faith that god has called us to is far bigger than jacob it's far bigger than isaac far bigger than abraham it's far bigger than paul it's far bigger than any one individual other than jesus we need to understand those truths this evening god includes and values us in his plan but ultimately it's all about him i'm going to divide this this text into two main sections two main sections and we're gonna go through all of it together and then at the end i'm gonna point you to these four perspectives the four perspectives we need to see for the plan of god or of the plan of god look at verses 1 through 27 with me we're looking at the blessings of jacob the blessings of jacob he is going to bless his sons now as he comes to the end of his life and all of his family has joined him there in egypt receiving salvation by god through the hands of joseph he's going to bless each of his sons in this poetically uttered oracle in this prophetic word look at the first couple of verses with me verse 1 it says then jacob called his sons and said gather yourselves together that i may tell you what shall happen to you in the days to come assemble and listen oh sons of jacob listen to israel your father did you notice that in the typeface there in your bible that verse 2 is offset a little bit and the remainder the remainder of that chapter almost up until verse 28 is offset and it looks a lot more like a psalm doesn't it when you read through the psalms it looks a lot more like that what you're seeing here what you're seeing here is a poetic form of prophecy it is a poetic form of prophecy later on when you read the book of isaiah you're going to read prophetic texts like this oracles these oracles come almost in a lyrical fashion that's why it's offset you say well this is jacob this is israel the son of isaac the son of abraham how how am i supposed to view jacob if jacob is speaking an oracle of the lord if he is speaking revelation of god what should i consider jacob i tell you scripture considers jacob not just a man scripture considers jacob to be a prophet of god a man filled with the spirit speaking the words of god jacob in fact is foretelling the future under the inspiration of the holy spirit in fact scripture makes that direct claim listen to this passage brother seth read it just a moment ago but i'm going to take a portion of it and read it for you psalm 105 verses 12 through 15. listen to what the psalmist calls abraham isaac and jacob psalm 105 beginning in verse 12 when they that is the children of israel when they were few in number of little account and sojourners in it wandering from nation to nation from one kingdom to another people he allowed no one to oppress them he rebuked kings on their account saying touch not my anointed ones do my prophets no harm abraham isaac and jacob are considered by god to be his anointed ones his chosen men we understand that in one way that they were god's chosen men in order to bring about his promises into the world his promise that he made there in the early chapters of the book of genesis to bring about the seed of a woman who would crush the head of our enemy satan and we've been looking for that promise and what the book of genesis has done for us is it has narrowed down to some very specific people that we're supposed to be paying attention to because god's promise is being fulfilled in them he has chosen them in order to fulfill his promise to bring salvation and who is it that god has drilled down and put the target on their back his anointed his chosen ones abraham isaac and jacob we are looking through their life we are tracing out history in the book of genesis seeking out the one who will bring salvation to god's people the book of genesis is not about anything less than that we are looking for the promise of god to save his people from their sins this prophetic oracle of jacob as the prophet of the lord tells us tells us how we are to view the work of god and through which particular son of jacob that god will eventually bring his promise to fruition jacob under the inspiration of the holy spirit points us directly to one of the tribes of israel that we are supposed to look at for the remainder of all eternity listen to this it's quite spectacular and just as a note here the way that jacob blesses his sons first he's going to bless the sons of leah you remember that jacob had four wives and technically he had two wives and two concubines now in in these ancient days a wife a wife would have had full rights she has inheritance she has legal rights in the home a concubine would have been a wife of jacob but with no rights much more like a wife who is a slave you remember that leah and rachel they got really competitive about having children and they did some bad things and jacob did some bad things and both of them ended up giving their maid servants zilpah and billah and they gave these maidservants to jacob and through the maidservants jacob actually begot 12 sons including the sons he begot there with leah and rachel the first sons that jacob blesses in this oracle are the sons of leah they're way out of order here for the most part the first three verse four are in order but the remainder are way out of order in terms of when they were born he blesses the sons of leah then he blesses the sons of the concubines and then he blesses the sons of rachel okay so let's look at this and this will go quickly i just have to apologize i don't have enough time to get anywhere close to giving you the information that i came across and studying this passage so if you want that i can print it out for you and give it to you and you can just have fun i'm gonna try to hit the high points and not bog you down in the details so he says in verse two jacob does assemble and listen o sons of jacob listen to israel your father reuben reuben is the firstborn of jacob he is the first son of leah he says reuben you are my firstborn my might and the firstfruits of my strength preeminent indignity that is an honor preeminent in power in strength that is and you look at that if you were to stop right there i'm sure i'm sure that reuben was hoping that it just let's just stop right there let's just stop right there dad that's enough that's enough prophecy about me preeminent in honor preeminent and might but it doesn't stop there it doesn't stop there at all in fact in reuben in reuben we're going to see that our lives are quite significant in the plan of god the choices that we make the the things that we do in this life they're quite significant in the plan of god many years before this event over 20 years before this event reuben did something that will haunt him till his father's death and in fact it'll haunt his descendants you are my first born reuben my my in the first fruits of my strength preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power verse 4 unstable as water you shall not have preeminence meaning you shall not have first place among your brethren you are the firstborn but you will not stand as the firstborn you will not inherit the double portion as the firstborn should you will not stand as chief among your brethren you will not be able to use your honor you will not be able to use your might no matter how hard you try to advance yourself to first place among the tribes of israel that's a severe that's a severe rebuke unstable as water you shall not have preeminence this is why because you went up to your father's bed then you defiled it he went up to my couch in genesis chapter 35 verse 22 one verse one verse right about the time of the birth of benjamin right about the time of the death of rachel here's reuben the firstborn the oldest and i don't i don't know the circumstances of what happened it's one verse recorded in scripture but in that verse we read that reuben decided to to lay with rachel's maidservant billah all it says all it says is that reuben lay with billa not only is it adultery but it's aggravated in offense because not only is it adultery it's incestuous to a point billa is one of jacob's wives we live in a world we live in a world that minimizes in fact just pushes it off to the side as if it doesn't mean anything a world that minimizes the consequences of sexual sin don't we we live in a world that glamorizes it in a world that says we need to teach it in schools how how to have our kids be promiscuous but not have consequences we're we're told that our tax dollars and our government is supposed to fund contraceptives so people can be wild rather than teaching them that adultery is a sin against god fornication is a sin against god with severe severe consequences the bible tells us in the new testament that all of these things in the old have been written down as an example for us so that we know how to walk rightly before god we have to be careful to not listen to the voices in this world that talk to us about about human sexuality what it is and what it is not god tells us very clear what human sexuality is what it is to be what is expected of us and the laws that govern the expression of sexual intimacy what rubin did here was a violation of god's law before the ten commandments were ever given in exodus chapter 20 it was already written on man's heart that adultery should not happen that fornication shouldn't happen especially incestuous fornication reuben did that and what did reuben lose he lost honor think about this he lost honor not only for himself he forfeited honor for his family his whole tribe no longer has preeminence his whole tribe no longer is able to use their honor or their might with sad outcome you know what that ought to do for us that ought to make all of us fear god what a wonderful thing to fear god the fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom but fools despise wisdom and instruction we need to look at this example and learn look at verse 5 looking at two brothers together two sons of leah the second and the third of jacob simeon and levi are brothers they're paired together it's interesting that they're paired together and nobody else in genesis 49 is paired together like this simeon levi there's something that attaches them together you remember that they are the brothers of dinah they are the brothers of dinah it says simeon and levi are brothers they're stuck together here's how they're stuck together weapons of violence are their swords let my soul come not into their counsel if the daddy says i can't trust them nobody can trust them these are violent men oh my glory be not joined to their company for in their anger they killed men and in their willfulness their recklessness heard that word before haven't we in their recklessness they hamstrung oxen cursed be their anger for it is fierce and their wrath for it is cruel i will divide them in jacob and scatter them in israel in genesis chapter 34 we read of simeon and levi particularly we read of their sister first the sons of israel had come into the land of canaan and they had come near a place that would later be called shechem it would later be called shechem shechem being given over to joseph you remember in chapter 48. they come to shechem and there's a man there a prince of the land and his name is shechem easy to remember but shechem was of the hivites there was a tribe of canaanites in the land and he was of the hivites shechem saw dinah one day and he took her and he raped her now if that happened to one of our family members we'd be furious wouldn't we we would be furious simeon and levi are righteously indignant because their sister had been treated like a prostitute shechem thinks that he gets away with his sin and so he comes to his father hamor and he says hey can you go and ask jacob for permission for me to marry dinah and so hamor goes and does that and and simeon and levi intercept him and they say oh this is great this is great that you want to marry our sister dinah we we want we want you to do that too on one condition we worship the god of israel and the god of israel has given a covenant to abraham and that covenant includes the requirement that men be circumcised so if shechem wants to marry our sister then all the hivites must be circumcised so all of the men submit to it and the text says that on the third day while all the hivite men are sore and they're laid up in bed that simeon and levi in a rage they take their swords they go into the hivite camp and they slaughter every single hevite man they kill every one of them and then they plunder the city and then jacob there at the end of the the text in genesis 34 he rebukes them and he says how could you do this to me you're going to make me stink in the nostrils of the people in canaan and they turn to him and say should we have allowed him to treat our sister like a prostitute and that's it that's the end of the chapter that's the end of the chapter they were angry about something that they had a right to be angry about but men let me ask you is there a wrong way to be righteously angry there's a wrong way to do it there is a wrong way to unleash righteous indignation and and jacob says these men are unstable they get angry and furious and there is no end to what these men will do and because of that their sin is not sexual their sin is anger but in their sin what do they do they cost their families they cost everyone that's close to them everyone that's dependent on them and they cost generations that come after them i think our actions are a lot more consequential than we probably give them credit for simeon and levi were divided simeon inherited land in the middle of judah's massive inheritance and in judah's massive inheritance the the tribe of simeon just somewhat dissolved they were scattered amongst their number never becoming a prominent tribe levi you know levi actually had no inheritance of land amongst the peoples of israel get this as far as irony goes i don't know if it's irony just the will of the lord levi was not given an inheritance amongst the israelites they were given the inheritance of the priesthood so levites descendants until the coming of christ what was their responsibility their responsibility was to pour out the wrath of god on all of these sacrificial animals day after day slaughtering these animals maybe they remembered their forefather levi and his anger maybe they thought about the unbridled wrath of god against sinners and it wasn't until christ came along and provided the final and ultimate sacrifice to satisfy what would have been the insatiable wrath of god sin and levi inheriting the consequences of their sins look at verse eight judah the fourth born of jacob son of leah judah has the second longest blessing in this text i want you to pay very close attention we're going to come back here in just a little bit he says judah you know you judah it's it's a cognate of two hebrew words means praise ye is a shortened form of yah which is a shortened form of yahweh literally means god be praised so he says you god be praised your brothers shall yadah you they shall praise you they recognize your name and they praise you but you're the fourth bird fourth born he says your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies so he has honor he has glory they're going to praise him now his net his hand is going to be on the neck of his enemies he has militaristic dominance your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies your father's sons shall bow down before you judah is a lion's cub from the prey my son you have gone up that's an interesting phrase that you wouldn't look at that and think a lion's cub a lion's cub is not exactly the most ferocious of animals out there you would hope that that lion lion's cub would grow up to be full born but listen more closely to what it says judah is a lion's cub from the prey my son you have gone up from the prey as a young lions cub what is judah judah is fierce judah is actually already aggressively making kills as a young lions cub judah is already a leader it says he stooped down he crouched as a lion and as a lioness who dares roused him judah in his infancy even as a tribe even in his infancy how does judah act he acts well beyond his years he acts like a full-grown lion he acts like a full-grown lioness judah's tribe even in if its infancy was preeminent over the other tribes we could drive that a little bit further but for time's sake i won't verse 10 he says the scepter shall not depart from judah the scepter shall not depart from judah nor the ruler's staff from between his feet paul is right there so the scepter being a symbolic staff of power saying that this staff of power the staff of rulership is put into the hands of judah not just to judah the individual we're talking about the people of judah the tribes of judah meaning what meaning that rulers are going to come from judah in fact he says the scepter shall not depart from judah the rightful kings of israel will come from what tribe they will come from the tribe of judah the first major king in israel was not from the tribe of judah was he saul saul was of the tribe of benjamin he was never truly never truly the man of god's choosing it was always the descendants of the tribe of judah but listen this gets a little more a little more incredible here again jacob's speaking as a prophet the scepter shall not depart from judah nor the rulers staff from between his feet until shiloh shiloh shiloh is what he says in the hebrew text those those three verbs are just stacked right on top of each other it's an emphatic rendering of what's being said the scepter will not depart from judah until tribute comes from him that's what shiloh means and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples many theologians all throughout history believe that that verse right there is talking about jesus and actually calling jesus calling the king that comes from judah calling him shiloh the literal rendering of those three verbs stacked onto each other is this the scepter shall not depart from judah nor the ruler's staff from between his feet until he comes to whom it belongs literally the scepter will not depart judah's hand until he to whom the scepter belongs comes along so the kings are going to come from judah but there's going to come a he a one from judah and the scepter stays there once it gets in his hand once that baton is passed into his hand jacob under the inspiration of the holy spirit says it will never depart his hand look at verse 11. this is incredible i never understood this before really studying this passage i thought i did he says binding his foal to the vine and his donkey's cult to the choice vine many theologians through history have pointed out that in luke 19 when jesus when jesus descends from the mount of olives and he is coming into jerusalem what is he riding on he's riding on the foal of a donkey he's riding on a cult on a cult that has never been ridden before and in fact that prophecy is made in zechariah chapter 9 verse 9 and surely this is this is an allusion to that but i don't think that's what jacob is talking about here listen to this binding his full so taking a rope on the donkey and tying it off on the vine his donkey's cult to the choice vine what's the main crop in israel grapes you have grapes you have olives and such but it's talking about grapes and so judah takes the the cult a young beast of burden ties it off on the choicest of grapevines you know what's guaranteed if you tie a donkey to a grapevine there's going to be no more grapes left the donkey's going to eat all of the grapes this is jacob prophesying of the prosperity that jacob's going to have he's going to have such an abundance of grapes such an abundance of wealth that even the beasts of burden eat like kings that's what he's saying that all the wealth is going to come to judah in fact he's got so much so much abundance from this crop look at what he does with the leftovers he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes theologians have pointed out that that that's possibly talking about jesus shedding his blood for our sins and maybe there is an illusion there but i think specifically is saying judah is so wealthy that wine is like water to him he is overflowing in abundance now that has prophetic fulfillment in christ we'll get to it he says in verse 12 his eyes are darker than wine and his teeth whiter than milk his wealth is so abundant that it's even visible in his visage in his face wine being a sign of wealth milk being a sign of wealth you can just see it all over this tribe how god has poured out blessings not so for all of them though look at verse 13 zebulun zebulun is actually the tenth born son of israel he is the tenth born son of israel but he is the son of leah so write down in that order zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea he shall become a haven for ships and his border shall be at sidon that's just talking essentially about where zebulun's allotment the land allotment will be it's to the north in the land of israel it's right there between the sea of galilee on the east and the mediterranean sea on the west he's not right there on the shore but he has access to both waterways which means there's going to be an abundance of wealth given to zebulun look at verse 14 it says issachar he's the ninth son of jacob the the son of leah it's a car is a strong donkey thanks dad it's a car is a strong donkey crouching between the sheep folds or between the saddle basket so he's a beast of burden what is he doing laying down on the job he found a sheepfold where he can get comfortable he's got the burden on his back and he just lays down he saw that a resting place was good and that the land was pleasant so he bowed his shoulder to bear and became a servant of forced labor in the eighth and the 6th century bc the descendants of issachar actually were subjected to forced labor look at verse 16 it says dan dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of israel dan shall be a serpent in the way a viper by the path that bites the horse's heels so that his rider falls backwards i wait for your salvation o lord this prophecy about dan is not just about the individual man is it we've seen that to this point these prophecies speak of one man as the representative of entire tribes of people god's plan includes them certainly but god's plan is far bigger than just the individual and he says that dan will judge his people you know when you read the book of judges when you read the book of judges one of the most significant judges in the in the history of israel was samson sampson was born of the tribe of dan in fact much of the book of judges is made up of tracing out samson the great warrior of the israelites who was conquered not by his enemies he was conquered by his appetites wasn't he dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of israel dan shall be a serpent in the way later on the the tribe of dan is going to conquer part of their land allotment right there at the north it's a beautiful area and man i tell you when we were in israel we got to spend time in dan it is the most beautiful area i think in all of israel and they got that one little portion of it and the way that they got that little city was by a sneak attack just like this a serpent in the way a viper in the path that bites the horse's heels so that the rider falls backwards and jacob inserts i wait for your salvation oh lord god i'm looking at all these boys and i know i'm not putting my trust in them i'm waiting on your salvation o lord verse 19 raiders shall raid gad but he shall raid at their heels god's inheritance was on the eastern side of the jordan river so they were in enemy territory when they settled their land what would they incur constantly raiders coming in coming out they would be fierce warriors verse 20 asher's food shall be rich and he shall yield royal delicacies again on the northern end of the land of israel where their land is very very fertile that's right where asher's land is right on the border of the mediterranean sea it says in verse 21 naphtali is a doe let loose that bears beautiful fawns on the northern border of israel right on the edge of the jordan river when the jordan river is going to dump into the sea of galilee and the water's crystal clear and cold and the fields are green and lush a great place for sheep right a great place for livestock that's where naphtali inherited look at verse 22 it says joseph is a fruitful bow fruitful is the hebrew word farah it's the root word where you get ephraim ephraim being one of the sons of joseph joseph is a fruitful bow a fruitful bow by the spring it's a vine his branches run over the wall his archers attacked him now we're looking at the history of joseph aren't we how joseph went through many trials and struggles the archer's attack bitterly attacked him shot at him and harassed him severely yet his bow remained unmoved his arms were made agile by the hands of the mighty one of jacob from there is the shepherd the stone of israel by the god of your father who will help you by the almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven blessings of the deep that crouches beneath the blessings or blessings of the deep that crouches beneath blessings of the breasts and of the womb the blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents up to the bounties of the everlasting hills may they be on the head of joseph and on the brow of him who is set apart from his brothers that's a special blessing on joseph joseph being the son of his father's favor received a double portion of and of the inheritance and received quite quite an incredible blessing from his father mind you jacob is at the end of his life verses 28 down through 33 you move from the blessings of jacob to the passing of jacob read these verses with me all these are the 12 tribes of israel this is what their father said to them as he blessed them blessing each with the blessing suitable to him then he commanded them and said to them i am to be gathered to my people bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of ephron the hittite in the cave that is in the field of macpillah to the east of memory in the land of canaan in which in which abraham bought with the field from ephron the hittite to possess as a burying place there they buried abraham and sarah his wife there they buried isaac and rebecca's wife and there i buried leah the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the hittites when jacob finished commanding his sons he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people the door shut on jacob the next time jacob will lay eyes on the land of canaan is in the resurrection when jesus returns and he's raised from the dead right next to abraham and isaac and sarah and rebecca and leah but jacob's part in in this earthly history at this point is over isn't it let me point you to these four perspectives because i think we see them in this text i'm not gonna have time to go through all these supporting passages but i want you to write them down and look at them on your own perspective number one our lives are significant in the plan of god our lives are significant in the plan of god our decisions our actions our victories our failures there's none of it that has no consequence there's no part of our lives that don't matter every decision we make you see it in their lives don't you every decision in life that we make it truly does matter our lives are significant in the plan of god listen to this luke chapter 12 verse 6-7 are not five sparrows sold for two pennies and not one of them is forgotten by god meaning god cares about the worthless birds the half-cent birds god cares about them why even the hairs of your head are all numbered fear not for you are of more value than many sparrows you think god doesn't take notice of your life he knows how many hairs you have on your head he knows you intimately every decision every thought every every occurrence in your day it's a part of god's plan it's significant to him perspective number two i want you to realize this our lives account for a small portion of the plan of god our lives account for a small portion yes our lives are significant but our lives don't make up a significant portion of god's plan psalm 103 15-16 as for man his days are like grass he flourishes like a flower of the field for the wind passes over it and it is gone and its place knows it no more that's what we're liking to our lifespan like grass we're here one day we flourish it's green in the spring and then winter comes along and it's gone that's our lives none of us is gonna be here forever our lives are significant but they don't make up a significant portion of the plan of god perspective number three our lives are bound up entirely in the plan of god our lives before we existed while we exist here on this earth and after we die and go to the lord our lives our existence is entirely bound up in the plan of god what does david say of the spirit of god where shall i go from your spirit i could ascend to the heights of the heavens i could run anywhere on earth i could go to the depths of the earth i could go to sheol to the place of the dead and i can't run away from you god our lives our existence is entirely bound up in the plan of god listen to this romans chapter 11 33-36 oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of god how unsearchable are his judgments how inscrutable his ways for who has known the mind of the lord or who has been his counselor or who has given a gift that he might be repaid for from him and through him and to him are all things to him be glory forever you came from god you live through god and you are going to god what a beautiful beautiful truth for those who love the lord what a terrifying truth for those who do not our lives are entirely bound up in the plan of god perspective number four our lives are significant they're a small portion they're entirely bound up in the plan of god but god's plan is not ultimately about his or god's plan is ultimately about his glory revealed through his son jesus christ ultimately god's plan is not about us it's all about jesus i want you to recall very quickly and i'm going to give you the passages to support it we don't have time to read them i want you to remember these three things that were promised to judah judah was promised honor and glory judah was promised militaristic dominance over his brethren judah was promised eternal regal status the root the scepter shall not depart from you now these promises are given to judah and they're ultimately fulfilled by jesus one of the titles for jesus is that he is the lion of the tribe of judah this is where that term begins to originate in scripture christ will achieve militaristic dominance over all the creation he is the ruler who comes from judah he is born as a son of david he is born as a son of judah colossians 2 15 militaristic dominance for you he disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in him first corinthians 15 tells us the last enemy to be defeated is death and who is it that defeats him it's jesus he raised himself from the dead and in the end he's going to raise us from the dead he is the one to whom judah's blessing is ultimately pointed christ here number two christ has achieved regal status remind you of what jesus said in matthew chapter 28 listen to this because i don't know if you've ever thought of this verse in this light he says all authority has been given to me all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me so what do we do we go into the world and make disciples teach people to be allegiant to jesus why because he has eternal regal status eternal lordship you know philippians 2 9-11 by heart that jesus by his suffering has been given a name above every name that name is lord that at his name every knee would bow and tongue confess that he's lord number three just as god promised the tribe of judah christ will achieve honor and glory from and above all creation let me read this passage for you here and we'll close revelation chapter 5 verse 1-14 then i saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll with written within and on the back sealed with seven seals and i saw a mighty angel approaching with a loud voice who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals and no one in heaven or earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it and john says and i began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it one of the elders said to me weep no more behold the lion of the tribe of judah the root of david has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals and between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders i saw a lamb standing as though it had been slain with seven horns and with seven eyes which are the seven spirits of god sent out into all the earth and he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne and when he had taken the scroll the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down honor and glory fell down before the lamb each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of the saints and they sang a new song saying worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals for you were slain and by your blood you ransom people for god from every tribe and language and people and nation and you have made them a kingdom of priests to our god and they shall reign on the earth then i looked and i heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels numbering myriads and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice worthy is the lamb who is slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom so much power he has preeminence over his brethren so much wealth that even the beasts of the burden in his kingdom eat like kings and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing and i heard every creature in heaven on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them saying to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and the four living creatures said amen and the elders fell down and worshiped him god includes and values us in his plan ultimately friends it's all about him from before we existed throughout all eternity is all about him boy hadn't he shown us a lot of grace he's shown us a lot of kindness amen let's pray you

Channel: Dr. Jordan Neal Rogers

Views: 2,437

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Preaching, preach, teach, teaching, preacher, teacher, pastor, New Testament, Christ, Jesus, Savior, Gospel, salvation, Lord, Messiah, Messianic, epistle, apostle, apostolic, Paul, apostles, minister, ministry, faith, help, me, understand, Christian, Hillcrest, Baptist, Church, Nederland, Texas, Dr. Rogers, Jordan, Neal, Rogers, Jordan Rogers, expository, expository preaching, exposition, exposit, exegesis, testimony, evangelism, Genesis, Genesis 49, Jacob, Joseph, Israel, blessing, prophetic, prophecy, Judah, bless, Jews, Old Testament

Id: 5Mpx-ptCEqI

Length: 51min 9sec (3069 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 15 2020