Reasons to Rejoice, Part 6

As we close out 2024 and this last Sunday, we want to look at the real reasons the redeemed rejoice. We want you to be able to enter the new year rejoicing in the Lord. I'm sure there were times throughout 2024 that things happened that you really didn't feel like rejoicing very much. I'm sure those families who lost loved ones in that flight accident this past week in South Korea where 179 people died, I'm sure they're having a hard time finding reasons to rejoice. The two crew members that survived, they have a lot of reasons to rejoice.

But how do you find the real reason to rejoice amidst such a great tragedy? As you went through 2024, I'm sure you faced situations and obstacles that didn't make you feel like this is an opportunity for me to really get excited about the Lord. And yet rejoicing is not about your feelings, it's about obeying a command from God, saying, yes, Lord, I will obey what you say and I will rejoice in you because, Lord, you've commanded me to do so. And so you do. As you anticipate a new year, I'm sure there are all kinds of things that are going to happen that you're not going to feel much like rejoicing.

And yet the command still stands. We rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say, rejoice. And so we like to look at our situation and compare ourselves to other people and say, well, they can rejoice, yeah, because they don't go through the things that I go through.

Paul talks about that in his epistle to the Corinthians when he says that those who compare themselves by themselves are not wise. They're foolish. Because you really can't compare your situation to someone else's situation or circumstance. But when you look at the Scriptures and you realize that there are people who went through all kinds of turmoil, and yet they were always rejoicing.

Paul was one. I mean, he wrote, rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say, rejoice while sitting in prison. Now, how could he do that? He was one who experienced a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan that was sent to torment him. He lived in constant torment daily because of this messenger of Satan. We don't know what it is. And that's good that we don't because we would say, well, yeah, that's what Paul had, but he never experienced what I experienced. And yet he was shipwrecked and snake bitten and thrown to prison and beaten several times.

He was going through all kinds of difficulties, persecutions, imprisonments. And yet he says these words in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, I find quite interesting when he says this. He says, therefore, we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory, far beyond all comparison. While we look not the things which are seen, but the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

He'd have a perspective that would look at his afflictions, his imprisonments, his being snake bitten, going through shipwreck after shipwreck, going through all kinds of affliction and difficulties as momentary light afflictions, momentary light afflictions, because he saw them in perspective of eternity.

He saw them in light of what was going to happen when he went home to be with the Lord, recognizing that that which is seen is only temporary, that which is unseen is forever. But this is only a momentary light affliction. And then there was Jeremiah. He was a prophet of the Lord, and he was commanded by God, thrown into Judah's life to preach a message that no one believed and no one obeyed. Nobody repented. For 40 years he would preach, and yet he was rejected. He was thrown into a pit. No one appreciated his message.

In fact, he was told he couldn't marry, and if we were told we couldn't marry, what would we do? But he was told he couldn't get married, and therefore he couldn't have any children. He didn't have a son that could carry on the legacy of being a prophet. He didn't have any of that. He was all alone, and yet he said these words in Jeremiah 15, Thy words were found and I did eat them, and they were the joy and the rejoicing of my heart. He found the opportunity to rejoice in the Scriptures, the truth of the Word of God, the Word that God gave him to speak to Judah.

That's where he found his joy. He couldn't find it in his circumstances, because they were all negative. He couldn't find it in his friends, didn't have any. He couldn't find it in his wife, didn't have one. So what does he do? He rejoices in the Lord by looking at the Scripture, the truth that the Lord gave him. And then, of course, there's Job. He's a famous Old Testament character. Think about Job and all that he went through. You think your life is bad. Just think of Job's life. I mean, he lost everything.

He lost his livestock. He lost his income. He lost his home. He lost all of his family, everyone except his wife. He lost everything. And on top of that, he had all kinds of afflictions. And he never received an explanation for that. He would never be told the reason why. He went through his whole life never knowing why things happened the way they did. And I began to chronicle the things that were taking place in Job's life, outside the fact that he had lost everything. In Job chapter 2, it tells us that he had ulcerous sores all throughout his mouth.

He had persistent itching. He had degenerative change in facial skin and disfiguration. He had a loss of appetite. He had fears and depression. He had sores that would burst open, scab over, crack, and ooze with pus, only to repeat again and again and again. He had worms that would form in the sores themselves. He had difficulty in breathing. He had a darkening of his eyelids. He had foul breath, loss of weight, excruciating and continual pain, high fever with chills, and discoloring of skin, as well as anxiety and diarrhea.

He endured delirium, sleeplessness, rejection of friends, and all of that lasted for months, months. We get sick for two days and we're miserable, right? Job had sickness for months on end. He was relegated to an ash heap, a junkyard, a garbage bin. That's where he had to sit. And no one could comfort him. He had no morphine to take, no Vicodin to take, no Norco to take. He had no meds that could ease the pain in his life. He just lived in constant pain all day and all night for months. And yet this is what he says in Job chapter 2.

Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. He would still find a reason to rejoice. He would still find a reason to be grateful and to be thankful in spite of all that he went through. He had no one to comfort him. He never received an answer as to why things were the way they were. He just had to trust what God said. That's it. When you think of your life and my life and you look back on this year and you anticipate a new year, I wonder how you will respond to your situations.

Will you respond with rejoicing in the Lord always and again I say rejoice? Or will you respond as Paul talks about in Philippians chapter 2 with murmuring and disputing and grumbling? All you gotta do is read 1 Corinthians 10 and realize that God killed 23,000 Israelites simply because they grumbled. Can you imagine if God did that today? There'd be nobody in church today. We'd all be dead. He killed 23,000 Israelites simply because they grumbled. They liked the way that God did what he did. So God says that's it you're dead.

They're gone just like that. You see we we forget that we've been called to obey the commands of God. So we're giving you some principles that will help you. If you haven't noticed by now we're spelling out the word rejoice. If you haven't noticed that yet I don't know what to tell you. But we began way back in the first week of December with this first principle and that is you rejoice because of the reality of his person.

That's Luke chapter 2 verse number 11. When you do you are enabled to revere his identity and ministry. Number two you rejoice because of the eternality of his plan.

That's Galatians 4, 4 and 5. When you rejoice because of the eternality of his plan you are enabled to rest in his sovereignty. Number three the reason you rejoice is because of the joy in his pardon.

And that enables you to refrain from iniquity. The fourth reason is because of the obtainability of peace. That's Luke chapter 2 verse number 14. And because of the opportunity to rejoice over the obtainability of his peace then you are enabled to to radiate his tranquility because you have his peace. And then you rejoice because of the inviolability of his promises that cannot be broken. And that enables you to be able to simply radiate or respond excuse me with his certainty. His certainty that as you know for certain that all his promises will be fulfilled in your life.

Today is point number six. And point number six is this the reason we rejoice is because of the centrality of his prophecy. The centrality of his prophecy. When you rejoice because of the centrality of his prophecy it enables you to relish his veracity, his truthfulness, his faithfulness. The verse for that is Matthew chapter 2 verse number 10. And when they saw the star they rejoiced with great joy. When they saw the star they rejoiced. What about the star caused them to rejoice? The very fact that it was a prophecy given thousands of years earlier in Numbers 24 verse number 17 that was taught to them by their parents because they were taught by Daniel while Daniel was in Babylonian captivity about the fulfillment of the star of Israel Numbers 24 17.

And these stargazers when they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. Why? Because it was the fulfillment of all that was spoken by the prophets. That's why. And that's what caused them to rejoice. When you begin to realize that God foretells the future with precision and perfection it causes you to live a life of rejoicing. Remember what Jesus said in John chapter 5? Speaking to the religious establishment he said these words in verse number 39. You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life but it is these that testify about me.

Me. And you were unwilling to come to me so that you may live. Don't you recognize? You spend all your time searching the scriptures. We we tend to fall into the same category. We have situations that that come into our lives and we search the scriptures to find answers about why things are the way they are. But we miss Christ in our searching. And therefore missing Christ in your searching caused you to miss the blessing and the opportunity to rejoice. Because everything about the scriptures is about Christ.

That's why we told you a couple of weeks ago Paul said I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. Helping them to understand the church of Corinth that the church is not about racial issues, the church is not about social issues, the church is not about political issues, the church is not even about moral issues. The church is only about one issue, one person, Jesus Christ our Lord. That is it. I preach Christ crucified Paul said. He says this Timothy in 2nd Timothy 2.8.

Remember Jesus Christ, descendant of David, risen from the dead, which is according to my gospel. Remember Jesus Timothy in all your pastoral ministry. Don't forget Jesus, the descendant of David, risen from the dead. Why? Because everything about your ministry is around Jesus. Everything about the church is about Jesus. Do people when they come to your church see Jesus? Because they need to see him above everything else. So when the Magi saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy because prophecy had been fulfilled.

Everything they had longed for, waited for, anticipated was now seen before their very eyes and would lead them to that house where Jesus was and they bowed and worshipped him. So important. Remember on the road to Emmaus, and we've reminded you of this several times, Jesus said to those disciples on the road to Emmaus, those very famous words, O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophet has spoken. Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?

Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, he explained to them the things concerning himself. He explained to them himself in all the scriptures because all the scriptures are about Christ. Later with all the disciples, he says, these are my words, which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. It's all about me. So when you read the scriptures and you don't see Jesus, you didn't read them right.

You read them with another agenda. You read them with another purpose in mind. When you open your Bible, you read them to see Christ. So Christ indicts the religious leaders because they search the scriptures, but they missed him. And therefore, because they didn't know who he was, they were unwilling to come to him that they might have life. So when we present to you the truth of the word of God, we are presenting to you the God of truth. And that's why the centrality of prophecy is so important when it comes to rejoicing.

So let me explain to you several reasons why prophecy is important, why prophecy is crucial to your ability to rejoice.

Number one is because prophecy is part of the whole counsel of God. Remember in Acts chapter 20 verse number 27, when Paul was talking to the Ephesian elders, he'd been with him for three years and he was departing, he was leaving. He said to them, I did not shrink back in declaring to you the whole counsel of God. In other words, I gave you the whole kit and caboodle. I gave you everything because I wanted you to understand it. You see, prophecy is at the minimum 30% of the Bible. So you just don't need 70% of God's counsel.

You need 100% of God's counsel. You don't want to pick and choose. That's why Christ said, you didn't believe all that was said about me or all things that were explained about me. So let me go back and review it for you.

So you understand that everything is about me. Everything about prophecy and my coming was fulfilled in me. You need to see this. Why? Because that enables you to live for the glory and honor of God and to relish his veracity. That God is the God of truth. What he says is going to come out comes about exactly as he said. And therefore I can trust him in all that he says because he never lies. He never deceives. He never reneges. He's the God of truth. And so it's all part of the counsel of God. That's why so many times throughout the years, we've spent our Wednesday evenings looking at the Old Testament.

On Sunday mornings, we're in the New Testament. In fact, the only time we were not in the New Testament on Sunday morning was when we did the book of Genesis. And then we were in Revelation on Wednesday nights. There's always a Old Testament and a New Testament study. Why? Because you need to have the whole counsel of God. You need to know that Christianity comes from Judaism. Judaism is the root and Christianity is the fruit. Christianity is the fruit of Judaism. So what did the Jews believe? How did they live their lives?

What did they miss in connecting the dots to the arrival of the Messiah? And how can we not miss the second coming of the Messiah based on the connection of similar dots?

And so you begin to realize that it's so important to study prophecy because it's part of the whole counsel of God. That's what he told you a couple of weeks ago. Christ Community Church is about teaching the holy truth all the time. The whole truth is wholly taught at Christ Community Church. Not just parts of the truth. All of it's taught. Because really we don't want you to miss anything that the Bible says.

And so the reason prophecy is important and the centrality of prophecy caused you to rejoice is because it's part of the counsel, the whole counsel of God. Number two is because it punctuates the integrity of Scripture.

Prophecy punctuates the integrity of Scripture. So when the Bible says that Jesus is the descendant of Abraham and the tribe of Judah, I know that because of the book of Genesis, the 12th chapter and the 49th chapter.

When the Bible says that Jesus is from the lineage of David, I know that because of Isaiah chapter 9 verse number 7.

When the Bible says that Jesus was going to be born in Bethlehem, I know that because of Micah 5 verse number 2.

When the Bible says his name was going to be called Emmanuel, he'd be born of a virgin, I know that because of Isaiah 7 14.

All that happened is exactly as he said. He based his ministry in Galilee, he spoke in parables and did wonders among men simply because it was prophesied in Isaiah 9 6 and 61. He was betrayed, pierced through for our transgressions, crucified with criminals, buried in a rich man's tomb, rose again, all that in Isaiah 53 and the book of Zechariah. What it does is tells me that what God says is absolute truth, so it punctuates the integrity of scripture.

Fulfilled prophecy is enormous proof of the integrity of God's words because it's fulfilled exactly as he said, therefore I can trust him in all that he says. Number three, not only is prophecy part of the whole counsel of God and punctuates the integrity of the scriptures, it portrays the sovereignty and supremacy of God.

Prophecy portrays the sovereignty and supremacy of God. How do you get a 13 year old pregnant girl to move 80 miles in the nine month of her pregnancy from Nazareth to Bethlehem? How do you do that? They just weren't going to get up and move to Bethlehem. How was God going to move them from Nazareth to Bethlehem? He would take the most powerful man in the world, ruler of the Roman empire, Caesar Augustus, to issue a decree and upon issuing that decree he would require Mary and Joseph to move from Nazareth to Bethlehem to register for the census because they were from that city.

God moved in the mind and heart of the most powerful man on the planet to enact a census and when that census was enacted we don't know exactly when that date was because it had to go hundreds of miles from Rome to Bethlehem and to Nazareth so people would get the word that this was going to take place. He might have issued it a year earlier. It just happened to come to Mary and Joseph during the ninth month of her pregnancy. Think about the trip. That's not an easy trip. She's not in the back of a minivan watching Hallmark Christmas movies sipping on her Starbucks Frappuccino on her way from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

I don't know how she got there. Maybe she's on the back side of a donkey. Maybe she was walking. Maybe she was in a carriage. We don't know exactly how they got there but it couldn't have been an easy trip. That's a hard trip and when you're great with child the last thing you want to do is make an 80 mile journey traveling approximately 12 to 15 miles a day max. It's a long journey but God was going to move them because the prophecy was that he'd be born in Bethlehem of Judea not Nazareth. So God moved them.

See the fulfillment of prophecy is so important to understanding why you rejoice. God moves literally heaven and earth to accomplish his purposes. Remember back in Isaiah chapter 45. Isaiah 45 says this verse uh sorry 44 verse number 28. It is I who says of Cyrus he is my shepherd. Who's Cyrus? It's a hundred years before Cyrus is born and God says Cyrus is my shepherd.

Why? And he will perform all my desire. There's going to be a pagan king of Medo-Persia who's going to perform all my desires. He is my shepherd. Not only is he my shepherd. Chapter 45 verse number one says thus says the Lord God to Cyrus his anointed or his messiah.

God calls Cyrus his messiah because this pagan king was going to enact the deliverance of Israel from Babylonian captivity to go back to Jerusalem. 150 years from the date of Isaiah chapter 45. See that? God's in charge. He's in control. He says thus says the Lord to Cyrus his anointed whom I have taken by the right hand. Isn't that great? I've taken the pagan king by the right hand. By the right hand and he's only going to do what God allows him to do or what God tells him to do. Right? Joe Biden only did what God allowed him to do or what God told him to do because he's in charge.

Same will be with Donald Trump. Same will be with the next president. Same with the prime minister of Canada. Same with the president of any other country or king of any other country. I'm going to take them by the right hand and they're going to do exactly what I tell them to do. Oh, by the way, the king, I mean the Lord, the king of Israel takes your boss by the right hand to your coach, your spouse. He's in charge of them too. He controls everything. He says, I'll take him by the right hand to subdue nations before him and to loose the loins of kings to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut.

I'm going to tell you exactly what I'm going to do with Cyrus 150 years before he ever does it just to let you know that I'm in control of your captivity in Babylon and your release of that captivity and going back to Jerusalem. So God operates. God's in charge. And so when you understand prophecy and the centerpiece of prophecy who is Jesus Christ, right? God says, I'm doing this so the whole world would know that I am the Lord.

So the whole world would know that I'm God. I want everybody to know that I'm in charge. I don't want anybody to get the idea that they're in charge because they're not. So 150 years before all this happens, I'm gonna let you know exactly how it's going to happen. I'm going to give you the name of the guy I've chosen to do this. That's how God operates. You read that and you think, wow, I can just read history. I can just read the book of Daniel and Ezekiel. God did exactly what he said he was going to do.

Sure enough, Cyrus rose up, the leader of the Medo-Persian empire, and they captured Babylon. And Cyrus did exactly what God ordained him to do. God is just amazing. That's why prophecy is so important to your ability to know how to rejoice. Simply because prophecy is that, which not only is part of the counsel, the whole counsel of God, that punctuates the integrity of scripture, but it portrays the sovereignty and supremacy of God. He is over everything, in charge of everything. Number four, if you're counting, prophecy points to the goodness of God.

Prophecy points to the goodness of God. Prophecy was all about redemption, the plan of redemption, the coming of the king, the rulership of the king. Paul would say in Romans 2,4 that it's the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. We deserve hell. We're sinners, born sinners. We're not sinners because we sin. We're born sinners. We're born in sin. David said, in sin did my mother conceive me. We need a savior. In his goodness, he provided the way for man to be saved. It was part of his redemptive plan.

And so therefore, it's all about his goodness. That's why when the angels came, they said, we bring you good news of great joy. What's the good news? A savior has been born this day in the city of David. Everything that was prophesied is now coming to be, exactly as it was stated in the Old Testament. This is the good news that brings great joy because it's the fulfillment of prophecy. And when you see prophecy fulfilled, it causes you to have great joy. Number five, prophecy provides hope for the hopeless.

Prophecy provides hope for the hopeless. In a world filled with sin, wars, rumors of wars, disease, political upheaval, economic devastation, divorce, abusive relationships, where will anybody find hope? Hope only comes to Christ. 1 Timothy 1, Christ is our hope. Romans 15, 13, God is called the God of hope. And we, as Christians, are looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. That is 2.13. The hope is found only in Christ. It's rooted in God. And that hope that's rooted in God is only received by grace.

That's 2 Thessalonians 2.16. And the hope that's received by grace is only reinforced by the Word of God. Romans 15, verse number four, Paul says, these things are written that through the perseverance and encouragement of Scripture, you might have hope. Scripture reinforces hope. And so you go back and you read the Old Testament, you realize what God did, how he protected people, how he fulfilled promises, how he was able to show himself faithful over and over again. And you get encouraged by that.

It gives you hope, hope for the future. Because God keeps his Word. And that hope that's rooted in God and received by grace and reinforced by Scripture is reaffirmed, reaffirmed by the Holy Spirit and reproduces joy. Romans 15, verse number 13 says, when it says these words, now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace and believing that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Hope is the anticipation of what God who cannot lie is promised. Hope is absolute surety in the life of the believer.

And therefore prophecy provides hope for the hopeless. Why? Because we know what's going to happen in the end. We know the end. People always talk to me, you know, they say, you know, how it all ends really doesn't matter, okay? Whether you're pre-trib, post-trib, mid-trib, whether you're pre-mill, post-mill, all-mill, it doesn't really matter. It's all going to pan out in the end. It does matter. If it doesn't matter, the Lord would have never told us the end. Right? If it doesn't matter, who cares about the end?

It's all going to work out. Don't worry about it. No. He spelled out the end. Very particular about the end. So you know how it all comes about. He wants you to know that's your blessed hope. That's what you look forward to. That's what you anticipate. See? So you live in light of that anticipation, knowing that the Lord's going to come again, just as he promised. He'll come the first time, just like he said.

He'll come the second time, just like he said. For every time the first coming is mentioned once, the second coming is mentioned eight times.

For every time the atonement is mentioned once, the second coming is mentioned twice. Why? Because the Lord wants you to know he's coming again. He's coming again. And you need to know what's going to happen at the end. That's why prophecy provides hope for the helpless. Number six, it promotes holy living. Do you know prophecy promotes holy living? First John 3 tells us, he who has this hope in him purifies himself, even as he himself is pure.

It's all based on the second coming. In 2 Peter chapter 3, it talks about how the heaven and earth are going to pass away, and the elements are going to burn with fervent heat. And then Peter says, what manner of people ought you to be in holy conduct, in blameless living, in spotless living? Think about it this way, okay? Let's draw it down to practical terms. You're all going to understand this. Joseph and Mary are betrothed. They were pure. That's why Joseph wanted to divorce Mary when he found out she was pregnant.

But she was pregnant because of the supernatural power of the Spirit of God. So Mary's now pregnant, right? They have nine months that they can have sex without her getting pregnant because she's already pregnant. What would keep Joseph and Mary from not having sex? They were righteous and pure people. And they lived in anticipation of the arrival of the Messiah. I mean, think about it this way. People today would not even think twice about sleeping together and having sex together if the person was pregnant.

The person was already pregnant, but not Mary and Joseph. They were devout, righteous people. The Bible says he kept her a virgin until they were married because he anticipated the arrival of the Messiah.

How about Simeon? It says he was a devout and righteous man. Why? Because he was looking for the consolation of Israel. He was anticipating the arrival of the Messiah so he could live a devout and righteous life because he didn't know when the Messiah was going to come. He could come at any moment. He just had this promise, you will not die until you see the Lord's Messiah. So every day he went to the temple, he'd think, is this the day? Is this the day? Maybe it's tomorrow, not today. What day is it?

So he just kept going to the temple day after day after day after day living in anticipation of the consolation of Israel. That's what motivated him to live a pure and holy life. And therefore, prophecy is that which promotes holy, godly living. How many times have we said it? And I'll say it probably a thousand more times before I die. Maybe a million times before I die. The clearer you see the future, the cleaner you stand in the present. I'm going to stick with that to the day I die. That's the life of Daniel.

Daniel was a righteous, holy man. He was a devout man. He lived a pure and holy life. Why? Because he clearly saw the future. It's recorded in the book of Daniel. And those who clearly see the future can cleanly stand in the present. If you don't see the future, if you don't understand the future, you don't care about the future, then you're more apt to sin in the present. Because everything about the future is the coming of Christ. He could come at any moment. Which leads to our next point, and that is it protects from false teaching.

Prophecy protects from false teaching. Over in Matthew chapter 24, Christ says these words. Matthew chapter 24, verse number 5, he says, for many will come in my name saying I am the Christ and will mislead many. Verse 11 of that same chapter, many false prophets will arise and will mislead many because lawlessness is increased. Most people's love will grow cold. Verse 24, for false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders so as to mislead if possible even the elect.

Behold I have told you in advance. Christ says during the last days there will be many people seeking to mislead you.

Therefore you need to understand the end. Need to understand prophecy. Need to understand how to be protected from false teaching. Many books will be written. Many movies will be made. Many preachers will preach all kinds of things about the coming of Christ and the dating of his coming. All those things. But you need to know what the Bible says.

Because it will protect you from false teaching and being led astray. And Paul would speak a lot about that in 2 Peter and in 2 Timothy. Because he was concerned about people being moved away from the truth and knowing the truth. And prophecy protects from false teaching. Number 8, prophecy prepares you for last days living. It prepares you for last days living. In Mark 13 Christ says this.

Verse 33, take heed, keep on the alert for you do not know when the appointed time will come. It is like a man away on a journey who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. Therefore be on the alert for you do not know when the master of the house is coming. Whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows or in the morning, in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep. What I say to you, I say to all, be on the alert.

Be vigilant. Be sober minded. Be awake. Why? Because it prepares you to live a godly life until he comes again. It helps you understand the importance of living for the glory of the Lord. Number 9, it produces guidance for daily living. It produces guidance. Not only does it prepare you for last days, it propels guidance for daily living. Read the book of Revelation, Revelation 2 and 3. In the letters to the seven churches, the same phrase is repeated seven times. He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Why? Because you need to know how to live before Jesus comes again. And so if you want to elevate your perspective, if you want to energize your walk, if you want to encourage your attitude, study prophecy. And lastly, number 10, prophecy propels my evangelistic efforts. It propels my evangelistic efforts. Knowing the terror of the Lord, Paul said, we persuade men. Jesus is coming again. And upon his coming again, he will reward those who follow him and believe him, but he will judge those who do not.

In fact, he will deal out retribution on those, according to 2 Thessalonians 1.8, who do not know God and who do not obey the gospel of God. So prophecy, knowing that Jesus could come at any moment, propels all my evangelistic efforts to help people see that Jesus is coming again. The centrality of prophecy, what it does is that it enables me to relish in the veracity of God's Word. Everything he said is true, happened just like he said it was going to happen. So I trust him. I believe him explicitly.

Why? Because everything he said about his first coming was true, that everything he says about his second coming is true.

How about you? Do you understand prophecy? Do you study the whole counsel of God? Do you recognize what it does for you as an individual? My prayer for you and for me is that as we embark on a new year, we truly would understand how we could rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say, rejoice. Let's pray together. Father, thank you, Lord, for this opportunity you've given to us. It's a brief moment in time, but yet, Lord, it's important for us to understand your Word. My prayer, Lord, for all of us, Lord, as we go through this year, this new year, that, Lord, our perspective would be upward and not downward.

Our perspective would be on the coming of our King, who could come at any moment. And we live in anticipation of that and how it produces in us a desire to tell others about Christ and to live a pure and holy life for the glory of your kingdom. So, I pray for all those who are here today that you do a mighty work in their heart and life, cause them to rejoice daily, moment by moment, in their Lord, their God, the Creator, the Maker, Jesus Christ. In your name we pray. Amen.