[0:00] Well, in Philippians 3.8, Paul wrote, Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
[0:14] I mean, that's no insignificant statement that Paul makes and that we have in the Scriptures. Prior to that, he had just listed numerous accomplishments he had in his life, his pedigrees that he had that really elevated him to the position of high status among the people of his day.
[0:34] But after he heard the Gospel probably numerous times, been confronted actually by Jesus Christ, by God's grace and through faith in Christ, he became a new creation in Christ.
[0:49] What he once considered of highest value for him, he now considered it as rubbish in comparison to knowing Christ Jesus as Lord.
[1:02] Well, after such a soul transformation, his desire was to know Christ Jesus more. You see that in Philippians 3.10.
[1:14] He writes, That I may know him and the power of his resurrection and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.
[1:24] Again, what a transformation in this man's life, persecuting those who would give testimony like this. He now was considering it something that he needed to pursue, that he wanted more and more, even to share and participate in the sufferings of Christ.
[1:44] There is a link between appropriating the righteousness from God by faith in Jesus Christ and really the longing to know him more.
[1:55] As I shared on the screen prior to class, that, quote, the faith appropriation of the righteousness which is from God and contemplation upon this fact, the fact that I didn't have to work and try and obtain a righteousness of my own, but it's provided by faith in Jesus Christ.
[2:19] Everything that I need, the contemplation of that calls forth the ardent yearning that I may get to know Christ better and better.
[2:31] The individual has gotten a taste of what it is like to know Christ, that which was distasteful to him prior by faith in Jesus Christ, obtaining this righteousness from God by faith in Jesus Christ.
[2:50] He's a new creature. He's got new desires, new yearnings, and now he's yearning to know Christ more and more. Give me another taste of that.
[3:00] We know what it's like. We taste something good at the table and you're full, but maybe just one more piece. Give me another taste. And we want that.
[3:11] And that's the way it is with knowing Jesus Christ. Once we've tasted, we want to know him more and more. Well, this is why we've entered into this study on Jesus Christ and seven key qualities of his identity in ministry in the past weeks.
[3:28] We've seen him as the promised seed of the woman that crushed the head of the serpent, Satan, through his death on the cross. And we've seen him as the true prophet of God.
[3:41] There are many prophets that came before Jesus Christ that spoke of this one that was to come. And finally, Jesus did come. He was that true prophet of God.
[3:52] We saw him as the great high priest, all kinds of high priests in the past. But Jesus Christ being the one who was superior to all of them in who he was, certainly, and in the sacrifice that he offered, which was himself.
[4:10] Sufficient sacrifice, not to just cover sin for a time, but to remove it completely and to take it away. And then we saw him as the conquering king and this morning as the son of man.
[4:26] As Jesus is both God and man, in the Bible we see these titles, the son of God, that designate his deity and son of man that speaks of his humanity.
[4:41] And when he is called the son of man, there really is much more indicated in that title that goes beyond just his humanity. And that's what we want to take a look at this morning.
[4:53] It was a term, a title, that Jesus used most often when he was referring to himself. Used over 80 times in the Gospels and only Jesus uses it in reference to himself.
[5:11] You can search that out. That in itself is an interesting statement and observation. It's believed that Jesus drew this title, Son of Man, from the vision that God gave Daniel recorded in Daniel 7.
[5:26] And it's there that God, through Daniel, reveals, as Daniel states it, one like a son of man. One who presented himself to the Ancient of Days, God the Father.
[5:40] So I want to give you just a bit of an outline of what's going on there in Daniel 7. And you can turn there if you want, but as usual, I'll have verses up on the screen.
[5:53] But first in Daniel 7, verses 2 through 8, we see the rise of the rebellious nations. Now these rebellious nations are presented as four great beasts that rose out of the sea.
[6:06] Each one was different from the other. And these different nations wage war against God and His people throughout the ages. Begg writes that it's a vision version of Genesis 3.15.
[6:22] We took a look at that when we looked at Jesus as the seed of the woman. Remember in Genesis 3.15, God spoke of the enmity that would arise between the offspring of the woman and the offspring of the serpent Satan.
[6:40] Throughout the ages, Satan has worked through ungodly people and nations to rise up against God and His people. Do anything he can to thwart the ongoing progress of God's plan through the ages.
[6:56] But never has God's sovereign rule been in jeopardy as Daniel sees and records in verses 9-10. God's rule over all is firmly established.
[7:09] Sometimes in our lives we think certainly God has lost control but we need to be reassured. God has not lost control as dire as things might seem whether it's in our own individual lives or the world at large.
[7:28] And Daniel writes of the sovereign reign of the Ancient of Days in verses 9-10. He says, As I looked, thrones were placed and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
[7:40] His clothing was white as snow and the hair of his head like pure wool. His throne was fiery flames. Its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him.
[7:52] A thousand thousands served him. And ten thousand times, ten thousand stood before him. The court sat in judgment and the books were opened.
[8:04] So the certainty, the sovereign reign of the Ancient of Days firmly established with thousands and tens of thousands before him.
[8:18] I mean, that's the vision, the understanding that we need to have when we're going through those times and thinking that certainly things are out of control.
[8:30] It's not. God's throne is firmly established. But there is, as Daniel sees in verses 11-12, certain judgment that will come.
[8:44] And Daniel's looking forward in time. In his vision, the victory looks like one single event. But we learn, looking back and looking into the New Testament, while the kingdom of God certainly has already come in Christ, it has not yet been fully consummated.
[9:03] It's not come in its final stage, its complete form. We're in, as we've heard before, in the not yet stage. Again, Begg writes in his book, the coming judgment of evil, evil described by Daniel was inaugurated in the ministry of our Lord Jesus.
[9:20] As he said in John 12-31, now is the judgment of this world. Now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And he writes, he is cast out by Christ's death and resurrection, but he is not yet cast in to the lake of fire.
[9:37] That event is still to come. And at this point in Daniel's vision, Daniel and we are introduced to one like the Son of Man.
[9:50] Verses 13-14, he writes, I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a Son of Man.
[10:01] And he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all people's nations and languages should serve him.
[10:14] His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. So Daniel writes that there came one like a Son of Man.
[10:30] Now Daniel was like other prophets who wrote of things as I said that were to come. But when they wrote they didn't have full comprehension of that which they saw and they wrote about.
[10:47] And that's what Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1.10.11. Concerning this salvation the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the suffering of Christ and the subsequent glories.
[11:12] I don't think Daniel knew completely of the incarnation of Jesus Christ. he didn't know that Jesus the Son of God would come to earth and take on human flesh.
[11:23] He saw and wrote that there came one like a Son of Man. And to this one who was like a Son of Man was given dominion and glory and a kingdom and all people and nations would serve him and his dominion would not pass away and his kingdom will never be destroyed.
[11:43] What a combination that Daniel was seen there one like a Son of Man but also God. Again, we have the advantage of having the full Word of God and can look back on this passage on a passage like this and see the reference to Jesus Christ.
[12:05] And so we begin to see the greater glory in this title Son of Man. It's good that we think of the humility of Jesus Christ.
[12:17] Philippians 2 describes that for us. But we also see in this title something more than just his humanity. The exaltation of him as the Christ, the Messiah, the great Deliverer and King of Kings.
[12:36] But before we go on, there's something else to notice here. that Begg points out in his book. What direction is this one like a Son of Man going to the Ancient of Days?
[12:49] He came to the Ancient of Days. Now when we think of Jesus Christ and His comings, we think of His incarnation coming as an infant.
[13:02] Or we might think of His coming when He will come again to set up His final kingdom. But that's not what we see in Daniel 7.
[13:13] The Son of Man is not coming from the Ancient of Days. He's going to Him. Again, Begg writes, a little lengthier here, the reference to the coming of the Son of Man seems to refer to Jesus' coming to the throne of God following His incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension.
[13:38] This is not Jesus' coming at the end, but at the midpoint of time. He comes to His Father as one who has broken the neck of the powers of darkness, has taken the sting of death, has borne the guilt of sin, has tasted the judgment curse of God, and has risen from the grave.
[14:00] His coming is actually a going to the Ancient of Days, clothed in our humanity, having done all that Adam and we have failed to do, and having taken the judgment Adam and we deserve.
[14:16] So, and after He ascended to the Father, the Ancient of Days, He sat at the place of authority, at the right hand of God. Peter preached this in Acts 2.32 to His message, in His message, He said, this Jesus God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses, being therefore exalted at the right hand of God.
[14:42] He went to the Father, to the Ancient of Days. The writer of Hebrews also, completely persuaded about this, wrote, therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
[15:22] So, there He is in Daniel's words, one like a son of man, in Jesus' words, the son of man, seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
[15:34] And there He receives the glory, the dominion, and the kingdom. And that is where Jesus is seated today. Now, let me turn your attention to the New Testament and see how Jesus revealed Himself on earth to be the one Daniel saw in his vision.
[15:53] John Piper writes, Jesus was very subtle in that He was always opening His identity to those with eyes to see. But He wasn't opening it so blatantly that everybody would come and make Him King.
[16:09] He had to steer a very narrow course in disclosing His identity. Not just openly saying, I'm the Messiah, I'm the King of the world, come and acknowledge me as King.
[16:22] He didn't talk like that. He was quiet, He was subtle, and He would make claims that were explicit in certain settings and implicit in others.
[16:33] And only when the time was right, mainly when He was on trial for His life, and they said, are you the Christ, the Son of the living God, did He say, I am, and you will see the Son of Man coming with great power and glory.
[16:50] So He confessed His open deity right at the point where He knew He would be crucified for it. So subtly, for a time, revealing Himself as this one that Daniel saw in Daniel 7, one like a Son of Man, Jesus using the title Son of Man.
[17:12] So it's in the New Testament that we see how Jesus accomplished really what was necessary during His time on earth in order for Him to eventually ascend to the Father, the Ancient of Days, and receive glory, dominion, and the kingdom, and the right and honor to be seated at the right hand of the throne of God, the Ancient of Days.
[17:34] So I want to divide this next section into three sections and see how Jesus moves throughout His time on the earth and reveals Himself to be that Son of Man, really the only one worthy to receive that glory and dominion and reign as King of the Kingdom of God.
[17:55] So the Son of Man reveals Himself in being the submissive servant. And we see this in His baptism. It's at His baptism that His public ministry begins.
[18:08] John the Baptist had been preparing the way for the manifestation of the Messiah King Jesus, and many people had responded, had believed the message that He had presented, repented, and were baptized.
[18:25] And then Jesus came and presented Himself to John to be baptized. Now John initially hesitated to baptize Jesus. Jesus had never sinned, He had no need to repent and to be baptized, and John said in fact that He was the one who needed to be baptized by Jesus.
[18:47] but Jesus submitted to baptism really to identify with sinful people. He came to save who then would willingly be baptized to be openly identified with Him.
[19:02] Jesus revealing Himself to be the Son of Man. But this occasion was also a time of divine recognition from God upon Jesus.
[19:13] After Jesus was baptized, it's written, Immediately He went up from the water, and behold the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him, and behold a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.
[19:33] Thus this one Jesus, again whom Daniel saw as one like a son of man, was declared by God the Father to be so much more.
[19:44] More than His humanity in that title. And Jesus reveals Himself secondly to be the Son of Man in His wilderness temptation. I think we saw this a few weeks ago, that as Jesus went into the wilderness, He was led there by the Spirit.
[20:03] Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Would Jesus really be worthy as the Son of Man to receive this dominion, this glory, and a kingdom?
[20:18] Well, in the third temptation, Satan tempts Jesus with a different way to acquire the kingdoms. I mean, that was the mission that the Father had Him on and eventually He would receive the kingdoms.
[20:33] Why not take a different path since He was to receive the kingdoms from the Ancient of Days eventually? Well, it's true that He would receive that kingdom, but there was also a divinely appointed path that the Son of Man needed to take in order to acquire the kingdom, but also to bring multitudes with Him who would share in His kingdom.
[21:00] Remember, this is for you and me that the Son of Man is doing this. Taking this path that would eventually lead to the glory, the dominion being seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
[21:20] But He must first take this path that we could not take in and of ourselves. So with all authority, Jesus, the Son of Man, rebuked Satan and Satan retreated until another opportune time of testing and temptation.
[21:40] So after His baptism and then His temptation in the wilderness, Jesus begins to move on in His public ministry and His teaching and the way He served the people.
[21:53] He who would receive this kingdom from the ancient of days did reveal Himself more in His teaching and His service. Matthew 4.17 From that time, Jesus began to preach, saying repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
[22:11] Indeed, it was at hand in Jesus being there as the king. And then there was the eventual kingdom that would come as well. He also taught how distinctively different the members of His kingdom were to live.
[22:27] As He began that Sermon on the Mount, and of course we saw much of that in our study on the biblical paradoxes of Beatitudes. Then accompanying His teaching were His displays of divine kingly power.
[22:42] He miraculously heals the sick, feeds the hungry, casts out demons, commands the stormy winds and the waves to cease, forgives sins, raises the dead to life.
[22:56] Jesus is putting on display His power to make all things new. Alistair Begg again writes, they point to the final regeneration and resurrection of the cosmos that the Lord Jesus Christ will bring in at the end when He makes all things new.
[23:17] This final kingdom which will be on display then has erupted in His ministry and is already visible in His victory over the powers of darkness and His reversal of the effects of sin.
[23:31] they pointed to His identity as the Son of Man who is establishing His kingdom in the world and showing its power. I like the way that He worded that.
[23:43] It's erupting in His ministry. These displays of the majesty, the glory, the power of Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, beginning this process of making all things new.
[24:02] And many of the people were indeed ready to make Him king, but the divine plan followed a different path for the Son of Man that He needed to take.
[24:13] He would need to reveal Himself next as the suffering Savior. We'll look at this more next week, but it certainly fits here as well.
[24:24] It would be through the Son of Man sacrifice Himself on behalf of sinners that the ancient of days would see and declare Him as worthy to receive glory and dominion and a kingdom.
[24:35] Throughout His ministry, Jesus, the Son of Man, revealed this path that He would need to take to people. In Mark 8.31, Jesus was with His disciples on their way to Caesarea Philippi, and we read, And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and after three days rise again.
[25:04] This was the interlude that they didn't see and they didn't understand. Isn't this the time? Is this the time that you're going to set up your kingdom?
[25:16] But He, the Son of Man, understood the path that He needed to take. He was beginning to reveal this to His disciples. Matthew 20, 17-19, on their way up to Jerusalem, He took them aside and said to them, See, we're going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and He will be raised on the third day.
[25:50] Interesting that right after that, James and John and their mother came to Jesus and requested that they would sit at His right hand and left hand in Jesus' glory. You know, they missed it, and Jesus helping them understand, you think you're able to drink this cup?
[26:07] Yeah, we can. Of course, we understand that when it came time for Him to drink that cup, they were all gone. So they weren't fully understanding this path that the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, would need to take and was willing to take.
[26:29] And then Matthew 20, 26 through 28, when Jesus was teaching His disciples about how their motivation and manner of servants was to be different from the Gentile rulers who seek for self-glory, He taught them that whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.
[27:02] So over and over again, beginning to reveal a little bit more of what the path was that He needed to take before going to the Ancient of Days.
[27:15] Of course, not only did He teach of that path, but He did indeed walk that path. In all four Gospels we read of His trial and His crucifixion.
[27:27] One interesting exchange between the people and Jesus is in Luke 22. It says, Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking Him as they beat Him.
[27:40] They also blindfolded Him and kept asking Him, Prophesy, who is it that struck you? And they said many other things against Him, blaspheming Him.
[27:51] One day came the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes, and they led Him away to their council, and they said, If you are the Christ, tell us.
[28:05] But He said to them, If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.
[28:18] Jesus is saying that He is the Son of Man Daniel saw in his vision. He, the Son of Man, to whom the Ancient of Days will give dominion, glory, and a kingdom.
[28:33] He's nearing the end of the path he needed to take before going to the Ancient of Days that we read about in Daniel 7, that Daniel had a vision of so many, many years prior.
[28:45] and he did indeed took that path. He, the righteous, innocent Son of Man, treated as guilty.
[28:57] Alistair Begg points out in his book that on five occasions, Jesus is examined by different ones and then pronounced innocent. But he was still condemned and crucified.
[29:11] He was condemned and crucified, not for his own crimes, for he had not done any, but for those of sinners, like us.
[29:23] As it is written in Isaiah 53, that he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all.
[29:38] And Paul wrote about it in 2 Corinthians 5.21. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
[29:52] And as Jesus hung on that cross, after he had received the full punishment of our sins, he said, it is finished. Wow! What a statement!
[30:04] Because we're again understanding this as Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, being the Son of Man, following that path that he needed to take prior to going to the Ancient of Days.
[30:22] He revealed himself, the Son of Man, as the suffering Savior. His body was taken down, of course, from the cross, laid in the grave three days later. The Father raised Jesus from the dead.
[30:34] For the next 40 days he appeared to his disciples and many others. And then we pick up the narrative in Acts 1 where Jesus was with his disciples and he said, so, when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?
[30:52] He said to them, it's not for you to know times or seasons that the Father is fixed by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.
[31:05] And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight.
[31:21] So having accomplished the work that the Father had sent him to do, we know from Daniel, in this passage now, that he went to the Ancient of Days, the Father, and was exalted to the position of being seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
[31:40] And this brings us to our third section where we see the Son of Man being received as sovereign ruler of the kingdom of God. He's the triumphant Son of Man who's presently, sovereignly, overseeing and conducting the ongoing progress of the kingdom of God.
[32:02] It's growing as the Holy Spirit works through faithful subjects who are members of the kingdom of God. From those who are here this morning who have professed faith in Jesus Christ, the King is seated at the right hand of the throne of God and we are here as His ambassadors, His representatives, carrying on the work that needs to be done before He comes again.
[32:31] They proclaim, we proclaim the King and His message to the nations as we live all of life for the glory of God. As Jesus was doing as He was on the earth, now we do, we do all things that please the Father.
[32:46] That was His ambition when He was here, to speak those things that the Father had given Him to speak. We know the verse, 1 Corinthians, 10.31, so whether you eat or drink, whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
[33:01] Whether you're at home with your family, you're at work, in church, your neighborhood, that's our ambition now. 1 Thessalonians 2.12, the verse that we took a look at a few weeks ago as well, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
[33:29] I trust, yeah, we're looking at our humanity, but we also need to remember our divine identity in Christ Jesus, in being united to Jesus Christ.
[33:42] We now have this mission to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls us into His own kingdom and glory. glory. That is what we're moving toward, but we get to enjoy a measure of that now, as we're waiting.
[34:03] But we also proclaim the King's message of repentance. Certainly, we live all of life for the glory of God, but we also need to be proclaiming His message, this message of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ to those certainly who are outside the kingdom yet.
[34:22] Before Jesus ascended to go to the Father, He spoke to His disciples and said, and you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and to the end of the earth.
[34:40] And then again, a familiar passage in Matthew 28, Jesus came and said to them, all authority in the heaven and earth has been given to me. Does that make more sense now?
[34:51] As Daniel saw that, he was going to the ancient of days and he was received and given glory and dominion and a kingdom, which Jesus is talking about here.
[35:02] All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. It was His. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you.
[35:18] And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. So we take this message, as John the Baptist brought the message prior to Jesus coming, we take the message now after He has ascended to the Father, to those who are not yet in the kingdom of God who need to hear this message desperately.
[35:41] But we also take the message to those who are members of the kingdom. We don't set aside this good news of the gospel after we become saved and enter the kingdom of God.
[35:51] We need the reminder of all that's been accomplished through Jesus Christ and all that is ours now in being united to this one Jesus who is seated at the right hand of God.
[36:04] So we would not become weary and discouraged and downhearted as we're waiting. Remember the Son of Man and where He is.
[36:14] God's Word. Well, we have pastors to teach us God's Word. It said in 1 Timothy 4, Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.
[36:28] Paul encouraging them, continue on. The message that needs to be preached and taught and presented to the people who are God's people. But not just pastors, but we with one another, members serving one another.
[36:47] Just one passage. I mean, there's many one another commands and exhortations for us to serve one another. Just one. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped.
[37:08] When each part is working properly, making the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. And so the progress and the growth of the kingdom of God continues under the wise oversight of the Son of Man, Jesus.
[37:24] And those who presently participate in this kingdom wait patiently. As again, Alistair Begg writes, for the time when the triumph of the Son of Man will be visible everywhere.
[37:38] That's what we wait for. We're giving little snippets of light of what the kingdom will eventually look like. Even as we come together here this morning, I mean, this is just a snippet of what eternity will look like.
[37:54] And God's people are gathered together and exalting and praising Him. I trust that it might add a little bit more oomph to our worship and praise this morning as we sing and praise Him.
[38:09] Enjoy now in a little bit what we'll enjoy in its fullness. Well, the King and His kingdom will be revealed in its fullness.
[38:20] John wrote about this in Revelation 21. We read, Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more.
[38:30] And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.
[38:45] He will dwell with them. And they will be His people. And God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more.
[38:58] Neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore. For the former things have passed away. The Son of Man, Jesus, will one day dwell with His people in His kingdom and remade heaven and earth.
[39:13] Are you ready for that day? Jesus taught about that day and He said, Therefore, you also must be ready.
[39:24] For the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. It's not something we can put off. I'm not quite ready. That is a fact when you say that.
[39:37] I'm not ready. You're right. You are not ready. If you're here without Jesus Christ this morning, the exhortation is to get ready.
[39:48] And we're declaring this message this morning as a reminder, if you're not ready, it's time to get ready. For we don't know when He will come again.
[40:01] Well, to be ready, one must repent. Believe on this Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Confess Him as Lord. The one that comes to Jesus in that way, Jesus says, I'll never cast Him out.
[40:14] We also read in the Scriptures that nothing can separate that individual from the love of God in Christ Jesus. But, for those who are not ready, who have refused to repent and confess Jesus as Lord, it's also recorded in Matthew 25 that on that day, Jesus will say to them, depart from me.
[40:38] You cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Don't let that day catch you not ready. Jesus, the Son of Man, said, For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
[41:00] For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Let's praise God for the Son of Man and what He has done that we could have such a possession of Christ Jesus and be part of His kingdom.
[41:18] Let's praise. Heavenly Father, we stand amazed at what You've done. It goes beyond our human comprehension but again, by Your Spirit, You've enabled so many to see and to understand that which was distasteful to us before but now is precious because we see one like a Son of Man as Jesus Christ, the Son of Man and all that He did so that we could know Him and be part of His kingdom now but in that which is to come as well.
[41:59] I pray that as we move from this service to the next, our voices would be raised with a great exaltation of Jesus Christ and are singing the Word of God as it's presented and as we hear it and receive it.
[42:15] We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you.