The Passover: Covenant of Eternal Life II

All the thoughts that Jesus had on the cross prophesied in Psalm 22!

Fred R. Coulter—March 16, 2024

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News: It's important we keep up on it.

The Government Launches Holy War on Pastor for Holding Services in His Home

This tells you where everything is going. The same way with the Department of Education coming out of Washington. They want to bring all of the 'woke satanism' into everyone's life.

Anti-Christian Violence Expected to Explode If Trump Wins Election

Very likely!

Here's something very few people understood: When the churches came out for taking the COVID-19 Vax, how many knew that the government came to the church leaders and asked them to tell the people to get the vaccinations? And guess what they did? They gave the churches tax money! So, this shows you how corrupt it's going to be!

Now then, let's look at Haiti. A lot of people don't understand why Haiti is going through this again. I'll tell you from God's perspective why all of this is going on in Haiti, and it's nothing but savagery, death, cannibalism, rebellion! And that's what they want to bring to America!

• Do you get that?
• Why does it happen in Haiti? Because that is the worst place in the world for:
• satanism
• demonism
• open Satan worship
• every kind of perverted sex
• murder
• oppression

and now with what's going on

• cannibalism

When you look at the things in the world news, don't look at it from the superficial point of view of what's happening. Ask:

• Why is it happening from God's point of view?
• What is God doing in bringing that?

He doesn't just allow, He brings! You need to understand that, and if you don't believe that, you don't know how to read the book of Revelation.

Now here's another one. Wells Fargo has cut off people's bank accounts because of their beliefs!

Remember what we've said about A.I. and I'll have a whole lot more to say about A.I. But I'll tell you this. Some of the leaders in UCG are looking for A.I. to help them with making messages!

Let me tell you one thing. IF the ministers can't make messages because they believe God and use the Holy Spirit of God, THEN you're turning to a device of Satan the devil, to help you bring your messages. What do you suppose that will eventually end up being?

Remember, Satan always starts out by giving you a benefit that what you are doing you think is right.

Now let me bring you something else that's important for us to understand. This is one that I gave to Kip Johnson and he used it in his course that he's taking on church history. He learned a lot from this. Now then, when I get done with this, we're going to understand something very important.

This is called The Bible Track Series Supplement, edited by W.C. Long. This one is The City of the Great King—that is the coming of Christ and setting up the Kingdom of God on the earth—by Ida Dickinson, St. Louis, Missouri. The Bible Track Series is a monthly publication devoted to the investigation of             Biblical Truth—Church of God, Seventh Day, Stanberry, Missouri.

Remember how Herbert Armstrong always said the Church of God Seventh Day was the dead Church of Sardis. Well, they actually had more members than Worldwide Church of God. That doesn't sound very dead.

When was this published? 1899! Here it is. I read the whole thing and it's well done. It is accurate and according to Scriptures and proves what I've been saying all along for all of you 'Herbert Armstrong idolaters,' that Herbert Armstrong got 95% of what he taught from the Church of God Seventh Day.

That doesn't mean that we can't grow in grace and knowledge as we go along, because we do! But what was happening in 1899 that they could look at that and ask: Wonder what's going to happen? There was the Mexican-American War!

We took over the Philippines and we took over some of the islands down there near Cuba. Teddy Roosevelt, before he was president, went down with the American troops as part of the militia to get rid of the ones down there in Cuba.

Remember this: In every single generation down through time, from the time of Christ down to the end-time that we're in today, there were always circumstances that looked like it was close to the Second Coming!

I saw a special last night on Venice.

• Guess what happened during the Crusades because they were rich and  they financed the Crusades?
• What were the Crusades for? To take back the Holy Land in Jerusalem from the Muslims!
• How long has that been going on? A long time!

So, what we need to understand is this: We cannot put any man above Jesus Christ!

When people say, if Herbert Armstrong didn't teach it, then it shouldn't be taught, that statement presumes he was perfect in understanding. He was not! In his last 19 years, think of this, Loma, his wife, died in 67. He died in 86. Is that 19 years? He was preaching a false gospel of an 'unseen hand from someplace' that's going to save the world. But they were getting in to see the leaders because they gave them a lot of cash to get in. And in the last two years of Herbert's life, he confessed it.

Now then, if you go to my resignation sermon—Repentance and Resignation: Day of Atonement 1979—you will see one of the main points that I brought out was that you can't go to the world leaders and preach a false gospel and spend the money of God to give to them to build their memorials.

That's not preaching the Gospel of Christ. What was the penalty for that as well as gross sin and all of the profligate conduct of his son Garner Ted? The Worldwide Church of God no longer exists!The three colleges are gone. Everything that the Church had in property in Pasadena is gone! The campus they had in Texas in Big Sandy is gone! What they had in Bricket Wood, it is gone!

So, the hand of God has scattered to Church so that all the brethren, all of us together will learn that:

• we must come to God His Way
• we must preach the Word and teach the Word of God His Way

He expects us to do it, led by His Spirit and with:

• conviction
• truth
• understanding

So, I'm going to mention right here, all of the elders who are speaking, they're improving as they go. However, every single one of them need to improve on their speaking. Because if you do not, and if all of the elders do not apply themselves, as well as the members. After I go, there will no longer be a Christian Biblical Church of God!

God is not going to tolerate any foolishness, carnality, stupidity, lack of real devotion and preaching the Word of God from the heart with conviction, not just reading a message.

We have to read the Scriptures, that's true, but there has to be within our heart and in our mind and in our consciousness as servants and ministers of God to preach the Word of God. It's the most important thing in the world!

• Do we grasp that?
• Do we understand that?

If we don't, when the times get really bad—and they're going to get bad—we don't know how bad, but look at Haiti as the extreme worst.

Some parts of New York City are coming close right now to that kind of thing. If you saw the news last night about the fight in the subway, where someone trying to protect himself from being assaulted and killed, stabbed the assailant in the back and he is charged with a crime.

We need to understand the days that we're in. We need to realize it's not the time to 'play church tiddlywinks.' It's the time that we understand our calling of God because our necks are going to be on the line.

• IFwe don't have the Spirit of God
• IFwe don't have the conviction of God
• IFwe don't love the Truth of God
• IFwe don't stand for the Truth of God

THEN who is going to do it?

Now then, let's understand that things are not getting better. There may be a slight improvement economically, but we know this. IF…

All of the Protestant ministers, every single one of them right down the line, all the Sunday- keepers and Franklin Graham's little 'tinkle-toe' prayer is the greatest hoax on the world. So, here's what God says.

Jeremiah 7:1: "The Word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying…"

These are God's words! Now we can take these words and we can apply them to many situations:

• apply it to the world
• apply it to this nation
• apply it to what happened to the Worldwide Church of God

Because everyone thought that IFthey were in the Worldwide Church of God and that they were faithful in paying all of their money to the Church, THEN they would go to a place of safety.

• Isn't that what was taught?
• Well, didn't work out, did it?

Jeremiah was told, v 2: "Stand in the gate of the LORD'S house, and proclaim there this Word…"

That's what we need to do every Sabbath! Proclaim the Word of God:

• with understanding
• with power
• with conviction
• with truth
• with honesty

and keeping up with the things that are going on!

"…and say, 'Hear the Word of the LORD, all Judah, who enter in at these gates to worship the LORD'" (v 2).

• What's being done over there in the Middle East right now? All the things in preparation for the third temple!
• What's going to happen when that temple is finished?

By the way, they are having high-level machines that are scanning deep into the earth and all that area around the temple, because the temple will not be built where the Mosque of Omar is. It will have to be built where the temple used to be!

What will happen? People will say, 'The Temple of the Lord. Oh, we're going to have peace.' And they may have peace for three and a half years!

Verse 3: "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.'"

That ties right in with what Norbert said {message: Developing and Maintaining a Contrite Mind}

• we don't go to God because we're important.
• we don't go to God because we think that we're the only ones

We come to God because He's the One Who

• gives us life
• gives us His Spirit
• gives us an understanding of His Word

Verse 4: "Do not trust in lying words…"

Isn't that what we get everywhere? Everywhere! Mainstream media are the mouthpieces of Satan the devil, sent to keep this nation in deception because they won't come to God His Way! That's just the way it is. We'll see everything that God has is also written in heaven. And what we have with the Word of God here is because God inspired it.

"…saying, 'The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these'" (v 4).

'Oh, we're Americans, we believe in God!' Remember that to believe comes this way:

• those who profess that there is a God
• those who believe that Jesus is the Savior by knowledge
• those who believe to obey

That's a different story!

Verse 5: "For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor."

• Isn't the whole court system upside down and backwards? They convict the ones who are innocent and let the criminals go free to rob, to loot and to kill!
• Where do you think this nation is going to go? Everybody all the time hopes for things that are better!
• Are they getting better?
• How many people are turning to God?
• How many people really have a conviction that they've got to come to God and quit their sinning?

They're told the Law is done away! That's like saying the heaven and the earth have passed away.

Verse 6: "If you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place..."

That covers all the abortions, and it still goes on. The only place where abortions are really, really down is in the state of Texas. And God blessed them so that they could put up that razor wire fence and keep the immigrants from coming in spite of the lawsuit by Biden.

So, when people repent, when people follow the way of God, not knowing even very much about God, He will also intervene to bring down the evil. God says that you do all of this to your own hurt!

*****

The Passover: Covenant of Eternal Life

Last time we came to the first part of Psalms, and I hope that Randy got all of those views of the universe included in there.

Before we get going, I want to bring up one other thing in the news that's important. They are now proposing that a substitute for meat is python meat. So, you see what happens when people rely on their own thoughts and their own ways and their own ideas, and they leave God out.

That's why the Word of God is always true! When the Proverb says there's a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. What is it? People look at that and say, 'Well, He's a harsh God of the Old Testament.'

What does it say in Romans 6:23? "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."

Have you heard anyone accuse Paul of being mean? No! That's a fact that's ingrained in life, as Russell Kemp brought out recently in one of his messages.

Now we finished up in the first part of Psa. 19, but let's understand something about the Word of God, where we began with this, that Christ was slain from the foundation of the world as the Lamb of God, and He's the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

He came from God down to the earth to teach men to bring to them His Word in the form of a man. When we have in the Psalms and everything, which we're going to cover today, God had this written down for our benefit.

Remember what Jesus did after He was raised from the dead, and He came and appeared to all the disciples there in Luke 24. He opened their minds about the prophecies concerning Himself.

Where? In the Law, in the Prophets, and in the Writings!

Psa. 19—let's understand something that's very important. What did Jesus say about the Law and the Prophets?

The Protestants say that He came to do away with it. So, don't think that just because the Protestants appear nice, that they have any really true knowledge of God. Maybe some might have a little more knowledge than others, but if they don't keep the Sabbath and keep the Holy Days of God, if they keep Sunday and all the holidays of this world, they know nothing!

The Laws of God, as Jesus said, 'Till heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle of the Law shall pass in any way.'

He changed circumcision of the flesh to circumcision of the heart! That's a higher spiritual standard!

He changed obedience in the letter of the Law to obedience in the spirit of the Law, and obedience to have the Laws written in your heart and in your mind!

Is that not New Testament doctrine, Hebrews? We need to understand the greatness of what God did through Christ and the greatness of what Christ did to divest Himself from being God to come to this earth to be an ordinary human being, born of the virgin Mary.

You know this, if God didn't do that, someone would say to God, 'God, you never understood how bad it is being a human being.' He came and was born. What for? He came:

• to build His Church
• to be a witness to the world
• to train the apostles to inspire His Word to be expanded into the New Testament so that we can enter into His Family

That's what it's all about!

Hebrews 1:1: "God Who spoke to the fathers at different times in the past and in many ways by the prophets, has spoken to us in these last days by His Son… [the only begotten Son of God] …Whom He has appointed heir of all things…" (vs 1-2). That's on heaven and earth!

What did Jesus say? All power is given to me in heaven and earth (Matt. 28:18 agrees with it).

"…by Whom also He made the ages" (v 2).

That's the timeframe that we're living here on the earth. There are different segments of time of eternity that God measures out in the vastness of the universe of which we really have no way of measuring that.

Verse 3: "Who, being the brightness of His glory and the exact image of His person…"

Image there is character, the exact character of God. What is God trying to do with us with His Spirit and with His Laws within us? Build the character of God!

"…and upholding all things by the word of His own power…" (v 3). Think about that!

When God created the heavens and the earth, He spoke and they were created! He created all the stars and told us to look to the stars. He told Abraham to look to the stars so that he could understand how vast that His Plan is.

It's all there. So, our eternal life is not just that we qualify here—which we must do first—but that we must have the vision and the understanding that it's going to be in eternity forever!

"…by the word of His own power when He had by Himself…" (v 3).

That's the whole purpose of the Passover Day. Jesus had to by Himself lay His life down, go through all that He went through, take all the beating and scourging that He did, and to be nailed to that cross, be crucified, and die, to purge our sins!

Why is that necessary? Because the only true sacrifice for the sins of the whole world is that the Creator:

• become a human being
• take on all the human nature that we have and not sin
• overcome Satan the devil and defeat him

Remember that on the Passover night in John 15, He said that Satan has been judged and he has not one thing in Me!

That's important, so we put this together, because this is what God has done!

"…purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high" (v 3). He's made greater than the angels!

Now let's put this all together this way. Let's understand the spiritual value of the commandments of God and what they are to do to us when they're written in our heart and in our mind!

That's what it has to be with the Spirit and the power of God, not just that we do it in the letter. We have to do it in the letter, but also in the Spirit!

So, in writing this, David brings it out! He talks about Psa.19:1-6 about the stars and everything like that and look at what he does"

Psalm 19:7: "The Law of the LORD is perfect…"

• What do the Protestants say? The Law of God is a curse.
• Is that not a satanic doctrine?
• Doesn't Satan want you to look at God and His Laws as a curse?

No, it's perfect!

"…restoring the soul…" (v 7). That's what Unleavened Bread is all about!

First our sins are forgiven through the sacrifice of Christ, Passover, and that is a day that was all the action of God!

Then the Feast of Unleavened Bread comes when we have our part!

• we have to choose
• we have to put away
• we have to grow
• we have to overcome
• we have to take in the Word of God

which is the unleavened Truth of God into our heart and mind!

"…the testimony of the LORD is sure…" (v 7).

Every word of God is sure! It isn't going to fail! That's why in doing the translation of the Bible, we stuck with the Word of God into Greek: New Testament, into Hebrew: Old Testament.

The Bible that we're giving out free, by the way, and if you need more Bibles you can order them, we still have them, and you can give them out to those who are in other churches of God, and we've had some independent Churches of God call us and order the Bibles for their group. I just got a letter yesterday from a group in West Virginia. They ordered the Bibles and then they wanted some more, and then I got an order from a group down in Kentucky to send them some Bibles, and that's the best thing we can do for the Churches of God. That's the best use of the money that God has sent us so we can help all of the brethren.

Now, they go out also to people in the world so they can learn, they can understand. But it's sure, and what does it do?

"…making wise the simple" (v 7). So that means you get the wisdom of God!

A.I. is going to have all the wisdom of men! And has no conscience, has no life, can make no moral decisions.

Any minister that uses A.I. to develop a sermon for himself, whose spirit are you trusting? I'll let it go at that.

Verse 8: "The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandments of the LORD are pure, enlightening the eyes."

In other words, you have understanding! What did Jesus say about the eye? The eye is the light of the body! And if the light in you be darkness, how great is that darkness!

Enlightening the eyes, because the eyes will reflect what's in the mind, because the eyes are directly connected to the brain.

Verse 9: "The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever…"

Now we love God, but we also fear God. Not that we're in trepidation all of the time, but that fear is a guard to not sin. That's what that is!

"…the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether" (v 9).

You read in Rev. 16 with the seven last plagues, horrible plagues, terrible, devastating, and killing untold numbers of people. What did the angels say? 'True and righteous are your judgments, O God!

Notice how important that this is. People think they have lots of gold. Now, gold will be good for a while, but it won't do anybody any good in the Day of the Lord, because if you're not trusting in God, gold alone isn't going to help you.

Verse 10: "More to be desired than gold, yea, much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb."

Now here's what the Laws of God, the judgments of God, the statutes and precepts of God are to do! We put them in our mind by:

• reading
• studying
• living
• applying

That's how it's done.!

Verse 11: "Moreover, by them… [everything up to that point] …Your servant is warned…"

It's like a big stop sign in our mind when we come up against sin. Stop! don't do that!

"…in keeping them there is great reward" (v 11).

That doesn't sound like very much of a curse, does it? Think of that! Now all of this is leading up to the Passover and the Covenant of Eternal Life,

The whole purpose of the Passover is so that we can have our sins forgiven, that we can receive the Spirit of God, that we can take these words of God, not only here but every place in the Bible, and apply them to our lives. Read the things in the prophecies and apply them to what things we see in the world as well as our lives, because the greatest book in the world is the Bible. Think of that. It tells you:

• Who is God
• where is God
• Who is Christ
• what is Christ
• how you can enter into life with Him

But He's not going to tolerate any lawlessness!

Verse 11: "Moreover, by them Your servant is warned, in keeping them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors?…." (vs 11-12).

Even when we do something that's not right, you think: Why did I do that? Have you ever said that to yourself? You end up doing something and you think: that wasn't very smart!

Here's the whole point of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It's not just getting the letter of the Law sins taken care of. God is interested in:

• the heart
• the mind
• the soul

all three together, God works with!

He connects with us through what is called the reins! Now I don't know exactly how that works, but God knows all of our thoughts any time He wants to.

Jesus said that when a sparrow falls, God knows that! So you look out and you see these birds flying around, and if one of them dies, God knows it. Then He also says that all the hairs of our head are numbered!

On every person in the world! So therefore, no one can get away from God. We'll talk about the different levels of God dealing with people in another message.

Verse 12: "Who can understand his errors? Oh, cleanse me from my secret faults."

All those sins and faults that we all have, registered in our mind. That's what God wants cleansed, your whole mind, your whole spirit. This is what you will see for Unleavened Bread that I cover in Rom. 7.

You read about the Apostle Paul and his fight against sin, and he defined human nature as the law of sin and death within him!

I know the first time I read Rom. 7, I was startled. I thought: Was the Apostle Paul really converted?

When you start out, you think you're not going to have any more sin. No! It doesn't work that way! You're going to have the power to see your sin and repent. God is going to give you the knowledge and insight in your mind so that your mind can be renewed and transformed into what we are to have: the mind of Christ, Who had no sin!

So, all of this is contained right here and reflected in the writings of the New Testament.

Verse 13: "And keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins…"

In other words, strike my conscience so that I don't do something that is a presumptuous sin and a great sin before You.

"…do not let them rule over me" (v13).

What did Paul say in Rom. 6? We'll go back there in just a minute and I'll explain it to you.

"….then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer" (vs 13-14).

Rom. 6—we need to understand this thoroughly, because the Protestants tell us that if you try and keep the Laws of God, you're putting yourself under the Law. Are you? Let's read it!

Romans 6:1: "What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound? MAY IT NEVER BE…." (vs 1-2). Sin is the:

• transgression of the Law
• transgression of the Commandments
• transgression of the Precepts

When our sins are forgiven, we are under grace!

Grace is not licensed to sin! To be under Law means that you are sinning and you are under the penalty of Law!

To be under grace:

• you have your sins forgiven
• you receive the Holy Spirit of God
• you have connection with God
• you keep the Laws of God

Verse 9: "Knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has any dominion over Him. For when He died, He died unto sin once for all…" (vs 9-10)—because He was Creator, manifested in the flesh!

"…but in that He lives, He lives unto God. In the same way, also…" (vs 10-11). That is, living unto God!

• How do you live unto God?
• Can you live unto God if you're living in sin? No!

You live unto God because you keep His commandments! You have His Spirit! He leads you just like we read back there in Psa. 19.

Verse 11: "In the same way also, you should indeed reckon yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God through Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore, do not let sin rule in your mortal body…" (vs 11-12).

Didn't we just read that there in Psalm 19? Don't let sin rule!

"…by obeying it in the lusts thereof. Likewise, do not yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin; rather, yield yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead…" (vs 12-13)—because your baptism is a burial of the old self!

Paul talks about that He died; that meant He died in the watery grave of baptism! You are dead!

"…and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not rule over you because you are not under Law, but under grace" (vs 13-14).

When you're under grace and you're keeping the commandments of God, you are within Law!

This is important to understand, and this tells you how far off the Protestants are.

1-Corintians 9:20: "Now, to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to those who are under law, as under law, that I might gain those who are under law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law to God, but within law to Christ)…" (vs 20-21).

So, IF you're under grace, you walk within the laws of God! So, that's what it means to be under grace.

Rom. 6 explains it! This operates in our lives every day with the Spirit of God.

Before you were baptized and received the Holy Spirit of God, were you conscious of sin as sin is sin against God? No! But what it does, it helps you control your mind and your thoughts. So, here's the battle:

Romans 6:14: "For sin shall not rule over you, because you were not under Law, but under grace."

That means you have connection to God. You have His Holy Spirit. You want to keep the Laws in the spirit and meaning of the Laws. That's what the whole thing of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is about.

So, he says, v 15: "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? MAY IT NEVER BE!…. [emphatically] …Don't you realize that to whom you yield yourselves as servants to obey, you are servants of the one you obey, whether it is of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" (vs 15-16)—under grace!

So, I hope this helps you clean out any misunderstanding of Protestantism and grace, because the laws and commandments of God are not just something spoken. They come from God, from heaven above, and are as lasting and as permanent as the stars of heaven!

That's what Psa. 19 tells us! So, when we come to the New Testament, that's exactly what the New Testament tells us. Now then, once you have this connection with God, I want you to notice how things work.

Psalm 20:1: "[1]May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble… [Does God do that? Yes!]…the name of the God of Jacob set you on high."

There are five mays here that are important! May means it's conditional, meaning that you appeal to God in trouble!

Verse 2: "[2]May He send you help from the sanctuary, and strengthen you out of Zion."

• Where do you get your spiritual strength and power?
• Where do you get the ability to overcome sin?
• Where do you get the ability to love God?
• Where do you get the ability with your heart and mind?

You can see these vast reaches of space out there as you find like on the James Webb telescope site. Awesome! I watched some of those last night, and again, it just took my breath away!

• How beautiful!
• How righteous!
• How Holy!

And remember, this goes all the way back to Abraham! God took Abraham out there at night and said, 'Now look to the stars and count them if you're able to number them.' There are so many out there, trillions of them!

That humbles us to understand what a marvelous thing we have been called to. How—when we view that—that there's no room for vanity, there's no room for selfishness, there's no room for carnal ways of living, but to inspire us?

Verse 3: "[3May He remember all your offerings and accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah." Today our offerings are in prayer!

• Do you pray every day?
• Really take the time to pray?

Because if you don't, you're not connecting with God!

You can't just come to Church on Sabbath and then live your life the way you want to live it the rest of the week and expect anything to come of it, Because what God has called us to is a way of life!

Verse 4: "[4]May He grant you according to your own heart and fulfill all your plans."

That is, IF they're all in accord with God, He will do it. He's not going to do it right away. There are times you'll find that God will answer right away. There are other times that you find that God will answer, No! There are other times when God will answer, Yes but!

For example, if someone prays, 'Oh God, I need a new car and please send me a Cadillac,' So, God answers the prayer and He sends you a Volkswagen.

Yes but, you don't need a Cadillac? Sometimes God answers that way. Sometimes it's the other way around. You pray for something meager and God gives you abundance. So, it's all 'may'!

Verse 5: "We will shout for joy in your victory, and in the name of our God we will set up banners. [5]May the LORD fulfill all your prayers."

That's quite a statement, isn't it? WOW! .

Now then, you have Psa. 21 and this comes in succession. I'll let you read all of Psa. 21 because that leads to Psa. 22.

What do we have from Psalm 19-21 and into 22? We have the whole tale of conversion and that it only comes through the sacrifice of Christ!

Psa. 22—these are the very words of Christ when He was on the cross! He did that so that we can enter into the Covenant of Eternal Life! That's why in our lifetime, when we get older, we all come to the realization that if we're not in right standing with God, the whole life is wasted. That happens!

Psa. 22:1—the very words of Christ!  You can read it in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Psalm 22:1: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me…"

He had to do it alone, just like we read in Heb. 1, by Himself!

"…and why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning?" (v 1). That's what He was thinking there!

Now in the Psalms and in the Prophets are put different aspects of the life of Christ and what He went through.

Here in Psa. 22 it has to do with the very thoughts that He would have while He was on the cross. He knew what was going to happen. He knew before He came in the flesh that there would be the confrontation with the devil. He knew that by the hands of the religious leaders of those who should represent God, He would be crucified.

Verse 6—here's how He felt: "I am a worm and no man…"

• you talk about humility
• you talk about being brought down to nothing

"…a reproach of men and despised by the people" (v 6)—and they did!

Now notice right here, declaring what was fulfilled in the Gospels.

Verse 7: "All who see Me mock Me; they shoot out the lip; they shake the head, saying, 'He trusted on the LORD; let Him deliver Him; let Him rescue Him, since He delights in Him!'" (vs 7-8).

Isn't that what they said? They came there and they were cheering and they said:

Aha! Aha! Yes, You on the cross. If You're the Son of God, come down off there and save Yourself and we'll believe You.

But that couldn't happen because there had to be the complete sacrifice and the death.

Verse 9: "For You are He who took Me out of the womb…."

Right there on the cross, He's thinking going clear back to the time when He was born.

• Can you imagine that?
• How many times do we think about that, going clear back in our childhood?

We can't go back to the time we came out of the womb because we had no thought.

"…causing Me to trust while on My mother's breasts" (v 9).

We find in Isa. 50 that Jesus was awakened morning by morning to be taught by the Father. Can you imagine that? All the Jews later on, they kept saying, 'Well, where did you get this knowledge?' And they checked with all the other rabbis and think of this. If they would have found one rabbi who personally taught Jesus, boom, he would have been dead.

Because they said, you read that in John 7 chapter, He's unlettered. That means He didn't graduate from any rabbinical school. He was taught of the Father!

Verse 10: "I was cast upon You from birth; You are My God from My mother's womb. Be not far from Me; for trouble is near, for there is none to help. Many bulls have encircled around Me strong bulls of Bashan have surrounded Me" (vs 10-12).

Those are all the high-powered demons! Remember on that Passover Day, we're going to talk about this next week. The Passover Day is the key day of everything in the Plan of God!

It was all orchestrated and carried out by the angels and demons and Satan. That was the battle of the Passover Day when Christ died. That's why He says here:

Verse 12: "Many bulls have encircled around Me, strong bulls of Bashan have surrounded Me. They opened wide their mouths at Me, like a ravening and a roaring lion" (vs 12-13).

They said, 'Aha! Look it! He's going to die. We got Him! We got Him! Yes! We're succeeded!'

But what did Jesus say to the disciples? Satan is going to come, ruler of darkness, and he has not one single thing in Me.

But notice how He felt, v 14: "I am poured out like water… [when you're really down and low, you feel like that] …and all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of My bowels."

How did that happen? Remember one of the soldiers took the spear and thrust it into the right side of Jesus, clear up and pierced His heart. For what purpose? That every single drop of blood of Christ would be shed for the Covenant of Eternal Life for us!

Verse 15: "My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue clings to My jaws; dogs have surrounded Me; a band of evildoers have encircled Me; they have pierced My hands and My feet; and You have brought Me into the dust of death" (vs 15-16).

All the thoughts that Jesus had on the cross prophesied!

Verse 17: "I can count all My bones…"

Because where He was scourged, ripped away the skin, and His bones were exposed.

Verse18: "They divide My garments among them and cast lots upon My vesture."

Think about in this one psalm how many things were fulfilled the day Jesus was crucified. An amazing thing!

You can read it in A Harmony of the Gospels and in The Day Jesus The Christ Died. Twenty-eight prophecies fulfilled in that one day. That was the day of the power of God.

Verse 19: "But You, O LORD, be not far from Me; O My strength, hasten to help Me! Deliver My soul from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog…. [that is Satan the devil] …Save Me from the lion's mouth; yea, and from the wild ox's horns…. [that's all of the other demons] …You have answered Me" (vs 19-21). Then we go on and He is raised from that!

So, we'll continue on next time and cover some more things. Because the whole Plan of God is going to be carried out exactly as He has said.

The central focal point of that is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, God manifested in the flesh. That's what we need to concentrate on now is our relationship with God:

• through prayer
• through study
• through living the way we need to

Scriptural References:

• Jeremiah 7:1-6
• Romans 6:23
• Hebrews 1:1-3
• Psalm 19:7-14
• Romans 6:1, 9-14
• 1 Corinthians 9:20-21
• Romans 6:14-16
• Psalm 20:1-5
• Psalm 22:1, 6-21

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Luke 24
• Matthew 28:18
• Psalm 19:1-6
• John 15
• Revelation 16
• Romans 7
• Psalm 21
• Isaiah 50
• John 7

Also referenced:

The Bible Track Series Supplement edited by W.C. Long

Messages:

• Repentance and Resignation: Day of Atonement 1979
• Developing and Maintaining a Contrite Mind by Norbert Bohnert

Books by Fred R. Coulter:

• A Harmony of the Gospels
• The Day Jesus The Christ Died

FRC:bo/po
Transcribed: 3/24/24

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