" God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in -these last days- spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the -oil of gladness- above thy fellows." - Hebrews 1:1-9

"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." - Hebrews 12:2

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BIBLICAL LIVING 101 - Fun (Joy and Gladness!)
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It feels a little strange to be talking about Fun, Joy, and Gladness this Good Friday, when most devout Christians are recalling the passions and trials of our Lord.

Yet, as our second text this week says, Christ trod that path, and endured the cross that day - so many years ago - FOR the JOY that was set before Him! That is a very good reason for us to remember His Passion with Joy(!) , but even more so, His Victory!!

The enemy would like for us to remember Christ only as a suffering,bleeding figure on the cross, because he has lost ! All the enemy has to look forward to, are the fires of hell in his future, and his defeat in the past.

We need to remember Christ as our texts this week show us, joyfully seated at the Right Hand of Majesty! .... and always... always... remember that that IS where HE IS RIGHT THIS MINUTE!!!

Now that should start to make us feel happy!

Not that Christians do not appreciate Christ's sacrifice ... or that an annual time of sober reflection (40 days of fasting .. either during Lent (modern) or leading upto Yom Kippur (in the OT) ) ... is not a good thing. We SHOULD be sorry for,and turn from, our Sin that made the Atonement and Passion NECESSARY. That is what we should be sorry for !

We don't need to feel sorry every year for Christ anymore ... you know the emotional feeling we experience when we see a passion play in church, or a movie. You feel bad for Him, and maybe shed a tear or two, but it was your Sin that put Him there. What are you going to do about that?

If we understand that, then it is easier to understand why people are confused when they see us fasting and praying all the way upto Good Friday, celebrating the Resurrection with equal gusto a few days later, and GOING BACK to our previous modes of behaviour right after that! We are missing the point..... :-) ... in more ways than one!

1. The Atonement was a one-time event.
"Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. " - Heb 9:25-28
We have it emphasised THREE times in this text - once in the negative (NOT like the yearly high priests offering), once in the postive (just as Death comes ONCE, Christ died ONCE and ONCE only), and once - prophetic - he has appeared "in the end of the world". (The book of Hebrews opens with the notion that we are in the "last days" ).

Once was sufficient for everything, past, present, and future and is efficient for those who look for his return.

2. We should be living joy-filled lives now, and forever because of that!

Its like being told you are the heir to the Rockefeller fortune, but you will have to walk a mile on foot through hilly terrain to get it. (Life is our mile long walk to our inheritance!)

Instead of that mile being the happiest one we have ever walked, we spend every inch of that grousing about how bad the road is, how our feet hurt,why should heirs have to walk at all, how the scenery could do with improvement, how weird the other people on the road are..... sound familiar?

A Sunday school definition of JOY goes like this, Jesus, then Others, then You. It always seemed strange that we came last in that picture - but that really is the answer. Christ is the reason we have any reason to be joyful at all .... and He loves to share that joy with OTHERS... in turn, the more WE/OTHERS come together to share joys and sorrows, we all benefit - including, of course, YOU. After all, you were so important He bled and died for You so that you could share His joy- and so we come back to this infinite circle of JOY forever!!!

Joy endures a cross, seeing it too will pass.

Christ could have fulfilled all Old Testament prophecy in the Garden of Gethsemane itself... remember the Old Testament ends at Malachi. There was no Matthew 24, or Book of Revelation to fulfill. Just Daniel/Ezekiel/Isaiah etc.
If He were to take His power to Himself and begin to reign that night itself.... could He have? As Messiah, He could have ushered in the Millennium right then. God had provided Israel with a Passover Lamb through the circumstances of Egypt. Maybe the blood of lambs and goats could cover the sins of Israel till then, and the rest of the world could perish (!). God would still have fulfilled His covenant promises to the Nation Israel, as His sole prerogative. The rest of the world, well, that's just the cost of doing business....

NO! Our God told the prophet Jonah, even when He was bent on punishing the city of Nineveh, "And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle? " - Jonah 4:11

He knows we have no clue whatsoeever.... NO... "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, so that whosoever should believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.... " AND "Not my will but thine .... ". Our God and Christ ARE BOSS!!! :-)

And they did it!

The Father brought them out of Egypt, the Son delivered us from him who kept us captive through the fear of Death, and the Spirit is anointing us with the joy of Gladness till He comes again!

Though the herbs be bitter, the sweetness of His Promise is sure. Through all our senses, taste, touch, smell, sight, ear - our God is telling us today...

I LOVE YOU! Rejoice Exceedingly Always - Hallelujah!!!

We wish you and your loved ones, all, a most joyful Passover and Resurrection Sunday!!!