Arise, Shine, For Thy Light Is Come And the Glory of the Lord Is Risen For Thee - Part 1129

"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save. Neither His ear heavy that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, and He will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood[shed] and your fingers with iniquity. Your lips have spoken lies. Your tongue hath muttered perverseness. None calleth for justice, nor [any] pleadeth for truth. They trust in vanity and speak lies. They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity. They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web. He that eateth of their eggs dieth and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper ... for our transgressions are multiplied before Thee, and our sins testify against us, and as for our iniquities we know them in transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing away from our God." (Isaiah 59:1-13)

If this was the start and end to our lives on this earth, there would not be any hope for redemption. But as prophesied by Isaiah, our Lord God was about to become our Saviour. He was about to become our Redeemer, our Healer, our Hope. Even as "He saw that there was no man and wondered that there was no intercessor" the Lord had Himself established His own plan of salvation. That is, He who created the world in the beginning would be made flesh so that He Himself who knew no sin could become sin for you and I. And, as a consequence, clothe those who believe in Him by faith in His own righteousness. (John 1:1-18; Isaiah 9:6; I Timothy 3:16)

"Therefore, His arm brought salvation unto Him, and His righteousness, it sustained Him. For He put on righteousness as a breastplate and an helmet of salvation upon His head and He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke. According to deeds, accordingly He will repay, fury to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies, to the islands He will repay recompense. So shall they fear the "name of the Lord" from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun." (Isaiah 59:16-19: Ephesians 6:13-18)

"And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob" saith the Lord, "As for Me, this is My covenant with them," saith the Lord, "My Spirit that is upon thee, and My words which I have put in thy mouth shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed," saith the Lord, "from henceforth and forever." (Isaiah 59:20-21)

In Romans, the very same prophecy is confirmed.

"For I would not brethren that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved; as it is written, "There shall come out of Sion the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob, for this is My covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. " (Romans 11:25-27)

And again in Hebrews.

"But now hath He obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. for if that first [covenant] had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, He saith, "Behold the days come," saith the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they continued not in My covenant, and I regarded them not," saith the Lord, "for this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days" saith the Lord,

"I will put My laws into their mind and write them in their hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people. And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, "Know the Lord for all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." In that He saith, "A new [covenant] He hath made the first old ..." (Hebrews 8: 6-13; II Corinthians 3:6-8; II Corinthians 5:17; Romans 11:27; Jeremiah 31:33-34; Isaiah 54:13; Zechariah 8:8; Hebrews 7:22)

The new covenant? "By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament." (Hebrews 7:22)

"Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him -- [Jesus] -- seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them -- for such an high priest became us [who] is holy, harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins and then for the people's; for this He did once when He offered up Himself ... for the Law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the Word of the oath, which was since the Law [maketh] the Son, who is consecrated for evermore." (Hebrews 7:22-28; Hebrews 8:6; Jude 1:24; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 4:15; Ephesians 1:20)

Indeed, our salvation is nigh. Today is the day of salvation -- from whence was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. Jesus - the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, slain on an old rugged cross so that we might have life abundantly in Him.

"Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat; yea come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. wherefore do ye spend money for [that which is] not bread? And your labour for [that which] satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto Me and eat ye [that which] is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear and come unto Me, hear, and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, [even] the sure mercies of David.

Behold, I have given Him [for] a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. Behold, thou shalt call a nation [that] thou knowest not, and nations [that] knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel: for He hath glorified thee.

Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near." (Isaiah 55:1-6; John 4:14; John 7:37; Revelation 3:18; Matthew 11:28; Revelation 1:5; Daniel 9:25; Hebrews 3:13; Psalms 32:6)

But this message from the Lord will you not receive by most within the walls of modern day religion. (Galatians 3:1) This is why we are to beware of those who preach another gospel -- and similarly, of those who do not continue steadfastly in the apostles doctrine. (Acts 2:42)

This is why I urge you to come to Jesus today! Ask Jesus to become Lord of all in your life. And as Peter standing with the eleven instructed the first 3,000 believers on the day of Pentecost, "repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of the Lord Jesus for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:37-47)

"So shall My Word be that goeth forth out of My mouth; it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please and it shall prosper [in the thing] where unto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace. The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing and all the trees of the field shall clap hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree, and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign [that] shall not be cut off."

Yes, "By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament." (Hebrews 7:22) The Only Name whereby we must be saved in this current dispensation of grace. (Acts 4:12) The One who came and shed His precious blood on a cross -- "to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." (Isaiah 57:15)

Stand in the offering plate.