The Promised Messiah (#1): Introduction

The title of our sermon this afternoon is an introduction to the promised Messiah. We are beginning a new sermon series since we finished going through the book of Ecclesiastes together. And the aim of this sermon series is going to be looking at the clear promises in the Old Testament of the coming Messiah. So the name of the series is the promised Messiah. The promised Messiah. Most sermons you will notice are usually one of two things. Either they are sequential exposition which means go walking verse by verse through a book of the Bible or they are topical or like what we would do in this church is topical exposition. So we would have a subject that we wanted to preach like justification and in that series we would exposite several texts that talk about that subject. This series will be unique in that it is textual. This is how um Charles Spurgeon preached. He chose he chose a single verse to preach on a Sunday morning and then the next Sunday he would choose a single verse in a totally different part of scripture. It's where it's a form of expository preaching but you're preaching from single verses that are usually isolated from one another. In this series, there will be no overarching argument that we'll be looking at. We aren't walking verse by verse through a book. It's like it's uh less like a um an interwoven thread that we're following and more like a collection of pretty seaells that we're looking at one at a time. Looking at this sea shell that is very pretty. Looking at another se sea shell. This is very pretty. That's what we're going to be doing in this series is we are looking at various promises in the Old Testament that are more or less uh isolated from one another in order to behold the glory of Christ promised to us in them. So while they're all connected, we're not going to be following a an overarching argument in this series. This series is not going to be comprehensive either. The aim is to see how Christ is promised in the Old Testament. But if we were going to be comprehensive, then we would start in Genesis 1:1 and we would go all the way until ma Malachi 4. And the reason for that is because every verse in the whole Bible, but every verse in the Old Testament has a way of revealing Christ to us. Augustine he uh said these words in his exposition in the book of Psalms. He said our whole design is when we hear a psalm a prophet or the law to see Christ there to understand Christ there. And Augustine rightly said that as we'll see. But since this is not only um possible but absolutely necessary to a right understanding of the Old Testament, this series has to be incomplete unless we were going to preach verse by verse from Genesis 1 to Malachi 4. So that means that we have to be selective in the texts that we're going to look at in this series. And not all texts in the New Testament that quote the Old Testament are going to be in this series. We're not going to look at all New Testament quotations of Old Testament promises. And in this series, we're going to go over some things that the New Testament doesn't touch. Some verses that the New Testament doesn't quote. So, we're not selecting them based off of um whether or not the New Testament quotes an Old Testament promise or not. I prioritized two things in putting together this series. One was the clarity of the prophecies. [snorts] The clarity of the pro prophecies. I want to go over major very well-known very clear promises and prophecies in the Old Testament that cover the Messiah, the coming Messiah. But the second priority was because there has to be a limit. So I wanted us not to go past this year. If the Lord allows, there will be about 30 sermons that'll take us to the end of this year. I have several goals and hopes for this series as we look at the person of Christ together as a church from the Old Testament. I have several hopes and several goals. Um, my first and foremost priority in looking at Jesus Christ in the Old Testament is that he would be glorified in your eyes. That's what I want. That's what I really truly want from a series like this is for you to grow in your love for Christ, for you to grow in your appreciation for Christ, for you to especially to glorify Christ. I want you to be able to see why is Christ so glorious in his person, not just in what he did, but who he is. I want Christ to be glorified. And so, um, there's a little book, uh, that was put together somewhat recently called The Valley of Vision. And it's, if you've ever read parts of it, it's essentially a prayer book. It's a lot of Puritan prayers. And there's one prayer in the Valley of Vision vision that's about the glory of Christ. This is my prayer and this should be your prayer as we desire together to see the glory of Christ in the Old Testament. My savior filled with more love than anyone else. May I read the melting of your heart to me in the manger of your birth, in the garden of your agony, in the cross of your suffering, in the tomb of your resurrection, in the heaven of your intercession. As I'm bold in thinking this way, I defy my adversary. I tread down his temptations, resist his schemings. I renounce the world. I'm valiant for truth. deepen in me a sense of my holy relationship to you. As my spiritual bridegroom, as Jehovah's fellow, as a sinner's friend, I think of your glory and my vileeness, your majesty and my insignificance, your beauty and my deformity, your purity and my filth, your righteousness and my iniquity. You have loved me everlastingly, unchangeably. May I love you as I am loved. You have given yourself for me. May I give myself to you. You've died for me. May I live to you in every moment of my time, in every movement of my mind, in every pulse of my heart. May I never dally with the world and its allurements, but walk by your side, listen to your voice, be clothed with your graces, and adorned with your righteousness. At bottom, you pray like that when you see the glory of Christ. And my hope is that in looking at these various prophecies of the Old Testament, we see the way that the Messiah is ree revealed to us in the Old Covenant. And by doing that that we can grow to see his glory and our impurity and his majesty and our insignificance. And it's a that will have a very practical impact on who you are as a Christian, on the way that you live your Christian life. We can't expect to grow as Christians if we aren't beholding the glory of Christ. Is it important to you? Do you see his holiness? Do you see his condescension? These things, the meekness of the person of Christ, these things are invaluable to the Christian walk. Crucial. I want you as we go through this series together, my goal is that you would grow in greater dependence on Christ. that you would rely upon him more because in the Old Testament it reveals the failures and the sins of all of his people. But in doing so, it also reveals the great need that we have for a perfect, righteous, holy savior without stain or trace of sin. I want you to depend on Christ more than you do now. If you depend on Christ just as much later as you do now at the end of this series, I will be heartbroken. We need to grow in our dependence on Christ. And we can only do that as we as we behold his glory. You behold the glory of Christ and you're like Peter in the boat. Get away from me, Lord. I'm a sinful man. That's what I want. That's what I hope. I want you to come to a greater understanding of the person of Christ. that he is God. The Old Testament reveals this to us that Jesus Christ is God, your throne, oh God. I want you to see his person that he is the second person of the Trinity, unchangeable. The book of Hebrews, in Hebrews chapter 1, it quotes the book of Psalms. The earth like a garment, it changes, but you don't change. And he applies that to the second person of the Trinity, the Lord. I want you to grow in your understanding of his person as he is God. And I want you to grow in your understanding of his person as he is man, as he is a human, as he is the one who suffered as a suffering servant, the one obedient in all things, the one who took upon our flesh yet without sin. I want you to have a greater understanding of his person. I want you to have a greater understanding of his work. I want you to see how he's our prophet. As if the Lord allows, we'll look at in Deuteronomy chapter 18. I want you to see what it means for him to be our prophet. I want you to know what it means for him to be our priest. And we'll look at if the Lord allows Leviticus 16 with the day of atonement, Yam Kapor, as Pastor Mark was talking about this morning. I want you to see how Christ is the scapegoat and all of our sins go far away from us in the person of Christ. I want you to see that and I want you to glorify him because of that. I want you to see how he's your king like it says in Psalm chapter 2 which we'll look at. I will tell of the decree of the Lord. He has said to me, you are my son today I've begotten you. And I want to see I want you to see how in his resurrection he has publicly declared not just to be the son of David but to be the son of God. I want you to see that. I want you to see how how he is a king and how he receives as as his inheritance all of the nations of the earth and that even psalm 2 forsignifies Christ's intercession. He he says ask of me and I will give you the nations as your inheritance. I want you to see these things how Christ is a prophet and a priest and a king. I want you to have a greater understanding of his work of his mediation. I also want you to see how he represents the father to us. Could it be that there is someone like Philillip among us? Philillip a true believer, a true disciple of Christ. And Philip who said, "Show us the father." And it's enough for us. And he's saying this to Christ. He says, "Have you not been so long with me and you don't know me? You haven't seen that the father is in me and I am in the father. I want you to see the glory of the father in the person of Christ. I don't want you to be like Philillip anymore. It's a godly desire to long to know the father. This is eternal life. Jesus Christ said that they may know you. But you can only know the father in the face of Jesus Christ. I want you especially to grow in your humility. Looking at the person of Christ through the Old Testament, beholding his glory will humble you. I want you to not only grow in humility, um, but to grow in holiness because as this text says in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, we behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord. And by beholding his glory, you're transformed into his image because you become like that which you love. You become like what you trust in. I want you to love him and trust in him. And so be like him. I want you to grow in your holiness. And I want you to grow in your love. Your love for the body of Christ. Oh Lord Jesus Christ, if you were willing to die on the cross for this brother that gets on my nerves so much, I can love him, too. I want us to to love one another more as we think about Christ, as we think about his love for us. And lastly, my hope is in this series that you would grow in your appreciation of the Old Testament witness to the glory of Christ. I really want that as well. I want you to have a greater appreciation for the Old Testament witness to the person and work of Christ. These are my hopes. That Christ would be glorified in your eyes. That you would grow in your dependence upon him. That you would have a greater understanding of the person of Christ and of his work. That you would see the glory of the father and the person of Christ. That you would grow in humility and holiness and love from beholding his glory. And that you would grow in your appreciation for the Old Testament witness to Christ. The Old Testament does witness to Christ. And so, as this is a textual sermon series and we'll we're not following a great argument in the Old Testament, what I want to do this afternoon is simply show you that even though we are looking at um I hate to say isolated, but for lack of better words, isolated prophecies. Even though we're doing that, there is a cohesive redemptive plan in the Old Testament that itself reveals the person of Christ to us. One message, Christ. One story, our need for Christ. The Old Testament reveals a single cohesive, undivided plan that points to the person and work of Christ, the seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent. This is how Jesus Christ taught his disciples to read the Old Testament, and it's how Paul taught us to read the Old Testament. Look at Luke chapter 24. If Jesus Christ were to answer, "What is the theme or story of the Old Testament?" What would he have told you? Luke 24. Now, the disciples are dismayed. They're sad. They're walking together. Cleopus is one of them walking together on the road to Emmas. They're very disheartened. Why? Because Jesus Christ died on the cross. And so the Lord Christ prevents them from recognizing him. And he begins speaking to them in verse 17. Luke 24:17. And he said to them, "What are these words that you're uh exchanging with one another as you're walking?" And they stood still looking sad. One of them named Cleopus answered and said to him, "Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened in here in these days?" And he said to them, "What things?" And they said to him, "The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to the sentence of death and crucified him." Now, notice what he says here. This is why they're sad. Verse 21. But we were hoping that it was he who was to redeem Israel. Isn't that amazing? He can't redeem Israel if he died. That's what he's saying. They had in their minds a conception that the Messiah would be essentially substantially political. And how can he die if he is to reign on the throne of Jerusalem and restore it even to a greater glory than what Solomon had? How can he do that if if he died? How can he um re um deliver us from this Roman Empire if he died? That's what he was thinking. Indeed, besides all this, it's the third day since these things happened. Verse 22. But also, some women among us amazed us by telling them something they didn't expect. When they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it exactly as the women also had said, but him they did not see. They were very amazed by this. So sad that he died and amazed that he rose. How does Jesus respond? Verse 25. And he said to them, "Oh foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?" What do you mean necessary? Necessary because the Old Testament witnessed to this very reality. The thing that you're sad about and the thing that you're amazed over. The whole Old Testament force signified and promised that it was going to happen. And therefore, because you misinterpreted the Old Testament, I can say of you disciples, foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken. Verse 27. Then beginning with Moses, that is to say the first five books, the penetuk, the law, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, that is to say, former prophets that told the history of Israel, latter prophets, which includes major and minor prophets. with all the prophets. He explained to them the things concerning himself and all the scriptures or graphice the writings which is the third division of the Old Testament. Like Daniel, he began with Moses and with all the prophets and explained to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. You see, Jesus Christ is saying to them, "The Old Testament told you that I was to die. The Old Testament told you that I was to be raised three days later." The Old Testament, what does it talk about? What did you think it was about? Did you think it was about you? The Old Testament isn't about you. It's about me. The Old Testament is about me. As he said to the Pharisees in John chapter 5, "You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. It is these that testify of me." Moses wrote about me. He said in John chapter 5, that's what the Old Testament is about. That's the theme, the unifying theme of the Old Testament is the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says the same thing in the text we read together, 2 Corinthians chapter 3. Instead of saying foolish men of and slow of heart, he says that their minds were harded hardened and that they had a veil over their heart. Verse 13, were not like Moses who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away, but their minds were harded hardened. Your mind is what you use to think and understand and interpret the world around you or the scriptures. Their minds were hardened in that they were solidified in a certain way of thinking. He's talking about the way they interpret. He's talking about the way they think. And what he says is verse 14, their minds were hardened for until this very day at the reading of the Old Covenant. Now, this is where we get the terms New Testament, Old Testament from Death. It's a Greek word that can be translated either way and has been historically. There's some translations that say testament. Every time that word is used, it can mean either one. the Old Testament, that language that we use from Genesis to Malachi, it the reason we call it that is because of 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and Hebrews chapter 9. And what it's referring to is covenant documents. The old covenant was written down. It wasn't just a relationship that existed in some ethereal plane, but it was a written covenant. And it that's what our Old Testament is. At the reading of the old covenant, their minds were hardened. They were hardened and solidified into thinking a certain way. What did they need? It is removed in Christ. Christ himself is the one that removes that veil so that your mind isn't hardened anymore so that you can interpret and read the Old Testament rightly. But Christ doesn't only remove the veil. He removes the veil so that you can behold him. Christ is not only the one who causes you to see and interpret the Old Testament rightly, but Christ himself is both the scope and the object, the terminus of all of the Old Testament scriptures. He is the body of the Old Testament. He's what they point to. Verse 15, but to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart. But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. We are given liberty from the bondage to our sin, from our bondage to ignorance. Verse 18, but we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a glass or a mirror the glory of the Lord. So you turn to the Lord, you don't have a veil anymore. Now you can see spiritually and hear spiritually. And after the veil is taken away, what are we beholding? What are we looking at? It's not just so that we can see anything. We are looking at the glory of Christ which is revealed to us in the pages of scripture. And as one author wrote about the Old Testament cannon of the New Testament church. The New Testament church didn't have the New Testament. Their scriptures were the Old Testament. And that's how they could behold the glory of Christ after he ascended on high was by looking at him in the Old Covenant. in the Old Testament scriptures. And as we behold his glory, we are transformed into the same image, Christ from one degree of glory to another. We're growing just as from the Lord, the spirit. The spirit is the one that we need to depend on to do this, to behold the glory of Christ. Do you love Christ? Do you love the Old Testament witness to Christ? If you do, it's only because the Holy Spirit has generated that desire in you. If you don't, who do you need? Who should you cry out to? Who must you depend upon in order to behold the glory of Christ? Do you say he's not important to me? Why should he be? What relevance does he have for for my everyday life? He's the only one who can take away your blind eyes and cause you to hear. Who can take away your leprosy? You can't do it yourself. You can't forgive your own sins. You need Christ. Behold his glory. You find so much beauty in this world. So much beauty in music. So much beauty in your family. But it's these things that point outside of themselves to a glory that far surpasses them. A glory that is greater. A glory that is higher. Ambition that is higher. Christ. Christ is the glory of God. He is the image of the invisible God. The only way that you can behold the most glorious object is in the person of Jesus Christ. We need to see Christ in the Old Testament witnesses to his glory. This is how the apostles preached. Acts chapter 3. I want to show you four places. Four places in the book of Acts where they were preaching preaching to the people. They used the Old Testament to point to Christ. Acts chapter 3 verse um 18 I'll say verse 17. Acts 3:17 Peter is speaking. And now brethren I know that you acted in ignorance just as your rulers did also. You put Christ on the cross. I know that you acted in ignorance. That's what he's saying. Verse 18. But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets that his Christ would suffer, he has thus fulfilled. What is Peter saying? He is saying that all the prophets told us that Christ would suffer. All of them. All of the prophets spoke of his humiliation, his suffering, his substitutionary sacrifice. Every last one of them. You say, "How is that possible? Where does Obadiah talk about that Christ is the sum and substance of all of the Old Testament? All of it points forward to him either in clear revelations and clear prophecies like what we're going over through for the majority in this series or through types and shadows speaking to him speaking of him in figures. Therefore 19 repent and return so that your sins may be wiped away in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and that he may send Jesus the Christ appointed for you whom heaven must receive until the period of the restoration of all things. Now what is that talking about? Jesus Christ was prophesied not only to die but also to be raised at his resurrection after 40 days. He ascended. He ascended into the heavenlies and he will be there until the restoration of all things. He called at one time in his earthly ministry the regeneration. He was speaking about the resurrection of all of his people, even the resurrection of the cosmos, that the new heavens and the new earth. It's a recreation and it won't take place in actuality until Jesus Christ comes back and makes it so until the sky is opened like a scroll. Verse 21, I want you to see this. Whom heaven must receive. So, heaven must receive Christ in his exalted state until the period of the restoration of all things. So, when he comes back, right, about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient time. The Old Testament scriptures not only speak of the death of Christ, but they speak of his ascension. They speak of his return and the restoration of all things, the regeneration. Verse 22, which if the Lord allows, we'll go over in our sermon on Deuteronomy 18. Moses said, "The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren. To him you shall give heed to everything he says to you. Christ is that great prophet. And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people. And likewise all the prophets who have spoken, no exception. From Samuel and his successors onward also announced these days. He could be speaking about the church age when he says these days or he could be speaking about the days of the death of Christ, his resurrection and his return. But either way, he's saying that all of the prophets in the Old Testament from Samuel and on, all of them spoke of these days. Acts chapter 10, Peter again, he's speaking to Gentiles, speaking of Christ and what he accomplished. He says verse 42, Acts 10:42. And he ordered us to preach [snorts] to the people and solemnly to testify that this is the one who has been appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. Of him, that is of Christ, all the prophets bear witness that through his name, everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins. Obadiah talks about this. Yeah. Peter says, all the prophets, all the prophets say that if you believe in Christ in his name, that you'll be delivered from your sins. You'll be forgiven. You'll be pardoned. You will no longer be held liable for your guilt, for Adam's guilt. It's because of Christ. That's what the Old Testament talks about. Acts chapter 13 verse 26 Paul this time Acts 13:26 brethren Paul says sons of Abraham's family and those among you who fear God to us the message of this salvation has been sent for those who live in Jerusalem and the rulers recognizing neither him, nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath fulfilled these by condemning him. Isn't that amazing? You hear what he's saying? Well, Paul, what how do you know that on the Sabbath they're reading Deuteronomy 18? I mean, how do you know that on the Sabbath they're reading Genesis 49, these places that so clearly? How do you know that? That on the Sabbath they're reading Psalm 110 that that speaks about how he is a priest according to the order of Mel MelkiseDC. How do you know that they're reading those scriptures on the Sabbath? He says, I I don't. Well, it doesn't matter. Whatever scriptures they were reading on the Sabbath, those they fulfilled by putting Christ to death. You see, the whole Old Testament reveals the death and resurrection of Christ. It's the message of the Old Testament. Verse 28. And though they found no ground for putting him to death, they asked Pilot that he be executed. When they had carried out all that was written concerning him, you see that they carried out everything that was written concerning him. They took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead. And for many days he appeared to those who came up to up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now as witnesses to the people. And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers. in your seed all the all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Genesis 12. That's the good news that they're preaching that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that he raised up Jesus. He fulfilled the promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by raising Christ from the dead. You see that? It's what the Old Testament is about. I don't know about you, but when I see these things, I I say with the disciples, we're not our hearts burning within us as he was explaining the scriptures to us. Man, I've been reading it wrong this whole time. I just see a people that are so disobedient and so sinful. I just see plagues. I just see pestilence. I just see nations at war. That's what I see when I read the Old Testament. But now, I can see it with spiritual eyes. The veil is lifted and I behold the glory of Christ who died on my behalf. Doesn't your heart burn when you think about that? That the Old Testament isn't about something less than the glory of Christ. It's about his glory. The Old Testament preaches Christ. And I'm not saying that we need to allegorize it. It stands on its own terms. but on its own terms as we faithfully exposit it. It has a way of revealing the person of Christ to us where if two people independently are faithful in their exposition of a certain text of scripture, they will both come independently to different results. If they're reading it rightly, they will because the Old Testament itself testifies to Christ. Acts 17, this last example I give you. Acts 17:1. Now when they had traveled through Amphipilus and Appalonia, they came to Thessalonica where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And according to Paul's custom, he went to them and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead and saying, "This Jesus who I am proclaiming to you is the Christ." He reasoned from the scriptures. The scriptures, the Old Testament scriptures are what reveal the person of Christ to us. And there's more examples. There's more, but um I wanted to focus on those. So the question is, what story does the Old Testament tell? What is that cohesive story? In the book of Genesis, God creates all things. He makes Adam and Eve. They sin. They fall and then he makes a promise. He says to the serpent, he says,"I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed, which are the lost, and her seed, which is Christ." And it shall be that he will bruise you on the head, and you will bruise him on the heel. It's the first promise of the gospel that there would come a seed of the woman who would crush Satan's head. And at the time when he crushed Satan's head as a snake, he bit his foot. The same activity, the same action as you crush the head of a snake and your foot gets bitten, but it dies. When did that happen? When Christ died on the cross. When he died on the cross, his heel was bruised, so to speak, but Satan's head was crushed. And the whole Old Testament develops this promise, unfolds this promise, narrows and specifies this promise. And so if you were a believing Jew or even not a Jew, but even before then, if you were Adam and you had this promise, a curse had been brought into the world, you had plunged yourself and all your prosperity into sin. Where would you look for hope? You would look at that promise. You start giving birth to children. your wife does. You have you have Cain and you have Abel. And you think to yourself, one of these has to be the seed of the woman who will crush the head of the serpent. And you realize, no, it's not it's not them. Abel died and there's still this curse here. And Cain, well, he murdered his brother, so it couldn't have been these two. You have another child, Seth. And you think, well, maybe he's it. And this is exactly what happens throughout the entire Old Testament. God calls Abram out of the Caldes and he says, "In your seed, all the families of the earth will be blessed." So Abraham, he looks back, the seed of the woman, it's got to be from my line. From my line. And it's not going to be Esau. It's going to be Jacob. There's this promise that's unfolded in the Old Testament. Genesis 49, it's going to come from the family of Judah. And then the people are in Egypt. In the book of Exodus, God, he redeems them with a strong arm out of the land of Egypt and he gives them his law and he says, "You are my firstborn son." Exodus chapter 4. So is Israel the seed of the woman? The people begin thinking this way. Who is the promised seed who will crush the head of the serpent? But as soon as they receive the law, as soon as that covenant is ratified, Exodus chapter 24 and then as soon as the tabernacle, the instructions for it are given from chapters 25 to 31. What happens in chapter 32? They worship a golden calf and they violate the covenant immediately. And so they need a priest. So, we're given the book of Leviticus, offerings and sacrifices for the cleansing of the flesh so that they can dwell with God. The book of Numbers is a book of testing. Is Israel going to fulfill God's word? Obey in the wilderness. This time of testing like Adam was tested in the Garden of Eden. No, they fail. The whole first generation, all of their corpses minus two are laid low in the wilderness. Not even Moses can enter into the promised land. It's not going to be Moses. They're given a second law. The second generation is given the law again because it had been broken. That's Deuteronomy. Deuteros means too. Namas means law. The second law, it was given another time because of their sin. Joshua, he brings the people into the promised land. And the book of Judges, now that they're in the promised land, well, maybe we've arrived, but there is no king. And so each man does what is right in his own eyes. We need a king. Maybe the seed of the woman is going to be a king, a future king. We need a king. All of us is doing what is right in our own eyes. In the book of 1 Samuel, they ask for a king that is not after God's own heart. And so he gives them Saul. He's a miserable failure. And then a king after God's own heart is anointed. And he's given the Davidic covenant that from his line and from his lineage, a kingdom would be established forever. one of his descendants will sit upon his throne. David says, "I want to build you a house." But God says, "You can't because you have bloodstained hands. I'll build for you a house." That is a dynasty. And he begins building him a dynasty. Solomon comes after David. It's not going to be David, but it's going to be someone from his line. Solomon comes after. And then Solomon, he shows great promise. He grows in wisdom and his understanding of justice, what is right and wrong. He builds the temple, this glorious temple, this glorious palace. And then Solomon violates Deuteronomy 17. He makes many chariots for himself, much money for himself, many wives for himself. And his his wives take his heart um after idolatry. And so it is because of the sin of Solomon, the son of David, the king of Israel, that the northern tribe is the northern kingdom is separated from the southern kingdom. And so all the people of Israel are thinking, okay, the seed of the woman, it's coming, I say all the saved, all the believing Israelites. The seed of the woman, it's going to come from the line of Abraham. It's going to come from the line of Judah. It's going to come from from the line of David, one of his sons. And now it's going to be in the um in the city of Judah. In David's city, the northern kingdom is is off. They're deported to Bab to Assyria. And then we're looking at all of these different kings, and none of them fit the bill. None of them fit the bill. All of them sin against God. And so the Old Testament from the former prophets is left on a cliffhanger. Meanwhile, all the latter prophets, major, minor, the 12, all of the latter prophets are saying, "You people have violated the old covenant. You're going to be spit out of the land." And what happens? Judah, just like Israel, spit out of the land, taken away by Babylonians. and they are restored 70 years later. But the restoration is so anticlimactic. The temple gets rebuilt by Ezra, but all the people weep when the foundations of the temple are built. That's the end of their history. The Old Testament doesn't stand on its own terms, but it certainly points to something, doesn't it? It points to the seed of the woman, a seed from Abraham's line that would bless all of the families of the earth. A son of David who would establish his kingdom. A mediator better than Moses. It points to Christ, the Messiah. This is the cohesive plan of the Old Testament. Redemptive history in the Old Testament. All of it points toward our need. The whole Old Testament gloriously prefigures the Messiah in one way by showing us the failure and the sin of all who came before Christ. Adam failed in the Garden of Eden. Noah became drunk in his vineyard. Abraham sinned. Isaac sinned. Jacob sinned. The people of Israel cast out of the land. All of the kings sinned. Apostasy left and right. And do you think you're any different? I'm not any different. I need Christ. I need a Messiah. One better than Adam. One better than Noah, one better than David, one better than Israel. I need a Messiah. I need a Christ who can suffer on my behalf and redeem me from my lawless ways. Do you see how the Old Testament just glor glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ? It shows how everything else falls short. We should be passionate about this. We should love the story of the Old Testament because it points us to our need for Christ. Do you love Christ in this way? Most men, John Owen says, will say with confidence, living and dying, that they desire to be with Christ and to behold his glory, but they can't give any reason why they should want to. Only they think it must be better than going to hell. If a man pretends himself to greatly desire what he never saw or knows anything about, he only deceives himself by his own imagination. and the fake desires of many to behold the glory of Christ in heaven who have no view of it by faith whilst they are here in this world are nothing but self-deceiving imaginations. He said in another place that he who does not behold the glory of Christ by faith on this side of eternity have no reason to believe that they will glorify it by sight that they will see it by sight in glory. Can you behold the glory of Christ with the eyes of faith? The whole Old Testament foreshadows him by showing us the failure and sin of all who came before. And the whole Old Testament gloriously promises the Messiah to come who would crush the head of the serpent. The whole Old Testament gloriously prepares us for the coming Messiah by giving us laws to show our need. And the whole Old Testament gloriously prefigures the coming of the Messiah, the coming of his kingdom, which can never be destroyed. Let's trust in this Messiah together as a church. Pray with me. [clears throat] Lord Jesus, as you did for your disciples, we ask that you would do it now. Please open our hearts and our minds to understand the scriptures. Let our hearts burn within us as we think of your glory. We ask you, Holy Spirit, do what you do best. Convict us of sin and convict us of righteousness because of Christ. Father, please give us grace and show us your love by showing us the Christ from the Old Testament by showing us how you planned all along to send him for our salvation. By demonstrating your love in his death, we pray that you would please reveal this to us, oh God, and that we would learn as a church to grow in humility, to grow in holiness, to grow in love. Make us behold the glory of Christ. Amen. >> We're so grateful that you've connected with us through the sermon that you've just heard. For more information, visit us at cornerstoneorlando.org. Or better yet, come and see us on the Lord's Day at 3370 Snowhill Road in Ovido, Florida. We're just east of Orlando and about 15 minutes from the campus at UCF. It would be a joy to have you worship with us. is well >> with my [singing] soul. >> with my soul. [music] It is [singing] well. It is well with my [music and singing] soul.