Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Greetings in the name of Jesus. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. My name is Rob Haymes. In Mathew chapter, 18 verse 20, Jesus said, Where two or more are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst. So that's what we're doing, we're gathering together in the name of Jesus. I want to start off with a song which I think is very appropriate for this time. The way this song was originally written was, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of Earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. So, when I was a very young Christian, I had the privilege of going to a fellowship with Paul Merkle and his wife Evalyn who were dear Christian people, retired missionaries, they had received the Holy Ghost in 1968, and they were holding a prayer meeting in their house in Estes Park, Colorado where I originally got saved. And one night we were going to worship and His wife Evalyn made the point, she said, "We like to say, KEEP your eyes upon Jesus". That's the way we're going to sing it. We're going to start out with the original version, and then go into KEEP your eyes upon Jesus. That's what I want to encourage all of us to do, and for those that don't know Him, I say to you, TURN your eyes upon Him, look full in His wonderful face;

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of Earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of his glory and grace. (Repeat)

Keep your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of Earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace. (Repeat)

Turn with me, if you would, to Hebrews chapter 12. I want to give a word of encouragement, really, that the Lord has given me. He's been saying to me and my wife; we meet every evening here in our home. We read scripture together, and we worship together, and we pray together. And many times the Lord has visited us graciously with His presence., and sometimes we have a tongue and interpretation, or a prophecy from Him, and one thing He has been saying to us repeatedly over the last several weeks is to look up, to look unto Him, and be of good cheer. Gross darkness is clearly covering the Earth, and right now we are in what they call a pandemic with this corona virus, around the whole world. The whole world is having to stay home, basically. Most of the people in the whole world are having to quarantine or stay home. Many people are dying. Many people are suffering. Many people are afraid. But the Lord has been telling us, "Look up, look unto me, be of good cheer, and as you do, my light will shine upon you, and it will shine in you, and it will shine through you in the world."

Those of us that know the Lord, we know that Jesus' returning could be very soon, probably not tomorrow, but certainly within the next so many years, not hundreds of years. We know that He is coming back soon, and the Bible says, if we have this hope in us, that we should be purifying ourselves, even as He is pure. The Apostle Peter said, purify your souls by obeying the truth through the Spirit. So that's what we need to be doing. As we look to Jesus, going through this, in Philippians it says cast your care upon Him, pray, don't be anxious for anything, but with prayer and supplication, let your request be made known to Him. If you're afraid, well, humble yourself before the Lord, be honest, Lord, you know, I'm scared about this thing. I don't know what's going to happen, but I don't want to be that way. So I cast this care upon you for myself, for my wife, for my kids, for my loved ones; pour out your heart to Him, and the Bible says the peace of God, which passes all understanding shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I'd like to read from Hebrews chapter 12, verse one, Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses; and that is referring to Hebrews chapter 11, as many of you know, what we call the roll call of faith, which talks about many people of God that loved God, served God, believed God, did works of faith, did mighty works, served God, died for God, suffered greatly for God. It says, wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, that also tells me, they can see us, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 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. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. So I just want to encourage my brothers and my sisters, all of you out there that love Him, don't faint! Be strong and of a good courage, and look unto Him ! Have faith. Stir up the gift that's in you. If you're somewhere and there are some sick people, and the Lord tells you, not if you just feel sorry for somebody, but if you know the Holy Spirit is leading you, and you know the Lord wants to heal the person, I want to encourage you not to be afraid. Remember when the leper came to Jesus and said, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." And Jesus said, "I am willing" , and He reached out and He touched him, and he was a leper, and that was totally contrary to the law, you were not supposed to touch a leper, you were supposed to keep six feet apart, so to speak; He reached out and He touched that man and He said "I will, be thou clean", and, BOOM, the leprosy left him, immediately he was cleansed. Don't be afraid to pray for someone that has this sickness, or any other sickness, and see God move, but remember, it's when He sends you, when He is leading you to do it. But don't be timid about it. Perhaps you've never done that , and you really feel an unction in your heart; pray for that man, pray for that woman, see what God does. So I just want to encourage us to be bold, to trust the Lord, to not faint, to keep pouring out our heart to Him. He will give us His peace, and He will be with us. That's one thing He said to those who trust in Him; "I will be with you always, even unto the end of the world."

I want to share something from my personal experience, recently that the Lord did. We had a situation where we had to go to the hospital at 2:00 in the morning, just as this corona virus situation was beginning to build. We were admitted to the hospital at 2:00 in the morning, and needless to say, I was doing a lot of praying, and I spent the night in the hospital with my wife, I won't go into the details, but Satan was attacking. We got through it by the mercy and grace of God. We had some dear Christian nurses and really nice doctors helping us, and God was with us. We prayed. We got through it. And I got a tongue and interpretation from the Lord; He said, "I sent this into the Earth. I'm watching my people to see if they will humble themselves, if they will seek my face, if they will pray, if they will turn from their wicked ways." God spoke that out of my mouth, and I looked up the scripture, and I'd like to invite you to turn there, second Chronicles 7 :13&14, If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Jesus said in John chapter 3 that He did not come into the world to condemn the world. God is not condemning us, but we are His people. We call upon the name of Jesus. We are called Christians, and there's no condemnation with what I am saying. I've been through this myself. I'm not condemning anyone. I'm including myself in this. Many of us have fallen into sin. Some have repented, but some of us have justified ourselves, and said, "I'm under grace, everything's ok. Jesus took care of it", and we have not come to the Lord and confessed our sin. We haven't humbled ourselves. We've actually deceived ourselves, or been deceived by the devil, or by lying preachers. By the way, in case you haven't realized it, there are many false preachers in the world, in the United States, ravening wolves in sheep's clothing. I'm not even here to condemn them. We condemn ourselves when we reject the Words of the Living God, and when we won't come to Jesus. That's what we need to do. We need to come to Jesus and confess our sins. In 1Jn 1:8-10 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. If we do have sin, there's no condemnation. Come to Him. Confess your sin. He will forgive your sin and cleanse you of all iniquity. Come to Him. Humble yourself. See what God will do in your life. Don't let the devil deceive you into not confessing your sins. There's no condemnation. God will not only forgive you, He will cleanse you, and He will lead you forward in His righteous way for you. God bless you. I just want to leave you with these words: Mat 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

The Preeminence 

Col 1:9-18  For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;  That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (Notice it's called the Kingdom of His dear Son. He is the King. ) Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. The preeminence belongs to no one but Jesus Christ our Lord. 

3Jn 1:9-11  I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church. Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God. The Apostle John said in these verses that for a man to seek the preeminence is evil. As we saw in Col 1:18, Jesus is the head, and the head has the preeminence in the body. 

Joh 13: 3-17  Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.  Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.  Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean. So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. We are called to be servants. Jesus took upon Him the form of a servant, and He has called us to do the same. We are not called to dominate, and to control, and to rule over one another. Jesus said in  Joh 7:18  He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. Whose glory are you seeking? Are you seeking your own glory, or are you truly seeking to glorify God? He that seeks His glory that sent him, the same is true and no unrighteousness is in him. Diotrephes sought his own glory. He loved the preeminence among the disciples, and he dominated, he controlled, he manipulated; why? Because he did not have the authority, because he was in disobedience. He was after the glory for himself. He was not true. But a person that is true, even in this scripture in 3John, we see that John said that he would deal with Diotrophese when he came. John had authority to deal with that man. John was obedient to the Lord. He loved the Lord. He served the Lord. He sought to glorify the Lord, and so he kept that authority that God gave him to be an apostle. When a person tries to go beyond what God has given them, they lose that authority, and so they fall into witchcraft, domination, control, to try to rule in that position. A true man of God is a servant of God, and seeks only to glorify Him. 1Pe 4:11  If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 

Who do you love? Do you love God, or do you love yourself? Are you seeking the honor of God, or are you seeking your own honor? Are you seeking the honor of men? Jesus said in Joh 5:44  How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only? Joh 16:13&14 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.   

So when you are sent by God you will be led by the Holy Spirit, and you will speak the things that He gives you to speak, and you'll be seeking His Glory, of the one that sent you. His name is Jesus. The Holy Spirit will be leading you to glorify Him, according to this verse. These are the words of Jesus; He shall glorify me, for He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. So the Lord sends a person, and He gives them abilities; He gives them gifts. Not everyone has the same gifts. Different gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to different people for different purposes. We need to be happy and thankful for the gifts that He has given us, and serve Him and seek to glorify Him and love Him; seek to edify the church. All the gifts that God has given are for that purpose; to glorify God, and to edify the body of Christ, to build up the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit will always lead us to glorify Jesus, never a man. Mar 9:33-37  And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me. That's just such a beautiful picture; He took that child, and He took him in His arms; That's our Jesus. He took that child and He took him in His arms. I'm reminded of 1Cor 13:2 where the Apostle Paul said, though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. Whatever we're doing, if we don't have love, it's worthless. So, the key to all of this is love. Love God. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself, not loving yourself, loving your own pleasure, seeking your own glory, but loving God, and loving the body of Christ, loving His people and seeking to edify them. And if you know Jesus, you know that you can't do anything without Him. In verse 35; If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. And, of course, that agrees with the example that Jesus gave in John 13 where He washed the disciples feet. Jesus said I didn't come but as a servant. He came to serve us. He gave Himself for us. 

Because He gave Himself unto the death of the cross, the Father exalted Him. He didn't exalt Himself. The Father exalted Him, and the Father has set Jesus as the head of the church. He's also made Him the King of Israel. He's also made Him the Savior of the world. He's also given Him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee bows, and every tongue confesses that He is Lord. No one is above Him! Anyone who seeks to take His place, anyone who seeks to take the honor that belongs only to Jesus, is a thief ! and a liar ! and you will be judged severely !  I speak to you false prophets who seek the preeminence that belongs only to Jesus; you will be judged! You must repent of your evil ways and humble yourself and be willing to clean toilets, or whatever God would have you to do, and stop seeking to be something you're not. If you do that, you don't have authority. God has a real purpose for your life, and if you obey and be faithful in that purpose, you will have His authority, the authority of God will continue, and you'll be able to minister, to edify people, but He will get the glory. You will be seeking to glorify Him, and you will edify others; truly edify them. 

We need to understand that it was pride that led Satan to try to become like God. He was lifted up in his own heart, and that brought about His fall. It's the same thing with us. It's only pride and wickedness that would lead us to try to be something we're not, and it will bring about our fall. Any man who seeks the preeminence forfeits the God given authority of his gift. So he falls into witchcraft, domination, and control, not God's authority, and that brings destruction upon himself and upon the people. So be content to fulfill your true calling, to be a servant, and you will have authority to accomplish God's purpose, as you continue loving Him and obeying Him. The purpose of your gift is to glorify the Lord, and the Father, and to edify the body of Christ. 

Isa 9:6&7  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. The government is upon Jesus' shoulder. He can bear it. He's given us differing abilities, different gifts, and we are able to bear what ever He has given us to bear. We cannot bear more than that. When we seek to do that we bring destruction upon ourselves and others.  

Zec 6:12&13  And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. Jesus will bear the glory. If we seek honor, if we seek a position that the Lord has not given us, He has not given us the strength or the ability to bear that glory, and we will fall. But if we will humble ourselves, the Lord will grant us grace, and He will lead us to fulfill His calling in our lives, and we will be honored as we remain faithful in that calling. Gal 6:3-5  For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden. That's what happens to many people; they think themselves to be something that they are not, and they deceive themselves, and they end up in a burden that they are not able to bear. 

So what is the answer?  Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up. Humble yourself and He will exalt you in due time. He will be glorified. 

I want to share some personal testimony so that you can understand that this not just something we're talking about out of our head, or even out of the scriptures. This is something that we have been through personally, both my wife and I and many of our friends have been through this. I was in a church for over twenty years. When it started out there were many good things happening, and many of us were hopeful that it would be a real church, a true, scriptural church. There were many times that the Holy Spirit manifested with the gifts of the Spirit. There were many wonderful worship services where God was present, and even miracles happened. Many things happened. So, it's not a simple thing, it's never a simple thing. In any given ministry there are good things that happen because of faith and love that is in the hearts of the people, and even in the leaders, and there are many leaders that start out loving the Lord and wanting to serve the Lord and wanting to minister to people, but some men and some women, as I said earlier, get caught up in seeking after glory, seeking after the honor of men. They get lifted up in pride. They begin to think that they are something that they're not. They begin to go after things that they should not. They begin to go after things that are not theirs. The preeminence belongs to Jesus. He is the head. We are the body.   

The way that a church should be run is plainly explained in the scriptures. All the different administrations and governments are all written out clearly in the Bible, and it is clearly written that we should be subject, one to another. Never do you see a situation in the true church where you have a dominating ruler controlling the people through fear. But we had that. We went through that. The man that was running this ministry was a very strong man in the flesh, and he ruled the church with a strong arm. He taught us to fear him. And as I said in the beginning, there were many good things that happened, and I am thankful for this man, and for the many good things that happened while I was going to that church. But there was error being taught, there were things that were going on, there was sin in the body and there was sin in the leadership, and it was being covered up, and it was being justified.  Many people do not understand when you tell them about this. They say, how could you possibly believe such things, how could you possibly allow yourself to be dominated and controlled like that? What they don't understand is it is a process over time. False prophets teach the word of God. They teach the truth. Jesus talked about wolves in sheep's clothing. The sheep's clothing is the Word of God. I learned this by experience. They speak the Word of God, they use the Word of God, they teach the truth; for a long time that's all they teach, and you look in the scriptures and you see that what they are teaching is scriptural, and your heart is won over to that man. The mistake that we make is that we begin to look to a man. We begin to trust in a man. Our trust should never be in a man. It should always be in the Lord Jesus Christ, in Him alone. He alone gets the glory. He alone is worshiped. The scriptural way to be exalted is for any person to humble them self and God will exalt them according to His will and purpose for their life. 

When the Lord healed the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the temple through Peter and John, the people came together, greatly wondering, Act 3:12-16  And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;  And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.  

Here we see that Peter refused to accept glory of men, and he gave all glory to Jesus. And, of course, it was Jesus and the power of the Holy Ghost that healed that man. This is how it works in the body of Christ. What ever we do we give God glory. We cannot do anything of ourselves, as Jesus said, without me you can do nothing. So we give all glory and honor to the Father and to Jesus Christ, and then everything will work, as we humble ourselves and glorify Him, we will find our place in the plan of God, in the body of Christ, and we'll be able to function as a healthy nose, or a healthy foot, or a healthy hand, but we will never seek to be the head. Jesus is the head, and as we cling to him we will glorify Him, we will glorify the Father. We will have unity, and the whole world will know we are Christians. We will have the love, the love  of God being shed abroad in our hearts one for another. 

Getting back to my experience; those things were all disrupted because of the corruption, because of the lies, the sin, and because of the desire of the leader to have honor that did not belong to him. I actually heard him say one time in church that the whole earth would be filled with the glory of God through him. So it was over a period of time we were brought into bondage. But also we are responsible for the condition of our hearts that we ate the fruit of lies, that we received those lies, and this thing is going on all over the world right now. There are many false prophets. There are many lies being taught in the name of Jesus, damnable heresies. When people receive those lies they are established in their hearts, and they cannot see the truth, and they will be damned if they don't repent. The Bible says that we must receive the love of the truth. The Word of God is the truth. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me. 

So I want to talk about how I was delivered from that bondage that I described earlier. It was through the truth. When the Lord sent me to that ministry He told me to go there and stay there until He told me to leave. And I was there over twenty years, and towards the end I wanted to leave. I was offended at my pastor for some things that he did and said and I wanted to leave, but the Lord would not allow me to, and He started to walk me through a process. First of all I began to search the scriptures and compare what was written with what this man had been teaching, and I found some great differences between what was written in the scriptures and what I had been taught.  

Jesus said to the Sadducees once, you do greatly err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. That is a big problem through out the body of Christ. That's how we err, because we don't know the scriptures, and we don't know the power of God, and also we don't fear Him. That's a huge problem. The Lord began to lead me in the scriptures, especially in the first epistle of John. John said, these things I have written unto you concerning them that seduce you. So the way these people operate is with seducing spirits, speaking the Word of God out of context and in error, and they justify lies. So through reading the Word of God I began to see and understand things, but first of all, the Lord led me to repent. He led me to forgive my pastor from the heart for the things that I was offended at, and He led me to repent to God for my own sins, and the things that I had done wrong, and He led me to repent to my family face to face for the trouble that I had caused them, and He led me in the Word of God as I said. And one day I was able to judge what was going on in that ministry through the Word of God, and it was the next day that the Lord told me to stay home. Shortly there after I made a full commitment to God to believe what was written in His Word above what my pastor or any other man might say from that day on, and ever since then I have been able to see and understand the Word of God clearly. So that is how the Lord Jesus led me out of that bondage. Also there were people praying for me to come out of there, and I thank God for them and for their prayers. 

So I want to encourage anyone of you who is reading this message, if you feel like you are in this kind of a situation and you don't know what to do, the Bible says, humble yourself and CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD. Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered, and God will do it. He's faithful. He loves you. If you want to really know Jesus and really follow Jesus just cry out to Him. Tell Him so, and be willing to meet His conditions, to do whatever He leads you to do. Call upon Him in the time of trouble. He's a very present help in the time of trouble. No matter what your situation is, call upon Him. He will help you. He loves you. He's already given his own self for you on the cross at Calvary. He took care of everything, and He will deliver you by His power, and by His Word. 

God Will Provide Himself a Lamb 

Jesus was prophesied in the Old Testament 

Gen 22:1-18  And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.  

And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.  

And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.  

Jesus is the Seed of Abraham, and He offered himself a living sacrifice for our sins at Calvary. He's called the Lamb of God. God provided a Lamb at the same mountain where He provided a lamb for Abraham; Mount Moriah, and all those who will repent of their sins with all their heart, and believe in His sacrifice, His death, burial, and resurrection from the dead will be blessed. 

John 1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John 1:29  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. 

Isa 52:13-15  Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: so shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider. Isa 53:1-12  Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.   He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.  He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. 

Jesus was prophesied in the Old Testament from Genesis through Malachi, as we see in Luke 24:25-27; Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. And in verse 44; These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. This confirms that the Son of God was prophesied through out the Old Testament. Also in fulfillment of such, he was conceived by the Holy Ghost in Mary's womb. He was born of a virgin. He became a man. His name was called Emmanuel, meaning God with us. Isa 7:14  Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. He was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin, Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. He never yielded to the temptations, but He was tempted as we are in every way. That's why He's called the spotless Lamb, the perfect sacrifice for our sins. 

Jesus was betrayed 

Mar 14:3-11 And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her. And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me. For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always. She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.  

And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him. So God made sure that Jesus was anointed for His burial, and at the same time Judas was offended and he went about to betray the Lord Jesus, exactly as it was prophesied , for thirty pieces of silver. Then came time that the passover lamb must be killed, and Jesus disciples prepared the passover meal as He had commanded them. Then He sat down with the twelve Apostles, Luke 22:15, And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. 

Luk 22:39-44  And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.  And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.  And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.  

Jesus was arrested and tried 

Jesus overcame in the garden of Gethsemane so that He was able to carry out His sacrifice. He was betrayed by Judas, and then He was arrested, and then He was tried. His own people rejected Him and demanded of the governor, Pilate, that he release unto them Barabas, a murderer, and deliver unto them Jesus to be crucified, who never did any wrong, but went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil through out His ministry. John 1:11-13  He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  Jesus came not into the world to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved.  

Jesus was crucified according to the scriptures 

Mar 15:15-39  And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified. And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band. And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him. And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross. And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull. And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not. And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Luke 23:34;Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. The Father heard His prayer, and that's why you and I can come to Jesus, because of His sacrifice. Mar 15:27  And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.  And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, Save thyself, and come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him. Of course we know from the account in Luke that the one thief was different. He humbled himself and his soul was saved. 

Mar 15:33  And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.   

In Psalm 22 David prophesied of Jesus death saying the same words in verse 1, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly. Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help. Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me. Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.  

We see here in Psalm 22, a psalm of David, David was clearly anointed of the Holy Ghost by the Prophet Samuel; he was anointed to be King of Israel, and David, when he wrote this psalm was clearly filled with the Holy Spirit, and he certainly was not talking about himself, but he was talking about Jesus. If you have any doubt, just look at verse 16, they pierced my hands and my feet. That never happened to David. We know that that happened to Jesus. So why did Jesus cry out on the cross. We read in the New Testament, and now in the Old Testament, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?  

It's amazing how exact the prophecies are about Jesus in the Old Testament, and how they were exactly fulfilled in the New Testament. No human being could possibly fulfill all those prophecies about Jesus, about the Messiah. No man could possibly do that of his own self. Only the Son of God could possibly fulfill all those prophecies, and Jesus fulfilled every single one of them exactly, even the price of His betrayal, thirty pieces of silver, was prophesied in the Old Testament. So many things were prophesied, He should be born of a virgin. Jesus fulfilled all those things except the things that are yet to be fulfilled concerning His return.   

So why did He cry out; My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why did the Father forsake Him when He was on the cross? It was because He was literally made sin on our behalf that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. All our sins were laid on Him. Jesus became a sin offering for the whole entire human race.  

He was the perfect spotless Lamb. He was born of a virgin, became a man. He lived a perfect sinless life though He was tempted as a man. He did not walk as God. He walked as a man. And He was tried and tempted in every way as we are, yet He never yielded, He never sinned in thirty three years. So He was proven, tried, and He was the pure, spotless Lamb, and He willingly offered Himself. He overcame in the Garden of Gethsemane so He could obey the Father and give Himself unto this suffering. Only God could possibly reveal to us the extent of His suffering that He went through for all of our sins, but He did it, He overcame. He fulfilled it. He suffered on the cross for our sins. He was made a sin offering and His blood was shed. Jesus blood was the blood of the spotless Lamb. The Bible says in the Old Testament that the life of a creature is in the blood. So Jesus' sinless life was in His blood, and His blood was shed. That's why it's so important. That's why it washes us. Through faith our sins are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb.  

Col 1:20-23  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;  

Heb 9:11-14; But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?  

Jesus endured the cross 

1Co 15:1-4  Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 

Jesus was crucified for our sins. He bore our sins in His body on the cross. He suffered for our sins. The strength of Jesus was clearly shown in that He endured all that suffering and remained faithful to the Father, and to us. His love for the Father, and for us, enabled Him to endure. 

1Co 13:4-7 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;   Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. So we see here that love endures all things. Heb 12:2&3  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. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Jesus endured the cross, and the way He endured was because of His love for the Father, and His love for us. 

Mat 24:7-13  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. In the time of the end, when iniquity shall abound, and the love of many shall wax cold, the way that we are going to endure is to keep ourselves in the love of God. He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. So we must endure unto the end.   

Jude 1:20&21  But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. This is how we keep ourselves in the love of God, keeping ourselves in the Word of God, and also building up ourselves on our most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. Gal 5:5&6 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith .For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. Here we see that faith works by love, and we're building ourselves up on our most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. This is how we keep ourselves in the love of God, keeping ourselves in the Word of God, walking in the Word of God. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. 

Jesus was buried according to the scriptures 

 

Joh 19:38-42  And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.  

Mat 12:38-41  Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. Jon 2:1  Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly, And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.  

1Pe 3:18  For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:  By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. Eph 4:9&10 Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things. So, Jesus was crucified for our sins, and He was buried, and He descended into the lower parts of the Earth. Jesus himself said, the Son of God shall be three days and three nights in the heart of the Earth, and there He preached the Gospel to the departed spirits that were disobedient in the days of Noah; and He prayed, and He worshipped God, and He cried unto the Father, and on the third day, the Father raised Him from the dead by the power of the Holy Ghost. 

 

Jesus was raised from the dead according to the scriptures 

Hos 6:1-3  Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. After two days will He revive us; in the third day He will raise us up. We see clearly here that we are crucified with Jesus and raised with Him. 

 Eph 1:19&20 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,  The Gospel is with power, that Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures, that He was buried according to the scriptures, on the third day the Father raised Him from the dead by the exceeding greatness of His mighty power according to the scriptures. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to all those that believe, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.  

Eph 2:4-6  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: Amen. We were crucified with Him, buried with Him, and raised with Him. Col 2:9  For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.

Prayer of Thanksgiving 

Thankyou Father that you so loved us that you gave your only Son, thankyou Father, a living sacrifice for our sins. He bore our sins in His body on the cross, and the third day, with the exceeding greatness of your mighty power, you raised us from the dead. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. Jesus was crucified through weakness, but He was raised in power. 

Thankyou Jesus, thankyou Jesus, thankyou Jesus, you bore our sins in your body on the cross. On the third day the Father raised you from the dead and seated you at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above principality, power and might, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come, and He put all things under your feet. Praise God ! Thankyou Jesus ! You are our Savior, you are our healer, you are our deliverer, you are our salvation! To you be the glory, both now and forever more! Glory to our God! Glory to our King! We bless your Holy Name Jesus !