Our God - A to Z
‘I am the First and I am the Last;
And there is no God besides Me." Isaiah 44:6
“Listen to Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called;
I am He, I am the first, I am also the last." Isaiah 48:12
[This is the 8th message of this series]
Continuing in this series of lessons, looking at excerpts above from the Jewish Scriptures, written by the Ancient Israel Prophet Isaiah, we will connect it with the prophetic last book of the Christian Scriptures:
Chapter 1
'This is the revelation of Jesus Christ...'
“I am the Alpha and the Omega" Revelations 1
Chapter 1
'This is the revelation of Jesus Christ...'
“I am the Alpha and the Omega" Revelations 1
[Alpha is the first and Omega is the last letter of the Greek Alphabet]
The Apostle John wrote multiple times in this book that Christ Jesus is the Alpha and Omega -- the A and the Z, the First and Last, the Beginning and the End.
God Revealed
Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the Redeemer of the world. God incarnate, God in human form, flesh and blood. He came down and lived among us, experienced the same things we have, hunger, homelessness, thirst, pain, death. He was cancelled, stalked, bullied, orphaned, left alone, humiliated, schemed, betrayed, mocked, slandered.
God -- The Word who created the universe became flesh so that we can see, hear, touch and get to know Him.
He came down to us because we cannot go up to where He is. He did it so that we can understand who He is, what He is all about, what He is and what He isn't. He is not a God who is far away, that we cannot begin to comprehend Him.
He came down to be the Light and the Way to save us from this world and ourselves.
First and Last
Jesus told His followers that those who want to be first must be last.
He did just that. He walk the talk. He came down from heaven and was born in the lowliest of conditions, lived a low keyed life and He died the harshiest way, not a quick death but a long and agonizing one, and for all to see.
The Apostle John wrote multiple times in this book that Christ Jesus is the Alpha and Omega -- the A and the Z, the First and Last, the Beginning and the End.
God Revealed
Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the Redeemer of the world. God incarnate, God in human form, flesh and blood. He came down and lived among us, experienced the same things we have, hunger, homelessness, thirst, pain, death. He was cancelled, stalked, bullied, orphaned, left alone, humiliated, schemed, betrayed, mocked, slandered.
God -- The Word who created the universe became flesh so that we can see, hear, touch and get to know Him.
He came down to us because we cannot go up to where He is. He did it so that we can understand who He is, what He is all about, what He is and what He isn't. He is not a God who is far away, that we cannot begin to comprehend Him.
He came down to be the Light and the Way to save us from this world and ourselves.
First and Last
Jesus told His followers that those who want to be first must be last.
He did just that. He walk the talk. He came down from heaven and was born in the lowliest of conditions, lived a low keyed life and He died the harshiest way, not a quick death but a long and agonizing one, and for all to see.
Servant-Leader/Teacher
He came not to be served but as the servant of all, washing the feet of His disciples, His students on the last night they will be together and will have supper together.
He became last, so by being first, He can be both and everything else in between -- able to redeem all of us, wherever position in life we may be in.
Whole Picture
In doing so, we have the opportunity and the capacity to take a glimpse of the big picture that the God of Creation wanted us to see -- who He is, where we are in the grand scheme of things and what His plan is for us and what is our purpose.
People through the centuries, through the power of God's Spirit talked about this, died for it, wrote about it and preserved this for every suceeding generation. So that all can hear about God and the Good News.
Now the Word is finally made available to everyone, anywhere, anytime. The time has come. The time is now.
God is calling us to receive His Word and after having received, to share God's Good News of salvation, redemption and reconciliation, not to force anyone to listen but to pray about it and to share it with God's love.
Wherever we are in the world, whatever condition, whatever position, whatever we have done, it doesn't matter if we are 7 or 97 years old, God is calling us all, the As, the Zs and everyone in between.
Revelations 1:1-8
Christ is coming back for His church, for His lost sheep, from every corner of the world... He doesn't want anyone to be left behind.
He came not to be served but as the servant of all, washing the feet of His disciples, His students on the last night they will be together and will have supper together.
He became last, so by being first, He can be both and everything else in between -- able to redeem all of us, wherever position in life we may be in.
Whole Picture
In doing so, we have the opportunity and the capacity to take a glimpse of the big picture that the God of Creation wanted us to see -- who He is, where we are in the grand scheme of things and what His plan is for us and what is our purpose.
People through the centuries, through the power of God's Spirit talked about this, died for it, wrote about it and preserved this for every suceeding generation. So that all can hear about God and the Good News.
Now the Word is finally made available to everyone, anywhere, anytime. The time has come. The time is now.
God is calling us to receive His Word and after having received, to share God's Good News of salvation, redemption and reconciliation, not to force anyone to listen but to pray about it and to share it with God's love.
Wherever we are in the world, whatever condition, whatever position, whatever we have done, it doesn't matter if we are 7 or 97 years old, God is calling us all, the As, the Zs and everyone in between.
Revelations 1:1-8
Christ is coming back for His church, for His lost sheep, from every corner of the world... He doesn't want anyone to be left behind.
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