He Was Foretold - Pastor Tina Self

[00:00:00] Welcome to the World Changers Church Gold Coast Podcast. Join us as we listen to today's message. [00:00:11] Amen. Amen. You may be seated. All glory be to God. I forgot my Bible, so I feel a little strange without it. And I'm old school. I literally type and print. I don't do iPads and digital. Maybe that's my trust level that it may be deleted and then it's gone. So. But God is good. I think I'll be okay. I gave them scriptures, but thank you so much. My sword literally is beside my bed. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Well, let's just give thanks to God. Well, Father, I thank you, Lord. I thank you for your goodness. I thank you for your mercy. I thank you for each and every person here this morning. Jesus, I thank you for just giving your life. Father, I thank you for giving your only begotten son so that we can believe in him, be saved and have an everlasting life. Not only an everlasting life in eternity, but an everlasting life here on this earth. So, Father, thank you for this time of year that we can just celebrate Jesus, that we can be reminded that it was because Jesus birth that we were set free. Father, I just thank you, Lord, and bless each and every person here. Father, may your spirit just remind them of the goodness that you have for them. May your spirit remind them of things maybe they've shelved or things that they may think is impossible for them. Father, remind them, Father, Speak to their hearts this morning, Lord, and I give you thanks and I give you glory for your word. It's in Jesus name I pray. Amen and amen. I really wanted to preach a message that was kind of cushiony because, you know, it's Christmas and I actually thought that Pastor Kyle was going to preach my message because my message is he was foretold the promised redeemer who came to cover our sins. So during communion, I was like, ooh, he's about to preach my message. But it's good and God is good. We've had many conversations this week with people, and we've had some people say, wow, we need a Google box right here in your living room. Or we need a podcast so that we can hit record at any time, because this. So I don't know what the future holds. Maybe we'll do that in our living room and just hit record and have some good conversations. Amen. Amen. Well, from the very beginning of scripture, Jesus is foretold, and there's so many promises in the prophetic words that many people shared over time in the Old Testament. And the whisper of that promise through the prophets was, a Redeemer is coming, and a Redeemer is coming for humanity. You know, humanity fell in the garden, but God did not abandon his creation. Even though humanity fell, God did not abandon his creation. Instead, he spoke through prophets, he spoke through priests, he spoke through kings, declaring that a Savior would arrive, that he would be wrapped not in royal robes, but he will come in swaddling clothes. Born in humility, the lowest of the low, yet he would carry hope to the world. You see, this time of year, I believe Christmas is not just a story. Jesus birth is not just a story. It's life, it's truth, and it is the way. It's the fulfillment of God's ancient prophecies written by man throughout the history of the Bible. The arrival of one who would redeem all. The arrival of one that would restore and reconcile us all to God himself. What a heart. What a heart of love. God didn't give up on humanity when the fall happened. No, he sent his only Son to redeem. Let's talk about some of the prophecies. You know, there's going to be an atmosphere of the prophetic stirring up, and I believe also it's even prophetic in itself for this new year. Amen. The first prophecy of Redeemer was promised in Genesis 3:15. This is the earliest announcement of Christ spoken in the garden before humanity ever left. Genesis 3:15 says, and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his feet. Even in the humanity or mankind's failure, God spoke hope. A Redeemer born of a woman would come and literally crush the power of sin, darkness and death. You see, Christ was not an afterthought. It was God's rescue plan for humanity already in motion. Because of love. Because of love. Amen. Micah, you know, there's prophets that detailed his arrival in Micah 5 2. This was centuries before Jesus was ever born. The prophets described his birthplace. Micah 5:2 says this. But you, Bethlehem, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel whose origins are in the distant past will come from you on my behalf. What Micah was saying here is, even though Bethlehem was small, a small place, God chose Bethlehem to be the host, to bring in the Savior of the world. Isaiah spoke of the virgin's birth. In Isaiah 7:14, it says, Behold. All right then. All right then. Like that in replace of behold. All right, then. He's doing a new thing. Amen. All right, then. The Lord himself will give you a sign. The sign. Not just a sign, but the sign that's prophetic, right? Now make sure it's the sign. We'll give you the sign. Look, the virgin will conceive a child. She will give birth to a son and call him Emmanuel. Which means God with us. Emmanuel. God with us. Not God above us, dictating us. Not a distant God from us. Not a God that leaves us when we make mistakes. No, a God. God that is with us. God that literally steps into our humanity and fills us. See, he can never leave us or forsake us because he has filled us. And it is in him we live. In him we move. And in him we have our very being. See, it's individual and it's also corporate. Because of the Holy Spirit as well. He cannot leave us, nor will he ever leave us. Amen. His mission as Redeemer. Isaiah 53, 5 and 6. Isaiah prophesied and presents him not just as a child, but a sin bearing redeemer. Isaiah 53, 5, 6. It says, but he was pierced for our rebellion. He was crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we would be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. He became sin who knew no sin. So that we could become the righte of God. Amen. So that we would be in right standing with God, the Redeemer. The Redeemer lives in us. Amen. See, before the manger ever appeared, the cross was foretold by the prophets, kings and priests. The birth of Jesus was prophecy fulfilled, redemption unleashed. When the angel appeared to Joseph, he explained the purpose of this child in Matthew 1:21. And she will have a son. And you are to name him Jesus. For he will save his people from their sins. I mean, it cannot get much more clear than that, you know? You shall call Him Jesus. He will save his people from their sins. He didn't merely come to inspire. It's not an inspiration story. Jesus didn't even come to teach. He didn't even come to teach. He came to redeem. Jesus came to redeem to take back what the enemy had stolen. To take back his beloved. To take back what sin had stolen in the garden. You see, the manger led to the cross. The cross led to redemption. And redemption leads to A restored relationship with God. Amen. We are redeemed. You know, my mom years ago would clip coupons, you know, and it's like a dollar off, you know, a dollar off this. And she would go and she would redeem those coupons and she would get a discount or a savings. Well, with Jesus, it's an eternal redemption. We have an endless credit of righteousness because of Jesus. Amen. So that we, when we fall short, when we sin today, we have an advocate because of Jesus. We have an advocate, Jesus, with the Father that we can repent, not wail, mind, complain, not wail and moan and complain and, you know, condemn ourselves and say, oh, I'm condemned for you because I've sinned. That is not God's word and that is not God's truth. He was born to set us free. We need to realize how free we are in Christ Jesus and the redemption that we truly have. And even in our sins, there is a way of escape. And his name is Jesus. Amen. You see, the thing with sin is there's no scale or level to sin. There's no, oh, you know, it was a little white lie. So that's a level, number one. Oh, and then they committed murder. That's definitely a ten for sin. There is no scale of comparison. Sin is sin. I believe the root of sin is unbelief. Why does a person steal? They don't believe that God can provide. Why does a person, you know, compromise? They don't believe that all things are possible in Christ Jesus. Amen. That's why Jesus is the way. He's the truth and he is life for every situation of our life. You know, years ago, powerful story. We have so many things that God has done. And, you know, this week, as we were talking with someone, I explained to them, as a pastor, I can't look linear. I can't look this way. I can't look at who is and who isn't, who's sinning, who's not. I have to look here at Jesus because it's here that is my source to love and to not judge. And for people to come as us as pastors and share their innermost, deepest, darkest secrets. And years ago, I'm convinced that something supernatural took place in my heart. And in truth, truly the inside of me that transformed me. I was not in ministry. The kids were younger. And on the news, there was a big thing of a girl having a baby. In, like, a convention center is the Bilo Civic center in Greenville, South Carolina. It was around 2011. 2012 or so, and she had the baby. And she had the baby in the toilet and she left the baby there. And the baby was not in a good state, but the janitor found the baby and it was a big, big deal on media, the news and everything. And yeah, I just was like, you know, how could someone do that? You know? So Mr. Kyle Self comes home and he goes, honey, sit down. I need to talk to you. And I'm like, okay. And he said, do you know all that's going on in the media with this girl that had the baby? And I said, yeah, I haven't been following it. And he said, well, I work with her partner. He wasn't the father of the baby. And I said, oh. And he said, yeah, he would like for us to pray with her and pastorally walk with her and all that. And I was like, oh, no, that's not me. You know, I'm not ministering. He goes, well, I can't do it. You know, it's a woman. She needs a woman. And I'm like, yep, not me. And he said, okay, sit down, have some time with God. Pray about it and just see. And in that moment, I gave God every excuse of I cannot, I cannot, I cannot, I cannot. I was abandoned. I was hurt. I'm a mother myself. How could she? How? Da da da da, da da da da da. And I heard a voice, I said, right, you can't. But through me and with me you can. And I burst into tears. And I, after some time went down and I said, okay, honey, I can't. But with God, I can. I don't know how it's going to look. I don't know how I'm going to refrain from asking a million questions because I don't understand. Sure. So we orchestrated having them over. The girl wasn't saved, walked with her. We went and got blueberry frog, frozen yogurt. And I talked about Jesus. I shared with her hope. I shared with her love. I shared with her redemption. And she gave her heart to Jesus. I never asked, how could you? I never asked, what were you thinking? The circumstances, situations there within her. I never asked. She had court. She's facing 20, 20 years or so court sentence. And the judge ruled she'd never see the baby as a boy. Baby boy ever Permanently taking. Taken away. I'm not sure if he went with the father. I can't remember. Permanently taken away. And she got one year house arrest. Not only that, she needed a job. We knew the guy at the little service Station there down by Door Circle. And Kyle knew the owner, went in and said, could you hire her in this circumstance? And the guy hired her, so we helped get her a job. In that moment, something supernatural took place in me and Kyle too, that I cannot look this way. I have to look this way. The moment I start looking this way, I believe I become so ineffective as a minister. We operate in restoration, you know, we operate in restoration. That's what we do. Marriages have been restored, lives have been restored. People committed murder and, you know, they went to prison. But it's like, oh, we gotta turn you in, because this is the law. But, you know, people have come to us with some of their most just situations that normal people would be like, eh, no, I don't even see it anymore. Because of Jesus. Jesus came to cover the sins of the world. John the Baptist himself declared this. When he saw Jesus, he declared, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. See, Jesus doesn't cover temporarily. He doesn't forgive conditionally, but he cleanses. He cleanses. And not only the deserving, the undeserving as well, but to take away the sins of the world finally and forever and fully. Because of his blood. There's a song. His blood. His blood speaks a better word. Hebrews 9:12 says, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood. He entered the most holy place once and for all, having attained eternal redemption. Jesus didn't come to offer a sacrifice. He was and is the final sacrifice. He didn't come to point to redemption. He is the Redeemer. Amen. He is the Redeemer. And the Redeemer is still working today. Today in my life and in your life. Prophecy was fulfilled in Bethlehem and is still transforming lives today. Every heart he enters becomes a Bethlehem. Every heart he enters becomes a Bethlehem, a place where Christ is born anew. Every soul he redeems becomes a testimony of his prophecy fulfilling power. He restores, he reconciles and he renews. You know, the Bible says, each and every day we are met with a new mercy. I get it. It's hard to comprehend. What, no judgment for our sins? What, one year house arrest for doing such a thing? What? He is a redeeming God. He's a God of love. He's a God of mercy. Now, do we continue in sin so that grace may abound? God forbid, no. But there is an opportunity to redeem. And this isn't just about sin. We can redeem our striving to enter into rest. We can Live from a redeemed effort state. The Redeemer came for a world and he also came for you. And he came for me. So what does this mean for us? We are never abandoned. And God keeps His promises. He fulfilled the most impossible promises of virgin birth. A Savior in Bethlehem. He will fulfill all the promises over your life that he's made for you. We are never, ever condemned. Our sins are covered. The Bible in Second Corinthians describes exactly what what love is. And it's a beautiful marriage scripture, but it's a covenant heartbeat of God for us. Love covers love, never fails. Love keeps no record of wrongs. Love always trusts. That's what love is. So his love covers our sin. So this Christmas, God is declaring for all of mankind, I have made a way home for you. I have made a way for you. I have made a way for you. We're not hopeless because our Redeemer lives. His birth guarantees a new birth for every person that will believe a new birth in Him. That we are transformed in the likeness of him and his victory guarantees our freedom. So what does this mean for us? The big question, if I see my brother or my sister in sin. That's a real question. That's a real question. I've had to face it countless of times. What does this mean? Well, Jesus came as the Redeemer who covers sin. He never came to expose sin. No one's sin that he walked with, dined with, had dinner with, met at Wales with. He never came to expose, he came to cover. And we as his people, we must reflect that same redemptive heart towards others. It is a must in this day and time. Let me tell you, there are people out there that are searching. There are people out there that have been told that they are not worthy of Jesus, that they've gone to far and that it's hopeless. You know, people literally have been told these things. That is untrue. That is untrue. Well, when we see our brother sister caught in sin, what do we do? We respond with restoration, not condemnation. Galatians 6 and 1 says, if someone is overtaken in fault, you who are spiritual, restore such as one in a spirit of gentleness. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. There's one translation that says, look at yourself. Keep your eyes on yourself. You who are godly should gently, humbly help that person back onto the right track. What does that look like? You're going to have to rely on the Holy Spirit. Amen. The Redeemer restores so we Restore. We remember that the same Jesus who covered our sins also covers there. We are not the judge. We are a fellow recipient of grace. We carry one another's burdens. Galatians 6:2 says this bear one another's burdens and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. Now, this doesn't mean that you carry their burdens. You bear it. Okay, so if one of you asked Pastor Kyle. Cause I won't. To help lift a lounge, to carry a lounge, to move a lounge. You know, he would come and he would pick it up and he would move it. And that's how we bear one another's burdens. We uplift in the moment until things are good and well in their life. We don't carry it for ourselves. We help bear it. And the law of Christ is the law of love. It's a redeeming love. We also speak the truth, but we speak it in love. And this is important here, because truth without love will injure. Truth without love will injure. Love without truth enables. But truth in love reflects Jesus himself. Truth in love reflects Jesus himself. We point them back to the Redeemer, not their failure. We remind them, you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. There's a way. There's a way. There's a way, and it's Jesus. Amen. Just as Jesus came to take away the sin of the world, he also came to free us from the power of sin today. So we help restore, we encourage, and lift. We never accuse. The accuser of the brethren is Satan himself. The Bible says that Satan is the accuser of the brethren. We love, we lift. We never embarrass, we never reject. And we remember one thing. The goal is never correction. It's never correction. It's always redemption. In, with and by Jesus and Jesus alone. And in Jesus, there's never punishment. There's never embarrassment. There's no. There's not even public exposure, unfortunately. And in the girl's case that I walked with, it became public. But it's never for public exposure. And when things are publicly exposed, we are to love, we are to pray, we are to speak truth in love and pray for redemption in that situation. And when we treat others this way, we live out the prophecy fulfilled that the Redeemer first extended mercy to us in our situation. You know, I am a firsthand recipient of that grace. You know, Pastor Kyle and I, we were living together. And this was before we were saved. And I became pregnant. And in the hospital room, as my first pregnancy ended in miscarriage. And a lot of people like to say this and that about that, but I don't believe that. I believe that for whatever reason, you know, is for whatever reason. But in that moment in that hospital room, a nurse came and gave us an angel pen with a little eraser on the back. And she spoke love and she spoke hope. She never spoke Jesus. But I look back now and I reflect and I say that was mercy. That was love, and that was tangible grace in action. And, you know, it was a seed planted because shortly after that, Pastor Kyle and I gave our life to Jesus in a little Baptist church on a Saturday morning with no one present with the pastor of that church. And so the manger this season reminds us that Jesus came. The cross reminds us why he came. And the empty tomb reminds us that Jesus is still alive. And he is still alive in every single one of us today. And, you know, it's up to us to let others know that he is alive. We're a city on a hill. We are to let our light shine for Jesus. And what a beautiful time to let light shine than right now, this Christmas season to be salt of the earth, to season it with grace and love and truth and mercy can season the earth. So this Christmas, let us behold Jesus not only as the baby wrapped in cloths, but as the redeemer that was wrapped in prophecy. The Lamb who takes away the sins of the world, the King who restores humanity, and the Savior who still seeks and saves today. So let's pray. Let's pray. Father, I just thank you for Jesus. I thank you for your promises. I thank you for the promised redeemer foretold through the ages. Thank you that every prophecy pointed to your unstoppable love and your plan to restore us. Father, thank you for this truth that Jesus came to save, to redeem, and to cover our sins once and for all. Jesus, you are the reason why the captives become free. Thank you, Jesus, that this season we will let the light of Christ shine so bright in our hearts, with our families and our communities. Lord, I pray that we walk and we experience the freedom purchased by Jesus blood. And that we share this good news with the entire world. And it's in the name of Jesus I pray. Amen. And amen. I've got a word as well, and I just want to ask. I want to see the number of hands. How many of you are in a season of transition? Yeah, I thought so. Yeah. All right. A season of transition. Amen. Amen. Well, I have a word for you that the Lord spoke this morning I know this is off topic of my message, but I knew that there would be a few this morning and I'll just say it the way that I wrote it down. Funky stuff likes to hang around during times of transition. Now what's funky stuff? Funky stuff is things that's contrary to truth life. Know your doors and know your windows. Confusion will try to come. Opportunity will try to pose as purpose. Do not be confused, be discerning, be sober, be vigilant and be led by the spirit of God. And I just pray that whoever that speaks to, let it be in the mighty name of Jesus. And I'm going to turn it on over to Pastor Kyle. Amen. [00:38:24] Thank you for tuning in to today's message. To connect or find out more, you can reach us online at worldchangers Life. Remember to subscribe for more uplifting messages from our pastoral team and may you continue to walk in faith and transformation until we meet again.