Who is this Jesus?

Good morning. Welcome to our service this morning. We are so glad to have you here with us today. We're gonna start out this morning with a song you may recognize. It's entitled Joy to the World.

And we usually sing Joy to the World when? Christmas. At Christmas. But you know something? Joy to the World is not is just as applicable to what we're looking at today what we call Palm Sunday or the triumphant entry of Christ as it is applicable to Christmas.

So let's start this morning with Joy of the World, hymn 87, or you can look up here and follow along as we sing. Standing please if you can. Joy to the world, the Lord has come. Joy to the world, the Lord has come. Let earth receive Brother Ian, would you open our service with a word of prayer today?

Amen. You may be seated. But if you're using the hymn book, please keep it out and turn to hymn number 32, blessed be the name. All praise to him who reigns above. Amen.

That last verse in particular, his name shall be called shall be the counselor, the mighty prince of peace of all earth's kingdoms, conquerors, reign shall never cease. That has a lot to do with our message this morning. It has a little bit to do with Palm Sunday, as you see palm branches strewn around. I never did this, but but I'm but Jules has a knack for decorating. So, we have palm branches, this morning to remind us, about Palm Sunday.

And we're gonna talk in just a few minutes of what that is about. You may not know. If you don't, we'll learn today together from God's word. But first, if you have a bulletin, we're gonna look quickly at some announcements this morning. Please be in prayer for Adam and Jody Pittman.

These are missionaries of the week. They are in the Dominican Republic. They have a very, good ministry there with, some other couples, and looking to branch out and to start, plant another church. And so please keep them in your prayers as they minister there in the Dominican Republic. Their email address is there if you'd like to email them this week.

And I'm sure they would be glad to hear from somebody in the church who's saying, hey, you're a missionary missionary of the week. We're praying for you. That would mean a lot to them. Over on the right side, this morning's message, who is this Jesus? Matthew twenty one nine says, Hosanna to the son of David.

Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. This is what was, said, proclaimed by a crowd, as Jesus, rode into the, into the gates of Jerusalem, on this day back 2,000 ago. And there is a lot of significance in this verse and in what was going on that day. And so we're gonna look at that.

We'll be reading from Matthew 21 to start this morning. If you wanna find Matthew 21 in market, we'll be there in just a few minutes. Sunday school, we are talking of we are looking studying in Sunday school about how to be a good soul winner for the Lord Jesus Christ. And I hope if you can get up just a little sooner and get here at ten, you'll come and join us because because this is very, very, very, very, I don't know how many varies I need to add, important. It is very important that people hear the gospel.

And it has been left up to us, all of us who know Jesus Christ to tell others that they might know. Because if we don't tell them, then who is? Who is? They need to hear. And so come and join us.

Just get up a little early and come and join us for Sunday school at 10:00 on Sunday mornings if you can as we continue our study over the next several weeks on being a good soul winner. Please come back and join us for the service tonight at 06:00. We do have a missions committee following the evening service tonight as well. Joy Club on Wednesday night at 06:30 as usual and Thursday bible study also. Mark your calendar, a few things coming up.

First of all, next Sunday is Easter, a resurrection Sunday. We will be celebrating at our regularly scheduled 10AM Sunday school and 11AM morning worship, but there will be no Sunday PM service. So made it the habit of last few years on holidays to have our morning services but not the evening service. So no evening service next Sunday night. Please take note of that and please come join us for Sunday morning.

We'll be celebrating the resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ. Also along with that, we will be celebrating the Lord's Supper as well. And so I hope you'll come and join us for that next Sunday morning. And then ladies card making fellowship for missions conference. There's a sign up sheet on the bulletin board.

There are plenty of places to sign in. And ladies, you you don't have to be a card maker. You don't have to be crafty, so to speak. You don't have to have supplies. Most of that will be provided you.

And you can just come and have a good time of fellowship and, just, you know, follow suit with, the others and, you'll be able to be a part of ministering to the missionaries and their families, that we're having Come for Missions Conference. So please, take note of that. If you have any questions, you can ask my wife or miss Barbara and they will fill you in concerning that. And don't forget to sign up. Annual Faith Promise Missions Conference is the end of this month, April twenty ninth and thirtieth.

We have, I think, three missionaries, coming, who will be presenting, their ministries. I'm looking forward to hearing from them. I hope you can join us to hear what the Lord is doing, in their ministry, in their life. One of them are are Joe and Bonnie Valentin. We already support them with Bibles International.

He is the project coordinator for over a dozen translation projects going on all over the world, translating the bible into, native tongues of people who need to hear about the Lord. And a wonderful ministry and I'm sure you'd like to hear more about that. So come and join us, for the services. They start on Saturday, with our International Supper at 05:30 and then all the services on Sunday on the thirtieth. Please take note of the birthdays in April.

And please take some more tracks. I added some, we didn't have very many left on the table, so, I added more to it. So please take them all. I have plenty more to add. Okay?

And so please take those tracts, hand them out, tell others about Jesus. One way we can be soul winners is by simply handing tracts to people that need the Lord or we don't know may need the Lord. And let them have the opportunity to read about the gospel themselves. Alright. Think that's all the announcements I have.

So let's sing another song. This one's entitled He is Lord. We're gonna sing the first verse of this and then we're gonna take have an opportunity to welcome others nearby to our service today. If you would, please stand to sing with me. He is Lord.

He is Lord. You may be seated, but we are gonna sing another song at this time. It's entitled, oh come, O Come, Emmanuel. Again, you say, but pastor, that's a Christmas song. Not actually so much.

Joy of the World and Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel are more of a Palm Sunday song than they are of a Christmas song. And, we'll see a little bit more of that explanation, as we look into the scriptures today. So if you sing with me, it's 83 in your hymn book or you can just look up here. Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel. At this time, Kate and, Emily are gonna play a song in titled Lamb of Glory.

And I'll put the words up here so you can follow along. Go ahead. Take your bibles if you would and turn to Matthew chapter 21. Matthew chapter 21. And we're going to begin reading this morning in verse one, titled in message, who is this Jesus?

Who is this person that is the object of such acclaim, such praise on this day that we're going to read about that we are reminded of today, it being Palm Sunday. Matthew twenty one one, and when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem and were come to Bethphage, unto the Mount Of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples saying unto them, go into the village over against us and straightway you shall find an ass tied and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them unto me. And if any man say ought unto you, you shall say the Lord hath need of them. And straightway he will send them.

All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets saying, tell ye the daughter of Zion, Zion is another name for Jerusalem, behold thy king cometh unto thee, meek, sitting upon an ass and the colt of the foal of an ass. And the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them, brought the ass and the colt and put on them their clothes and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way. Others cut down branches from the trees and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before and that followed cried saying, Hosanna to the son of David.

Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. And when he was coming to Jerusalem, all the city was moved saying, who is this? And the multitude said, this is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. Let's pray.

Dear Lord, thank you for who you are, for your love for us that drove you to come to this earth, Lord, to die on the cross for our sins, to redeem us, to make us part of your family and your kingdom. Lord, we thank you for that blessed opportunity for those who shared that news with us that we might be saved and become the children of God. And we pray, Lord, if there's one here today that's unsure about their standing with you, Lord, that they would not leave in such a condition today. And we pray, Lord, that you would work mindly in our hearts through your word and your holy spirit would use it to open our eyes and to draw us to the one who loves us. So in Jesus' name, we do pray.

Amen. The gospel is not a message about a new religion. It's not a new method or a new list of rules or a new invention or philosophy or cause. The gospel is a person, and the person is Jesus Christ. What fundamental doctrine could be more vital than the identity of the central figure of all that we believe.

And so through the centuries and in recent times, the devil has attacked Christianity time and again by attacking the character and identity and work of Jesus Christ. Because without Jesus, there is no gospel. Apart from Jesus, there is no way to heaven. He is the way, the truth, the life, and no man comes to the Father but by Him. Again, what we believe is not a list, it's not a religion, it's a person.

And that person is the son of God. Who is this person riding in Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey to the praise of many gathered to welcome him with clothes and pond branches strewn before him like a red carpet, like a conquering king. And why are they praising him in such grand fashion? That's what we wanna answer this morning. Why are they praising him?

Why are they laying branches down before him? Why are they crying Hosanna to the son of David? Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Why are they doing this? What is so special about this man?

What is so special about this day? Well, if you know the context and if you know the Old Testament scriptures, you'll know why this day was so long awaited by the Jews and such an important day to all of us. First of all, who is this man? Well, this man is God. He's not just a man, he's God and the son of God.

He is not less than the father. He is one with the father as he explains in the gospels, particularly in the gospel of John. He said, if you've seen me, you have seen who? The father. There is no difference.

They are one and the same. Jesus said, I and my father are one. In John one one through three, Jesus tells us about eternity the eternity past of the son, here called the word, emphasizing how Jesus is the revelation of God to man, And how that the word was with God and furthermore was God. In the beginning was the word. The word was with God and the word was God.

The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. When it says in the beginning was the word, the word was with God and the word was God. The word God there translated into English from Greek is not two different words. It's the same one, theos.

It means God. And as hard as it may be for us to comprehend how Christ could be with God and be God at the same time, it is the eternal truth of the trinity. Three in what? One, the father, the son, and the the holy spirit. He was both with God in heaven and he was God in eternity past.

Just to make the doctrine undeniably clear, we are told that the son, here called the word, is the creator of all things. All things were made by him. Without him was not anything made that was made. Well, who do we know from the Bible is the maker of all things? Well, Colossians one sixteen and seventeen again say, it's Jesus.

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 or powers, all things created by him and for him and he is before all things and by him all things consist. Does that leave any doubt? Is there anything that was created in this universe that wasn't created by Jesus? The answer is no. All things were created by him and for him.

Now, Genesis chapter one. Genesis chapter two. In the beginning, who created the heavens and the earth? Tell me. God did.

God did. These verses tell us who did. Jesus did. What does that mean? Well, that means this.

Jesus is who? Jesus is God. He's not less than God. He is equal with the father. He is God.

In Genesis one one and two, when it speaks of, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, The Hebrew uses the word Elohim. It means God or supreme one. But in chapter two, it says, Lord God. Lord in all capital letters. That's that's the name Jehovah.

That name is unique to only one being in all of the universe. The I am that I am that is eternal and that made all things. That's God. What does Jesus' name mean? You shall have a son and shall call his name Jesus.

Jesus means Jehovah is salvation because that's who he is. He is Jehovah and he is the one who brings what? Salvation. Deliverance. He is God.

Second of all, he is not only God, but he is also man, the son of man. Favorite title of Jesus for himself to remind us that not only is Jesus God, but uniquely, he is the only God man, born of a woman. In John one fourteen, it says this, just a few verses later from John one one and three we read, It says, and the word, again speaking of Jesus, was made what? Was made flesh. What did that mean?

What does that mean? That means God became a man. God became one of who? One of us. It's incredible to think about.

The creator of the universe, the supreme Lord of all, chose to become a creature, to become one of us. Why? That he might redeem us, that he might save us from our sin and ourselves. The word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory. The glories of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth.

Jesus became flesh. He dwelt among us so we could behold God yet being sinful, immortal beings, and get to know him personally. That's what the the gospel writers write about in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They're telling you the story about how they walked and talked and got to know who? God in the flesh.

How amazing. How wonderful that would have been. One day, we will have that opportunity as well. We'll see him in heaven, and we'll have that opportunity to get to know him in the flesh as well. But you don't have to wait till you get to heaven to get to know who?

Jesus. He is the living word. This is the what. This is the written word. And you can get to know him now by reading Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and their record of him and the rest of God's word.

And they tell us that one day we will see him face to face as did they and even more so. So how did God, the Son, the Word become flesh? Well, we're told in Philippians two that he chose to leave heaven and come to earth, become a man, a creature that he might die on the cross for us. Couldn't die on the cross for us if he wasn't one of us. So he had to become one of us to die for us.

He willingly decided to do that. In Luke chapter one verses 30 through 35, the angel announces to Mary how that this is going to be and how she is part of it all. Luke one in verse 30, and the angel said unto her, fear not Mary for thou hast found favor with God and behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and breathe forth a son and shall call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the son of the highest. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Then said Mary unto the angel, how shall this be seen I know not a man? The angel answered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, the power of the highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. How did Jesus come into the world? As the seed of the woman.

Not the man, but just the what? Just the woman. Just the woman. As prophesied way back in Genesis three fifteen, when God said to Satan that the seed of the woman one day would come into this world and crush or bruise the head of the serpent which is him. He promised Satan this is not the end of it, Satan.

You may think you have won this battle in deceiving Adam and Eve into sin and getting them cast out of my garden but you have not won the what? The war. And one day the seed of the woman is gonna defeat you. We're told in Galatians four four, when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his son made of a what? A woman and not a man.

We're assured in Isaiah seven fourteen that the Messiah, this king, this this one who would come and defeat the plans of Satan, that he would be born specifically of a virgin. This was repeated by the angel of the Lord to Joseph in a dream concerning Jesus just before he was born. In Matthew one twenty three, this is what the angel said to Joseph as he repeats this promise in Isaiah seven. Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel which being interpreted is God with us. Jesus came into this world unlike anybody else ever has without a man.

He was uniquely born of a virgin, the virgin Mary. Just like Isaiah foretold seven hundred years earlier. He is God. He is man. He is the fulfillment of this prophecy.

And next, he is king. He is king. He is the Hebrew Messiah. The word Messiah means anointed one or in Greek it's translated as Christ. Every time you say Jesus Christ, you are saying Jesus the Messiah.

Jesus the anointed one. The appointed one by God to redeem fallen mankind, to be king of kings and Lord of lords over this redeemed world, to conquer the prince and power of the air, Satan, and to win us back. So we are also told hundreds of years before the birth of Christ in Isaiah these words in Isaiah nine six and seven concerning this child. It says concerning this, 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 counselor, 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 forever, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Unto us a child is born. How is this child described? He is called interestingly the mighty God, the everlasting what? Father.

Who does that describe? That describes Jesus. Jesus who is man and Jesus who is God. A child who was born, who is the mighty God and also the everlasting father. Furthermore, this child will institute, establish an everlasting government of justice and righteousness.

Now has man been trying to do that for thousands of years? And has he not utterly failed over and over and over again? Israel failed. Others have failed, including ourselves. This everlasting government, this righteous kingdom will only come when the righteous king returns.

And he will return. He's not finished yet. He is the king of kings and the Lord of lords. And he will return to establish his kingdom forever. Not based solely on might and power, but on justice and righteousness for all mankind.

People cry for peace, peace, and peace, but there is no peace. We can't go a year without a war in this world. Always a war going on. Why why haven't we learned? We're sinful human beings.

But Jesus Christ is not a sinful human being. He is the righteous human being and he is the God and Lord of all. Not only will this child rule an everlasting and righteous kingdom, but will do so from the throne of who? Of the increase of his govern and peace, there shall be no end upon the throne of David. Now who is David?

Well, David was king David, the king of a united Israel. This verse, the one we read in Luke, both indicate that the Messiah, Jesus Christ, this child who is to be born, will will have the seat of his government in a city called the city Of David, Jerusalem. Not only will his seat of government be in Jerusalem, but he will be a descendant of who? In the flesh of king David. Without that, this prophecy is not fulfilled.

This is a fulfillment of a promise given to David himself in second Samuel seven. And when thy days be fulfilled, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers. And I will set up thy seed, thy offs offspring after thee which shall proceed out of thy bowels and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom, how long? Forever.

Forever. Now who is who is God speaking of? Is he speaking of Solomon alone? The answer is no. Solomon failed.

Solomon died. His kingdom didn't last forever. Even the descendants who followed him failed. Who is this prophecy speaking of? It's speaking of one who will descend from David.

A grandson, a great grandson, a great great grandson, a great great on we go. But a descendant, a seed of David who would one day be born into this world, whose kingdom would be established forever and who would rule from the throne of his father, David. We call him the Messiah or the Christ. When Matthew wrote his gospel, he wanted to emphasize how important it was that the Messiah be a descendant of who? David.

And so what did Matthew start his gospel with? He started it with a genealogy. That seems like an odd way to start a biography. Well, maybe not so much. But he started it with a genealogy.

And what does the genealogy do? It ties Jesus to who? It ties Jesus to David. Now the genealogy in Matthew is the genealogy of Joseph, Jesus' legal father but not his what? Biological father.

But if you turn over to Luke three, and we don't have time to do that this morning, you can look at the genealogy of Mary and guess where her genealogy goes back to? David. It too goes back through David. Both of them. Joseph, the descendant of Solomon, David's son.

Mary, the descendant of Nathan, David's son. Jesus is not only biologically the son of David, but legally through Joseph, the heir apparent to the throne of Israel. That is who Jesus is. We are told the place of his birth in Micah five two, Bethlehem. So what does Luke do?

He records how Jesus of Nazareth ended up being born where? In Bethlehem. And tells us the story of how because the emperor wanted there to be a census and taxes taken, they were ordered to go back to their home city from which their family came and that just happened to be Bethlehem for Joseph and Mary. And so that's where Jesus was born. In Daniel nine twenty five, stick with me just a little longer.

I know there's a lot of verses, but but this is important where we're headed this morning. Daniel nine twenty five reads this way, know therefore and understand that from the going forth to the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the prince shall be seven weeks and threescore and two weeks. The street shall be built again and the wall even in troublesome times. When the throne of Judah, David's descendants finally fail failed, it fell to king who? Long name, Nebuchadnezzar.

And Nebuchadnezzar came and and just utterly destroyed Jerusalem, destroyed the temple. Israel went into captivity. And for seventy years, they didn't return to Jerusalem. But after seventy years, as Jeremiah prophesied, they were sent back to rebuild the city and to rebuild the temple and to rebuild the walls. And Daniel says here, from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem until the coming of the Messiah the prince shall be, and this amounts to four hundred and eighty three years.

69 sets of seven years. A week there doesn't mean a set of seven days but a set of seven years. 69 times seven comes up to four hundred and eighty three years. What are we given here by Daniel? We're giving a time frame for the coming of who?

The Messiah to Jerusalem. Daniel tells us that from the going forth of the command to rebuild Jerusalem until the coming of the Messiah, the king will be four hundred and eighty three years. So if you count them, four hundred and eighty three years from the time Israel was sent back to rebuild Jerusalem to seemingly the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on that donkey proclaiming himself to be who? The Messiah. And to the acclaim and applause of the people there that day is four hundred and eighty three years.

Just like Daniel had prophesied. He is God. He is man. He is king. And on this day that we celebrate, he declared himself to all of Jerusalem to be their long awaited messiah.

And that's what we just read about in Matthew 21. Why is the manner in which he entered Jerusalem of importance? He rode into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey that had never been ridden before. What is the significance? Well, first of all, the irony.

Jesus didn't come into Jerusalem riding a white stallion, did he? No. He came humbly riding on the back of a burrow. That's how he entered Jerusalem. He didn't come the first time as the conquering king, though he is.

But he came humbly as the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the of the world. In Zechariah, hundreds of years before, we learn that the Messiah will identify himself as such by riding in Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey never ridden before. There's the prophecy. Zechariah nine nine, rejoice greatly o daughter of Zion. Shout o daughter of Jerusalem.

Behold thy king cometh under thee. He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding upon an ass and upon the colt the foal of an ass. How did Zechariah say that Israel would know their Messiah? Because he was going to come into Jerusalem riding on the back of a donkey on a particular day, four hundred and eighty three years as Daniel prophesied. And they would know when they saw him coming through the gate of Jerusalem in the fashion as Zechariah prophesied hundreds of years before.

The crowd that day recognized and received their Messiah, Jesus Christ with great fanfare. They testified to his identity by proclaiming this, Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord. They were alluding to Psalm one eighteen. We call this a messianic Psalm because it prophesies in this Psalm concerning the Messiah, Jesus.

And in this psalm it says, save now, I beseech thee, o Lord. O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that comes in the name of the Lord. We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. Now, they said Hosanna.

Hosanna is Hebrew for save now I beseech thee. So if you look in the Hebrew at save now I beseech thee, it's pronounced in Hebrew, Hosanna. They were quoting this verse. They were saying, we acknowledge that you are our what? Messiah.

The king of kings and Lord of lords. The one promised to come to save our people. They recognized Zechariah nine nine. They recognized Daniel nine twenty five. They recognized second Samuel seven, and they recognized Jesus.

As they rolled out the red carpet, so to speak, for the king coming through the gates into his city. A grand reception, Palm Sunday we call it, for the king had come. Joy to the world, the Lord has what? Come. Let earth receive her king.

Oh, come, oh, come Emmanuel. And he had come. This is what we celebrate today, the coming of the Messiah, the identity of the king. But just a few days later, the crowd would be chanting something different. And it would be crucify him.

Crucify him just a few days later. Why? Because they didn't understand an important part of the ministry of the king. And that is before he could have a kingdom, before he could take his throne, he had to have subjects and he had none. Until Jesus died on that cross, until he shed his blood to redeem fallen mankind who'd been taken hostage by Satan and sin, until Christ died on that cross and rose again from the dead, there were no subjects.

They were part of Satan's kingdom. But when Jesus gave himself on that cross and he took upon him the suffering that should have been ours, he made the way through faith in him for all who come to him in repentance to be saved. To become the children of who? The children of God. Isaiah 53 tells us, and I guess the people that day missed this passage, that 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 why all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Before he could reign, he had to suffer for us.

And suffer he did. As the crowd that proclaimed the king turned on him by the end of the week and instead cried out, crucify him. They expected him to route out the Romans but he didn't come to save men from Romans. He came to save men from sin and hell. Not just them, but us.

And then he rose again from the dead. He rose again to demonstrate his power to save. He rose again to take his rightful place as king of kings and Lord of lords at the right hand of his father in heaven and will one day here on earth. And as he offers to all salvation, who will receive him as their Lord and bow before him as their king, he does also offer them a place in his kingdom, a place in his family, eternal life in a place called heaven, and forgiveness for all their sin. And that includes you.

How did John identify him in John one? Not as the lion of Judah, but as the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And he will take away yours. Romans ten nine says this, that if thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shall be saved. In John one eleven and twelve, it says, 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 or the children of God even to them that believe on his name. Believe on him as the son of God. Believe on him as the redeemer, the savior of the world who died on a cross for your sins and is risen again from the dead to offer you eternal life in him. Have you? Will you?

He will save your soul. He can change your life. Only he can forgive you of all your sin. If you're here this morning and you do not know him as Lord and Savior, if you do not have the assurance that you are part of his kingdom and that he is your king and your Lord, I plead with you today as we sing a hymn of invitation in just a moment. I'll meet you down here.

I'll show you from God's word how you can be saved and know it. And you don't have to leave here not knowing today. Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, we thank you, Lord, for Jesus Christ, our savior, who is also our soon coming king. Thank you, Lord, for keeping your promises and sending your son, Israel's Messiah and our savior.

And pray, Lord, if there'd be one here today that has yet to trust Jesus Christ as the Lord and savior of their life, we do pray, Lord, today that before they leave this place, they would make make that decision, make that sure. And, we we thank you for your love and the opportunity you've given us to share it with one another today. In Jesus' name we do pray. Amen. If you take your hymn books and if you would turn 252.

I don't have it on the screen. 252. And if you would, please stand with me to sing. Only trust him. Only trust him.

Only trust him now. Please come as we sing. I'll meet you down here if you're unsure today. Amen. Just because we quit singing doesn't mean our invitation is closed.

So if if you need to talk or prayer, please please come speak with me. And I hope that you will consider if you're not sure of your salvation to trust Christ today. Let's pray. Dear God, Lord, we thank you for Jesus Christ and for the offer of salvation despite ourselves. We thank you, Lord, for what you have done, you can only do.

We pray, Lord, that you would help us to be the messengers to a lost and dying world who needs to hear about Jesus, the king of kings and the Lord of lords, and the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. In Jesus' precious name, we do pray. Amen.