WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
Against all odds • Sermon • Submitted
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5 weeks from Easter, the most important day in History
GOD did what only He could accomplish for you!!
we live in Nevada all about the odds…the promise of winning...But why would Nevada residents even want to try their luck on the multi-state lottery? The chance of winning was estimated at one in 302.5 million. Much better odds can be found at one of Nevada’s casinos.
Alan M. Feldman, a Distinguished Fellow, Responsible Gaming, at UNLV, and former MGM Resorts International executive, explained, “Clearly, people pay no attention to the odds of actually winning.” He, too, sometimes purchases lottery tickets when in states that sell them.
It’s all about the fantasy of ‘what if I won?,’” Feldman told Casino.org. “People regularly go through the dream of planning for an influx of money. As the prize goes up, so do sales.”
Purpose of Easter
Purpose of Easter
we had a sin problem, and we were entirely without hope, Darkness was inevitable
we know what sin is right? quick survey....
we know what sin is right? quick survey....
is beating someone up a sin, stealing, speeding a sin, what about moral lines? lying cheating? on a test in school? is that really a sin????
When we understand all that is actually sin we understand that we cant pay it off or pay it back or even think we can win..THE ODDS ARE AGAINST US
When we understand all that is actually sin we understand that we cant pay it off or pay it back or even think we can win..THE ODDS ARE AGAINST US
THE ODDS WERE AGAINST JESUS TOO....FROM OUR HUMAN PERSPECTIVE OR POWER
THE ODDS WERE AGAINST JESUS TOO....FROM OUR HUMAN PERSPECTIVE OR POWER
HERE THIS...GOD SENT PROPHETS TO TELL US WHAT JESUS WOULD DO
HERE THIS...GOD SENT PROPHETS TO TELL US WHAT JESUS WOULD DO
700 YEARS BEFORE JESUS GOD SENT ISAIAH TO PROPHECY OF GODS PROMISE THAT IS SO PRECISE THAT IT HAS TO BE FROM HIM AND NOT MAN MADE
I CAN MAKE PREDICTIONS....
READ ISAIAH 52:13-53:12
READ ISAIAH 52:13-53:12
PETER STONER
Several years ago, Dr. Peter Stoner did a study in mathematical probabilities. He knew from studying the Bible that Jesus Christ fulfilled over 330 prophecies of Scripture while He was on the earth.
Stoner, who was a mathematician by trade, set out to calculate the probability that anyone could fulfill that many events predicted in the future.
If you toss a coin up in the air, the probability it will land heads is 50%, or ½. The probability that it will land heads twice in a row is 25%, or ¼.
What is the probability that one man could fulfill 320 Biblical predictions?
We’ll never know.
When Stoner got to the probability that anyone could fulfill 8 Scripture predictions, the number was so large, he had to use an analogy for it.
Stoner’s number for 8 prophecies was 1 x 1017power. That’s a 1 with 17 zeroes behind it. The English word for it is “One hundred quadrillion.”
Stoner said, “To appreciate how large this number is, imagine filling the state of Texas 2 feet deep in silver dollars.”
“Then, mark one silver dollar with a red “X” and mix them all up.
“Blindfold someone, spin them around, and have them pick that dollar on the first try.”
That’s the probability that anyone could fulfill 8 prophecies.
Stoner continued on to 9 prophecies. 10 prophecies. 11 prophecies. 12… when he got to 48 prophecies, he stopped.
Because the number he had come to was 1 x 10157. That’s a one followed by 157 zeroes.
The total number of atoms in the universe is 1 followed by 80 zeroes!
24 PREDICTIONS
24 PREDICTIONS
ALL CAME TRUE…HOW DO YOU LIKE THOSE ODDS?
Isaiah 52:13 says…
13 See, my servant will be successful;
he will be raised and lifted up and greatly exalted.
According to Isaiah, one day, God will send His Servant to earth, and that Servant will be successful.
His success was lifted up and exalted..Let me show you how exalted Jesus is today.
Revelation 1:17 is a picture of the resurrected Jesus in heaven. The Apostle John sees Him there and writes…
When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid. I am the First and the Last, 18 and the Living One. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades. Revelation 1:17-18
Prophecy fulfilled:
Successful There was a moment when it didn’t look like any of this success would happen.
The next verse says…
14 Just as many were appalled at you—
his appearance was so disfigured
that he did not look like a man,
and his form did not resemble a human being—
Why were they appalled? Because Jesus was beaten so badly that He was almost unrecognizable.
The Romans flogged Him with a cat-o-nine tails.
If you’ve seen the movie, “The Passion of the Christ,” you know that Jesus was so badly beaten He almost looked inhuman, like something out of a sci-fi movie.
So prophecy #2 - He was disfigured.
Disfigured
TRANS
The final verse of chapter 52 says…
15 so he will sprinkle many nations.
Kings will shut their mouths because of him,
for they will see what had not been told them,
and they will understand what they had not heard.
“The sprinkling of nations” refers to receiving the Good News. Messengers of Jesus have sprinkled the Good News in every nation of the world.
Often, when a king, like King Agrippa in Acts 26, or King Clovis of the Frankish Kingdom in 500 A.D. heard the Good News, they just shut their mouths. Clovis and others, once they understood what they had not previously heard, led their kingdoms to convert to Christianity.
So fulfilled prophecy #3 Jesus’ message…
Reached nations & kings
TRANS
Moving along, the first verse of Isaiah 53 doesn’t have a prophecy, just a question.
Then verse 2 says…
2 He grew up before him like a young plant
and like a root out of dry ground.
He didn’t have an impressive form
or majesty that we should look at him,
no appearance that we should desire him.
The unique thing about this is… He grew up!
Until the birth of Jesus, no one believed that when the Messiah came, He would come as a baby. But God, through Isaiah, prophesied this would happen.
So prophecy #4 -
Grew up
TRANS
So far, we’ve covered 5 verses and 4 prophecies. And, there’s about to be more. The first 5 verses have 4 prophecies. The last 10 verses have 20.
Verse 3 -
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of suffering who knew what sickness was.
He was like someone people turned away from;
he was despised, and we didn’t value him.
#5 – He was despised and rejected.
The Sanhedrin rejected Him during three trials that took place during the night of Good Friday, and the people rejected Him when Pilate asked if he should release Jesus or Barabbas as a gesture of good will for the Passover holiday. The crowd chose Barabbas and shouted, “Crucify Him” about Jesus.
Verse 4 -
4 Yet he himself bore our sicknesses,
and he carried our pains;
This was true from His very first days of ministry. Everywhere Jesus went, He bore people’s sicknesses by healing them and carried their pains by counseling with them.
4b -
but we in turn regarded him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
On the day of atonement, a special goat, called “The Scapegoat” was brought into the Temple and stricken by the sins of the people. A red sash was tied around its forehead. The sash symbolized the sins of the people.
This scapegoat, called “Azazel,” was then led away into the wilderness by the High Priest as a way of illustrating that the people’s sins had been taken away.
In John 19:15, when Pilate asked if he should release Jesus, the crowd shouted, “Take him away.” – The word for “take him away,” in Hebrew is “Azazel.”
He was stricken.
5 But he was pierced because of our rebellion,
crushed because of our iniquities;
punishment for our peace was on him,
and we are healed by his wounds.
Jesus was crucified between two criminals on the afternoon before Passover. Normally it took 2 or 3 days for the victim to die by crucifixion, but the Jews didn’t like it when people were writhing in pain during the Passover, so just before sundown, which would be the start of Passover, the Roman guards broke the legs of the two criminals on either side of Jesus, so they would suffocate faster. When they came to Jesus, He was already dead, having died of a broken heart when God laid the sins of the world upon Him.
So instead of breaking His legs, they pierced His pericardium with a spear to verify that He was really dead.
6 We all went astray like sheep;
we all have turned to our own way;
and the Lord has punished him
for the iniquity of us all.
He was punished for our sins. The exact moment He was punished is recorded in Mark 15:34, where Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth.
Matthew records that during Jesus’ trial, He never defended Himself or confronted His accusers. He remained silent.
Like a lamb led to the slaughter
and like a sheep silent before her shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
The lambs that were raised in Bethlehem for slaughter in the Temple were led up the Kidron Valley the day before Passover. Jesus was led up that same path.
8 He was taken away because of oppression and judgment;
and who considered his fate?
After Jesus’ 6th trial, He was taken away to be crucified. The crowd even shouted, “Azazel” – “Take him away.”
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
he was struck because of my people’s rebellion.
Ephesians 4 records that following His death, Jesus descended into Hades, or a place called “Abraham’s side,” where He freed all the Old Testament saints who were waiting there to be led to heaven once Messiah had paid for their sins. Jesus was cut off from the land of the living there on Holy Saturday before rising again on Easter Sunday.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
but he was with a rich man at his death,
because he had done no violence
and had not spoken deceitfully.
Crucified criminals were normally buried in a mass grave outside the walls of Jerusalem. But a rich man named Joseph of Arimathea volunteered his own tomb for Jesus’ burial.
10 Yet the Lord was pleased to crush him severely.
Because by crushing Him with the weight of our sins, we were set free.
When you make him a guilt offering,
The only animals that qualified to be guilt offerings were animals that had no spots or blemishes. Jesus lived a spotless, blemishless, sinless life so that he was qualified to become a guilt offering on our behalf.
he will see his seed, he will prolong his days,
and by his hand, the Lord’s pleasure will be accomplished.
He saw His “seed,” – the children of Abraham, when He descended to “Abraham’s side.”
And He prolonged His days by hanging around for 40 days after His resurrection to train the Disciples.
11 After his anguish,
he will see light and be satisfied.
On Easter Sunday morning, He saw the light by rising from the dead!
By his knowledge,
my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will carry their iniquities.
Romans 5:9 says that we are “justified,” by his blood.
And then verse 12 finishes with a bang. The first part says…
12 Therefore I will give him the many as a portion,
and he will receive the mighty as spoil,
Talk about “many,” in Revelation 7, Jesus is surrounded by a multitude from every people, tribe, nation, and language.
The next phrase says…
because he willingly submitted to death,
In the Garden He prayed, “If it is possible, Father take this cup from me, nevertheless, not my will by thy will be done.”
The third phrase says…
and was counted among the rebels;
Pilate counted him with Barabbas and the others who were rebelling against the Roman Empire. He wasn’t rebelling, but He was counted among the rebels.
And the last phrase says…
yet he bore the sin of many
and interceded for the rebels.
On the Cross He prayed “Father, forgive them,” and answered the prayer of the thief on the Cross when He asked Him to remember him when He came into His kingdom. Romans 8 says He is interceding for all of us rebels right now, at the throne of God.
2 feet deep in silver dollars
2 feet deep in silver dollars
APPLY THE WORD Our prayer is that the prophetic vision and words of Isaiah are thrilling your heart this month. If so, share this joy with others! You could plan a special praise and worship time for your family or small group with hymns and choruses based on texts from Isaiah.
But by now we have seen a common thread running through these references. Far from being merely tragic or unjust, the Servant's terrible suffering and agonizing death is wonderfully beneficial, securing eternal salvation for all who will believe on Him.
Sometimes, though, the benefits of salvation and the joys of heaven can seem remote in light of the broken-down car, leaky roof, or rebellious child we have to deal with today.