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All Glory to God ‭‭The name Fulfillment is taken from this verse… Matthew‬ ‭1‬:‭22‬ - “So all this was done that it might be FULFILLED which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet…” That verse is talking Jesus. Every step in His story was the fulfillment of an Old Testament prophesy. He fulfilled hundreds of them. And the story of Jesus is His testimony. It’s called the Gospel (GOOD NEWS). And that good news carries with it a spirit of prophesy. The spirit of prophesy is immensely powerful. It has the ability to change reality itself. Things that should be impossible come to fruition. And that spirit HAS to be at work in the church. This spirit is mentioned in the Bible… ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭19‬:‭10‬ ‭- “And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the SPIRIT OF PROPHESY.”” In other words, simply TELLING people what Jesus DID and SAID has the power to SHAPE the future. And this church is going to be talking about some of the things that Jesus said that maybe aren’t talked about as often as they should be. Things that might make some people uncomfortable. But the spirit of prophesy lives in the WHOLE gospel message. Without the spirit of prophesy, we’re not going to have the future God wants for us. What God wants is simple: He wants us to enter His joy, and behold His glory. [Repeat] His hand is outstretched. He simply wants us to take His hand. And the name of that hand is Jesus. And Jesus speaks to through His Prophets. He was very clear that we must receive the Prophets that are sent to us. There’s a verse where Jesus is speaking with the religious authorities at the time. They didn’t like Him at all. They called Him a false prophet and conspired to kill Him, and eventually did. They were always trying to trick Jesus into incriminating Himself. And here they were asking Jesus a trick question, but He responds with another trick question about John the Baptist (John was the one who prepared the way for coming of Jesus.) ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭21‬:‭23‬-‭27‬ ‭- “Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?” But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: The baptism of John—where was it from? From heaven or from men?” And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.” So they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know.” And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” In other words, Jesus is saying: if you don’t confess that a prophet is a prophet, I’m not going to speak to you. We have to believe the prophets, or Jesus will not speak to us. Here’s another example - 5 days before the people of Jerusalem nailed Jesus to cross, here was the scene… ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭21‬:‭7‬-‭11‬ ‭- “They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!” And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”” They were thrilled to see Him, but Jesus knew they would turn on Him. And He wasn’t in the best mood about it… ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭23‬:‭37‬-‭39‬ - “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” It continues into chapter 24, verse 1… “Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”” Prophets! Prophets are people who come in the name of the Lord! Let’s talk about one of those prophets. His name was King David. For those who don’t know, David chosen by God to be King when he was still a little boy. While he was still young, he killed the giant Goliath with only a slingshot - because God was with him. He had a very close relationship with God. As an adult, before he became king, he was in the habit of always asking God what to do next. He was being persecuted by King Saul, who jealous of him. But God always PROTECTED David, and everybody knew it. When Saul died, David became king, and he famous for worshipping God IN PUBLIC. ‭‭II Samuel‬ ‭6‬:‭12‬-‭16‬ - “…So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness. And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet. Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.” (By the way, Michal was King David’s wife, the queen) Verse 20 - “Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, “How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” So David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the Lord. And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.”” So David had no shame when it came to his love for God. He wasn’t going to let anything come between him and God, not even his own wife. But some time later, he spotted a woman named Bathsheba. And suddenly, his relationship with God went out the window. ‭‭II Samuel‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬-‭17‬ - “It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her… and she returned to her house. And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child.” Then David sent to Joab, saying, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” …Now when David called him, he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk…In the morning it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. And he wrote in the letter, saying, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die.” So it was, while Joab besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were valiant men. Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also.” ‭‭So David has an affair with this woman, then plans the murder of her husband. It doesn’t get lower than that. But then God sends another PROPHET… ‭‭II Samuel‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭13‬ - “Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.” Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’ ” So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.” Did you get that? All David had to say was: “I have sinned against the Lord.”. And God IMMEDIATELY relented from everything He was going to do to Him. Nathan said “The Lord has PUT AWAY your sin” David REPENTED! He acknowledged that what He did was evil. But until the PROPHET told him he was out of line, David didn’t even know it. He was OBLIVIOUS! Now I am a Prophet. I was an Evangelist for two and a half years. On December 2nd, God made me a Prophet. It’s not something I asked for, but it is what it is. And the Lord has message for everybody here today… KNOWLEDGE of our evil hearts is the first step toward salvation. There needs to be a recognition that ALL us have evil inside of us. I don’t care if you’ve been in church 30 years, baptized, filled with the Holy Ghost… David had been living for God his entire life, but there was something inside him that was lurking. We are not exempt. You can be the best neighbor ever, pay your taxes, mow your lawn, but there is something vile in here. Look what Jesus said… ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭15‬:‭8‬-‭20‬ ‭- “‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”…“Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted…They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.” Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.” So Jesus said, “…those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man...”” Jesus wants us to KNOW where all this evil comes from, because it also explains why God is so quick to forgive. God made out our hearts. He put that evil inside us. He did it on purpose, and wants us to know about it. Because KNOWLEDGE of our evil hearts is the first step toward salvation. It’s called CONVICTION. That crowd in Jerusalem that murdered Jesus was CONVICTED when they found out who He was. The Apostle Peter got up a balcony and explained to them what they just did. Here’s what happened… ‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭37‬ ‭- “Now when they heard this, they were PRICKED IN THEIR HEART, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?” They were pricked into their evil hearts. And the next question they asked was: what do we do? Verse 38: “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” REPENT! The knowledge that our hearts are evil brings up to repentance. It saved David, it will save us! He had been living for God his whole life, but he was reminded by a prophet that his heart was evil. And because God put that evil inside us, He has compassion for us. When Jesus started to preach, He had large crowds following Him everywhere He went. They would follow Him into wilderness areas where there was no food. Look what Jesus said… ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭15‬:‭32‬ ‭- “Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, “I have COMPASSION on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”” “…they have now continued with Me”. Continuing with Jesus saves us. That’s what faith is: continuing! And we’re not saved because of who WE are - we’re saved because of who HE is! It’s not our goodness, it’s HIS! And when we CONTINUE with Him, He will not forsake us, He will FEED us! Faith is not about belief - it’s about action. Faith is trust and obedience. CONTINUING with Jesus is trust and obedience. And WHILE we continue with Jesus, evil is going to continue to proceed from our hearts. But the Lord is quick to forgive. Despite this evil heart, He loves us! Here’s how much He loves us.. ‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭21‬ ‭ - “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” He loves us! It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you’ve done. Here’s a parable Jesus told to the religious leaders… ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭21‬:‭28‬-‭32‬ ‭ - ““But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.” But look what else Jesus said… ‭‭John‬ ‭6‬:‭44‬ ‭- “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” Every one of you is here because your Heavenly Father drew you here, including me. And now, action is required. Here’s another parable Jesus told… ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭22‬:‭2‬-‭14‬ ‭- ““The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” ’ But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, BOTH BAD AND GOOD. And the wedding hall was FILLED with guests. “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are called, but few are chosen.”” Now the people of Jerusalem KNEW there was something different about Jesus. Here’s what they were saying about Him, before they killed Him… ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭21‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭- “And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”” They called Him a Prophet. And Here’s what Jesus about Prophets… ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭10‬:‭40‬-‭41‬ ‭- “..he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward...” When Jesus says “in the name of a Prophet”, He means “in the name of Jesus”. I am here in name of Jesus, and I am a Prophet! And those who receive me shall receive a Prophet’s reward. Praise God