The Right Hand of Power

And so let's just spow our heads. Father, God, we

thank you, thank you, thank you that it is the

will of the Father to give the little flock of

the kingdom. That Lord, that you look down and you

give grace to those in need. Thank you for loving

this church today. Lord, we've had some bumps in the road,

but we don't have any bump in the road with

you in the road. We have the right hand of power.

So grateful to you for loving us and keep us. Lord,

for Jesus and his name, bless me. I'm just a

weak vessel. Give me the Holy Spirit more profoundly, give

me to the Holy Spirit, so that I can share

the word of God in Jesus' name. Amen. The title

of the message today is the right hand of power.

Take out your hand and squeeze it the right hand.

Try to squeeze it hard. How many of you feel

you have a lot of power. And as Andrew there

tunes that thing in to get that ring over there out,

will We'll let Andrew put his hand down right so

you can mess with the knobs. But the right hand

of power, okay, got a little echo right over there,

and so just on that side, just it's all right

to type it down a little bit. Frederick Douglas once

wrote that power concedes nothing without a demand. It never

did and it never will. Power over evil is the

direct result of personal conquest, personal victory, and hear me

nothing less. So God has not called his people to

fail in the Christian journey. God has called us to power,

not our power, but His power. Now, there have been

times in my life when I have failed the Lord.

There have been times when I've let him down. There

have been times when I have done what Romans three says,

I've fallen short of the glory of God. But I

can tell you right now that God is at my

right hand, that He is with me, and he has

sustained me because of Jesus and the gift of the

Holy Spirit. Jesus fought the battle for all of us

in Gassimone at the Cross, and Jesus won the right

to save us by the power of God Almighty. So

we don't come into a relationship with God with an

insecurity of our acceptance. By faith, we lay hold of

the right hand of Power. In the book Revelation, Jesus

appeals to the awful unconverted Church of Ladieseah Why do

I say that, because when you read the book Revelation,

Ladicea is the worst of the seven by attire, is

the medieval papacy. Why because lad Asa has access to

the truth, Ladysah has access to prophetic truth. Ladyssea has

not lived up to the truth. And a lukewarm Christian

can do more harm than a zealous Christian who has

the wrong ideas and persecutes. And so God is speaking

the relation to his end Time Seventh Day Sabbath keeping

church to get their act together, to get real, to

come into a personal relationship with Jesus. So every person

in that lukewarm end time church can overcome, be saved

and put the marriage lamb garment on and be ready

for the marriage supper of the Lamb. And I speak directly.

Look what Jesus says in Relation three nineteen. Those whom

I love, I reprove and chasten. And what does he

say next two words be zealous and repent. Behold, I

stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my

voice and opens the door, I will come in to

eat with him, and he with me. He who conquers,

I will grant him to sit with me on my throne,

as I am a self conquered and set with my

Father on his throne. The greatest love call invitation the

entire Bible has given the Church of latest see to

be with God and Christ on his throne, to sit

with Him in the seat of authoritium power, and to

know the love of God personally. And this admonition appealed

latency in church. Jesus provides an illusion to the most

quoted verse New Testament. Very often we miss this. When

Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Peter

also made direct reference to this verse. Here alluded to

the most quoted verse in the New Testament. This verse

from the Old Testament, more than any other, came to

represent the faith of those early Christian believers. It was

not in the Book of Daniel, it was in the Psalms,

and this text here alluded to his Psalms one hundred

and ten to one. And I would also like to

read verse two, as it completes the thought you can

open your bibles if we don't have the slides right now,

but we do good. Psalms one hundred and ten one

and two a psalm of David the Lord says to

my Lord, sit in my right hand till I make

your enemies your footstool. The Lord sends forth from Zion,

your mighty scepter, rule in the midst of your foes.

Now this is the most quoted passage in the New Testament.

This is the one verse that the early Church based

their faith on their confidence in Jesus on, more than

any other text in the Bible. The Book of Hebrews

also introduces this most important verse of Psalms one hundred

and ten and one in Hebrews one three. Let's look

at one to three. In many and various ways, God

spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets. But

in these last days he has spoken to us by

his son, whom he has appointed the air of all things,

through whom also he created the world. The Greek is

the eons. You know, I listened to a theologian recently.

He says God is trapped in time. The God somehow

has to be trapped in time or he has can't

be a god of love. And yet this verse says

He created the eons, which means the time ages. Christ

is the potentate of time. He created time and space God,

the Father, God, the Son God, the Holy Spirit, what

sister White calls the hoarded love of eternity. Together they

made time itself. Three. He reflects the glory of God.

He bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the

universe by his word of And what does it say

in your Bible? He is word of. Come on, reflect power.

When he had made purification for sins, he set down

at the right hand of the Majesty on high. There

it is a quote of Psalms one hundred and ten

and one. And when it quotes this verse, it says

Christ has the power when the Holy Spirit was poured

out at Pentecost. Peter turned to this passage in Psalms

one hundred and ten as the authoritative prophecy of Jesus, resurrection, exaltation,

the throne of God. Frans, sometimes we don't realize it

that prophecy is all through the Bible. How many of

you thought, well, prophecies just in the Book of Daniel,

Book of Revelation. You can't read the Psalms without having

tons of prophecies that relate to Jesus. The Book of

Genesis has the first prophecy of the Cross, prophecies of

the end of the world all through the Bible. In

Acts two twenty four, Peter is speaking in his Great

Sermon at Pentecost about Jesus. When he speaks of David's

right hand, turn with me to Acts two, verse twenty four.

For David says, concerning him, I saw the Lord always

before me. Where is he? In the verse you tell me?

In your Bible it says, for he is where at

my right hand, that I may not be shaken? So

where does he need to be in our lives? At

our right hand? Therefore my heart was glad, my tongue rejoiced. Moreover,

my flesh will dwell in hope. Peter had denied the

Lord three times. Just before Jesus was crucified. Peter made

bold promises to Jesus that he would never deny him,

but he did. Peter claimed that he would be faithful

to Jesus more than the others. He was unfaithful in

this sense. Peter is a lot like in time latesty

and believers who think they are rich, they're increased with goods.

They boast of being the final generation that will vindicate

the care of God, and they're not vindicating anything, because

it's all about them and not about Jesus. Dear Heart,

we need Jesus and not more of ourselves to be saved.

On the last day, Peter was relying on himself, like

we do so many times, trying to work our own

way to find favor with God, trying to do just

the right things, to look religious, to prove something, to

show something that were perfect enough to somehow be accepted

in our lives. And from that insecurity comes the raw

problem of the latesty in condition. Peter learned the hard

way by denying Jesus that the only person God is

impressed with is Jesus. When Jesus arose from the dead,

the angel at the tomb told the women at the

tomb to go tell Peter that Jesus is alive Mark

sixteen seven. Go tell his disciples and Peter that he's

going before you to Galilee. There you will see him

as he told you. Now, why would Peter be singled

out because Peter had crashed? Paul tells Us in One

Corinthians fifteen five that Jesus appeared first to Peter and

then to the disciples. Jesus didn't wait for Galilee to

find Peter. Jesus found Peter before Galilee. We have no

record of it in the New Testament, but we know

what that meeting occurred, based on one Corinthians fifteen. Peter's

heart was broken because Peter had denied his Lord. Maybe

he was walking a rout along the sea of Galilee

or someplace that we don't know of, and he was

kicking stones and kicking himself thinking of everything he did bad,

which was to wreck the Lord's confidence. He thought and

hurt him deeply just before he was crucified by denying him.

Now we've all done the same thing as Peter at

some point in our life, have we not? The man

with all the personal power in his own head denied

the Lord with his mouth when Peter denied Jesus. In

Mark fourteen seventy two, Mark, who was most likely the

gospel quarter of Peter's gospel, said that Peter denied Jesus.

When he did so, it says he broke down and wept.

That's what happened after he denied Jesus. He didn't go

out and throw the money at the at the religious

leaders like Judas dead. He went out and he wept.

He broke down he realized that his relationship had caved.

It had been inconsistent. He had not had the power

to resist evil. He was relying on himself. He had

hurt the Lord and roll terms Peter was a failure.

But more than that, Peter was a traitor to the

one who loved him more than any other man or

woman ever could or ever had in his life. Peter

had denied Jesus. And how Peter was a broken man.

Now that happens in our lives too. There are times

we have denied Jesus. There are times when we have sinned,

and then it's so easy to want to look righteous

when we're not. For salvation to be relevant, for it

to be practical and winsome, it has to work in

the lives of men and women who have let the

Lord down like Peter did. And A I right. If

it doesn't work for people who have failed the Lord,

then what good is it. I don't like hearing sermons

that preach to me like I'm somehow on a road

to perfection. I want to hear about Jesus perfection because

I believe as I look into the lamb, I will

be healed, and my road to perfection is him not

me that in a relationship with Christ and the stay

of the Word and sharing Jesus, living for Jesus, losing

myself in Jesus. Somehow God takes care of the perfect

part because God takes care of me. Friends, Jesus will

fill his kingdom with men and women who blew it

badly in life. But in that same life they were

broken like Peter, and they came to tears. They fell

at Jesus' feet like he did, grabbing his knees in

Luke five, and he said to part for me, I'm

a sinful man. And Jesus didn't go away. The one

who forgave, the one who overcomes in scripture, is the

very one who finds Jesus at the bottom of his

barrel of failure and tears. This is why we work

out our salvation with fear and trembling in tears. Peter

broke down, he wept. That's a good thing for us

to do on occasion. There's a good reason why Peter

quotes David and saw him sixteen eight and nine in

his sermon at Pentecost that we just read in Acts

two twenty four. Let's read it again X two twenty four.

For David says concerning him that is Jesus. I saw

the Lord always before me, for he's at my right hand,

that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart was glad.

My tongue rejoice moreover, my flesh will dwell in hope.

In the Bible, the right hand is the hand of power.

Take your hand again, squeeze it heart well, you might

get an exercise. You don't have to go to the gym. Okay,

our right hand represents our power. Now, Betty Hall, bless

her heart. Is Betty here today? Are you? Betty have

the best grip of anybody in the church as far

as I'm concerned this talk about you getting older. You

hold the hand, and you have a grip that I

want to say, I wish I had it. The strength

of God is in you. For this we rejoice. God's

right hand represents God's power. Peter took note of the

fact that David said, I saw the Lord before me,

for he is at my right hand, that I may

not be shaken. Both David and Peeved are saying that

Jesus is alive, is Lord, and that he brings his

power into my life at my right hand. As Christians,

we're not forsaken people. Did you hear me? We're not

forsaken people. We're not powerless if we have the Lord

at our right hand. And that is why the text says,

therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoice. Now,

if the Lord is at your right hand, do you

have a right to say, my life is miserable? I

don't know how I can make it. Look at what

I've done. But the Lord's at your right hand. Isn't

the Lord being at your right hand something good? How

mean you can say? Amen to that? Now the Lord

is at your right hand, that means you are gonna

make it. Jesus came into this world to set the

captives free, to give power to the powerless. And that's why.

And Luke, it says, in the power of the Holy

Spirit he performed as miracles. What is the meaning of

the Lord who's at our right hand, the right hand

of God right now? Excuse? And what's the meaning of

the Lord who's at the right hand of God being

at your right hand? Also? What does that mean? The

same Lord who sits at the right hand of power

is our right is at our right hand? To the

end of time. How through the Holy Spirit that has

been sent into the world. Jesus told Caiaphas that he

would not see him again until the second Coming, when

after a special resurrection of those who crucified him indicated

in Daniel twelve three, he would see him at the

right hand of God in power. Caiaph has died once,

He's going to die a second time and a third

time at the end of the millennium. Those people that

crucified Jesus get a special dose of seeing Jesus Mark

fourteen sixty two. But he was silenced and made no answer. Again,

the High Priest asked him, are you the Christ, the Messiah,

the son of the Blessed, And Jesus said, I am.

That's the language of God. At the burning bush, I am,

And you will see the Son of Man Daniel seven,

who is equal to the Father, receiving dominion from the Father.

You'll see the Son of Man seated at the right

hand of Power, coming with the clouds of heaven. That's

just sends shivers down your spine. God has given all

power and authority to Jesus because he is the son

of Man. So where do we get the power of

God in our lives. If Jesus is seen at the

right hand of power, isn't that far away? Yes? It

is like in Luke nineteen twelve and Noble into a

far country to receive his kingdom. Christ went to a

far country. Where is Jesus every day of our lives

when we need Jesus power when we have none? Practically

relevant question, and let's look at Peter's sermon a little

more closely, turned to Acts two, verse twenty nine. In

your Bible, Peter is continuing, Brethren, I may say to

you confidently you know he's not You know, well, I

may be right here. I'm not sure. Let me think

about it. Is that how he's preaching? How's he preaching?

What's the word I just mentioned confidently of the patriotic David,

that he both died and was buried, and his tomb

is with us to this day. Being there for a prophet,

and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to

him that he would set one of his descendants upon

his throne verse thirty one, he foresaw and spoke of

the resurrection of Christ. That he was not abandoned to Hades.

That means the nor did his flesh see corruption? This

Jesus God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses.

You know, Peter's given his testimony. We touched Jesus, we

hugged him after he died, We met him, he met me.

I'm not going to tell you what he told me,

and I told him. Nothing is said about that, but

he did after I denied him. He's alive. Peter's saying

that David died and that David has one hundred percent

not gone to heaven yet. Is that how that Bible

text is reading? Does that Bible text says that say

that Peter has died and gone to heaven? Doesn't say that,

So David cannot be speaking of himself here. The one

who did not seek corruption is Jesus, and Jesus is

not in his grave today like David was and is

until the resurrection. David is still in the grave. The

dust of the earth is Daniel twelve. Jesus is not.

David has died and not gone to heaven. David has

died and gone to sleep. Jesus' resurrection, friend, is the

proof and the evidence we all need desperately in life

to not be afraid of death. To live confident lives.

To know that we have a resurrection Lord that is

coming on the last day, who will raise the dead

like he did Lazaruth, Jyrus's daughter, and the widow's son.

Of Nay, be you young, middle aged, or old, He'll

get it done by the word of his power. And

verse thirty two, Peter says, this Jesus God raised up,

and of that we are all witnesses. Friends. When a

resurrected Jesus appeared to Peter in that secret meeting before Galilee,

Peter knew in that glorious moment that Jesus had forgiven him,

that God had forgiven him in Christ, and that Jesus

is Lord with all the power to fix a broken

man full of tears. He knew that. Peter at this

point in his sermon moves directly to Psalms one hundred

and ten, verse one, to show that Jesus is Lord

with all the power that we need in our lives

to be forgiven to become changed men and women. Friends.

This is why it's the most important verse in the Testament.

It's quoted from the Old because it captures the power

the accomplishment of Jesus. Look at Acts two thirty three

to thirty five. Here's the quotation of Psalms one hundred

and ten. One. Being therefore exalted at the right hand

of God, and having received from the Father the promise

of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out that which

you see and hear. For David did not ascend into

the heavens, but he himself says, the Lord said to

my Lord, sit in my right hand, till I make

thy enemies a stool for thy feet. There it is

Psalms one hundred and ten and one in verse two,

referenced by Peter and as an illusion is Mighty Sermon

at Pentecost. Peter is using Psalms one hundred and ten

as the prophetic proof that Jesus is exalted to the

right hand of God and that the Holy Spirit has

been sent into our lives so we can have the

power of God to live for God. Is that meaningful?

That's why Christ descended. Let's go back to Psalms one

hundred and ten and one and two and look at

it together. A psalm of David, the Lord says to

my Lord, sit at my right hand, till I make

your enemies your footstool. Verse two the Lord sends forth

from Zion, your mighty scepter, rule in the midst of

your foes. Not what does this all mean here? God

the Father is speaking to God his son Jesus, who

has been resurrected from the dead and exalted to the

right hand of God. That's what's happening here. In fact,

the resurrection is given in verse three and four when

Christ becomes a priest after the order of Melkezedek and

as a host resurrected with him after his resurrection alluded

to in verse three, and God the Father says to Jesus,

sit at my right hand. The right hand, friend, is

the position of authority and power. God's in power is

also the divine position of favor, God's favor. We ever

felt like you're not in favor with God, There's no

way God will help me. Look what I did. I

really messed up. I chewed that person out. I blew up.

I sinned. I fell into that compulsive sin in my life.

I treated my dad so awful before he died. My

mother never got the love I should have. I could

have helped my brother live, but I didn't. We all

have our stuff in our heads, so we've let the

lord down. But when a king, as you sit at

his right hand, friends, it means that you have the

authority of the king, that is, at his right hand,

you have the favor of the king. For you you

have the authority of the king in your life. God

the Father then says, I will take I will make

your enemies a footstool for your feet. Is that how

the text reads? Are you falling with me? The Hebrew

word translated make is the word put. Did you know

that it's the word seat the word seth from it?

Seth was named to put why because it was an

echo of the promise of Genesis three point fifteen till

I put your enemies as a footstool for your feet.

When God the Father spoke to Jesus after his resurrection

ascension at his throne, he no doubt saw the nail

holes in Jesus' feet after his ascension. As Jesus sat

down at the right hand of God, his holy feet

were there pun intended. And when they found their place

just before the throne, all you had to do is

look down and there they were, or look up holy feet.

There's a reason why the word put is used in

Psalms one hundred and ten and one till I put

your enemies of footstool for your feet. It's an echo

of Genesis three fifteen, when the first promise of a

savior was made to Eve. Just after she said and

just after she denied the Lord, just like Peter did

in her own life, God told the serpent who justice

and Genesis three point fifteen. This is the proto Gunglian promise,

the first Gospel promise. Look what it says, I will

put enmity between you and the woman. It's the serpent

the woman, between your seed and her seed. He that

is the seed of the woman shall bruise your head,

and you the serpent shall bruise his heel. This is

a death struggle between the serpent and he who is

the seed of the woman. The woman here represents the

true believers of God who follow the ways of the

heavenly Jerusalem, who is our mother, who is free? According

to Glacious four twenty six, Jerusalem above is our mother,

and she is free. Paul says, the seed of the serpent.

Who are the many in the world? Are those who

buy into the surples. Serpents lies are human beings and

devils who do what he asks them to do. But

the seed of the woman is one, because the Bible

calls the seed of the woman. He here. And that's

why Paul says in Glatians three that the seed is one,

not many. He the seed of the woman. He shall

bruise your head, and you the serpent will bruise his heel.

God said, I will put enmity, and his foot will

be wounded. But he'll crush you. Between the faithful and

the unfaithful. He will put enmity. The seed of the

woman will crush the head of the serpent. That heel

would be wounded by the serpent and the prophecy. How

many fangs does a serpent have? Come on, Elementary Watson?

How many? Two? Okay, snake has two fangs that bite

and sting with death. Two Roman knaills were driven into

Jesus' feet. As the serpent's fangs closed in on Jesus,

he said, the prince of this world is coming. He

has no power over me, but he got him in

the feet the serpent's fangs. With those wounded feet, Jesus

will crush Satan and all his followers at the very

spot where he died. Most people don't realize it, but

the cross of Christ will be the place where the

judgment occurs. At the end of the millennium, the Holy

City will descend. Christ's feet will touch the Mount of Olives,

which is Gaugatha based on Bible evidence, facing the veil

of the temple in that graveyard condemnation zone where he

was crucified in a tree. Ernest el Martin I mentioned

this before in his Secrets of God Gath that nails this.

Many Messianic Jews are also aware of this reality. The

castic structure of the chapter it is finished in the

Desire of Ages nails. The Gaugatha is the Mount of

Olives and near the altar the Red Heifer, the most

sacred altar in Israel's history, alluded to in Hebrews thirteen,

is the place of crucifixion. That is where the throne

of God will rise up and Jesus with minister judgment

for the world. It's described in the book Great Controversy.

With those wounded feet, Jesus will crush the serpent in

all evil. You see, Jesus is the Satan smasher. Did

you hear that with his wounded feet he is the

Satan smasher, can Satan smash you? If Jesus has is

the serpent under his foot? No, all that is in

Psalms one hundred and ten and one. All this is

there because Jesus has the power to rule in the

midst of his enemies, to crush the serpent. Said, and

let's go back to Psalms one hundred and ten, Verses

one and two, and keep moving. I Saalm of David.

The Lord says to my Lord, sit in my right

hand till I put literally your enemies as your footstool.

Verse one is about Jesus, and I go to verse two.

Verse two is about the Holy Spirit. Psalms one hundred

and ten. Verse two the Lord sends forth from Zion

your mighty scepter, that's his ruin in the midst of

your foes. Jesus is at the right hand of God.

Jesus scepter is here on earth, in the midst of

his enemies. Jesus is Lord, but the scepter is also Lord.

Who not what is the scepter? I ask you the question,

who not what is the scepter of Jesus? The scepter

that comes to earth is the scepter of Jesus power

and authority. In Psalms one hundred and ten two, turn

with me to Hebrews one, verse eight, and I understand

the young adults have cracked the book of Hebrews. Hebrews

one eight. Hebrews one is loaded with good stuff that

introduces us to Jesus, his enthronement and the power of

the Holy Spirit. Verse eight. But off the son, he says,

thy throne, O God is forever and ever. Well, that's

the end of Jesus being a created being. If he

has an eternal throne, that means he's a forever being.

Thy righteous scepter is the scepter of thy kingdom, which

is tied to his throne, also eternal. Thou hast loved

righteousness and hated lawlessness. Therefore, God, Thy God, Now what

does it say in your Bible? Look at the verse

with me, God has what anointed thee with the what

the oil of what gladness? And beyond thy comrades, who not?

What is the oil that Jesus has anointed us with

the Holy Spirit? Zachariath? For whear is this out? In

many places the Bible? In this passage, the scepter of

Jesus kingdom is affirm because Jesus has been anointed with

the Holy Spirit. The oil of gladness is the Holy Spirit.

The scepter is the Holy Spirit. Jesus was baptized with

the Holy Spirit and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus worked every America in his ministry from his baptism

to his death with joy to save the lost. The

Holy Spirit is the oil and the scepter of his power,

the gladness the sceptor of his power. Now, in the

Exodus story, the rod of Moses represented the rod of power,

that is the Holy Spirit. And you said, well, how

do you know that, Well, that's evident in the evidence here.

The magicians were smart enough to realize that moses rod

that was called the rod of God by God in

the text was the finger of God that was wielded

by both Moses and Aaron and the ten plagues of Egypt.

Did you know that? Didn't know that? I want to

show with the two verses, two passages from the Spirit

of Prophecy, to show you that Moses gave up his

old rod and got one from God. Now the Hebrew

text indicates that, and I don't have time to do

an exposition of that with you. But the Hebrew text,

what is this the valel pointings being left to psy

because their ninth century AD, those consonants, as they occur,

are always in the Torah from this, and so Upun

is in place? What is this from this? In your end?

Testimonies of the Church, Volume three, page three forty two.

But Moses dared not choose his own course, do as

best pleased himself. He had the shepherd's crook at God's command,

and in its place what did he receive? Had received

a rod of power? He dared not delay. He dared

not lay down the scepter and resign his position till

God should dismiss him. Counsels of parents, teachers, and students,

page four eight. I'm amazed at how the spirit of

prophecies in with deep Bible insight. This woman did not

know Hebrew, but she knew Jesus. Thus educated, Moses was

prepared to heed the call of God to exchange his

shepherd's crook, for what what does it say the rod

of authority to leave his flock of sheep to take

the leadership of an adultrous, rebellious people. But he was

still to depend on the invisible leader. As the rod

was an instrument's hand, he was to be a willing

instrument in the hand of Christ. Now in the first quote,

go back to it, just go back to the one

before this. She calls it the scepter that he received

Exes Eight nineteen. Now those magicians knew good and well

what that rod was. It was shared between Aaron and

Moses as the miracles wrecked the nation of Egypt. Now,

the ancient rabbis believed that that scepter was sapphire. In

ancient Egypt, there was a vos scepter that was carried

by the Egyptian pharaohs that was sapphire, and it looked

like it had this symbols of snakes on it, the

water symbols of snakes. It had a hook at the

bottom so they could catch snakes. And it was meant

to look like a crowbar so it could open up

the water, the subterranean waters. And so God is speaking

to their culture in clear language. Now, of course, the

sapphire we know in Exues twenty four ten to twelve

that God was standing on blue sapphire stone, which is

the throne of God. In Ezekiel twenty six and Ezekiel

ten one to three. And we know that from the

text of Exus twenty four that God's ten commandments were

taken from the stone it says front and God gave

his law, and that's why every Jew had a tassel

of blue to represent the law of God, to keep

all of his commandments. And so they were connecting the

dots that that scepter, that moses rod, must bepphire, because

if it was able to hit the rock that is

God's throne, it had to be an equal hardness Exus

eight nineteen. And the magician said to Pharaoh, this is

the what the finger of God. Pharaoh's heart was hardened.

He would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

The rod was the finger of God, because it was

the rod of God, the scepter of his power, the

extension of holy stupid spirit might empower in moses ministry.

And with that finger of God that was a rod,

Moses broke the back of the mightiest nation on Earth.

Exus thirty one eighteen Deuteronomy nine ten both inform us

that the ten commandment law of God was written with

the finger of God. But that is not all the

rod of powers the finger of God was used for

in the Bible. Look at Luke not eleven nineteen and twenty.

Jesus is speaking. If I cast out demons by Belzabel,

that's what they're accusing him of. By whom do your

sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.

But if it is by the finger of God that

I cast out demons, then the King of God has

come upon you. See, Jesus is the new Moses. Jesus

wields the rod. There's no evidence that Rod ever went

back into the ark after number twenty. That rod went

back into the hand of Jesus. When Moses went up

Mountain Nepo and he died, the Lord buried him. And

they're at the threshing floor. When the Lord, the Angel

of the Lord, who is the pre existent Christ, meets Gideon,

he has the rod in his hand, and with it

he burns the sacrifice. It's the rod of God. If

I cast out demons by Beelzebil, which means Satan, by

whom do you sons cast them out? Therefore they shall

be your judges. But if it is by the finger

of God that I cast out demons, then the Kingdom

of God has come upon you. Now I'm going to

show you a parallel passage in Matthew twelve's twenty seven.

If I cast out demons by Beelzebil, this is by

whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall

be your judges verse twenty eight. But if it is

by the spirit of God, now wait a second, that

was the finger of God in Louke. But it's the

spirit of God here. But if it is by the

spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the

king of God has come upon you. So what is

the finger of God? You see that was with the

rod of God in the Old Testament that worked those miracles,

God's rod, God's scepter, God's finger. The Holy Spirit. He

wrote upon the tables with the Holy Spirit. The Ten Commandments.

He writes upon our hearts the Ten Commandments with the

Holy Spirit. In these passages, the finger of God is

the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the finger of God.

That is the rod of God, that is the scepter

of the power of God, that casts out evil spirits,

that crushes the power of Satan and Psalms one hundred

and ten two God sent the Holy Spirit to bring Authorityrist.

He says, send forth your scepter to ruin the midst

of your enemies. Because Christ has been enthroned. Peter says,

he has sent his Holy Spirit friends because of Jesus.

What does that mean? Practically? We are not powerless in

life anymore. God has sent his Holy Spirit, as the

scepter of Jesus, power and authority into the world. The

third person of the God had, according to Sister White,

person Christ. He brings Christ. He is a personal being

as the Godhead, but he is one with Christ. Friends.

Jesus has poured the oil of gladness on us because

we are not doomed to live powerless lives with no hope,

no victory, no joy in life. No, you know, we

have a good thing going here at reaching Hearts. I

had to pause right here. How many of you noticed

the garden in the back? You haven't if you look

behind the bar bar Jonathan, you're planning a garden. Right

Where are you at? Right? I can't see. My eyes

are carry innes helping too. Right there you are, Jonathan.

Thank you for bringing living things to the back of

this place. And that's a huge thing. I hope we

have fruit, trees and life and joy and lots of

garden stuff going on here in the future. God be praised.

Want to affirm that. And so Jesus is alive like

a shoot from the ground, and Jesus is at the

right hand of power and friends, Jesus has sent his scepter,

the Holy Spirit, his rod of power, the Finger of God,

his anointing oil into this world to be at our

right hand. And the Holy Spirit is at your right

hand in mind, so we will not be shaken or

overcome or powerless in life. When my brother died a

few years back at the direct result of a deep

depression through suicide, I was shaken and depressed. I didn't

tell you. I slogged through my sermon series on Joseph.

I went deeper than any other series I've ever preached

because of Joseph's suffering. I could identify with it. I

was preaching a sermon series, as I said in the

Life of Joseph during that time a few years ago,

when this tragedy overtook me and it crushed me. I

had been close to my brother, trying to help him

for two weeks. I couldn't call him because the problems

that I had to address with this building, which is

God's building, And during that time, my brother died. My

brother got hooked on opioids through prescription opioids through doctors,

and then he started paying for them because he couldn't

get him out of a system he was And I

know people could say, well, how could anyone do that? Listen,

I had surgery years ago, or had back and they

gave me opioids and I felt myself moving toward addiction

because of the power of those things, and I had

to set them aside and live in pain for nine

months till I got through the recovery from that because

I knew where it was leading and that's not easy.

So I don't have any business judging anybody who has

been there. What God's people need is help and love,

not a bunch of critics telling them how bad they

are because of what they're going through. A person who's

suffered from drug addiction has gone through some awful but

the power of God is there for them. My brother

died and I tried to help say his life and

I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it. I called

him every day except for that little phase of time

helped to put him in rehab. My brothers and sister's

rally to save his life couldn't do it. After the funeral,

late into the evening, I would sit with my guitar

and contemplate Psalms one thirty nine with a tune that

came to my head. I wrote a song called Wings

of the Morning, the music and the words, and Emily

Flores helped tweak it a little bit for the piano,

and she used her wonderful talent here, and she sang

it as the last song in my sermons series on

the life of Joseph. My mind in the song settled

on verses seven to ten of Psalms one hundred and

thirty nine. So open your bibles and look at that.

David says, where can I go from your spirit? Or

where can I flee from your presence? If I send

into heaven, you were there. If I make my bed

in hell, which means the grave, behold you were there.

If I take the winnings of the morning and dwell

in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there, your

hand shall lead me. Your right hand shall hold me.

The Holy Spirit is the right hand of power. In

our lives. Jesus may be in heaven, and that's good.

But Jesus has sent his scepter, the right hand of

his power, to rule in the midst of his enemies,

to rule over evil in our lives, to overcome evil

that is against us. And in us. God's hand that

leads us is the Holy Spirit. And don't I'd just

like to pause here and say, thank God for the

Holy Spirit in my life. I don't have to be

crushed by what happened to me, nor do you. We

have victory in Jesus name. God's hand that leads us

is the Holy Spirit. His right hand that holds us

is the Holy Spirit. His scepter of power that guides

us in life is the Holy Spirit. Where shall I

flee from your spirit? Your right hand holds me, Soalm

one hundred and ten one. The Lord sinds forth from Zion,

your mighty scepter rule in the midst of your foes.

Peter knew that God has not left us bereft of power,

without hope and forgiveness in our failed lives. Friend, God

has poured out his Holy Spirit on us so we

can be saved. Because we've been accepted in Jesus. He's

given us the Holy Spirit while we still struggle with sin. Well,

we have a sinful nature, while we're not perfect, Paul says,

the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it.

The Holy Spirit is at our right hand and in

us tewod Christians three point seventeen. Now the Lord is

the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is,

there is freedom. Because of the death, the resurrection, and

the exaltation of Jesus Christ, which is the Gospel. Peter

knew that he was forgiven. The Holy Spirit helps the

Gospel to make a difference in people's lives. You know,

we want to wiggle out of the Gospel and find

other way. To be said, let's just give up on

us and give in to Jesus and let the Holy

Spirit do his work. And the first work of the

Holy Spirit is to convince us that we're accepted by

God in the beginning of the journey, justified by faith,

so we're not on trial every moment of our lives.

As we grow in grace. Peter knew that the Lord

had brought authority into his weak life to overcome every

sin and boy at ease end and to preach the

gospel of God's forgiveness, the good news to a world

without hope. God Christ gave him hope. Peter knew that

the world that was there that day at Pentecost was

in need of Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Look at verse thirty seven, Acts two. Now when they

heard this, they were cut to the heart and said

to Peter and the rest of the apostles, brethren, what

shall we do. And Peter said to them, repent and

be baptized, every one of you in the name of

Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you

shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the

promise is to you and to your children, and to

all all that are afar off everyone whom the Lord

our God calls to him. Dear heart asks the Holy

Spirit to work on your heart. Don't resist the wrat

of Jesus' power and discipline in your life. He says

to the latesty in church as many as a lover,

prove and discipline and chas enim repent when you need

to do it. Don't be afraid of doing that. Be

baptized as you should to show that you believe. Be

thankful for the gift of the Holy Spirit, who is

the Lord, at your right hand in your time of need.

When your right hand is mighty weak, he is not.

And never forget that Jesus sent his mighty Holy Spirit

the scepter of his power for you and your children,

so you will be saved. Where is Jesus right now.

Jesus is at the right hand of power. Where is

the Holy Spirit, who is the Lord. Also, the Holy

Spirit is at your right hand, so you will not

be shaken, so you will overcome. So you will be

saved by the right pace hand of power. Father. As

we bow our heads, I asked the church with me

to raise their right hand to heaven and hold it tight,

clenching the fist. Thank you, Father for the gift of

Jesus at your right hand, and the gift of the

Holy Spirit at our right hand. And give strength to

your people to live. For you to obey you, because

in Jesus he got it done at the cross, and

the Holy Spirit is the proof that we can do

it through him. In Jesus' name, Amen.