The Grace Of The Lord Jesus Be With You All. Amen.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

I have been seeking the Lord about 2022, and I want you to know I feel good about what is coming. I am not saying trials are going to be over, what I hear the Lord saying, is that He is going to show up for His people, and in His people this year. Instead of surviving we will be thriving.

There is still going to be Covid, tornadoes, fires, earthquakes, and God knows what else, but in the midst of it, God is going to reveal Himself in and through His people in a greater way this year.

The verse I ended the year with, is the verse I begin the year with.

PPT 1 Text

Revelation 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

For those who haven't gotten our devotionals from the past year or read them, I want to quote from part of it here, because I believe it is the word of the Lord for 2022:

"After listing all the terrible judgments found in the book of Revelation, the Apostle John closed the book with, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Not only is it John's closing sentiment, but it is more appropriately to be considered as the final words of God to mankind, found in the bible. God wishes His grace to be with us all.

Undeserved, loving favor. What a wonderful way to end His book of instructions, with the desire that His blessing would be on the heads of all people who would ever live.

This blessing is especially appropriate for those who will live through the horrors described in the book of Revelation. While you may not avoid them, you can still walk in, and enjoy His favor in difficult times. It may not stop the rain from falling, but it is the promise that He will be with you when the rains come."

We are going to talk about what it means for the grace of the Lord Jesus to be with us all, and one aspect of it in particular. That aspect is found in today's message title:

PPT 2 Message Title

"The Seed of the woman shall bruise satan on the head."

This is of course taken from Genesis 3:15 which says:

PPT 3 text

Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel."

Let's go back to Rev. 22:21 and we will tie this all together for you shortly.

Revelation 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Let me say this about that verse.

It is both a prayer from man and a promise from God.

It is a statement of fact

It is a prayer from man. This is a familiar way to end a letter in the bible

PPT 4 text

2 Thessalonians 3:18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

I will show it again in another verse shortly, but realize it is a prayer sent in the love of God to bless the people of God. It is reflective of John's prayerful wish for those who would read his book.

But it is also a promise from God. John is not simply expressing his heartfelt prayer for the church, but I also believe God is speaking through him, and communicating a promise of what He will do. His grace will be abundant and a source of supply in difficult times. This thought is echoed in the old hymn: "When all the world around my soul gives sway, He then is all my hope and stay. On Christ the solid rock I'll stand all other ground is sinking sand."

God and His favor will be with you.

Now let's talk about this prayer as a statement of fact, and how it relates to Genesis 3:15.

Genesis 3:15 is of course taking about Jesus and the devil.

The devil would bruise Jesus heel. Think about all that bruising entailed. Bruising summed up the torture murder of our Lord, and all the horrible parts of it.

However, the text makes very clear, that what happened to Jesus pales in comparison to what happens to the devil. A bruised heel does not compare in meaning to a bruised head.

If a bruised heel means torture murder, what does a bruised head entail for the devil?

So what does that have to do with Revelation 22:21? Some of you are already tracking with me, others need to catch up, let me make it very plain for you:

The "devil head crushing spirit of Jesus Christ resides also in His people."