The Old Testament promises were significant to the Jews, but their fulfillment in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, was more so. Jesus was “the image of God”, the treasury of all God’s promises, virtues, abilities, divinity, and the very stamp of his Father’s character.
The Lord Jesus is our Ideal. The Apostle Paul writes: “But we preach Christ crucified …the wisdom of God and the power of God.” (First Corinthians 1:23, 24) We who identify with Jesus through his resurrection seek “those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.” (Colossians 3:1)
Christ is God’s thesaurus, His storehouse, His human treasury — “in whom are hid all treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). “Treasures” is from the same NT Greek word.
Our preaching includes the coming kingdom of God, repentance (180-degree “about face” turnaround), water baptism in the name of Jesus (Acts 2:38) and baptism in the Holy Spirit. However, the central subject is the finished work of Jesus for all on the Cross and his living presence in the lives of those who love him.
We prioritize the risen, ascended Christ our preaching, and look for the coming kingdom of God at the appearance of its King in power and glory! This has been preached for 2,000 years but so was the first coming of the Messiah; until one day, after 400 years of prophetic silence between the Old and the New Testaments, John the Baptist introduced Jesus to his people as the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.
Don’t be caught napping — receive the gift of the Holy Spirit! Then stay filled so that when you do hear the Midnight Cry you not only have light, but also extra fuel should it be needed. The NT Greek of Ephesians 5:18 is “be being filled”, i.e. continually. The imminent return of Jesus is not the time to risk a holdup in the fuel supply-chain! (Matthew, chapter 25)