Strengthened by the Grace of God
Transcript
It's always important to tell a visiting preacher, it's your turn. You know, [laughter]
uh I a lot of times, and I I'm sure a lot of you appreciate this, but a lot of times, you know, as as a preacher, you you you really trying to concentrate on the worship and not on what you're about to say. And and I've gotten to the point where I'm pretty good at that, but then I've concentrated so much in enjoying the words of the songs and our singing, then I forget what to say. [laughter] Okay, it's time to time to talk. Well, that that's that's good. Uh good. So, we we have uh we have enjoyed a study this morning uh concerning the gospel having to do with Jesus as king. And Isaiah foretold that that uh that the king, God reigning is what is significant about the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm reminded of a passage in Isaiah and I'd like to just begin with this. Don't have it on the PowerPoint, but I didn't want to put all those words. Love you to see it for yourself in your Bible.
In uh in the 11th chapter of Isaiah, we see the a pause in the warning of condemnation on the nation. And uh and God God says uh there shall come forth a chute from the stump of Jesse and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. The spirit of wisdom and understanding. The spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth. That's very Psalm two like. And with the breath of his lips, he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist and faithfulness the belt of his loins. You imagine having a president that met all those requirements.
And we all have our presidents we love and the presidents we don't love. And I've gone through a whole bunch of them from the time I was young from born in Truman's era. don't remember him much but [laughter] then Eisenhower and Kennedy and I could list them and you could too and we ups and downs and see this and that but what an amazing idea of having a king who was just and righteous and holy and everything he decided you'd go that's right that's right and that would be beautiful because he would judge those who were wicked and be righteous and and judicious with those who are righteous. What a what what a beautiful beautiful thought. Well, that's the that's the angle we're going to take right now. So, this is to to me this is just so wonderful and I hope you you'll get the the the flavor of this. Uh when you were when you were baptized, did you think you needed a king?
Did it cross your mind that God's greatest purpose was to be our king and that Jesus being our king was the most important thing in our lives? No. No, I didn't think about that because I didn't think about Jesus as king. I thought about Jesus as savior. And that's still what we how we talk about him, isn't it? almost exclusively we think of him as Jesus as savior. We do not think of him as Jesus as king. And that's one of the flaws that takes place when we're not seeing the fullness of what God meant by the gospel. The gospel being your God reigns. And when we read in the New Testament about the gospel, what he's promoting is your God reigns. So the question before us tonight is if someone said,"Well, what's the big deal about a a king?" You would be able to answer this. And and when you are asking yourself the question, well, why do I need a king? This hopefully will answer the need for us to recognize why we need a king.
Isn't it interesting that uh that in uh Jesus offering his model prayer, his first three requests,
hallowed be your name, God, let your name be held in high honor and holiness throughout the world. Your kingdom come. Now, brethren, I know you've heard this whether you believed it or not. He's not saying, "Lord, please bring the kingdom." In Acts chapter 2, he's saying, "Your kingdom come," meaning your kingship come. Your rule come according to the parable of the swer rule come where? In the hearts of men. Let your rule come in the hearts of men. It's it's really foolishness to think I can't still play pray that prayer [laughter] just because the beginning of the kingdom was in Acts two. I still pray that prayer should be praying that prayer. Why? Because we're praying for everybody in the world that the kingship of the Lord will come into the hearts of men. That when the seed is sown in their hearts, they will believe and accept the king to rule over their lives. and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Why is that?
Because everything is going to come to this complete restoration of the kingdom and all things will be him his and he will be all in all. That's that's the the goal of the king. That's the goal of the kingdom. That's the goal of the gospel. All these things fit together quite well. So let's explore this more carefully. And I'd like to begin with 2 Samuel 7. Read this passage here. This we mentioned this briefly this morning, but in 2 Samuel 7 as as as uh we see uh uh David telling Nathan that he wants to build a house for the Lord. And Nathan's saying, "Yes, go right ahead." And then before Nathan can get out the door, God is saying to Nathan, you go back and tell him this. And that's what we're going to read about now, God's words to David.
So 2 Samuel 7:8, God says to David, "Now therefore, thus shall you say to the servant David, thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel, and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make you a great name like the name of the great ones of the earth. and I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and I will plant them so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. By the way, little side note here. I'll plant them in their place and they'll be disturbed no more. Uh fellow brethren, this this is a statement of what the land promise was really about. The land promised was not just a piece of dirt with a border. Did Israel ever have rest in Canaan? No, they did not. Because why? Because they sinned. It was not it.
They are kicked out of the new Garden of Eden. They didn't have rest. But that rest was promised. In fact, in Hebrews 4, the Hebrew writer said, "Joshua did not give them rest."
Did we hear those words? We have made a huge mistake in saying, "No, God gave him the rest. He fulfilled it." That was a shadow. That was a shadow of what was to come. We still are entering that rest and still are looking forward to that permanent rest. And what's that rest about? Not disturbed anymore. Nobody can attack that that land promise. You will possess the gate of your enemies. God said to Abraham in chapter 22 of Genesis, you will possess their gate. They will not possess your gate. Ah, did that ever happen for Israel? Uh-uh. Briefly in the days of Solomon, David Saul briefly that was that because they sinned. So it's it's important to see those things and think in those terms. Okay?
And then he he he goes on and he says in verse 11, "From that time I appointed judges over my people Israel, and I will give you rest from all your enemies." There again, moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house when your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers. I will raise up your offspring after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He will build a house for my name. He will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. We're talking about a new king. You'd recognize that as talking about Jesus as the Messiah, the new king over God's kingdom. That's the idea. So, look at some of the things we have here. What had taken place and what we see as we mentioned this morning in the kings themselves is is that we were unable to rule over ourselves. We've always been that way. [laughter] That's our greatest problem. We think we can rule ourselves.
We can't rule ourselves. We don't do any good with it. We mess it up. So we are in a position where we are need of a king. That's why first thing we need is we cannot take care of it ourselves. So look at what God says. God's promise then to David uh just illustrates the fact that we need a king. Look at some of the statements that he makes there. He shall build a house for my name.
You catch that? What does that imply? He shall build a house for my name. What's what's name? What is it? What do you mean your name, Lord? It's to give him glory and honor. He will have a greater name than he already has. God has always had glory. But through us, through this new kingdom and through Christ, his name is exalted all the more. In Ezekiel, God commit condemned the people because they'd profained his name. But we're created in order to create and give a name to God. And as a matter of fact, then we have this second statement that is really amazing. And I will make for you a great name. The wor the the the craziest thing about God from a human point of view and perspective is that he has the greatest glory that can ever be imagined and he wants to share it with you and me. You ever know a king that don't do that? Well, that's a nutty king. [laughter] Kings want it all for themselves. No. God wants to share his glory.
He wants to exper us to experience his glory. He wants us to make a great name for him and give him glory. And then he says, "That's what's going to make you famous. I'm then going to give you a great name and you're going to be famous." Now, none of us think we're ever going to be famous. I doubt this door has been had been pounded on at any given time by the local media who says, "We want to come in and do a whole makeup on you, a write up on how wonderful you are." We're all going, "Uh, what are you trying to pull? We're a bunch of nobodies. What do you think? God's going to make a name for us." That's beautiful. In verse 101, he says, "I'll point a place for my people and I will give you rest. I will appoint a place for my people. This is long after Joshua. God's admitting here the rest hasn't happened. I'm going to appoint. We need a place. We need a place where we can rest.
And you know what that means when you think about how the unrest is in a world we must live in. But I'm going to give you rest. So look and think of those things. This is what is really amazing about what God has done. So it's like in Revelation chapter 1 to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us into a kingdom. He didn't stop with freed us from our sins and made us into a kingdom. Priests to his God and father to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. What do priests do
in the Old Testament? What do priests do? They taught the people that's what they were condemned for not doing over and again. Priests are intermediaries between God and man to bring man to God. That's what he's appointed us as. Priests who bring man to God and are appointed then as a kingdom of priest. That's our identity. That's who we are. And when we do not think in terms of that, we're not meeting up to what the Lord has asked us to to do and to be. Now here, let's take a look at how people in scripture were looking for this great hope of Messiah King. We all know that they look for a Messiah, but really what they were looking for was a king. As we mentioned this morning, to be the Messiah is to be the king. That's what all of that's we just read in 2 Samuel and oodles of other passages show this. Do you ever think about the thief on the cross and what he said?
I tell you that is quoted time and time again as if what the thief on the cross said, "Lord, please forgive my sins uh so I can go to heaven." Then what he said, what is it? He said, "Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom." What was that man's hope? It was a kingdom. It was the Lord's kingdom. I'm amazed he knew so much about it as to ask the question,"Lord, remember me when you come in your kingdom." Oh, what a blessed thing it was when Jesus turned and said, "Today you will be with me in paradise. You are going to experience the very thing that you asked for." That's the greater hope. The fact that we needed our sins forgiven is what God needed as much as we needed in order to bring about this hope. Consider what was said to Mary by the angel. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He'll be great and will be called the son of the most high.
And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. And his king of his kingdom there will be no end. What was pro being promoted here? A king and a kingdom is what's being promoted. Not simply a savior. Certainly a savior, but not simply a savior. He is not just forgiving our sins. He has a greater purpose for us. And the forgiveness is what has to happen so he can fulfill the greater purpose not only through us and in us but also to the whole world as well. And when we don't think of ourselves as part of the kingdom, we miss out on our identity of who we are to be and what we are to be doing. Look at Peter's sermon in Acts two. We always concentrate on, well, okay, um, yeah, Jesus was raised from the dead. Now, uh, you guys killed him and now you need to repent and be baptized.
And we skip over the most important part of this as far as how the Jews would have heard what was being said in verse 30, speaking of David there being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne. There's our 2 Samuel passage. There is a kingship here that's being fulfilled. Peter is saying being therefore exalted at the right hand of God. Where is he right now? Can you imagine those Jews on the day of Pentecost? You know, 50 days before they were screaming, curse crucify him and now they're standing there in absolute awe. I would I would imagine if I'm one of them, if you're one of them, are you getting sick to your stomach? Is is your is your face flushing? Are you just about to completely lose it because you realize I just murdered my own king? The one I'd been waiting for for centuries. I murdered him. Wow. Just I I can't even really imagine how difficult that would have been.
And he says on at the right hand of God and having received from the father the promise of the Holy Spirit.
What was that promise? I'm going to make a great nation from you kingdom. I'm make your name great famous. I'm going to make your offspring great because your offspring will bless the world. We become Jesus offspring according to Galatians 3:29. And we are the ones then to bless the world with salvation.
And he says he is the one who's now reigning and you have an opportunity to take part of this promise. 34 and 35. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, "The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your foottool." The kingdom is now starting because the king is reigning. And how long will he reign? He will reign until all enemies are put under his feet. What's he doing right now? He's reigning. How do I know? Because the enemies aren't done yet. [laughter] And he is using us to do something about that. What remember what the apostles asked a chapter before in chapter one of Acts in verse 6? Jesus had been talking to the apostles for 40 days about what? The kingdom. And then he talked about the pouring out of the spirit. And then what did the apostles ask? Uh what? What? Time out. Time out. Lord, is it at this time you're going to restore the kingdom to Israel?
And you know what we've done with that? We take that and go, "Oh, dumb apostles. They still think that there's going to be an earthly kingdom." That is incorrect. He didn't Jesus didn't rebuke them for that question. He said, "The time is not yours to know. The time is not yours to know." In fact, Peter later preached in Acts in Acts chapter 3 that the kingdom that Jesus has now ascended to heaven and is there until the restoring of all things. is what's taking place right now. The restoring of all things. We are a part of that because people coming to Christ and becoming his offspring is the part of the restoration of the kingdom. We are his tools and servants and and blessed people who exhibit to the world the possibility of being glorified with the king. That's what's so cool about this. And his final words, let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made this Jesus that you've crucified both Lord and Christ, Lord and King, Messiah Christ, you have made him.
And that's what caused them to be cut to their heart. Peter's message that the Jesus is the king is what has truly caused their response to this and that they have rejected and murdered their own king without question. Why is a king and a kingdom are should be our primary hope.
Could I give you just a little caution without saying what you say and what I say in this regard is wrong but not com but not complete and sometimes leaves an an imperfect impression. Oftenimes we we simplify this. Well Jesus came because I was a sinner. He died for our sins. I'm now saved. I came to Christ and now I'm going to heaven.
Is that how the scriptures talk about this?
I don't think so. I don't think so. In Revelation 21, when he said after the judgment of the devil, he said, "And the new Jerusalem, it come down out of heaven in glory, and there will be a new heaven and a new earth, and everything's going to be new. Everything is going to be new.
Everything is going to be new. It's going to be all different. The old heaven and earth is taken away as second Peter talked about, all burned up, destroyed, melted. We are looking for something much greater in this hope. What's wrong with we sinned and now Jesus saved us? What's wrong with that? is that it's missing the great purpose that God had for our glory and honor. That's what's missing here. Just look at some of the text. Then God said, Genesis 1, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over the creeping things that creeps on the earth." What has he said? He made us in his image. We're image bearsers. Now be fruitful and multiply. Spread the image throughout the world. Twice after the flood in chapter nine. Be fruitful and multiply. Be fruitful and multiply.
I'd love to stop and say this, but I won't. But young Christians, be fruitful and multiply. But the world's just going terrible and our kids ought to be fruitful and multiply because your light, the light of your children will be children arrows into the heart of the enemy. Be fruitful and multiply. Bring godly people into this world because God is stronger than them. And God is stronger through your children and you are the one who do who does that. That's a beautiful thought. Beautiful thought. And then have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heaven and all this. Do you feel really domin having dominion over the world? Do you feel that dominion? Uh no you don't. [laughter] And neither do I. Because why? Because it hadn't happened yet. The psalmist quotes this and refers to this. Yet you have made him that is man a little lower than the heavenly be beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
He has You have given him dominion over the works of your hands and have put all things under his feet. He has. And then this is quoted by the Hebrew writer in Hebrews chapter 5. Please notice this. I just decided I'd take it off the screen because I wanted you to see it yourself in Hebrews chapter 2. Right after talking about the great salvation that they didn't want to miss out on in Hebrews chapter 2 verse 5, listen. For it was not to angels God subjected the world to come of which we are speaking. God didn't subject the world to come. There's a world to come. God did not subject the world to come to angels. Who do you subject it to? Verse 6, it has been testified somewhere from Psalm 8. What is man that you are mindful of him or the son of man that you care for him? You made him a for a little while lower than the angels. How long are we going to be lower than the angels? A little while. Not permanently.
You made you a little lower than the angels. You have crowned him with glory and honor. Crowned who with glory and honor? Man. He has. Putting everything in subjection under his feet. He has says it. Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he's left nothing outside his control. You got that one? No, I don't got that one. That does not feel like it at all. Well, read on. At present, we do not emphasis on the word. Put a big circle around it. We do not yet see [snorts] everything in subjection to him. Not yet. But he's already determined it. Look what he's going to give us. Look at his purpose. Look what he is looking for us to have subject the world to come in subjection to us. We do not yet see it. What do we see? Verse nine. But we see him who for a little while Jesus was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus crowned with glory and honor. The same glory and honor he's told us that we are going to have.
Crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death. So that by thy grace of God, he might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting that he for whom and by whom all things exist in bringing many sons to what? Glory. Did you know he's bringing you to glory? Crowned with glory and honor. Put a big circle around crowned. Crowned with glory and honor. That's what he's planning for you. This isn't about oh goody I get to go to heaven. What am I going to do? Float around on a cloud, I guess. Ride my dune buggy. Play better golf than ever. Oh, silliness. Absolute silliness. Crowned with glory and honor. What? That's the same words he used concerning Jesus. Having glory and honor. That is amazing. So he says, "Bringing many sons to glory should make the founder." ESV other passage pioneer ah net version trailblazer
what's he done what's he doing Jesus got to glory and honor by suffering how we going to get there he's the trailblazer follow me follow me follow my suffering suffer with me and you obtain the crowning of glory and honor just as I have received tell me that isn't Let's just go back to I sinned and now he's forgiven me. It's over. Okay, go to church. Uh-uh. I like the crown with glory and honor. [laughter] I like the motivation of this is why I serve with all my heart. This is why I give everything to him. He took a piece of junk and turned it into glory and honor. Wow. I'm sure you do this. I do this all the time. I think of what I was. I look in the mirror and I think of what I was and I think you are disgusting. You were horrible. You were terrible. What was the matter with you? But what was the matter with me was I didn't have the Lord to bring me to glory and honor.
And he's still working on it. But that's the goal. Whoa. Tell me that's not your greatest motivation now. Tell me that that you just want to go back to thinking about heaven. No, that's not what you want. That's not what he designed us for. God has always been intentional about exalting us, making us famous, giving us glory and honor. Therefore, he says in 2 Timothy 2:10, I endure everything for the sake of the elect that they may that they too may obtain salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. What's he want for us? Eternal glory. If we died with him, we shall also live with him. If we endure, we will also what? reign with him.
Well, if we're going to be his bride, if we're going to be his wife, why wouldn't we sit on the same throne with him and reign with him? That's what happens. He called you to his to this through our gospel that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. How easily have we all read over those things? What couldn't be for our momentary light suffering is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. The Hebrew writer gives five warnings. And look what the warnings do. You will lose a great salvation. The crowned with glory and honor. You're going to lose it. Uh you're going to lose eternal rest that God promised from the beginning. Uh, you're going to lose the promised blessings to Abraham. You're going to lose the confidence to enter into the most holy place. You're going to lose the glory of Mount Zion, the city of the living God, and the kingdom that cannot be shaken.
It's interesting how the Hebrew writer goes about that. He doesn't go condemn you for doing this, condemn. He says, you're going to lose. You're going to lose glory. Wow. Before you think of ever giving up on our Lord Jesus Christ, think of you're going to lose glory. The consistent message of Hebrews, you are going to lose glory. Man,
you don't want to lose glory. Not that kind of glory. Look briefly in our final point here. Our place in attaining glory. It is self-centered folks to think about the gospel as just primarily a remedy for our sin problem.
The gospel is a solution first and for foremost for God's problem. He wants us to bring bring us to glory. He knows somehow he has to get us forgiven in order to get us there. That was his problem. And so what Jesus has done is to bring glory then to us in order to bring greater glory than to God. That's the idea over and over again. In Ezekiel 36, I wish we had time to go over this, but Ezekiel 36, God said, "I'm going to vindicate the holiness of my great name when through you, through you, I vindicate my name." God changing them from the terrible people who have profaneed his name and me and you who profained his name and recreating us in his image so that we could be to his glory. Ephesians 16, 112, 11:14. Everything God has done is to the praise of his glory. Everything God has done in us, how he changed us is to the praise of his glory. And what happens then?
He says in Ephesians 3, "And to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things so that through the church, that's us. Through us, the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places." This was according to his what? eternal purpose. Eternal purpose. Who are those rulers and authorities in heavenly places? Chapter 6:12 tells us who they are. There's all the forces of wickedness with Satan. And you and I, when we stay with him, when we when we are persecuted, when we are suffering, when we go through things and we still stand for God, and we will not deny him no matter what anybody does to him, we punch Satan in the mouth. We show those rulers and authorities in the heavenly places that our God reigns and he is worthy. and what they did in denying him and turning and and rebelling against him.
They will be judged and we will be the ones who stand on the throne with him judging them for what they did because we will have proven God to be right and God to be worthy. Glory is having value and worth and honor and reputation and God brings us to glory. So he shares his glory with us so that we glorify him even greater. The gospel is the recovery and restoration of God's glory and human glory and eternal the eternal kingdom. This is what this is all about. Final text here. Since we have the same spirit, here's our job. A same spirit of faith according to what has been written. I believed and so I spoke. We also believe and so we also speak knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake so that as grace extends to more and more people. This is why we teach others it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God.
God made a kingdom and made us great and gave us honor and glory and crowned us with it so that we could give the glory to God in the whole world.