SERIES: THE WAY OUT OF THE MESS #6/7

#1 · March 17, 2008, 3:09 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on March 17, 2008, 3:09 pm
Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>
SERIES: THE WAY OUT OF THE MESS #6/7

THE POWER OF THE KING

March 16, 2008

Text: Luke 19:28-42

At the beginning of each New Year for most of my preaching career, I have chosen a particular type of hymn for worship. Since the beginning of this year, we have sung All Hail the Power of Jesus Name, O Worship the King, Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, and Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken. Along with others, these hymns speak of the majesty and power of God. They are rich in the theological truth of the divine trinity. They address God as the true King that He is. I select this particular style of hymns because it encourages me to face each New Year with a reminder of Gods majestic and all-powerful nature. With all of the uncertainties that lie ahead year after year, it is good to be reminded of the eternal presence and majesty and sovereignty of God. I hope that this style of hymn lifts you up, too.

The only difference between this year and other years is that I have continued to use the theme of Gods sovereignty for a longer time than usual. Im not saying that I select these hymns at only one time of the year. No, I come back to them at other times as well. But by now, I have usually chosen hymns with different themes and messages about the nature of God. With Easter earlier than normal, though, I wanted to continue my New Years theme through Palm Sunday, which is this morning.

Christians traditionally commemorate the Sunday prior to Easter as Palm Sunday. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke record that the people welcomed and honored Jesus like a king as he rode into Jerusalem. Even though Luke leaves out this detail, Matthew and Mark tell us that people cut branches to lay on the ground, in addition to their coats, as Jesus rode into the city. This was an honor befitting royalty. Jesus was held in such high esteem and honor by the crowds that he was welcomed in the same manner as a king. Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! (Luke 19:38) As a result of this testimony, Christians throughout the years celebrate this Sunday before Easter as Palm Sunday. In fact, those faith groups that mark the worshipers forehead with ash, a symbol of our mortality, on Ash Wednesday will keep the palm branches they use today to burn for the ashes they will use next year.

What Palm Sunday keeps in front of Christians is that God is a king. As the second person of the Trinity, Jesus is a king. He is honored as he entered Jerusalem as a king. Jesus accepts the honor given to him as a king. He does not rebuke those who honor him. Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, Teacher, rebuke your disciples! I tell you, he replied, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out. (Luke 19:39-40) Nothing is going to stop the praise going up for Jesus. He makes it clear that he has the authority and power of a king.

This is something that the people welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem understood better than we do. We are Americans; we dont do monarchies. Indeed, our national heritage is founded upon the rejection of monarchism. Relating to a king as his subjects his property is not ingrained in our national or personal experience. An accurate understanding of our nations founding helps us out here, though. Americas Founders rejected service to a human monarch, but they never rejected allegiance and service to Jesus the King. They still considered themselves subjects of a sovereign king; they just rejected the notion of being subjects of a human king.

Nothing has changed. Jesus is still King, and we are still subjects. But there is a difference between a human king and our spiritual King. When Jesus entered Jerusalem as the king that day, he did so not as a conqueror of men. He did not enter so that he could subject men, women, and children to the authoritarian treatment they received from other rulers. Jesus came to conquer sin and death, and in order to do that, he set aside power that was rightly his. He set aside fierce judgment that was rightly his. He set aside the comfort of a rich palace that was rightly his. He replaced all that with compassion. As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it (Luke 19:41)

Now this is the Jesus to whom we can relate. We dont serve monarchs, but we do understand friendship. We understand compassion. We understand equality. Make no mistake about it, though. Jesus never gave up his sovereignty. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, he was king. When he wept over Jerusalem, he was still king. When he stood before the Sanhedrin and before Pilate and received beatings and was nailed to the cruel cross, Jesus was king. When he rose from the grave, Jesus was king, of course. Jesus still reigns as king; Jesus is still our sovereign Lord and King. This is why hymns have been written declaring the majesty and power of King Jesus. We sing them still today because, undeniably, Jesus is King.

Therefore, we are to honor Jesus as King. Jesus is king of our lives. He is our sovereign monarch. As his subjects, then, we live on the Kings land. We use the Kings property. We make our decisions upon the basis of the Kings will. The difference between Jesus and a human king, however, is that we can trust Jesus always to love his subjects. We know that he already set aside his rightful power in order to secure our salvation. Therefore, we worship him as not only our King; we worship him also as our Redeemer. Jesus is a monarch we can properly serve not just because he has the power of a king, but also because he who sacrificed everything on our behalf is worthy of our loving, obedient devotion. The love of Jesus is the ultimate power that any king can have.

How do we serve such a king? We begin with our A, B, C. A - Admit to God that you are a sinner and repent, meaning turn away from sin. B - Believe that Jesus is Gods Son and accept Gods gift of forgiveness and removal of sin. C - Confess your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We recognize this as Gods plan for our salvation. As a born again Christian, there is also a D to add to the alphabet: discipleship. This means that we learn how to obediently serve the Lord, and then we actually serve Him. He is, after all, the King of kings and Lord of lords. The power of this king the King is found in His saving grace. Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! (Luke 19:38)

Rev. Charles A. Layne

First Baptist Church

PO Box 515

179 W. Broadway

Bunker Hill, IN 46914

765-689-7987

bhfbc@bhfirstbaptist.com

www.bhfirstbaptist.com
-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: abesermons-unsubscribe@welovegod.org   

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

THE POWER OF THE KING

March 16, 2008

Text: Luke 19:28-42

At the beginning of each New Year for most of my preaching career, I have chosen a particular type of hymn for worship. Since the beginning of this year, we have sung All Hail the Power of Jesus Name, O Worship the King, Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, and Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken. Along with others, these hymns speak of the majesty and power of God. They are rich in the theological truth of the divine trinity. They address God as the true King that He is. I select this particular style of hymns because it encourages me to face each New Year with a reminder of Gods majestic and all-powerful nature. With all of the uncertainties that lie ahead year after year, it is good to be reminded of the eternal presence and majesty and sovereignty of God. I hope that this style of hymn lifts you up, too.

The only difference between this year and other years is that I have continued to use the theme of Gods sovereignty for a longer time than usual. Im not saying that I select these hymns at only one time of the year. No, I come back to them at other times as well. But by now, I have usually chosen hymns with different themes and messages about the nature of God. With Easter earlier than normal, though, I wanted to continue my New Years theme through Palm Sunday, which is this morning.

Christians traditionally commemorate the Sunday prior to Easter as Palm Sunday. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke record that the people welcomed and honored Jesus like a king as he rode into Jerusalem. Even though Luke leaves out this detail, Matthew and Mark tell us that people cut branches to lay on the ground, in addition to their coats, as Jesus rode into the city. This was an honor befitting royalty. Jesus was held in such high esteem and honor by the crowds that he was welcomed in the same manner as a king. Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! (Luke 19:38) As a result of this testimony, Christians throughout the years celebrate this Sunday before Easter as Palm Sunday. In fact, those faith groups that mark the worshipers forehead with ash, a symbol of our mortality, on Ash Wednesday will keep the palm branches they use today to burn for the ashes they will use next year.

What Palm Sunday keeps in front of Christians is that God is a king. As the second person of the Trinity, Jesus is a king. He is honored as he entered Jerusalem as a king. Jesus accepts the honor given to him as a king. He does not rebuke those who honor him. Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, Teacher, rebuke your disciples! I tell you, he replied, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out. (Luke 19:39-40) Nothing is going to stop the praise going up for Jesus. He makes it clear that he has the authority and power of a king.

This is something that the people welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem understood better than we do. We are Americans; we dont do monarchies. Indeed, our national heritage is founded upon the rejection of monarchism. Relating to a king as his subjects his property is not ingrained in our national or personal experience. An accurate understanding of our nations founding helps us out here, though. Americas Founders rejected service to a human monarch, but they never rejected allegiance and service to Jesus the King. They still considered themselves subjects of a sovereign king; they just rejected the notion of being subjects of a human king.

Nothing has changed. Jesus is still King, and we are still subjects. But there is a difference between a human king and our spiritual King. When Jesus entered Jerusalem as the king that day, he did so not as a conqueror of men. He did not enter so that he could subject men, women, and children to the authoritarian treatment they received from other rulers. Jesus came to conquer sin and death, and in order to do that, he set aside power that was rightly his. He set aside fierce judgment that was rightly his. He set aside the comfort of a rich palace that was rightly his. He replaced all that with compassion. As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it (Luke 19:41)

Now this is the Jesus to whom we can relate. We dont serve monarchs, but we do understand friendship. We understand compassion. We understand equality. Make no mistake about it, though. Jesus never gave up his sovereignty. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, he was king. When he wept over Jerusalem, he was still king. When he stood before the Sanhedrin and before Pilate and received beatings and was nailed to the cruel cross, Jesus was king. When he rose from the grave, Jesus was king, of course. Jesus still reigns as king; Jesus is still our sovereign Lord and King. This is why hymns have been written declaring the majesty and power of King Jesus. We sing them still today because, undeniably, Jesus is King.

Therefore, we are to honor Jesus as King. Jesus is king of our lives. He is our sovereign monarch. As his subjects, then, we live on the Kings land. We use the Kings property. We make our decisions upon the basis of the Kings will. The difference between Jesus and a human king, however, is that we can trust Jesus always to love his subjects. We know that he already set aside his rightful power in order to secure our salvation. Therefore, we worship him as not only our King; we worship him also as our Redeemer. Jesus is a monarch we can properly serve not just because he has the power of a king, but also because he who sacrificed everything on our behalf is worthy of our loving, obedient devotion. The love of Jesus is the ultimate power that any king can have.

How do we serve such a king? We begin with our A, B, C. A - Admit to God that you are a sinner and repent, meaning turn away from sin. B - Believe that Jesus is Gods Son and accept Gods gift of forgiveness and removal of sin. C - Confess your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We recognize this as Gods plan for our salvation. As a born again Christian, there is also a D to add to the alphabet: discipleship. This means that we learn how to obediently serve the Lord, and then we actually serve Him. He is, after all, the King of kings and Lord of lords. The power of this king the King is found in His saving grace. Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! (Luke 19:38)

Rev. Charles A. Layne

First Baptist Church

PO Box 515

179 W. Broadway

Bunker Hill, IN 46914

765-689-7987

bhfbc@bhfirstbaptist.com

http://www.bhfirstbaptist.com

-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: abesermons-unsubscribe@welovegod.org