Christ Our Hometown Hero - Nov 23, 2014

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SERMON:

When I was a kid, my dad and I took a road trip from Lemmon, SD, all the way down to Corpus Christi, TX. We went to visit my brother Andy who was serving as a pastor there.

It was a hot trip down to Texas in the middle of the summer, especially since the air conditioning in our car didn’t work. And the scenery along the interstate wasn’t always very exciting. But as we moved through the state of Kansas, something caught my eye. It was a billboard with my favorite NFL running back on it. “Welcome to Wichita” it said, “Home of Barry Sanders, the Wichita Whirlwind.”

I remember thinking that was pretty cool. We got to drive through Barry Sanders’ hometown! Awesome!

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Hometown heroes always have a draw to them, don’t they? Even the bad ones bring a measure of attention to a place. And the good ones can bring even more than that. Having someone from your hometown go out and succeed in the world says, “Hey world, our people are worth something. There’s talent in this little corner of the world, and we’re a part of it.”

Some hometown heroes bring even more than self respect and pride. Some bring jobs to the area. Think of all the jobs that Bill Gates and Paul Allen have brought to our part of the country.

Sometimes hometown heroes come back to change things in the city where they grew up. They lobby for reform. They built hospitals. They establish foundations.

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In our sermon reading for today, the Apostle Paul speaks about a hometown hero we all can claim, no matter what town we were born in. A hometown hero who rose up from common stock, but was destined for glory by the eternal decree of God the Father.

1 Corinthians 15:20-23 (NKJV)

²⁰ But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. ²³ But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.

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Here Paul mentions a not-so-great hometown “hero”, Adam. We can all claim him, for we are all descended from that first man. But we’d rather not claim him. Through his evil choice, sin and death became part of our experience on this planet.

But Paul also mentions Christ. And he’s the type of hero we like to get behind. He came from heaven originally, but was born into the human race in a little town called Bethlehem.

He didn’t win a Superbowl. Never won an Emmy. Didn’t even establish an international corporation. But what he did do changed everything. He lived like no one else—without sin. And when he came to the critical point in his life, he chose to suffer the wrath of God for the sins of mankind. He suffered and died for every one of YOUR SINS, and every one of MINE.

And then, as was prophesied, he rose from the dead on the first Easter morning. Paul calls Christ the “firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” The thing about “firstfruits” is, they’re the first, and the best, and there’s always more to come after them.

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That’s the remarkable thing about this hometown hero. Christ Jesus didn’t just make a name for himself, he brought the goods home to share with us.

Adam brought home sin, suffering, and death. But Christ brought home forgiveness for sinners, and the promise of resurrection from the dead for all who trust in him.

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Hometown heroes can bring self respect to a city. They can bring home jobs and reform to a community. But only Christ can restore the a relationship with God that was broken by sin.

Hometown heroes can build hospitals and foundations, but only Christ can heal the soul and lay the foundation for eternal life with our Holy Creator.

That’s why we worship Christ. That’s why we trust in him. Of all the people we could lift high and claim as “our man”, Christ Jesus is the one we cherish most. Because of Christ, we don’t even fear death. For in the end, in Christ, we shall be made alive.   

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You can hear Paul’s faith in Christ bleeding through his words in this part of First Corinthians. He says that Christ is the firstfruits of those who have FALLEN ASLEEP. He uses that phrase “fallen asleep” because for the Christian who dies, it’s only a sleep. In the final resurrection Christ’s people will awake from the grave as if only a short night has passed.

Without a shadow of a doubt Paul says, here’s the order that it’s gonna happen in: Christ rose first, later those who belong to Christ will rise when he returns to this planet to claim them.

As certain as Easter, that is how certain our own resurrection is. Christ is OUR MAN, the most unique of hometown heroes.

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But Paul has more to say. Christ is also a king decreed by the eternal Father.

1 Corinthians 15:24-28 (NKJV)

²⁴ Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵ For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. ²⁶ The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. ²⁷ For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. ²⁸ Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

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On this planet, hometown heroes rise only so far as God grants them to—and no further. Many a young person leaves their city of origin with great promise of success. But no measure of talent or hard work can lift them up above what God has in store for them.

But for Christ Jesus, there was no ceiling. When God’s eternal Son became human, the Father made the decree, to this Man I give the keys to it all. All rule, all authority, all power—they  are his. He will reign until every one of his enemies is defeated.

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Now, some Christians try to make the kingdom of Christ into a little kingdom. They claim that the Bible says he will rule a tangible kingdom on this sinful planet. But that’s not what the Father had in mind. That would be far too small.

As Christ himself testified to Pontius Pilate,

“My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36 NKJV).

No, Christ’s reign is not OF this world. But it is IN this world. Right NOW Christ is reigning in this world. With every sinner brought to trust in him for salvation and forgiveness Christ wins another victory over Satan.

Every day Christ Jesus is working through his Word and through the Holy Spirit to remind Christians of his cross. Every day he moves us to an attitude of repentance. To reject the evil, and to rely on him for forgiveness before the Father’s throne.

On a daily basis Christ is reigning in the hearts of his people. Helping them to wage war against their sinful desires and instincts, and to bring glory to God instead by following his path.

Every day there are little victories happening in the kingdom of God. Spiritual victories that are being won inside God’s people as he strengthens and educates them through his Word. And these bring much more than tax breaks, government programs, and improved healthcare. Christ’s reform heals us from the inside out, bringing wholeness to our souls as we interact with Christ.

Christ is reigning today, in the hearts of his followers. Christ is reigning today, working backstage of creation for the benefit of his blood bought people.

And in the end, even death will be defeated. It was a glorious thing when Christ rose from the dead on that first Easter morning, never to die again. And so humiliating to death and the devil. But how much more humiliating will it be to the forces of evil when at Christ’s command ALL his followers are raised to real, physical restoration, and everlasting life!

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To the everyday hometown hero God may decree a championship, or some prestigious award, or even a global corporation. But to Christ, the Father has decreed complete victory—over all rule, authority, and power. ALL will one day stand under him, either as his defeated enemies, or as his faithful subjects.

God has decreed that this level of triumph belongs to a Man. And by the gift of faith, that Man is our King.

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When a young person of promise leaves their hometown, no one can know if they’ll succeed, or fail. We may have expectations, but we can’t really know.

But in our sermon reading, Paul gives us a glimpse into the final glory of Christ. As his summary act, Paul says that after subduing all his enemies, the Man Christ Jesus will turn to his heavenly Father… and bow.

As the greatest Man who ever lived, he will bow before the Father, and return the kingdom to the Father who gave it to him.

And dear Christians, YOU and I will stand beside him as he does this. By faith in him we will stand in the Father’s presence and witness this event with our own eyes.

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When a hometown hero comes home, everyone wants a piece of the fame. You know how it goes. Everyone has a story of how they knew him or her back in the day. Everyone jumps on the bandwagon—whether they really knew the person or not.

But Christ is a different Man, and a different King. Our hometown hero invites us all to come with him to the Father’s throne, covered in HIS fame, HIS glory, HIS sinless perfection—freely given to us.

Did you hear that? Our hometown hero invites us to come with him right to the Father’s throne.

Redeemed by his cross.

Cleansed of our ugly sins by his infinitely precious blood. 

Raised to glory by his gift of repentance and forgiveness.

Christ is our Man. Christ is our hero. The only way to the Father. Christ our King. May he reign in our hearts by faith, until the God who created all is finally given the recognition he has always deserved.

Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts, and your minds, in Christ Jesus.

Christ the King - Nov 25, 2012

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SERMON:

If you look through the history books for great kingdoms, you'll find a lot of them. But most historians agree that the reigning champ of human empires was the Roman Empire, which lasted almost 1,500 years.

One unique thing about the Roman Empire was that it didn't start out as a "kingdom" at all. In the beginning, the Romans had no king. In fact, they didn't want one supreme monarch that could boss them around. They preferred the self-rule of a Republic.

Now, the Romans recognized that every once in a while a something might happen which would require decisions to be made faster than a senate could make them. So, they made a special office called the Dictator. When their lands were threatened by some foreign invader or some other quickly developing challenge, the senate could vote one man to be the "Dictator". He would have supreme power, like a king, but would only have that power for a single year.

If a dictator decided to use this supreme power to enrich himself instead of defending the country, when the year rolled around and his office expired, he was in for some serious life changes.

Of course, it didn't take long for power hungry men to find a way to extend their reign as dictator. Eventually, the Roman Empire was ruled by a succession of kings. They might have called themselves "Caesars" and "servants of the people" but that was just wrangling with words. Some were good, protecting and enriching Rome. Some were bad, ignoring the important affairs of state and wallowing in self indulgence. But either way, they were kings—exercising supreme power over their subjects.

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The Bible says that all human authorities are given their authority by God. That's right, every president, senator and governor in America has gained their position as a gift from God. When some people hear this they assume that God must therefore approve all the policies and decisions made by the rulers He has placed in authority. But actually, the opposite is true. When a person is given great earthly power, they are held accountable for their policies and actions by God Himself. After all, it is His borrowed power they hold. He expects them to use it according to His will.

God desires that kings and presidents and prime ministers protect their citizens, enrich their lives, provide for them in times of need, settle disputes between citizens, and maintain the peace as much as possible in this sinful world. In short, God expects authorities to serve their country, in His name, instead of serving themselves. (see Romans 13).

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Our Bible reading for today calls Jesus Christ the "ruler of the kings of the earth". It says that He is, the "King of kings". Jesus is different than all others kings though. He is not just one more human authority exercising power lent by God. The Bible shows that in every way, Jesus Christ is a king superior to all others.  

Revelation 1:4-8 (NASB)

    4   John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,

    5   and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—

    6   and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

    7   Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.

    8   “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

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Now, there is a lot of information packed into this little section of God's Word. But I'm not going to try and cover it all in our meditation today. Instead I'm going to focus on the parts that teach us about Christ the King.

Verse five begins by telling us who put Jesus on His throne. It does this by calling Him "Christ". Christians use the title, "Jesus Christ" so much that it seems like "Christ" is just His last name. But it's actually the title of His office. The word "Christ" means "anointed one", the one "selected" for the kingship.

In the history of Rome, Caesars gained their positions by all sorts of different intrigues and bribes. There was one time when the Praetorian guards actually sold the kingship off to the highest bidder. The Praetorians were the "royal bodyguards" of the Caesars. But in this case they actually murdered the reigning Caesar and then auctioned off the position to the man who promised to raise their wages the highest.

When it comes to Christ the King there was no power grab or no auction for authority. There was no assassination or bribing of senators to gain this supreme position. God the Father selected His eternal Son to be the Savior of all sinners and the King of all kings.

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Verse five also calls Jesus "the faithful witness". This reminds us of one major reason why Jesus came to earth. He came to teach the people about His Father's promise, and about His Father's character. In the book of John Jesus says...

"...My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me" (John 7:16 ESV).

In the book of Hebrews it says...

" ³ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being," (Hebrews 1:3 NIV).

During His earthly ministry in Palestine, Jesus traveled from city to city showing the people what His Heavenly Father was like through the gracious miracles of healing that He performed. He also taught them point by point what the Father's will was. The Father's will was that all sinners would trust in the Son as their Savior. That they would see His sacrificial death on the cross and believe that in that offering, their sins were paid for.

God holy, so He cannot just excuse our evils. But God is also loving, so He has provided a way for our sins to be erased from the record books. God is holy and almighty, but also—loving. That was Jesus' message.

Some of the Roman Caesars decorated their office with horrible sins. They murdered, they fornicated, they encouraged idol worship. Christ on the other hand didn't pile up sins through His ministry. He did the opposite. He lived a sinless life, and used that perfect life to erase the people's sins, and to do away with the punishment that was heading our way.

The reign of many a Caesar was ended when his crimes against the people had piled up too tall, and the people assassinated him. And that was that. Death brought an end to their reign.

But with Christ the King things were different. Verse five calls Jesus the "firstborn of the dead". After Jesus offered His sinless soul on the cross of Calvary, suffering the hell that we all deserve, His heavenly Father raised Jesus back to life. He was the first human being to be raised from the dead to a glorified state. He is still human, with body and soul just like us, but He has been glorified. No more does He suffer and refrain from using His powers as the Eternal Son of God. He is the firstborn from the dead.

The book of Romans calls Jesus...

"...the firstborn among many brothers" (Romans 8:29 ESV).

Through faith in Christ Jesus, you and I become His brothers and sisters. Part of the holy family of God. And we are given the promise that not only are our sins forgiven right now, we will one day experience a bodily resurrection and a glorification like He did. No more will we feel pain and sadness and sin. We will stand in glory with our Brother the resurrected King of kings in heaven.

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And until the last day comes when all will stand before God, we have Christ ruling over us right now. He rules in our hearts by faith, and He also rules over the earthly authorities that govern our daily lives. Verse five calls Jesus the "ruler of the kings of the earth".

There's an interesting verse in the book of Proverbs that says,

" The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will" (Proverbs 21:1 ESV).

Christians sometimes get all up in arms when the candidate that they voted for doesn't get elected. As if somehow God lost the election. But this proverb reminds us that the same God who grants authority, can also move those in authority to make decisions that bring great blessings into the lives of His followers.

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While the Caesars of Rome often reigned with their own interests in mind, Christ the King reigns our lives with our best interests in mind. But Christ doesn't reign with the limited foresight of any earthly ruler. He's not merely interested in increasing our bank account or our pile of possessions. He's interested in drawing us spiritually closer to Himself and to His almighty Father. Closer in relationship with the LORD.

This is the King that we have. Christ Jesus, anointed as our King by God the Father. Christ Jesus, the faithful witness that teaches us about the Father's will, and about the salvation He has provided through the cross. This is the King that we have. Christ Jesus, the one who moves kings and kingdoms, governments and authorities to benefit the spread of His Kingdom of faith and salvation.

The apostle John gets all carried away with these thoughts toward the end of verse five and erupts in praise of our King. He says...

"To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen" (Revelation 1:5-6 NASB).

In the ranking of great kingdoms of the world, historians rarely include the Kingdom of Christ. I suppose that might be because historians are not all Christians. Or maybe it's because the Kingdom of Christ cannot be measured so easily as the area of land that has been conquered by an earthly king. But the truth of the matter is that Christ's Kingdom has extended from the beginning of the world until this very day. Christ's subjects have stood on every soil. Citizens of His kingdom hail from every nation, tribe and language.

In ancient years Christ ruled in the hearts and lives of people who looked forward to His birth. Then He ruled in the hearts and lives of people who heard that He was born in Bethlehem. And He still rules today, in the hearts of all who rejoice in His birth, suffering, death and resurrection—which bring us forgiveness, peace and a place in His eternal Kingdom.

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In so many ways, the Bible shows that Christ is a King superior to all others. But there's one aspect of Christ's reign that seems to get in the way of people hailing Him as King. He's not visible.

When the king goes away, people have the tendency to forget He's still the king. Even though Christ Jesus promised to return visibly to the earth one day, people easily dismiss this promise. Out of sight, out of mind it seems.

And that's why we gather together to worship Him. Though He is not visible, we know He still reigns. Though He does not speak to us with audible words from the sky, He still speaks through the treasury of His Word found in the Bible. Let us continue to come back to the Bible to see our King. To hear of His past victories. To hear of His promises fulfilled, and His promises that are still coming to be.

Let us remember that Christ is the perfect King. That He will return with power and glory to begin His visible reign. That He will gather His people and scatter His enemies once and for all. And let us also keep firmly in mind, Christ Jesus is no mere mortal. Human yes, but Christ is also the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the Almighty God.

And most of all, let us keep in mind that through faith, Christ is OUR King. Grace and peace be to you, from Him who is and who was and who is to come. To Him be the glory and the dominion, in our hearts and otherwise, forever and ever.

Amen!

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Jesus is Our King - Nov 22, 2009

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Sermon:

God loves you. May your hearts believe it. And may the full forgiveness of sins which comes from Christ, fill you with peace. Amen.

You’ve probably seen this bumper sticker before.

(Pastor holds up a “HE'S NOT MY PRESIDENT” bumper sticker.)

I think these came out when George W. Bush was first elected president. It was a way some people expressed their doubts about the election process. It was also a way of saying, “Don’t associate me with him. I didn’t vote for him and I don’t believe in his agenda.” For some it even meant, “I don’t accept his authority as president.”

My first reaction to these bumper stickers was, “Well, you may not like him, but in reality, he is the president of the United States.” We all have to obey the powers that be, or face the consequences of our choice not to.

You see, there are two kinds of leaders. Those you listen to because you have to, and those you listen to because you want to.

As the Creator of all things Jesus has authority over all people. But that doesn’t mean all people are part of His Kingdom.

Today is “Christ the King” Sunday. The last Sunday in the traditional church year. Today we’re going to examine what it means to call Jesus OUR King.

Turn to John 18, verse 33.

“33Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
34Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?”
35Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?”
36Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
37Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?”
Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 18:33-37 NKJV).

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You might have noticed that there are a lot of authority figures in this little text. There are at least five authority figures mentioned or alluded to here. There’s PONTIUS PILATE, the governor of Palestine. There’s the ROMAN EMPIRE that made Pilate the governor there. There’s the CHIEF PRIESTS that handed Jesus over. There’s the NATION OF ISRAEL, part of which was gathering just outside as this conversation was taking place between Pilate and Jesus.

And then there’s Jesus. He says, “I am a king”. And yet he makes it clear that His authority is different than the authority of these others. He is not an earthly king.

If you look at Jesus’ life this fact is obvious. It’s clear that Jesus never wanted a physical kingdom. Once, the crowds that tried to make Him their king, but Jesus refused.

Turn to John 6, verse 14. This is just after Jesus had fed more than 5,000 people using only five loaves of bread and two fish. It was a miracle.

“14After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself” (John 6:14-15 NIV).

Jesus wanted no part in an earthly kingdom.
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This is relevant today. Because Jesus is not an earthly king, His kingdom has not faded to nothing like the kingdoms of men do.

Think again of those other authorities in our text. The chief priests no longer exist. Pilate is dead. The Roman Empire long gone. But the Kingdom of Christ prevails even today because it is NOT an earthly kingdom. Jesus rules today in the hearts of all who trust in Him.
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A great military general was once asked if he would trade places with someone else if he could. If he could, would he trade the fame and glory of being a general for some other job. He said yes, that if he could, he would rather be an author whose book had been read by millions, than be a general whose strategy had conquered millions. This general said that a book can move hearts and minds, military strategy can only move bodies.

This is what makes Jesus’ kingdom so powerful. It’s not about conquering peoples and lands. It all about sharing a message of truth. Jesus told Pilate,

“…For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth…” (John 18:37).

Jesus spoke this message of truth to the high-born and to the lowest classes of the common people. He preached to the rich and to the poor, to the Jews and to non-Jews. His message was for all people because it was about sin and salvation.

The core of Jesus’ message was this: We are all sinners. Our sin separates us from God, and unless our sin is removed, upon our death we will be separated from God forever.

But God loves sinners and has provided a way for their sin to be removed. The eternal Son of God was born into the human race so that He could suffer for all our sins on the cross of Calvary. And through faith in this truth, the forgiveness of sins is received and we are restored to God’s side.

Many leaders use their authority to serve themselves. But Jesus served the people. By His perfect life and innocent death He earned salvation for sinners. And through His message He gives salvation to all who believe.

In Mark 10, verse 45, Jesus said it like this:

“the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45 NIV).

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Jesus offered this truth to Pilate. Jesus told him,

“…Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice…” (John 18:37 NIV).

All of Pilate’s questions were designed to see if Jesus was a threat to Roman authority or not. When they were through, Pilate was sure that Jesus was not.

But what Pilate didn’t realize was that Jesus was marching forward in conquest even as the spoke. He was on the way to the cross at that very moment. On the way to suffer to the sins of the world.

And along the way , Jesus was reaching out to Pontius, the man. Inviting him to know the truth of God’s salvation.

“…Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice…” (John 18:37 NIV).

This was an invitation! But Pilate wasn’t interested. We all know Pilate’s response. He said, “What is truth?” and went back to talk to the mob outside.

But many others have heard Jesus’ invitation and have come to know and believe the truth He offers. That God loves us. That He forgives us through Jesus. Through faith in this truth, we have become subjects in the Kingdom of Truth.

Turn to Luke 17, verse 20. Jesus was asked when the kingdom of God would arrive. He said…

“…The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21 NIV).

Jesus’ Kingdom is a Kingdom of Faith.

Now this is a lofty idea. Some would mock this idea altogether. What good is a “Kingdom of Faith”? What good is faith at all?

Faith by itself has no value. Faith is simply trust, and trust is only as good as the thing that is trusted.

And THAT is why faith in JESUS is so valuable. After Jesus was done talking with Pilate, He was beaten, scourged and crucified. Then He died and was laid in a tomb. But that wasn’t the end. Death was the end for every other ruler who had ever walked the face of the earth, but NOT for Jesus.

On Easter Morning He rose from the dead. He appeared to hundreds of people during the next 40 days to prove it. To show that He had conquered sin and death and the Devil.

Our FAITH is in a King who was born two thousand years ago, but who still lives on today.

Our FAITH is in a King who is actively working in our lives right now, and whose reign will not remain invisible and inside forever.

Our FAITH is in a King who promises His subjects an eternal, joyful existence lived with God in Heaven.

This is the truth we have come to know and believe. Christ is OUR King.
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So let’s not live like we’re ordinary citizens of a temporary nation. We are the redeemed children of God. Let’s not live like our King is far away, when He is only a prayer away and in reality He never leaves us.

Let’s live the life He marked out for us. A life of repentance and freedom from sin. A life of being ambassadors for the King, pointing out the way of salvation as we walk that way ourselves. Let’s display this message to the world.

(Pastor Holds up another bumper sticker. This one says, “HE IS MY KING”)

Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.