Prop: Give yourself to God s anointed because there s no one else like Christ.

Transcription

1 Josh Soehner Master of the Universe Prop: Give yourself to God s anointed because there s no one else like Christ. 1. There s no King like Christ 2. There s no Priest like Christ 3. There s no Conqueror like Christ (Welcome and Intro to Psalm 110). Chapter 110 is an extraordinary Psalm. It's filled with oracles, poetry, and hidden treasures. Matthew Henry, the Puritan minister opens his commentary on this chapter with the following statement. This psalm is pure gospel. It s also the most quoted Psalm of the NT. Verse 1 is quoted or alluded to 23 times in the NT. It is quoted in 11 out of 27 NT books, and by 7 of the 9 NT authors, including Jesus in the Gospels. Needless to say, Psalm 110 is of great significance! (Prayer) I ve always been fascinated with history, especially military history. About a decade ago I read a book titled, Ike, An American Hero. It s the biography of the 34 th President of United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower. During Ike s lifetime (Ike was his nickname), the world was at war with itself. Japan had committed horrific atrocities of mass murder and rape of the Chinese. Shortly, thereafter they covertly bombed Pearl Harbor killing thousands of Americans. The Nazi s had conquered large parts of Europe. Secretly, the Nazi s were carrying out a genocide of the Jewish race. Then, in Dec of 1943, General Eisenhower because of his great accomplishments as a military leader was appointed to the position of Supreme Allied Commander of the 1

2 Mediterranean Theater. Not long after his appointment, Ike would go on to plan and lead the victorious assault known as D-Day against the enemy. Eventually, he was elected twice as President of the United States. Ike was an American Hero. He was a man that people followed. As humans we gravitate to hero s that fight evil and injustice. Who doesn t love Superman, there is no other superhero like him. Since we are created in the image of a righteous God, we especially look to follow those who exert righteous authority and exercise virtuous power. The good news for us is that there is a hero for us to follow and he is not an invention of a comic book creation, and He is more than an earthly, military commander and President. This hero is unveiled to us in Psalm 110 as God s anointed and His name is Christ Jesus, the Lord! The main burden of my message this morning is that you would give yourself to God s anointed, because there is no one else like Him. I trust the Holy Spirit will impart this into our hearts this morning as we look at 3 points from Psalm 110. First, there is no king like Christ, second, there is no priest like Christ, and third, there is no conqueror like Christ. There is no King like Christ. Psalm 110 was written by David when he was king of Israel. This Psalm is like a window because it opens a picture of what God s anointed would look like. For the original audience, though God had already established David s throne, Psalm 110 was likely meant to be a song of hope and of a promise of a future messiah (messiah is the Hebrew word for an anointed person like a King or Priest. The Greek equivalent is Christ - the anointed one.). This Psalm was 2

3 prophetic in that it detailed a future time when this Messiah/Deliver would unite both the Israelite offices of King and Priest and exercise ultimate and final victory over his enemies. Psalm 110 is comprised of 2 oracles of God. In the first oracle, God promise to enthrone and exalt a King over His Kingdom. Let s look at verse 1 together. 1 The Lord (Yahweh) says to my Lord (Adonai): Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool. To be seated at the right hand of someone is a symbol of great power, authority, and exaltation. How do we know this Psalm speaks of Christ? In the book of Acts the apostle Peter interprets these verses for us on the day of Pentecost. Acts 2: v33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool. 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. Peter tells us that God has made Jesus both Lord (master/ruler), and Christ over all. So, we can see that Psalm 110 speaks of Christ, but why has God exalted Christ above even the greatest of kings like David, or Solomon? It s because of what Christ has accomplished, the gospel of his life. What a sight it must have been to have seen Jesus carried away on the clouds at his ascension. But, have you ever considered what the scene must have been like in the very throne room of God at the heavenly session of Christ? Where after having accomplished all of the Father s work, having lived a perfect life, betrayed by a friend, mocked by his own people, 3

4 tortured by the Romans, disowned and denied by his followers, abandoned by his own Father as he bore the holy wrath of God for the penalty of YOUR sin and MY sin, and having rose victoriously from the grave and ascended to the Father, what celebration and worship must there have been in heaven when the Father told his Son, well done good and faithful servant, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. There is no King like Christ, because He has earned his exaltation through the gospel of his own life. Also, Christ the King now rules through the gospel. Psalm 110:2 2 The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! Zion in the Bible always represents God s dwelling place. Today, God dwells in the spiritual Zion, His church, and the church is built upon the one foundation of Christ himself. Most commentators agree that the mighty scepter of v2 is typified of the Gospel. The gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ s accomplishment is the tool in which he rules in the midst of his enemies. How does he rule through the gospel? He does it through building the Kingdom of God whereby sinners like you and me are transferred from the kingdom of darkness, into the kingdom of the Son of his love. The gospel is sent forth from God like a mighty scepter. There is great power in the gospel. Roman 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the POWER of God for salvation to everyone who believes.... When the gospel is preached, sinners are saved. Psalm 110 speaks of a current reign of Christ through the gospel. It is often presented incorrectly as a future reign of Christ over Israel. It's a current reign of Christ through the 4

5 gospel, and since it is a present reign it should bring us great hope, for today, right now as we gather, Jesus Christ is seated on the throne ruling in the midst of His enemies. His enemies have no true power. Don t believe the lie that the devil whispers to you. Death and Satan have already been defeated. Despite the troubles of the world, Jesus is not stressed out pacing back and forth. Christ is seated at the right hand of God as King and there is nothing outside of his rule and reign. His enemies will be made his footstool. A footstool is where you put your dirty grimy feet. Think of Joshua putting his feet on the necks of the 5 Canaanite kings and they were defeated. Because there is no King like Christ, he is completely sovereign. This means that Jesus has your whole life under control. When, disaster strikes, Christ, is still the master of the universe. During the months of June and July because of flooded toilets we were under restoration at both my house and my office. To make it worse, because the flood at our home had to do with the sewer line, our homeowner insurance policy didn t fully cover the damage. Then delivery of the new floor was delayed, and when it did finally arrive, it came cut wrong from the manufacture. I confess, I was stressed and worried about the situation. I struggled to have peace living in a chaotic and uncertain environment. But the Lord spoke to my spirit. Rest, I am in control of all things, [ for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose (Rm 8:28). ] I know many of you have and are suffering from sickness, lost loved ones, job issues, financial struggles, and many other difficulties. But good kings provide for their subjects and there s no king like Christ. The Bible is filled with promises of provision. [Phil 4:19 says And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.] 5

6 And because we are in Christ and He is seated at the right hand of God, so are we. Eph 2:6 (made us alive together with Christ) and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Right now, though you physically are sitting in the NW Christian gymnasium, spiritually you are seated with Christ above any worldly problems. That is your position, that is your identity. Because you are seated with him you can rest that He is in control. Now many kings of the earth force their subjects to serve them through violence and compulsion. Just think of the countless brutal tyrants and dictators that have starved and enslaved their subjects. But for two thousand years, Christ the King has had servants from every nation, tribe, and language that willingly gave their lives to him. 3 Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. Note how David in v3 tells us that the King s people are clothed in holy garments. Because of Christ s accomplishments, we who were unrighteous, have now been clothed in the righteousness of His own life. It s the greatest transaction in the universe Jesus takes my filth and gives me his purity. What motivation for his people to freely offer themselves for his service. Is this not your testimony this morning, that you willingly want to serve Christ the King? If not, what holds you back from giving all of yourself to Christ? John tells us that his commandments are not burdensome. Sadly, many non-christians see following Christ, as misery, boredom, compulsion. But to the contrary following Christ the King, brings joy unspeakable, because He brings freedom from the bondage of sin and Satan. David also prophesy that these servants would be, v3 from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. While no one can be exactly sure what this means, in the 6

7 context, most believe it means Christ s followers will be as plentiful as the morning dew that covers the face of the earth. The Apostle John speaks of this multitude. Rev 7: After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! Does that sound like a crowd of bored and forced servants! No, on the contrary it s willing servants worshiping God and the Lamb for their salvation. There is No King Like Christ. He's been exalted to the highest place of honor because of His accomplishments. His followers give themselves freely to his service for what he has done for them. Jesus is worthy of making your whole life an offering to Him. So, give yourself to follow him. Our 2 nd point this morning is that there s No Priest Like Christ. The nation of Israel had 3 main offices. Prophet, Priest, and King. Prophets revealed God s spoken word to the people, kings, ruled the nation, and priests ministered to the Lord and offered sacrifices on behalf of the people. Now what s interesting is that some kings were also prophets (like David) and some priests were also prophets (like Ezekiel) but the positions of king and priest were never jointly held. However, because there is no priest like Christ, he is both King and Priest. Look with me at v4 (this is the 2 nd oracle of God in Psalm 110). Psalm 110:4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, You (Adonai) are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. God himself is now saying that the same anointed one, that is seated and ruling as king at his right hand in the first 3 verses, now in verse 4 is also a priest. 7

8 Christ is unlike any other priest because his priesthood is eternal. Psalm 110:4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Quick history lesson - who were the priests? They were ancestors from the tribe of Levi. The Levitical priesthood was responsible for the daily care of the tabernacle and temple. They administered the law of Moses by collecting tithes, performing rituals and ceremonies, and offering sacrifices for themselves and for the people. Despite this special office, they were still weak, sinful and mortal men. It took an entire tribe in Israel to provide the numerous priests required to minster daily since their work was never done and because death prevented their continual service. Then, in walks the Messiah, Christ Jesus, the priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Who is Melchizedek and what is the association to Christ s eternal priesthood? Melchizedek first appears in Genesis 14, here again in Psalm 110, and then in Hebrews 7 where the author unpacks this mystery man and his relation to Christ. Genesis 14 tells the story of Abraham rescuing his nephew Lot who was captured by a group of kings. After Abraham and his clan destroys the kings and rescues Lot, a mysterious figure comes out to meet Abraham. It s a king and his name is Melchizedek meaning righteousness. He is also King of Salem (eventually Jerusalem), which means peace. In addition, he is also said to be the priest of God Most High. Abraham ends up giving this priestly king a tenth of all his spoils and is blessed by Melchizedek. Mind you this is long before his great grandson Levi is born, the tribe from whence the Levitical priesthood originated from. One might even say that Levi himself, who 8

9 receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor (Heb 7:9-10a). Hebrews 7 explains to us that this King of righteousness and peace is without father or mother. He s unlike most in Genesis because he has no genealogy. Hebrews 7:3 Having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues as a priest forever. Melchizedek is therefore a type of Christ and metaphorically speaking, this priestly king has an endless life. So, Christ's perpetual priesthood is unlike that of the Levitical priesthood because his is after the order of Melchizedek. Now the Levitical priests had to be numerous because death prevented them from continuing in office because their priesthood is based on weak ancestry. But because Christ's priesthood is eternal, and based on the power of an indestructible life (Heb 7:16), "consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (Heb 7:25) This means there is not a day that goes by, that we can t come boldly to the throne of God. When you sin you don t need to hide in your room for 2 hours performing penance. There is nothing more to do but repent because the price has been paid. if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1) This eternal priesthood of Christ is backed by the very oath of God Himself. God, who cannot lie, initiated it through an oath saying, Psalm 110:4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Think for a moment of the importance of an oath. An oath is a solemn pledge or promise to the truth of one s affirmation. Judges require witnesses to take an oath before 9

10 testifying in a court of law promising that what they say will be true and not a lie. Knowing that God can not lie, and that His promises in Christ are yes and Amen we can have great confidence and hope in our redemption because Christ s priesthood is eternal. There is not a day he will stop interceding for us. Listen to the author of Hebrews summarize. Hebrews 7:28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever. There is no priest like Christ because God Himself appointed, His perfect Son as priest forever. God desires relationship with us AND requires perfection for it. But perfection was not attainable through the Levitical priesthood as every priest must stand daily at his post, repeatedly offering the same sacrifice, over and over, which can never actually take away sin. Heb 10: But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. Do you see now why Matthew Henry said this Psalm is pure gospel. Brothers and sisters, there is no priest like Christ because not by the blood of bulls and goats, but by his own perfect blood he has forever appeased the wrath God that was against you and I. And now we receive the benefit of new life, a clean slate, and relationship with a Holy God because He lives forever to intercede for us. There is no priest like Christ. He is worth giving all of yourself to in worship and service for what He has done for you. The third and final point this morning is, There is No Conqueror Like Christ. 10

11 As I mentioned earlier, what a sight it must have been to have seen Jesus carried away on the clouds at his ascension. But, oh what a sight it will be when he returns in the clouds as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. At Jesus s first coming, He came to lay down his life for his enemies. But at His second coming, He will end the life of His enemies. Psalm 110:5-7 5 The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. 6 He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. 7 He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head. [Some commentators think this last verse likens the swift and decisive triumph of Christ as conqueror to Gideon s 300 mighty warriors who quickly lapped water in their march against the Midianites.] Now, I could be wrong, but I often think we neglect seeing Jesus as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. We tend to gravitate to the pre-crucifixion Christ, the one where He is portrayed rightfully so, as the Lamb of God who takes away sin of the world. (First picture) It s the picture of Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey, humble, meek, lowly, peaceful, coming to bring salvation to the world. (Second picture) But the second picture is the one when he comes as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. This same Jesus will return once again this time not riding a donkey, but a war horse, not to be executed, but to be the one executing global judgment upon his enemies. There is no conqueror like Christ because His conquering will be absolute, it will be global, and it will be unlike anything the world has ever seen. Christ is coming to shatter the kings and chiefs of this world. Imagine a sledge hammer dropping on fine china. One word. 11

12 Pulverized! Verse 6 says that He will fill the nations with his enemies' corpses. Speaking of this same day known biblically as the day of the Lord, the prophet Zechariah says, Zec 14:12 their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. This message isn t very PC. It goes against the current of this age. But what else do you think Christ s enemies would want you to think. The skeptic only speaks of Jesus loving his enemies. He does! I know because I was once his enemy, and he loved me so much so that He was willing to suffer torture on a cross in my place. But, for the enemies that reject the love of God in Christ, for the ones that love their sin more than the savior, his wrath and his judgement awaits. Regarding the verses about filling the nations with corpses, Pastor and Christian artist Shai Linne says yeah it s morbid, but it s fair. It s fair because everyone of us like the enemies in these verses deserve the full crushing weight of God s holy wrath for our wickedness. If you don t know Jesus as eternal savior, then eternal justice awaits you. But the good news is that there is no conqueror like Christ, because He has already conquered sin and death. He defeated it on the cross. This means you and I don t have to suffer the fierce and eternal justice that we deserve. Thankfully, Jesus did come first to this earth lowly and humble, carrying a cross up the hill where he was then punished for our sins. That is what s not fair! It s not fair that my sin was transferred to the only perfect man to ever have lived, and then his perfect life transferred to me. But he did it because of His great for his enemies. The application of these final 3 verses in Psalm 110 speak to us that in the end God will right all wrongs. Every one of us in this room to some level has been mistreated, taken 12

13 advantage of, sinned against in some manner. Maybe you ve been deceived by a trusted person. Some of you have been robbed, others have been wrongly accused and falsely portrayed in a negative light. Some of you have suffered horribly at the hands of evil men while the perpetrator has gotten away with it. Just know that God will serve final justice, and that vengeance is his and his alone. This should give us the power to forgive others and to trust God when we are wronged that he will take care of us, and that ultimate justice will be served. I ve seen some in my lifetime destroy themselves trying to repay evil for evil. But when you begin to give yourself to the trust and care of Christ, knowing he will right all wrongs, then you will live in peace. This conquering king is coming. Lord willing, hopefully soon. There is no one else like him. There never has, and there never will be. We give ourselves so easily to simple, feeble things, that are here today and gone tomorrow. Consider what it looks like to give yourself to Christ. If you are not already a follower, I urge you, repent of your sins and follow Him. What awaits is a new life today and joy unspeakable for all eternity. If you already are a Christian, consider what it might look like to give more of yourself to this wonderful King. Are there areas that YOU are holding back? Or, are there areas of SIN that are holding you back? Since Jesus lived as a man and because he is also our high priest he sympathizes with our weakness. He offers forgiveness as he intercedes on our behalf. And, because he is a conqueror, He offers you the power to break any sin that holds you captive. There is no king like Christ, no priest like Christ, and no conqueror like Christ. Surrender yourself to Him! Jesus is worth everything. Your time, your talents, your money, and your life. So, give yourself to God s anointed and make your whole life an offering to him! 13