Prophet, Priest, King, God
Pastor Rollan Fisher
We worship Jesus because he is our great prophet, priest, king and God.
Last week:
Jesus the Priest
Why is there salvation in no one else and why is Jesus the only name by which we must be saved?
Jesus is not just a priest - he is our perfect, merciful and faithful high priest before God.
But the importance and uniqueness of Jesus continues.
Focus: God the Father has us submit to Jesus because he is King of Kings and Lord of lords.
Jesus the King
We serve Jesus because he is our benevolent king.
Revelation 1:4-11 ESV
“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, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, "Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea."
Jesus is called the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
Jesus is our king which means he is to be the Lord and ruler of every area of our lives.
Just as our lives were saved by Christ’s perfect obedience to and fulfillment of the law of God, so we are now to express our gratitude and love for God by obedience to his commands.
There is no area of your life that his rulership leaves untouched, whether it be your time, your relationships, your sexuality, your leisure, your resources or your pursuits.
How do we know that God anointed Jesus to be the eternal king of the nations?
We know it by Christ’s sinless life, miracles and resurrection from the dead.
Christ’s sinless life demonstrated that he was a king who could be trusted and should be adored.
Christ’s miracles demonstrated God’s supernatural backing for he who would be our benevolent ruler.
John 12:12-16 ESV
“The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!" And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!" His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.”
Christ’s resurrection from the dead and ascension to the right hand of the Father validated his identity as the one who would approach the Ancient of Days and would rule the nations with justice.
As the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the Almighty, it is said that Jesus is given glory and dominion forever and ever.
This reflects the words of the prophet Daniel, who ministered in exile in Babylon approximately 530 to 600 years before Christ.
Daniel 7:9-10 ESV
“"As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.”
Daniel 7:13-14 ESV
“"I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”
*The point for us is that beyond our personal devotion, God has always shown himself sovereign through ever-changing social and political, domestic and world affairs.
God’s people were to remain steady, focusing on God as their rock and serve Christ as their king.
Rulers come and go, governments rise and fall, yet Christ’s kingdom is eternal and remains the same.
Christ’s kingdom is not only lasting, but historically advances during tumultuous times.
Why does it matter that we recognize Jesus as king when we see chaos around us?
(ROBINHOOD pictures)
Because we have a king who is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
How do we live in God’s peace and purposes?
You live in God’s peace by understanding that Jesus is the sovereign ruler over the nations whose government will know no end.
God has used godless men and women throughout history to fulfill his ultimate ends (think King Cyrus and his decree to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem in Ezra 1:1-11 or those who discipline Israel in I Chronicles 5:26; II Chronicles 21:16).
God remained seated on his throne and it will be no different now.
We live in God’s purposes by finding our identity in Christ and our activity through Christ’s body, his church - which should be on mission to fulfill his gospel great commission long after the election is over.
This purpose keeps us from the ditches of identity politics, single issue politics and the tribalism that flows from ideas of government totalitarianism.
We are looking to the whole counsel of God.
There is a primacy of identity where I am a child of God, a follower of king Jesus above all else, and a priority of conviction where I will not be boxed into any party or policy that does not submit to his rule.
Jesus is to be the ruler of the kings on earth.
Though important, your hope is never to be in a fallible political leader or government.
All kings will eventually be subject to Christ’s rule as a benevolent creator.
Hebrews 2:5-13 ESV
“For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere, "What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet." Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the 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 glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, "I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise." And again, "I will put my trust in him." And again, "Behold, I and the children God has given me."”
We must be careful to not be driven by mere emotion, but endeavor to have the mind of Christ, parsing out and applying biblical truths at every point and turn.
Our priority of purpose is to love Jesus and represent the king well in character (common decency towards others) and conviction (standing on Biblical truths).
*The gospel is the answer to the ills of this fallen world because it changes hearts and not just policies.
When Jesus is proclaimed as Lord and king, redemption, restoration and reconciliation are the result - between God and humanity as well as humanity and humanity.
In our political season it is comforting to know that though we bear with temporary rulers, we serve an eternal king.
“Trials are intended to make us think, to wean us from the world, to send us to
the Bible, to drive us to our knees.”
-JC Ryle
Because of Christ’s sinless life, though he would die on the cross as a sacrifice for humanity’s sins, Jesus would rise to live days without end ruling the nations with an eternal Kingdom.
The government would forever be on Christ’s shoulders.
We should come to understand Jesus as king through his church.
Revelation 1:12-20 ESV
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”
When we turn to hear Jesus, the first thing that we see is his church.
John turned to hear the voice and saw the seven lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands was one like a son of man.
We need to see Jesus the king, clearly, not as we’ve supposed him to be, before we can be of benefit to the world.
Jesus stood amongst the lampstands - the churches.
Jesus held the seven stars in his hand - the messengers.
From Christ’s mouth comes the double-edged sword - his word by which he deals with our sin to bring both truth and order.
So we see that as Jesus is king, he rules in and through the lampstands, his church.
Below is a picture of the work of God bringing his Kingdom on the earth:
Individual to Christ (work out issues in the heart) >
Christian to Church (work out real issues in safe community under Christ’s benevolent rule) >
Church to the Culture (work out beneficial societal change as we bring Christ’s light to the world)
“God wants you to be planted…to be present and engaged in the Body of Christ.”
-Pastor Jon Owens
Why?
You can not see Christ’s rule fully worked out in your life without being a part of his local church.
The church is God’s war room for real world redemption and change.
The beauty of the church of Jesus Christ is that you get to work out real world issues with real people from every tribe, nation, language and tongue - all serving one king and all having equal concern for one another because we are family united by his blood.
With this display of supernatural love, wisdom and reconciliation, we provide real solutions to a real world without hope and without God.
Be godly in social posts.
So our call today is to turn from our sins to the cross, make peace with Jesus the king and fear not, because he holds the keys of death and Hades, the present and the future in his hands!
Revelation 19:11-16 ESV
“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of Lords.”
- Second City Church