Sermon for 11/29/06

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Sermon for 11/29/06
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ARE YOU ROYALTY? – Sons and daughters of Christ the King?

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, AMEN

Main Theme: Are you royalty? Well, you are if you are a child of Christ the King! In as much as we like that idea – let us back up and ask ourselves whether we truly want a King? Earthly kings and giving control of our life to another, does not especially excite us. So what makes this heavenly King so special. We review what we know about this Christ the King, and ask ourselves, “Do we desire to, (and have we), place ourselves under the control and power of our Lord? Perhaps we will, when we see what kind of King He truly is!

1) THE KING? Did you know that I have performed 54 funerals since I came here to All Saints? And as I looked down the list, it occurred to me that most of them were royalty! They were princesses and princes – sons and daughters of the King: Jesus Christ! Without a doubt, most were truly “the children of God.” For others I did not know well, I leave that determination to a gracious and all knowing Lord! But I know one thing; 54 people who once walked this earth no longer have to entertain the question: Is Jesus “the King” of my life? They no longer have to struggle with the question Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do you say I am?” It is an important question – one that motivated the church a hundred years ago to designate “Christ the King Sunday” as the last Sunday of the church year. All that is revealed throughout the church year about Jesus Christ – from His birth in the manger, to His death and resurrection on the cross – calls us to formulate a conclusion; Is He, or isn’t He “Christ the King”?

2) ROYALTY! Now admittedly, the idea of being royalty – is appealing. Who of us as children did not play with construction paper crowns, and dress up as princesses and princes ourselves? But on the other hand, putting fantasy and fictional King Arthur stories aside, history does not have much good to say about earthly kings. We have discovered much truth in the statement “Absolute power absolutely corrupts.” Historians say the average king lasted only 3-4 years, usually died at the hands of another power hungry tyrant, and while “good kings” did exist, the people under their power generally were forgotten and ill treated. Carrying the “scars of abuse” from monarchs, people fled to America and purposely chose to create a form of government that disallowed kings and royalty to rule over us. Our banners shout of independence and individuality as the highest priority. If politicians do not serve us – we kick them out! For the most part, we distain having anyone rule over us! We rarely voluntarily give any one “power over us!” Yes, in as much as being called royalty, (children of Christ the King), appeals to us on one hand, there is a cultural part of us that rebels against the whole idea.

3) CONCLUSIONS! Yet, opportunities arise encouraging us to make conclusions based on what we know. Like… after we’ve researched and test driven a used car, the salesman inevitably insists on a conclusion, “So… shall we go figure out the best financing so you can drive this beauty away?” The judge will ask the jury after a long trial, (having heard the evidence and testimonies), to adjourn and come back with a conclusion, “Guilty, or not guilty?” And God, after introducing His Son to us through the Word and Sacraments, will periodically check in to see: what has been revealed and accepted in our hearts? There are times when God walks us over to the throne of our heart and asks us to tell Him “Who sits upon it and reigns here?” Perhaps, now is one of those times. What conclusion have we come to about this Jesus? Is it the same conclusion of the scriptures?

4) KING! Because, according to scriptures, Jesus is a King. The first humans to declare it so were those crazy wise men who stopped at King Herod’s (Matthew 2:2) “and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." A few of the disciples declare, such as in John 1:49 “Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” When Jesus entered Jerusalem on that day we call Palm Sunday, Jesus first sent 2 disciples to get a donkey for him to ride in on. Why? Matthew (21:5) explains it was to fulfill the prophecy, “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” Luke records the people who lined the streets with palms yelled out (19:38) “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” And when Jesus trial and inquiry began, Luke tells us (23:3) “So Pilate asked Jesus, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ ‘Yes, it is as you say,’ Jesus replied.” Even after the resurrection, when John has his vision of the “end times” we are told, (Revelation 17:14) “They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and king of kings--and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.” And… (Revelation 19:16) “On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Well, that’s what the bible tells us; Jesus is a King.

5) NOT EVERYONE! Of course, the Bible admits not everyone who met Jesus agreed! Or understood what kind of “King” He was! Many thought of Him as an earthly king – especially the Jews who desired a sword-swinging conqueror to throw off the evil empire – Rome! But Jesus resisted that. John 6:15 “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.” Herod, fearing Jesus’ kingship would threaten to overthrow him, sought the baby Jesus out to kill this so called “king of the Jews”. Not everyone believed! Jesus’ accusers, used the Roman fear of rebellion against Caesar to get rid of Him, (Luke 23:2) “And they began to accuse him, saying, "We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king." In John 19:12 we read “From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar." It worked, and the soldiers felt free to beat Jesus (Matthew 27:29, 37) “and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” The scriptures presents both sides – well aware that not everyone, then or now, agrees with the scriptural claim or understanding of what is meant by; Jesus is king!

6) KINGDOM OF GOD! It is history’s understanding of “earthy kingdoms” that confuses us; creating resistance to the whole idea. But as Pilate was told in John 18:36 “Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.’” Jesus’ kingdom was not an earthly kingdom, but a spiritual one! His is a kingdom “wherever God’s will is done”. It is not created from physical or material things, (Romans 14:17) “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit…” The Apostle Paul adds, (Corinthians 4:20) “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” The kingdom of God is created through divine, heavenly, spiritual power! Which explains why you can’t earn it, buy it, or inherit it through the right gene pool. Some Jews thought this, but (John 3:3) “In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’” And he spoke of a spiritual rebirth. The one that comes as a result of the Holy Spirit coming to us in our baptism! God’s Kingdom comes as gracious gift, (Luke 12:32) "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” Nope, this is no earthly kingdom, the Kingdom of God is spiritual and eternal, and “dwells in our heart!”

7) SERVANT KING! With all the options that strive to control our lives, (like ourselves, or power, fame, money, self-determining religions), why would we want to make Jesus our King? What makes Him different? Well, first of all, Jesus is 1) A king that serves… a servant King! Whereas the privilege of earthly kings is ‘to be served’ , while we commoners kneel often groveling at their feet; Jesus came to wash our feet, and He (Philippians 2:7) “…made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” Why? “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that what was lost” (Luke 19:10). Jesus is the Servant King whose mission is forgiveness of sins, salvation of man, and reconcilement with God. Both Mark and Matthew recorded Jesus’ identical message: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:44-45, Matt 20:28). A servant king was the only way to convey God’s priority! Whereas sin, Satan, and death work overtime to rip us away from a trusting and faithful relationship with our Creator, it is the very nature of God to love His children unconditionally so that through serving us, we may want to respond to His love with love! And therefore be reconciled, and embraced in God’s arms forever! Christ’s saving work on the cross provides forgiveness, freedom, love, and peace. Are we alright with that? …a servant King? He is certainly different from any other king. Can we accept this?

8) KING WITH SCARS! Imagine – a servant King! … royalty willing to roll up His sleeves and get dirty; washing away the mud and crud of sin that cakes our lives and keeps us from perfection, …and God! That probably explains why He is also 2) A King with scars! Face it, all the kings and queens throughout history sent their people out to die for them. I only know one king who decided to die for his people! Let me ask you this profound question: “What are the only human-made things in heaven?” Answer: “The wounds in the hands, feet and side of Christ." Even after his resurrection he is revealed with his scars. When his disciples doubt who he is, he shows them the scars in his hands, feet, and side. Those scars are five signs of the most compelling love the world has ever known; a complete, self-emptying, utter love for all of us! To this day, we still know Jesus by his scars. Are you OK with that? Is it possible that in His scars we find our hope?

9) COMES TO US! Unlike earthly kings who sit upon the throne and their subjects come to them; Jesus is surprisingly a 3) A king that comes to us, and searches us out… Remember what we read earlier… “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that what was lost” (LUKE 19:10). That’s us! We don’t always want to believe that. And God’s chasing us is not really something we pay much attention to, until we crash and burn! It’s not until the earthly powers and kings that rule our hearts fail us, that we begin to begin to entertain the fact that maybe there IS a higher power. But I guarantee it, when we start to turn back, (that is, repent), we will find God already there; as close as our skin. Unlike earthly kings, we won’t have to go looking for Him - He comes to us and seeks us out!

10) A LEADER! But just because He seeks us out does not mean He is not a worthy leader. We live in a broken world where a spiritual battle goes on between good and evil. It quite often takes place in our hearts! So it’s good that Jesus is 4) A king that leads us into spiritual battle… but a leader whose main weapons are love, compassion, self-sacrifice, and mercy. How radically different Christ is from all other kings. He has no need for guns, grenades, tanks, fighter planes or weapons of mass destruction. He fight Satan, evil, and our enemies with love, compassion, self-sacrifice, and mercy. Don’t you wish every leader did?

11) PRAYS/FORGIVES ENEMIES! Now there’s a reason for this: God loves our enemies too! Did you ever read of other kings who loved their enemies? But Jesus is 5) A king that prays for his human enemies… and who forgives those who attack Him! What does your life experience tell you: does revenge work to reconcile people with differences? What about use of physical strength, bribery, or guilt? Believe me, if you are like me, you may have tried them all, but as Dr. Phil often asks, “How’s that working for you?” Do you agree when Christ suggests (Matthew 5:43) “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…”? A lot of people struggle with this concept. What about you? Mark says (11:25) “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." No doubt, we warm up to a King who wants to forgive us, but do we want to follow a King who calls us to do the same to others? When Jesus is hanging from the cross, bleeding and in intense pain, we are awed to hear… (Luke 23:34) “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’” But can we accept a King who asks us to pray for and forgive the people we do not like; (Luke 6:37) “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”?

12) BLESSED OBEDIENCE! What a strange king, that though He has the power to force us to our knees, He chooses instead to be 6) A King that does not demand obedience, but blesses it when it comes! How many “heads have rolled” throughout history because someone refused to obey the one in charge? Though God is not a “toothless Teddy Bear”, (for hardened hearts are often dealt with severely in the bible), He never-the-less prefers to demonstrate the abundant life by blessing those who follow His life-giving will! Jesus was obedient to God that others might be blessed in awesome and eternal ways! Obedience, he pointed out, is what reflects “true love.” (John 14:21) “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." Luke tells us (11:28) He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."

13) LOVE! What’s your attitude towards obedience? “Well,” some of say, “that depends on what is being asked of us! Ask the impossible – I’ll rebel! Ask something too hard for me to handle, bury me in “rules”, burden me with countless laws – I doubt if obedience is what you will get.” Well, Jesus surprises us again, because all this King asks us to do is follow two commands, “Love God” and “Love one another!” Impossible task? Could be if it were not for another unique characteristic of Jesus: this is, 7) A King who simply asks us to love, and who offers to live within us and bring us true life!

14) LIVES WITHIN! 1 John (5:3) tells us “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome…” Why not burdensome? (John 14:23) “Jesus replied, ‘If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.’” Jesus lives within us! In other words, we’re able to love and obey, because Christ comes and lives within us, and empowers us to do what we cannot do ourselves! So… 1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”

15) TRUSTED! We could discuss forever this unique “servant King”, but what good is it if we have not discovered this: Jesus is 8) A king that can be trusted… always. Wow – trust; that’s a hard step to take! What if we trust in this King and He lets us down? Paul tries to explain, (Romans 10:11) “As the Scripture says, ‘Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’” Are we there yet? Do we relate to Paul when He says, (Romans 15:13) “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”? Is true inner joy and peace yours? Have you experienced the overflowing hope that comes through the power of the Holy Spirit? It all boils down to this: Do you believe Christ the King can be trusted with your life?

16) IS JESUS? Friends, I’ve done 54 funerals – so there are 54 people who once walked this earth that no longer have to entertain the question: Is Jesus “the King” of my life? But you and I; our life goes on, and so that question remains. Is Jesus “the King” of my life? Still, Jesus is not here to ask you to suddenly make “a radical decision” this morning in as much as He invites you to simply open your eyes and heart to reflect on how far the Holy Spirit has taken you on your Spiritual journey. A few of you may have never heard any of this until just now, and rarely thought about who rules your life. Others of you who recently started your spiritual journey may be “awakening” now as to how far there is still to go in your new faith journey. I’m hoping most of you may be pleasantly surprised to see how far you’ve come in following this awesome King! Others may have simply been reminded of what you already joyously discovered some time ago! Regardless, Christ is here, and to all of us He extends His hand and heart, and asks us to continue this amazing journey! Ask the question one more time: Is Jesus “the King” of my life?

17) ROYAL CHILDREN OF GOD! Someone or something will always be seated on the throne of your heart – ruling your life! It could be yourself, or money, power, material things, fame, …the list goes on. But if it’s Christ seated on the throne – yours will be an abundant life, filled with true hope, faith, and love! Whatever you have discovered this morning as a result of hearing God’s Word concerning “Kings” and “Kingdoms”, know this: (1 John 3:1) “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” Royalty! Princes and princesses! Not a bad thing to be, if Jesus is our King!

Praise God!

AMEN!

Sermon/Confessional Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we confess that there are so many things and people competing to sit on the throne of our heart, and we have not always shooed them away. We have too often left you standing outside our hearts, as we have chased earthly kingdoms, and the promises they offered. We have too often placed ourselves upon the throne, and have suffered the painful consequences. Forgive us, and empower us to make you the ruler over our lives, that peace, joy, and life-giving purpose fills our time left on this earth!

Lord, we admit knowing that the consequences of declaring you King, changes everything – and sometimes overwhelms us. We have not always been willing to be a servant, or sacrifice, or seek others out as you served, sacrificed, and chased us! We have not always prayed for, or forgiven our enemies. …nor consistently loved you and one another! We haven’t always opened our hearts to let you come live within us, nor have we trusted you the way we should. Forgive us, and fill us with your Holy Spirit that we might let you reign fully in our lives!

And now Lord, although you know us better than we know ourselves, listen as we share in a moment of silence, those other parts of our lives that need to be forgiven, washed clean, healed, and recommitted to you! (made anew.)

(Silence)

Lord, sometimes we prefer the image of you as baby in the manager, and at other times, friend or shepherd! But if we are to truly call you “King”, we need your Spirit to perform the miracle of making it so. Come live within every sincere and open heart here this morning that we may receive the endless blessings that come to the royal adopted children of the One and true King of all kings: Jesus Christ! It is in Jesus Name We Pray. AMEN

Assurance of Forgiveness:

Friends, listen to the good news: The Lord, the savior, the King of all kings, …that Lord has mercifully heard your confession and eagerly forgives you all your sins. Go now, and remember: There is no king that compares to your Lord and Savior! Reject all other worldly imitations and earthly contenders and your life will be truly blessed! Praise God! AMEN

Opening prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we enter this sanctuary on this last Sunday of the church calendar, reflecting upon another year in our faith walk! No matter where we might be in our spiritual journey, (whether in the beginning, middle, or near the end), we have faced struggles and challenges that can only make sense in the light of your truth and wisdom. We have grown spiritually only because you have chased after us and filled us with your life-giving Word. We have survived moments of doubt, frustration, and even despair – because you have been our strength and helped us in finding victory over the brokenness that tried to remove us from your love and blessings! You have healed numerous wounds, washed away countless sins, and guided us through raging seas of chaos; piercing our darkness with your amazing light! We have learned some great lessons and unfortunately forgotten some others… but we are learning to trust you more and more! And with you living within us, we shall overcome the obstacles that try to make us stumble, and find inner peace and joy even while storms blow around us. You Lord are the only source of goodness and power we need in our lives – so embrace us now and fill us with your love, that we may professes to all who will hear: You Lord, are Christ the King; Lord of all lords, and King of all kings! It is in your precious Name we Pray! AMEN!

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