Do You Follow King Jesus?
Sermon for Sunday, November 25, 2007
1. Good Morning. Let’s pray.
O Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be
pleasing to You O Lord our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
2.
Opening
Comments: It’s “Christ the King Sunday”
– it’s the last Sunday of the Church year and we’re celebrating the ultimate
truth that Christ is King of all!
So this morning we’re going to reflect on what it means to have a King
and to follow that King!
What images immediately spring to mind when you think about Jesus?
I think of the crucifix – that image comes immediately to mind – what
about some other images that you have?
Survey the congregation. . .
OK now what images immediately spring to mind when you think about the
word “king” Survey congregation.
Now what images spring to mind when you think of Jesus as King?
Yes at least for me I find myself defaulting to medieval Kingly images
in their great halls at feasts or in battles.
You know what I mean . . .
But
remember we follow a king whom our Gospel writer Luke reminds us
came into Jerusalem that last time on the back of an Ass – a donkey . . . not a
white battle stallion or a battle ready Humvee! Or in a stretch Lincoln Limousine!
That
doesn’t seem to fit with our original idea of king does it? So what could King Jesus really look
like? Let’s try to get a picture, if you
will, of who our King just might look like.
You see when you think about Him these images tend to spring to mind so
why not refine them a bit . . . perhaps???
I do this not to be irreverent certainly but because I believe it will
help if we can get a good picture of who we love and follow. Remember God became visible to the world in
Jesus Christ. Jesus once said:
John 14:9
Jesus answered: “. . . Anyone who has seen me has
seen the Father.”
So people saw God the Father when they saw Jesus. Let’s believe then that God isn’t opposed to
our trying to get a picture of Jesus in our minds – if for no other reason than
it happens anyway so why not try to bring some clarity to this picture?
I
want to postulate that perhaps as our picture – our mind’s eye image - of Jesus
becomes enriched so too – just perhaps - may our response to Him.
Can
you see what I’m saying here?
If you see Jesus as a tyrant then your response to Him may be less that
enthusiastic but what if your primary image of Him is that of a loving and kind
person? Won’t your response be much more
open?
Some may argue perhaps that they don’t have any image of Jesus or that
they don’t need such a picture. But
remember God gave us His Son with a particular body and a particular face and
particular hands with particular fingerprints.
Hayley, our daughter, was so struck by this fact that she wrote a poem
about it called Red Charity – I’ve read it to y’all before.
So Christ’s particularity is important.
God wants us to think of Jesus as a Person with a particular body and a
particular face!
Let’s
ponder over what Jesus just might look like and then consider what that means
for our response to Him?
Our
Old Testament reference in Jeremiah tells us
that when God comes he will come as a shepherd who will gather His scattered
sheep: Jer 23:3 “But I will
gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them,
and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.”
So here we have an image that the New Testament echoes in the words
“The Good Shepherd.” Jesus says in the
Gospel of John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life
for the sheep.”
If Jesus is a shepherd then I want to be His
sheep- a member of His sheepfold – don’t’ you???
In
our Psalm reading from Psalm 122 we get the image of coming to the
house of our Lord. So the image that I
gather from this is a hospitable Lord who welcomes us into His grand home! This for me is a welcoming – homeward
image! I see myself then as a pilgrim
being given a room in the home of my Lord and the Psalm response of “Let us go
rejoicing to the house of the Lord” springs easily to my lips.
Do you feel “at home” with the Lord? Is He a hospitable host to you?
And are you and happy and contented guest in the home of your Lord?
And
now let’s linger a little longer on our Colossian reference and as I
read it again try to capture the images that spring into your
minds: By the way I’m going to be
reading from Eugene Peterson’s “The Message” paraphrase to better help us to
find images of our Lord:
Col. 1:11
We pray that
you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim
strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is
strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, 12 thanking the Father who
makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he
has for us.
Col. 1:13
God rescued
us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He’s set us up in the kingdom of the
Son he loves so much, Did you hear that? He
set us up in the kingdom of the Son He loves so much! Who set us up in the Kingdom – God did! Now let’s read on - 14 the Son who got
us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep
repeating. Ah! Did you hear that – the Son, our King,
rescued us out of the pit we were in. So he’s a hero – a rescuer!
What does a rescuer look like? He got us out of the pit we were in and got
rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating!
I don’t know about you but images of a strong armed rescuer
come immediately to my mind. I see Him
reaching down into the muck and mire in which I find myself stuck and not
bothering about getting His hands dirty He reaches down and gently lifts me out
of it – just as He did when Peter began to sink in the stormy lake! Let’s read on: - verse 15:
Col. 1:15
We look at
this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. What images spring into your minds when you
hear words like that – We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be
seen? Can we wrestle with that for just
a second – look at your image of Jesus and understand that this is somehow a
picture of God the Father! O Lord, help
me!!! The
mind boggles doesn’t?
Reading on: We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything
created. Ah!
This is what we’re supposed to look like – God’s original purpose is
carved into the very physical features of Jesus – the Good Shepherd, the
Hospitable Lord of the Kingdom and rescuer of our souls! What image, if any, is forming in your mind’s
eye?
Let’s read on: 16 For everything, absolutely
everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank
of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. 17 He was there before any of it came into existence and
holds it all together right up to this moment.
18 And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it
together, like a head does a body. Wow! What sort of
being is this? He’s the fountainhead of
all creation both visible and invisible!
Wowwww!
Now my mind begins to boggle – to crumble. How can I envision such a being? Remember now Paul is writing this about Jesus
whom He saw ( 1 Corinthians
9:1 Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? 1 Corinthians
15:8 And last of all he was seen by me.) in such magnificent hyperbole! Can you and I get a glimpse of this
man-god? He was before everything and
holds all of creation together. As Head He organizes the church and hold’s even
it together! What does such a munificent
being look like? I can only imagine!
I must confess to you that at this points
out that the image I have of Jesus is faltering. It’s just not big enough!
Ah, but remember Jesus comes to us in an
image we can grasp. He was a particular man! He
is fully human yet fully divine. It’s
His divinity that we struggle to imagine.
Could it be that
this is the very reason God gave us an imagination – to reach out to try to
imagine the unimaginable!
And so now we come
to terms with our Lord’s Immanence and His Transcendence.
We
can just begin to touch on His immanence – His humanity - but it’s His
transcendence that we have to bow down before and gasp for breathe!
Let’s
read on: The end of verse 18:
He was
supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in
the end. Now there’s a picture of a King – supreme in
the beginning and ending – leading us in His resurrection parade – try to
picture that will you!!!
Reading on: From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above
everything, everyone. 19 So spacious is he,
so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without
crowding. 20 Not only that, but
all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals
and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because
of his death, his blood that poured down from the Cross. . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Who is this Jesus? He is the King of kings and Lord of Lords –
all of creation both visible and invisible will one day bend the knee and bow
before His magnificence!
Try to image that scene at the end of it all – imagine all of Creation
bowing in reverence – not feigned, not pretended, not coldly but with utter
breathless astonishment. No one will be
able to remain standing in His presence!
What
does such a being look like – this is our King!
This is our Lord!
It’s impossible to fully image – yet He comes to us on a donkey – in a
manger – He comes to us and knocks at the door of our soul and says:
Matt.
11:29
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my
burden is light.”
Ah! This is who our King is! He is gentle and humble in heart and we find
rest for our souls in Him!
This
is our King! How do you and I respond
to such a King???
Now I’m going ask Kevin to play a very short video that will, I pray,
deepen our surrender and obedience to our Lord and King – Amen!
After Video close in prayer.