Facing God’s Choice of Christ Alone
Davidic Pattern #1: The path toward kingship was marked by suffering. The humble servant had to suffer first before he was exalted as king.
Davidic Pattern #2: When exalted as king, God brought remaining factions and enemies into subjection to God’s chosen king (cf 2 Samuel 5:9-12).
Jesus Christ, Pattern #3: God’s chosen King suffered, was delivered from the grave and then was exalted “carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:44-50).
Psalm 110 - The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.” Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; in holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew. The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath. He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country. He will drink from the brook by the wayside; therefore He will lift up His head.
Five realities about Jesus Christ that we must all come face to face with sooner or later
1. God Has Made Christ Alone King of Creation—“Sit at My Right Hand” (v. 1)
a. “At God’s right hand”—Matthew 22:44, Mark 16:19, Acts 2:33, 7:55-56, Romans 8:34, Ephesians 1:20, Colossians 3:1, Hebrews 1:3, 8:1, 12:2-3, 1 Peter 3:22, Revelation 3:21
b. “The Right Hand of God” is the place of eternal rulership
The ascension of Christ is as significant to the Lordship of Christ as His death and resurrection is to His role as Savior. He is both Lord/King and Savior!
c. But how could any man share God’s ruling throne? Jesus Christ was not simply “any man”—“The Lord said to my Lord” (cf. Matthew 22:41-45)
2. God Has Promised Christ Alone a Kingdom (v. 2)
3. God Has Promised Christ Alone a People/Army for His Kingdom (v. 3)
a. Willing volunteers
b. Dressed in righteousness (holy majesty/womb of dawn, cf. Revelation 19:11-16)
4. God Has Made Christ Alone the Only Way to Be Part of His Kingdom—Christ Is Not Only a King but a Priest! (v. 4, cf. Genesis 14, Hebrews 5-9)
5. God Will Destroy Opposition to Christ Alone (vv. 5-6)
Have you ever experienced something that you never thought you would experience in your life? Maybe it was a sudden sorrowful thing that happened to you or someone near to you. Maybe it was something that you waited for your whole life to happen and you just were not sure if it would ever happen (I imagine there are some parents of soon to be graduates that may be feeling that way about now). Maybe it was something that you spent plenty of time dreaming about in your life.
Wednesday night November 2, I finished up a night of youth group in the LOFT and immediately ran out to my Jeep. I turned on the ignition and before the engine had even finished cranking over I had the radio tuned into the Cubs versus the Indians playing in Game 7 of the World Series.
As I turned on to State Road 26 to begin my journey home I listened as Dexter Fowler led off the game with a home run to deep right center field.
Maybe tonight would be the night that I had played out countless times in my backyard as kid in Northern Illinois. Maybe tonight the Cubs would be the world champions.
It had been 108 years since the last time the Cubs had won the World Series. For years they had been mocked as the “loveable losers”, but tonight could be a different night.
Well that game did not go exactly the way that was the least amount of stress, but early on that Thursday morning the Cubs were finally the World Series Champ. As my 91 year old grandma that was sitting next to me said as the final out was recorded, “Well they finally did it.”
Everything changed in the mind of the lifetime Cub fan. The blues and reds of the world were just brighter and more beautiful. They no longer were fans of the “Loveable Losers”, but now were fans of the Champs.
Even in something as silly as winning a World Series there was a new realization that would make life never the same again.
These realization moments can come from any changes that revolutionize our lives.
We go about our lives and for the most part we get into routines
But then something in our environment changes—something either that we want to change or something that we don’t want to change.
And when it changes we may take a while to believe what has happened.
Here is a question for you…
What is the greatest reality shock of your life?
Here is what I believe it is….
We by our nature grow up in a state of selfishness that causes us to seek our own good. We exalt ourselves to the roll of king over our own life.
Think about it.
From birth whenever I was hungry, I would just cry, and suddenly a bottle would appear.
Whenever, I had a dirty diaper I would just cry a little bit more and suddenly my diaper would be changed.
As a toddler, I want a toy, I grab it from my friend that was playing with it.
As a teen, I want my own pleasure, so I experiment with sex and drugs
As a highschooler, I learn how to get attention by using my body for athletics or beauty.
As a college student, I want to live the party life and sow my wild oats….
As an adult, I learn to make money to spend on toys for me.
The routine of living for self is our reality
What happens when you come face to face with the reality of you are not KING!!
What happens when you begin to see for the first time, this world doesn’t revolve around you!
My friends that is a reality for all of us, that must be faced.
With those thoughts in mind please turn in your Bibles to Psalms 110.
That is on page 443 in the front section of the bible in the chair in front of you.
I have also printed the text of Psalm 110 in your bulletin notes if you would rather look there.
This year’s annual theme at Faith is
In Christ Alone
And after Easter we have turned our attention to a five part series on
Seeing Christ in the Psalms
Much of Jesus’ life and work is said in the New Testament to be a fulfillment of the Psalms.
Let me say an explanatory word about my understanding of the messianic Psalms.
Many of the Psalms/Songs in the OT were written by a man called David, King of Israel.
David was God’s chosen king to rule over God’s people.
David, was an example or type of a man who, although a sinner and having some great sins, strived to be faithful to God.
He was faithful to God in His youth.
He was marked by meekness and humility and trust in the Lord.
He is known for His slaying of the giant menace of Israel, Goliath, by relying on Lord—not any kind of military strength.
Because of his humility, God chose him as an earthly king over his people
However, the path to kingship was one marked by suffering.
His enemies opposed him and often sought his life…
Pastor Green at FE and Pastor Wright at FW spoke about his sufferings last week.
Please notice the pattern…
Davidic Pattern #1: The path toward kingship was marked by suffering. The humble servant had to suffer first before he was exalted as king.
When David actually became King, God gradually brought all the fighting factions and opposing nations into submission to David’s reign.
Davidic Pattern #2: When established as king, God brought remaining factions and enemies into subjection to God’s chosen king (cf 2 Sam 5:9–12).
Notice this passage
2 Sam 5:10David became greater and greater, for the Lord God of hosts was with him.11Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees and carpenters and stonemasons; and they built a house for David.12And David realized that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.
David as a musician recorded songs about these experiences in the Psalms
And
Then Jesus says in Luke 24:44
Luke 24:44 44Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day,47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem…50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.
There are two observations about this passage that I want to make.
First, Notice how Jesus said all that is written in the Psalms must be fulfilled—Hence we have these “messianic psalms
Second, Notice this pattern
Jesus Christ, Pattern#3: God’s Chosen King suffered and then was delivered from the grave and then was “carried up into heaven.”
In the comparison to David what does this pattern correspond to?
ANSWER: David’s exaltation as King and God working to bring all face to face with the reality of Christ’s kingship.
God working to subject all people to his kingship.
With that back ground let’s read now Psalm 110
Psalm 110 (Notes only)
1 The Lord says to my Lord:
“Sit at My right hand
Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
2 The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying,
“Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
3 Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power;
In holy array, from the womb of the dawn,
Your youth are to You as the dew.
4 The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind,
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is at Your right hand;
He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.
6 He will judge among the nations,
He will fill them with corpses,
He will shatter the chief men over a broad country.
7 He will drink from the brook by the wayside;
Therefore He will lift up His head.
Today from Psalm 110 we are discussing
Facing the Reality of God’s Choice of Christ Alone
Five realities about Jesus Christ that we must all come face to face with sooner or later.
The first reality is this…
- God Has Made Christ Alone King of Creation—“Sit at My Right Hand.”
Friends the NT recognizes Psalms 110 as one of the most significant chapters in the OT.
Every human author of the NT quotes some portion of Psalm 110 except James and Jude.
I have listed several of these references for you….
- “At God’s right hand”—Matt 22:44, Mark 16:19, Acts 2:33, 7:55-56, Rom 8:34, Eph 1:20, Col 3:1, Heb 1:3, 8:1, 12:2–3, 1 Pet 3:22, Rev 3:21
Here is just one example:
Eph 1:20 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,21far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.22And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
We focus a lot on the resurrection of Jesus Chris and rightly so.
The resurrection represents so much
- Victory over Death
- The first fruits of the promise of eternal life—a resurrected body
- God’s stamp of approval on His Son for His life and His Sacrifice
However, the entire NT is not only structured around the resurrection but the truth from this PSALM—sit at my right hand--the ascension of Christ into heaven!
That is amazing.
Until I studied this Psalm and the numerous quotes of this Psalm in the NT I had no idea of how much this concept of Christ being translated from earth to heaven informed the theology of the NT.
Read the cross references I gave you and see how significant this is!!!.
But what is so significant about “the Right Hand of God”
What does this mean?
The right hand of God means
- “The Right Hand of God” is the place of eternal rulership
Earthly Kings invited a cherished and faithful servant to be their right hand man to execute their rule.
As an example, those of you who know the Bible remember the Joseph story and how Joseph after suffering was exalted to the right hand of Pharaoh. Joseph in all practical senses was ruler over Egypt— equal to Pharaoh!
David after suffering was exalted to the earthly kingdom of Israel and could be said to be “God’s right hand man on earth.”
But David did not ascend bodily to heaven
In Christ you have something entirely greater
The Man Jesus ascended bodily to heaven not just a throne on earth…God’s heavenly throne.
What does this mean…God has place Jesus Christ at the place of authority over all including you.
The ascension of Christ is as significant to the Lordship of Christ as is His death and resurrection is to His Role as Savior. He is both Lord/King and Savior!
My friends that is the reality…Christ simply is King.
You simply are not the king.
This is the reality.
This is the reality that you must face either now or when God His Father, makes you a footstool for King Jesus’ feet.
But Here is a question for you…
- But how could any man share God’s ruling throne? Jesus Christ was not simply “any man”—“The Lord said to my Lord” (cf. Matt 22:41–45)
I think God has a sense of humor. He planted riddles and mysteries in the OT that would perplex people only to be revealed at the right time.
I have had the privilege of attending Faith Bible Seminary and Pastor Aucoin was always so excited to point out these mysteries and riddles. As I was discussing this passage with him in preparation for this sermon, I was reminded of that excitement he has for these Old Testament mysteries, as we talked about this phrase.
David wrote the beginning line of the Psalm, “The Lord said to my Lord…dwell at my right hand.”
What does, “The Lord said to my Lord” mean?
Is David calling himself “my lord”—that would be a strange way for David to speak about Himself.
So for years the Jewish folks interpret this phrase as applying to a descendent of David….rightfully so….the coming Messiah….
But the Jewish folks completely missed something…If this applies to David’s descendent…David call’s his descendent “MY LORD” MY MASTER///MY KING…
How could the Messiah both be David’s Son and David’s master?
How? Jesus stumped the Pharisees with this question…
Matthew 22:41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question:42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.”43 He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,“Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet” ’? 45“If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?”46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question.
How is a man sitting at the right Hand of God?
Because Jesus Christ is not simply a man…He is God incarnate.
In order to ascend to be at the right hand of God he had to first descend to become human.
This man is King. This Man is God Himself. Christ is King. Christ is God Himself. Is he your King?
The second reality we must face is that
- God Has Promised Christ Alone A Kingdom
Ps. 110:2The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying,“Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
Folks is this the reality we live in…
God does not say he will stretch forth Johnny’s kingdom saying “rule”?
God does not say he will stretch forth (Pastor Garner, Folden, Green)’s kingdom saying “rule”?
God will stretch forth Christ strong scepter ALONE saying rule.
My friends do you remember a time in your life where you began to recognize this life is simply not about building your kingdom.
What are you doing with your life?
As I said the most routine aspect of our life is building
our kingdoms
- Our kingdoms of people who adore us
- Our kingdoms of accomplishments
- Our kingdoms of wealth
- Our kingdoms of influence
Psalm 110 brings us face to face that God has promised Christ Alone a Kingdom.
Let that reality sink in a bit as you evaluate your life’s efforts…what are you working for….?
Think about the summer that is coming up. What are you going to do this summer? Is it going to be all about you and your kingdom?
- Is it about the number of hours you get to spend the pool?
- Is it about the number of lemonades you can consume on your back porch?
- Is it about the number of dandelions you eliminate from your yard?
- Is it about how many levels you can advance in the newest video game or the number of Netflix binges you can consume?
Why not make this summer about advancing the King that has already been exalted?
- Spread the great news of Christ, the exalted King, by helping to share the Gospel to kids from our community by serving in VBS.
- Spread the great news of Christ, the exalted King, by showing up to the Community Picnic and intentionally engaging with people from our community.
- Spread the great news of Christ, the exalted King, by getting involved in any of the number of serving opportunities in our community this summer.
- God Has Promised Christ Alone a People/Army for His Kingdom
Ps. 110:3Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power;
In holy array, from the womb of the dawn,
Your youth are to You as the dew.
The King has a Kingdom
And,
And What else does the King have? an Army
In the Hebrew there are simply two Hebrew words “Your people” is one Hebrew word, and then the second word is the Hebrew word for “freewill offering”
Your people, a free will offering
The people of this Kingdom are
- Willing Volunteers
Why would you sign up to be a subject in anyone’s Kingdom?
In the OT God warned Israel about wanting a king like the other nations in that they would force the people to become slaves.
The king would force the people to serve in the army.
But this is remarkable…there is something about this king and his kingdom that people say….”Sign me up…”
Why would that be?
Because there is something good about this King and His Kingdom.
Service for this King is not like slavery to my previous masters
Service for this king is freeing…
Friends have you come face to face with the reality of the tyranny of the kingdom of self and sin…and how there is a much better king and kingdom that you can join?
- The slavery to sin and self is never fully satisfying. –
- You will always be searching for just a bit more happiness.
- You will always find yourself to be a horrible king in your life.
- You will always find your kingdom to be lacking.
- The mark of the armies of Christ is that they are willfully following Him.
- You will find no other Master you will love to serve.
The King’s people are also….
- Dressed in Righteousness (Holy Majesty/womb of dawn. Cf Rev 19:11–16)
Your people are in “holy array” and “from the womb of dawn”
Now, remember one thing about Hebrew poetry…
Hebrew poetry uses a lot of metaphors and you have got to attempt to picture what the author is trying to communicate.
Womb of dawn? What does that mean?
Obviously, a womb is something that gives birth (we really do not have time to expand on that concept any more than that)
In this case it is the womb of Dawn
So what comes out of the “birthing canal” of dawn?
Light!
“Holy Array” also communicates that the King’s People are Brilliant in appearance.
And the term “Your Youth like dew”—may also communicate the concept of purity
Folks I believe also that Revelation 19 about the coming of the King and His People refers to this passage as well with very similar imagery.
Notice God’s people are clothed in Brilliance…They are not cowering in the shame of nakedness.
Notice the similarity here in Rev 19.
Rev 19:11And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.16And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
The King’s People are viewed as pure!!!
In the revelation passage the people of the king are in white brilliant clothing
But what is the King clothed in? Robe dipped in blood!
In God’s eyes the King’s people are viewed as pure…..But the King is soaked in blood…What’s going on here?
Furthermore, the King is at the right hand of God and the people are with the king
So, 1. How could any person with all of our impurities be there with the King and 2. viewed as pure?
How is that possible?
Because of this fourth reality…
- God Has Made Christ Alone the Only Way to Be Part of His Kingdom—Christ Is Not Only a King But a Priest! (cf. Gen 14, Hebrews 5-9)
Psalm 110:4The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind,
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
Well now, isn’t this an obscure statement
Order of Melchizedek? What is this?
J It sounds like something you would order at a fast food restaurant….”I will take the Melchizedek meal with a large Coke Zero.”
Melchizedek was the King of Jerusalem 1000 years before David became King of Jerusalem.
You can briefly read about Melchizedek in Genesis 14. The significance of Melchizedek was that he is described in Gen 14 as both a priest and a king.
Now, God had not allowed any of his earthly rulers to be both priests and kings.
Do you know why?
What does power do? Corrupt.
And what does absolute power do—corrupt absolutely.
Can you imagine a monarch with absolute power that controlled all aspects of the nation including down to what all the subjects had to believe and access to God.
So, God made the first separation of powers long before the American government.
In Israel, God separated the King’s power of rulership from the priests’ role of providing access to God.
Those kings in Israel who crossed the line into priestly duties—men like Saul and Uzziah—were severely judged by God.
But here when God says of Jesus YOU ARE THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK….that means that the Messiah would be the only King who is both King and Priest.
And Praise the Lord for you because that means this King and only this King gets you access to God
Not because he sacrificed some animals for you but he sacrificed His body for you
He is wearing the blood soak robes so that you can stand with him with God in white garments.
Hebrews 7:21 but He (God) with an oath through the One who said to Him,“The Lord has sworn And will not change His mind, ‘You are a priest forever’ ”);22 so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.23 The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, 24 but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently.25Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.26 For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; 27 who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.
Jesus Christ is sitting right now at the right hand of the Father as 1. king but not just king….as a 2. priest.
And notice that there is a time frame on this….in verse 1—until the God makes the enemies of the King/priest His footstool.
Since Christ ascended until this very moment, you have
- the opportunity to come face to face with the reality of this King as your Savior because of his priestly work. And
- And you have the opportunity to learn now how to grow into the pure white clothing
All of this is until—God brings everything in subjection to him and face to face with what happens if we do not subject our self to this king…
- God Will Destroy Opposition to Christ Alone (vv. 5–6)
5 The Lord is at Your right hand;
He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.
6 He will judge among the nations,
He will fill them with corpses,
He will shatter the chief men over a broad country.
The king will return to earth as He ascended from it and God the father will be at his right hand executing the wrath of God.
And judge those who did not come face to face with the King, His Kingdom, and His priesthood for them.
Here is the reality today….
- You will either be part of the army of the king dressed in brilliant clothing (the righteousness of Christ).
- Or you will be facing the wrath of the Father
My friends, this is inescapable.
This is the reality
But right now the King is sitting until that time when he gets on the war horse.
You today, may say I don’t want anything to do with that kind of a violent king.
Let me end today with the last phrase of the Psalm…
7 He will drink from the brook (river/torrent/flood) by (on) the wayside;
Therefore He will lift up His head.
The phrase “He will drink from the brook by the wayside…
Has perplexed the commentators.
There is not agreement about what that phrase means.
However, some believe it is a reference to the cup that Christ drank at the cross.
Do you remember the night before Christ was to experience the violent judgement that we deserved Christ compared it to a drink. He said, “Lord, if it be your will let me not drink this cup (of wrath) but not my will but yours be done.”
Thus, the phrase might be better translated and could be translated, He will drink from the torrent on the way.
My friend, if you never face reality of Christ being King, with a Kingdom and a People and one day you come face to face with the reality of violent judgment of the Warrior King it will only be because you did not accept the reality today that the priestly king took the violent judgment upon Himself that you deserved.
So whose Kingdom will you pursue?
- Your own empty kingdom?
- Or the Kingdom of Christ alone?
Let’s Pray.
