WEBVTT 00:00:00.679 --> 00:00:03.500 Here's one of those times I spoke of earlier 00:00:03.500 --> 00:00:08.080 Christ is risen All right, we're gonna try this 00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:10.519 again because the day is ascension Sunday I'm 00:00:10.519 --> 00:00:12.480 gonna say Christ is risen and you're gonna say 00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:17.539 he is ascended Christ is risen Excellent let 00:00:17.539 --> 00:00:21.780 us now pray Almighty God grant us such faith 00:00:21.780 --> 00:00:24.820 and your only son our Savior who is ascended 00:00:24.820 --> 00:00:27.719 into heaven, that we may live each day with our 00:00:27.719 --> 00:00:30.260 hearts and spirits fixed on Him as King and Lord 00:00:30.260 --> 00:00:33.740 of all. We ask now that you would make the words 00:00:33.740 --> 00:00:36.200 of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:39.340 pleasing and acceptable to you for the sake of 00:00:39.340 --> 00:00:44.420 Jesus Christ, our King and Lord. Amen. Again 00:00:44.420 --> 00:00:48.840 now let us hear our gospel reading Luke 24 beginning 00:00:48.840 --> 00:00:54.939 with verse 44. and of course this is Jesus. Then 00:00:54.939 --> 00:00:57.119 he said to them, these are the words which I 00:00:57.119 --> 00:00:59.679 spoke to you while I was still with you, that 00:00:59.679 --> 00:01:01.939 all things must be fulfilled which were written 00:01:01.939 --> 00:01:05.260 in the law of Moses and the prophets and the 00:01:05.260 --> 00:01:08.620 Psalms concerning me. And he opened their understanding 00:01:08.620 --> 00:01:12.060 that they might comprehend the scriptures. Then 00:01:12.060 --> 00:01:14.459 he said to them, thus it is written, and thus 00:01:14.459 --> 00:01:17.280 it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:20.459 to rise from the dead the third day. and that 00:01:20.459 --> 00:01:23.980 repentance and remission of sins should be preached 00:01:23.980 --> 00:01:27.379 in His name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem. 00:01:28.159 --> 00:01:32.159 And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, 00:01:32.219 --> 00:01:34.799 I send the promise of my Father upon you, but 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:37.640 tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you have 00:01:37.640 --> 00:01:40.519 been endued with power from on high. And He led 00:01:40.519 --> 00:01:43.260 them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up 00:01:43.260 --> 00:01:46.260 His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass 00:01:46.260 --> 00:01:48.510 that while He blessed them, He was parted from 00:01:48.510 --> 00:01:51.290 them and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped 00:01:51.290 --> 00:01:54.129 Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 00:01:54.489 --> 00:01:57.109 And were continually in the temple, praising 00:01:57.109 --> 00:02:01.189 and blessing God. And it finishes with the word, 00:02:01.390 --> 00:02:05.769 Amen. This is the truth of Almighty God. Receive 00:02:05.769 --> 00:02:09.270 it in your hearts. There's three things that 00:02:09.270 --> 00:02:11.969 I want you to think about as we look at this 00:02:11.969 --> 00:02:17.800 passage. And that is Christ ascended is the setting 00:02:17.800 --> 00:02:23.620 of all things right. Christ ascended is the setting 00:02:23.620 --> 00:02:30.979 of all things right. Secondly Christ ascended 00:02:30.979 --> 00:02:37.759 is an assurance. Christ ascended is an assurance. 00:02:39.780 --> 00:02:45.199 And finally Christ ascended means that we live 00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:51.139 as His vassal. Christ ascended means we live 00:02:51.139 --> 00:02:54.039 as His vassal. And if you don't know what a vassal 00:02:54.039 --> 00:02:57.879 is, we're going to get to that shortly. 40 days 00:02:57.879 --> 00:03:00.479 after Christ's resurrection, He ascended from 00:03:00.479 --> 00:03:04.020 the earth to the right hand of the Father. 40 00:03:04.020 --> 00:03:07.039 days after resurrection Sunday was this past 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:11.219 Thursday. So this Lord's Day, we commemorate 00:03:11.219 --> 00:03:15.500 Jesus' ascension. Jesus was raised up on the 00:03:15.500 --> 00:03:19.300 cross. He was raised up from the dead and is 00:03:19.300 --> 00:03:22.520 raised up to the right hand of the Father. Now 00:03:22.520 --> 00:03:26.219 we all understand that the right hand has historically 00:03:26.219 --> 00:03:28.639 always been the place of authority and power. 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:31.219 It emanates from the throne, but the right hand 00:03:31.219 --> 00:03:35.419 is from which all authority for that throne comes 00:03:35.419 --> 00:03:40.620 from. It is fitting that our Lord and Savior 00:03:40.620 --> 00:03:43.419 Jesus Christ's mission for the redemption of 00:03:43.419 --> 00:03:47.120 his people and for all of creation Begins and 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:51.759 ends in heaven it is actually anchored in heaven 00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:56.620 and This is one of our insurances our lives are 00:03:56.620 --> 00:04:02.219 not anchored to this world but to heaven Our 00:04:02.219 --> 00:04:06.800 lives are anchored in this way in his ascension 00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:13.199 Jesus is crowned as King over all things, thus 00:04:13.199 --> 00:04:17.019 setting right order and purpose in all of creation. 00:04:18.339 --> 00:04:20.899 From creation, man was made to rule over the 00:04:20.899 --> 00:04:24.220 world and all that was in it. And our first covenant 00:04:24.220 --> 00:04:27.920 head, Adam, who was given dominion over all creation 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:31.339 and told us to do it and be free to fill the 00:04:31.339 --> 00:04:36.540 earth. And in this, he failed. covetously seeking 00:04:36.540 --> 00:04:40.839 to preserve his own life and disobeyed at a tree. 00:04:42.060 --> 00:04:45.819 Jesus the second Adam and our covenant head of 00:04:45.819 --> 00:04:49.680 the church sought the redemption of men to his 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:55.040 death and obeyed even on a tree. Jesus did not 00:04:55.040 --> 00:04:58.800 fail but was raised for the glory of God and 00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:03.180 praise God for our benefit. Jesus loved God and 00:05:03.180 --> 00:05:06.500 obey God, trusting the Father to raise Him up 00:05:06.500 --> 00:05:10.139 in vindication and seat Him at His right hand 00:05:10.139 --> 00:05:15.699 with all authority in heaven and earth. Now every 00:05:15.699 --> 00:05:20.740 person in history is subject to Jesus whether 00:05:20.740 --> 00:05:25.339 or not they think so. The world and everything 00:05:25.339 --> 00:05:31.879 in it is His. All that we have been given to 00:05:31.879 --> 00:05:37.040 us As vassal lords, we will give an account for 00:05:37.040 --> 00:05:39.959 what we have done with what God has bestowed 00:05:39.959 --> 00:05:44.240 upon us. Now, kids, you say, OK, I'm going to 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:47.060 explain vassal lord in just a second. But God 00:05:47.060 --> 00:05:50.500 gives us things we're responsible for. And children 00:05:50.500 --> 00:05:53.500 out there, young people, your number one thing 00:05:53.500 --> 00:06:00.139 for you. To show your kingship under King Jesus 00:06:00.139 --> 00:06:04.339 is to joyfully obey your parents Right away and 00:06:04.339 --> 00:06:07.620 take care of all that he has done for you You've 00:06:07.620 --> 00:06:09.839 already been baptized his name has been placed 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:12.600 upon you every week. You come in confess the 00:06:12.600 --> 00:06:19.300 Lord and confess your sins Dearly beloved everyone 00:06:19.300 --> 00:06:24.540 has a king they follow the only question is Which 00:06:24.540 --> 00:06:29.350 king do they follow whom? Do they serve? Webster's 00:06:29.350 --> 00:06:32.110 1828 dictionary, and as I've told you before, 00:06:32.689 --> 00:06:35.670 you can consider that the dictionary of the Bible. 00:06:37.209 --> 00:06:40.990 But it defines a vassal as a tenant who holds 00:06:40.990 --> 00:06:44.910 land of a superior and who vows fidelity and 00:06:44.910 --> 00:06:49.610 homage to that superior. As a Christian, we have 00:06:49.610 --> 00:06:52.790 been delegated authority for all that God has 00:06:52.790 --> 00:06:57.529 bestowed into our care. And we are to do this 00:06:57.529 --> 00:07:02.790 with fidelity and homage to King Jesus. And as 00:07:02.790 --> 00:07:05.790 you recall from last week, Jesus said to his 00:07:05.790 --> 00:07:10.470 disciples in John 14, right? And that means not 00:07:10.470 --> 00:07:12.470 just to his disciples, but to all of us in the 00:07:12.470 --> 00:07:16.670 church, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. 00:07:19.529 --> 00:07:22.990 In Ephesians chapter 2 we see and hear that God 00:07:22.990 --> 00:07:25.829 has raised us up together and made us sit together 00:07:25.829 --> 00:07:29.310 in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the 00:07:29.310 --> 00:07:32.709 ages to come that He might show the exceeding 00:07:32.709 --> 00:07:35.850 riches of His grace and His kindness to us in 00:07:35.850 --> 00:07:39.889 Christ Jesus. Because of the work of King Jesus 00:07:39.889 --> 00:07:42.910 we are raised up with Him in heavenly places 00:07:42.910 --> 00:07:46.449 and sit together with Him so that God may what? 00:07:47.420 --> 00:07:49.800 Demonstrate his exceeding riches of grace and 00:07:49.800 --> 00:07:56.540 his kindness to us in Christ Jesus We are co 00:07:56.540 --> 00:08:01.500 -heirs with Christ Jesus Now of course the idea 00:08:01.500 --> 00:08:04.120 of a king can be appealing a good king anyway 00:08:04.120 --> 00:08:09.060 Right a good king will lead and restrain evil 00:08:09.060 --> 00:08:14.430 And we enjoy that idea that our king that is 00:08:14.430 --> 00:08:18.709 Jesus, is Lord over all things. And we look forward 00:08:18.709 --> 00:08:22.490 to the great eschatological end of history as 00:08:22.490 --> 00:08:26.250 described in Philippians chapter 2, where all 00:08:26.250 --> 00:08:30.310 of mankind since creation with their knees bowed 00:08:30.310 --> 00:08:33.169 and all their tongues confess that Jesus is Lord, 00:08:33.809 --> 00:08:38.590 that Jesus is truly the King. We know that on 00:08:38.590 --> 00:08:42.710 that day Jesus will be in fact vindicated over 00:08:42.710 --> 00:08:46.529 all men. And in that day, it will be demonstrated 00:08:46.529 --> 00:08:50.250 that Jesus is Lord, both by actions, a bended 00:08:50.250 --> 00:08:53.090 knee, and by words, confession of their mouth. 00:08:54.389 --> 00:08:56.529 Now when we look around us, what do we see? We 00:08:56.529 --> 00:09:00.129 see raging neighbors and godless, raging nations 00:09:00.129 --> 00:09:04.389 and godless neighbors who serve other kings. 00:09:05.490 --> 00:09:09.129 Some of who are actively plotting and conspiring 00:09:09.129 --> 00:09:13.629 against God and His anointed Son. his church. 00:09:14.909 --> 00:09:17.429 Sometimes we even publicly hear them declaring 00:09:17.429 --> 00:09:21.110 that they will break their bonds that constrain 00:09:21.110 --> 00:09:26.809 them and cast away God's control over them. They 00:09:26.809 --> 00:09:31.370 live as if Jesus is not King. They live as if 00:09:31.370 --> 00:09:35.690 Jesus is not Lord over all men and all creation. 00:09:37.250 --> 00:09:40.450 We as God's people must not fall into the same 00:09:40.450 --> 00:09:44.570 snare. We must beware that Jesus is both our 00:09:44.570 --> 00:09:50.190 Savior and King right now in our lives. The Christian 00:09:50.190 --> 00:09:53.710 life means both confession and forsaking sin. 00:09:55.210 --> 00:09:59.490 The Christian life means that Jesus is in charge. 00:10:00.629 --> 00:10:04.909 We are truly vassals to King Jesus. He has called 00:10:04.909 --> 00:10:08.210 us by His grace found in the work of Christ Jesus. 00:10:08.379 --> 00:10:12.679 given the responsibility in these world. And 00:10:12.679 --> 00:10:16.639 we are called to fidelity and homage to our King. 00:10:17.139 --> 00:10:19.259 So part of this is you have to realize it's all 00:10:19.259 --> 00:10:21.820 given to him. How does God work out his authority? 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:25.419 How does he work out all of his enemies being 00:10:25.419 --> 00:10:29.360 put under his footstool, being put under his 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:35.360 feet? He works that out by his mighty hand through 00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:41.559 his church. So we are called to fidelity and 00:10:41.559 --> 00:10:45.259 homage to King Jesus. Our gospel reading today 00:10:45.259 --> 00:10:48.860 records the account of Jesus' ascension. It tells 00:10:48.860 --> 00:10:51.820 of Jesus' explanation of the scriptures that 00:10:51.820 --> 00:10:55.139 they were all about them. If you want to be a 00:10:55.139 --> 00:10:58.480 good vassal to King Jesus, you need to know His 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:01.620 word. You need to be continuously listening to 00:11:01.620 --> 00:11:06.159 it, reading it, discussing it, teaching it. And 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:08.179 most importantly, because don't let this be an 00:11:08.179 --> 00:11:11.320 intellectual thing, but may it be a thing of 00:11:11.320 --> 00:11:16.840 your action, taking God's word and doing it. 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:23.320 Jesus tells them that in their understanding 00:11:23.320 --> 00:11:25.220 of the scriptures, they are to take the gospel 00:11:25.220 --> 00:11:28.480 message of which they're eyewitnesses by their 00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:31.700 preaching to the whole world and by their way 00:11:31.700 --> 00:11:34.830 of life. And it becomes a declaration. to all 00:11:34.830 --> 00:11:38.710 nations. Our lesson reading from Acts chapter 00:11:38.710 --> 00:11:42.330 1, which just as a note, is the second half of 00:11:42.330 --> 00:11:45.289 the Gospel of Luke. Beginning in Acts chapter 00:11:45.289 --> 00:11:47.690 1 verse 9 says, now when Jesus had spoken these 00:11:47.690 --> 00:11:50.269 things while they watched, he was taken up. And 00:11:50.269 --> 00:11:56.149 a cloud received him out of their sight. And 00:11:56.149 --> 00:11:57.950 of course, then they're looking steadfastly. 00:11:57.950 --> 00:12:00.850 This is a real important thing to make note of. 00:12:01.470 --> 00:12:07.159 This word received. into the cloud means with 00:12:07.159 --> 00:12:10.539 extreme to receive a person in this way is to 00:12:10.539 --> 00:12:16.360 receive them with great hospitality. Jesus brought 00:12:16.360 --> 00:12:19.980 into God's presence to his throne room, not just 00:12:19.980 --> 00:12:22.799 as if, okay, he's floating on a cloud going over 00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:26.840 here. No, no, he is brought and given and brought 00:12:26.840 --> 00:12:29.399 in under God's great blessing and hospitality 00:12:29.399 --> 00:12:32.500 and placed at his right hand. The second thing 00:12:32.500 --> 00:12:35.860 that we see here is it tells us that they were 00:12:35.860 --> 00:12:39.480 standing there gazing up at the heaven. The gospel 00:12:39.480 --> 00:12:42.919 is not about you feeling good about what Jesus 00:12:42.919 --> 00:12:45.200 is doing. I mean, I can only imagine what that 00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:47.620 was like, standing there watching Jesus go up, 00:12:47.840 --> 00:12:50.960 watching the cloud open up, which is referencing 00:12:50.960 --> 00:12:54.360 the glory cloud of God that we see in the Old 00:12:54.360 --> 00:12:57.779 Testament leading the people of God. Jesus goes 00:12:57.779 --> 00:13:03.350 up there. I can imagine how great that is. People 00:13:03.350 --> 00:13:05.730 of God, you can't go around saying, man, I feel 00:13:05.730 --> 00:13:09.990 so good about my faith. No, we have a calling 00:13:09.990 --> 00:13:15.289 to go and proclaim that gospel and live it as 00:13:15.289 --> 00:13:21.870 vassal lords to King Jesus. All of this that 00:13:21.870 --> 00:13:25.629 is happening in Acts and in Luke here fulfills 00:13:25.629 --> 00:13:30.159 the vision of Daniel chapter 7. Here this is 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:32.519 Daniel speaking. He says I was watching the night 00:13:32.519 --> 00:13:35.899 visions and behold one like the son of man Coming 00:13:35.899 --> 00:13:38.820 with the clouds of heaven he came to the ancient 00:13:38.820 --> 00:13:42.659 of days He came to the ancient of days and they 00:13:42.659 --> 00:13:46.059 brought him near before him then to him he was 00:13:46.059 --> 00:13:51.360 given dominion and glory and a kingdom People 00:13:51.360 --> 00:13:54.019 of God why was this dominion and glory given? 00:13:54.639 --> 00:13:58.879 It says, Daniel goes on, that all peoples, nations, 00:13:59.740 --> 00:14:02.919 and languages should serve Him. And what level 00:14:02.919 --> 00:14:06.320 of authority is given Jesus at His ascension? 00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:10.860 It says this, going on in Daniel, His dominion 00:14:10.860 --> 00:14:13.659 is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass 00:14:13.659 --> 00:14:17.039 away, and His kingdom the one which shall not 00:14:17.039 --> 00:14:22.279 be destroyed. Jesus' ascension is the culmination 00:14:22.279 --> 00:14:26.360 and coronation where He He both reigns and makes 00:14:26.360 --> 00:14:32.539 intercession for his people. Elsewhere we see 00:14:32.539 --> 00:14:36.360 in Revelations chapter 12, we see the summary 00:14:36.360 --> 00:14:41.120 of Jesus' life. Here now, beginning of verse 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:44.620 1. Now a great sign appeared in heaven. A woman 00:14:44.620 --> 00:14:46.940 clothed with the sun and moon under her feet, 00:14:47.220 --> 00:14:49.860 under her head a garland of twelve stars. Then 00:14:49.860 --> 00:14:52.740 being with child, she cried out in labor and 00:14:52.740 --> 00:14:55.980 in pain to give birth. And another sign appeared 00:14:55.980 --> 00:14:59.279 in heaven, behold a great fiery red dragon having 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:02.500 seven heads and ten thorns and seven diadems 00:15:02.500 --> 00:15:05.799 in his head. And his tail drew a third of the 00:15:05.799 --> 00:15:09.200 stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. 00:15:09.480 --> 00:15:11.580 And the dragon stood before the woman who was 00:15:11.580 --> 00:15:15.200 ready to give birth to devour her child as soon 00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:19.179 as it was born. She bore a male child who was 00:15:19.179 --> 00:15:24.019 to rule all nations with a rod of iron. and her 00:15:24.019 --> 00:15:28.659 child was caught up to God and is thrown. Remember 00:15:28.659 --> 00:15:31.100 in the scriptures that the sun, the moon, and 00:15:31.100 --> 00:15:34.019 the stars are often symbols of earthly leaders. 00:15:35.179 --> 00:15:37.679 Who are these leaders? Well, Satan spurred Herod 00:15:37.679 --> 00:15:42.340 to devour Jesus. Satan spurred the high priests, 00:15:42.700 --> 00:15:47.379 Herod and Pilate, to kill Jesus. In Christ's 00:15:47.379 --> 00:15:50.480 death and resurrection, Satan and all those who 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:54.509 conspired and took counsel together We're defeated 00:15:54.509 --> 00:15:57.870 Then Jesus was caught up to the right hand of 00:15:57.870 --> 00:16:01.470 the father to rule the nations with a rod of 00:16:01.470 --> 00:16:07.009 iron And that of course reminds us of Psalm 2 00:16:07.009 --> 00:16:10.309 Jesus God says I've already he laughs at everyone 00:16:10.309 --> 00:16:13.950 conspiring Because he's already set his on the 00:16:13.950 --> 00:16:17.710 throne. He's gonna rule with that iron rod And 00:16:17.710 --> 00:16:20.840 that sounds harsh at first But remember, there 00:16:20.840 --> 00:16:25.620 is grace found in Psalm chapter 2. It says this 00:16:25.620 --> 00:16:28.360 at the end of Psalm 2. Now therefore be wise, 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:32.159 O kings. Be instructed, you judges of the earth. 00:16:32.899 --> 00:16:36.600 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:40.139 Kiss the sun, lest he be angry, and you perish 00:16:40.139 --> 00:16:43.779 in your way, when his wrath is kindled but a 00:16:43.779 --> 00:16:47.080 little. Blessed are all those who put their trust 00:16:47.080 --> 00:16:50.480 in Him. There at the very place where God establishes 00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:55.200 the authority of King Jesus, He extends grace 00:16:55.200 --> 00:17:01.320 and mercy to the repentant. We can be subject 00:17:01.320 --> 00:17:05.380 to King Jesus and trust in Him and we will be 00:17:05.380 --> 00:17:09.059 blessed. The ascension is the glorious coronation 00:17:09.059 --> 00:17:13.160 of Jesus and He ascends into that cloud. And 00:17:13.160 --> 00:17:18.779 all of this a great joy It is a great joy. What 00:17:18.779 --> 00:17:22.740 a great assurance and comfort it is to the church 00:17:22.740 --> 00:17:26.799 Our King sits on the throne of heaven and all 00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:30.519 authority in heaven and on earth has been given 00:17:30.519 --> 00:17:36.559 to him Because Jesus is king there is an ethic 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:41.299 for you and I his church and This ethic is for 00:17:41.299 --> 00:17:45.000 us to live as his vassal You see all of you were 00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:47.619 baptized into Christ this remote reminds us of 00:17:47.619 --> 00:17:50.640 Romans 6 We were baptized into Christ Jesus and 00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:53.460 we were baptized into his death Therefore we 00:17:53.460 --> 00:17:57.019 were buried with him baptism into death That 00:17:57.019 --> 00:17:59.680 just as Christ was raised from the dead by the 00:17:59.680 --> 00:18:02.980 glory of the father Even so we also should walk 00:18:02.980 --> 00:18:05.740 in the newness of life. We are called to walk 00:18:05.740 --> 00:18:11.759 in the newness of life To walk in obedience to 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:15.000 the word taking responsibility for all that God 00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:21.819 has given us to His glory. As servants of the 00:18:21.819 --> 00:18:24.599 King, God is calling us to newness of life, and 00:18:24.599 --> 00:18:27.980 that is an ongoing maturing in Christ. From our 00:18:27.980 --> 00:18:30.619 baptism, we are to live knowing that we're not 00:18:30.619 --> 00:18:35.319 just living for the King, but we are to be in 00:18:35.319 --> 00:18:37.900 Christ, to be conformed to God's standard in 00:18:37.900 --> 00:18:41.190 our daily lives. in every single realm that God 00:18:41.190 --> 00:18:43.069 has given you. Again, children, look up here. 00:18:43.109 --> 00:18:48.009 What realm has God given you? What kingdom? Joyful 00:18:48.009 --> 00:18:52.789 obedience to your parents. Calling on the Lord 00:18:52.789 --> 00:18:58.250 Jesus. Believing God's word. Keeping your rooms 00:18:58.250 --> 00:19:01.950 clean. Keeping things tidy when you're told to. 00:19:02.309 --> 00:19:04.170 I'm okay with you playing and having a good time 00:19:04.170 --> 00:19:06.250 making a mess. Then what do you do? You clean 00:19:06.250 --> 00:19:08.750 it up. Because God has given you that realm to 00:19:08.750 --> 00:19:12.150 care for. That extends to you parents, too. The 00:19:12.150 --> 00:19:14.710 condition of your house, the condition of your 00:19:14.710 --> 00:19:19.509 yard, right? If someone were to die today and 00:19:19.509 --> 00:19:21.049 they walked in your place, would they know you 00:19:21.049 --> 00:19:31.690 were a Christian? Listen. We must understand. 00:19:32.039 --> 00:19:35.059 that we are to be conformed to God's standard 00:19:35.059 --> 00:19:38.960 in every single realm that God has bestowed to 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:41.200 us in the sovereign providence. And that's really 00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:45.319 important. You see, how many of you guys are 00:19:45.319 --> 00:19:48.599 happy with every particular area of your life? 00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:53.539 All of them. Right? You like them all? You need 00:19:53.539 --> 00:19:57.099 to understand something. Those hardships, that 00:19:57.099 --> 00:20:00.730 is God's providence for you. and He's given you 00:20:00.730 --> 00:20:06.430 a realm and a responsibility in it. We must evaluate 00:20:06.430 --> 00:20:10.650 our heart motives, our life actions, and our 00:20:10.650 --> 00:20:14.970 words to God's plumb line. Dearly beloved, Colossians 00:20:14.970 --> 00:20:17.089 chapter three reminds us of this, says it in 00:20:17.089 --> 00:20:19.470 a different way. It says, if they were raised 00:20:19.470 --> 00:20:22.309 with Christ, seek those things which are above 00:20:22.309 --> 00:20:25.349 where Christ is sitting at the right hand of 00:20:25.349 --> 00:20:29.400 God. Again, you have this. understanding Christ 00:20:29.400 --> 00:20:32.099 set the right hand of God you've been raised 00:20:32.099 --> 00:20:36.319 with him it says set your mind on things above 00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:41.420 not things on earth for you died and your life 00:20:41.420 --> 00:20:45.519 is hidden with Christ Jesus now this is really 00:20:45.519 --> 00:20:50.480 important right when he says your life is hidden 00:20:50.480 --> 00:20:54.359 in Christ Jesus that means your salvation is 00:20:54.359 --> 00:20:59.009 held by his authority your life and the hard 00:20:59.009 --> 00:21:02.950 providences, and the good providences, and all 00:21:02.950 --> 00:21:06.809 the things He has given to you, all that is secured, 00:21:07.609 --> 00:21:11.630 hidden in Christ Jesus. And then it says, when 00:21:11.630 --> 00:21:14.390 Christ who is our life appears, then you will 00:21:14.390 --> 00:21:18.690 also appear with Him in glory. You'll be addressed 00:21:18.690 --> 00:21:21.950 and held to account for this. Therefore, put 00:21:21.950 --> 00:21:24.809 to death Your members which are on the earth, 00:21:24.849 --> 00:21:27.569 that is, he's talking about sinfulness, fornication, 00:21:27.809 --> 00:21:31.569 uncleanness, passion, evil desires, and covetousness, 00:21:31.690 --> 00:21:35.750 which is idolatry. God here tells us that we 00:21:35.750 --> 00:21:38.809 are raised with Christ. And because we are raised 00:21:38.809 --> 00:21:42.289 with Christ, we need to seek the things that 00:21:42.289 --> 00:21:44.450 are above where Christ is sitting at the right 00:21:44.450 --> 00:21:48.170 hand with all authority, power, and dominion. 00:21:49.029 --> 00:21:51.650 So we are to live each day knowing and believing 00:21:51.819 --> 00:21:56.000 Jesus is King with actions consistent to our 00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:58.740 petition for God's will to be done on earth as 00:21:58.740 --> 00:22:02.099 it is in heaven. I want to say that again. Weird 00:22:02.099 --> 00:22:06.660 to live each day knowing and believing that Jesus 00:22:06.660 --> 00:22:11.819 is King with actions consistent with our petitions 00:22:11.819 --> 00:22:14.940 for God's will to be done on earth as it is in 00:22:14.940 --> 00:22:20.359 heaven. This can only be done because we died 00:22:20.359 --> 00:22:25.900 in our life. is hidden with Christ in God. We 00:22:25.900 --> 00:22:29.259 are told that we must put to death or mortify 00:22:29.259 --> 00:22:32.380 our sins. And there are three ways that we mortify 00:22:32.380 --> 00:22:35.880 our sins. Three ways. First is conversion. Galatians 00:22:35.880 --> 00:22:39.259 chapter four tells us that our conversion, Christ 00:22:39.259 --> 00:22:42.980 has delivered us from reigning sin and we are 00:22:42.980 --> 00:22:47.220 no longer in bondage but delivered from our sins. 00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:51.940 The second way that we put our sins to death 00:22:51.940 --> 00:22:55.799 is by taking an assessment and sometimes we find 00:22:55.799 --> 00:23:02.759 a backlog of unconfessed sins. So we must, as 00:23:02.759 --> 00:23:06.539 Colossians 3 says, mortify our sin and walk away 00:23:06.539 --> 00:23:09.839 from it. You know, I've used this illustration 00:23:09.839 --> 00:23:13.640 before, but our lives are like a garden, right? 00:23:14.119 --> 00:23:16.759 And sin are like weeds. They choke out the good 00:23:16.759 --> 00:23:20.220 life and the fruitfulness. Ladies and gentlemen, 00:23:20.299 --> 00:23:23.000 if you don't look at God's word and run one line 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:27.019 of God's expectations to you, you're going to 00:23:27.019 --> 00:23:29.539 have weeds growing all over the place choking 00:23:29.539 --> 00:23:32.440 out your fruitfulness, even if you want it to 00:23:32.440 --> 00:23:38.400 be fruitful. We must confess our sins. We must 00:23:38.400 --> 00:23:41.859 pull those weeds out and then walk away. Don't 00:23:41.859 --> 00:23:45.279 do this. Don't pull them out. Have this big pile 00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:48.480 sit next to the garden of your life. What happens 00:23:48.480 --> 00:23:53.119 there? You keep all your sin on the edge. I guarantee 00:23:53.119 --> 00:23:55.519 you a bunch of those weeds lying on the side 00:23:55.519 --> 00:23:58.700 are going to jump back into the garden. Pick 00:23:58.700 --> 00:24:03.680 them up and throw them away. The third way is 00:24:03.680 --> 00:24:07.039 this, is to mortify our son as Don Daly and our 00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:11.579 ongoing walk with God. Using the same metaphor 00:24:11.579 --> 00:24:14.700 as the garden, we need to go out and Daly pull 00:24:14.700 --> 00:24:19.599 those weeds out. Now, this is really done in 00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:25.000 two ways. And this is really important. We must 00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:28.839 do morning prayers and evening prayers. Our morning 00:24:28.839 --> 00:24:33.200 prayers are in preparation for the day. Right? 00:24:34.279 --> 00:24:36.160 Lord, these are all things I have to do today. 00:24:36.220 --> 00:24:39.799 Bring your blessing. Help me to obey. Right? 00:24:40.059 --> 00:24:42.740 And then at the end, you say your evening prayers. 00:24:43.460 --> 00:24:45.539 Lord, thank you for your great blessings, your 00:24:45.539 --> 00:24:48.240 providence today. Good, bad, hard. Beautiful, 00:24:48.519 --> 00:24:52.039 joyous, all those things. Now, Lord, did I live 00:24:52.039 --> 00:24:56.880 up to what you asked me to do? Did I act as a 00:24:56.880 --> 00:24:59.400 vassal, Lord, in those responsibilities today? 00:25:01.059 --> 00:25:07.440 Did I grumble and complain? Am I angry? It's 00:25:07.440 --> 00:25:10.039 an assessment at the end. Confess your sins. 00:25:10.660 --> 00:25:12.400 It's weeding in the morning and weeding in the 00:25:12.400 --> 00:25:14.619 night. I don't know if you've ever had a garden, 00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:16.299 but I can tell you, I've gone out and weeded 00:25:16.299 --> 00:25:18.019 a garden in the morning early, and then when 00:25:18.019 --> 00:25:21.240 I got home at night, there were more weeds there. 00:25:26.920 --> 00:25:29.619 In this, we must consider several other things. 00:25:30.619 --> 00:25:33.559 One, we have to be moral before God. That sounds 00:25:33.559 --> 00:25:36.500 like going without saying. But we must avoid 00:25:36.500 --> 00:25:40.480 moralism. Moralism is avoiding things we wish 00:25:40.480 --> 00:25:44.269 we didn't have to avoid. wishing that we could 00:25:44.269 --> 00:25:47.829 do what unbelievers do. We covet their ability 00:25:47.829 --> 00:25:50.569 to sin or their ability to seemingly walk through 00:25:50.569 --> 00:25:54.890 ignorance. They seem perfectly fine from our 00:25:54.890 --> 00:25:59.690 distance. It's living suspecting that unbelievers 00:25:59.690 --> 00:26:02.650 are having a good time and so moralism wants 00:26:02.650 --> 00:26:08.670 to put a stop to sin because it is envious. I 00:26:08.670 --> 00:26:11.930 can tell you I personally have experienced this. 00:26:15.029 --> 00:26:20.250 Moralism is impotent and unable to produce any 00:26:20.250 --> 00:26:25.269 good For those in the church we can fall into 00:26:25.269 --> 00:26:30.910 sin as God describes in Deuteronomy chapter 8 00:26:30.910 --> 00:26:34.529 It is the sin of forgetting what God has given 00:26:34.529 --> 00:26:38.609 us salvation by means of God declaring them his 00:26:38.609 --> 00:26:42.289 people in Deuteronomy chapter Moses is saying, 00:26:42.349 --> 00:26:45.349 hey, God made this covenant with you, and God 00:26:45.349 --> 00:26:47.150 gives a warning. You know what's going to happen? 00:26:47.170 --> 00:26:48.349 You're going to go in. You're going to start 00:26:48.349 --> 00:26:50.089 receiving all these blessings. Things are going 00:26:50.089 --> 00:26:52.769 to be good and going your way. And then you're 00:26:52.769 --> 00:26:57.950 going to start saying, well, I did this. You're 00:26:57.950 --> 00:27:00.650 not going to remember what God did, how He pulled 00:27:00.650 --> 00:27:03.390 you out of the depths of despair and slavery 00:27:03.390 --> 00:27:06.490 and delivered you and provided everything for 00:27:06.490 --> 00:27:10.579 you and gave you this land for what? Everything 00:27:10.579 --> 00:27:12.839 that he gives you, is it for your glory and for 00:27:12.839 --> 00:27:14.960 your benefit, and you think you did all this? 00:27:18.380 --> 00:27:21.680 In verse 19 of Deuteronomy 8, God says, then 00:27:21.680 --> 00:27:27.779 it shall be if by any means, if any of you, excuse 00:27:27.779 --> 00:27:30.839 me, then it shall be if you by any means forget 00:27:30.839 --> 00:27:33.579 Yahweh your God and follow other gods and serve 00:27:33.579 --> 00:27:35.880 them and worship them, I testify against you 00:27:35.880 --> 00:27:40.309 this day that you will surely perish. Right now, 00:27:40.329 --> 00:27:43.130 many of you have walked with God for some time. 00:27:43.809 --> 00:27:46.990 You've accomplished much by the grace of God. 00:27:47.650 --> 00:27:50.750 You come to church every week, and God renews 00:27:50.750 --> 00:27:55.190 His covenant with you corporately. And His people, 00:27:55.450 --> 00:27:57.609 for you are His people, His corporate people, 00:27:57.650 --> 00:28:01.130 for the sake of Christ Jesus. And then you flow 00:28:01.130 --> 00:28:04.549 out of church to the outposts of your households. 00:28:05.299 --> 00:28:08.240 And there you have personal devotions and prayers 00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:13.380 and family worship and podcasts and books. There 00:28:13.380 --> 00:28:17.500 is confession of sin in your homes. But sometimes 00:28:17.500 --> 00:28:20.039 we fall in the trap of saying, I've done so much 00:28:20.039 --> 00:28:24.420 in eradicating sin that we grow complacent. We 00:28:24.420 --> 00:28:28.359 act as if we are good and satisfactory in our 00:28:28.359 --> 00:28:32.339 fidelity and homage to our King. I want you to 00:28:32.339 --> 00:28:36.630 think briefly of King Josiah. Second Chronicles 00:28:36.630 --> 00:28:40.230 chapter 34 tells the story of King Josiah. Now 00:28:40.230 --> 00:28:42.390 many of you know King Josiah was declared a good 00:28:42.390 --> 00:28:44.549 king. He wasn't a perfect king, but he was a 00:28:44.549 --> 00:28:47.170 good king. And part of that was because he lived 00:28:47.170 --> 00:28:49.630 as his father David, who again was not a perfect 00:28:49.630 --> 00:28:54.910 king. But he confessed his sins and he went continuously 00:28:54.910 --> 00:28:58.549 trying to conform himself to God's Word. And 00:28:58.549 --> 00:29:02.329 think about Psalm 119 written. about knowing 00:29:02.329 --> 00:29:06.349 and loving and living and walking in God's Word. 00:29:06.910 --> 00:29:11.609 So King Josiah, he goes down and he does great 00:29:11.609 --> 00:29:14.970 things. He burns down the high places, people 00:29:14.970 --> 00:29:18.049 worshiping God like they wanted. It says that 00:29:18.049 --> 00:29:21.250 he went after the idols and the bales. Every 00:29:21.250 --> 00:29:24.609 kind of description of the different kinds of 00:29:24.609 --> 00:29:26.970 graven images. He took them all. He burned them 00:29:26.970 --> 00:29:31.279 up. He threw all the ashes. from all these things 00:29:31.279 --> 00:29:36.400 and desecrated him by throwing him into the cemeteries 00:29:36.400 --> 00:29:40.559 of the pagans. Man, he even went the extra mile. 00:29:40.759 --> 00:29:44.680 And right before he destroyed the altars of Baal, 00:29:44.740 --> 00:29:50.579 it says that he killed the prophets of Baal. 00:29:51.339 --> 00:29:53.819 They could have repented, but he killed them. 00:29:54.140 --> 00:29:56.559 He burned them up, and then threw their ashes. 00:29:58.000 --> 00:30:03.240 their bones through their ashes into that cemetery 00:30:03.240 --> 00:30:06.559 of the unbelievers. He does all of this, and 00:30:06.559 --> 00:30:10.220 then he goes and starts going out and restoring 00:30:10.220 --> 00:30:12.960 the temple. Man, we gotta have right worship. 00:30:13.039 --> 00:30:17.299 Gotta do this. And he does all this. Now, I would 00:30:17.299 --> 00:30:21.859 say that if you look at all the kings throughout 00:30:21.859 --> 00:30:25.559 the history of Israel, this guy got after it. 00:30:27.019 --> 00:30:30.440 He's trying to do the right thing. And then one 00:30:30.440 --> 00:30:33.019 day, as they're restoring the temple, they find 00:30:33.019 --> 00:30:35.720 the scroll of the law, and they bring it to the 00:30:35.720 --> 00:30:41.619 king, and he reads it. He's like, holy smokes, 00:30:41.880 --> 00:30:46.880 it rips and tears his robe. He's rending his 00:30:46.880 --> 00:30:49.779 heart. He's caught to the heart because he realized, 00:30:49.960 --> 00:30:53.539 in spite of all this stuff that he had done in 00:30:53.539 --> 00:30:57.880 honor of God and rightly, he still They still 00:30:57.880 --> 00:31:00.460 as the people of God did not measure up and worship 00:31:00.460 --> 00:31:02.740 God rightly they weren't walking in obedience 00:31:02.740 --> 00:31:13.400 to him You know all of this is to say You know 00:31:13.400 --> 00:31:16.940 on how do you guys there for Lord's Day worship? 00:31:17.039 --> 00:31:20.099 If this is the center of where everything emanates 00:31:20.099 --> 00:31:21.759 out of for the rest of your life. How do you 00:31:21.759 --> 00:31:26.970 prepare? We've encouraged you To read the scriptures 00:31:26.970 --> 00:31:31.549 ahead of time, we put those out for you. Do you 00:31:31.549 --> 00:31:33.890 go to bed in a timely fashion so that you can 00:31:33.890 --> 00:31:36.250 get up joyful and not be tired? I'm not talking 00:31:36.250 --> 00:31:38.230 about providentially, Henry, your kid wakes up 00:31:38.230 --> 00:31:40.309 in the middle of the night and throwing up or 00:31:40.309 --> 00:31:43.309 something. No, I'm talking about that. But do 00:31:43.309 --> 00:31:48.029 you prepare for the Lord's Day as if it is the 00:31:48.029 --> 00:31:50.049 center from which your life comes from? This 00:31:50.049 --> 00:31:53.789 is the place where we corporately worship together. 00:31:57.799 --> 00:32:01.279 Are you cut to the heart, and like Josiah, make 00:32:01.279 --> 00:32:04.500 changes in your daily life, living as a vassal 00:32:04.500 --> 00:32:08.819 king to Jesus? Do you make King Jesus the center 00:32:08.819 --> 00:32:12.960 of your words and actions about all people, and 00:32:12.960 --> 00:32:16.420 to all people? Now, many of you have identified, 00:32:16.500 --> 00:32:19.460 and in some cases, you have destroyed some of 00:32:19.460 --> 00:32:22.160 the cultural idols of our times in your household. 00:32:25.039 --> 00:32:30.400 What are these two ways? That we mortify sin 00:32:30.400 --> 00:32:34.420 one we talked about It starts here before you 00:32:34.420 --> 00:32:37.019 daily morning and evening in your own household 00:32:37.019 --> 00:32:39.640 You must start by assembling and worship with 00:32:39.640 --> 00:32:44.140 God's people in Confession and in covenant renewal 00:32:44.140 --> 00:32:47.759 which assists with the second those morning and 00:32:47.759 --> 00:32:51.640 evening prayers that preparation of the day and 00:32:51.640 --> 00:32:55.589 that evaluation of the day I found it helpful 00:32:55.589 --> 00:32:57.630 sometimes to keep a little paper on the side 00:32:57.630 --> 00:32:59.609 of my bed, because sometimes I'm up late and 00:32:59.609 --> 00:33:02.069 maybe it's not a good time. I realized, you know, 00:33:02.730 --> 00:33:06.329 that interaction with my coworker, or that person 00:33:06.329 --> 00:33:09.750 today, or my child who's already asleep in the 00:33:09.750 --> 00:33:14.309 bed, that wasn't good. And you write a note, 00:33:14.650 --> 00:33:16.589 you confess it to God, then you go deal with 00:33:16.589 --> 00:33:23.849 it tomorrow. Clear the books. Do you ask yourself 00:33:23.849 --> 00:33:27.369 how did I live? Did I live as a faithful vassal 00:33:27.369 --> 00:33:32.549 or as an independent kingdom? Did I love and 00:33:32.549 --> 00:33:35.730 lead my wife tending to her growth in Christ 00:33:35.730 --> 00:33:41.210 with an understanding with grace unto fruitfulness 00:33:41.210 --> 00:33:45.660 and all that she has to do? Did you obey and 00:33:45.660 --> 00:33:48.539 respect your husband in reverence to God? So 00:33:48.539 --> 00:33:51.599 that he might be fruitful in his calling to be 00:33:51.599 --> 00:33:55.519 formed to be conformed to Christ Jesus? Children 00:33:55.519 --> 00:34:00.700 look up here Children are you joyously obeying 00:34:00.700 --> 00:34:03.279 your parents right away and becoming fruitful? 00:34:04.960 --> 00:34:11.320 In King Jesus For everyone in the room What of 00:34:11.320 --> 00:34:14.739 the authorities in your life your bosses? your 00:34:14.739 --> 00:34:19.019 church, the police down the street. Those are 00:34:19.019 --> 00:34:24.860 all God's providences in your life. Are you in 00:34:24.860 --> 00:34:29.300 biblical submission for their fruitfulness in 00:34:29.300 --> 00:34:33.539 King Jesus? Sometimes we wonder where sin is 00:34:33.539 --> 00:34:36.960 coming from. We think that we have kept our households 00:34:36.960 --> 00:34:42.219 from sinful and wicked things and somehow sin 00:34:42.219 --> 00:34:47.239 keeps appearing. It is because they were born 00:34:47.239 --> 00:34:51.679 of Adam and nothing earthly can put sin to death. 00:34:51.960 --> 00:34:56.019 Not traditional values, not peer pressure, not 00:34:56.019 --> 00:35:00.420 Christian education. Our only hope is that we 00:35:00.420 --> 00:35:06.699 are being kept in Christ, in God. Because Jesus 00:35:06.699 --> 00:35:11.380 is risen, ascended, our life is hidden in Christ. 00:35:11.699 --> 00:35:16.869 In Christ is freedom, liberation. morality. We 00:35:16.869 --> 00:35:19.250 are called to kiss the Son and be subject to 00:35:19.250 --> 00:35:24.449 the King in all areas of our lives. In our own 00:35:24.449 --> 00:35:28.650 strength we fail. Our sanctification is weeding 00:35:28.650 --> 00:35:31.730 our lives according to God's standards set out 00:35:31.730 --> 00:35:34.349 in His Word back to that beginning, right? Jesus 00:35:34.349 --> 00:35:39.829 explained this is all about me. So here you are. 00:35:41.360 --> 00:35:44.820 Everything we do must be anchored in Christ, 00:35:45.599 --> 00:35:50.860 His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. 00:35:51.760 --> 00:35:57.000 Rejoice! God's grace is for you, saints of God, 00:35:57.460 --> 00:36:01.460 because of our Lord and Savior, the ascended 00:36:01.460 --> 00:36:10.590 Christ Jesus. Christ ascended! Let us pray. Our 00:36:10.590 --> 00:36:13.130 Father, we pray that You would keep us from cluttering 00:36:13.130 --> 00:36:16.469 our minds with false hopes, with trying to compel 00:36:16.469 --> 00:36:19.590 You or to plead with You to go our own way instead 00:36:19.590 --> 00:36:22.769 of Your ordained way, of raising up false hopes 00:36:22.769 --> 00:36:25.829 to delude ourselves and others. Grant that our 00:36:25.829 --> 00:36:29.369 minds be fixed where our true joys are to be 00:36:29.369 --> 00:36:32.929 found, even in Jesus Christ. Grant that our hope 00:36:32.929 --> 00:36:35.789 be grounded upon Him and upon Your Word so that 00:36:35.789 --> 00:36:39.349 we may see all things clearly and work with knowledge, 00:36:39.579 --> 00:36:43.059 and have hope in Jesus our Lord who is King of 00:36:43.059 --> 00:36:44.320 all. Amen.