What'd he say? OK. Thank you. Thanks, David.
It's good to be here with you today in this service.
And children, I guess, are dismissed. Is that
right? Wedding songs have changed a lot since
the time that Jeanette and I got married. Back
in those days, you would hear, I love you truly.
Sometimes the Lord's Prayer or the song Oh Promise
Me. Today you hear anything from Beatles to Petra
to Stephen Curtis Chapman to something you've
never heard of before in your life. That's okay
because it reflects some of the cultural changes
that have taken place in our country. Today we're
going to take a reverse trip to a long time ago
and look at a wedding song from 1000 B .C. Open
your Bible with me to Psalm 45, please. Psalm
45. This wedding song was written in honor of
a king, probably one of David's descendants,
maybe even the great King Solomon. Now, we're
not going to read the whole song, but I'm going
to pick out from it a statement that refers to
Jesus Christ's messiahship. And then we're going
to turn into the New Testament to see how the
New Testament authenticates that this talks about
Jesus. I hope you have your Bible with you. I'd
like you to turn there to Psalm 45, and we're
going to look at verse 6, where it says, has
anointed thee with the oil of joy above all thy
fellows." Now if you turn please to Hebrews chapter
1, where the writer of this New Testament book
is talking about the superiority of Jesus Christ
over all things, including the angels. And in
order to substantiate that, the writer goes back
to the Old Testament and pulls out some sentences.
and verses from the Old Testament to show that
Jesus is greater than the angels. For example,
in verse 6 it says, and when he again brings
the firstborn into the world, that's referring
to Jesus, he, God, says, let all the angels of
God worship him. Now that's what happened to
Bethlehem. When the firstborn came into the world,
the angels of God worshiped him. Him. And it
says, of the angels, God says, who makes his
angels winds and his ministers a flame of fire.
In other words, God has created the angels to
be servants. And He compares them to wind and
fire, which are like servants. But He says, of
the Son, capital S, He says, God says, Thy throne,
O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous
scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. Thou hast
loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. Therefore,
God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil
of gladness above thy companions. Would you pray
with me? Lord Jesus, as we look at these verses
this morning, I pray that we will learn some
exciting things about you that will affect the
way that we live. Help us to see you as the Royal
Messiah, who is exalted above all. And may you
be exalted to the throne of our lives. And this
we pray in your name. Amen. The main theme that
I see in the text that we've looked at is this,
that Christ is destined to an everlasting throne.
There's nothing that can stop it. Jesus Christ
is destined to reign forever and forever on the
throne of his kingdom. But that's because he
humbled himself in coming to the earth in the
incarnation. which then led to his voluntary
self -sacrifice on the cross. I remind you of
what Paul says in Philippians chapter 2, that
although Jesus existed in the form of God, he
did not regard equality with God a thing to be
grasped or held onto selfishly. But he emptied
himself. And he goes on to say, he became a man
and humbled himself by becoming obedient to the
point of death even the death of a cross. Therefore,
also, God highly exalted Him and bestowed on
Him the name which is above every name. And that
name is L -O -R -D, Lord. That is the name that
God has given to Jesus. He is Lord One day every
knee will bow and every tongue confess that he
is Lord to the glory of God Now this season of
the year we celebrate his coming and his birth
as one of us But it's important for us to remind
ourselves that he is no longer the babe in a
manger Jesus Christ has been resurrected in glory
and he lives an immortal life He is in heaven
at the right hand of God his father He has been
given authority and power to reign and to rule
over the eternal kingdom of God. But listen to
me, what he really wants and what he deserves
is another throne. And that is the throne that
is in your heart and mine. That is the throne
that he still seeks and desires because he wants
to reign in our lives and folks, he deserves
to. He has claimed His throne of the eternal
kingdom, but He is still seeking that throne
in your heart. And I hope as we look at the text
a little further this morning that you will determine
that Jesus Christ indeed is worthy. There are
four insights in our text that I want us to look
at, and after we've seen these, I think you will
agree with me He deserves to be on the throne
of your life. The first insight is the insight
regarding His nature. His nature. We see this
in verse 6 and then again in verse 7. I want
you to pay attention to this because there's
a change of wording here that is very significant.
It says in verse 6, thy throne, I'm going back
now to Psalm 45, thy throne, O God. Jesus Christ
is spoken to here as whom? Who is it? As God.
Thy throne, O God," it says. But then notice
in verse 7, it says, therefore God, thy God,
hath anointed thee. And so the insight we get
about his nature is this, that he is God, but
he is distinguished from God. Do you notice that?
He is spoken to as God himself. And then the
psalmist says, God, your God, has anointed you
again speaking of Jesus. How can this be? How
can He be God and yet distinguished from God?
Well, the answer is that He is both. He is God
in the first place. In Jeremiah chapter 23, the
prophet says, The days are coming when I will
raise up for David a righteous branch, declares
the Lord. He will reign as king and act wisely
and do justice and righteousness in the land.
In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will
dwell securely and this is his name by which
he will be called the Lord our righteousness.
God says I am going to raise up a king who will
be a branch off of David's dynasty, but his name
will be the Lord who is our righteousness. So
you see Jeremiah's prophecy says, here's a human
who is a descendant of David who will also have
the title or the name Lord. We see the same thing
in Isaiah, the more familiar text. A child will
be born to us, a son will be given to us, and
the government will rest on his shoulders. And
his name will be called Wonderful Counselor.
What's the next? Does anybody know? The Mighty
God. A child will be born. His name will be Mighty
God. What we see here is that Messiah, who is
to be born, will be God. But He's also other
than God. Now that's a paradox, and it throws
some people into a theological whirlwind that
they can't get out of. But it's not hard if you
understand what the New Testament says about
God. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God's
nature is that He is triune. The Messiah is not
the Father, nor is He the Holy Spirit. The Messiah
is the Son of the Godhead. So He is God Himself,
but He is other than God. I remind you of what
Jesus said, I and the Father are, does anybody
know? One. Wait a minute. Jesus, you're one.
He's one. That's two. No. Jesus said, I am not
the same as the Father. But I and the Father
are one. Again, it goes to the mystery of God's
Trinity. So you need to understand this about
the nature of the Messiah. That He is God. But
he is distinguished from God as well. Therefore,
because of who he is, we dare not ignore his
words. That's why the writer of Hebrews goes
on to say a few verses later that we dare not
neglect or ignore this salvation. How shall we
escape, he says, if we neglect the salvation
that is brought by this unique one who is God?
and God the Son. Now there's a second insight
into Messiah about His character that we see
here in Psalms. Verse 7 says that He loves righteousness
and hates iniquity or wickedness. The first insight
is that the King is divine, but the second insight
is this that the King is holy. When it speaks
about Him loving and hating, it's more than emotional
ideas. It reveals the choices and the qualities
of His life. It reveals that in His very heart
of hearts, Jesus always loved righteousness and
hated wickedness. He did not choose it. He chose
righteousness always. That could be said of none
of us. because there are times when we choose
wickedness because of the sin that is in us.
But of Jesus it is said that He loves righteousness.
That's an insight about His character. He loves
righteousness but hates wickedness. The King
is holy. And that is very significant. We must
understand that when we invite this King to the
throne of our lives, He is going to bring with
Him this love of righteousness. and hatred of
wickedness. And we'll begin working in our lives
to transform us inwardly, to change us, so that
we will reflect Him. We cannot invite Him to
the throne of our lives and continue on like
we've always been in the past. Because this King
is a holy King, and He demands change in our
lives, and He brings the power to accomplish
it. an insight regarding His character. First,
the King is divine. Secondly, the King is holy.
It's the third insight that we see in verse seven.
It's an insight about His incarnation. And simply
put, it's this, that He is one of us, but above
us. Notice how it's put in this psalm. God, thy
God, hath anointed thee with the oil of joy above
thy fellows." The word fellows here means thy
associates, your companions. Remember, this is
a wedding psalm and it's being written about
the bridegroom, the king who's getting married.
And the king has with him people that are a part
of his wedding party that he's invited to share
in this occasion. The Lord Jesus Christ came
down to this earth in his incarnation that he
might become one of us and be a companion to
us, an associate of us. That's why in Hebrews
chapter 2, it goes on to say that he partook
of flesh and blood like his children. He partook
of our humanity in the incarnation. That's the
marvelous thing that we remember at this time
of year in particular. I remind you of what the
angels said to the shepherds. Do not be afraid
for behold I bring you good news of great joy
which shall be to all the people for today in
the city of David there has been born for you
a Savior who is Christ the Lord. Notice that.
Christ the Lord born a man for you. This is the
marvelous insight about His incarnation that
He is one of us, although above us. He is fully
man and He understands absolutely everything
that you can go through in your life. If you
sit in a hospital room as I did yesterday with
the family waiting news, that the doctors were
going to bring regarding their loved one and
whether she would live or die. And you feel the
anxiety in their hearts, the tears in their eyes.
It is wonderful to be able to reassure them that
Jesus understands everything they're going through
because He's a man. He's one of us. If you're
here today in... uncertainty about your future,
Jesus identifies with you in that He knows how
you feel. He sympathizes with you. Some have
come to worship this morning in deep sorrow at
this Christmas time because somebody is not here
this Christmas that was here last Christmas.
And in this year that loved one has been taken
away from them in death. I talked with a couple
like that just before this service. Jesus understands
that because He's one of us. That's the wonderful
insight we have here in the Incarnation that
He came to be one of us though He Himself is
above us because He is God as well as man. When
we receive Him as the ruler under the throne
of our lives, we receive a Savior who is able
to completely identify with us to be compassionate
with us and sympathetic toward our needs. But
there's a fourth insight I need to get to quickly,
and that is an insight regarding his salvation.
We've had three insights thus far from the psalm
that this royal messiah is divine. Secondly,
he's holy. Third, he's human. And now we're going
to see an insight regarding his salvation. It
is this, that he possesses superlative joy. But
he shares it. Notice it says, God thy God has
anointed thee with the oil of joy above thy fellows.
Jesus Christ possesses the greatest joy that
can be known in the universe. It's his. But he
doesn't hang on to it to keep it. He shares it
with us. You say, what is the joy of Jesus? Well,
first of all, it's the joy of being God. God
has no greater joy than in Himself. As the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit, He delights in
Himself, and rightly so because He is perfect
in all of His attributes. There's nothing about
Him that would be unhappy. Now when we say God
is joyful, it doesn't mean that God is a great
comedian. There are times when I think Jesus
laughed when He was on the earth. I don't know
how you can read some of the things he said without
laughing. I think Jesus had joy in that sense.
But we're talking here about a delight within
the soul that goes beyond the outward circumstances.
He possesses a joy that is out of this world,
literally. I wish Chris Farley could have known
that joy. I wish that someone when he was here
a year ago someone of us might have come across
his path and realized that though he made many
of us laugh in his comedy routines and in his
movies, he was dying inside. So often humor erupts
out of a wounded heart. How many young comedians
have there been in the last few years who have
died because of the abuse of alcohol and drugs
and food? What is that telling us? That though
there were funny things about His life and He
can make all of us laugh, inside He had no joy.
Here's the insight regarding salvation. When
Jesus comes into your heart, when He's on the
throne of your life, He brings joy. He brings
healing for the wounds that tear us up otherwise.
He fills up the emptiness that we have inside
that we can't fill up with booze or drugs or
calories. Jesus brings that when He's on the
throne of the life. Therefore to give Him your
heart is to enter into a kingdom of joy. To allow
Him to be on the throne of your life is to allow
Him to bring you joy that comes only from God
Himself. And so the insight about his salvation
is that the king is gracious. He's gracious because
he gives his joy freely. He gives it to whoever
will allow him to come in and be on the throne
of their hearts. What have we learned about the
royal messiah? In this psalm, it is that he is
destined to an eternal throne. But I repeat,
the throne that He really desires is the one
that is in your heart Some of you have thought
about that, but you have never allowed him to
really come in and be on the throne of your heart
You've said something like I don't know that
I can trust him or I don't really want him to
rule my life I want to rule my life myself I'm
afraid if he comes into my life and is on the
throne of my life. I'll have to do something.
I don't want to do Those are all such bad reasons
for not receiving the Royal Messiah, the Savior.
The scripture says, oh, taste and see that the
Lord is good. He's not going to be sour or bitter
in your life. He's going to be sweet and bring
joy, for now there's pain. I brought with me
this morning one of my more astute theological
books. It's called Green Eggs and Ham by Dr.
Seuss. Now, some of you are just a few years
away from this book, or maybe you learned to
read. But in this children's book, there is this
creature called Sam -I -Am. And Sam -I -Am is
a bit of a pest to the cat. He runs by him several
times. And finally, the cat says, to us who are
reading the book, that's Sam I am. That's Sam
I am. I do not like that Sam I am. Sam I am comes
back around and he offers to the cat something
to eat. And he says, do you like green eggs and
ham? I do not like them, Sam I am. I do not like
green eggs and ham. Would you like them here
or there? Oh, I do not like them here or there.
I would not like them anywhere. I do not like
green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam,
I am. Would you like them in a house? Would you
like them with a mouse? And he goes on to offer
the cat green eggs and ham in lots of different
situations and different things. Finally, the
cat gets into the sea to get away from this pestering
little thing called Sam, I am. And he says, I
do not like them, Sam, I am. You do not like
them, so you say. But try them. Try them. And
you may. Try them, and you may, I say. Sam, if
you will let me be, I will try them. You will
see. Ah, he tries the green eggs and ham. Say,
I like green eggs and ham. I do. I like them,
Sam, I am. I would eat them in a boat. I would
eat them with a goat. I will eat them in the
rain and in the dark and on a train and in a
car and in a tree. They're so good. So good,
you see. Now, what's the moral of this little
tale? There are lots of things that we say we
don't like until we've tried them. And having
Jesus on the throne of your life is one of those.
Some of us have had all kinds of reasons why
we don't want to invite Jesus under the throne
of our lives But oh if we would just do it then
we would see how sweet it is Then we would say
as did the cat oh, it's so good so good you see
Then we would say why didn't I do this before
My friend, this royal messiah is destined to
reign on the eternal throne. There will be no
other kingdom but his. You will be either in
that kingdom and enjoy eternal life, or you will
be out of that kingdom in eternal death. Jesus
today wants to come onto the throne of your heart.
That's the throne he's seeking. so that He can
bring His joy and make you a part of His eternal
Kingdom. Will you let Him get on the throne of
your life today? Taste and see for yourself that
He's good. Let's pray. With our heads bowed and
our eyes closed, I hope that you Will make that
decision today if you've not done it before To
ask the Lord Jesus to come onto the throne of
your life Come into you and save you from your
sin You will get off the throne and let him reign
and bring his joy his kingdom to you If you are
willing today by faith to receive him as your
Savior and Lord and to put him on the throne
of your life, which he so deserves, would you
just be willing to lift your hand and put it
down? And by that act, simply say, I am today
receiving Jesus Christ on the throne of my life.
Is there one here like him who would make that
decision? God bless you. Yes. Thank you When
he comes he comes to bring himself and his righteousness
he comes to bring his joy Know the difference
You can do that by just praying something like
this Lord Jesus come into my life And take the
throne of my life I Give it over to you Forgive
my sins and give me the joy of your eternal life.
And He promises that whosoever will call upon
Him will be saved. Let's sing a little chorus
with our heads bowed. I think all of you know
it. Into my heart, into my heart. Come into my
heart, Lord Jesus. Come into day, come into stay.
Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Take all of my
heart Lord Jesus. Take all today. Take all I
pay. Take all of my heart Lord Jesus. Let's stand
together with our heads bowed. I wonder if you
can say today that Jesus is on the throne of
your life. If that is an assurance that you have,
that Jesus is in your life on the throne as your
King and your Savior, would you just lift your
hand if He's there within you on the throne of
your life? You know, that leaves a lot of us
in between somewhere, doesn't it? Where is He
today in relation to you? And if He's not on
the throne of your life, why isn't He? Because
that's where He deserves to be. That's what He
seeks. Give it to Him now. Lord Jesus, I pray
that as we go into this blessed week of Christmas,
you'll be reigning in our lives in such a way
that your joy will be evident, your life will
be real. our lives will be transformed. Help
us to be looking for those around us who need
that joy and who are trying to find it in the
wrong places. We honor and worship you as the
royal messiah who is divine and human and holy
and gracious and we bless you and give ourselves
to you. as we leave here today. Amen. Merry Christmas
and God bless you each one.