WEBVTT 00:00:00.459 --> 00:00:07.080 What'd he say? OK. Thank you. Thanks, David. 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:09.919 It's good to be here with you today in this service. 00:00:11.019 --> 00:00:12.939 And children, I guess, are dismissed. Is that 00:00:12.939 --> 00:00:20.800 right? Wedding songs have changed a lot since 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:23.679 the time that Jeanette and I got married. Back 00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:26.440 in those days, you would hear, I love you truly. 00:00:27.439 --> 00:00:30.280 Sometimes the Lord's Prayer or the song Oh Promise 00:00:30.280 --> 00:00:34.799 Me. Today you hear anything from Beatles to Petra 00:00:34.799 --> 00:00:37.219 to Stephen Curtis Chapman to something you've 00:00:37.219 --> 00:00:40.299 never heard of before in your life. That's okay 00:00:40.299 --> 00:00:42.780 because it reflects some of the cultural changes 00:00:42.780 --> 00:00:46.579 that have taken place in our country. Today we're 00:00:46.579 --> 00:00:49.520 going to take a reverse trip to a long time ago 00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:55.920 and look at a wedding song from 1000 B .C. Open 00:00:55.920 --> 00:01:02.840 your Bible with me to Psalm 45, please. Psalm 00:01:02.840 --> 00:01:06.959 45. This wedding song was written in honor of 00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:10.400 a king, probably one of David's descendants, 00:01:10.599 --> 00:01:13.780 maybe even the great King Solomon. Now, we're 00:01:13.780 --> 00:01:15.900 not going to read the whole song, but I'm going 00:01:15.900 --> 00:01:19.760 to pick out from it a statement that refers to 00:01:19.760 --> 00:01:24.590 Jesus Christ's messiahship. And then we're going 00:01:24.590 --> 00:01:26.549 to turn into the New Testament to see how the 00:01:26.549 --> 00:01:29.430 New Testament authenticates that this talks about 00:01:29.430 --> 00:01:32.930 Jesus. I hope you have your Bible with you. I'd 00:01:32.930 --> 00:01:35.170 like you to turn there to Psalm 45, and we're 00:01:35.170 --> 00:01:51.340 going to look at verse 6, where it says, has 00:01:51.340 --> 00:01:55.840 anointed thee with the oil of joy above all thy 00:01:55.840 --> 00:02:00.140 fellows." Now if you turn please to Hebrews chapter 00:02:00.140 --> 00:02:04.819 1, where the writer of this New Testament book 00:02:04.819 --> 00:02:08.120 is talking about the superiority of Jesus Christ 00:02:08.120 --> 00:02:12.340 over all things, including the angels. And in 00:02:12.340 --> 00:02:14.800 order to substantiate that, the writer goes back 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:17.460 to the Old Testament and pulls out some sentences. 00:02:17.960 --> 00:02:20.639 and verses from the Old Testament to show that 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:24.340 Jesus is greater than the angels. For example, 00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:27.620 in verse 6 it says, and when he again brings 00:02:27.620 --> 00:02:30.979 the firstborn into the world, that's referring 00:02:30.979 --> 00:02:37.280 to Jesus, he, God, says, let all the angels of 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:41.219 God worship him. Now that's what happened to 00:02:41.219 --> 00:02:45.300 Bethlehem. When the firstborn came into the world, 00:02:45.439 --> 00:02:50.909 the angels of God worshiped him. Him. And it 00:02:50.909 --> 00:02:54.849 says, of the angels, God says, who makes his 00:02:54.849 --> 00:02:57.490 angels winds and his ministers a flame of fire. 00:02:57.550 --> 00:03:00.330 In other words, God has created the angels to 00:03:00.330 --> 00:03:04.490 be servants. And He compares them to wind and 00:03:04.490 --> 00:03:09.770 fire, which are like servants. But He says, of 00:03:09.770 --> 00:03:18.240 the Son, capital S, He says, God says, Thy throne, 00:03:18.560 --> 00:03:22.719 O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous 00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:26.620 scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. Thou hast 00:03:26.620 --> 00:03:29.800 loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. Therefore, 00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:33.580 God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil 00:03:33.580 --> 00:03:38.379 of gladness above thy companions. Would you pray 00:03:38.379 --> 00:03:41.919 with me? Lord Jesus, as we look at these verses 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:44.120 this morning, I pray that we will learn some 00:03:44.120 --> 00:03:47.319 exciting things about you that will affect the 00:03:47.319 --> 00:03:51.759 way that we live. Help us to see you as the Royal 00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:57.199 Messiah, who is exalted above all. And may you 00:03:57.199 --> 00:04:00.800 be exalted to the throne of our lives. And this 00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:05.539 we pray in your name. Amen. The main theme that 00:04:05.539 --> 00:04:07.840 I see in the text that we've looked at is this, 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:10.819 that Christ is destined to an everlasting throne. 00:04:12.060 --> 00:04:16.379 There's nothing that can stop it. Jesus Christ 00:04:16.379 --> 00:04:21.620 is destined to reign forever and forever on the 00:04:21.620 --> 00:04:24.620 throne of his kingdom. But that's because he 00:04:24.620 --> 00:04:28.680 humbled himself in coming to the earth in the 00:04:28.680 --> 00:04:32.230 incarnation. which then led to his voluntary 00:04:32.230 --> 00:04:35.709 self -sacrifice on the cross. I remind you of 00:04:35.709 --> 00:04:38.889 what Paul says in Philippians chapter 2, that 00:04:38.889 --> 00:04:41.769 although Jesus existed in the form of God, he 00:04:41.769 --> 00:04:45.689 did not regard equality with God a thing to be 00:04:45.689 --> 00:04:50.129 grasped or held onto selfishly. But he emptied 00:04:50.129 --> 00:04:54.290 himself. And he goes on to say, he became a man 00:04:54.290 --> 00:04:57.970 and humbled himself by becoming obedient to the 00:04:57.970 --> 00:05:02.879 point of death even the death of a cross. Therefore, 00:05:03.139 --> 00:05:07.540 also, God highly exalted Him and bestowed on 00:05:07.540 --> 00:05:13.699 Him the name which is above every name. And that 00:05:13.699 --> 00:05:22.000 name is L -O -R -D, Lord. That is the name that 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:26.629 God has given to Jesus. He is Lord One day every 00:05:26.629 --> 00:05:30.850 knee will bow and every tongue confess that he 00:05:30.850 --> 00:05:36.050 is Lord to the glory of God Now this season of 00:05:36.050 --> 00:05:38.550 the year we celebrate his coming and his birth 00:05:38.550 --> 00:05:41.389 as one of us But it's important for us to remind 00:05:41.389 --> 00:05:44.430 ourselves that he is no longer the babe in a 00:05:44.430 --> 00:05:49.209 manger Jesus Christ has been resurrected in glory 00:05:49.209 --> 00:05:52.829 and he lives an immortal life He is in heaven 00:05:52.829 --> 00:05:56.339 at the right hand of God his father He has been 00:05:56.339 --> 00:06:00.439 given authority and power to reign and to rule 00:06:00.439 --> 00:06:03.839 over the eternal kingdom of God. But listen to 00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:06.060 me, what he really wants and what he deserves 00:06:06.060 --> 00:06:09.740 is another throne. And that is the throne that 00:06:09.740 --> 00:06:15.199 is in your heart and mine. That is the throne 00:06:15.199 --> 00:06:18.740 that he still seeks and desires because he wants 00:06:18.740 --> 00:06:21.879 to reign in our lives and folks, he deserves 00:06:21.879 --> 00:06:27.680 to. He has claimed His throne of the eternal 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:30.879 kingdom, but He is still seeking that throne 00:06:30.879 --> 00:06:33.759 in your heart. And I hope as we look at the text 00:06:33.759 --> 00:06:36.160 a little further this morning that you will determine 00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:39.879 that Jesus Christ indeed is worthy. There are 00:06:39.879 --> 00:06:42.420 four insights in our text that I want us to look 00:06:42.420 --> 00:06:46.240 at, and after we've seen these, I think you will 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:48.500 agree with me He deserves to be on the throne 00:06:48.500 --> 00:06:51.480 of your life. The first insight is the insight 00:06:51.480 --> 00:06:55.579 regarding His nature. His nature. We see this 00:06:55.579 --> 00:06:58.319 in verse 6 and then again in verse 7. I want 00:06:58.319 --> 00:07:00.939 you to pay attention to this because there's 00:07:00.939 --> 00:07:03.879 a change of wording here that is very significant. 00:07:04.819 --> 00:07:07.160 It says in verse 6, thy throne, I'm going back 00:07:07.160 --> 00:07:15.639 now to Psalm 45, thy throne, O God. Jesus Christ 00:07:15.639 --> 00:07:22.279 is spoken to here as whom? Who is it? As God. 00:07:22.649 --> 00:07:27.769 Thy throne, O God," it says. But then notice 00:07:27.769 --> 00:07:32.910 in verse 7, it says, therefore God, thy God, 00:07:33.129 --> 00:07:38.569 hath anointed thee. And so the insight we get 00:07:38.569 --> 00:07:41.990 about his nature is this, that he is God, but 00:07:41.990 --> 00:07:44.589 he is distinguished from God. Do you notice that? 00:07:45.730 --> 00:07:49.290 He is spoken to as God himself. And then the 00:07:49.290 --> 00:07:54.250 psalmist says, God, your God, has anointed you 00:07:54.250 --> 00:08:00.310 again speaking of Jesus. How can this be? How 00:08:00.310 --> 00:08:04.970 can He be God and yet distinguished from God? 00:08:06.509 --> 00:08:10.529 Well, the answer is that He is both. He is God 00:08:10.529 --> 00:08:15.310 in the first place. In Jeremiah chapter 23, the 00:08:15.310 --> 00:08:20.860 prophet says, The days are coming when I will 00:08:20.860 --> 00:08:24.279 raise up for David a righteous branch, declares 00:08:24.279 --> 00:08:28.600 the Lord. He will reign as king and act wisely 00:08:28.600 --> 00:08:31.240 and do justice and righteousness in the land. 00:08:31.939 --> 00:08:34.779 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will 00:08:34.779 --> 00:08:39.039 dwell securely and this is his name by which 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:43.100 he will be called the Lord our righteousness. 00:08:45.220 --> 00:08:49.080 God says I am going to raise up a king who will 00:08:49.080 --> 00:08:53.220 be a branch off of David's dynasty, but his name 00:08:53.220 --> 00:09:01.620 will be the Lord who is our righteousness. So 00:09:01.620 --> 00:09:05.200 you see Jeremiah's prophecy says, here's a human 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:11.720 who is a descendant of David who will also have 00:09:11.720 --> 00:09:19.580 the title or the name Lord. We see the same thing 00:09:19.580 --> 00:09:23.340 in Isaiah, the more familiar text. A child will 00:09:23.340 --> 00:09:25.840 be born to us, a son will be given to us, and 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:28.940 the government will rest on his shoulders. And 00:09:28.940 --> 00:09:31.559 his name will be called Wonderful Counselor. 00:09:31.559 --> 00:09:34.580 What's the next? Does anybody know? The Mighty 00:09:34.580 --> 00:09:42.779 God. A child will be born. His name will be Mighty 00:09:42.779 --> 00:09:49.799 God. What we see here is that Messiah, who is 00:09:49.799 --> 00:09:54.960 to be born, will be God. But He's also other 00:09:54.960 --> 00:10:00.759 than God. Now that's a paradox, and it throws 00:10:00.759 --> 00:10:03.419 some people into a theological whirlwind that 00:10:03.419 --> 00:10:06.679 they can't get out of. But it's not hard if you 00:10:06.679 --> 00:10:08.659 understand what the New Testament says about 00:10:08.659 --> 00:10:18.940 God. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God's 00:10:18.940 --> 00:10:24.200 nature is that He is triune. The Messiah is not 00:10:24.200 --> 00:10:28.779 the Father, nor is He the Holy Spirit. The Messiah 00:10:28.779 --> 00:10:36.379 is the Son of the Godhead. So He is God Himself, 00:10:36.460 --> 00:10:40.200 but He is other than God. I remind you of what 00:10:40.200 --> 00:10:45.519 Jesus said, I and the Father are, does anybody 00:10:45.519 --> 00:10:52.210 know? One. Wait a minute. Jesus, you're one. 00:10:52.990 --> 00:11:00.029 He's one. That's two. No. Jesus said, I am not 00:11:00.029 --> 00:11:04.610 the same as the Father. But I and the Father 00:11:04.610 --> 00:11:08.750 are one. Again, it goes to the mystery of God's 00:11:08.750 --> 00:11:12.950 Trinity. So you need to understand this about 00:11:12.950 --> 00:11:18.429 the nature of the Messiah. That He is God. But 00:11:18.429 --> 00:11:23.649 he is distinguished from God as well. Therefore, 00:11:23.909 --> 00:11:26.950 because of who he is, we dare not ignore his 00:11:26.950 --> 00:11:29.710 words. That's why the writer of Hebrews goes 00:11:29.710 --> 00:11:34.129 on to say a few verses later that we dare not 00:11:34.129 --> 00:11:40.190 neglect or ignore this salvation. How shall we 00:11:40.190 --> 00:11:43.669 escape, he says, if we neglect the salvation 00:11:43.669 --> 00:11:46.950 that is brought by this unique one who is God? 00:11:47.159 --> 00:11:51.519 and God the Son. Now there's a second insight 00:11:51.519 --> 00:11:54.039 into Messiah about His character that we see 00:11:54.039 --> 00:12:01.259 here in Psalms. Verse 7 says that He loves righteousness 00:12:01.259 --> 00:12:08.159 and hates iniquity or wickedness. The first insight 00:12:08.159 --> 00:12:10.799 is that the King is divine, but the second insight 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:14.019 is this that the King is holy. When it speaks 00:12:14.019 --> 00:12:16.799 about Him loving and hating, it's more than emotional 00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:19.379 ideas. It reveals the choices and the qualities 00:12:19.379 --> 00:12:23.500 of His life. It reveals that in His very heart 00:12:23.500 --> 00:12:28.840 of hearts, Jesus always loved righteousness and 00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:34.139 hated wickedness. He did not choose it. He chose 00:12:34.139 --> 00:12:37.799 righteousness always. That could be said of none 00:12:37.799 --> 00:12:43.330 of us. because there are times when we choose 00:12:43.330 --> 00:12:46.070 wickedness because of the sin that is in us. 00:12:47.149 --> 00:12:50.769 But of Jesus it is said that He loves righteousness. 00:12:52.149 --> 00:12:54.429 That's an insight about His character. He loves 00:12:54.429 --> 00:12:57.110 righteousness but hates wickedness. The King 00:12:57.110 --> 00:13:02.350 is holy. And that is very significant. We must 00:13:02.350 --> 00:13:05.970 understand that when we invite this King to the 00:13:05.970 --> 00:13:08.429 throne of our lives, He is going to bring with 00:13:08.429 --> 00:13:11.789 Him this love of righteousness. and hatred of 00:13:11.789 --> 00:13:15.710 wickedness. And we'll begin working in our lives 00:13:15.710 --> 00:13:19.850 to transform us inwardly, to change us, so that 00:13:19.850 --> 00:13:24.230 we will reflect Him. We cannot invite Him to 00:13:24.230 --> 00:13:26.549 the throne of our lives and continue on like 00:13:26.549 --> 00:13:30.549 we've always been in the past. Because this King 00:13:30.549 --> 00:13:33.850 is a holy King, and He demands change in our 00:13:33.850 --> 00:13:36.809 lives, and He brings the power to accomplish 00:13:36.809 --> 00:13:42.340 it. an insight regarding His character. First, 00:13:42.460 --> 00:13:46.700 the King is divine. Secondly, the King is holy. 00:13:47.379 --> 00:13:49.500 It's the third insight that we see in verse seven. 00:13:50.179 --> 00:13:54.299 It's an insight about His incarnation. And simply 00:13:54.299 --> 00:13:58.100 put, it's this, that He is one of us, but above 00:13:58.100 --> 00:14:04.809 us. Notice how it's put in this psalm. God, thy 00:14:04.809 --> 00:14:08.190 God, hath anointed thee with the oil of joy above 00:14:08.190 --> 00:14:11.830 thy fellows." The word fellows here means thy 00:14:11.830 --> 00:14:16.309 associates, your companions. Remember, this is 00:14:16.309 --> 00:14:19.110 a wedding psalm and it's being written about 00:14:19.110 --> 00:14:21.549 the bridegroom, the king who's getting married. 00:14:22.169 --> 00:14:24.909 And the king has with him people that are a part 00:14:24.909 --> 00:14:27.629 of his wedding party that he's invited to share 00:14:27.629 --> 00:14:34.100 in this occasion. The Lord Jesus Christ came 00:14:34.100 --> 00:14:36.639 down to this earth in his incarnation that he 00:14:36.639 --> 00:14:41.480 might become one of us and be a companion to 00:14:41.480 --> 00:14:46.559 us, an associate of us. That's why in Hebrews 00:14:46.559 --> 00:14:51.200 chapter 2, it goes on to say that he partook 00:14:51.200 --> 00:14:58.620 of flesh and blood like his children. He partook 00:14:58.620 --> 00:15:03.250 of our humanity in the incarnation. That's the 00:15:03.250 --> 00:15:06.250 marvelous thing that we remember at this time 00:15:06.250 --> 00:15:09.289 of year in particular. I remind you of what the 00:15:09.289 --> 00:15:12.250 angels said to the shepherds. Do not be afraid 00:15:12.250 --> 00:15:14.830 for behold I bring you good news of great joy 00:15:14.830 --> 00:15:17.549 which shall be to all the people for today in 00:15:17.549 --> 00:15:22.090 the city of David there has been born for you 00:15:22.090 --> 00:15:26.110 a Savior who is Christ the Lord. Notice that. 00:15:26.289 --> 00:15:38.669 Christ the Lord born a man for you. This is the 00:15:38.669 --> 00:15:40.870 marvelous insight about His incarnation that 00:15:40.870 --> 00:15:46.210 He is one of us, although above us. He is fully 00:15:46.210 --> 00:15:48.590 man and He understands absolutely everything 00:15:48.590 --> 00:15:51.850 that you can go through in your life. If you 00:15:51.850 --> 00:15:54.090 sit in a hospital room as I did yesterday with 00:15:54.090 --> 00:15:57.210 the family waiting news, that the doctors were 00:15:57.210 --> 00:15:59.250 going to bring regarding their loved one and 00:15:59.250 --> 00:16:03.049 whether she would live or die. And you feel the 00:16:03.049 --> 00:16:05.909 anxiety in their hearts, the tears in their eyes. 00:16:07.289 --> 00:16:11.370 It is wonderful to be able to reassure them that 00:16:11.370 --> 00:16:15.309 Jesus understands everything they're going through 00:16:15.309 --> 00:16:21.289 because He's a man. He's one of us. If you're 00:16:21.289 --> 00:16:25.740 here today in... uncertainty about your future, 00:16:25.860 --> 00:16:29.820 Jesus identifies with you in that He knows how 00:16:29.820 --> 00:16:34.700 you feel. He sympathizes with you. Some have 00:16:34.700 --> 00:16:38.120 come to worship this morning in deep sorrow at 00:16:38.120 --> 00:16:40.580 this Christmas time because somebody is not here 00:16:40.580 --> 00:16:44.259 this Christmas that was here last Christmas. 00:16:45.360 --> 00:16:47.179 And in this year that loved one has been taken 00:16:47.179 --> 00:16:50.559 away from them in death. I talked with a couple 00:16:50.559 --> 00:16:55.169 like that just before this service. Jesus understands 00:16:55.169 --> 00:17:00.210 that because He's one of us. That's the wonderful 00:17:00.210 --> 00:17:03.009 insight we have here in the Incarnation that 00:17:03.009 --> 00:17:07.589 He came to be one of us though He Himself is 00:17:07.589 --> 00:17:13.670 above us because He is God as well as man. When 00:17:13.670 --> 00:17:16.170 we receive Him as the ruler under the throne 00:17:16.170 --> 00:17:19.690 of our lives, we receive a Savior who is able 00:17:19.690 --> 00:17:23.380 to completely identify with us to be compassionate 00:17:23.380 --> 00:17:29.660 with us and sympathetic toward our needs. But 00:17:29.660 --> 00:17:31.680 there's a fourth insight I need to get to quickly, 00:17:32.259 --> 00:17:34.539 and that is an insight regarding his salvation. 00:17:35.160 --> 00:17:38.119 We've had three insights thus far from the psalm 00:17:38.119 --> 00:17:42.440 that this royal messiah is divine. Secondly, 00:17:42.460 --> 00:17:45.599 he's holy. Third, he's human. And now we're going 00:17:45.599 --> 00:17:48.039 to see an insight regarding his salvation. It 00:17:48.039 --> 00:17:52.670 is this, that he possesses superlative joy. But 00:17:52.670 --> 00:17:56.109 he shares it. Notice it says, God thy God has 00:17:56.109 --> 00:18:01.029 anointed thee with the oil of joy above thy fellows. 00:18:02.470 --> 00:18:06.190 Jesus Christ possesses the greatest joy that 00:18:06.190 --> 00:18:09.170 can be known in the universe. It's his. But he 00:18:09.170 --> 00:18:11.630 doesn't hang on to it to keep it. He shares it 00:18:11.630 --> 00:18:15.369 with us. You say, what is the joy of Jesus? Well, 00:18:15.509 --> 00:18:19.569 first of all, it's the joy of being God. God 00:18:19.569 --> 00:18:25.230 has no greater joy than in Himself. As the Father, 00:18:25.309 --> 00:18:27.789 the Son, and the Holy Spirit, He delights in 00:18:27.789 --> 00:18:30.990 Himself, and rightly so because He is perfect 00:18:30.990 --> 00:18:34.549 in all of His attributes. There's nothing about 00:18:34.549 --> 00:18:39.049 Him that would be unhappy. Now when we say God 00:18:39.049 --> 00:18:40.950 is joyful, it doesn't mean that God is a great 00:18:40.950 --> 00:18:44.849 comedian. There are times when I think Jesus 00:18:44.849 --> 00:18:47.210 laughed when He was on the earth. I don't know 00:18:47.210 --> 00:18:49.690 how you can read some of the things he said without 00:18:49.690 --> 00:18:53.190 laughing. I think Jesus had joy in that sense. 00:18:53.490 --> 00:18:57.089 But we're talking here about a delight within 00:18:57.089 --> 00:19:00.150 the soul that goes beyond the outward circumstances. 00:19:01.910 --> 00:19:07.210 He possesses a joy that is out of this world, 00:19:07.650 --> 00:19:12.349 literally. I wish Chris Farley could have known 00:19:12.349 --> 00:19:15.809 that joy. I wish that someone when he was here 00:19:15.809 --> 00:19:18.309 a year ago someone of us might have come across 00:19:18.309 --> 00:19:21.849 his path and realized that though he made many 00:19:21.849 --> 00:19:25.589 of us laugh in his comedy routines and in his 00:19:25.589 --> 00:19:30.730 movies, he was dying inside. So often humor erupts 00:19:30.730 --> 00:19:36.369 out of a wounded heart. How many young comedians 00:19:36.369 --> 00:19:38.930 have there been in the last few years who have 00:19:38.930 --> 00:19:43.289 died because of the abuse of alcohol and drugs 00:19:43.289 --> 00:19:51.430 and food? What is that telling us? That though 00:19:51.430 --> 00:19:54.650 there were funny things about His life and He 00:19:54.650 --> 00:19:59.029 can make all of us laugh, inside He had no joy. 00:20:00.750 --> 00:20:03.769 Here's the insight regarding salvation. When 00:20:03.769 --> 00:20:06.150 Jesus comes into your heart, when He's on the 00:20:06.150 --> 00:20:11.509 throne of your life, He brings joy. He brings 00:20:11.509 --> 00:20:15.869 healing for the wounds that tear us up otherwise. 00:20:19.339 --> 00:20:22.400 He fills up the emptiness that we have inside 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:25.420 that we can't fill up with booze or drugs or 00:20:25.420 --> 00:20:30.200 calories. Jesus brings that when He's on the 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:33.519 throne of the life. Therefore to give Him your 00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:37.079 heart is to enter into a kingdom of joy. To allow 00:20:37.079 --> 00:20:39.200 Him to be on the throne of your life is to allow 00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:42.259 Him to bring you joy that comes only from God 00:20:42.259 --> 00:20:47.579 Himself. And so the insight about his salvation 00:20:47.579 --> 00:20:51.420 is that the king is gracious. He's gracious because 00:20:51.420 --> 00:20:55.980 he gives his joy freely. He gives it to whoever 00:20:55.980 --> 00:20:59.500 will allow him to come in and be on the throne 00:20:59.500 --> 00:21:05.259 of their hearts. What have we learned about the 00:21:05.259 --> 00:21:08.200 royal messiah? In this psalm, it is that he is 00:21:08.200 --> 00:21:13.240 destined to an eternal throne. But I repeat, 00:21:13.559 --> 00:21:16.460 the throne that He really desires is the one 00:21:16.460 --> 00:21:20.839 that is in your heart Some of you have thought 00:21:20.839 --> 00:21:22.740 about that, but you have never allowed him to 00:21:22.740 --> 00:21:25.160 really come in and be on the throne of your heart 00:21:25.160 --> 00:21:30.559 You've said something like I don't know that 00:21:30.559 --> 00:21:33.500 I can trust him or I don't really want him to 00:21:33.500 --> 00:21:37.160 rule my life I want to rule my life myself I'm 00:21:37.160 --> 00:21:39.980 afraid if he comes into my life and is on the 00:21:39.980 --> 00:21:41.740 throne of my life. I'll have to do something. 00:21:41.759 --> 00:21:47.980 I don't want to do Those are all such bad reasons 00:21:47.980 --> 00:21:51.960 for not receiving the Royal Messiah, the Savior. 00:21:53.559 --> 00:21:55.839 The scripture says, oh, taste and see that the 00:21:55.839 --> 00:22:02.220 Lord is good. He's not going to be sour or bitter 00:22:02.220 --> 00:22:06.359 in your life. He's going to be sweet and bring 00:22:06.359 --> 00:22:11.079 joy, for now there's pain. I brought with me 00:22:11.079 --> 00:22:13.140 this morning one of my more astute theological 00:22:13.140 --> 00:22:15.380 books. It's called Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. 00:22:15.619 --> 00:22:19.700 Seuss. Now, some of you are just a few years 00:22:19.700 --> 00:22:22.460 away from this book, or maybe you learned to 00:22:22.460 --> 00:22:25.380 read. But in this children's book, there is this 00:22:25.380 --> 00:22:29.880 creature called Sam -I -Am. And Sam -I -Am is 00:22:29.880 --> 00:22:34.039 a bit of a pest to the cat. He runs by him several 00:22:34.039 --> 00:22:37.809 times. And finally, the cat says, to us who are 00:22:37.809 --> 00:22:40.569 reading the book, that's Sam I am. That's Sam 00:22:40.569 --> 00:22:46.269 I am. I do not like that Sam I am. Sam I am comes 00:22:46.269 --> 00:22:50.970 back around and he offers to the cat something 00:22:50.970 --> 00:22:54.650 to eat. And he says, do you like green eggs and 00:22:54.650 --> 00:22:59.529 ham? I do not like them, Sam I am. I do not like 00:22:59.529 --> 00:23:02.950 green eggs and ham. Would you like them here 00:23:02.950 --> 00:23:06.880 or there? Oh, I do not like them here or there. 00:23:06.880 --> 00:23:10.000 I would not like them anywhere. I do not like 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:12.700 green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam, 00:23:12.799 --> 00:23:16.319 I am. Would you like them in a house? Would you 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:19.619 like them with a mouse? And he goes on to offer 00:23:19.619 --> 00:23:23.279 the cat green eggs and ham in lots of different 00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:27.119 situations and different things. Finally, the 00:23:27.119 --> 00:23:30.180 cat gets into the sea to get away from this pestering 00:23:30.180 --> 00:23:33.519 little thing called Sam, I am. And he says, I 00:23:33.519 --> 00:23:39.160 do not like them, Sam, I am. You do not like 00:23:39.160 --> 00:23:43.680 them, so you say. But try them. Try them. And 00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:49.220 you may. Try them, and you may, I say. Sam, if 00:23:49.220 --> 00:23:52.359 you will let me be, I will try them. You will 00:23:52.359 --> 00:23:58.700 see. Ah, he tries the green eggs and ham. Say, 00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:03.420 I like green eggs and ham. I do. I like them, 00:24:03.559 --> 00:24:05.980 Sam, I am. I would eat them in a boat. I would 00:24:05.980 --> 00:24:08.240 eat them with a goat. I will eat them in the 00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:10.539 rain and in the dark and on a train and in a 00:24:10.539 --> 00:24:13.460 car and in a tree. They're so good. So good, 00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:18.359 you see. Now, what's the moral of this little 00:24:18.359 --> 00:24:22.140 tale? There are lots of things that we say we 00:24:22.140 --> 00:24:26.220 don't like until we've tried them. And having 00:24:26.220 --> 00:24:29.420 Jesus on the throne of your life is one of those. 00:24:30.839 --> 00:24:33.279 Some of us have had all kinds of reasons why 00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:35.599 we don't want to invite Jesus under the throne 00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:40.279 of our lives But oh if we would just do it then 00:24:40.279 --> 00:24:46.759 we would see how sweet it is Then we would say 00:24:46.759 --> 00:24:51.980 as did the cat oh, it's so good so good you see 00:24:51.980 --> 00:24:57.160 Then we would say why didn't I do this before 00:25:00.430 --> 00:25:02.950 My friend, this royal messiah is destined to 00:25:02.950 --> 00:25:05.990 reign on the eternal throne. There will be no 00:25:05.990 --> 00:25:09.750 other kingdom but his. You will be either in 00:25:09.750 --> 00:25:13.369 that kingdom and enjoy eternal life, or you will 00:25:13.369 --> 00:25:22.450 be out of that kingdom in eternal death. Jesus 00:25:22.450 --> 00:25:25.470 today wants to come onto the throne of your heart. 00:25:26.990 --> 00:25:30.119 That's the throne he's seeking. so that He can 00:25:30.119 --> 00:25:34.319 bring His joy and make you a part of His eternal 00:25:34.319 --> 00:25:39.079 Kingdom. Will you let Him get on the throne of 00:25:39.079 --> 00:25:45.240 your life today? Taste and see for yourself that 00:25:45.240 --> 00:25:51.680 He's good. Let's pray. With our heads bowed and 00:25:51.680 --> 00:25:57.970 our eyes closed, I hope that you Will make that 00:25:57.970 --> 00:26:01.609 decision today if you've not done it before To 00:26:01.609 --> 00:26:03.789 ask the Lord Jesus to come onto the throne of 00:26:03.789 --> 00:26:08.549 your life Come into you and save you from your 00:26:08.549 --> 00:26:12.569 sin You will get off the throne and let him reign 00:26:12.569 --> 00:26:20.170 and bring his joy his kingdom to you If you are 00:26:20.170 --> 00:26:24.230 willing today by faith to receive him as your 00:26:24.230 --> 00:26:27.569 Savior and Lord and to put him on the throne 00:26:27.569 --> 00:26:33.650 of your life, which he so deserves, would you 00:26:33.650 --> 00:26:35.690 just be willing to lift your hand and put it 00:26:35.690 --> 00:26:44.109 down? And by that act, simply say, I am today 00:26:44.109 --> 00:26:47.769 receiving Jesus Christ on the throne of my life. 00:26:48.910 --> 00:26:51.890 Is there one here like him who would make that 00:26:51.890 --> 00:26:59.849 decision? God bless you. Yes. Thank you When 00:26:59.849 --> 00:27:03.069 he comes he comes to bring himself and his righteousness 00:27:03.069 --> 00:27:07.250 he comes to bring his joy Know the difference 00:27:07.250 --> 00:27:10.029 You can do that by just praying something like 00:27:10.029 --> 00:27:15.029 this Lord Jesus come into my life And take the 00:27:15.029 --> 00:27:25.339 throne of my life I Give it over to you Forgive 00:27:25.339 --> 00:27:32.920 my sins and give me the joy of your eternal life. 00:27:35.079 --> 00:27:37.319 And He promises that whosoever will call upon 00:27:37.319 --> 00:27:43.619 Him will be saved. Let's sing a little chorus 00:27:43.619 --> 00:27:46.299 with our heads bowed. I think all of you know 00:27:46.299 --> 00:27:58.150 it. Into my heart, into my heart. Come into my 00:27:58.150 --> 00:28:11.589 heart, Lord Jesus. Come into day, come into stay. 00:28:12.730 --> 00:28:31.569 Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Take all of my 00:28:31.569 --> 00:28:45.490 heart Lord Jesus. Take all today. Take all I 00:28:45.490 --> 00:28:55.509 pay. Take all of my heart Lord Jesus. Let's stand 00:28:55.509 --> 00:29:04.740 together with our heads bowed. I wonder if you 00:29:04.740 --> 00:29:06.880 can say today that Jesus is on the throne of 00:29:06.880 --> 00:29:09.880 your life. If that is an assurance that you have, 00:29:10.660 --> 00:29:13.740 that Jesus is in your life on the throne as your 00:29:13.740 --> 00:29:15.720 King and your Savior, would you just lift your 00:29:15.720 --> 00:29:19.859 hand if He's there within you on the throne of 00:29:19.859 --> 00:29:23.160 your life? You know, that leaves a lot of us 00:29:23.160 --> 00:29:30.319 in between somewhere, doesn't it? Where is He 00:29:30.319 --> 00:29:33.380 today in relation to you? And if He's not on 00:29:33.380 --> 00:29:37.819 the throne of your life, why isn't He? Because 00:29:37.819 --> 00:29:42.420 that's where He deserves to be. That's what He 00:29:42.420 --> 00:29:50.160 seeks. Give it to Him now. Lord Jesus, I pray 00:29:50.160 --> 00:29:53.220 that as we go into this blessed week of Christmas, 00:29:54.880 --> 00:29:57.359 you'll be reigning in our lives in such a way 00:29:57.359 --> 00:30:00.700 that your joy will be evident, your life will 00:30:00.700 --> 00:30:07.609 be real. our lives will be transformed. Help 00:30:07.609 --> 00:30:12.329 us to be looking for those around us who need 00:30:12.329 --> 00:30:14.890 that joy and who are trying to find it in the 00:30:14.890 --> 00:30:20.829 wrong places. We honor and worship you as the 00:30:20.829 --> 00:30:24.109 royal messiah who is divine and human and holy 00:30:24.109 --> 00:30:29.410 and gracious and we bless you and give ourselves 00:30:29.410 --> 00:30:35.200 to you. as we leave here today. Amen. Merry Christmas 00:30:35.200 --> 00:30:36.859 and God bless you each one.