1 Josh Soehner Master of the Universe Prop: Give Yourself To
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Josh Soehner Master of the Universe Prop: Give yourself to God’s anointed because there’s no one else like Christ. 1. There’s no King like Christ 2. There’s no Priest like Christ 3. There’s no Conqueror like Christ (Welcome and Intro to Psalm 110). Chapter 110 is an extraordinary Psalm. It's filled with oracles, poetry, and hidden treasures. Matthew Henry, the Puritan minister opens his commentary on this chapter with the following statement. “This psalm is pure gospel”. It’s also the most quoted Psalm of the NT. Verse 1 is quoted or alluded to 23 times in the NT. It is quoted in 11 out of 27 NT books, and by 7 of the 9 NT authors, including Jesus in the Gospels. Needless to say, Psalm 110 is of great significance! (Prayer) I’ve always been fascinated with history, especially military history. About a decade ago I read a book titled, “Ike, An American Hero”. It’s the biography of the 34th President of United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower. During Ike’s lifetime (Ike was his nickname), the world was at war with itself. Japan had committed horrific atrocities of mass murder and rape of the Chinese. Shortly, thereafter they covertly bombed Pearl Harbor killing thousands of Americans. The Nazi’s had conquered large parts of Europe. Secretly, the Nazi’s were carrying out a genocide of the Jewish race. Then, in Dec of 1943, General Eisenhower because of his great accomplishments as a military leader was appointed to the position of Supreme Allied Commander of the 1 Mediterranean Theater. Not long after his appointment, Ike would go on to plan and lead the victorious assault known as D-Day against the enemy. Eventually, he was elected twice as President of the United States. Ike was an American Hero. He was a man that people followed. As humans we gravitate to hero’s that fight evil and injustice. Who doesn’t love Superman, there is no other superhero like him. Since we are created in the image of a righteous God, we especially look to follow those who exert righteous authority and exercise virtuous power. The good news for us is that there is a hero for us to follow and he is not an invention of a comic book creation, and He is more than an earthly, military commander and President. This hero is unveiled to us in Psalm 110 as God’s anointed and His name is Christ Jesus, the Lord! The main burden of my message this morning is that you would give yourself to God’s anointed, because there is no one else like Him. I trust the Holy Spirit will impart this into our hearts this morning as we look at 3 points from Psalm 110. First, there is no king like Christ, second, there is no priest like Christ, and third, there is no conqueror like Christ. There is no King like Christ. Psalm 110 was written by David when he was king of Israel. This Psalm is like a window because it opens a picture of what God’s anointed would look like. For the original audience, though God had already established David’s throne, Psalm 110 was likely meant to be a song of hope and of a promise of a future messiah (messiah is the Hebrew word for an anointed person – like a King or Priest. The Greek equivalent is Christ - the anointed one.). This Psalm was 2 prophetic in that it detailed a future time when this Messiah/Deliver would unite both the Israelite offices of King and Priest and exercise ultimate and final victory over his enemies. Psalm 110 is comprised of 2 oracles of God. In the first oracle, God promise to enthrone and exalt a King over His Kingdom. Let’s look at verse 1 together. 1 The Lord (Yahweh) says to my Lord (Adonai): “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” To be seated at the right hand of someone is a symbol of great power, authority, and exaltation. How do we know this Psalm speaks of Christ? In the book of Acts the apostle Peter interprets these verses for us on the day of Pentecost. Acts 2:33-36 - v33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Peter tells us that God has made Jesus both Lord (master/ruler), and Christ over all. So, we can see that Psalm 110 speaks of Christ, but why has God exalted Christ above even the greatest of kings like David, or Solomon? It’s because of what Christ has accomplished, the gospel of his life. What a sight it must have been to have seen Jesus carried away on the clouds at his ascension. But, have you ever considered what the scene must have been like in the very throne room of God at the heavenly session of Christ? Where after having accomplished all of the Father’s work, having lived a perfect life, betrayed by a friend, mocked by his own people, 3 tortured by the Romans, disowned and denied by his followers, abandoned by his own Father as he bore the holy wrath of God for the penalty of YOUR sin and MY sin, and having rose victoriously from the grave and ascended to the Father, what celebration and worship must there have been in heaven when the Father told his Son, well done good and faithful servant, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. There is no King like Christ, because He has earned his exaltation through the gospel of his own life. Also, Christ the King now rules through the gospel. Psalm 110:2 2 “The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies!” Zion in the Bible always represents God’s dwelling place. Today, God dwells in the spiritual Zion, His church, and the church is built upon the one foundation of Christ himself. Most commentators agree that the mighty scepter of v2 is typified of the Gospel. The gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ’s accomplishment is the tool in which he rules in the midst of his enemies. How does he rule through the gospel? He does it through building the Kingdom of God whereby sinners like you and me are transferred from the kingdom of darkness, into the kingdom of the Son of his love. The gospel is sent forth from God like a mighty scepter. There is great power in the gospel. Roman 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the POWER of God for salvation to everyone who believes...”. When the gospel is preached, sinners are saved. Psalm 110 speaks of a current reign of Christ through the gospel. It is often presented incorrectly as a future reign of Christ over Israel. It's a current reign of Christ through the 4 gospel, and since it is a present reign it should bring us great hope, for today, right now as we gather, Jesus Christ is seated on the throne ruling in the midst of His enemies. His enemies have no true power. Don’t believe the lie that the devil whispers to you. Death and Satan have already been defeated. Despite the troubles of the world, Jesus is not stressed out pacing back and forth. Christ is seated at the right hand of God as King and there is nothing outside of his rule and reign. His enemies will be made his footstool. A footstool is where you put your dirty grimy feet. Think of Joshua putting his feet on the necks of the 5 Canaanite kings and they were defeated. Because there is no King like Christ, he is completely sovereign. This means that Jesus has your whole life under control. When, disaster strikes, Christ, is still the master of the universe. During the months of June and July because of flooded toilets we were under restoration at both my house and my office. To make it worse, because the flood at our home had to do with the sewer line, our homeowner insurance policy didn’t fully cover the damage. Then delivery of the new floor was delayed, and when it did finally arrive, it came cut wrong from the manufacture. I confess, I was stressed and worried about the situation. I struggled to have peace living in a chaotic and uncertain environment. But the Lord spoke to my spirit. Rest, I am in control of all things, [ “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Rm 8:28). ] I know many of you have and are suffering from sickness, lost loved ones, job issues, financial struggles, and many other difficulties. But good kings provide for their subjects and there’s no king like Christ. The Bible is filled with promises of provision. [Phil 4:19 says “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus”.] 5 And because we are in Christ and He is seated at the right hand of God, so are we.