WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.200 Pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church, and it's my joy to bring God's Word 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:05.620 to you. 00:00:06.219 --> 00:00:10.259 Special welcome if you are new or visiting with us. 00:00:10.679 --> 00:00:15.320 We're glad you're here, and we're glad you're here not because we are interested in filling 00:00:15.320 --> 00:00:20.379 more and more seats, but because we are following Jesus together as one community, and we're 00:00:20.379 --> 00:00:24.760 convinced as we're following after Jesus that there's no one so good that they don't need 00:00:24.760 --> 00:00:27.800 God's grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it. 00:00:27.800 --> 00:00:32.240 And so we believe that everyone who's here, everyone in the world, needs to hear what 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:33.200 God has to say to them. 00:00:34.859 --> 00:00:41.320 As Paul mentioned earlier, we've had two deaths this week in our church community. 00:00:41.480 --> 00:00:47.400 First, our founding pastor, Bob Stewart, who was the man who helped start this church over 00:00:47.400 --> 00:00:51.700 20 years ago, and I had the privilege of meeting his wife, Dina. 00:00:51.700 --> 00:00:56.700 I never had the opportunity to meet Bob, but just keep them in your prayers. 00:00:56.700 --> 00:00:59.980 Their hope is our hope, the hope of the resurrection. 00:01:00.700 --> 00:01:07.980 And of course, we also had our beloved deacon, Stephen Clark, in a very short battle with cancer 00:01:07.980 --> 00:01:08.620 on Thursday. 00:01:09.420 --> 00:01:14.320 And so, first of all, I want to make sure I let you all know that we are going to have 00:01:14.320 --> 00:01:17.700 a memorial service here at 6.30 this Wednesday at the church. 00:01:17.800 --> 00:01:20.100 And so I would encourage all of you to be there. 00:01:20.340 --> 00:01:23.620 I'd love to see all of you there when we, if you were here, when we went through the book 00:01:23.620 --> 00:01:27.300 of Ruth, we talked about the difference between thick and thin communities. 00:01:27.719 --> 00:01:32.540 And one of the things that makes a thick community a thick community is that we are together, we're 00:01:32.540 --> 00:01:34.920 with each other in painful times. 00:01:35.800 --> 00:01:37.359 And it is painful. 00:01:37.500 --> 00:01:39.359 Death is painful and it's brutal. 00:01:40.280 --> 00:01:43.219 And the reason it's painful and it's brutal is because it's unnatural. 00:01:43.640 --> 00:01:45.680 We're never, we weren't made to die. 00:01:45.760 --> 00:01:46.820 We weren't designed to die. 00:01:46.819 --> 00:01:49.859 And that's not the way that God put this world together. 00:01:50.279 --> 00:01:56.479 And so when we encounter death, it, it jars us, whether we've encountered it many times 00:01:56.479 --> 00:01:58.239 before, whether it's for the first time. 00:01:58.539 --> 00:02:05.060 And so just ask that all of you, if you're able, come and join us on Wednesday as we remember 00:02:05.060 --> 00:02:06.819 Stephen and celebrate his life. 00:02:08.340 --> 00:02:13.259 And it is that, it's that reality of death that is part of the tension that we, we experience 00:02:13.259 --> 00:02:13.799 at Advent. 00:02:13.800 --> 00:02:18.280 Remember we talked last week about the season of the Advent, the fact that we are in it 00:02:18.280 --> 00:02:18.820 right now. 00:02:19.300 --> 00:02:23.880 And Advent simply comes from a Latin word that means to come or to arrive. 00:02:24.660 --> 00:02:29.560 And so we celebrate at Advent the fact that Jesus did come and he did arrive here on this 00:02:29.560 --> 00:02:29.820 earth. 00:02:31.160 --> 00:02:36.120 But the tension comes in the fact that while he did arrive, he is not here with us right 00:02:36.120 --> 00:02:36.640 now physically. 00:02:36.780 --> 00:02:37.760 He went back up into heaven. 00:02:38.020 --> 00:02:41.340 And so we're also waiting for him to come and arrive again. 00:02:41.340 --> 00:02:46.900 And Advent then is, is a season that reminds us of what's true of the entire Christian life, 00:02:46.900 --> 00:02:51.420 that we are always looking back and celebrating what God has done in the past. 00:02:52.199 --> 00:02:55.360 And we take hope from that, take confidence from that. 00:02:55.599 --> 00:02:57.680 God has made a down payment, so to speak. 00:02:57.759 --> 00:03:00.280 He's put down earnest money, what he plans to do. 00:03:00.319 --> 00:03:03.379 But then we're always looking forward to what he is going to do in the future. 00:03:03.480 --> 00:03:08.599 We're looking forward to when he is going to finally and fully defeat death. 00:03:08.599 --> 00:03:13.079 Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 that death is the last and final enemy. 00:03:14.299 --> 00:03:16.479 And so that's the tension that we find ourselves in Advent. 00:03:16.599 --> 00:03:18.159 We're always looking back and looking forward. 00:03:18.280 --> 00:03:21.740 You might remember I talked about Christians as people who are, in a sense, always crossing 00:03:21.740 --> 00:03:24.000 the street because we're always looking left and looking right. 00:03:24.419 --> 00:03:28.039 We're always remembering the past and the future as we live in the present. 00:03:28.039 --> 00:03:34.159 We had another death this week in our nation. 00:03:34.739 --> 00:03:39.879 If you've been following the news, you know that George H.W. Bush, the elder, passed away. 00:03:40.599 --> 00:03:43.620 And, of course, it's a sad time for us as a nation. 00:03:43.739 --> 00:03:48.500 It's also something beautiful that I love when a president passes away just because we get 00:03:48.500 --> 00:03:53.699 to see both sides of the aisle come together and get to see tributes. 00:03:53.699 --> 00:03:59.000 People remember what was good and what was helpful and well about someone. 00:03:59.139 --> 00:04:03.619 We hear it from Democrats and Republicans because this is a time when we come together as a nation. 00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:09.959 And so whatever you think about George H.W., whether you liked him as a president, whether 00:04:09.959 --> 00:04:16.959 you didn't like him, whether you were not born yet, it highlights one thing for us, which 00:04:16.959 --> 00:04:24.680 is that we need, we desire, we long for good leaders, we want good leaders, we celebrate 00:04:24.680 --> 00:04:30.759 good leaders, we want people to lead us who look out for others' interests more than their 00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:33.019 own, we want people who are humble, who serve. 00:04:33.859 --> 00:04:34.939 We need leaders. 00:04:35.539 --> 00:04:37.179 We don't just long for them, but we need them. 00:04:37.240 --> 00:04:40.599 We need people who will help us work and walk towards the future. 00:04:40.600 --> 00:04:45.260 And so you might wonder, what does George H.W. Bush have to do with Advent? 00:04:47.220 --> 00:04:51.800 Well, we don't have kings in the U.S., we have presidents, but it's the closest that we 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:52.020 get. 00:04:52.280 --> 00:04:55.680 And as we think about Christmas, Jesus is also a king. 00:04:57.760 --> 00:05:03.340 We talked last week in the Psalms about our sorrow and the fact that we look at Jesus coming 00:05:03.340 --> 00:05:07.080 to give us hope in the midst of that, but that's not the only thing we look to. 00:05:07.140 --> 00:05:08.680 We also look to Jesus as our king. 00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:12.379 If you were with us in the book of Matthew, this will be a review, so I'll go quickly, 00:05:12.540 --> 00:05:17.340 but we're told over and over, attended to and alluded to, that Jesus is the great king. 00:05:17.439 --> 00:05:21.060 We find out in the book of Matthew, the very first verse, which is a way of saying he is 00:05:21.060 --> 00:05:25.780 the one who's come to fulfill all the promises that God has given about a future and great 00:05:25.780 --> 00:05:26.060 king. 00:05:27.060 --> 00:05:31.600 This then leads straight into a genealogy in the book of Matthew, and this genealogy is 00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:32.340 filled with kings. 00:05:32.460 --> 00:05:35.879 So if we had any doubt that Jesus was going to be a king, we have that. 00:05:35.879 --> 00:05:40.759 And then we read just this morning in our New Testament reading that why it's the king 00:05:40.759 --> 00:05:41.980 of the Jews that they're seeking. 00:05:42.899 --> 00:05:45.620 And they come bringing him gifts that are fitting for a king. 00:05:46.980 --> 00:05:52.439 And so part of the tension that we experience in Advent is that we are living under imperfect, 00:05:53.579 --> 00:05:58.439 flawed, sometimes good, but sometimes evil, sometimes wicked leadership. 00:05:58.439 --> 00:06:01.740 And so that's part of the longing that we feel. 00:06:02.439 --> 00:06:05.500 It's not wrong to want good leaders. 00:06:05.620 --> 00:06:06.839 It's part of how God designed us. 00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:08.060 It's part of how he made us. 00:06:08.839 --> 00:06:14.420 And yet we often live in a world where we suffer under leadership that is at best imperfect 00:06:14.420 --> 00:06:17.540 and at worst wicked or evil. 00:06:18.920 --> 00:06:22.519 And so part of what we're looking forward to, part of what we're longing for in Advent 00:06:22.519 --> 00:06:23.759 is we're longing for a king. 00:06:23.759 --> 00:06:30.579 We're longing for a good and true and righteous king that will do what is right and rule in 00:06:30.579 --> 00:06:31.360 ways that are right. 00:06:32.420 --> 00:06:33.659 And so this is part of the prophecy. 00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:36.139 This is what we see in the Old Testament that talks about Jesus. 00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:37.959 It talks about him as this king. 00:06:38.060 --> 00:06:39.560 In Isaiah chapter 9, it says, 00:06:39.560 --> 00:06:56.240 And so we are celebrating the coming of a king when we look back to Jesus' first coming. 00:06:56.779 --> 00:07:01.259 And we are anticipating the final coming and reign of a king when we look to his second coming. 00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:04.199 And so that's where we're going to be in the Psalms this morning. 00:07:04.300 --> 00:07:06.340 Last week we were in Psalm 13. 00:07:06.519 --> 00:07:07.480 It was a psalm of lament. 00:07:07.480 --> 00:07:10.700 I promise you we're not going to be in lament for all of Advent. 00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:14.360 And so we're not going to say how long every single psalm. 00:07:14.700 --> 00:07:19.740 And a royal psalm would have been a song sung by the Old Testament people of Israel to the king. 00:07:19.960 --> 00:07:20.840 We should talk to God. 00:07:21.379 --> 00:07:24.840 God gave his people models of how they should pray about their leaders, about their kings. 00:07:25.460 --> 00:07:28.420 Real prayers about real kings, but they're also prayers of longing. 00:07:28.520 --> 00:07:32.439 Because we're going to see in this psalm that there are things that are fulfilled in a man. 00:07:32.520 --> 00:07:34.319 They have to be fulfilled in someone who's greater. 00:07:34.319 --> 00:07:37.379 And so we're in Psalm 72. 00:07:37.540 --> 00:07:41.120 Remember that this is God's word. 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:43.180 And God tells us, 00:07:43.340 --> 00:08:00.560 Verse 5. 00:08:00.560 --> 00:08:04.839 God told us to, 00:08:04.839 --> 00:08:09.199 Verse 8. 00:08:10.060 --> 00:08:13.859 May he have dominion from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. 00:08:14.599 --> 00:08:18.299 May desert tribes bow down before him and his enemies lick the dust. 00:08:19.399 --> 00:08:22.559 May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute. 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:25.620 May the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts. 00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:28.139 May all kings fall down before him. 00:08:28.359 --> 00:08:29.759 All nations serve him. 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:31.279 Verse 12. 00:08:34.840 --> 00:08:48.759 Verse 15. 00:09:04.840 --> 00:09:08.180 And may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field. 00:09:09.160 --> 00:09:10.600 May his name endure forever. 00:09:11.080 --> 00:09:13.080 His fame continue as long as the sun. 00:09:13.780 --> 00:09:15.200 May people be blessed in him. 00:09:15.460 --> 00:09:16.940 All nations call him blessed. 00:09:17.960 --> 00:09:21.780 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. 00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:22.960 Verse 19. 00:09:24.019 --> 00:09:26.980 May the prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended. 00:09:26.980 --> 00:09:27.080 Amen. 00:09:28.920 --> 00:09:31.519 Please pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word. 00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:37.860 Dear Father in heaven, we thank you for your word that gives us life. 00:09:38.960 --> 00:09:41.259 And so we ask that you would do that now. 00:09:41.720 --> 00:09:47.379 That you would send your word to do what you did at the beginning of creation where you brought something out of nothing. 00:09:47.980 --> 00:09:49.399 And you brought dead things to life. 00:09:49.480 --> 00:09:51.019 We ask that you would do that for us. 00:09:51.019 --> 00:09:55.799 That you would take the parts of us that are hard and hardened. 00:09:56.679 --> 00:09:57.539 That are numb. 00:09:57.799 --> 00:09:58.600 That are confused. 00:09:59.279 --> 00:10:00.419 That you'd send your word. 00:10:00.980 --> 00:10:01.960 And you'd give us life. 00:10:02.759 --> 00:10:04.360 We ask this in the name of your son. 00:10:05.220 --> 00:10:05.519 Amen. 00:10:08.399 --> 00:10:13.399 So I want us to ask one, maybe two questions as we look at this psalm. 00:10:13.500 --> 00:10:16.600 First, what sort of world is Jesus meant to bring? 00:10:17.620 --> 00:10:20.000 I think what kind of king is he supposed to be? 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:21.360 What kind of king is he meant to be? 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:24.299 And another way of asking that question would be, 00:10:24.740 --> 00:10:29.039 why, let's say that you are someone who has questions or doubts about Christianity. 00:10:29.820 --> 00:10:33.620 Why should you desperately want Christianity to be true? 00:10:35.139 --> 00:10:38.779 What sort of world, what sort of kingdom is Jesus supposed to bring? 00:10:39.399 --> 00:10:43.120 And why would you desperately want that kingdom, even if you don't believe in it? 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:47.480 What is so good and so wonderful about Jesus as our king? 00:10:47.480 --> 00:10:53.700 We talked last week about the importance of repetition in the psalms and really in the Bible in general. 00:10:53.779 --> 00:11:03.420 And we saw in Psalm 13 that the phrase, how long, was repeated four times as a way of underscoring and highlighting what was so important to the psalmist. 00:11:03.419 --> 00:11:08.159 And so did you notice this time, were you watching for what was repeated over and over? 00:11:11.399 --> 00:11:17.879 In the first couple of verses we see justice and righteousness repeated over and over. 00:11:17.879 --> 00:11:26.620 We see justice in verses 1 and 2 twice and then righteousness occurs three times in a row, verses 1, 2, and 3. 00:11:27.399 --> 00:11:34.159 And so we find out that this king, what the greatest part of his kingdom is going to be, the very foundation, 00:11:35.559 --> 00:11:39.899 what comes before what we'll see later, what comes before prosperity, what comes before compassion, 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:42.240 what comes before his defense of the poor. 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:44.100 And this king is going to do all of those things. 00:11:44.700 --> 00:11:48.120 But what comes before all of them is his justice and his righteousness. 00:11:49.399 --> 00:11:53.080 That there is nothing that can stand except on those foundations. 00:11:53.740 --> 00:11:57.460 And so that is what is most important for this king that is going to come, 00:11:57.539 --> 00:12:00.180 that he would be a just king and a righteous king. 00:12:00.179 --> 00:12:03.620 Now when we talk about justice, when the Bible thinks about justice, 00:12:03.879 --> 00:12:06.919 it's pretty similar to what we would think about in our world. 00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:11.079 If you're familiar with the famous images of Lady Justice, 00:12:11.219 --> 00:12:14.899 what is it that she always has besides the scales? 00:12:17.099 --> 00:12:18.419 She always has a blindfold. 00:12:19.419 --> 00:12:23.359 Because she is not going to give preference to the poor or the rich. 00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:29.519 She's not going to look and treat someone differently than another person. 00:12:30.179 --> 00:12:33.519 And so this is why later we're going to see that this king is a defender of the poor. 00:12:34.139 --> 00:12:38.399 He's not someone that in this situation gives preference to the rich, to the powerful. 00:12:38.519 --> 00:12:42.960 Now there are other situations where someone in power might be tempted to give preference 00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:45.939 to someone who is poor or defenseless, but that's not usually the case. 00:12:46.500 --> 00:12:50.460 And especially in the ancient world, it would have been the temptation for any leader or ruler 00:12:50.460 --> 00:12:54.079 to give a preference to someone who is powerful, who had influence. 00:12:54.559 --> 00:12:58.340 And so we find out that this ruler, the foundation of everything comes 00:12:58.340 --> 00:13:00.740 and the ability for him to bring true justice. 00:13:01.820 --> 00:13:06.300 He's able to look and see everything as it is without giving preference or bias. 00:13:07.420 --> 00:13:11.240 But that justice, that looking at everything without preference or bias 00:13:11.240 --> 00:13:12.620 is also governed by righteousness. 00:13:13.720 --> 00:13:16.580 And this righteousness in the Old Testament and the New Testament 00:13:16.580 --> 00:13:19.740 would have been simply the things that God loves. 00:13:19.740 --> 00:13:26.600 The king in the Old Testament would have been someone who was supposed to learn everything 00:13:26.600 --> 00:13:28.240 they could about God and his ways. 00:13:28.360 --> 00:13:31.480 In fact, we're told at one point in the Old Testament that the king is supposed to write 00:13:31.480 --> 00:13:36.299 down his own copy of God's law by hand so that he knows it so well. 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:39.960 And then he's meant to represent God to his people. 00:13:39.960 --> 00:13:46.040 And so this is someone who's not just just, but they're in line with everything God's in line with. 00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:47.800 They love everything that God loves. 00:13:47.879 --> 00:13:52.340 They understand the way that God has made the world, and they want the world to continue in that way. 00:13:53.139 --> 00:13:55.920 And that's the foundation for everything that they do. 00:13:56.620 --> 00:14:00.200 And that's where the house here of this king is built. 00:14:00.300 --> 00:14:02.600 The foundation is going to be justice and righteousness. 00:14:02.600 --> 00:14:06.960 And then we see that this is not something that is clinical or cold. 00:14:08.440 --> 00:14:12.440 It's not justice or righteousness that holds us at a distance. 00:14:12.800 --> 00:14:15.100 But it's justice and righteousness that bears fruit. 00:14:15.220 --> 00:14:17.519 And we immediately see the kind of fruit that it bears. 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:22.720 Verse 3, the mountains are going to bear prosperity for the people and the hills. 00:14:23.740 --> 00:14:26.560 So the first thing that's going to come when God's ways are followed 00:14:26.560 --> 00:14:29.440 is that God's people are going to see this king doing over and over. 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:33.160 Verse 4, he's going to defend the cause of the poor of the people. 00:14:33.620 --> 00:14:35.860 He's going to deliver the needy and crush the oppressor. 00:14:36.640 --> 00:14:39.200 So this justice that's going to come, this righteousness, 00:14:39.380 --> 00:14:41.340 it's going to lead to blessing for God's people. 00:14:41.960 --> 00:14:45.500 That's going to be the natural fruit, the natural result of justice and righteousness. 00:14:46.060 --> 00:14:49.180 But it's also going to lead to people who are otherwise oppressed. 00:14:49.880 --> 00:14:51.800 They're going to be protected instead. 00:14:53.120 --> 00:14:56.100 People who are poor and needy are going to be provided for. 00:14:57.340 --> 00:14:58.940 And there's going to be a double side. 00:14:58.940 --> 00:15:02.920 There's always two sides to the defending of the poor, 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:04.460 and that's the crushing of the oppressor. 00:15:05.940 --> 00:15:09.100 And so this is not just a warm and kind king, 00:15:09.180 --> 00:15:12.620 but this is a king who's willing to do what has to be done to destroy evil. 00:15:13.580 --> 00:15:17.240 So while he loves righteousness, and that means prosperity, 00:15:17.340 --> 00:15:19.220 the promoting of everything that God loves, 00:15:19.260 --> 00:15:21.000 it also means that he hates wickedness. 00:15:22.260 --> 00:15:23.780 And so this is the foundation. 00:15:23.980 --> 00:15:27.040 This is the kind of king that God's people are praying for. 00:15:27.039 --> 00:15:33.000 This is the kind of king that we'll see in a minute is going to find his ultimate fulfillment only in Jesus. 00:15:33.659 --> 00:15:37.439 Because that's the only person who's going to be able to do what we see in verses 5 and 11. 00:15:38.799 --> 00:15:40.419 Well, let's stop here for a second. 00:15:41.980 --> 00:15:43.599 We see several things right off the bat. 00:15:43.600 --> 00:15:47.600 First, it is right and good for us to pray for our leaders. 00:15:48.820 --> 00:15:52.180 While this psalm finds its fulfillment in Jesus, 00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:57.340 it was given to God's people to pray for their actual kings in actual space and actual time. 00:15:57.340 --> 00:16:01.340 So this was something that they would have prayed in their worship services, 00:16:01.519 --> 00:16:04.600 asking God to actually bless the king that was there with them now. 00:16:05.540 --> 00:16:10.540 There's a lot of talk all the time in the Christian world about politics and what we should do about it. 00:16:11.019 --> 00:16:13.899 And there are people on one side who will throw stones at people on the other. 00:16:14.019 --> 00:16:16.920 Some people believe that politics is something we need to rush into. 00:16:17.200 --> 00:16:19.860 Other people believe politics is something we need to stay away from. 00:16:20.620 --> 00:16:22.759 Here, I'm just going to stick with what this psalm says. 00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:24.580 We need good leaders. 00:16:26.019 --> 00:16:28.919 We need leaders who love justice and righteousness. 00:16:30.139 --> 00:16:32.120 And it's not wrong for us to long for that. 00:16:32.200 --> 00:16:33.560 It's not wrong for us to want that. 00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:36.720 God has given us a psalm in his word where we do just that. 00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:40.960 And so it's appropriate for us to pray for the people that God puts over us. 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:43.019 We see the same thing in the New Testament. 00:16:43.820 --> 00:16:45.580 I believe it's in 1 Timothy 2. 00:16:45.580 --> 00:16:49.600 Paul tells the church that they should be praying for the people who have leadership over them. 00:16:49.860 --> 00:16:55.919 But secondly, I want you to imagine the best leader that you can think of. 00:16:56.940 --> 00:17:01.960 It might be a parent who always knows exactly how to settle disputes. 00:17:03.060 --> 00:17:11.200 Never prefers one child over the other but has wisdom about how to divide and encourage but also how to punish. 00:17:12.620 --> 00:17:17.579 It could be a CEO or a leader who knows how to put his people ahead of him. 00:17:17.579 --> 00:17:19.619 Who does what we see in verse 4. 00:17:19.740 --> 00:17:21.879 He defends the cause of the poor and needy. 00:17:22.599 --> 00:17:23.740 Delivers the oppressor. 00:17:25.220 --> 00:17:27.000 I think of Jim Senegal. 00:17:27.119 --> 00:17:29.559 He's the former CEO of Costco. 00:17:29.960 --> 00:17:38.720 And he was famous for accepting a salary that was exponentially lower than that of other CEOs who had a status similar to his. 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:45.519 If you compared him to other stores that were similar in size, he made a salary that was probably three or four times less. 00:17:46.600 --> 00:17:52.620 And on top of that, he became known for paying his employees a higher rate than anyone else in their whole industry. 00:17:52.619 --> 00:17:58.919 And I'm going to head in an opposite direction than what I usually do with an illustration. 00:18:00.219 --> 00:18:05.679 This king in verses 1 through 4 is going to make Jim Senegal seem very, very boring. 00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:14.580 He's going to make the greatest parent, the greatest human leader that we can think of seem just commonplace. 00:18:15.299 --> 00:18:17.720 Maybe even not quite up to the standard. 00:18:19.380 --> 00:18:20.799 And so another way of saying it is this. 00:18:20.900 --> 00:18:23.840 Think of a good and righteous leader that's a person. 00:18:25.220 --> 00:18:26.060 And then think this. 00:18:26.200 --> 00:18:30.460 How much greater and better must God be as a king? 00:18:30.460 --> 00:18:37.680 If we can see and find human examples of kingship that are good and just and right, 00:18:38.700 --> 00:18:40.600 and that's what the psalmist is praying for here, 00:18:40.920 --> 00:18:45.019 how much greater must Jesus be as a king? 00:18:45.900 --> 00:18:48.559 If he is the king of kings and lord of lords, 00:18:49.420 --> 00:18:51.000 how much more just? 00:18:51.700 --> 00:18:52.860 How much more righteous? 00:18:53.480 --> 00:18:54.579 How much wiser? 00:18:55.140 --> 00:18:58.600 If Jim Senegal can bring prosperity to Costco, 00:18:58.599 --> 00:19:03.419 how much prosperity can this king bring? 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:04.299 How much more? 00:19:06.439 --> 00:19:09.740 And so as we look at good kings, at good rulers, 00:19:09.859 --> 00:19:13.119 we can say, how much more will Jesus be than that? 00:19:13.799 --> 00:19:16.379 And as we look at bad kings and bad rulers, 00:19:16.480 --> 00:19:18.959 we can long for Jesus knowing that he's going to come 00:19:18.959 --> 00:19:21.500 and do what we see here in verses 1 through 4. 00:19:21.500 --> 00:19:27.980 Now, I said that this was a prayer for real kings 00:19:27.980 --> 00:19:29.700 that also looked towards the ultimate king, 00:19:29.779 --> 00:19:33.839 and that's what we're going to see in verses 5 through 11. 00:19:34.599 --> 00:19:38.740 We see that this is going to be a king not just founding his rule 00:19:38.740 --> 00:19:40.579 and reign in righteousness and justice, 00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:44.319 but he's going to be a king everywhere, all the time, over everyone. 00:19:44.319 --> 00:19:48.419 That's basically the summary of verses 5 through 11. 00:19:49.339 --> 00:19:51.960 He's going to rule while the sun endures and as long as the moon, 00:19:53.079 --> 00:19:54.639 also known as a really long time, 00:19:55.579 --> 00:19:59.299 throughout all generations, also known as forever. 00:20:01.019 --> 00:20:03.159 He's going to have dominion from sea to sea 00:20:03.159 --> 00:20:05.679 and from the river to the ends of the earth, verse 9, 00:20:06.359 --> 00:20:07.539 also known as everywhere. 00:20:07.539 --> 00:20:12.700 These images we have of desert tribes coming down before him, 00:20:12.779 --> 00:20:14.619 these kings of Tarshish and the coastlands, 00:20:14.659 --> 00:20:15.759 this is the known world. 00:20:15.859 --> 00:20:17.099 This is what the psalmist knows. 00:20:18.079 --> 00:20:18.599 And so he's saying, 00:20:18.700 --> 00:20:21.339 as far away as I know, people are going to come to this king. 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:24.420 We see that. 00:20:24.480 --> 00:20:27.019 We saw that in our New Testament reading today, 00:20:27.180 --> 00:20:29.079 that when the Magi are coming, 00:20:29.159 --> 00:20:31.159 they are coming to worship God as a king, 00:20:31.899 --> 00:20:32.700 worshiping Jesus, 00:20:32.980 --> 00:20:34.799 and they are coming from far away. 00:20:34.799 --> 00:20:38.119 And so they're just a small taste, 00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:39.599 they're just a small sampling 00:20:39.599 --> 00:20:45.500 of what is going to ultimately be fulfilled in this greatest king. 00:20:46.259 --> 00:20:49.180 Just as the Magi came from a far away land, 00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:54.079 everyone is going to come to this king from every land. 00:20:54.859 --> 00:20:56.220 He's going to rule forever, 00:20:56.440 --> 00:20:58.779 and he is going to rule over everyone. 00:21:00.059 --> 00:21:02.480 And so that's where we see that this is a king 00:21:02.480 --> 00:21:06.160 who cannot be seen and found in an earthly man. 00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:10.980 This is how we see and know that this king is coming, 00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:15.740 and it's going to be more than just a good CEO, 00:21:15.980 --> 00:21:17.279 a good ruler, a good president, 00:21:17.579 --> 00:21:20.059 a good father, a good mother. 00:21:21.160 --> 00:21:23.120 This is going to be an even greater king. 00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:28.620 Now, if you think that this sounds a little far-fetched, 00:21:28.619 --> 00:21:31.659 so we just think about this on the face, right? 00:21:31.739 --> 00:21:32.879 Jesus is someone who came, 00:21:32.959 --> 00:21:34.219 we celebrate him in the past. 00:21:35.639 --> 00:21:36.799 It would be tempting to think, 00:21:37.239 --> 00:21:39.699 okay, this sounds a little bit strange, Matthew. 00:21:40.379 --> 00:21:44.279 You believe that this man who came as a baby 2,000 years ago 00:21:44.279 --> 00:21:47.500 is also going to come back and return to the earth, 00:21:47.659 --> 00:21:50.779 and he's going to fulfill our hopes for good leadership. 00:21:53.159 --> 00:21:54.379 And so I'll ask you a question. 00:21:54.380 --> 00:21:57.880 Which requires greater faith? 00:21:59.100 --> 00:22:02.480 To believe that Jesus is going to come back 00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:05.480 and be our great king and restore everything? 00:22:05.620 --> 00:22:06.800 Does that require greater faith? 00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:09.620 Or does it require greater faith to believe 00:22:09.620 --> 00:22:11.120 what many people believe today, 00:22:11.580 --> 00:22:14.460 that somehow we as people are going to be able 00:22:14.460 --> 00:22:16.000 to create this kind of world? 00:22:18.200 --> 00:22:19.880 Which is there more evidence of? 00:22:19.900 --> 00:22:22.880 Is there more evidence of our capacity as human beings 00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:26.400 to create a perfect world of justice and righteousness? 00:22:27.840 --> 00:22:30.720 Or is there more evidence that Jesus could come back 00:22:30.720 --> 00:22:32.740 and create a perfect world of justice and righteousness? 00:22:36.320 --> 00:22:37.480 I'll make a bold claim. 00:22:38.600 --> 00:22:41.780 There is no proof that we as human beings 00:22:41.780 --> 00:22:43.360 are going to be able to create a world 00:22:43.360 --> 00:22:44.640 of perfect justice and righteousness. 00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:50.240 There's no proof in the history of the world. 00:22:50.340 --> 00:22:51.400 There's no proof right now. 00:22:51.500 --> 00:22:53.660 There's no proof that we can look to. 00:22:54.140 --> 00:22:57.020 However, we do have reason to hope in Jesus as our king. 00:22:58.220 --> 00:22:59.820 What we're celebrating in Advent 00:22:59.820 --> 00:23:03.520 is that Jesus actually came as an actual man 2,000 years ago. 00:23:04.580 --> 00:23:07.060 That he lived a perfect life on this earth. 00:23:08.420 --> 00:23:11.640 That he then died the death that we should have died. 00:23:11.640 --> 00:23:12.240 That he died. 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:14.520 And after that, he rose from the dead. 00:23:16.560 --> 00:23:18.840 And that's not a pie-in-the-sky belief. 00:23:19.920 --> 00:23:21.560 Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 00:23:21.560 --> 00:23:23.660 that there were hundreds of witnesses 00:23:23.660 --> 00:23:25.580 who saw Jesus after he rose from the dead. 00:23:26.280 --> 00:23:27.840 And he was writing this at a time 00:23:27.840 --> 00:23:30.040 where many of those witnesses would have been still alive. 00:23:31.140 --> 00:23:31.759 And so the point is, 00:23:31.860 --> 00:23:33.740 if you don't believe me right now in the first century, 00:23:33.800 --> 00:23:35.240 you should go ask some of those people. 00:23:35.240 --> 00:23:41.480 So this psalm presents to us 00:23:41.480 --> 00:23:44.960 the greatest and not just the greatest, 00:23:45.099 --> 00:23:46.960 but the only fulfillment of a longing 00:23:46.960 --> 00:23:48.400 that God has put in our hearts. 00:23:49.680 --> 00:23:52.319 And that is the longing for true justice 00:23:52.319 --> 00:23:53.599 and true righteousness. 00:23:54.420 --> 00:23:56.599 For a king that is actually going to 00:23:56.599 --> 00:23:59.740 put his people above himself. 00:23:59.740 --> 00:24:04.420 And Jesus is our best and greatest hope for that. 00:24:05.140 --> 00:24:06.880 In his coming, in his first coming 00:24:06.880 --> 00:24:08.140 that we celebrate at Advent, 00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:09.480 in his death and his resurrection, 00:24:09.660 --> 00:24:12.220 he put down what we could call earnest money. 00:24:12.519 --> 00:24:13.640 He made a down payment. 00:24:15.519 --> 00:24:17.000 He did enough to show us 00:24:17.000 --> 00:24:18.960 that he was not just serious, 00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:21.660 but he had the ability to do 00:24:21.660 --> 00:24:23.220 what he now promises us he will do. 00:24:23.880 --> 00:24:26.279 If someone can rise again from the dead, 00:24:27.140 --> 00:24:29.599 then I don't have a problem believing their claim. 00:24:29.740 --> 00:24:31.200 That they're going to come back again. 00:24:33.539 --> 00:24:35.620 That is the down payment, the earnest money, 00:24:35.700 --> 00:24:37.620 the proof that God has given us. 00:24:38.079 --> 00:24:39.920 That this is where we are going to find 00:24:39.920 --> 00:24:41.259 the fulfillment of our longing 00:24:41.259 --> 00:24:42.740 for a true and perfect king. 00:24:43.079 --> 00:24:43.779 It's in Jesus. 00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:53.140 Now there's a distrust that we have of authority. 00:24:53.480 --> 00:24:55.759 There's a dislike that we have of it. 00:24:55.779 --> 00:24:56.839 That's for multiple reasons. 00:24:57.440 --> 00:24:58.940 So some of it's for good reason, right? 00:24:58.940 --> 00:25:00.180 Some of us have experienced, 00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:01.539 probably all of us have experienced 00:25:01.539 --> 00:25:03.240 bad authority, imperfect authority. 00:25:04.120 --> 00:25:07.320 Whether it's rulers or parents 00:25:07.320 --> 00:25:09.200 or teachers or officials of any sort, 00:25:09.259 --> 00:25:10.120 we've encountered someone 00:25:10.120 --> 00:25:12.779 who cared more about their own needs 00:25:12.779 --> 00:25:13.440 than our needs. 00:25:13.740 --> 00:25:15.340 So there are right reasons 00:25:15.340 --> 00:25:17.039 that we distrust authority. 00:25:17.220 --> 00:25:18.600 There's also wrong reasons, right? 00:25:18.960 --> 00:25:20.039 We're sinful people, 00:25:20.180 --> 00:25:22.340 and so we don't like even a good authority. 00:25:22.460 --> 00:25:23.600 We don't like someone telling us 00:25:23.600 --> 00:25:24.240 what we need to do. 00:25:24.320 --> 00:25:25.360 We don't like someone telling us 00:25:25.360 --> 00:25:25.940 that we're wrong. 00:25:25.940 --> 00:25:28.840 So there's good and bad reasons 00:25:28.840 --> 00:25:31.100 for distrusting authority. 00:25:33.100 --> 00:25:34.940 What this psalm is telling us 00:25:34.940 --> 00:25:37.320 is that there is going to be a king 00:25:37.320 --> 00:25:39.680 who is only a life-giving authority. 00:25:41.720 --> 00:25:43.900 That this king is going to be 00:25:43.900 --> 00:25:48.539 someone who will have no good reason 00:25:48.539 --> 00:25:50.180 not to trust and love. 00:25:50.180 --> 00:25:52.860 This will be someone who puts, 00:25:53.140 --> 00:25:54.360 as we talked about in Philippians, 00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:56.000 others' interests ahead of his own. 00:25:56.180 --> 00:25:58.960 But one of my favorite definitions 00:25:58.960 --> 00:25:59.860 of perfect authority 00:25:59.860 --> 00:26:01.680 comes from a man who puts it like this. 00:26:02.880 --> 00:26:04.019 The greatest authority, 00:26:05.100 --> 00:26:05.960 the greatest leader, 00:26:06.080 --> 00:26:08.680 is someone who cares more about you, 00:26:08.799 --> 00:26:09.920 not just more than... 00:26:09.920 --> 00:26:11.400 They don't just care more about you 00:26:11.400 --> 00:26:12.740 than they care about themselves. 00:26:12.740 --> 00:26:15.259 They care more about you 00:26:15.259 --> 00:26:16.620 than you care about yourself. 00:26:19.220 --> 00:26:21.420 They don't just care more about you 00:26:21.420 --> 00:26:22.319 than about themselves. 00:26:22.420 --> 00:26:23.420 They care more about you 00:26:23.420 --> 00:26:24.900 than you know how to care for yourself. 00:26:26.059 --> 00:26:27.420 And this is what the just 00:26:27.420 --> 00:26:28.660 and righteous king does 00:26:28.660 --> 00:26:30.620 because he wants righteousness 00:26:30.620 --> 00:26:32.220 and justice for you 00:26:32.220 --> 00:26:33.059 even when you don't. 00:26:34.920 --> 00:26:36.460 He wants everything good 00:26:36.460 --> 00:26:38.539 that God has for his people 00:26:38.539 --> 00:26:40.420 even when we don't. 00:26:40.420 --> 00:26:44.600 And so that's what we see in this king. 00:26:44.700 --> 00:26:46.820 We see not just that he's going to rule 00:26:46.820 --> 00:26:48.160 everywhere over everything, 00:26:49.480 --> 00:26:51.480 but then we see he's going to be 00:26:51.480 --> 00:26:52.640 a different kind of king 00:26:52.640 --> 00:26:54.200 in verses 12 through 14. 00:26:55.420 --> 00:26:56.500 He's going to be a king 00:26:56.500 --> 00:26:58.279 who delivers the needy and the poor. 00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:00.620 He's going to have pity 00:27:00.620 --> 00:27:01.840 on the weak and the needy. 00:27:05.420 --> 00:27:06.539 He's going to deliver 00:27:06.539 --> 00:27:08.200 from oppression and violence. 00:27:08.200 --> 00:27:10.920 You notice that 4 00:27:10.920 --> 00:27:12.160 at the beginning of verse 12? 00:27:15.259 --> 00:27:15.980 That's telling us 00:27:15.980 --> 00:27:16.819 this is the reason 00:27:16.819 --> 00:27:17.860 he's going to be the king 00:27:17.860 --> 00:27:18.580 over everything 00:27:18.580 --> 00:27:19.440 and the king everywhere. 00:27:20.259 --> 00:27:21.480 Now if we naturally think 00:27:21.480 --> 00:27:23.039 of someone who's going to be 00:27:23.039 --> 00:27:23.840 the king everywhere 00:27:23.840 --> 00:27:24.420 over everything, 00:27:24.519 --> 00:27:25.420 we might think of someone 00:27:25.420 --> 00:27:26.480 like Alexander the Great, 00:27:26.600 --> 00:27:28.460 someone who has great military skill 00:27:28.460 --> 00:27:29.220 or prowess, 00:27:30.720 --> 00:27:32.180 someone who's a large personality. 00:27:32.840 --> 00:27:33.980 You might say he's going to rule 00:27:33.980 --> 00:27:35.140 everything over everywhere 00:27:35.140 --> 00:27:36.120 because he's unstoppable. 00:27:36.119 --> 00:27:38.179 Or he's going to rule 00:27:38.179 --> 00:27:39.759 over everything everywhere 00:27:39.759 --> 00:27:41.379 because of his strength 00:27:41.379 --> 00:27:42.039 of personality. 00:27:43.759 --> 00:27:44.519 But here we have 00:27:44.519 --> 00:27:45.459 a very different 4. 00:27:46.339 --> 00:27:47.559 He's going to rule 00:27:47.559 --> 00:27:48.719 over everything everywhere 00:27:48.719 --> 00:27:50.039 because, wait for it, 00:27:50.839 --> 00:27:52.479 he delivers the needy 00:27:52.479 --> 00:27:53.019 when he calls. 00:27:55.259 --> 00:27:56.059 And the poor, 00:27:56.379 --> 00:27:57.419 he has pity on the weak. 00:27:58.559 --> 00:27:59.039 In other words, 00:27:59.099 --> 00:28:00.439 what's going to take this king 00:28:00.439 --> 00:28:01.219 and thrust him 00:28:01.219 --> 00:28:02.359 to the greatest place 00:28:02.359 --> 00:28:03.479 and give him 00:28:03.479 --> 00:28:04.419 the ultimate authority 00:28:04.419 --> 00:28:07.479 is not going to be 00:28:07.479 --> 00:28:10.019 his strength of personality. 00:28:11.339 --> 00:28:12.259 It's not going to be 00:28:12.259 --> 00:28:13.639 his military prowess. 00:28:14.099 --> 00:28:15.059 It's going to be 00:28:15.059 --> 00:28:16.119 because he's going to save 00:28:16.119 --> 00:28:17.179 the people who are crushed. 00:28:20.500 --> 00:28:21.299 That's what we saw 00:28:21.299 --> 00:28:22.599 in Philippians chapter 2. 00:28:23.339 --> 00:28:24.139 It's Christ's humility. 00:28:24.299 --> 00:28:24.759 That's the reason 00:28:24.759 --> 00:28:25.479 that God gives him 00:28:25.479 --> 00:28:26.459 the name that's above 00:28:26.459 --> 00:28:27.399 every other name. 00:28:28.699 --> 00:28:30.000 But it's also what we see 00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:31.000 in the story of Advent. 00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:33.519 We have a king 00:28:33.519 --> 00:28:35.059 who comes and is born 00:28:35.059 --> 00:28:35.700 in a manger 00:28:35.700 --> 00:28:38.059 rather than a palace. 00:28:39.819 --> 00:28:40.759 We have a king 00:28:40.759 --> 00:28:42.099 who doesn't come 00:28:42.099 --> 00:28:43.119 and conquer his enemies, 00:28:44.059 --> 00:28:45.400 but he lets them 00:28:45.400 --> 00:28:46.220 kill him instead. 00:28:48.059 --> 00:28:49.700 When he rides into the city 00:28:49.700 --> 00:28:50.240 that he's supposed 00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:51.180 to be a king over, 00:28:51.259 --> 00:28:51.880 he doesn't come 00:28:51.880 --> 00:28:52.680 on a war horse. 00:28:52.759 --> 00:28:53.180 Instead, 00:28:54.200 --> 00:28:55.180 he comes on a donkey. 00:28:58.680 --> 00:28:59.680 And so this is what 00:28:59.680 --> 00:29:00.500 Paul tells us about 00:29:00.500 --> 00:29:01.299 in 1 Corinthians. 00:29:01.460 --> 00:29:03.200 He says that the gospel 00:29:03.200 --> 00:29:04.680 is foolishness. 00:29:06.180 --> 00:29:07.200 And what he means 00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:07.680 is that, 00:29:07.759 --> 00:29:09.019 as one person has put it, 00:29:09.059 --> 00:29:10.180 he means that Jesus 00:29:10.180 --> 00:29:11.839 takes an instrument 00:29:11.839 --> 00:29:12.400 of torture 00:29:12.400 --> 00:29:14.019 and he turns it 00:29:14.019 --> 00:29:14.599 into an instrument 00:29:14.599 --> 00:29:15.240 of salvation. 00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:18.460 And so this greatest king, 00:29:18.819 --> 00:29:20.319 this great authority 00:29:20.319 --> 00:29:21.140 that we long for 00:29:21.140 --> 00:29:21.759 is going to be 00:29:21.759 --> 00:29:22.579 the great king 00:29:22.579 --> 00:29:24.579 for reasons different 00:29:24.579 --> 00:29:25.519 than any other king. 00:29:26.460 --> 00:29:27.299 He's going to be 00:29:27.299 --> 00:29:28.019 the great king 00:29:28.019 --> 00:29:29.180 because of his deliverance 00:29:29.180 --> 00:29:29.740 of the needy. 00:29:30.440 --> 00:29:31.180 That's how he's going 00:29:31.180 --> 00:29:31.779 to bring about 00:29:31.779 --> 00:29:32.759 his justice 00:29:32.759 --> 00:29:33.839 and his righteousness. 00:29:34.039 --> 00:29:34.500 That's what's going 00:29:34.500 --> 00:29:35.400 to bring prosperity. 00:29:37.619 --> 00:29:38.759 And so while this is 00:29:38.759 --> 00:29:39.599 a psalm 00:29:39.599 --> 00:29:41.200 that is about 00:29:41.200 --> 00:29:41.920 an earthly king, 00:29:41.980 --> 00:29:42.720 it looks for its 00:29:42.720 --> 00:29:43.139 fulfillment 00:29:43.139 --> 00:29:44.700 in a heavenly king. 00:29:46.639 --> 00:29:47.639 And so as we look 00:29:47.639 --> 00:29:48.599 through in verses 00:29:48.599 --> 00:29:49.279 1 through 4, 00:29:49.359 --> 00:29:49.920 first we see 00:29:49.920 --> 00:29:50.539 that this king 00:29:50.539 --> 00:29:51.819 needs justice 00:29:51.819 --> 00:29:52.420 and righteousness, 00:29:52.420 --> 00:29:52.560 righteousness, 00:29:52.920 --> 00:29:55.180 but he's also a king 00:29:55.180 --> 00:29:56.240 that takes the penalty 00:29:56.240 --> 00:29:56.759 of justice 00:29:56.759 --> 00:29:57.320 and righteousness 00:29:57.320 --> 00:29:58.140 on himself. 00:29:59.560 --> 00:30:00.980 That while he upholds 00:30:00.980 --> 00:30:01.860 justice and righteousness, 00:30:02.060 --> 00:30:03.539 the way that he does it 00:30:03.539 --> 00:30:06.080 is by dying, 00:30:06.160 --> 00:30:07.080 by taking the penalty 00:30:07.080 --> 00:30:07.640 of justice 00:30:07.640 --> 00:30:08.220 and righteousness. 00:30:10.200 --> 00:30:11.740 And so he's a righteous king 00:30:11.740 --> 00:30:12.519 who gives us 00:30:12.519 --> 00:30:13.120 his righteousness. 00:30:15.480 --> 00:30:16.180 He's a king, 00:30:16.240 --> 00:30:16.660 in verse 4, 00:30:16.700 --> 00:30:18.080 who crushes his enemies, 00:30:19.340 --> 00:30:20.640 but he's also a king 00:30:20.640 --> 00:30:21.340 who lets his enemies 00:30:21.340 --> 00:30:22.039 crush him. 00:30:22.420 --> 00:30:23.480 For the sake 00:30:23.480 --> 00:30:24.039 of his people. 00:30:27.600 --> 00:30:28.880 And in verse 17, 00:30:29.160 --> 00:30:29.900 we see an echo, 00:30:30.039 --> 00:30:30.519 if you're familiar 00:30:30.519 --> 00:30:31.039 with the Bible, 00:30:31.160 --> 00:30:32.060 an echo of what we saw 00:30:32.060 --> 00:30:32.680 in Genesis. 00:30:34.560 --> 00:30:34.700 It says, 00:30:34.840 --> 00:30:35.220 May his name 00:30:35.220 --> 00:30:35.920 endure forever. 00:30:36.259 --> 00:30:37.160 His fame continue 00:30:37.160 --> 00:30:38.060 as long as the sun. 00:30:38.779 --> 00:30:39.920 May people be blessed 00:30:39.920 --> 00:30:40.560 in him, 00:30:41.000 --> 00:30:41.759 and all nations 00:30:41.759 --> 00:30:42.600 call him blessed. 00:30:44.160 --> 00:30:45.340 How are all nations 00:30:45.340 --> 00:30:46.220 supposed to be blessed 00:30:46.220 --> 00:30:47.100 in this king? 00:30:48.160 --> 00:30:49.120 This is the promise 00:30:49.120 --> 00:30:49.560 that was given 00:30:49.560 --> 00:30:50.039 to Abraham, 00:30:50.160 --> 00:30:50.759 that all nations 00:30:50.759 --> 00:30:51.340 would be blessed 00:30:51.340 --> 00:30:51.779 through him. 00:30:51.779 --> 00:30:52.360 And the reason 00:30:52.359 --> 00:30:53.000 the way 00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:53.939 that all nations 00:30:53.939 --> 00:30:54.879 were going to be blessed 00:30:54.879 --> 00:30:55.579 through Abraham 00:30:55.579 --> 00:30:58.219 was because Abraham's line 00:30:58.219 --> 00:30:59.079 was going to lead 00:30:59.079 --> 00:30:59.879 to King David, 00:31:00.399 --> 00:31:01.279 who was then going 00:31:01.279 --> 00:31:02.359 to lead to Jesus. 00:31:03.219 --> 00:31:03.719 And so Jesus 00:31:03.719 --> 00:31:04.759 was going to be a blessing 00:31:04.759 --> 00:31:05.979 to all the nations 00:31:05.979 --> 00:31:06.859 because he was going 00:31:06.859 --> 00:31:07.939 to invite not just 00:31:07.939 --> 00:31:08.439 the Jews, 00:31:08.779 --> 00:31:09.719 but everyone else 00:31:09.719 --> 00:31:10.179 to be a part 00:31:10.179 --> 00:31:10.679 of his kingdom. 00:31:13.099 --> 00:31:14.459 And so that's the promise. 00:31:15.199 --> 00:31:15.979 That's the promise 00:31:15.979 --> 00:31:16.699 that this psalm 00:31:16.699 --> 00:31:17.679 holds out for us. 00:31:17.680 --> 00:31:19.799 that Jesus is willing 00:31:19.799 --> 00:31:22.279 to take the punishment 00:31:22.279 --> 00:31:23.820 of justice for anyone 00:31:23.820 --> 00:31:25.060 from any nation 00:31:25.060 --> 00:31:25.640 who is willing 00:31:25.640 --> 00:31:27.279 to come and join him, 00:31:27.360 --> 00:31:28.140 willing to admit 00:31:28.140 --> 00:31:29.180 that they need him, 00:31:29.779 --> 00:31:31.460 that they need deliverance, 00:31:32.200 --> 00:31:33.640 that we need a king 00:31:33.640 --> 00:31:34.140 of justice 00:31:34.140 --> 00:31:35.140 where we're not just. 00:31:35.820 --> 00:31:36.759 We need a king 00:31:36.759 --> 00:31:38.860 who doesn't come 00:31:38.860 --> 00:31:39.720 showing his might 00:31:39.720 --> 00:31:42.100 through force, 00:31:42.539 --> 00:31:43.480 but through his willingness 00:31:43.480 --> 00:31:44.039 to die. 00:31:45.920 --> 00:31:47.299 And so what kind of king 00:31:47.299 --> 00:31:48.599 is Jesus going to be? 00:31:50.120 --> 00:31:51.480 He's going to be a king 00:31:51.480 --> 00:31:52.519 who brings blessing 00:31:52.519 --> 00:31:53.539 to all peoples, 00:31:54.339 --> 00:31:55.180 to all people 00:31:55.180 --> 00:31:55.640 who are willing 00:31:55.640 --> 00:31:56.420 to trust in him. 00:31:57.900 --> 00:31:59.099 And why should we 00:31:59.099 --> 00:32:00.460 desperately want 00:32:00.460 --> 00:32:01.759 Christianity to be true? 00:32:01.880 --> 00:32:02.819 Why should we desperately 00:32:02.819 --> 00:32:04.579 want Jesus to be the king 00:32:04.579 --> 00:32:05.539 even if we don't believe 00:32:05.539 --> 00:32:06.480 right now that he is? 00:32:08.539 --> 00:32:10.079 We can desperately want 00:32:10.079 --> 00:32:11.000 Jesus to be king 00:32:11.000 --> 00:32:12.680 because he is the only one 00:32:12.680 --> 00:32:14.360 who is going to be able 00:32:14.360 --> 00:32:15.220 to bring justice 00:32:15.220 --> 00:32:15.799 and righteousness 00:32:15.799 --> 00:32:16.440 on the earth. 00:32:17.519 --> 00:32:18.759 He's the only one 00:32:18.759 --> 00:32:19.460 who is capable 00:32:19.460 --> 00:32:20.380 of fulfilling 00:32:20.380 --> 00:32:22.060 everything that we long for 00:32:22.060 --> 00:32:23.320 in our leaders, 00:32:23.660 --> 00:32:24.539 in our world. 00:32:27.380 --> 00:32:28.460 And so what does this 00:32:28.460 --> 00:32:28.920 have to do with 00:32:28.920 --> 00:32:29.960 Christmas and Advent? 00:32:33.120 --> 00:32:34.840 One of my favorite stories 00:32:34.840 --> 00:32:37.240 is the Chronicles of Narnia 00:32:37.240 --> 00:32:39.080 and I know it's a little bit 00:32:39.080 --> 00:32:39.980 of a cliche, I'm sorry. 00:32:40.759 --> 00:32:41.759 I promise to only use 00:32:41.759 --> 00:32:42.559 Narnia illustrations 00:32:42.559 --> 00:32:43.339 very sparingly. 00:32:44.799 --> 00:32:45.559 But growing up, 00:32:45.599 --> 00:32:46.619 my dad would read them 00:32:46.619 --> 00:32:47.519 to my brothers and I 00:32:47.519 --> 00:32:48.859 and if you're familiar 00:32:48.859 --> 00:32:49.700 with the Lion and the Witch 00:32:49.700 --> 00:32:50.279 and the Wardrobe, 00:32:50.379 --> 00:32:52.400 you know that they are 00:32:52.400 --> 00:32:53.240 living at a time 00:32:53.240 --> 00:32:54.140 where the white witch 00:32:54.140 --> 00:32:55.940 is in control over Narnia. 00:32:57.019 --> 00:32:58.140 And there's something 00:32:58.140 --> 00:32:59.440 of a resistance that goes on. 00:32:59.500 --> 00:33:00.640 The trees talk to each other 00:33:00.640 --> 00:33:01.819 and you know that the beavers 00:33:01.819 --> 00:33:02.940 are standing very strong 00:33:02.940 --> 00:33:03.759 against the white witch 00:33:03.759 --> 00:33:04.279 and her rule. 00:33:04.920 --> 00:33:06.059 And one thing that's interesting 00:33:06.059 --> 00:33:07.059 is the fact that they are 00:33:07.059 --> 00:33:08.680 able to keep hope 00:33:08.680 --> 00:33:09.500 and stay strong. 00:33:09.500 --> 00:33:11.180 They've lived under 00:33:11.180 --> 00:33:12.019 the white witch's rule 00:33:12.019 --> 00:33:12.960 for a long time 00:33:12.960 --> 00:33:14.200 and so how is it that they 00:33:14.200 --> 00:33:16.279 are able to keep believing 00:33:16.279 --> 00:33:20.259 even when there's a time 00:33:20.259 --> 00:33:21.160 that's described as 00:33:21.160 --> 00:33:21.900 always winter 00:33:21.900 --> 00:33:22.700 but never Christmas? 00:33:24.619 --> 00:33:25.359 Well, it's because 00:33:25.359 --> 00:33:26.099 there's a prophecy. 00:33:27.180 --> 00:33:28.059 And if you remember 00:33:28.059 --> 00:33:28.579 the prophecy, 00:33:28.759 --> 00:33:30.019 you know that what the beavers 00:33:30.019 --> 00:33:30.940 hold on to, 00:33:31.299 --> 00:33:32.180 what they cling to 00:33:32.180 --> 00:33:32.759 is the knowledge 00:33:32.759 --> 00:33:33.660 that one day 00:33:33.660 --> 00:33:35.180 there is going to be 00:33:35.180 --> 00:33:36.720 two sons of Adam 00:33:36.720 --> 00:33:37.920 and two daughters of Eve 00:33:37.920 --> 00:33:39.480 on the thrones 00:33:39.480 --> 00:33:40.360 at Caer Paravel. 00:33:41.740 --> 00:33:42.640 And they know 00:33:42.640 --> 00:33:43.860 that when that happens 00:33:43.860 --> 00:33:45.340 that is going to be 00:33:45.340 --> 00:33:45.860 the time 00:33:45.860 --> 00:33:46.700 when the white witch's 00:33:46.700 --> 00:33:47.480 spell is over 00:33:47.480 --> 00:33:48.220 when it's broken. 00:33:48.620 --> 00:33:49.920 When she has power 00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:50.460 no more. 00:33:51.840 --> 00:33:52.600 And so even as they're 00:33:52.600 --> 00:33:53.600 living in a world 00:33:53.600 --> 00:33:54.980 where it feels like 00:33:54.980 --> 00:33:55.720 it's always winter 00:33:55.720 --> 00:33:56.680 and never Christmas 00:33:56.680 --> 00:33:57.519 that prophecy 00:33:57.519 --> 00:33:58.519 is what keeps them going. 00:33:58.660 --> 00:33:59.640 It's what keeps them hoping. 00:34:00.600 --> 00:34:01.580 Because they know 00:34:01.580 --> 00:34:02.140 one day 00:34:02.140 --> 00:34:03.920 Aslan is going to come back. 00:34:03.920 --> 00:34:05.240 One day they are going 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:06.019 to sit on the thrones 00:34:06.019 --> 00:34:06.480 and everything 00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:07.340 will be made right. 00:34:08.619 --> 00:34:09.340 And as they go 00:34:09.340 --> 00:34:09.860 through the book 00:34:09.860 --> 00:34:11.180 there comes a time 00:34:11.180 --> 00:34:11.840 when they know 00:34:11.840 --> 00:34:12.760 that those prophecy 00:34:12.760 --> 00:34:13.639 has not been fulfilled. 00:34:13.780 --> 00:34:14.380 Those people are not 00:34:14.380 --> 00:34:15.519 sitting on the thrones yet. 00:34:16.200 --> 00:34:16.900 And yet in this world 00:34:16.900 --> 00:34:17.740 where it's always winter 00:34:17.740 --> 00:34:18.460 and never Christmas 00:34:18.460 --> 00:34:19.400 they run into 00:34:19.400 --> 00:34:21.500 most surprisingly of all 00:34:21.500 --> 00:34:22.240 Father Christmas. 00:34:23.519 --> 00:34:24.460 And so they know 00:34:24.460 --> 00:34:25.220 that the spell 00:34:25.220 --> 00:34:26.519 is beginning to break. 00:34:27.460 --> 00:34:28.539 The thrones are not 00:34:28.539 --> 00:34:29.380 filled yet. 00:34:31.280 --> 00:34:32.680 But Aslan is on the move. 00:34:33.920 --> 00:34:36.579 And so what we do 00:34:36.579 --> 00:34:37.519 when we look back 00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:39.119 to Jesus' first coming 00:34:39.119 --> 00:34:41.940 is we celebrate the fact 00:34:41.940 --> 00:34:44.019 that the spell 00:34:44.019 --> 00:34:45.280 is beginning to be broken. 00:34:46.099 --> 00:34:46.599 That's what Paul 00:34:46.599 --> 00:34:47.619 refers to as 00:34:47.619 --> 00:34:48.639 the fullness of time. 00:34:50.240 --> 00:34:51.519 But it's not over yet 00:34:51.519 --> 00:34:52.639 but we have hope 00:34:52.639 --> 00:34:53.659 because we look forward 00:34:53.659 --> 00:34:54.599 to the time 00:34:54.599 --> 00:34:55.639 when the great 00:34:55.639 --> 00:34:56.559 and ultimate king 00:34:56.559 --> 00:34:57.500 will come again. 00:34:58.659 --> 00:34:59.740 And so as we see 00:34:59.740 --> 00:35:00.599 the spell beginning 00:35:00.599 --> 00:35:01.099 to break 00:35:01.099 --> 00:35:02.480 we still have hope. 00:35:02.480 --> 00:35:03.420 we can keep hoping 00:35:03.420 --> 00:35:03.960 and longing 00:35:03.960 --> 00:35:05.579 knowing that one day 00:35:05.579 --> 00:35:06.960 the king 00:35:06.960 --> 00:35:08.639 is going to come back. 00:35:08.880 --> 00:35:09.980 He's going to come back 00:35:09.980 --> 00:35:11.599 and make everything right. 00:35:11.719 --> 00:35:12.740 And so that is how 00:35:12.740 --> 00:35:13.840 we live with hope 00:35:13.840 --> 00:35:16.280 between Jesus' two comings. 00:35:17.139 --> 00:35:18.179 And that's how we live 00:35:18.179 --> 00:35:18.539 in Advent. 00:35:18.679 --> 00:35:19.360 Looking back. 00:35:19.760 --> 00:35:20.679 Celebrating what God 00:35:20.679 --> 00:35:21.340 has done. 00:35:22.019 --> 00:35:23.260 And looking and longing 00:35:23.260 --> 00:35:24.079 for the true king. 00:35:24.079 --> 00:35:26.539 we're going to end 00:35:26.539 --> 00:35:27.500 with the hymn 00:35:27.500 --> 00:35:28.659 Jesus Shall Reign 00:35:28.659 --> 00:35:30.319 and what you may not 00:35:30.319 --> 00:35:31.019 know about this hymn 00:35:31.019 --> 00:35:31.719 is that it is 00:35:31.719 --> 00:35:33.279 drawn directly 00:35:33.279 --> 00:35:34.299 from Psalm 72 00:35:34.299 --> 00:35:36.199 but takes it 00:35:36.199 --> 00:35:36.900 and applies it 00:35:36.900 --> 00:35:37.539 to Jesus. 00:35:37.699 --> 00:35:38.519 And so we're going to sing 00:35:38.519 --> 00:35:40.179 that song to him now. 00:35:40.340 --> 00:35:40.980 Before we do 00:35:40.980 --> 00:35:42.039 please pray with me. 00:35:44.239 --> 00:35:45.279 Dear Father in heaven 00:35:45.279 --> 00:35:46.279 we thank you 00:35:46.279 --> 00:35:47.119 that you are the true 00:35:47.119 --> 00:35:48.059 and great king 00:35:48.059 --> 00:35:48.840 and that you are 00:35:48.840 --> 00:35:49.500 coming again. 00:35:49.500 --> 00:35:51.500 we ask that you 00:35:51.500 --> 00:35:52.039 would help us 00:35:52.039 --> 00:35:52.699 to believe 00:35:52.699 --> 00:35:53.480 and to hope 00:35:53.480 --> 00:35:54.159 in you. 00:35:54.880 --> 00:35:55.800 We ask this 00:35:55.800 --> 00:35:56.679 in the name of your son. 00:35:57.300 --> 00:35:57.539 Amen.