WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.259 My Savior and my God. 00:00:10.259 --> 00:00:16.839 Now, if you would, let's turn in our Bibles to the book of Psalms, Psalm 110, which will 00:00:16.839 --> 00:00:20.719 be our sermon text for this evening, Psalm 110. 00:00:21.320 --> 00:00:24.339 It's on page 613 on the Bibles in the back. 00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:26.400 Hear now the word of God. 00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:30.399 Of David, a psalm. 00:00:31.179 --> 00:00:39.780 The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for 00:00:39.780 --> 00:00:40.320 your feet. 00:00:41.439 --> 00:00:49.920 The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, rule in the midst of your enemies. 00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:57.079 Your troops will be willing on your day of battle, arrayed in a holy splendor. 00:00:57.880 --> 00:01:02.520 Your young people will come to you like dew from the morning's womb. 00:01:03.520 --> 00:01:07.700 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. 00:01:07.700 --> 00:01:14.200 You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. 00:01:15.020 --> 00:01:17.520 The Lord is at your right hand. 00:01:18.020 --> 00:01:20.799 He will crush kings on the day of his wrath. 00:01:21.159 --> 00:01:26.480 He will judge nations heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of all the earth. 00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:31.020 He will drink from the brook along the way. 00:01:31.260 --> 00:01:35.060 So he will lift his head high. 00:01:35.579 --> 00:01:35.980 Amen. 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:37.760 Let us now pray. 00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:42.740 Most gracious and loving Heavenly Father, Lord, we are thankful for your word. 00:01:43.180 --> 00:01:47.120 We are thankful that you have given us your word and that it is sharper than any two-edged 00:01:47.120 --> 00:01:52.460 sword able to cut through bone and marrow into the very heart, into our very souls. 00:01:52.459 --> 00:01:57.399 And Lord, we ask that you would speak to us today and that you would use your word as 00:01:57.399 --> 00:02:04.399 a scalpel upon our hearts to conform us more and more into the image of Christ, our faithful 00:02:04.399 --> 00:02:04.859 Savior. 00:02:05.819 --> 00:02:08.419 Lord, we ask that you would speak to us. 00:02:08.599 --> 00:02:10.900 For Lord, your servants are listening. 00:02:11.439 --> 00:02:13.459 In Jesus' name, amen. 00:02:13.460 --> 00:02:13.580 Amen. 00:02:15.740 --> 00:02:24.540 Now, between 1971 and 1973, President Richard Nixon operated a tape recording system inside 00:02:24.540 --> 00:02:28.719 the White House, which resulted in what we now call the Nixon tapes. 00:02:29.460 --> 00:02:35.319 And for the most part, only Nixon knew that this tape system was operating throughout those 00:02:35.319 --> 00:02:35.800 years. 00:02:36.219 --> 00:02:37.680 And he intended to keep it that way. 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:42.740 And those tapes later came to light in something called the Watergate Commission. 00:02:42.860 --> 00:02:48.300 They came to light and eventually led to a move to impeach Nixon and it led to his subsequent 00:02:48.300 --> 00:02:49.319 resignation. 00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:54.860 But you can still listen to over 3,000 hours of those tapes. 00:02:55.060 --> 00:02:55.900 They're free online. 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:57.159 They are in the public domain. 00:02:57.540 --> 00:02:58.540 You can go home tonight. 00:02:58.640 --> 00:03:03.439 You can type it into Google and you can go pull up any file you want and listen to one 00:03:03.439 --> 00:03:05.960 of those tapes from the White House. 00:03:05.960 --> 00:03:12.800 And what makes listening to those recordings so fascinating is that they give you an inside 00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:20.260 glimpse of what it is like to hear Canvid conversations between some of the most powerful people of the 00:03:20.260 --> 00:03:20.480 day. 00:03:21.319 --> 00:03:27.900 You can listen to Nixon and his closest advisors talk about foreign policy with the Soviet Union 00:03:27.900 --> 00:03:28.500 and China. 00:03:29.020 --> 00:03:35.280 Their election policies, the Vietnam War, the most important topics of the day are right 00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:37.280 there for you to listen to. 00:03:38.300 --> 00:03:44.400 And that is a type of access that few of us can even imagine having today. 00:03:45.240 --> 00:03:51.879 Being a fly on the wall as the most powerful people discuss the most important topics. 00:03:53.159 --> 00:03:57.920 But that type of access is how I want you to think about this psalm, Psalm 110. 00:03:57.919 --> 00:04:04.199 This is a passage that gives us access and allows us to listen in on a conversation. 00:04:04.259 --> 00:04:10.399 But it is a conversation that is far greater and it is far greater access than anything in 00:04:10.399 --> 00:04:11.219 the Nixon tapes. 00:04:12.019 --> 00:04:17.959 What we are listening to here is David's report of what is happening not in the White House 00:04:17.959 --> 00:04:20.319 but in the throne room of God. 00:04:20.599 --> 00:04:27.299 And we have a chance to read and hear a conversation between God the Father and God the Son. 00:04:28.259 --> 00:04:33.879 Now that's a pretty dramatic claim but Jesus says you can't get out of the first verse of 00:04:33.879 --> 00:04:36.679 this psalm without dealing with that reality. 00:04:37.060 --> 00:04:39.259 This psalm is one of Jesus' favorites. 00:04:40.159 --> 00:04:44.019 It's his go-to passage for stumping the Pharisees. 00:04:44.019 --> 00:04:51.099 He asks them, how is this second Lord in Psalm 110 David's Lord? 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:57.079 Because everyone understood that the first Lord in this psalm, the Lord in all caps, that's 00:04:57.079 --> 00:04:57.479 God. 00:04:57.740 --> 00:05:00.859 The word behind there, the Hebrew word is Yahweh. 00:05:00.979 --> 00:05:03.979 It is the covenantal name of God. 00:05:04.539 --> 00:05:06.139 But there's this second Lord. 00:05:06.799 --> 00:05:10.479 And in this second Lord is one that everyone believes is the Messiah. 00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:10.520 Messiah. 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:18.340 But somehow this Messiah who is the son of David is also David's Lord. 00:05:18.460 --> 00:05:19.500 And how is that possible? 00:05:19.500 --> 00:05:23.420 Because it's not possible for a child to be greater than his parents. 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:29.000 It's a very simple question that the Pharisees are confronted with but they're utterly stumped 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:29.700 by it. 00:05:29.699 --> 00:05:35.719 And the reason Jesus asked that question is because he is the answer. 00:05:36.719 --> 00:05:43.079 He was the one who both knit David together in his mother's womb and was also born of the 00:05:43.079 --> 00:05:46.939 line of David all at once at the same time. 00:05:47.319 --> 00:05:53.039 And the marvelous thing about this passage is that we have a chance to hear Jesus Christ, 00:05:53.040 --> 00:05:59.439 the son of God, the Lord of David, being spoken to by his heavenly father. 00:06:00.640 --> 00:06:08.800 And we see this exact same claim in Acts 2, specifically Acts 2, 34 to 36, which says this, 00:06:09.379 --> 00:06:14.080 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, 00:06:14.540 --> 00:06:19.460 The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. 00:06:19.459 --> 00:06:27.919 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord 00:06:27.919 --> 00:06:31.919 and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. 00:06:32.979 --> 00:06:34.139 Now what's happening there? 00:06:34.479 --> 00:06:40.219 In those verses we get to see the climax of the greatest sermon Peter ever preached in 00:06:40.219 --> 00:06:40.719 his life. 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:46.240 The sermon that happened on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples as 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:53.579 tongues of fire and Peter goes out and he preaches a sermon that converts 3,000 people. 00:06:54.480 --> 00:06:59.480 And he finishes that sermon off by pointing to Psalm 110 and saying, 00:07:00.019 --> 00:07:08.019 This is fulfilled by Jesus when he ascended into heaven and when he sat down at the right hand of 00:07:08.019 --> 00:07:10.040 God the Father Almighty. 00:07:10.040 --> 00:07:15.400 That is both when and where this psalm finds its fulfillment. 00:07:16.700 --> 00:07:22.020 Now the reason I'm trying to hammer home the importance of this psalm is because the Bible 00:07:22.020 --> 00:07:23.660 itself hammers it home. 00:07:24.320 --> 00:07:28.180 This psalm is the most quoted psalm in the entire New Testament. 00:07:29.080 --> 00:07:30.680 And that is not accidental. 00:07:31.700 --> 00:07:36.000 That is because the claims of this psalm are incredibly important. 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:39.540 because they are claims about Jesus Christ himself. 00:07:39.720 --> 00:07:41.259 And we have to grapple with them. 00:07:42.199 --> 00:07:44.920 Now when we go through this psalm today we're going to have three points. 00:07:45.019 --> 00:07:48.019 But the first one I want you to see is in verses 1 to 3. 00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:51.500 I want you to see that Christ is a king. 00:07:51.980 --> 00:07:53.779 Christ is a king. 00:07:54.860 --> 00:07:59.319 Notice that in these verses Jesus has everything that a king has. 00:07:59.939 --> 00:08:00.980 Look at verse 1. 00:08:00.980 --> 00:08:01.819 It says, 00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:04.439 Sit at my right hand. 00:08:04.439 --> 00:08:09.319 Jesus is in heaven and his father is telling him to sit at his right hand. 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:10.899 And what is at God's right hand? 00:08:11.379 --> 00:08:11.920 A throne. 00:08:12.800 --> 00:08:19.019 Jesus Christ is being placed on a heavenly throne at the right hand of God the Father. 00:08:20.060 --> 00:08:23.300 Now let's quickly look at verse 2 which says this, 00:08:23.300 --> 00:08:28.600 The Lord, all caps, will extend your mighty scepter from Zion. 00:08:29.879 --> 00:08:33.279 Now Jesus is on a throne but he also has a scepter. 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:36.539 He is a symbol of his authority and of his rule. 00:08:36.659 --> 00:08:41.860 And that scepter is being sent out into the world not by himself but by his father. 00:08:42.439 --> 00:08:48.480 His father is the one who is going to make sure that this scepter is recognized by everyone in this entire world. 00:08:48.839 --> 00:08:51.959 That scepter is sent out by God himself. 00:08:51.960 --> 00:08:55.340 And then finally let's look at verse 3. 00:08:55.340 --> 00:08:56.900 It says, 00:08:57.120 --> 00:09:03.019 Your troops will be willing on the day of battle arrayed in holy splendor. 00:09:03.160 --> 00:09:08.480 Your young men will come to you like dew from the morning's womb. 00:09:09.280 --> 00:09:10.639 Jesus has a throne. 00:09:11.320 --> 00:09:12.259 He has a scepter. 00:09:12.639 --> 00:09:14.000 But he also has a people. 00:09:14.300 --> 00:09:17.240 His people is an army arrayed before him for battle. 00:09:17.240 --> 00:09:21.460 And you need a people to rule as a king. 00:09:21.980 --> 00:09:23.159 And Jesus has it. 00:09:23.639 --> 00:09:28.740 And it's a king that has his people offer themselves freely for service. 00:09:29.799 --> 00:09:36.620 So Jesus is a king but I want you to notice how firmly established his kingdom is. 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:38.879 How firmly established his rule is. 00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:41.860 There is no one who can challenge him. 00:09:41.860 --> 00:09:43.820 No one who can stand against him. 00:09:44.200 --> 00:09:47.320 Because he is enthroned by God himself. 00:09:47.840 --> 00:09:51.320 It is God who places Jesus upon the throne. 00:09:51.960 --> 00:09:55.100 It is God who sends forth the scepter from Zion. 00:09:55.399 --> 00:10:00.860 And it is God who guarantees that Jesus will have a people who will freely offer themselves. 00:10:02.680 --> 00:10:07.840 Psalm 110 is a dramatic fulfillment of 2 Samuel 7. 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:10.279 Now what is 2 Samuel 7? 00:10:10.279 --> 00:10:16.439 2 Samuel 7 is the most important chapter in your Bibles that you probably don't just instantly know off the top of your head. 00:10:17.299 --> 00:10:19.319 Chapter 7 of 2 Samuel. 00:10:19.459 --> 00:10:22.740 That is where the promises of the Davidic covenant are given. 00:10:24.039 --> 00:10:28.240 And so much of the Old Testament revolves around those promises. 00:10:28.959 --> 00:10:33.199 Where God promises to establish one of David's descendants forever. 00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:35.959 He promises to be to him a father. 00:10:35.960 --> 00:10:40.780 And he promises his love upon this descendant for all time. 00:10:41.800 --> 00:10:47.580 And here in Psalm 110 you get to see what those Davidic promises mean. 00:10:48.259 --> 00:10:56.220 It means God establishes the kingdom so well that not one of his enemies can touch his anointed one. 00:10:56.220 --> 00:11:00.980 I want you to think about all the enemies of God. 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:02.279 Whatever comes to mind. 00:11:03.379 --> 00:11:05.320 Realize that no matter what they do. 00:11:06.399 --> 00:11:11.019 Nothing can possibly take Christ from the right hand of God. 00:11:11.860 --> 00:11:14.340 It is a place not one of them can touch. 00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:19.100 It is a place that they can only mock in the feeblest of ways. 00:11:19.100 --> 00:11:26.320 Christ is a king and he is established forever at the right hand of God the Father. 00:11:27.560 --> 00:11:34.120 And this establishing of Jesus' kingdom is so powerful that it's almost offhandedly thrown out in verse 2. 00:11:34.560 --> 00:11:37.200 Rule in the midst of your enemies. 00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:39.800 Realize what's being said there. 00:11:40.500 --> 00:11:42.800 Jesus the king will have enemies. 00:11:44.019 --> 00:11:46.660 They will abide for a time until they are conquered. 00:11:46.659 --> 00:11:52.319 But their rebellion will not for one moment interrupt his reign. 00:11:53.219 --> 00:11:57.579 He will still rule in their very midst even as they are rebelling. 00:11:58.500 --> 00:12:01.779 Jesus will not rule later after he's conquered his enemies. 00:12:01.899 --> 00:12:07.299 But he will fully rule right now even as they are rebelling against him. 00:12:07.959 --> 00:12:10.980 He will rule over everyone and everything. 00:12:10.980 --> 00:12:17.759 Now do you realize how incredibly exhausting and demoralizing it must be to be Satan? 00:12:18.759 --> 00:12:22.100 To realize that no matter what you do, 00:12:22.600 --> 00:12:27.139 God the Father and King Jesus will inevitably take that 00:12:27.139 --> 00:12:31.460 and redirect it to solidify that kingdom even more. 00:12:31.460 --> 00:12:35.759 It doesn't matter how evil or cunning your plan is as Satan. 00:12:36.420 --> 00:12:37.300 It doesn't matter. 00:12:37.500 --> 00:12:41.820 God will turn it to good in the very end. 00:12:42.700 --> 00:12:45.019 I love that quote from Martin Luther. 00:12:45.420 --> 00:12:47.860 Even the devil is God's devil. 00:12:48.740 --> 00:12:49.540 And that's true. 00:12:50.400 --> 00:12:55.560 Even the devil is ruled over by God and Jesus Christ. 00:12:55.559 --> 00:13:00.019 And that is tremendously discouraging for Satan. 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:03.939 But it is a tremendous encouragement for us tonight. 00:13:04.219 --> 00:13:10.979 No matter what happens, you can still confess that Jesus Christ, the Almighty, reigns. 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:14.000 And is that sometimes hard to confess? 00:13:14.259 --> 00:13:14.699 Absolutely. 00:13:15.799 --> 00:13:19.539 But we trust in a king who rules all things by his power 00:13:19.539 --> 00:13:25.659 and who will use even the grief we feel for his own glory and for our own good. 00:13:26.980 --> 00:13:28.480 This is who we believe in. 00:13:28.579 --> 00:13:32.399 We believe in a sovereign God and a sovereign Christ. 00:13:33.259 --> 00:13:37.599 And when you face a trial or tribulation, understand that Jesus still rules. 00:13:38.059 --> 00:13:40.259 He still rules despite his enemies. 00:13:40.399 --> 00:13:41.839 The plan hasn't changed. 00:13:42.419 --> 00:13:43.899 Not in 3,000 years. 00:13:44.319 --> 00:13:46.139 Not since David wrote this psalm. 00:13:46.139 --> 00:13:47.840 It has never changed. 00:13:48.059 --> 00:13:49.879 And it still doesn't need to change. 00:13:50.340 --> 00:13:52.600 All is under Jesus. 00:13:54.419 --> 00:14:00.379 This incredible power and authority that works all things together for good 00:14:00.379 --> 00:14:06.799 is why the Messianic King's people offer themselves freely in verse 3. 00:14:08.199 --> 00:14:11.840 Now you may not realize it, but that third verse, that verse there, 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:15.860 that is actually one of the most difficult to translate passages in your entire Bibles. 00:14:16.539 --> 00:14:18.580 Depending on what Bible translation you have, 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:22.199 you will have a number of footnotes there offering alternative translations. 00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:26.960 And in my ESV, there are three different footnotes for that passage. 00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:32.840 And the last one is just, the Hebrew is unclear, which is just a giant shrug. 00:14:32.960 --> 00:14:36.100 Scholars just aren't really sure what's happening there. 00:14:36.100 --> 00:14:41.060 But it's like the language that, the language David is using is so high 00:14:41.060 --> 00:14:44.159 that gravity and grammar kind of disappear. 00:14:44.659 --> 00:14:46.519 It kind of breaks down. 00:14:47.639 --> 00:14:51.860 So this is debated, but here's what I think this verse roughly means. 00:14:52.279 --> 00:14:53.759 Jesus' people will rise. 00:14:54.379 --> 00:14:58.220 They will offer themselves up for battle freely, just like the dew. 00:14:58.220 --> 00:15:03.500 They will rise up from everywhere, from every tribe and tongue and nation. 00:15:04.279 --> 00:15:08.700 And they will arise in a sight that is both beautiful because of their holy garments 00:15:08.700 --> 00:15:13.639 and is a testimony of Jesus' own youthful strength. 00:15:14.460 --> 00:15:20.200 This army simply arises and offers itself in service to its king. 00:15:20.200 --> 00:15:23.080 And brothers and sisters, that's you. 00:15:23.640 --> 00:15:25.700 That's where you are in this psalm. 00:15:25.800 --> 00:15:27.060 You are the people of Christ. 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:30.360 You have been conformed into the image of Christ, 00:15:31.060 --> 00:15:33.660 clothed by the Spirit and the righteousness of Christ. 00:15:33.940 --> 00:15:38.440 And it is your duty to arise and fight the spiritual battle that is before you. 00:15:39.460 --> 00:15:43.820 Whenever you fight a temptation, you are fighting it as one of Christ's people. 00:15:43.820 --> 00:15:49.960 And whenever you triumph over a temptation, you are a testimony of Christ's power. 00:15:50.640 --> 00:15:56.259 A power that is living and active, that can change hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. 00:15:57.300 --> 00:16:00.460 A power that is very active in this world. 00:16:01.720 --> 00:16:04.400 And if you want to see the kingship of Christ, 00:16:05.220 --> 00:16:07.480 really what you need to look to most is the church. 00:16:08.259 --> 00:16:09.620 The church is where you should look. 00:16:09.620 --> 00:16:14.800 It is in the church where you see the Spirit move most clearly. 00:16:15.220 --> 00:16:18.040 Because here today, we are the assembled people of God. 00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:20.180 We are coming together as the people of God. 00:16:20.280 --> 00:16:21.560 To worship Him. 00:16:21.920 --> 00:16:26.460 And it is in the church, especially in the church-enclosed persecuting nations, 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:29.379 where you get to see the meaning of that verse, 00:16:29.879 --> 00:16:32.660 where it says He will rule in the midst of His enemies. 00:16:33.900 --> 00:16:35.700 No matter what happens there, 00:16:35.780 --> 00:16:38.440 no matter what those countries do persecuting the church, 00:16:38.780 --> 00:16:40.680 it will be turned around for good. 00:16:41.259 --> 00:16:42.040 It doesn't matter. 00:16:42.679 --> 00:16:44.399 Christ will triumph. 00:16:45.219 --> 00:16:47.699 And He will use their opposition for His own glory, 00:16:48.039 --> 00:16:50.459 no matter how fierce it is. 00:16:50.460 --> 00:16:55.220 Christ is a king in verses 1 to 3. 00:16:55.300 --> 00:16:59.220 But the second thing I want you to see is that Christ is a priest in verse 4. 00:16:59.639 --> 00:17:01.900 Christ is a priest. 00:17:01.899 --> 00:17:01.980 Christ is a priest. 00:17:03.179 --> 00:17:09.079 The most unusual thing about this passage is the last word here in verse 4. 00:17:09.240 --> 00:17:11.160 It's the word Melchizedek. 00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:13.740 Now, this is a bizarre character. 00:17:13.900 --> 00:17:16.160 He appears once in Genesis 14. 00:17:17.120 --> 00:17:18.920 He's the king and priest of Salem. 00:17:19.360 --> 00:17:20.980 He has a brief interaction with Abraham. 00:17:21.460 --> 00:17:24.240 He appears once in Psalm 110. 00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:26.820 And he appears a bunch in the book of Hebrews. 00:17:28.560 --> 00:17:31.560 And Melchizedek, he's just this strange character. 00:17:31.880 --> 00:17:33.640 But I think he's purposefully strange. 00:17:34.140 --> 00:17:35.840 He just pops up out of nowhere. 00:17:35.940 --> 00:17:38.980 And he is a king and a priest of God. 00:17:39.200 --> 00:17:40.700 You don't know where he's from. 00:17:41.320 --> 00:17:42.519 You don't know his lineage. 00:17:42.519 --> 00:17:44.339 And that's actually the entire point. 00:17:45.180 --> 00:17:47.039 He just pops up out of nowhere. 00:17:47.379 --> 00:17:50.799 You're not supposed to know the answers to those questions. 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:57.379 You know, he's actually such a confusing figure that many in the early church thought he was actually Jesus. 00:17:57.639 --> 00:18:04.480 They thought the only person this could possibly be was a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus in the Old Testament. 00:18:05.500 --> 00:18:06.819 Now, I disagree with that. 00:18:06.900 --> 00:18:10.139 But if I can put it this way, it's a very pious mistake to make. 00:18:10.139 --> 00:18:12.079 You're supposed to make that connection. 00:18:12.519 --> 00:18:18.039 Melchizedek is a picture of what will eventually come with Jesus. 00:18:18.379 --> 00:18:23.240 Just as Melchizedek is a king and a priest, so is Jesus. 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:28.099 Just as Melchizedek's name literally means king of righteousness, 00:18:28.960 --> 00:18:33.160 so too Jesus is a king, the king of righteousness. 00:18:33.759 --> 00:18:37.599 And we, his people, have his righteousness by faith. 00:18:37.599 --> 00:18:44.199 Just as Melchizedek seems to appear out of nowhere with no father nor mother, so too does Jesus arrive. 00:18:44.719 --> 00:18:52.039 And even though he had an earthly mother, he himself is the eternally begotten son of God, 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:54.879 and he knit together Mary in her mother's womb. 00:18:54.880 --> 00:19:06.280 The book of Hebrews loves harping on this, loves harping on who Melchizedek is and how Jesus has come as a priest after the order of Melchizedek. 00:19:06.340 --> 00:19:10.120 And if I can just summarize all of that down for you, it just means this. 00:19:10.119 --> 00:19:16.099 Brothers and sisters, it's not possible for you to have a better priestly mediator than Jesus. 00:19:16.639 --> 00:19:17.619 It's not possible. 00:19:18.399 --> 00:19:25.719 What better mediator is there than one who has eternally communed in perfect bliss and happiness with God the Father and God the Spirit? 00:19:25.720 --> 00:19:34.660 What better sacrifice for your sins could you ask for than the Son of God freely offering himself in your place? 00:19:35.539 --> 00:19:42.980 And what better assurance can you have that Christ's sacrifice was accepted other than that Jesus is greeted by his Father, 00:19:43.960 --> 00:19:47.240 promised an eternal priesthood, and told to sit down? 00:19:47.240 --> 00:19:53.680 Have you ever noticed that in your Bible reading plans, when you suddenly get to the book of Exodus, 00:19:54.380 --> 00:20:00.640 to that particular section where it's just chapter after chapter after chapter about the construction of the tabernacle, 00:20:01.500 --> 00:20:03.240 chairs are never mentioned, not once. 00:20:04.180 --> 00:20:13.120 It goes into exhaustive detail about curtains, about veils, tables, lampstands, the Ark of the Covenant, basins, altars, clothes, 00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:15.779 all sorts of various instruments and implements. 00:20:15.779 --> 00:20:19.539 There's not a single chair anywhere in the tabernacle. 00:20:20.599 --> 00:20:24.299 That is not because the Levites were big fans of standing desks. 00:20:24.819 --> 00:20:28.019 It's because when the Levites were going about their day, 00:20:28.139 --> 00:20:33.119 there was never one moment when they would have the chance to sit down. 00:20:34.059 --> 00:20:36.119 They were always doing something. 00:20:36.879 --> 00:20:42.279 They were always offering sacrifices day after day after day. 00:20:42.279 --> 00:20:51.720 But Jesus is an eternal priest who eternally sits because his work is eternally finished. 00:20:52.440 --> 00:21:00.180 He is an enthroned king, but he's also an enthroned priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. 00:21:00.180 --> 00:21:02.060 And what does that mean? 00:21:02.100 --> 00:21:07.220 It means when you sin, you can always come to him and ask for forgiveness. 00:21:08.259 --> 00:21:12.440 When you sin and you feel the guilt and the shame of doing something, 00:21:12.600 --> 00:21:15.980 you know it is not possible for you to make right. 00:21:16.259 --> 00:21:19.940 You can come before God and not hide like Adam and Eve, 00:21:19.940 --> 00:21:23.100 even though we all instinctively want to hide. 00:21:24.299 --> 00:21:26.460 Instead, you get to come before Jesus, 00:21:27.220 --> 00:21:30.880 your great high priest at the right hand of God, 00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:33.900 and you can know, no matter what, 00:21:33.980 --> 00:21:37.480 that his blood is sufficient for your sin. 00:21:37.880 --> 00:21:39.840 No other sacrifice is necessary. 00:21:39.839 --> 00:21:46.419 I said earlier that not one of Jesus' enemies can remove him from his throne, 00:21:46.839 --> 00:21:49.199 but not one of your sins can either. 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:55.019 Not one of your sins can ever make Jesus stand up again and say, 00:21:55.159 --> 00:21:56.679 I have to offer another sacrifice. 00:21:57.839 --> 00:22:00.779 His sacrifice is sufficient. 00:22:00.980 --> 00:22:02.459 His work is finished. 00:22:02.959 --> 00:22:04.159 And if you doubt that, 00:22:04.839 --> 00:22:07.059 if you say, you have no idea what I have done, 00:22:07.059 --> 00:22:09.200 you have no idea the sin that I have committed, 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:13.200 Jesus himself, he just points you here to verse 4. 00:22:13.679 --> 00:22:14.240 And he says, 00:22:14.359 --> 00:22:18.700 My Father has sworn he will not change his mind. 00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:22.259 At the right hand of God the Father, 00:22:22.399 --> 00:22:23.819 there is power, 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:25.779 but there is also forgiveness. 00:22:26.679 --> 00:22:29.919 And it is upon our faith in a sitting Savior 00:22:29.919 --> 00:22:32.839 that we enter the throne room of God, 00:22:32.839 --> 00:22:36.379 boldly offering our praises and prayers 00:22:36.379 --> 00:22:37.699 and confessing our sins. 00:22:38.699 --> 00:22:41.799 If you come to him and you kneel before his throne, 00:22:41.980 --> 00:22:43.939 you will have forgiveness, 00:22:44.259 --> 00:22:47.599 and you will be clothed in the white robes of the saints, 00:22:48.119 --> 00:22:50.619 washed in the blood of the Lamb. 00:22:51.379 --> 00:22:54.519 It is something that is promised by God. 00:22:55.179 --> 00:22:56.220 It is certain. 00:22:57.099 --> 00:22:58.179 He has sworn it, 00:22:58.179 --> 00:23:01.059 and he will not change his mind. 00:23:01.059 --> 00:23:03.759 Now finally, 00:23:03.879 --> 00:23:08.159 I want us to look here at verses 5 to 7. 00:23:09.799 --> 00:23:11.059 Christ is a king. 00:23:12.339 --> 00:23:13.539 Christ is a priest. 00:23:14.500 --> 00:23:16.259 But here in verses 5 to 7, 00:23:16.399 --> 00:23:18.159 we see here that Christ is victorious. 00:23:19.339 --> 00:23:20.899 In these three verses, 00:23:21.139 --> 00:23:22.679 we see a dramatic battle, 00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:24.819 and we see a rout. 00:23:25.819 --> 00:23:29.000 But I want you to think about who is doing this. 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:31.259 I want you to listen to the constant drumbeat 00:23:31.259 --> 00:23:33.500 of he in these verses. 00:23:34.759 --> 00:23:36.859 The Lord is at your right hand. 00:23:37.059 --> 00:23:40.859 He will crush kings on the day of his wrath. 00:23:41.299 --> 00:23:42.920 He will judge nations, 00:23:43.059 --> 00:23:43.940 heaping up the dead, 00:23:44.420 --> 00:23:47.099 and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. 00:23:47.980 --> 00:23:51.599 He will drink from a brook along the way, 00:23:51.599 --> 00:23:56.259 so he will lift up his head. 00:23:57.599 --> 00:23:59.359 Now if I can just ask you one question, 00:23:59.539 --> 00:24:00.740 who is this he? 00:24:02.019 --> 00:24:05.359 I want you to notice the Lord here in verse 5. 00:24:05.480 --> 00:24:06.740 It is not in all caps. 00:24:07.719 --> 00:24:10.599 The word there can be translated either as God 00:24:10.599 --> 00:24:12.679 or as the Messiah. 00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:13.959 It works either way. 00:24:14.019 --> 00:24:15.599 It could be either one. 00:24:15.599 --> 00:24:19.179 And the problem is that this verse is debated, 00:24:20.019 --> 00:24:21.459 as most of this psalm is. 00:24:21.959 --> 00:24:23.899 And it's debated because it is confusing. 00:24:25.119 --> 00:24:26.959 But I believe that you're actually supposed 00:24:26.959 --> 00:24:28.639 to get confused in these verses. 00:24:29.839 --> 00:24:31.879 Whenever we see the Father act, 00:24:32.259 --> 00:24:33.659 we see the Son act. 00:24:33.939 --> 00:24:35.539 And wherever we see the Son act, 00:24:35.659 --> 00:24:37.279 we see the Father act. 00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:41.559 And as we've already seen in verses 1 to 3, 00:24:41.720 --> 00:24:43.559 God has promised his Son 00:24:43.559 --> 00:24:46.059 that he will establish his kingdom. 00:24:46.200 --> 00:24:49.139 And so we should expect to see both God conquering 00:24:49.139 --> 00:24:50.539 his Son's enemies 00:24:50.539 --> 00:24:53.099 and the Son's standing in triumph 00:24:53.099 --> 00:24:54.420 on the day of battle. 00:24:56.359 --> 00:24:57.359 And that's just simply because 00:24:57.359 --> 00:24:59.240 if you mess with one, you mess with both. 00:25:00.420 --> 00:25:03.019 Where the Father is, there the Son is. 00:25:03.019 --> 00:25:06.259 And where the Son is, there the Father is. 00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:08.899 And so what do we have here? 00:25:08.960 --> 00:25:11.639 We have a vivid image of a battle. 00:25:12.639 --> 00:25:15.460 We see here that enemy kings are destroyed on the field. 00:25:16.079 --> 00:25:17.319 Their armies are destroyed. 00:25:17.440 --> 00:25:18.680 And the bodies litter the ground. 00:25:18.819 --> 00:25:21.819 There is this massive rout that is taking place. 00:25:21.980 --> 00:25:22.980 Everyone is fleeing. 00:25:23.539 --> 00:25:24.960 And the leaders of all the nations 00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:28.259 are fleeing to every corner of the earth. 00:25:29.139 --> 00:25:30.639 This is not just victory. 00:25:30.740 --> 00:25:31.879 It is total victory. 00:25:32.379 --> 00:25:34.139 It is victory that ensures 00:25:34.139 --> 00:25:35.579 there is never another battle. 00:25:35.579 --> 00:25:37.299 It is complete. 00:25:38.359 --> 00:25:39.879 Jesus pursues. 00:25:40.419 --> 00:25:41.720 He pursues his enemies. 00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:44.559 He stops only to drink water from the brook 00:25:44.559 --> 00:25:45.799 as he pursues them. 00:25:46.519 --> 00:25:48.119 He's not stopping to sleep. 00:25:48.500 --> 00:25:50.799 He's not stopping to get a full course meal. 00:25:50.899 --> 00:25:53.359 He is only stopping to get water 00:25:53.359 --> 00:25:56.879 so that he can dash off after them once again. 00:25:57.720 --> 00:25:59.799 Everyone in this battle who is an enemy 00:25:59.799 --> 00:26:01.579 is absolutely destroyed. 00:26:01.699 --> 00:26:02.859 It is a total victory. 00:26:02.859 --> 00:26:07.199 These are the same types of images 00:26:07.199 --> 00:26:10.199 that we get to see in the New Testament. 00:26:10.839 --> 00:26:12.339 In Revelation 19, 00:26:12.659 --> 00:26:14.819 when Christ enters the wedding feast of the Lamb, 00:26:14.919 --> 00:26:16.979 he enters with a robe dipped in blood, 00:26:17.079 --> 00:26:18.759 and he's triumphed over his enemies 00:26:18.759 --> 00:26:19.819 after conquering the earth. 00:26:19.859 --> 00:26:21.319 And that's a terrifying image. 00:26:22.179 --> 00:26:22.859 We see destruction. 00:26:23.959 --> 00:26:26.039 Destruction of evil should be terrifying, 00:26:26.519 --> 00:26:27.859 but it is good. 00:26:27.859 --> 00:26:31.599 You know, this is quite an image. 00:26:32.039 --> 00:26:33.059 It's an image of a battle. 00:26:33.179 --> 00:26:35.619 We're just not used to battles these days. 00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:38.639 Most of us have probably never seen war. 00:26:39.659 --> 00:26:43.039 Some of us don't even like watching violence on movies. 00:26:43.039 --> 00:26:45.920 And so we don't like the thought of being in a battle of all, 00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:48.960 but this is what a realistic battle looks like. 00:26:49.899 --> 00:26:52.039 Battles involve someone winning, 00:26:52.420 --> 00:26:55.819 and it involves the destruction of the enemy. 00:26:56.519 --> 00:26:59.559 That is a good thing for the people of God. 00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:03.480 It is a hard thing for those who are God's enemies, 00:27:03.879 --> 00:27:07.220 but it is still good because who is winning? 00:27:08.220 --> 00:27:10.400 God is victorious here. 00:27:11.240 --> 00:27:13.779 Jesus is victorious here. 00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:14.920 He is completely victorious, 00:27:15.420 --> 00:27:16.779 and there should be no one 00:27:16.779 --> 00:27:19.319 that we should want to see more victorious 00:27:19.319 --> 00:27:20.440 in a battle than Jesus. 00:27:21.819 --> 00:27:24.380 The reason we get so squeamish when we see routes 00:27:24.380 --> 00:27:26.579 is because we are concerned 00:27:26.579 --> 00:27:29.420 that horrible things are going to happen, 00:27:29.539 --> 00:27:30.720 evil things are going to happen, 00:27:30.779 --> 00:27:31.880 but we trust Jesus 00:27:31.880 --> 00:27:34.640 because Jesus is good, 00:27:35.100 --> 00:27:36.259 and we trust him. 00:27:36.259 --> 00:27:40.599 This is easier if you've ever come to face 00:27:40.599 --> 00:27:42.980 with something that you recognize as true evil. 00:27:43.680 --> 00:27:46.879 If you've ever come face to face with true evil, 00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:51.019 then you understand the desire for true justice. 00:27:51.859 --> 00:27:53.660 And sometimes justice is weighty, 00:27:54.559 --> 00:27:58.500 but God's justice is always good, 00:27:59.000 --> 00:28:01.019 and we know that for certain. 00:28:01.019 --> 00:28:05.759 And this description of victory in these three verses, 00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:08.680 these are the most obvious conclusion 00:28:08.680 --> 00:28:10.819 to this entire psalm that you can imagine. 00:28:11.799 --> 00:28:13.759 These are some of the least surprising verses 00:28:13.759 --> 00:28:14.720 in all of Scripture 00:28:14.720 --> 00:28:17.420 because you are guaranteed the conclusion 00:28:17.420 --> 00:28:20.220 of this psalm from the very first verse. 00:28:21.220 --> 00:28:22.720 Sit at my right hand 00:28:22.720 --> 00:28:26.859 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. 00:28:26.859 --> 00:28:31.500 These last three verses are what naturally follows 00:28:31.500 --> 00:28:35.339 when God promises to conquer the sun's enemies. 00:28:36.299 --> 00:28:38.539 You can take this victory to the bank 00:28:38.539 --> 00:28:42.000 as soon as that promise is given in the very first verse. 00:28:42.439 --> 00:28:43.879 Christ will be victorious 00:28:43.879 --> 00:28:46.619 because God has promised it. 00:28:46.619 --> 00:28:50.379 Now, if there's one thing I want you to take hold of 00:28:50.379 --> 00:28:51.099 in this sermon, 00:28:51.779 --> 00:28:53.879 it's really the main takeaway of the entire psalm, 00:28:54.579 --> 00:28:55.059 it's this, 00:28:55.139 --> 00:28:59.059 I want you to live with confidence and assurance. 00:29:00.239 --> 00:29:01.239 Brothers and sisters, 00:29:01.439 --> 00:29:04.679 you see further than all of your non-Christian neighbors, 00:29:05.579 --> 00:29:07.199 and so you should act like it. 00:29:07.979 --> 00:29:10.719 You see further than the best projections 00:29:10.719 --> 00:29:12.859 and prognostications in the business. 00:29:13.019 --> 00:29:15.139 It doesn't matter what graphs you see, 00:29:15.140 --> 00:29:18.780 they do not see as far as you can see. 00:29:19.660 --> 00:29:22.759 You don't merely have a vague feeling or hunch 00:29:22.759 --> 00:29:24.540 that everything's going to work out. 00:29:25.320 --> 00:29:27.500 You know it for certain. 00:29:28.140 --> 00:29:30.000 You know how it's going to end 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:32.140 because God himself has promised it. 00:29:32.580 --> 00:29:36.320 And so we are called to live like we can see further. 00:29:37.160 --> 00:29:40.620 We can see further because of the words of God. 00:29:42.120 --> 00:29:43.800 Now, I don't want you to misunderstand 00:29:43.800 --> 00:29:44.759 what I'm saying here. 00:29:45.560 --> 00:29:47.520 You can have confidence and assurance 00:29:47.520 --> 00:29:51.280 and you can still see the entire world is falling apart. 00:29:51.680 --> 00:29:52.840 You can still think that. 00:29:53.500 --> 00:29:55.560 You can have confidence and assurance 00:29:55.560 --> 00:29:58.380 and you can still recognize that your life is falling apart. 00:29:59.060 --> 00:30:00.120 Matter of fact, that might be good. 00:30:00.119 --> 00:30:03.500 But you can have confidence and assurance 00:30:03.500 --> 00:30:09.779 and still look around and even wonder how all of this is going to work out for good. 00:30:10.459 --> 00:30:12.619 How God is going to bring good out of any of this. 00:30:12.619 --> 00:30:14.899 But at the center of it, you know. 00:30:15.599 --> 00:30:17.279 You know that he will. 00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:20.959 You know because God has promised it. 00:30:21.459 --> 00:30:23.319 Christ will be victorious. 00:30:23.719 --> 00:30:25.959 He hasn't promised that your life is going to be easy. 00:30:26.359 --> 00:30:29.379 He hasn't promised that you're going to have all the money you need. 00:30:29.719 --> 00:30:33.879 He hasn't promised that you're going to not have difficulties or pains or misfortunes. 00:30:33.880 --> 00:30:35.580 He hasn't promised any of that. 00:30:36.660 --> 00:30:39.160 But he has promised it. 00:30:39.240 --> 00:30:41.020 It will all be made right on the final day. 00:30:42.260 --> 00:30:46.960 It will be like every injustice that has ever occurred in the history of the world 00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:48.140 has never happened. 00:30:48.140 --> 00:30:50.380 And what does that look like? 00:30:50.460 --> 00:30:52.360 I am really not entirely sure myself. 00:30:53.240 --> 00:30:56.460 But that's what biblical justice is on the final day. 00:30:57.000 --> 00:31:00.620 When even the scars of the worst sins are removed. 00:31:02.020 --> 00:31:04.700 All is made right. 00:31:05.520 --> 00:31:10.860 And that is something that you can cling to no matter how dark the times may get. 00:31:11.220 --> 00:31:12.820 No matter how dark it gets, 00:31:12.820 --> 00:31:17.680 a Christian can always look and see there is light at the end of the tunnel. 00:31:18.140 --> 00:31:20.360 You may not know how far away that light is. 00:31:21.120 --> 00:31:23.200 But you know this for certain that it is there. 00:31:23.680 --> 00:31:25.259 You know that it is getting closer. 00:31:25.960 --> 00:31:28.300 And you know that it will be good. 00:31:29.420 --> 00:31:35.759 We believe the God who has worked the end has also worked the means. 00:31:36.460 --> 00:31:38.500 He knows how to get to the end. 00:31:38.800 --> 00:31:43.440 He has had the same plan since this psalm was written 3,000 years ago. 00:31:43.960 --> 00:31:47.540 He has had the same plan since before time itself began. 00:31:48.140 --> 00:31:51.540 It needs, it doesn't need to change. 00:31:51.920 --> 00:31:53.900 Because its outcome was never in doubt. 00:31:54.080 --> 00:31:55.200 God has promised it. 00:31:55.860 --> 00:31:56.900 And so he will do it. 00:31:57.920 --> 00:32:01.420 And so we should live our lives with a quiet confidence 00:32:01.420 --> 00:32:04.160 that comes from who Christ is, 00:32:04.720 --> 00:32:05.800 what he has done, 00:32:06.440 --> 00:32:07.600 and what he will do. 00:32:07.599 --> 00:32:10.219 All will be complete. 00:32:11.219 --> 00:32:12.759 The final day is coming. 00:32:13.259 --> 00:32:15.480 Soon all shall bow before him as king. 00:32:16.099 --> 00:32:17.500 And whatever you face, 00:32:18.379 --> 00:32:20.859 nothing can ever challenge that fact. 00:32:20.899 --> 00:32:23.500 And you can hold to it with confidence. 00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:26.419 What do I want you to hold on to? 00:32:26.459 --> 00:32:27.519 It's very simply this. 00:32:27.639 --> 00:32:29.399 It is Jesus Christ himself. 00:32:29.400 --> 00:32:33.040 That is who we need of every moment of every day 00:32:33.040 --> 00:32:36.680 because he is our perfect prophet, priest, and king. 00:32:36.920 --> 00:32:38.740 And he rules over all things. 00:32:39.140 --> 00:32:40.160 And he is in control. 00:32:40.880 --> 00:32:42.180 And he offers us forgiveness 00:32:42.180 --> 00:32:45.759 at the right hand of God the Father. 00:32:45.800 --> 00:32:47.320 Let us pray. 00:32:47.319 --> 00:32:51.740 Most gracious and loving Heavenly Father, 00:32:51.839 --> 00:32:53.220 Lord, we are thankful for your word. 00:32:53.659 --> 00:32:55.419 And we are thankful for Jesus Christ. 00:32:56.259 --> 00:32:59.439 We thank you that we have such a wonderful salvation in him. 00:33:00.119 --> 00:33:04.099 And we are thankful for how you continually minister to us 00:33:04.099 --> 00:33:05.980 and you work inside us. 00:33:06.599 --> 00:33:09.019 Lord, we pray that you would give us confidence and assurance. 00:33:09.700 --> 00:33:12.279 We pray, Lord, that we would live in light 00:33:12.279 --> 00:33:14.059 of the coming victory of Christ. 00:33:14.059 --> 00:33:17.700 And Lord, we pray that your church would expand. 00:33:18.099 --> 00:33:19.700 We pray that your kingdom would expand. 00:33:20.599 --> 00:33:21.339 And that all...