“The Man Upstairs”
TEXT
1 Tim. 2:5-8 (KJV) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; [6] Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. [7] Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. [8] I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
Introduction:
A. The Phrase that I have chosen to be the title of my message is often a phrase used by people to try to describe a God that they don’t really know how to describe, so they call Him “The Man Upstairs”.
1. They’ll often say, “I talked to the man upstairs”, which generally means they’ve got issues.
2. Or they’ll say, “I thank the man upstairs”, which really says that they don’t know Him, nor do they have a relationship with Him, but “Thanks Anyways.”
B. But I’d like to borrow that phrase from them for the title of this Message, “The Man Upstairs”.
C. As in descript as that is, it nonetheless, has some theological merit in understanding the ministry of Christ in the present tense.
D. “Do You Know The Man Upstairs?”
E. “Only One”
1. One God.
2. One Mediator
3. Between God & Men.
B. “The Man Christ Jesus”
1. Not accidentally wrote.
2. Not to be irreverent or disrespectful.
3. This statement points to the theological properties that are invested in the incarnate manifestation of God in Christ, that God was made flesh and dwelt among us…
C. Three things we must understand about God:
I. He Came To Relate To Us.
A. Relate- the root word for relationship.
1. When God came in the form of Jesus Christ, He restored the breach in the relationship between God and man.
2. If there is going to be a relationship, there has be relativity, and if there is going to be relativity, somebody has to be able to relate to us.
3. And since we were too human to relate to God, God became man so that He might relate to us again.
4. One Jewish believer said, it all started in Israel with a simple relationship with Jesus. Rome got hold of it and it became political. Europe got hold of it and it became ceremonial. America got hold of it and it became big business. Oh, to bring it back to Israel and become simple again.
B. He relates to us as our “Kinsman Redeemer”.
1. Two words Kins - Man
2. Kin- are you related to me
a. He’s a related man. He’s related to me.
b. In the Old Testament, in order to redeem property, you had to be kin to the one needing redemption.
c. Before God could redeem us from the curse of the law, He had to be kin to us.
d. It is for this purpose that He came, that He might relate to us as kinsman redeemer.
e. We’re related. We’re connected in a way that boggles the mind of the enemy.
f. There are lots of things that couldn’t happen to me, and didn’t happen to me because I’m kin to the Lord. And God will defend His children.
g. Exodus 4:22 (KJV) And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
C. God came in human form that He might establish kinship with us for the purpose of relating to us so that he might restore our relationship with God, which we lost through sin.
II. He died to redeem us.
A. His coming didn’t redeem us. He had to die.
B. The Sacrificial lamb.
C. Redemption is a financial term, which means that Christ paid the wages that Satan had me locked up on, that freed me.
D. “Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things…”
1. Because He died to redeem me, you have a terrible time convincing me that I’m worthless.
2. My Net Worth can not be calculated by my possession.
E. Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So.
F. I’m redeemed; past tense…it is finished.
III. He lives to represent us.
A. Hebrews 7:25 … he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
B. He continues to occupy the office of High Priest so He can intercede on my behalf and represent me in the portals of Glory.
C. I’ve got a Man on the inside of the Board Room of Heaven that represents me.
D. He is in Heaven that which my Congressman is supposed to be in Congress.
1. He represents my interests and my affairs.
2. Many times, hell would have destroyed me, but I had a man on the inside pleading my case.
3. Every time the devil brings accusations against me, Jesus defends me in Heaven.
E. If you ever got a break through and couldn’t even figure out what happened. It was because there was a man in glory that was pleading your case.
1. The enemy didn’t destroy you.
2. The car wreck didn’t kill you.
3. The disease didn’t eat you up.
4. The witch couldn’t hex you.
5. You Had A Man Up Stairs.
IV. “The Man Up Stairs”
A. Humanity Created in the image of God.
1. Marred by sin.
2. Lost godliness, took on ungodliness.
3. When we fell, we lost our likeness and kinship with God, our relativity and our relationship.
4. We fell so low that we couldn’t ever get back up to God.
5. So God came down to us. He said, “Since you can’t come up to being like me, I’ll come down to being like you.”
a. He came down, through 42 generations.
b. He came down, through the oracles of time.
c. He came down, through the mouth of the prophets
d. He came down, through the tabernacles and the temples.
e. He came down and found a virgin named Mary.
f. He came down and wrapped Himself in a garment of flesh, in the form of a servant.
g. He said, “Since you couldn’t be like God, I’ll be like man. I’ll become flesh.”
1) In the beginning was the word…and the word was made flesh.
h. I’m saved, and the devil can’t mess with my soul.
i. He became man for us, so He could represent us as our High Priest.
1) But the problem with being a High Priest is that every High Priest must have an offering.
2) Christ was the only High Priest who went into the Holy Of Holies without another animal.
3) He went in by Himself, With Himself.
4) He was the offerer, and the offering.
5) And He offered up Himself a living sacrifice, which is where we get Romans 12:1.
B. There’s nothing that your going through that Jesus can’t relate to.
1. Hebrews 4:15-16 (KJV) For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
2. There’s nothing worse than being represented by somebody that can’t relate to your life.
3. In a court of law, your attorney is there to represent you. He’s not there for His own name.
a. When they call your name, He stands up.
b. That means that all the issues referring to the plaintiff are handled by the lawyer.
c. Jesus said, “If you’re calling Her Name, Then you’re Calling My Name.
4. Do You Know The Man Upstairs?
5. Let Me Give You His Resume’.
a. The Trial and Temptations of Christ
b. John Baptizing
c. Tempted in the Wilderness 40 days.
d. From judgment hall to judgment hall.
1) A weaker man would have died on the whipping post, but He was choicy about where He died.
2) He had to be a sacrifice. So He held death off.
e. They hung Him high, and stretched Him wide.
1) When He died, the sun refused to shine, and the earth did quake, and the veil was rent from top to bottom, and graves popped open all over Jerusalem, and dead men were seen walking the streets.
2) He died- till law fell over into grace.
3) Till mercy and truth were met together.
4) Till righteousness and peace had kissed each other.
5) He died- till every curse was broken, every witch fell backwards, every demon began to tremble.
f. He rose.
1) “Death, I thought you stung Him.” “I tried, but He took the sting out of death.”
2) “Grave, I thought you were going to hold Him.” “I held Him three days, but He broke loose from my grip.”
3) “Mr. Stone, I thought you was rolled in front of Him.” “He rolled me out of the way.”
g. He didn’t just rise from the dead and go straight to Heaven, as if He was scared of the Romans. But He hung around for 40 days.
1) He proved to them that He was alive for forty days.
i. He wasn’t a ghost, He was a man.
ii. Ask Thomas
h. After that, He called for a cloud.
1) The cloud began to take “The Man” Christ Jesus in the air.
2) As the Man started going up stairs, the angel said, “Ye men of Galilee…”
3) When He stepped off that cloud into glory, all the sudden, there was a man in glory, and there was glory in the man.
4) Hebrews 10:12 (KJV) But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
5) He kept on setting there, until one of His deacons got in trouble.
i. Acts 7:55 (KJV) But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
ii. He’ll stand up for you.
iii. 2 Tim. 4:16-17 (KJV) At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me… [17] Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me…
C. We need “The Man” Christ Jesus.
1. The mystery of the Godhead is locked up in “The Man, Christ Jesus.”
2. Mark 4:41 (KJV) …“What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
D. When Man couldn’t become like God, then God became like man.
1. That through His poverty, we might be rich in Him.
2. That through His suffering, I may have peace.
3. That through His stripes, I may be healed.
E. He said, “When you pray, don’t use your name. Use my name. I’m your attorney. I represent you. And whatever you need the judge to do, come in my name.”
1. John 14:13 (KJV) And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
2. When you say “Jesus”, you’re calling on the Man Upstairs.
a. “Don’t take my name in vain. Don’t call me if you don’t want something. Cause when you call me, I’ll stand up for you.”
3. When you call His name, Demons tremble.
a. Philip. 2:9-11 (KJV) Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: [10] That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; [11] And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
b. His name has been exalted above every name.
1) Proverbs 18:10 (KJV) The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
F. There is a Man upstairs, and that Man is coming back again.
1. John 19:37 (KJV) And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.
2. Don’t let anybody tell you that the 2nd coming was the coming of the Holy Ghost.
3. The Father and Holy Ghost couldn’t be pierced.
4. It’s the Man, Christ Jesus coming back just like He left.
a. “This Same Jesus…”
b. “The Lord Himself…”
5. Are you ready for His Coming?
