We have been looking at prophecy in the Bible. Specifically, we have been looking at those prophecies that talk about the inauguration of the Kingdom of God and the establishment of Jesus Christ as the King of Kings,reigning in the hearts and lives the redeemed.
This current, present day reign of Christ is described in the Bible in terms of victor. A Kingdom that is ever becoming, ever growing, never retreating, never experiencing defeat.
Isaiah 9:6-7 (NASB77)
6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
Psalms 110:1-3 (NASB77)
1 The Lord says to my Lord: " Sit at My right hand, Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet."
2 The Lord will stretch forth Thy strong scepter from Zion, saying, " Rule in the midst of Thine enemies."
3 Thy people will volunteer freely in the day of Thy power; In holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Thy youth are to Thee as the dew.
Last Sunday we looked at the idea found in verse 3 related to the behavior of the people who described as “the people” of the One who is to “Rule in the midst” of his enemies. Specifically we looked at why the Lord’s people will “volunteer freely”. This speaks mostly to the motivation of God’s people in light of what God has done for us in Christ.
Now to review what we saw last Sunday.
The Lord’s people volunteer freely in the day of his power because:
Jesus Died To Save Us
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (NASB77)
14 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;
15 and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
Jesus Wins! The devil is defeated. The final enemy, death, will be absolutely conquered on the day of the resurrection when we all rise again to live eternally with Jesus in Heaven.
Everything will be restored by Jesus.
Revelation 21:5 (NASB77)
5 And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He •said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true."
Because Jesus Rewards His People
Revelation 22:12-13 (NASB77)
12 "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.
This morning, I want to continue in a similar direction by looking even further into what the Bible says about the behavior and actions of the followers of Jesus Christ.
Psalms 110:2 “The Lord will stretch forth Thy strong scepter from Zion saying “Rule in the midst of Thine enemies.”
Christian's Maintain A Vital Relationship With Jesus
Jesus is alive! His promise is that he is with us.
Matthew 28:18-20 (NASB77)
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, " All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 " Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Hebrews 13:5-6 (NASB77)
5 Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, " I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,"
6 so that we confidently say, " The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me?"
As Christians, our relationship with Jesus remains vital through prayer, the Word and His people, which is the church. Also through grateful worship.
Jesus highlights the significance of the Word.
John 14:21-24 (NASB77)
21 " He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him."
22 Judas (not Iscariot) •said to Him, "Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us, and not to the world?"
23 Jesus answered and said to him, " If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him.
24 "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.
John 6:63 (NASB77)
63 " It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
Hebrews 4:12 (NASB77)
12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
The Bible also teaches about the importance of prayer.
Philippians 4:4-7 (NASB77)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
The Bible also makes it clear that we all connect to Christ through His Church.
Ephesians 1:22 (NASB77)
22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
So this is what we do as the people of the Lord who volunteer freely in the day of His power. We maintain a vital relationship with Him.
We do this in the context of this culture that we live in. The world. So, we have a relationship also to the world we live in.
For this reason, one of the key activities for Christians in this world is that we make disciples.
Matthew 28:18-20 (NASB77)
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, " All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 " Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
We Baptize and we teach.
Paul used slightly different terminology in 2 Corinthians where he spoke of us being "ambassadors" for Christ who reach out in love.
2 Corinthians 5:20 (NASB77)
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
An important principle for us to remember is that people living in this world without Christ are not our enemies.
Ephesians 6:12 (NASB77)
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Since people are not our enemies, we reach out in love and with hope.
Matthew 12:20-21 (NASB77)
20 " A battered reed He will not break off, And a smoldering wick He will not put out, Until He leads justice to victory.
21 " And in His name the Gentiles will hope."
John 3:16-17 (KJV)
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
This is what we do as followers of Christ in this world. We make disciples. We reach out to the world around us. We reach out in love and hope with the certain assurance of the Lord's presence and the Lord's victory.
