Jesus - The Promised King

Can you imagine how awesome it would be to have Extreme Makeover: Home Edition build you a new house?  To have Ty Pennington jump off his bus and shout into a megaphone, “good morning . . . family”!!!!!  Extreme Makeover goes all out, they demolish the house you are currently living in and build an elaborate new house with the specific needs of the family in mind.  Every room is catered to the individual who is going to be living in it.  It would be hard to imagine anything more exciting than Extreme Makeover building you a new house.  What if God promised that He was going to build you a house?  The Lord promises to build king David a house in . . .

READ:  2 Samuel 7:1-17

After the Lord had given David rest from his enemies and a house of cedar to dwell in, David tells the prophet Nathan that he is going to build a house for the Lord.  In response to David’s desire to build the Lord a house, the Lord says, “you are not going to build ME a house, I am going to build YOU a house!”  God had more in mind for David and the people of Israel than simply conquering their enemies and giving them a comfortable place to live so they could live happily “for a while” after.  God had in mind for them to live happily forever after!  God promised David a royal household from his lineage that would rule and reign forever.

JESUS CHRIST is the promised King who will reign on the throne FOREVER!  The promised King would do MORE than just deliver His people from their enemies.  The promised King would do MORE than just give them a comfortable home to live in. Through Jesus the King, God was planning to provide an eternal home where all who receive him as King can dwell with God forever!  How do we know that Jesus is THE promised King?

1.  The promised King will be from the OFFSPRING of David of the tribe of JUDAH (vs 12) – After king David was dead and gone God was going to raise up another King from David’s biological family.  There were twelve tribes of Israel and David was from the tribe of Judah.  READ: Mt. 1:1-3, 5-6, 16 The first thing the gospel writer Matthew does to show that Jesus is the predicted King is lay out his family history.  Just as God has promised, Jesus entered into humanity through the royal bloodline of Israel, His great, great, great, x23 . . . grandfather was king David.

2.  The promised King will build an eternal HOUSE for His Father (vs 13, 16) – David wanted to build a house (temple) where the presence of God could dwell “permanently”.  Up until that time, the presence of God was in the ark of the covenant which was housed in a “tent” (tabernacle) that moved about.  God had something even more permanent in mind than David.  In Matthew 12:6 referring to Himself Jesus said, “something greater than the temple is here.”  And in John 2:19-21 referring to His death and resurrection Jesus said, “destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up . . . he was speaking about the temple of His body.”  God built the eternal house that He promised David with the physical body and blood of Jesus Christ.  Believing in the person of Jesus Christ grants us entrance into His body (the church) and an eternal dwelling place in the presence of God.

3.  The promised King will be God’s SON (vs14) – Not only would the promised King be from the lineage of king David, He would be from the family line of God Himself!  The relationship between the Lord and the promised King would be one of a Father and a Son.  In Hebrews 1:2-3 before quoting 2 Sam. 7:14 in speaking about Jesus it says, “God has spoken by His Son . . . He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature.”  Jesus the King is God Himself in the flesh.

CONCLUSION

Jesus Christ is the promised King of kings!  He is the house that God promised king David He would build out of his lineage.  He is the house that God built, destroyed, and raised up again so that we could dwell with Him for eternity.  We can join God’s kingdom and dwell with God forever by accepting Jesus Christ as Savior and allowing Him to rule and reign in our lives.  Is Jesus Christ your King!?!

King Josiah - Heart of Obedience

What was the most “painful” punishment you have experienced?  Spanking, grounding, time out, loss of privilege, detention?  All of these might be described as forms of wrath, painful consequences for disobeying authority.  We have all experienced some or all of these punishments as a result of disobedience.  I remember one spanking I received growing up.  My brother and I were lying in front of the TV, my dad asked me to do something, and I either didn’t do it or complained about it, and without warning, I got swatted.  When we disobey, we deserve punishment.  Complete obedience is necessary if we are going to avoid the punishment God rightfully gives as a result of sin.

Josiah was 8 years old when he became the sixteenth king of the southern kingdom of Judah (640–609 bc).  In his 18th year as king the “Book of the Law” (Deuteronomy or Pentateuch) was discovered while repairs were being made on the temple.  Hilkiah, the high priest, found the book and gave it to Shaphan, the secretary, who read it to King Josiah. Upon hearing the message of the book, Josiah became aware of his and the people of Judah’s disobedience and tore his clothes and humbled himself before the Lord. 

READ:  2 Kings 22:13, 16-17, 23:1-3

In order to be right with God, we need to be OBEDIENT to His commands!  God demands obedience, anything less than perfect obedience demands punishment.  As soon as Josiah heard the Book of the Law he knew that in order to be right with God he and the people of Judah needed to start doing the things He commanded them to do!  What do we learn about obedience from king Josiah?

1.  The consequence of disobedience is God’s WRATH (2 Kings 22:13, 16-17) – In Max Lucado’s book “In The Grip of Grace” he describes God’s hatred for evil as a, “holy hostility, a righteous hatred of wrong, a divine disgust that destroys His children.”  The word God uses to describe His hatred and overall attitude toward sin and resulting punishment is WRATH!  God’s wrath means that He intensely hates and punishes all sin.  During Josiah’s reign the people were sinning and not even aware of it and were subject to God’s wrath.  Upon discovery of the Book of the Law Josiah quickly responded to avoid God’s wrath.  There is no easy way around it, our sin makes all of us objects of God’s wrath (Eph. 2:1-3).  When we disobey the commands of God, His purity and holiness allows for no other response than righteous punishing anger. 

2.  Obedience requires READING the Word of God (2 Kings 22:11, 23:1-2) – When Josiah realized the consequences of sin and disobedience to God’s commands he quickly exposed the people to the Book of the Law and read it to them.  Josiah immediately eliminated the possibility of ignorance as an excuse for their disobedience.  If we are going to be obedient to the Word of God there is no substitute for spending time reading, studying, and memorizing it.  Not just the bits and pieces that we like or agree with, but ALL of God’s Word.  From Genesis to Revelation we need to be reading “the book” and being obedient to the truths we discover inside!

3.  Obedience is a pre-determined decision based on COVENANT (2 Kings 23:3) – After hearing the Book of the Covenant, Josiah and the people of Israel committed to being obedient to God in everything He commanded them to do.  Our culture has lost the idea of covenant.  Covenant is an indissolvable relationship between two parties where each is unconditionally committed to the other.  Being in covenant with God is not a casual “in one day, out the next” relationship. Relationship with God is an unconditional commitment knowing Him and being obedient to His Word. 

Jesus Christ is a King who was 100% obedient to His Father!  Philippians 2:8 says that Jesus, “humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”  Jesus’ obedient death on the cross makes it possible for us to be forgiven in the midst of our disobedience.  There is no way that we can be perfectly obedient, that is why we need Jesus’ perfect obedience and Him bearing the wrath that we deserve for our sin.  Jesus bore God’s wrath on the cross, the punishment we deserve, so that we can be forgiven.

King Hezekiah - Heart of Humility

I don’t have any hesitation admitting that throughout my life I have struggled with pride.  I am probably even guilty of pridefully attempting to look humble . . . isn’t that a pitiful contradiction!?!  By default, I attribute my success and accomplishments to knowing what I want to do, making a plan, working hard, and being persistent.  A prideful motivation for me to be “successful” is the desire to be thought of highly by others.  Not so much publically, but just to obtain a faultless reputation among anyone and everyone who knows me.  I have learned that being prideful is self-seeking and an attempt to live life independent of God or in place of God. 

King Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became Judah’s 11^th king and reigned for 29 years.  2 Chronicles 29:2 says that, “he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord”, and 2 Kings 18:5 says, “there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him.”  It appears that Hezekiah had plenty of reasons to be proud.  Two of Hezekiah’s greatest successes/accomplishments were, 1.) rebuilding and restoring proper worship in the Temple in Jerusalem (2 Chron. 29:3-36) and 2.) defeating the Assyrian King Sennacherib (2 Chron. 32:1-21).  Probably Hezekiah’s greatest accomplishment was at the end of his life when he overcame the sin of pride . . .  

READ:  2 Chronicles 32:22-26

No matter what God accomplishes through us, He expects us to remain HUMBLE!  As great as Hezekiah was and everything He accomplished, he was still imperfect, he was prideful.  Whether his pride showed on the outside or not, God knew that in his heart he had thoughts like, “look what I have done!”    What do we learn about humility from king Hezekiah?

1.  Humility means RECOGNIZING who gets the credit for our accomplishments (vs 22) – It’s pretty clear WHO deserved the credit for king Hezekiah’s accomplishments.  Verse 22 says, “the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib.”  2 Kings 19:35 says that God sent an angel and killed 185,000 men in Sennacherib’s army causing him to retreat from Jerusalem.  Although Hezekiah was king, it was God who caused him and Israel to be victorious.  No matter what we accomplish in life, God is the one who provides the talents, abilities, gifts, and/or circumstances to bring it about.  We must always be aware of God’s activity in our lives and ready to give Him the credit He deserves.   

2.  Humility means RETURNING to God the praise and acknowledgement we receive for our accomplishments (vs 23, 25) – After Israel’s victory over king Sennacherib they brought “gifts to the Lord” and “precious things” to Hezekiah.  Hezekiah’s victory over Sennacherib also made him a lifetime VIP on the world stage.  It’s easy to see how the praise and acknowledgement Hezekiah received went straight to his head.  Keeping public praise for our accomplishments points to our pride.  Instead, when we receive public praise and acknowledgement we must use it as a platform to bring glory to God.  When the spotlight shines on us, we must be the ones who humbly redirect the attention to the One who truly deserves it!

3.  Humility means REPENTING when we have become PRIDEFUL (vss 25-26) – As great of a king as Hezekiah was, God still brought wrath and punishment upon him and Judah and Jerusalem because of his pride.  As a result of Hezekiah identifying his pride and humbling himself and turning from his sin, God extended his life 15 years.  No matter how good we are or how much God accomplishes through us, there are consequences for stealing God’s glory and keeping it for ourselves.  Beware of pride and be quick to repent so that God can continue to use us in His service!

CONCLUSION

Jesus Christ is a King who humbly gives glory to His Father!  In John 17:1, 4 Jesus says, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you . . . I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do (cf. Jn. 8:54).”  At the moment that God would accomplish something amazing through His life, Jesus was ready to give the glory to His Father.  When God accomplishes the work He gives us to do, we must humbly give Him all the honor and the glory!