It was the will of the Lord... By His knowledge...

For Their Sake

(Isaiah 53:10-11, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, March 31, 2013)

[10] Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;
he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt,

God has an eternal purpose. From before the creation of the world, the Lord of glory has had a plan. That plan has now been revealed to us in the coming of His Son and confirmed for our faith in words of reconciliation with God, words that we can hear and receive.

The plan was not one we would have made up. It was not only victorious, but also tragic. All of it was the will of the Lord. It was the will of the Lord that Jesus should rise from the dead. It was also the will of the Lord that Jesus should die before He rose from the dead.

Why would the Father crush His beloved Son? Why would He put Him to grief? The Father made the perfectly sinless life of Jesus “an offering for guilt.”

What was this offering for guilt? The Lord prepared His people for the death of a Substitute through centuries of liturgy. The guilt offering was a part of that liturgy. The Israelites were to understand through the offering of a sacrifice something about their sins against God and against one another. Their transgressions had brought damages upon themselves and others, damages that required restitution and repair. This was the message of the guilt offering that we read about in Leviticus, Numbers, and in the prophets.

In Isaiah 53, we see a clear prophesy that an offering for guilt will come, not by an animal, but a Person. His death will take away our guilt and will pay what is necessary in order to bring about the complete repair of creation. This too is the plan of of God, not only that His Son would save us, but that the order of Life would be firmly established forever in a renewed world.

he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
[11] Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;We see this in the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. Graves are not a part of the final plan of the Lord. Immortal bodies are fitting for those who will know and love the Lord forever. Bodies do not live in empty space. Resurrection bodies live in a renewed environment appropriate to the glory of the God who has solved our sin problem through the death of His Son.

According to the Lord's prophet, the Suffering Servant would not only die, but He would live again. He would have offspring. We who receive a new liturgy of resurrection are His children.

As Jesus was going to the cross, Luke tells us that He said,

“[23:28] Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. [29] For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ [30] Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ [31] For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

Since sin came into the world, childbearing has involved pain. As Jesus went to the cross, He warned of a day when that pain would be much worse, not the birth pains of physical labor and delivery, but the birth pains of a new resurrection world coming in the midst of another world that is falling apart. Yet despite all that pain that families would experience, Jesus, the Suffering Servant, would have offspring. Not only would He have people that would be sons of God through Him, but He who died for them, would see them with His eyes. He would “walk before the Lord in the land of the living” in the words of one of the songs He would have sung just before His death (Psalm 116). He would see His offspring because it was the plan of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to prolong the days of the Man who became a guilt offering for us.

God has a will. He made a choice long before Jesus was born. That choice was recorded for us in Isaiah 53 and secured for us in the death and resurrection of the Servant of the Lord. This will of the Lord is not a meager existence of weeping and distress, but a world of the greatest bounty beyond anything you have seen or even asked for. All this perfection of will is in the hand of the Lord who experienced great anguish in His soul for our sake. He shall be satisfied.

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.We may consider ourselves or someone else as exceptionally clever, but our knowledge or our ability to express ourselves in ways that bring the approval of others will never achieve for us the resurrection world that we long for. This environment of blessing has come to us through the knowledge of Jesus, the Righteous One, the Servant of the Lord.

He knew what the Lord required and He accomplished it. He knew what would be necessary for you and I to be counted as righteous, and He has provided from heaven all the gifts necessary for us to be a part of the prosperity that He has secured for us.

He bore our iniquities on the cross, but He did more than that, since He knew that more than that would be necessary for us to be citizens of heaven. We not only needed the debts from our offenses against God to be paid for, we needed to be counted as righteous. To be righteous is not only to have the absence of sin. We must have the presence of the fullness of obedience. The cross was the crowning obedience of a perfectly obedient life that Jesus lived for our sake. When we call upon the Name of the Lord, not only are our sins forgiven, we are credited with the perfect righteousness of the Son of God.

Jesus knew what was necessary. He told His disciples that it was necessary that He ascend to the Father. He poured out His Holy Spirit upon the church. He gave us gifts of faith and repentance. He is with us so that we can learn to follow Him. The Guilt Offering is working His will.

Thirty years ago, Candy and I were invited to an Easter service with some friends. That was the beginning of an adventure that has continued now for three decades. In some ways these thirty years have been all about the meaning of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This life that we all have been given is not an environment for living out our own agendas. The resurrection of Jesus was a bold divine display of the victory of God's eternal purpose.

God is using us, not according to our own definitions of happiness, which would only end in death, but according to His, which can only end in the fullness of resurrection life. He is using all of us as His servants who go forth in the Name of His One Suffering and Victorious Servant. Our lives bring His message: “Be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.” God made Him, who had no guilt of His own, to be a guilt offering for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God, in Him. His victory over death has become our victory over death. His will is best.

Reading from the Gospels: Luke 24:1-12

Reading from the Epistles: 2 Corinthians 5:11-21

Sermon text: Isaiah 53:10-11

Sermon Point: The Lord's victory over death has become our victory over death.

You will have to listen to Jesus. Why wait?

March 31, 2013 Evening:

Title: The King and Priest of the Resurrection

Old Testament Passage: Psalm 110 – The Victorious King and Priest

Gospel Reading: Luke 24:44 – ...everything written about Me in the … Psalms

Sermon Text: Hebrews 1:13 – a quote from Psalm 110:1 about what God is doing right now

Sermon Point: The Son of God is at the right hand of the Father as the Triune God prepares His enemies to be visibly under the foot of Jesus Christ.

[13] And to which of the angels has he ever said,Psalm 110 must have been a very confusing psalm to those Old Testament worshipers who sang it back in the days before the coming of Jesus. How could David's son be David's Lord? Who exactly were the two persons referred to in the beginning of the Psalm in these words: “The LORD says to my Lord...”

The first “LORD” was the holy Name that so many were afraid to utter, the great “I-AM.” This only God said something to David's Adonai (Lord). In order to avoid the word YWVH, Jews subsituted in the word for Lord, Adonai. Therefore they would have sung these words, “The Adonai said to my Adonai.” What could this possibly mean?

The expectation from the rest of the psalm is that the figure who was “my Adonai” was the expected Messiah, who according to 2 Samuel 7 was to be a descendant of David. But how would David have referred to his own descendant as his “Adonai?” Would not David, the forerunner, be the superior of the two?

When Jesus posed this question, it stopped all questioning of Him. His adversaries did not know what to say.

We know the solution to this mystery, and thus we are able to make very good use of Psalm 110. The Father spoke to the eternal Son, now made man for our sake. Since Jesus was not only the Son of David according to His human nature but also the eternal Son of God according to His divine nature, He was clearly far above David. Psalm 110 was not written about an angel. It was written about the God-Man, Jesus.

“Sit at my right handThe message quoted here reminds us of the present work of Jesus Christ so that we will pay more careful attention to what we have heard from Him and from His ambassadors.

After Jesus died for us and rose again from the dead, He ascended on high and was seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. To be at the Father's right hand is to be at the place of supreme power and authority, where all of the glorious attributes of the Lord are expressed in His soverion dominion over this creation.

until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?This position of glory over an inglorious creation is only temporary, as the psalm informed us. There is an “until” in our text. One feature of the end of the inglorious era is listed. All apply. The enemies of the Messiah will be entirely subdued.

But this is not all that will take place when this “until” comes. The inglorious will give way to the perfectly glorious. Jesus will be at the head of that new creation, not an angel. We who have that great hope need to listen to our King and High Priest now.

Beyond Sympathy... The Power of Eternal Atonement

The One for the Many

(Isaiah 53:12, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, March 29, 2013)

[12] Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,The passage that we consider now is the concluding verse of the last Suffering Servant Song in Isaiah. The song begins at the end of the prior chapter with the words, “Who has believed what they have heard from us,” and continues with a description of the sufferings of the Messiah that was written many centuries before Jesus was born.

The last three verses of the song end in victory, a victory of the One for the many. Jesus is the One, and we who share in His worship are the many. The language here is of a battle and a victor. The spoils are the spoils of war, the booty, the portion that goes to the warriors. God is giving His Servant the fruits of His labor, but this victory, ultimately the fullness of a resurrection kingdom, is to be shared with the many who have been numbered with Him.

Two questions come to mind:

1. What did the Son do to merit such a great prize as an eternal kingdom?

2. How is it that this great prize came to be shared with us?

The answers to these questions come in the four lines that conclude verse twelve.

because he poured out his soul to deathFirst, the Suffering Servant, Jesus, poured out His soul to death. He gave His all to the warfare that only He could win. His death on the cross was the crowning achievement of His perfect obedience to the Father. He did what the Father told Him to do. Even this. There had never been such an achievement in the history of mankind. Others had given their own sin-storied lives in war, but never before had a sinless life been given in perfect obedience to the Father. This Jesus did. Only God could determine the prize that was won by such an achievement. The resurrection kingdom, not only for Himself, but for the many who would worship Him, was that prize.

But why would we be included in the benefits that He alone won by His solitary warfare?

and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.The remaining phrases tell us, and they inform us further of the extent of His righteous suffering. Others may have been willing to die for those they considered to be worthy. Jesus died for the unworthy, not to leave us in that state, but by the power of the worthiness of His life and death, to translate us from one way of life to another.

Jesus was numbered with the breakers of the Law. This was fulfilled literally at His death where He was crucified between two thieves. But that was only a fitting symbol for a greater truth, that in His life and death, Jesus was identifying Himself forever with those who had broken God's Law.

He did this not only from sympathy. The cross was more than a sympathetic gesture. It was a necessary atonement. He carried the guilt and the punishment for us.

Finally, He makes vigorous intercession for us. Even now. His words match the gravity of His action. He died and now speaks for us, the One for the many.

He is Life!

Comforted by the Good News of Life

(Acts 20:1-16, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, March 10, 2013)

[20:1] After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia. [2] When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. [3] There he spent three months, and when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. [4] Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus.

Paul's time in Ephesus was over. It was his intention to visit the churches in Macedonia and Achaia, and then to travel from there to Jerusalem with the collection that the Lord had raised up for the needy believers there. See 2 Corinthians 8-9.

We are told that Paul brought the churches much encouragement. Christians need courage. We are also told that not everyone in Greece was eager to see Paul again. Some wanted him dead. Others, including traveling companions from the various regions where the message of Christ had been preached, were giving their all for this message to be proclaimed everywhere. What a contrast! Some were committed to killing the messenger to stop the message. Others were ready to give their lives so that the world might know that the Lord of the Resurrection had come.

[5] These went on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas, [6] but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days. [7] On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. [8] There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered. [9] And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. [10] But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” [11] And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. [12] And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted.When Paul came to the port city of Troas, the apostolic team stayed there for seven days. Toward the end of that time, on a Sunday, the day of the week that Christ rose from the dead, the church gathered to break bread. This gathering “together to break bread” on the first day of the week is what the church has now been doing for many centuries. But Paul's morning service seemed to blend directly into his evening service. That was unusual.

People in the church in Troas wanted to hear what the apostle had to say, and Paul wanted to use all the time that he could, knowing that he might never return this way again. (Acts 20:25) Among those listening was the young man Eutychus sitting in a third story window who fell asleep and then fell to his death. What a discouraging end to this week of ministry!

But the death of Eutychus was not the end. Paul went down and took the young man in his arms and declared this good news to the crowd, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” But Paul was not finished teaching! He stopped only for some food, and then kept on going until daybreak. The next morning, as Paul was leaving, the church of Troas took Eutychus away, not a dead corpse to be buried, but a young man alive by the power of God! But how many more people in the church in Troas found that the Word that Paul had proclaimed for those many hours had become a word of life in their souls, springing up unto eternal life? They would remember the miracle. A boy found life in the arms of the apostle. How deep the Father's love for them, and for us, through the cross of Jesus Christ.

[13] But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land. [14] And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. [15] And sailing from there we came the following day opposite Chios; the next day we touched at Samos; and the day after that we went to Miletus. [16] For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.

Meanwhile, the apostolic team continued on in their goal to reach Jerusalem with a collection for the church there. The Gentile believers in Macedonia and Achaia were eager to give to their new Jewish brothers and sisters. This gift too was a well of living water coming from Christ in heaven and traveling through places like Philippi and Thessalonica.

The feast of Pentecost would be a perfect time for the wealth of the nations to flow into Jerusalem. Some twenty-five years earlier, when Christ laid down His life and picked it up again, the Spirit of the Lord was poured out upon the apostles and the small number of believers in Jerusalem. During the next two decades, that spirit-filled, apostolic church became the beginning of a new movement of resurrection life that was changing the world.

The Word of Christ was going everywhere. Miracles were being performed that testified in new regions the power of the Word from heaven. People were giving their lives to the King who gave His life for them. They were willing to give their money so that people in the church in Jerusalem would have enough to eat.

We are still a part of that apostolic movement. Churches stretched from Jerusalem to Irian Jaya have found spiritual life through the preaching of the Word of Christ. All throughout the world people are singing to Him with joy. How about you?

The Word is still apostolic. We have an authoritative Word for us from heaven recorded in the Scriptures. Our souls are less likely to find eternal life based on our own goodness than a man is likely to rise again alive who falls from a third story window. God has picked us up in His arms as His own dear sons and daughters, and He has been carrying us upstairs to live with Him for many centuries now. Even poor people who don't have enough themselves have been giving away millions upon millions with the heartfelt desire that others might celebrate Pentecost blessings together with the church around the world.

Everywhere we go, our song is the same: “I've got a river of life flowing out of me! Makes the lame to walk, and the blind to see. Opens prison doors, sets the captives free! I've got a river of life flowing out of me! Spring up, O well, within my soul! Spring up, O well, and make me whole! Spring up, O well, and give to me, that life abundantly.”

We have one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all.” We have life through the Word of our risen King, Jesus. He is Life.

Old Testament Passage: Numbers 21:16-20 – Spring up, O well!

Gospel Passage: John 4:7-14 – … springing up to eternal life

Sermon Text: Acts 20:1-16 – Paul's travels and ministry from Ephesus to Greece and back again on the way to Jerusalem, including an unusual night in Troas

Sermon Point: A true apostle and an apostolic church faces danger at every turn, but we bring the Spirit-filled Word of life.

His Angels

Title: God's Angels

Old Testament Passage: Psalm 104 – The greatness of God and His goodness to His people

Gospel Reading: Luke 21:1-4 – The widow who gave all that she had

Sermon Text: Hebrews 1:7 – a quote from Psalm 104:4 about the power of God

Sermon Point: God made angels to be His servants, but Jesus did not die for angels.

[7] Of the angels he says,The author of this letter has been comparing angels to Jesus, and Jesus to angels. Why is he doing this. He tells us in the second chapter. The Old Testament revelation came through the ministry of angels, but Jesus is the fulfillment of the Word of God. Just as He is the Son of God above all the angelic “sons” of God, he rules over all things for the church. Therefore, we must pay more attention to Him.

“He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.”

One of the ways that we pay better attention to Jesus Christ is by considering how the Hebrew Scriptures prepared us for His coming and for the kingdom that He is now establishing from heaven. That kingdom has angels in it, but what is their role? Just as the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings of the Old Testament prepared us for Jesus, they have also informed us concerning the ministry of angels above.

Psalm 104:

[1] Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
[2] covering yourself with light as with a garment,
stretching out the heavens like a tent.
[3] He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;
he makes the clouds his chariot;
he rides on the wings of the wind;
[4] he makes his messengers winds,
his ministers a flaming fire.

The “he” referred to in the Hebrews quote of Psalm 104:4 is most definitely the Lord God according to 104:1. In Hebrews 1, the author has been equating Jesus, the Son of God, with Jehovah, the Lord God. “Let all God's angels worship Him.”

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the one true God, is above all angels.

God made angels. They are His creation. They live eternally for His purpose. These inhabitants of heaven can also serve Him on the earth. They are His messengers, His spirits, His winds that go forth where He sends them. If they speak a word or perform some action, they speak and act according to His command.

Like fire, they would dazzle us, they would catch our attention, and we could stare at them for hours. But they are His flames, and they serve at the pleasure of the One who has all authority in heaven and earth.

Angels cannot die, and they did not die for our salvation. Nor did Jesus die for them. But when Jesus died for us, we became so united to Him that His servants became our servants. (Hebrews 1:14) Now we are blessed to humbly serve Jesus, the King over all.

I'm Longing for a Satisfying Benediction for a Holy Assembly

Who is there who does not know?

(Acts 19:35-41, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, March 3, 2013)

[35] And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky? [36] Seeing then that these things cannot be denied,

A substantial number of enraged Ephesian patriots had been shouting together in the outdoor theater for two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.” They were proud of their city, the magnificent temple located there, and their goddess, whom they supposed to be the one that showered them with so many great blessings.

Underneath all the bravado and the anger was an unholy fear. Demetrius had whipped up the craftsmen to a frenzy regarding the danger to their wealth, their culture, and even their goddess that was coming to the whole province of Asia because of Paul's teaching that gods made with hands were not gods. The craftsman had gone out into the streets and gathered a somewhat nbconfused and rowdy mob that made their way into the theater thinking that they had the right to express themselves in the way they wanted to in order to defend what they held dear.

This mob did not want to hear anything from a Jew named Alexander who had tried to quiet them, but they did have to listen to the town clerk. His words are before us now. Like Pharaoh, Pilate, or Herod, those dignitaries who were not part of the community of those who “worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness” might yet find their words recorded for posterity in the historical accounts in the Scriptures. Their speeches and sayings often contain surprising revelations. God is able to bring a profitable word out of the mouth of Balaam's donkey. He is not threatened by the greatest powers among men.

The town clerk of Ephesus could appeal to certain propositions that the citizens of Ephesus considered self-evident. “Who is there who does not know?” He said, “These things cannot be denied.” What things? That Artemis is for Ephesus, and Ephesus is for Artemis. That no one could even think about the word “Ephesians” without automatically thinking of the goddess Artemis. That the Ephesians were defenders and keepers of the great temple right outside the city. That a sacred stone had fallen from the sky that was obviously from Artemis.

These truths were presented to the mob as timeless. But how have they fared over the hundreds of years that have passed between the middle of the first century and today? The word “Ephesians” does not remind the world of Artemis today. Without a doubt, that word has international significance. Millions of people from places as far off as the islands of Indonesia connect the word Ephesians with a tiny book of only 2,235 Greek words that has been already been translated into about 2,000 languages. How about the temple of Artemis? Gone. One pillar still stands comprised of about fifteen fragments that don't even go together. In the picture I saw I thought I could make out a bird's nest on top of that “column” with a mother bird feeding three of her little one's. The temple was destroyed by the Goths in 268 AD and the precise location of it was eventually lost to memory, so much so that it took sixty years of searching before it was positively identified in 1869. About that stone, there is no clear knowledge of it today, so that some consider it mythical and others suggest that it may have been a meteorite.

… you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. [37] For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. [38] If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. [39] But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. [40] For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.”

The town clerk ended up being wrong about Artemis and about what would be the enduring legacy of the Ephesians. Nonetheless, his advice to the crowd in the theater as an official who cared about public safety and order was good. Since the crowd that day was convinced that these facts about Ephesus, Artemis, the temple, and her sacred image were undeniable, they really did not need to have an unruly meeting in the theater that could lead to unnecessary arrests.

If they felt that Paul and others had committed a crime, they could try to make their case in a lawful way according to the judicial procedures of their time and place. There was no evidence that the companions of Paul had violated any law. Every society has rules of decorum and order. We are glad that they do. But the Christians had not created a public scandal. Demetrius, the craftsman, and the confused mob in the theater were in danger of being rightly judged by the authorities for inciting a riot.

[41] And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

This speech worked. It must have been very deflating to the Ephesian/Artemis patriots to be brought low like that. They could not reject the town clerk's instruction without adding further proof to their obvious lawlessness. They were the ones who were out of line. Many of the people may have left that theater with a chuckle or too, but it would have been the embarrassing laughter of rowdies who come to realize that they just got saved from what could have turned out to be a nasty scrape with the authorities.

They had to leave that assembly deflated. We have an assembly here today hundreds of years later. We have seen the clarity of the Savior that Paul preached in Ephesus. His Word has come down to us from heaven because He came down from heaven. He has become our sacred rock, the Cornerstone of the church. We are His temple. He is our Defender and our Redeemer.

When we dismiss this assembly today we may be humbled by a fresh recognition of our own shameful sin, but we are more than elated by the glory of our great God. We boast in His cross, and we have a sure hope in His resurrection. We leave with the timeless instruction of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians, valued by Christians for many centuries.

[4:1] I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, [2] with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, [3] eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. [4] There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—[5] one Lord, one faith, one baptism, [6] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Our faith is not in a goddess who could never save anyone, but in a Redeemer who has set millions free from the bondage of false gods and goddesses. We are no longer stuck in systems of “timeless” truths that could not stand the test of time. We send one another out, not with a deflated sense that we should be more careful about getting overly excited about our god, but with the Christian hope, that says, “I know that my Redeemer lives.” We are sent with His sure blessings, like the benediction that have come down to us from Ephesians 6:23-24, “Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.” We leave with the assurance that Christ shall have dominion, and if there are those who do not know the undeniable truths of this timeless Word, we pray that God might use us to bring them news about the glory of our King.
Old Testament Passage: 1 Kings 10:1-10 – People hear about the glory of a great king

Gospel Passage: Luke 21:20-28 – The greatest King is coming again in glory

Sermon Point: Christ shall have dominion. He is the God who came from heaven, and He is coming again with the fullest victory.

This is no time for nations to be worshiping idols.

March 3, 2013 Evening:

Title: Let all God's angels worship Him

Old Testament Passage: Deuteronomy 32:43, Psalm 97

Gospel Reading: Luke 2:13-14, Luke 9:26

Sermon Text: Hebrews 1:6 – … Let all God's angels worship Him

Sermon Point: Jesus is not below angels; He is worshiped by angels.

[6] And again,

There are so many wonderful passages in the Hebrew Bible that point to the glory of the Son of God. The author of this letter has already cited Psalm 2 and 2 Samuel 7, two very significant passages involving mysterious but important and central covenant promises of God given to Israel at the time of David.

Now the author turns to a more obscure fragment of a quotation that sends us to more than one passage, questions of the original text, and translation/interpretation issues regarding the Hebrew plural, “Elohim.” But then there are so many passages to choose from, and the author has a point to make for which these lesser known passages, as they were interpreted in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, make very interesting food for the mind and the Spirit.

when he brings the firstborn into the world,

Before we go to the phrase that is quoted, we should not miss the inspired author's context marker given to us. He says that the right way to think about the quotation that follows is in connection to the time when the Father brings the Son, the firstborn, into the world.

Even this time marker has at least three meanings. 1. The Father brought the Son into the world at the birth of the Son in Bethlehem. 2. The Father will bring the Son into the world in glory at the consummation of all things. 3. The Father has already started that consummation when He brought the Resurrection Son of Man into the world with the raising of Jesus of Nazareth. In all three of these intimately related events, the quotation below is very applicable.

Because the final result of the Father's eternal purpose is known from before the foundation of time and is sure forever, each step toward that divine eternal conclusion is a good time for everyone, everywhere, both men and angels, and even all creation, to worship the Son.

he says,
“Let all God's angels worship him.”

According to the ESV, God says through Moses in Deuteronomy 32:43, “Rejoice with him, O heavens, bow down to him all gods.” The standard Hebrew Text (MT) says, “Rejoice His people, O nations.” The Greek translation, perhaps reflecting an earlier textual tradition says, “Rejoice heavens before Him and worship Him all sons of God.” We should note that the terms “sons of God” and “Elohim” (God or gods), could be used to refer to angels.

God later speaks in Psalm 97:6-7,

“[6] The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all the peoples see his glory.
[7] All worshipers of images are put to shame,
who make their boast in worthless idols;
worship him, all you gods!”

The Greek translation reads, “worship Him, all His angels.”

The author of Hebrews is using either Deuteronomy 32:43 or Psalm 97 to make from these rich texts a now clear point, that all earthly beings from all nations, and all the heavenly beings, certainly all mankind who have passed beyond this world, but also even all angels, should worship the Son of God. He is above all. He is God with God. The Father is not offended that everyone would worship the Son. He demands it.

Jesus is the Lord of heaven and earth. When He came into the world at His birth, the angels of God gave Him glory in the skies as the Savior, Christ, the Lord. (Luke 2:13-14) After His atoning death for us, when Jesus rose from the tomb, He was declared to be the Son of God in holiness. (Romans 1:4) His ascension into heaven was greeted by shouts acclaiming Him to be the King of glory (Psalm 24:7-10). He will come again with His holy angels, (Luke 9:26) and every knee will bow. (Philippians 2:9-11)

There is simply no one else that could win the worship of angels. All idol hosts and their demonic parasites must bow before Him. All enslaved gentile nations can find their release in His Name. All holy men and angels will gladly worship Him. He is coming. He will be exalted above all gods. We should listen to His voice now.