Campaign Kerusso

Outreach Quote of the Day:

God save us from living in comfort while sinners are sinking into hell!”

Charles Spurgeon 

Download Free PowerPoint Here:

 

Preview this PowerPoint Sermon Here:

 

Watch Our Live Teaching Here

 

We recommend the following music to go with your lesson time together:

1) “You Are the Christ”

2) “Who Do You Say I Am”

3) “I Call Him Lord”

4) “Above All Worship”

God bless your time together.

See the rest of this series…

…………………..

Lesson 13 Transcript:

Lord of All

Today we will look at God’s Timetable pt. 7 entitled, “Lord of All!”

Lord of All

But first… Seamas, tell the folks how “Just Five More Questions Please” works.

Okay folks, here’s how “Just 5 More Questions” works… when it’s time..

Someone reads a scripture or question on the screen

Explains it in their own words

Asks the others to add any more thoughts of their own

We learned that that there were prophecies about a coming King that would defeat Israel’s enemies and rule the world.

And that the birth of this King would be announced by a great star in the night.

And we saw that just as that star was a light in the darkness that led men to Jesus…

So too, Jesus himself is THE light in the dark leading men to Himself…

Let’s read in scripture this glorious promise God makes to Israel…

Jesus Himself is the STAR in the prophecy… “a star shall rise up” = Jesus!

That big glowing thing in the night sky was only a representation of Him.

 Also, according to the book of Revelation, we too are stars, held in the right hand of Jesus, and we have His same mission.

We also learned that the Magi were most likely from the very nations threatened by the ancient prophecies.

Not only that, but they were also practitioners of evil religious practices which were condemned by God.

Imagine how the Magi must have felt as they waited for this fearsome conquering King to be born!

Let’s look at this prophecy again…

Notice that it mentions a star and a scepter.

It also condemns the nations of Moab & Edom.

As fearful as this prophecy about a coming King is, it is only fearful to the foolish. To the truly wise it is hope.

The prophetic “Star” announced His birth and the “Scepter” in the prophecy speaks of His power and authority.

Just as Jesus is the STAR of prophecy, He is also the SCEPTER of God (represented by a physical scepter).

A scepter is a stick held by a king or a person in a place of authority.

Its meaning was described at the coronation of William the Conqueror.

It was decreed: “…by the scepter, uprisings in the kingdom are controlled, and the rod gathers and confines those men who stray.”

It is a symbol of great power.

It has been so embraced by people in authority, it even became a fashion statement for a while.

As a stick in a ruler’s hands, the scepter (this mere stick) has taken many forms through the years.

It was believed that the ancient false gods carried them.

The Romans, Egyptians and other leaders of ancient civilizations also used them as a symbol of authority.

The Scottish, British and German military used a variation of this ancient authority rod.

It came to be known as a “Swagger Stick”

Maybe, because when men think they have power (as they did when they held this stick), they tend to “swagger.”

Even in the U.S. military (as far back as George Washington) sported “swagger sticks.”

Swagger sticks became so popular they even moved from military applications to the culture at large  They became a man’s fashion statement.

Oh, how very dapper a man looks with a  swagger stick under his arm (or so they thought).

Even today, the symbols of British royalty are represented by a scepter and an orb.

The scepter represents authority, and the orb represents the world.

In other words, the monarch has authority over the whole world.

Throughout history, it has been a fearful thing to walk into a king’s court and risk displeasing him.

This is why Esther told her uncle that she was afraid to go before the king and plead for his mercy on her people, the Jews.

But she does go in before him, and God gives her favor, and the king does hold out his scepter to her.

Whew… it could have gone either way.

When one goes into a king’s court, the king is seen seated with a scepter in his hand.

Wise visitors to a great king’s court would always bow and pay great amounts of tribute in the form of money (or goods), as if to say, I submit to your authority you are greater than I.

Basically, they are paying the greater king not to kill them [right then and there] and to show mercy on the nations they represent.

Prophecy tells us that Jesus is Lord of ALL!!!

Not only is He the only one worthy of a scepter, He, Himself, is the Scepter of God.

Seated at the right hand of The Father, the Father executes judgement by Him.

Prophecy warns that the Father will crush the all enemies of Jesus and bring them to His feet.

This is what the Lord thinks of all the ungodly rulers and scepter wielding kings of the world.

The best thing for any ruler of any kingdom to do is worship the one and only true king of the whole universe!!!

Ask yourself this question, “What are any of us (really) in comparison to who He is?”

Do we really want to challenge His authority?

Prophecy also tells us that the kings of the earth would pay tribute to the coming King—the King of the Kings—the Messiah!

The Maji’s gifts were just the beginning of the fulfillment of these prophesies.

It is widely believed that the Maji were from the same area of the world which was once part of the Assyrian-Babylonian & Persian empire. Remember, it was the Assyrians who first took the Nation of Israel into captivity.

This would make the Maji particularly concerned about this coming King, You see, God was very angry with Assyria in particular.

These verses are saying that Assyria did hurt Israel, but it was like the Assyrian king only hit Israel on the cheek with his scepter stick.

It reminds us of God’s promise regarding Satan, that though, like a snake, Satan might bite the Messiah’s heel, Messiah will crush Satan’s head.

God waits for the right time to punish evil, but He never forgets or neglects it.

Her child will be called Jesus, and you will damage Him a little, but He will… in His Time… destroy you altogether at the cross.

Because time has passed, we may think God has let evil men go unpunished.

Speaking to a group of particularly arrogant Jewish leaders, Jesus quoted this verse from the Psalms…

Jesus quoted this verse to men in high authority (which is another use for the word “gods” in scripture).

They were so sure they were as God.

We might also remember that God originally did create Adam in His image…

But now, what has happened? They are not gods, they will die (with their swagger sticks and scepters in hand), like every so-called important man before them.

Statue depicting a dying soldier with his swagger stick in hand…

Death comes to us all (swagger stick or not).

The Jews were made to pay either tribute or taxes to each and every one of the many nations that have conquered them throughout history.

But a new day was coming where, instead of the wealth of Israel flowing out to their conquerors, tribute would be flowing from those nations and to their coming King.

Kings will bring gifts & tribute to the Messiah in hopes of gaining His favor.

CRACK

Down through the ages, the Lordship of Jesus has been nothing but a joke.

But, that mockery, though meant for evil, represented a profound truth!

The thorny crown was essentially His true crown, and that feeble reed, was His true scepter.

For a mere, golden crown would have been as hollow and as worthless as the crowns that all the other rulers wear.

And a diamond crusted rod would be as harsh and unfeeling as the scepters the other rulers carry.

That cruel crown was the crown of a true King willing to bear it (along with all its shame and suffering, even unto death) all for the sake of the people He governed, and for their sake alone.

It was that crown, that crown of thorns and that wimpy reed in His right hand, that proved him worthy (later) of a symbolic golden crown and sturdy staff.

Jesus would be a King like the world has never known.

A king who the world is incapable of producing because all rulers are at heart selfish, carnal, power-lovers with a little authority in their hands.

Only Jesus is a truly good man, and a wise, just and righteous ruler.

A ruler, who would bring peace.

Jesus would be a different kind of King with a different kind of scepter.

His would be a shepherd’s loving staff.

These Maji were from countries that were enemies of God’s people.

But they understood enough about prophetic scripture to know that this coming King from Judah wasn’t someone to fight.

This group of Maji seemed determined to find out all they could about where and when this Messiah would be born.

They studied scripture more carefully than the current Jewish leadership.

They diligently watched the sky for that star.

They had packed up a great treasure ready to give as tribute to the new King.

They had prepared to make a long journey just to worship the Great One.

They had decided to seek Him with all their hearts, worship him, and surrender everything to Him.

In searching so diligently for the Promised One, they found great fulfillment and joy in their journey.

Ironically, it is those who fear the Lord for His great awesomeness that find great joy and seek be closer and closer to Him…

While those who defy the Lord and fail to fear or seek Him, yes…

Those who would rather scoff Him, find only sorrow.

This group of wise men had studied scripture, watched the sky and sought diligently for truth.

They applied themselves to seek the Lord’s anointed, no matter what the cost.

They determined to bow before Him, and worship Him, and surrender to Him everything body, soul and mind.

And this pursuit of wisdom brought them great joy.

So, they loaded up their caravan with riches and gifts to offer to this great king and headed on out to pay this GREAT ONE due homage.

And this would be just the beginning of the kings of the world bringing gifts and paying homage to the King of Kings and Lord of All.

By the end of  God’s plan, all kings will bow before Jesus.

Three types of gifts are mentioned here. They were worth fortunes.

They also represent three major things about Jesus’ nature and His mission.

Gold: Reminds us that Jesus is a King.

Frankincense: Was used by the High Priest to offer prayers in the Holy Place.

This reminds us that Jesus is our High Priest who “lives to continually make intercession for us.”

Finally, there was Myrrh. This was used for embalming the dead.

It reminds us that Jesus died for our sins.

And how might we offer these same gifts to our Savior and King? We might give Him our worldly goods (our gold).

We might become High Priests and spend time in fervent intercession (burning ‘spiritual’ Frankincense) for the lost.

And for Myrrh, we could offer our own lives as “living sacrifices.” Giving our lives to the preaching of the gospel.

We call Him savior, We call Him advisor, we call Him friend, we call Him physician, we call Him co-pilot, and counselor,

We love Him as comforter, provider, strengthener and our way-maker…

 But will we acknowledge Him as Lord and King, as ruler of our lives?

Are we compelled to bow, worship, serve His ends, promote His name & obey Him?

Too often, this is all the Jesus we want in our lives.

Do we respond to Him fully for who He really is?

He is The Christ, The Messiah. The King of the Universe, The Lord of ALL, The Lord of you and me!!

When He says, “Who will go for me”, do we quickly say “send me Lord?”

I Call You Lord

Nations often have rebellions against monarchs.

We hate the idea of any king over us.

We cherish our personal freedoms.

We don’t like to be told what to do.

Sadly, this attitude even effects our relationship with the King of the Universe.

Our personal freedoms, in fact, are more important to us than our relationship with God, especially if it means we must give up any of our precious freedoms for a higher cause.

Yes, to humans, there is no issue more important than our right to do what we want to do.

Although, no human should dominate other humans… Jesus is God Eternal.

Nevertheless, in our rebellion, we try to re-write the commands of God, pick & choose, to suit our preferences or ignore.

We are unwilling to submit ourselves to any monarch, even if that King is Jesus!

Jesus asks us right now, “Who do you say I AM?” If He is the Christ, we must be His obedient servants without reservation.

Well, that’s it for this time…