A
minister and his wife were on their way home on a Sunday evening. He was tired
because he preached five times that day. His wife asked a question to which he
answered in anger. Immediately he felt conviction and apologized to his wife.
He
said, “Forgive me. I’m quite tired. I’ve preached five times today.”
His
wife replied, “Yes, Dear, I know, but remember, I’ve had to listen to you five
times today.”
Today
is Reign of Christ Sunday. It marks the end of the church year, so it is the
church’s version of New Year’s Eve. It is the day when we remember that Christ
is our King and that He will return one day to claim his kingdom here on earth.
It
is not an ancient festival in the Christian calendar. In fact, it was only established
by Pope Pius XI in 1925. It was established at a time when Europe was in chaos.
Inflation was rampant, and colonialism was at its worst. The seeds of evil that
would eventually grow into the Holocaust and World War II were being planted.
Pope Pius XI established the Festival of Christ the King to declare that Jesus
Christ is King
The
Book of Revelation is the story of Jesus himself. After the opening greeting,
John gives us a prophetic description of Christ’s Second Coming. Although each
of the seven churches received a special letter from Christ through the Book of
Revelation, each congregation could read what was written to the others because
everything was contained in one large letter. God’s people have the same
advantage today. To have the same perspective of the divine Head of the church
is convicting. Modern churches could solve some of the problems they face today
by reading God’s recommendations to each of the seven churches.
When
sinners come to Christ in faith, they receive eternal salvation through God’s
grace. We don’t have to do anything or promise anything. Salvation is God’s
gift to us. This new relationship with Christ will overcome any trials we have
in this life, just like Christ overcame death. This new relationship is due to
the work of the Holy Trinity.
All
three members of the Trinity-Father, Son and Holy Spirit-were involved in the
creation of the Book of Revelation, including the passage we heard from
Revelation 1:4-8 earlier in today’s service. John refers to God as “the One who
is and who was and who is to come.” God is in control of our unpleasant past,
our unnerving present and our uncertain future. Jesus has the authority to rule
as the promised King from the line of David. The Holy Spirit represents God and
gives us wisdom, understanding, advice, strength, knowledge and fear of the
Lord. We can take comfort in the knowledge that Jesus reigns now and forever
during the good times and the bad times.
Jesus
is described as the one who loved, loosened and lifted the people up. The word
“washed” could be more literally translated as “loosed” or “freed.” John 11:44
describes Lazarus as being loosed from his grave clothes. The word also recalls
that the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. Jesus has likewise freed
believers from their sin. He conquered death and gave us new life. Consequently
we can share his authority as Priest and King through our union with him
through the Holy Spirit.
In
our present, sin-filled world, guilt is something we avoid. We run from it
frantically, drown it in alcohol, escape from it through entertainment, talk
about it to a therapist, blame it on someone else or suppress it through mental
gymnastics, but we can’t avoid it. It’s like a stain that won’t come out of our
clothes no matter how many times we wash them or what type of detergent we use.
Salvation is God’s gift to undeserving sinners such as us. We must never forget
that. This grace gives us a relationship that offers us true peace and that peace
helps us overcome any problems we face. Jesus is the only thing that can wash
away our sins. God has given us a conscience with a guilt alarm that goes off
when sin enters so that we will go to Jesus for cleansing.
When
people are shuffling for power, prestige and wealth, Jesus reigns. He is the
only person who can get rid of the plagues of terrorism, poverty, crime and
disease. If we let Christ be our King, we don’t have to be kings. We don’t have
to rule our world. We also don’t have to let things such as money or fame rule
our lives. These things can’t make our lives worth living. Only Jesus makes our
lives worth living. Jesus gives us our greatest freedom-freedom from death.
That freedom gives us the freedom to live. In return, we are called to serve
until Christ returns to claim his earthly kingdom.
Only
in Revelation is Christ given the title of “faithful witness.” He was a genuine
martyr, faithful until death, and his followers must also be faithful to death.
The phrase “ruler over the kings of the earth” refers to Christ’s present
reign, not the future one. He is the King of Kings now because he has triumphed over death and he is sovereign over
all earthly powers.
Revelation
1:7-8 presents the theme of the entire Book of Revelation-the return of the
King and establishment of his rule over the kingdom. “Coming” describes the
arrival of the King and the changes in the situation that his arrival
proclaims.
Alpha
and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Here they point
to the eternity of Christ and his all-inclusive power. Christ is the supreme
sovereign. There is nothing that he doesn’t know, so there are no unknown
factors that can sabotage his return. Jesus is the beginning of all history and
the goal for whom all things are made. Jesus is the boundless, tireless and
powerful One. God is eternal, and he will come again at the end of time to
judge and to save.
The
purpose of our Christian lives is based on our faith in a God who is eternally
past, present and future. It starts in the present. Each of us must encounter
and experience the presence of God in our own lives on a daily basis. He
continually reaches into our lives and transforms us. He gives us a future to
look forward to. We need to look forward to this royal inheritance. We need to
begin practicing for the perfected life that will be ours someday. We need to
act like the children of a king, because that’s who we are. God ordained the
nation of Israel to witness to his glory, majesty, and power. He calls on us as
members of his kingdom to do the same.
Our
understanding of who Jesus is determines our eternal destiny after death. Of
all the pursuits in this life, the knowledge of who Jesus is will be the
greatest. To know Jesus is to know who we are and what we really are in this
world. To know Jesus is to know the security of purpose and the assurance of
peace. Jesus is both Lord and Saviour. He has allowed us to know Him personally
like never before.
Ordinary
people who receive Christ’s love and freedom are willing to become Christ’s
servants and ultimately his very kingdom in the world. We will witness Christ’s
return, and we will have the right to enter God’s kingdom. Jesus made us to be
both a kingdom here on earth and priests.
We are both a kingdom and priests because Jesus loves us and frees us from our
sins by dying on the cross. The word “kingdom” refers to the body of believers
throughout the world, and that Christ is the King of that kingdom. We as
believers are priests who have direct access to God. He is our hope, our refuge
and our salvation. His return will be a joyous occasion because it is the event
we’ve been waiting for. On the other hand, his return will be mourned by his
opponents. Everything will change. Evil will be shut down, order will be
restored, and justice will reign.
God’s
reign is the power that keeps our world turning, the rain falling and the
seasons returning. It is an expression of God’s faithful, everlasting love-the
love he has for us as our King. God cares about the ultimate details of our
loves. No matter what comes against us in this life, no matter if all of the
power of pain and chaos of the universe seems to overtake us all at once, no
matter if we can’t control one single thing or fix one single thing in our
lives, the worst is over and the healing has begun, because the Lamb of God is
on his heavenly throne.
The
Book of Revelation gives us hope in a God we can trust and expectation for a
future that God has created. That’s because Jesus is the beginning and the
ending, the dawn of the world and its dusk. The Book of Revelation tells us to
lean into our faith in a Christ who holds the future in his hands. Nothing can
frustrate his eternal will, and that eternal will includes us who will be
spending eternity with him in his eternal kingdom here on earth.
Bibliography
1.
Jeremiah,
David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood,
TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013)
2.
ESV Study
Bible, Part of Wordsearch 11 Bible software package.
3.
Palmer, E.F.
& Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s
Commentary Series, Vol. 35: 1,2&3 John/ Revelation (Nashville, TN:
Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982)
4.
MacArthur,
J.F. Jr: The MacArthur Study Bible, NASV (Nashville,
TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
10. The Rev. Eugenia Gamble, “Saltwater Apocalypse.”
Retrieved from http://day1.org/821-saltwater_apocalypse.net
12. Swindoll, Charles
R.: Swindoll’s New Testament Insights on
Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan; 2011)
13. Jeremiah, David: Agents of the Apocalypse (Carol Stream,
Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers; 2014)
14. Dr. J. Howard Olds, “The Lord of All.” Retrieved from https://www.esermons.com/sermon/the-lord-of-all/1442836
16. Leonard Sweet, “The God Who Is, Who Was, and Who Is To
Come.” Retrieved from https://www.esermons.com/sermon/the-god-who-is-who-was-and-who-is-to-come
17. King Duncan, “Nobless Oblige.” Retrieved from https://www.esermons.com/sermon/noblesse-oblige//1347099
18. Dr. Keith Wagner, “Thanks Be to God.” Retrieved from www.lectionary.org/Sermons/NT/27/Rev/Rev-01-04-8-ThanksBe-Wagner.htm
19.
Eric
Baretto, “Commentary on Revelation 1:4-8.” Retrieved from http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1623
20.
Swindoll, Charles R.: Swindoll’s New Testament Insights on Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan; 2011)
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