Sermon Audio
May
the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in Your
sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. AMEN.
What
would you do if you were king or queen for a day? Throw your enemies in jail, give yourself a
raise or become the boss at your place of work or business. Buy the most expensive toys that money could
afford, like a new King Cab Truck, a fancy new snowmobile for this winter. Would you buy a new house or go on an
elaborate vacation. You could do so much
if you were just the King or Queen and in charge.
When
Victoria, future ruler and Queen of England was a child, she did not know of
her destiny and she could not be motivated to follow directions, learn her
lessons, nor adequately prepare her for the role that she would play as ruler
of England. Frustrated, her instructors
and tutors could not help her to see nor understand the importance of learning
nor the weight of the entire kingdom that would be upon her shoulders when she
ruled her sovereign nation. It was not
until they sat the future queen down and told her of her true destiny that she
responded, “Then I will be good.” The
realization that struck her with their revelation of her high calling and
future, gave her a sense of responsibility that profoundly affected her conduct
from that moment on and for the rest of her life.
This
morning we have before us one of the seats from here in the chancel, the front
of the church by the altar. As we
continue in our learning from the Second Article of the Apostle’s Creed, this
article deals specifically with Jesus Christ.
And how Jesus Christ not only came down from heaven to live, teach and
die for us, but He returned to heaven and sits on the throne in heaven waiting
to come again. But why a throne and what
impact is that for we the residents of Goodland, Kansas today? Simply, of what significance is a throne for
us today?
As
this question fires your neurons in your brain, let’s pull out our bulletin
insert and join together and read together in unison the “What does this mean”
sections as a congregation. “And in
Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died,
and was buried. He descended into
hell. The Third day He rose again from
the dead. He ascended into heaven and
sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living
and the dead. What does this mean? I believe that Jesus Christ, true God,
begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin
Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased
and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with
gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent
suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom
and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness, just as
He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.” While the image of Jesus sitting on the Throne
gains greater importance, let us seek God’s divine favor in prayer.
Let
us pray, Gracious Lord and ruler of the earth.
As we look to Your throne of Grace, may our hearts be turned and our
lives blessed by not only Your presence, but the peace You offer to us through
Your gift of grace. Enable us to hear
Your call through the Holy Spirit and look at Your throne, not in fear, but in
anticipation of our welcome into Your kingdom for all of the saints, including
all of us gathered here at Emmanuel this morning. AMEN.
One
of the television shows that has become very popular in the last few years is entitled
“Game of Thrones”. It is of the rise and
fall of an empire around a family of nobles and the twists and turns of each
attempting to ascend to the throne. The
most iconic symbol of the entire show and as the title of the program indicates
it is the throne. Not a seat like we
have here, this morning, but one that is ornate, exudes power and strength due
to the numerous swords that surround the seat of power. But as has been shown, the throne holds people’s
attention, but also that true power comes not from the throne itself, but from
the individual who sits on the throne.
So for
us in Christianity, the true power of the throne is not the item or our image or
imagination of it, but the person Who sits in or on the throne. And for us that is Jesus Christ. As we look to Jesus Christ as we hear and
learn more about the Second Article of the Apostle’s Creed, we begin to realize
that Jesus Christ did come and live among us on earth. He walked with His disciples between the
cities in Israel. Fished with them on
the Sea of Galilee, sat and ate with tax collectors and sinners and even turned
water into wine. But we might have a
challenge understanding Jesus Christ also sitting on the throne and its true
understanding for us today here in Goodland, KS.
For
some, a throne like in Game of Thrones is not about doing what is best for all,
but ‘lording it over people’. This past
week at Ministerial Alliance we talked about how the town of Goodland is on a ‘power
trip’. How everyone looks out for
themselves and what they can get, but not the collective good of the community. The challenge we have during this Advent
season is to change this reality. This
is the difference that Jesus Christ makes for all of us gathered here at
Emmanuel. When He came down from the
throne to the earth, He was looking out for the good of all of mankind. Jesus Christ came to sacrifice Himself in
order to set all of us free from sin, death and the devil. He gave up His power seat on the throne of
God to set all of us free. This is the
gift of grace that we partake of and are baptized into. Our personal and individual goal should not
be about power, nor authority, nor lording it over anyone, but only
concentrated upon the gift of grace God offers to each of us through His Son
Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary.
Clearly
this is a mind-set change. It is a
change that we need to see, understand and make a reality in Goodland, but also
here at Emmanuel. As we prepare during
Advent for the coming of the Christ child, may we not only change the
decorations, like the Christmas tree, the wreaths, the paraments, the manger
scene and the anticipation of the Christmas program. May we also change our hearts and not only
welcome the gift of grace God offers in His Son Jesus Christ, but embrace God’s
grace and look with anticipation of the throne that Jesus will return to, but
also that we will be invited to see and partake of with our entrance into
eternal life. For when we look to the
throne with the lens of God’s grace for mankind, we look with anticipation of
what God can do for all of us through His Son Jesus Christ.
For you
history buffs, you have probably heard the name, Charlemagne. He was the great king and Emperor of France. When he died in 814, he was buried in a very
elaborate tomb, with all of the ‘niceties’ of someone rich, including treasures
of the kingdom and many other relics.
Years later when archeologists entered into this sacred space, they
found in the center of the vault a large marble throne where Charlemagne was
seated, now nothing more than a skeleton.
On his lap, wasn’t a sword or a scepter or what most would expect from a
King, sitting there was a Holy Bible. It
was opened to one passage with his finger pointing to a specific reference from
Matthew 18:26. It read, “For what shall
it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”
So to
for us this morning, if we place ourselves on the throne for our own profit to
lord it over others to gain the world, we have lost our own soul. May we in true humility come to the throne of
God and understand clearly it is God’s throne not ours, and Jesus Christ came
down from the throne to set us free. For
this is the gift of God given by His Son Jesus Christ for all of mankind,
including all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning preparing for
our celebration of His coming for you and for me. AMEN.
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