The Forgotten Psalm (11)

The Forgotten Psalm – Week 11

Title: When the Church Preaches the Throne Again Date: Sunday, December 22, 2025 Text: Revelation 3:21; 2 Timothy 2:12 (LSB) Big Idea: A King in the cradle who rules from heaven.

This is also Christmas Sunday, so we will weave that tone into the message without softening the dominion theme.

🕊️ Introduction & Recap

We’ve been walking through the forgotten anthem of the early Church—Psalm 110. It is God's favorite Psalm, quoted more than any other in the New Testament, and it's the spine of apostolic preaching.

Psalm 110 unveils a reigning Christ, not a waiting one.

Let’s remember where we’ve been:

Week 1: Jesus silenced the Pharisees with a question about David’s Lord.

Week 2: He told the Sanhedrin that from now on they would see Him enthroned.

Week 3: He ascended—not into retirement—but into reign.

Week 4: Peter preached at Pentecost that Jesus was already on the throne.

Week 5: Hebrews shows us the risen Christ seated above angels and creation.

Week 6: Paul said Christ must reign until every enemy is subdued.

Week 7: We saw what happens when the Church forgets the throne.

Week 8: Jesus told a parable to correct those who thought the Kingdom was delayed. The nobleman received his Kingdom and returned to judge. He’s not waiting to rule—He’s reigning now.

Week 9 showed us how Christ’s willing people are to respond to the King’s power with joyful surrender. Psalm 110:3 was not a poetic flourish—it was a wartime enlistment.

Week 10 revealed how the King advances justice through His people—not by sword, but not by silence. We fight with the Gospel, not with worldly weapons.

Scripture Reading

Revelation 3:21 (LSB)

“He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

2 Timothy 2:12 (LSB)

“If we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we will deny Him, He also will deny us.”

Context and Connection

Today is Christmas Sunday—and we dare not miss the cosmic context of the birth of Christ.

The child in the manger is the King on the throne.

When Jesus speaks in Revelation 3:21, He declares not only His victory but ours: "He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne."

This isn’t future language—it’s enthronement language. It connects directly to Psalm 110. Jesus has already overcome. He has already sat down. He is already reigning. The Christmas story is not just about a birth—it’s about a coronation.

And Paul, writing to Timothy, echoes this throne-shaped identity for believers:

"If we endure, we will also reign with Him." (2 Timothy 2:12)

Psalm 110 is not just a backdrop to Christ’s life—it’s the blueprint of His Kingdom. And when the Church recovers that, she preaches a throne again—not just a manger, not just a cross.

Exposition

1. The Promise to the Overcomer (Revelation 3:21)

“He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

This is a staggering promise.

Jesus says plainly: He already sat down on the throne. The enthronement already happened—past tense. The King has overcome, ascended, and been seated. And those who overcome with Him are given participation in His rule.

This isn’t just poetic language. This is Psalm 110 in motion.

The King is ruling now, and His faithful ones reign with Him—not from political thrones, but by spiritual authority, gospel advance, and enduring faithfulness that subdues the enemy.

Revelation 3:21 is not pointing to a future millennium—it’s describing the present reign of Christ with His people, expanding until all enemies are underfoot.

2. The Condition: If We Endure (2 Timothy 2:12)

“If we endure, we will also reign with Him.”

This echoes the same logic as Revelation 3. But now it’s put into covenantal clarity:

Endurance precedes enthronement. Cross precedes crown. Obedience precedes dominion.

There is no shortcut. There is no reign for the lazy servant (Luke 19). There is no throne for those who deny His Lordship. But for those who walk with Him, suffer with Him, serve under Him—the Kingdom is theirs.

Psalm 110 reminds us: "Your people will offer themselves freely in the day of Your power." The ones who reign are the ones who volunteered.

3. The Problem: We Forgot the Throne

The Laodicean church was lukewarm because they forgot the location of Jesus. They thought of Him only as the Lamb, not the King. They imagined Him still waiting, still pleading, still hoping.

But He is not standing outside the throne room. He is on the throne.

Psalm 110 warned us: “The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, ‘Rule in the midst of Your enemies.’” There is no neutral zone. No opt-out clause.

This is not a peace-time throne—it is a wartime scepter.

And when we forget that Christ is reigning in the midst of His enemies, we lose our urgency and joy. We begin waiting for rescue instead of laboring for victory.

We forget, as Exodus 8:22 says, “I am Yahweh in the midst of the land.” That was a covenant marker. And now, Psalm 110:2 fulfills it in full—the King rules in the midst of hostile territory, subduing through His people.

4. The Hope: The Baby Is the King

This is Christmas Sunday. We celebrate the incarnation. But let us not forget: This child came to reign.

Isaiah 9:6 didn’t say a baby would be born and then wait for centuries to take the throne. It said: “The government will rest on His shoulders… of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end.”

The manger is not sentimental—it’s strategic. The One who now sits at the right hand of God was born into a feeding trough so that He could ascend from death to dominion.

Psalm 110 is not about some distant future. It’s about what began at resurrection and is spreading until every knee bows.

5. The Power: The Church That Preaches the Throne Again

When we forget Psalm 110, we become fearful, passive, and silent.

But when we remember the reign—we become bold again.

The early Church didn’t conquer the world with programs or power—they preached the resurrected King. “God has made Him both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).

And when the Church preaches that again:

The nations are discipled.

The culture is confronted.

The saints endure with joy.

The weak find strength.

The darkness retreats.

Because the King is not absent—He is enthroned.

🔨 Application Points

1. Celebrate Christmas as an invasion of royalty, not just a birth. The manger held a monarch. Christ came to reign. Our songs and sermons should reflect that.

2. Preach the throne, not just the cross. We are not only saved by His sacrifice—we are ruled by His scepter. Don’t truncate the Gospel.

3. Stop waiting for victory later—live in obedience now. Psalm 110 gives no pause. The King reigns now. Act like it.

4. Don’t apologize for Christ’s rule over every sphere. His throne is not limited to the Church. He rules over nations, education, justice, and history.

5. Expect the Kingdom to advance—even in enemy territory. Psalm 110 promised He would rule in the midst of His enemies. Don’t retreat. Reign.

6. Train the Church to reign with Christ—not just survive. 2 Timothy 2:12 says we will reign if we endure. Equip saints for rule, not retreat.

✝️ Gospel Call – The Reign Made Visible

The One who came in humility now reigns in glory. The same Jesus who slept in the manger now sits enthroned at the right hand of the Father. He has overcome sin, death, and Satan. He is not waiting to rule—He rules now. And He calls every knee to bow—not just someday, but today.

But what does that reign look like?

It starts here: in your heart and mind. When you repent and believe the Gospel, the King takes His rightful place in your life. He subdues your sin, breaks your chains, renews your thinking. The war is not just global—it’s internal. Christ must conquer you first.

Then His reign moves outward into your home. Fathers, mothers—train your children under the authority of the King. Raise them in the fear and discipline of the Lord. Worship together. Speak the truth. Love with strength. Order your household as an embassy of the Kingdom.

From the home, His rule flows into the local church—a gathering of little kingdoms, made up of willing people (Psalm 110:3), drawn together under one banner. The church is not a refuge from the world’s chaos—it’s a station of the King’s rule. Here, we submit to His Word, declare His victory, and labor in unity for His cause.

But the reign doesn’t stop at the doors of the church. It spills into the community. Through our witness. Through our work. Through our refusal to let the decrees of God falter in the public square. We speak truth in love. We oppose injustice without violence. We engage culture without compromise. We don’t win by the sword or the ballot—we win by truth and by peace.

This is what it means for Christ to reign “in the midst of His enemies” (Psalm 110:2). He reigns not through political upheaval or military might—but through transformed people, bearing witness in every sphere.

So I ask you today: Has the King conquered your heart? Has He reordered your home? Has He claimed your allegiance in the church and beyond?

Because whether you see it or not, He reigns now.

Repent. Believe. Submit. Rejoice. There is no refuge from the King—only refuge in Him.

Come. Bow low. And live.