Palm Sunday 2020 The Kings Authority
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Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion;
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem:
Behold, thy King cometh unto thee:
He is just, and having salvation;
Lowly, and riding upon an ass,
And upon a colt the foal of an ass.
1 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. 6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. 8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. 10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? 11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
Revelation 7:
9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
In what we celebrate this morning, we celebrate Christ Kingship...
Christ is the King who came to seek and save,
The King who came in peace
The King who redeems as we shall see next week...
But if He is King, we must ask, of what?
What is His jurisdictional reign?
Jurisdiction is you authoritative boundaries:
The Spirit through John the baptist tells us:
31 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.
And Jesus himself stated:
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
and...
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
and...
10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
11 But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
1 Timothy 6:
14 That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: 15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
So…here is our list,
Jesus is - 1. Above All, has - 2.Authority over all Heaven & Earth, is the 3. Lord & Sovereign above all. and just to sumarize it, He (Jesus the Christ) is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
This means that our highest form of government comes from Jesus.
Let me say it more plainly...
Our highest form of government of which we pledge our true allegiance, give our unyielding devotion, and willing follow the council of and recognize its laws chief service as for our good and thus willingly submit - is THE Governing of Jesus Christ over us by the means and commands of His Word.
Every other form of government in our lives falls in subjection to that which is presented in the governing book of life that we call the Holy Scriptures or The Word of God - of Christ who is The Word.
This to the world is a doctrine that is seen as both foolish and a threat.
It is after all the very doctrine (the doctrine of who Christ is and His authority) that lead the religious leaders to seek His life (though they could not take it from them unless He laid it down - because He is the sovereign.) It is also this very doctrine that the religious leaders tried to present to Rome to give a case for the threat that they saw Jesus to be.
Don’t be deceived beloved. Jesus, His Lordship and Kingship is no less a threat to those in power today than it was 2000 years ago. Perhaps the greatest perceived threat to wicked (meaning ungodly, anti-God or just absent of God leaders) is a people that recognize that their rights, liberties and freedoms come not from man, but from God and our chief aim is submission to God, not conformity to earthly government.
(a important note here is to understand that no self proclaimed emergency or greater good or anything overides these rights because they are from God, who controls are and is the true good.)
Pro-Government
Pro-Government
Now we must make clear that the Christian is not anti-government. The Christian actually ought to be the most pro-government of all people, because the Christian must understand government as a instituted by God. Being pro-government means of course a understanding of government and it’s roles. How can one be for that which they are ignorant of?
Just as a Christian defends the institutions of family (marriage/parenting..) and church so also the Christian sees the essential jurisdictional role of civil government. Or, we may say it like this to help clear up any confussion:
there are three “community” God instituted governments (with a fourth which is individual being self-government) which all have seperate jourisdictional roles and yet if done godly they stregnthen and bless each other. In this you might label it:
Family Government
Church Government
State Government
Self-government (this is the most basic, but must be listed so that it is not forgotten)
As each jurisdiction has been put in place by God, the one does not have the right to tell the other not to operate in the manner that God has ordained (no matter what).
It is also the loving role of each to defend it’s jurisdiction when another impedes upon it.
Here is a example which the church has battled through the ages...
When the civil government tells the church-government not to assemble together, does the church government obey Christ commands to assemble (as we discussed last week) or does the church listen to the civil government and build its case off of ?
1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. 6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. 7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
1 Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.
Romans 13:1-
Now here is the issue: because of chapter headings we read the wrong emphasis into the text. The emphasis is not that you are powerless to a powerful government, but rather that no matter how powerful the government appears or threatens to be, the only power that they have is that which comes from God.
The subjection and obedience in verse 1&2 is conditional:
1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
This is conditional upon vs 3&4 and 6
3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
The condition is that they (the governing) are minister or servants of God and thus extracting the justice of God. The principle of Scripture is that when “authority” transgresses and leaves its lawful sphere of authority, it loses its jurisdiction and authority. Why? Because the only power or authority that they have is that which has been given. God does not give the tyrant authority to be a tyrant.
Lets go back to our jurisdiction:
Family-governing sphere = ministry of education
Church-government sphere = ministry of grace
State-governing sphere = ministry of justice
Each of these spheres operate under the jurisdiction of God.
There is no power given except that which is given from God.
Now let me read verse 4 carefully with you:
“For he (that is, the government or the king), is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the swerd in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.”
Note:
Three names & two are identical:
Twice the government is called - “the minister”
The greek word for minister is “diakonos or deacon or servant.
The third name is: a revenger”
Literally the word means an exacter of righteousness. Government has been instituted by God to be a minister of justice. Government must exact God’s justice and execute God’s righteousness. Government is not simply raw power, it ispower that has been ordained by God to be a servant of God, an exacter of righteousness.
This government in verse 6 is called a litergy to God - that is an act of public worship. What am I saying…Government is responsible to not only be Christian but also Biblical in every sphere of its function. This is the Christian view or Biblical presentation of government.
Government is not merely a powerful entity by God’s design, but being of God’s design it is theological. Yes there must be seperation between church and state - meaning, we must not have a state church. However, government and religion cannot be separated…we will either have a Christian government or a pagan religious government.
Simply put…
As all power and authority comes from God for the purpose of the worship of God and the blessing of the people of God then...
The power which is given must be seen in the jurisdictional light of the one who gave it. God does not speak of His design in one area and then ignore His design in another area. We in reading the Word of God are responsible to take the whole counsel of God. Every power and authority that is laid out and ordained by God has its mandates and boundaries from God.
It is foolish to take and say might make right or power = just. The council of God in is in light of the entire council of God.
Thus a state-government cannot lawfully under God come into the sphere of the Church of God and command it not to do something that God has commanded it to do, even if the state claims to have good reason or claims to be protecting others and thus acting justly. God is just and the justifier. What He says is justice and when the justice of a sphere of government contradicts the justice of God, then well the government is not acting justly or legally under God.
Allow me to reverse the argument.
God says sodomy is in justice a punishable sin () but the government says that it is not and that it should actually be celebrated. Which one is right? Should you go out and commit sodomy? No of course not. Should you go out and punish sodomy? No. Why…thats not your jurisdiction. Separate from it by all means. Govern your own body well. Govern your household and church govern grace well while shining the light of truth of redemption and repentance upon it, but understand also the burdens that come when a single jurisdictional entity forfiets or abuses what has been given to it by God…peacable, civilized society crumbles.
So now, the church throughout the ages has battled state/civil governments that has forbid them from assembling together. What has the true church of Christ done throughout history? It has sought to peaceably assemble anyways in obedience to Christ by His authority. This is why we pray for our leaders:
1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
1 Timothy
Now, why all of that when speaking of ?
Well because ephesians 5 and into 6 is going to deal with these same jurisdictional spheres.
But also, because the days are evil and we need to make the most of our time together ()
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
We take the time to understand these things because circumspectual living upon the word of God takes time espessialy in evil days. The lines are getting more blurred and confusing. Common ground is harder and harder to find. The evil of the days is speaking of a lacking in people the qualities that should be possessed. Lying is common place, deciet consider good buisness practice and population control is seen as progress… on and on I could list things. Simply to say, if you willingly walk ignorant while being filled with the venimus lies of this world, then without even being aware of it, you won’t be walking godly (but you may very well think that you are). If your form of godliness is what seems right to you, or what the crowd around you finds agreeable or what the powers above you say is good..or healthy…then I hate to point this out, but your being foolish according to the text.
17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
Ephesians 5:
The will of the Lord is not a mystery. That is what we have been discussing. The struggle however is beautifully pointed out in verse 18. I have for the past few weeks been baffled by what is happening with the church. To clarify, I am not in despair. I remain joyful in what God is doing, but I do ache that right now in the midst of so much fear, the church has been largely silent and unable to say “fear not”. In so much anxiety the church has been larglely inept in itself to be not anxious and in so much distancing the church has been quick to forfiet her communion. But I believe it does display much of what was so sorley off base about the “understanding of the will of the Lord”. That takes time, it takes a unplugging from “societies practices and opinions” and it takes spirit given understanding.
Ephesians 5:
18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; 21 and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.
As is consistent with our text, this is not primarily or should I say merely saying “don’t get drunk”…it is saying that and it says it is dispensation -wasteful or unable to save.
As is consistent with our text, this is not primarily or should I say merely saying “don’t get drunk”…it is saying that and it says it is dispensation -wasteful or unable to save.
I believe the primary here is discussing the spiritual as that has been and remains our context.
There is but one Spirit that is able to save.
To picture of a drunk is a perfect illustration for what is being said here.
When someone is drunk they are not themselves. They forget who they are.
Ephesians 5:19
Ephesians 5:19-20
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; 21 and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.
19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Ephesians 5:
First: When someone is drunk the speak differently. Their speech is slurred. It can be hurtful, crude, corse, or even affensive or abbusive.
Church - when we operate from a spirit that is not consistant with who we are, and is not of the Holy Spirit - then we talk more like the slurred, abbusive, fear driven ways of the world.
20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;
Second: When someone is drunk they walk different. There is no walking straight with a drunk .
Church: In seasons like this we need to be sober minded and ready to set straight our sights and know our true course.
Third: When someone is drunk they feel different. They become numb to reality, but perhaps the worst of the feeling is when the toxic effects ware off and they feel the pains that they have caused to themselves and in many cases to others.
Church: Well, lets sober up now and encourage others to do the same that we might minister grace rather than spread despair.
21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
Let us come back and arrange ourselves correctly under God, not fearing illness or government or popular opinion. Let us come back in reverence, honor and fear of Christ Jesus our Lord who is, The King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Let our palms be laid at His feet in how we order our lives, our families, His church, and pray for our state-government.