Gifts of The King

Great God, though we know you are the maker of Heaven and Earth, we seek to advance by our own toil, though we know you are the provider of all good things, we grumble for our want of more, though we know you are our great provider and protector, we fret and worry about that we think we lack in our lives. Lord, forgive us for our greatest sin against you is our lack of faith. Forgive us for not wholly trusting in you from he time we rise to them time we lie down. Spirit remind us day by day and moment by moment the the Father has chosen us, the Son has redeemed us, and that you keep us. Bring us into the comfort and peace that comes with being forgiven by You and by our adoption into your family, as citizens of Your Kingdom. In your merciful name we pray. Amen

Assurance of Faith

But yet God gives us a great promise in His word:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Oh that we should believe and not but once, but for all time lean upon that belief, that faith in the one who provides all for us.

We believe and although we fall short, we must persevere to the end. Hold tight to His Word.

Because this we know: “Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Confession of Faith

Knowing we are forgiven, Church what is it that you believe:

I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth;

And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic Church*, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Worship

97 We Will Glorify

126 Behold Our God

162 Wonderful Merciful Savior

Prayers of the People

Prayer Request

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

Gifts of the King

Today Will Be Different: Tell Story, MARSOC, why today’s sermon will be a bit different. How today's sermon will be a Bit Different.

Ephesians 4:7–11 ESV

7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” 9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,

Discuss Paul’s Interjection. Adding Deep Theology in the middle of the Call to Church Unity.

Today we explore why.

Christ Recieves and Gives the Gifts

Paul First makes mention that grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s Gift.

we each get gifted in one way or another

each gift is a measure of Christ’s grace

God determines the gift we recieve, and in what measure

later we will find out that He also determines what we are to do with it.

The gift is not yours, to be used for your purposes

rather for God’s intended purpose

Then He quotes this passage from Psalm 68

Eph 4:8 “8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.””

Psalm 68 (ESV)

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.

17 The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands; the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.

18 You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men,even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.

19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah

20 Our God is a God of salvation, and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.

This is s song of David rejoicing in God’s victory over His enemies, but note verse 18, the portion Paul quotes.

its not quite the same

Inthe original David points to God recieving gifts for men.

But when Paul applies it to us in the church he says that Christ is giving us gifts.

Look at the context. What david is seeing is the conquering Christ rising to His position of victorious King and recieving gifts

who can give Jesus gifts, only the Father

and what does Christ do with the gifts? Gives them to men

How precious then are the gifts?

They are the spoils of victory, given by the Father to the Son so that He might equip us Latter we will Look at the nature of the gifts.

Ascension

But for now we have to follow Paul’s direction, and he sidelines the discussion from here.

He feels it necesary to expound upon this imagery of Christ ascending

Ephesians 4:9–10 ESV

9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)

So Paul tells us if we are to claim He ascended, then it must have descended.

But Why? Otherwise this Jesus was but mere man and Davids imagery would not fit here

The one ascending is God, therefore Jesus is God

He came down to us!!

But it is not a mere theological note, but a statement meant to bring great hope

All we believe about salvation hinges upon Jesus being God.

And since the one who ascended is the same who descended, we can know that God has fulfilled the Scripture written almost a 100 years earlier. And as David proclaimed “Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah Our God is a God of salvation, and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death. “

Luke describes the actual ascension for us in Acts 1:6-11

Acts 1:6–11 ESV

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

So Christ 40 days post resurrection is lifted up. And if we restrict our reading to the NT as many do, we are left to wonder why this matters.

But luckily for us about 550 years prior the prophet Daniel was given a vision of what happened in heaven when the Son ascended back Dan 7:13-14

Daniel 7:13–14 (ESV)

13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.

14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

Paul says that He ascended so He might fulfill all things. The end of Jesus’s earthly ministry was no the completion of the prophecies of which the Messiah would fulfill.

The Gifts

Jesus did not stop His work of salvation on the day of Ascension. In fact if we think carefully, it was the first day of His enthronement that is spoken of in Psalm 2

Psalm 2 (ESV)

1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?

2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,

3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.

5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,

6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”

7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.

8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.

9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.

11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Again the imagery of the Son ascending to the top of Mt. Zion enthroned as King. And note that the nations and people plot in vain at this point.

Jesus sits enthroned and laughs at those who fight against him

This newly enthroned King still has battles to be fought so He must build an organization by which to fight those battles. This is his church. The extension of His rule to His people on earth

But He did not build it in vain counting on the wherewithal of men to build it properly for Him.

So He gave gifts. And though the gifts given unto men are numerous, Paul focus on a select group of reciepients here.

Apostles, prophets, evangelist, shepherds and teachers. Paul here picks out those specifically chosen to lead.

Next week we will look in depth at each of these offices, who he assigned them to, and the requirements of each.

Conclusion

I know I belabor this point of the Victorius King.

but it is with good reason, and here we are given a direct reference

so it would be wrong to read by it, pay it little attention, or to leave it misunderstood or trivialized

We are called to have hope, peace surpassing understanding

how can we do that if we view the world as uncertain. Straining out every last ounce of energy hoping to accomplish our goals, be a good parent, a good spouse or employee, a successful business owner.

But if we listen to Paul here, That our God, our Savior, our King has fulfilled a 1000 of year old prophecy in us, we can rest assured that He is in control, He has already won, is winning now, and will win in the future.

We are too constrained by our simplistic thoughts about time

We strain our gnats, while swallowing camels

We moan and complain and cause ourselves great distress of the most minor of details yet miss the big picture.

The picture that Paul paints.

We are called together to unify for the glory og God, to be part of the Body of Christ, to partake in His already sure victory

We are called first and foremost to faith in Him. That means absolute trust. We have to walk in that whether or not it is readily apparent in our current situation.

We must put away all concerns that plague us. Learn and grow from our struggles, and wholly trust in Him who sits upon the throne.

Benediction & Doxology

Closing Prayer

If anyone has any questions or concerns feel free to catch me afterwards. And a quick reminder we do have plates in the back for anyone who desires to worship through giving today. The plate to the right is general giving, and the one to the left is specific for our missions giving.

Join us as we sing the doxology:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures here below, Praise Him above ye Heavenly Host, Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Hebrews 13:20–21 ESV

20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

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