Participants: Pr. Stephen Bohr
Series Code: LLD
Program Code: LLD000002
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00:38 Shall we bow our heads for prayer.
00:41 Father in heaven, what a joy it is to be in Your house 00:45 of worship on Your holy Sabbath. 00:48 We thank You for this oasis in time. 00:52 We thank You that we're able to forget everything ours 00:56 so that we can focus on everything yours. 01:00 We ask, Father, that as we open Your Word that Your Holy Spirit 01:03 will be with us to instruct us and to guide us. 01:07 Help us to learn the lessons which will be useful 01:10 in our own personal walk with Jesus. 01:14 And we thank You, Father, for hearing our prayer, 01:16 for we ask it in Jesus' name, amen. 01:23 I would like us to begin our study this morning 01:27 at Psalm 8 and we will read verses 3 through 5. 01:33 If you remember, we're studying now a series titled, 01:37 The Law of Life and Death. 01:42 And today is the second sermon in this six part series titled, 01:48 The Law of Life and Death. 01:52 What I want us to notice in this passage is that God 01:55 placed Adam on the throne as the ruler of planet earth 02:03 at the very beginning of human history. 02:07 It says there is Psalm 8 and verse 3, 02:11 the psalmist speaking... 02:33 Speaking about the creation of Adam. 02:42 Notice, this is the idea of a coronation. 02:50 And notice, he has a territory which God gave him. 02:53 "You have made him to have dominion over the 02:56 works of Your hands. 02:58 You have put all things under his feet; 03:02 all sheep and oxen, even the beasts of the field, 03:07 the birds of the air and the fish of the sea 03:10 that pass through the paths of the seas." 03:14 Clearly, God placed Adam as the king of planet earth 03:19 at the very beginning. 03:21 And He placed a crown on his head, 03:23 according to this passage. 03:26 But when Adam chose Satan as his sovereign, 03:31 Satan took over the throne and Adam lost his dominion. 03:37 Let's read about that in Luke chapter 4 03:40 and verses 5 through 7. 03:43 Luke chapter 4 and verses 5 through 7. 03:48 This is the moment when the devil takes Jesus to a 03:51 very high mountain. 03:53 And it says there in verse 5... 04:28 So basically, the devil is saying to Jesus, 04:33 "This kingdom or these kingdoms have been delivered to me. 04:37 And I give these kingdoms to whomever I wish." 04:42 Originally, we noticed, that the kingdom was given to Adam. 04:46 But now Satan is claiming the kingdoms of this world. 04:52 And he's actually offering these kingdoms to Jesus. 04:57 It becomes very obvious that after Adam sinned, 05:02 the kingdoms of this world were taken over by usurpation 05:08 from the hands of Adam. 05:12 And therefore, the human race needed someone to come 05:18 and recover that which had been lost. 05:23 But the Bible says that there was no one within humanity 05:26 who could actually come and defeat the devil, 05:29 because everyone had already been defeated by the devil. 05:33 We find in Romans chapter 3 and verse 10, 05:36 "There is none righteous, no not one." 05:38 In Romans 3 verse 23, "All have sinned and come short 05:42 of the glory of God." 05:43 There was no one within the human race who could recover 05:46 the throne and the dominion which Adam had given over 05:51 to Satan as the ruler of this world. 05:56 And so it became necessary that Jesus, the Creator 06:01 of the whole human race, become incarnate 06:05 so that He could recover the throne 06:08 and He could recover the crown. 06:12 Now it's important to notice the way in which Jesus did this. 06:16 You know, in heaven He was a King. 06:19 He had a crown. 06:21 He had His throne. 06:24 You would have thought that He would have said, 06:26 "Okay, Satan, you stole the throne. 06:29 I'll knock you off and I'll just restore the throne." 06:34 But that's not the way it happened. 06:37 You see, in order for Jesus to recover the throne, 06:41 He had to get down from His throne in heaven 06:44 and He had to come to this world in a very strange 06:49 and unexpected way. 06:53 Do you realize that the last week of the life of Jesus 06:57 before His death on Calvary actually was the process 07:04 of His coronation as a King? 07:07 You know, we usually read those texts where it speaks about 07:10 Jesus coming on His throne of glory with all of His angels 07:15 and having a crown within a crown on His head. 07:18 And we think that this is the description of Jesus as King. 07:22 But there is another description of Jesus as King, 07:26 which is very, very strange. 07:31 Let's notice John chapter 12 and verses 12 through 15. 07:37 This passage is speaking about the procession of Jesus. 07:44 He's coming into Jerusalem as a Prince. 07:47 And as a Prince, He is going to be eventually crowned as King, 07:54 and He is going to be placed on His throne. 07:59 This is known as the triumphal entry. 08:02 It is taking place on what Christians call, Palm Sunday. 08:07 I want you to notice the kingly terminology 08:10 that you have in this passage. 08:13 It says there, beginning at verse 12... 08:33 Do you see that they're proclaiming Jesus King? 08:35 He's entering Jerusalem as a Prince. 08:38 And the multitudes are crying out, "Hosanna. 08:41 Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. 08:44 The King of Israel." 09:01 So you'll notice that Jesus enters Jerusalem 09:03 in this triumphal entry, and He's being acclaimed 09:07 as a King by the multitudes. 09:10 In fact, He sits on a donkey, which was a sign of royalty. 09:14 This is the procession of Jesus as the Prince. 09:18 He's coming to Jerusalem to be crowned as King. 09:23 Now it's interesting to notice in John chapter 12 09:27 and verses 31 to 33 that the Lord Jesus predicted... 09:32 This is taking place, by the way, only three days 09:36 before the death of Jesus, what we're going to read now. 09:38 Jesus is predicting that He is going to cast out 09:43 the present ruler at that time of this world 09:46 by what He was going to do in Jerusalem. 09:49 Notice John chapter 12 and verses 31 to 33. 09:54 You see, this world had a prince. 09:56 This world had a ruler. 09:57 He had taken it from Adam. 09:58 Now Jesus is saying just a few days before His death 10:01 on the cross, He's saying, "I'm going to take this individual 10:05 off the throne and I'm going to be the new ruler 10:08 by what I'm going to do in Jerusalem." 10:10 Notice... 10:31 He was saying, "When I hang on the cross, 10:34 when I say, 'It is finished,' I am going to knock off 10:37 the present ruler of this world who took the throne 10:40 from the original ruler, from Adam." 10:44 In other words He's saying, "I'm going to lay stake to My throne. 10:48 And I'm going to lay stake to My crown." 10:52 But this was a strange King. 10:55 Very unusual King. 10:59 Now every king, in order to be king, needs to be anointed. 11:02 Would you agree with that? 11:04 Interestingly enough, after the triumphal entry 11:09 you find the anointing of this King. 11:12 Notice Matthew chapter 26 and verses 1 and 2. 11:16 And while you're looking for Matthew 26:1-2, 11:18 let me ask you, where were kings anointed? 11:22 On what part of their body? 11:24 On their heads. 11:26 And what were they anointed with? 11:28 They were anointed with oil. 11:32 Now notice what we find in Matthew 26 and verses 1 and 2. 11:51 By the way, that means to be enthroned. 11:55 We're going to notice that a little bit later. 11:58 Let's jump down to verse 6. 12:00 "And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, 12:05 a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of 12:09 very costly fragrant oil." 12:16 Now some places don't say that it was oil. 12:21 But I want you to notice, I'll just mention this text 12:23 in passing, Luke 7 verse 46. 12:27 Jesus says, "My head with oil thou didst not anoint," 12:31 He's saying to Simon. 12:33 "You didn't anoint My head with oil." 12:36 "But this woman hath anointed My feet with ointment." 12:42 So what this woman was using was oil. 12:44 And where did she anoint Jesus? 12:47 Verse 7 again, "A woman came to Him having an alabaster flask 12:50 of costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His..." What? 12:55 "...on His head as He sat at the table. 12:59 But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, 13:01 saying, 'Why this waste? 13:03 For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much 13:07 and given to the poor.' 13:08 But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, 13:11 'Why do you trouble the woman? 13:13 For she has done a good work for Me. 13:15 For you have the poor with you always, 13:19 but Me you do not have always. 13:21 For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, 13:24 she did it for My burial.'" 13:26 So we find Jesus entering as a triumphant Prince 13:30 into Jerusalem. 13:32 And now He is anointed with oil on His head. 13:37 He's being anointed as a King. 13:41 But this is quite a strange King. 13:45 Now, all kings need to have a crown. 13:47 Don't they? 13:49 Therefore, Jesus had to have a crown as well. 13:52 But it's a rather strange crown. 13:55 Notice John chapter 19 and verses 2 and 3. 13:58 John chapter 19 and verses 2 and 3. 14:03 Jesus had a crown. 14:06 But it was a strange crown. 14:09 It says there in verse 2... 14:18 Isn't that kind of a strange crown for a King? 14:28 Notice, they're rendering Him homage as a King. 14:39 And so this King who has this triumphal procession 14:42 into Jerusalem as the Prince who is going to be crowned, 14:46 who is anointed on His head with oil to be the King, 14:49 now a crown is placed on His head. 14:53 But it is a crown of thorns. 14:56 Now every king needs to have special garments. 15:00 And the special garments, of course, are to be 15:03 a certain color. 15:05 Kings actually were garbed in purple. 15:09 That was the royal color. 15:11 And so Jesus, if He was going to be a King, had to be 15:14 robed in purple. 15:16 Notice John chapter 19 and verses 2 and 3 once again. 15:21 "And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it 15:25 on His head, and they put on Him..." What? 15:30 "...a purple robe. 15:33 Then they said, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' 15:36 And they struck Him with their hands." 15:40 So Jesus the King wears a purple robe. 15:44 They place a crown of thorns on His head. 15:46 It's the crown of a King. 15:48 He has His anointing service separating Him as King. 15:52 And He enters triumphal into Jerusalem as a Prince 15:56 who is going to be crowned. 15:58 But now every king needs to be recognized by his subjects 16:02 and needs to be honored and glorified by his subjects. 16:05 And so, of course, Jesus had to also receive homage 16:09 from His subjects. 16:10 But the interesting thing is, they acclaim Him as King, 16:14 but they acclaim Him in a mocking manner. 16:18 Notice Mark chapter 15 and verses 17 through 19. 16:23 Mark chapter 15 and verses 17 through 19. 16:39 See, like the multitudes would do in case that a king 16:42 is coming and is going to be crowned. 16:45 You know, they're going to honor and glorify him 16:47 and sing out his praises. 16:50 But this is a strange way for the people 16:52 to recognize this King. 16:55 It says, "And they began to salute Him..." 17:13 But all of this was done by His subjects mockingly. 17:18 Normally, a king, when he's recognized, 17:21 the multitudes would actually praise him in a sincere 17:26 and honest way, in a loving way. 17:30 Now every king also has to have a scepter in his right hand, 17:34 which is a symbol of his rulership. 17:38 Therefore, Jesus also had to have a scepter 17:41 in His right hand. 17:43 Notice Matthew chapter 27 and verse 29. 17:47 Matthew chapter 27 and verse 29. 17:50 Jesus had His scepter as well. 17:53 He's going through a process of coronation as King. 17:56 Strange King that we find here. 18:01 It says... 18:11 See, that's the scepter. 18:23 So Jesus has His crown. 18:26 He has His scepter. 18:28 He has His purple robes. 18:30 He had His anointing service. 18:34 The people acclaim Him, mockingly, as King. 18:40 Was Jesus really a King? 18:43 All of the evidence seems to indicate so. 18:46 In fact, in Matthew 27 verse 11, which we won't look up now, 18:50 Jesus had a private interview with Pilate, 18:53 with Pontius Pilate. 18:55 Pilate asked Him, "Are you a King?" 18:58 Jesus says, "Yes. 19:01 But I'm not the type of King that you think I am. 19:04 I'm not a glorious King who's going to take away your throne 19:07 and sit on the throne of Rome." 19:10 He says, "I am a King, but My kingdom right now 19:13 is not of this world." 19:16 And then when Pilate brings out Jesus before the Jews, 19:21 I want you to notice how he introduces Jesus. 19:25 John chapter 19 and verses 14 and 15. 19:30 John 19 and verses 14 and 15. 20:04 So Pilate recognized that Jesus was a King. 20:08 He introduces Jesus as a King. 20:11 In a private interview, Jesus says, "I am a King." 20:16 And then Jesus is taken on the procession 20:20 to the place of His coronation. 20:24 But it's a strange procession. 20:27 It's known commonly among Christians as the Via Dolorosa; 20:33 the way of sorrow and pain. 20:37 You see, He's going on the procession because they're 20:39 going to place Him on His throne. 20:41 But we're going to notice that the throne is actually a cross. 20:49 What a strange way to be recognized as a King, 20:54 to be placed on a throne which is actually a cross. 21:01 Notice what we find in Matthew 27 and verses 31 to 33. 21:31 "And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, 21:34 that is to say, the Place of a Skull..." 21:38 So you have here the procession of Jesus to the place 21:42 of His coronation, to the place where He's going to be 21:46 put upon the throne. 21:50 Now, you know, it's very interesting that the 21:53 book of Acts describes this coronation 21:58 and enthronement ceremony by quoting a prophecy 22:02 from the Old Testament. 22:05 Turn with me to Acts chapter 4 and verses 25 to 27. 22:08 In case you haven't recognized now that the last week 22:12 of the life of Jesus before His death was a process of 22:15 coronation as a King, this will seal it. 22:19 Acts chapter 4 verses 25 to 27. 22:23 Here, Peter is reminiscing about the moment when 22:27 Annas, Caiaphas, the Jewish leaders, 22:30 Herod, and Pilate gathered around Jesus, 22:34 mockingly, to destroy Him. 22:38 And I want you to notice that Peter quotes a very interesting 22:41 passage from the Old Testament. 22:43 Let's begin at verse 24 of Acts chapter 4. 22:49 "So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God 22:54 with one accord and said, 'Lord, You are God, 22:58 who made heaven and earth and the sea, 23:00 and all that is in them...'" 23:10 Do you know where he's quoting from? 23:12 Psalm 2, a very important psalm. 23:44 "...to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose 23:46 determined before to be done." 23:50 Now why would this passage be quoted as referring to the 23:55 moment when the leaders of Israel and when Pilate and Herod 24:01 gathered around Jesus to mock Him? 24:05 We need to know the original historical context of Psalm 2. 24:09 You see, Psalm 2 is speaking about David's coronation then. 24:14 And God is placing David as His servant on the throne. 24:18 And at the same time that David is being placed on the throne, 24:22 the surrounding nations with their kings are conspiring 24:25 to overthrow him before he wins over the sympathy of the people. 24:30 They say, "If we can knock him off early, 24:34 then he won't have the confidence of the people, 24:37 and we'll be able to overcome him." 24:40 Interesting that this passage in Psalm 2, which applies 24:44 originally to the coronation of David and the nations 24:47 conspiring against him as the king of Israel, 24:51 is used to refer to Jesus who is also being crowned as a King 24:56 and the nations are conspiring against Jesus Christ. 25:03 So this passage makes it very clear that the process that 25:06 Jesus went through was His coronation day like in Psalm 2. 25:12 Now every king needs to have an inscription above his throne 25:16 so that everybody recognizes his name. 25:19 And it couldn't be any different than Jesus. 25:22 Notice John chapter 19 and verse 19, 25:26 and we'll also read verse 20. 25:28 John 19 and verses 19 and 20. 25:35 It's beautiful to hear the pages of the Bible. 25:38 It's musical. 25:40 It says there... 25:57 Interesting. 26:00 But there's another very interesting detail about this. 26:02 Notice the following verse, verse 20. 26:05 "Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where 26:10 Jesus was crucified was near the city," and notice this, 26:14 "and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin." 26:22 Was Jesus only the King of the Jews? 26:26 No. 26:28 The inscription above His head that said, 26:31 "Jesus, the King of the Jews," is actually in three languages. 26:35 The main languages of that day and age in the known world. 26:39 Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. 26:43 In other words, this King is not only the King of the Jews. 26:46 This King is the King of what? 26:49 He's the King of the world. 26:51 He's the King of everyone, whether it be Jew, 26:54 or whether it be Greek, or whether it be Gentile. 26:57 Whatever, He is the King of all. 27:01 And so we have this strange description of Jesus as King. 27:08 Now have you noticed in all of this that Jesus is actually 27:13 a suffering King in everything that we've studied? 27:19 A sorrowful King. 27:22 A humiliated King. 27:26 And yet Scripture presents Him as King, because He is King 27:31 by what He's doing, by humbling Himself. 27:33 He's taking away the throne from the ruler of this world, 27:37 who took it from Adam. 27:38 And He is recovering the throne by what He is doing. 27:42 But He's not doing it by force. 27:44 He's doing it by becoming nothing. 27:47 By emptying Himself. 27:48 By humbling Himself. 27:52 Now Scripture presents Jesus in a different light 27:58 in other passages. 28:01 It presents Him, for example, in Matthew 25 and verse 31 28:08 as a King seated on a glorious throne. 28:13 With a crown, according to Revelation chapter 19, 28:18 within a crown. 28:19 "On His head are many diadems," is what Scripture says. 28:25 This is a different kind of King. 28:28 No longer mocking Christ, no longer a crown of thorns, 28:31 no longer a cross as His throne. 28:36 But rather sitting on a throne of glory with a glorious 28:40 crown on His head. 28:44 Let's read about that in Matthew chapter 25 and verse 31. 28:51 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the 28:57 holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the 29:02 throne of His glory." 29:06 And do you know that Scripture says that those who mocked Him, 29:09 those who pierced Him, will wail over Him 29:13 when they see Him seated on His glorious throne 29:16 with His glorious crown on His head. 29:20 Different kind of King. 29:23 Now you remember that in our last study together, 29:25 we talked about upward mobility and downward mobility. 29:31 Most of the world operates by the rule of upward mobility. 29:37 But the kingdom of Christ operates on the basis 29:40 of downward mobility. 29:42 "He who humbles himself will be..." What? 29:46 "...will be exalted." 29:49 And in the case of Jesus, we find an illustration 29:53 of this principle very clear. 29:56 Before Jesus can sit on the glorious throne 30:00 with a glorious crown on His head, He must come down 30:03 and He must have a crown of thorns, and He must 30:07 sit on a crown or rest on a crown, which is actually 30:12 a cross, and His hands and His feet and His side being pierced. 30:17 In other words, before He can reign He must humble Himself 30:22 and He must become a servant. 30:26 You see, this is how we explain the two thrones 30:29 and the two crowns of Jesus. 30:33 He's, first of all, the suffering servant. 30:36 And then He becomes the sovereign Lord 30:39 as a result of humbling Himself. 30:43 Let's read that passage again in Philippians chapter 2 30:46 and verses 5 through 11. 30:48 Philippians chapter 2 and verses 5 through 11, 30:51 which we looked at last time. 30:52 But let's look at it again, because here we have 30:55 the law of life and death. 30:58 If Jesus had remained on His glorious throne in heaven, 31:01 we would all be lost. 31:03 But because He came down, we all have the hope 31:06 of everlasting life. 31:09 Notice Philippians 2 verse 5. 31:20 Actually, He did not consider His equality with God 31:23 as something to be hung on to, as something to be grasped. 31:30 Notice, this was His choice. 31:31 He made Himself of no reputation. 31:34 Actually, He emptied Himself. 31:38 He said, "Father, not I but You." 31:52 See, He's already a man. 31:53 He's going to humble Himself even more. 31:57 It's His choice. He humbled Himself. 32:06 Even that throne, the throne of the cross. 32:10 Even that crown, the crown of thorns. 32:12 Even the mocking cries of the people. 32:16 He humbled Himself. 32:17 He emptied Himself. 32:19 He went to the cross. 32:21 What did God do as a result of that? 32:24 Notice verse 9. 32:27 Did Jesus go to heaven and say, "Okay Father, I went down 32:30 and I did it. 32:32 Now I want My just due. 32:36 Come on, give Me My name. 32:40 Give Me My throne back." 32:43 No. 32:44 "He who humbles himself... 32:47 ...will be exalted." 32:49 See, you don't do the exalting. God does. 32:51 "He who humbles himself will be exalted." 32:54 "And he who exalts himself..." 32:56 Somebody else will do also the humbling. 32:58 "...will be humbled." 33:01 That's the law of life and death. 33:02 You humble yourself; life. 33:04 You exalt yourself; death. 33:06 It's that simple. 33:08 Notice verse 9. 33:12 Did He exalt Himself? 33:15 No, God did. 33:16 God has highly exalted Him and given Him the name. 33:19 Who gave Him the name? 33:20 Did He grab the name? No. 33:41 Not even to His own glory, but to the glory of His Father. 33:47 Are you catching the picture here? 33:49 He humbles Himself, and His Father gives Him a name. 33:54 His Father exalts Him. 33:57 And it's all not for His glory. 33:59 It's for the glory of whom? 34:01 It's for the glory of His Father. 34:04 Now how does this impact us? 34:07 You know, many times we want to rule before we pay our dues. 34:15 We want to be up here before we are willing to humble ourselves. 34:20 In fact, the text that we read last sermon, last Sabbath, 34:25 Matthew 23 verse 12, has the essence of the 34:28 teachings of Jesus. 34:30 If you miss a lot of the things that Jesus said 34:32 and you understand this verse, you understand the most 34:35 important concept that Jesus taught. 34:37 "He who exalts himself will be humbled. 34:40 And he who humbles himself will be exalted." 34:42 And the life of Jesus is a living 34:44 illustration of this principle. 34:46 And the question is, what about us? 34:50 Do we have to follow the same process that Jesus did? 34:54 Of course we do. 34:57 Actually, Jesus is giving us an example. 34:59 He's saying, "As I have humbled Myself, 35:02 you humble yourselves too. 35:04 That as I was exalted, someday you might be exalted 35:07 with Me as well." 35:10 You see, we can never occupy the throne 35:12 until we have carried the cross. 35:16 We can never be exalted unless first we have humbled ourselves. 35:21 You know, there are many illustrations 35:23 of this in Scripture. 35:24 You have the life of Joseph. 35:27 Joseph was up here nice at home, and God says, "Hey, you have to 35:31 go over to Egypt and become a servant." 35:35 And so Joseph goes, he's faithful as a servant, 35:38 he's faithful as a slave. 35:40 He ends up even in prison. 35:42 And so God says, "Okay, now you have learned the 35:44 lesson of being humble. 35:45 Now I'm going to exalt you." 35:47 And He places him as the Prime Minister of Egypt. 35:51 Do you think he would have been ready to be Prime Minister 35:53 of Egypt unless he had paid his dues. 35:56 Absolutely not. 36:00 You have the story of the transfiguration. 36:03 See, the disciples, they thought that Jesus was going to 36:06 sit on the throne, he was going to destroy the Romans. 36:09 He was going to be up here first. 36:11 Jesus says, "No, no, no, no. 36:13 I have to go to Jerusalem. 36:15 They're going to mock Me, they are going to spit in My face, 36:17 and they're going to crucify Me. 36:19 But then I'll tell you what. 36:20 After I'm crucified, I'm going to resurrect 36:22 and God is going to exalt Me." 36:26 So you see, "First," Jesus says, "I must die." 36:29 And then He's seen in His kingdom with Moses and Elijah, 36:33 who represent a mini kingdom. 36:36 Moses; those who died in Christ and resurrected. 36:39 And Elijah; those who will be transported to heaven 36:41 from among the living. 36:42 Jesus is saying to the disciples, "Listen, I know 36:45 you're all dejected because I said I was going to Jerusalem, 36:47 I was going to be mistreated, and I was going to die. 36:49 But lift up your spirits. 36:51 Look, this is the way it's going to be. 36:54 This is the way the kingdom is going to be. 36:56 I am going to be glorified like you see Me here 36:58 on the mount of transfiguration. 37:00 And Moses and Elijah, representing the whole 37:02 human race, are going to be with Me." 37:05 Wow. 37:07 But first comes the humbling, and then comes the exalting. 37:12 We have the same thing in Daniel chapter 7. 37:16 You know, it talks about the saints of God being 37:18 trampled upon and being mistreated. 37:21 But then the time of the judgment comes. 37:22 See, they've been stepped on. 37:25 They've lost everything. 37:26 They've been burned at the stake. 37:28 Their goods have been confiscated. 37:31 They've been hung. 37:34 They've been stamped on. 37:37 But then in the judgment, we find the kingdom is given to 37:41 Jesus and to the saints of the Most High. 37:43 And they shall rule forever and ever. 37:47 So don't you think that suffering is so bad. 37:51 Don't you think that humbling is so bad. 37:53 Because only those who know the lesson of humility 37:58 will ever be exalted. 38:00 It's a law of life. 38:03 Notice the way the apostle Paul expresses this 38:05 in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 12. 38:08 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 12. 38:10 He gives us this maxim, he gives us this formula, 38:15 which has to be fulfilled. 38:18 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 12. 38:22 The apostle Paul says... 38:35 Now notice, "If we endure..." 38:37 Other versions translate, "If we suffer..." 38:47 So what's the necessary requisite for reigning with Him? 38:52 Going through suffering now, through trials, 38:54 through tribulations, through difficulties. 38:56 And folks, as we go through the trials and tribulations 38:58 and difficulties in a humble way, we learn great lessons 39:03 that will make us capable of handling the 39:08 greater responsibilities. 39:11 Because he who is faithful in little will eventually be 39:14 faithful in what? 39:16 In much. 39:18 I'd like to end by reading 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, 39:23 where the apostle Paul is describing his own experience. 39:26 He says... 39:35 What's for a moment? 39:37 Our light, what? 39:38 "Oh Pastor, you don't know how much I'm suffering." 39:41 The apostle Paul says, "For our light affliction, 39:44 which is but for a moment..." 39:45 I mean, what are 70 or 80 years in the context of eternity? 39:53 Notice that our light affliction but for a moment, 39:55 "is working for us..." 40:05 Those are the things, the light affliction but for a moment. 40:21 I pray to God that He will help us learn this lesson, folks. 40:25 That he who humbles himself will be exalted. 40:29 And he who exalts himself will be humbled. |
Revised 2014-12-17