The LORD is king! Let
the earth rejoice! Let the farthest coastlands
be glad. Dark clouds surround him. Righteousness
and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire spreads ahead of
him and burns up all his foes. His lightning flashes out across the world. The
earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the
earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness; every nation sees his
glory. Those who worship idols are disgraced— all who brag about their
worthless gods— for
every god must bow to him. Jerusalem has heard and rejoiced, and all the towns of Judah
are glad because
of your justice, O LORD! For you, O LORD, are
supreme over all the earth; you
are exalted far above all gods. Psalms
97:1 – 9 (NLT)
My wife’s automobile got “re-called”…..again. The first re-call was only the sunroof’s
seal; this time it was the airbag. They
fixed it and we’re safe now (except for driving off cliffs in the mountains and
alien attacks). Re-calls are for
defective merchandise.
Another Recall
In the Christian calendar this
coming Sunday’s theme is “Christ the King”.
It signals the beginning of Advent season the following Sunday. It’s humanity’s chance for a re-call.
Christ….the…..KING!
This is good news; it’s a
good reason to let the earth rejoice….and tremble. “Thy kingdom come, thy
will be done…”! This is great news for all who know Christ as
Savior; a reason to melt like a mountain of wax for those who don’t.
In our Sunday worship times
we have been preaching through Revelation.
The last two sermons were from Revelation 13, about the false pretender
to the throne…the Antichrist. It is
disturbing stuff to read of the blasphemy which the Beast and False Prophet use
to deceive the nations. An image of a
false Christ is set up in the temple at Jerusalem; imagine an idol sitting on
the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies!
But this week begins
chapter 14, a re-call: enter the LAMB,
the Lord, King of Glory!
Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him
were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. Revelation 14:1 (NLT)
And the angels flying back
and forth in heaven:
And I saw another angel flying through the sky, carrying the
eternal Good News to proclaim to the people who belong to this world—to every
nation, tribe, language, and people. “Fear
God,” he shouted. “Give glory to him. For the time has come when he will sit as
judge. Worship him who made the heavens,
the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water.” Revelation 14:6 - 7 (NLT)
Recall
Christ the King Sunday is a
reminder that the Second Advent of Christ will fix what has gone wrong with
humanity. For all those who do not fear
God and do not give glory to him, the time has come when he will sit as judge.
It’s more than a sunroof
seal or airbag – this is eternity’s re-call!
Today
Want to get in on “giving
glory to God”? Take a few moments to
read this out loud:
Glory
to you, Lord God of our fathers; you are worthy of praise; glory to you.
Glory
to you for the radiance of your holy Name; we will praise you and highly exalt
you for ever.
Glory
to you in the splendor of your temple; on the throne of your majesty, glory to
you.
Glory
to you, seated between the Cherubim; we will praise you and highly exalt you
for ever.
Glory
to you, beholding the depths; in the high vault of heaven, glory to you.
Glory
to you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; we will praise you and highly exalt you
for ever.[i]
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