Christmas & The Lord's Day (2)

[0:00] Well, if you would, with the Lord's help, if you would turn with me again to Paul's letter to the Philippians in chapter 2.

[0:18] Philippians chapter 2, we were looking at these verses this morning, or some of the verses, and we're going to look at the rest of them this evening.

[0:31] Philippians chapter 2, and we'll read at verse 5. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

[1:06] Therefore God has highly exalted him, and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

[1:33] When Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians, we were saying this morning, he called them to a life of joy in the midst of suffering. And he said to them, to count it all joy to suffer as a Christian.

[1:49] And Paul said that whatever we face as a church, or as a community, or as homes, or as individuals, we are to count it a joy. And whatever trials, or temptations, or heartaches, or sorrows, or experiences of suffering that we will encounter in this life, we are to consider them a joy.

[2:10] And you know, when we hear such a statement, we immediately think, how is that possible? How is it possible to have joy in every circumstance of life?

[2:24] How is it possible, as Paul says, to rejoice always? Well, Paul reminds us that our joy doesn't come from focusing upon ourselves, or focusing upon our circumstances, our joy comes by focusing our minds upon Jesus Christ.

[2:43] Our joy comes by having the mind of Christ, and filling our mind with the things of Jesus Christ. And so, what is in the mind of Jesus Christ?

[2:55] What does Jesus think about? And as we saw this morning, Jesus Christ thinks about us. He thinks about us in his humiliation and his exaltation.

[3:10] When Jesus, as we said, was in glory, we were on his mind. When Jesus was acting obediently as God's servant, we were on his mind.

[3:21] When Jesus was being crucified at Calvary, we were on his mind. And now in heaven, we are still on his mind.

[3:33] We are still, Jesus is still thinking about us. And Paul says here in verse 5, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. We are to have the mind of Christ, and we are to think like Jesus.

[3:46] And we are to do that by thinking about Jesus. We are to have the mind of Jesus Christ by thinking about the humiliation and the exaltation of Jesus Christ.

[4:00] Our joy comes by focusing our minds upon Jesus Christ. And as we said this morning, we have a reason to rejoice and be glad today.

[4:10] We have a reason to say with the psalmist, This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Because today is Christmas Day, and Christmas Day coincides with the Lord's Day.

[4:26] Today, the best day of the year, coincides with the best day of the week. Because the best day of the year, it's Christmas Day. It's the day in which the Church of Jesus Christ reminds themselves of the greatest miracle, or one of the greatest miracles in this world's history, the incarnation.

[4:45] Of Jesus. But today, the best day of the year coincides with the best day of the week. Because the best day of the week, it's the Lord's Day. The best day of the week is the Lord's Day.

[4:57] The day that the Lord has set aside and sanctified for us to rest and to worship a risen Saviour. A risen Saviour.

[5:08] And so today, on Christmas Day, we are being reminded about the humiliation of our Saviour Jesus Christ, when he was born into the world. And today, on the Lord's Day, we are being reminded about the exaltation of our Saviour Jesus Christ, when he rose again from the dead.

[5:24] And so on the best day of the year and the best day of the week, what better thing to do than to rejoice and be glad in our Saviour Jesus Christ? On the best day of the year and the best day of the week, what better thing to do than focus our minds upon Jesus Christ by thinking about his humiliation and his exaltation?

[5:48] And that's what Paul gives us to think about in these verses. He gives us to think about Christmas Day and the Lord's Day. He gives us to think about Jesus' journey of humiliation and exaltation.

[6:01] And we considered the first half of that journey this morning. We considered the humiliation of Jesus Christ from the crown to the cross. And we filled our minds with the fact that Jesus began his journey to Calvary, crowned as the King of Kings.

[6:18] But in his humiliation, he left his crown and he made himself nothing by replacing it with the cradle in Bethlehem. And from the cradle in Bethlehem, Jesus humiliated himself even further by being an obedient servant who was obedient to his father's will to the point of death, even at the humiliating death of the cross.

[6:43] And so, my friend, the journey of Jesus from the crown to the cross was a journey of humiliation. It was down, down, down. And with that, you could say that this morning we filled our minds with what happened on Christmas Day.

[6:59] But this evening we can rejoice and be glad as we fill our minds with what happened on the Lord's Day. Because in these verses, we're going to consider, we're going to consider Jesus' journey of exaltation.

[7:14] And that's what happened on the Lord's Day. He went from the grave to glory. The grave to glory. And the journey was up, up, up.

[7:27] And Paul wants to take us on this journey in order to remind us that everything Jesus experienced in his humiliation and his exaltation, everything he did, was for us.

[7:39] Everything he did was for us. And so, if we consider what happened upon the Lord's Day by looking at it under three headings. Three simple headings. The grave, the government, and the glory.

[7:52] The grave, the government, and the glory. So, we look first of all at the grave. Look at the grave. Verse 8. Good verse 8.

[8:03] And you know, when we look closely at these verses, verses 5 to 11, we can see that there are only two sentences.

[8:27] In which verses 5 to 8 are the first sentence. And verses 6 to 11 are the second sentence. The first sentence speaks about the humiliation of Jesus Christ. The second sentence speaks about the exaltation of Jesus Christ.

[8:41] The first sentence ends with Jesus dying on the cross where he was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, which was the lowest point in the humiliation of Jesus Christ.

[8:53] The lowest point is death and burial. He went from glory down, down, down to the grave. But now as Paul begins his second sentence, he begins with a complete reversal of events where he says, therefore, therefore, God has highly exalted him.

[9:14] And at that moment, Paul is moving away from the lowest point in Christ's humiliation, the cross, to consider the heights of his exaltation.

[9:25] Because just as the word humiliation means to descend from the highest rank, the word exaltation means to ascend to the highest rank.

[9:37] Which is why Paul says, therefore, God has highly exalted him. But what we must notice here is that the act of exaltation, it's not the initiative of Jesus Christ.

[9:52] It doesn't begin with Jesus. It's not his doing. Because Paul says that the exaltation of Jesus is the Father's doing. God has highly exalted him.

[10:04] And the first step in that exaltation was the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, which took place on the best day of the week. The first Lord's Day morning, when he rose from the grave.

[10:19] And the reason God the Father raised Jesus Christ from the dead was because of his obedience. He raised him because he was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

[10:33] And in raising Jesus, the Father was displaying to us that he had accepted the perfect sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf. And that's what the resurrection is all about.

[10:46] It's saying to us, the sacrifice is accepted. And that's affirmed to us in the passage that we read in Luke's Gospel. That on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, this group of women, they went to the grave of Jesus with the purpose of anointing his body.

[11:05] But when they got there, the grave was empty. They came to find Jesus, but all they found was the stone that had sealed the grave, it had rolled away.

[11:15] And as you know, it was Pilate who had ordered all the Roman soldiers to seal and guard the grave of Jesus. Because the religious leaders, they had anticipated that, well, the disciples, they're going to come and try and break into the grave and steal the body of Jesus and claim that he has miraculously risen.

[11:37] But what's remarkable is that the religious leaders anticipated those on the outside breaking in. But what no one ever anticipated was the one on the inside breaking out.

[11:50] And when these key witnesses came to the grave of Jesus, they didn't find his body. And they were greatly perplexed.

[12:03] Because you would never expect anyone to rise from the dead. But Luke tells us that the grave of Jesus, it was empty. But there were two angels who were there.

[12:16] Two angels standing at the tomb. And you know, I love the question they ask. Why are you seeking the living among the dead? Why are you in a graveyard looking for one who is risen?

[12:30] He's not here. He's not in this graveyard. He is risen. And the angels went on to say, remember how he spoke to you when you were still in Galilee.

[12:40] Saying the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise again. And Luke says, they remembered his words.

[12:52] They remembered everything Jesus said would happen. They remembered all the times Jesus stopped them and said that he's going up to Jerusalem to be handed over, to be crucified. And on the third day he will rise again.

[13:03] They remembered Jesus speaking about his humiliation. And they remembered Jesus speaking about his exaltation. They remembered his words. But even Peter, when he ran to the tomb to see it for himself.

[13:18] Luke tells us that Peter stooped into the empty tomb. He stooped down and looked into the empty tomb. And he saw the grave clothes lying there by themselves. And he walked away from the tomb, it says, marveling to himself at what had happened.

[13:35] And this is what I always find amazing about the resurrection of Jesus. On that first Lord's Day morning. Because when Jesus was born on the best day of the year.

[13:51] He was wrapped in swaddling clothes. And laid in a cradle. In the trough. But when Jesus died. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes.

[14:04] And laid in a grave. And when Jesus rose again on the first day of the week. He left behind the swaddling clothes. In which he had been wrapped. Because it's said that the type of material.

[14:17] With which Jesus was wrapped. At his birth. And at his death. Was the same type of material. Was grave clothes. And it's interesting that at the birth of Jesus.

[14:30] He was wrapped in grave clothes. In preparation for his burial. But at his resurrection. He rose through the grave clothes. And left them behind.

[14:42] He's not here. For he's risen. And this is why Peter walked away from the tomb. Marveling to himself. At what had happened. Because in that moment. Everything Jesus had said and taught.

[14:54] It came flooding back to his mind. All the times that Jesus had spoke to them. All the teaching that Jesus had given to them. And Jesus was through to his word.

[15:07] That he rose again from the dead. And from that moment onwards. Peter proclaimed the message of a crucified. Unrisen Christ.

[15:18] And it was to be the message that would turn the world upside down. It was the message that would build the church throughout the whole world. Because it was a message of good news. It was a message of hope.

[15:30] That he is not here. For he is risen. Death has been defeated. The grave could not hold him. God has accepted the sacrifice. And that was Peter's message.

[15:41] That was Paul's message. That's the church's message. That's why the church of Jesus Christ gathers on the Lord's day. On the first day of the week. We gather to worship a risen and exalted saviour.

[15:56] We gather to give thanks to God for accepting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf. We gather to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

[16:08] But he's not here. He's risen. And this is the message that will change homes and transform lives. He is not here. For he is risen.

[16:21] And you know my friend. There are only two things in scripture which the Lord has claimed as his own. I'm sure I've mentioned this to you before. There are only two things that the Lord claims as his own.

[16:33] And he will not share them with anyone. He will not move on them. Because they've been consecrated and dedicated to him and him alone.

[16:45] Those two things are the Lord's supper and the Lord's day. They are his and his alone. And we ought to treat them with the reverence and respect God demands.

[16:59] Because God has highly exalted him. And no other except Jesus Christ. And without the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

[17:12] As Paul says. There is no salvation. Everything hangs on the resurrection. And that's what Paul was saying to us in 1 Corinthians. If Christ is not risen.

[17:24] Your faith is in vain. You are still in your sins. If Jesus is not risen from the dead. We have no hope. We are all miserable. The message you're preaching Paul says.

[17:37] It's a false message. If Jesus is not risen. If Jesus has not been exalted. Then we cannot be saved. There's no message of salvation. It doesn't matter about his humiliation.

[17:48] It doesn't matter about the death of the cross. If Jesus has not been exalted. Then we can't experience eternal life. If God hadn't accepted the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

[18:01] Then we could never experience the wonder of salvation. But Paul affirms to us. Christ is risen. In fact he says. Christ is risen from the dead.

[18:13] Jesus has been highly exalted. God has raised him from the grave. In order that we could be raised from our grave. Of sin and death. And be brought to experience the newness of life.

[18:27] My friend. Today is the best day of the year. And the best day of the week. And what better thing to do today. Than to focus our minds. Upon what this Jesus has done.

[18:39] For us. Because he not only died for us. But he was also raised for us. Raised. In order that we could have eternal life.

[18:54] But in Jesus' journey of exaltation. From the grave to glory. We see secondly the government of Jesus. The government. If you look at verse 9.

[19:06] It says. Therefore God has highly exalted him. And bestowed on him. The name. That is above. Every name. And in these words.

[19:17] Paul reminds us. That what happened on the best day of the week. On the first Lord's day. It's not the end of the story. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

[19:27] It's fundamental to our salvation. But the story is not yet at its conclusion. Because as Paul points out to us. The ascension to the right hand of God the Father.

[19:39] Is key to Christ's exaltation. Because at his ascension to heaven. Jesus was given a name. A name which is above every other name.

[19:50] But when Paul speaks about the name which Jesus was given. He's not referring to a specific name as such. But a title. A position of honour.

[20:01] It's a position which is above every other position. It's the highest place of exaltation. That's what we said the word. Exaltation means.

[20:11] It means to ascend to the highest rank. And that's what Jesus was given at his ascension. He ascended. And he was exalted to the highest rank.

[20:22] To the position of sitting. At the right hand. Of God the Father. And as one who was issued a title. And exalted to this position of honour.

[20:34] Jesus was given the responsibility. Of government. And at his ascension. To the right hand of the Father. Jesus was given the responsibility.

[20:46] Of maintaining the security. Of the Lord's people. By providing for their needs. And you know what's amazing about all this. Is that.

[20:58] This is what Isaiah prophesied would happen. We read about it so often at this time of year. When thinking about the birth of Jesus. We read about the prophecies of Jesus.

[21:11] In Isaiah. Chapter 7. 9 and 11. But. In chapter 9. It says. Unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. And the government.

[21:23] Shall be upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called. Wonderful counsellor. The mighty God. The everlasting father. The prince of peace.

[21:34] And Isaiah. He went on. In verse 10. To describe. What this government. Would be like. And he says that. Jesus. Will be sitting. As a king.

[21:46] Governing. And Isaiah says. Of the increase of his government. And peace. There shall be no end. Upon the throne of David. And upon his kingdom. And what he does.

[21:57] To order it. And to establish it. With judgment. And with justice. From henceforth. Even forever. And the zeal of the Lord of hosts. Will perform this.

[22:08] My friend. Jesus is ascension. To the right hand. Of the father. Meant that the burden. Of government. Would be upon his shoulder. The burden.

[22:18] Of maintaining the security. Of the Lord's people. And providing for their needs. That burden. Would be upon. His shoulder. The government. Would be upon. His shoulder.

[22:29] He will bear. The burden. And you know. This is why the writer. To the Hebrews. Says about. Jesus. The writer. To the Hebrews. He's talking about. Jesus.

[22:39] All the way through his letter. Saying Jesus is better. Jesus is better. And then he says about. The risen and exalted Jesus. He says. He is able to save. To the uttermost.

[22:50] Those who draw near to God. To the throne. Those who draw near to God. Through him. Since he ever lives. To make intercession. For us.

[23:01] Which means. Which means that we are able to come. To this risen. And exalted Jesus. Because he's not only able to save. To the uttermost. But we're also able to come.

[23:12] To him. With all our burdens. All the burdens. Of life. And put them upon his shoulder. We are able to draw near. To the throne.

[23:23] Of grace. The throne of grace. And find there. Mercy. Because he's able to save. To the uttermost. And we're able to find there. Grace to help. In time of need.

[23:35] And we're able to find it. Because. All because. He is sitting. At the right hand. Of the father. The Lord Jesus Christ. Is sitting. At the father's right hand.

[23:46] And he ever. Lives. To make intercession. For us. This is the wonder of it. When we come. To God in prayer. When we come.

[23:58] In the name of Christ. Through the name of Christ. In heaven. We are already on his mind. We are already on his mind.

[24:10] This is the wonder of it. We are able to place. All our burdens. All our. Our. Problems in life. We're able to give it. To the one who governs.

[24:21] Who has been given. The government. Upon his shoulder. We're able to bring it all to him. Everything. Everything. To him. In prayer. It's wonderful.

[24:32] And you know. I can't help but thinking. That this is the reason. Why Jesus says to us. In the gospel. Come. Unto. Me. All.

[24:43] Ye that labor. And are heavy laden. And I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Learn from me. For I am meek. And lowly in heart.

[24:53] But you shall. Find rest for your souls. Because my yoke is easy. And my burden. Is light. It's the wonder of it. He. Has been given the government.

[25:05] And we are able to come. To the throne. And pour out. Everything before him. All the burdens. And so as. One who was issued this title.

[25:16] And exalted to. A position of honor. That he was given the government. But at the resurrection. And ascension. He was given this title. This title.

[25:26] And what was the title. We know that he. He ascended. And he was exalted. To the highest rank. To the father's right hand. Where he intercedes on our behalf. He hears us.

[25:38] He knows us. But what was the title. Well Paul tells us. In verse 11. That he is. That Jesus Christ. Is Lord.

[25:50] Because of the resurrection. And ascension. Jesus Christ. Is Lord. Which means that. The exaltation of Jesus Christ. Granted him the title. Lord Jesus Christ.

[26:02] Lord Jesus Christ. And this is important. Because when Paul speaks about. The name above every other name. Or the position above every other position. He's using it in reference.

[26:13] To all the other gods. And all the other idols. Of this world. But in particular. Paul is using it. In contrast to. The highest position.

[26:24] In the Roman army. The position of. Emperor. Because when Paul wrote. His letter to the Philippians. Philippi was part of a Roman colony.

[26:35] And at that time. There was this great emphasis. Upon emperor worship. Which all the people. Within the Roman colonies. They were under the authority. Of the Caesar. And they would have to bow down.

[26:47] Either to a statue. Or to Caesar himself. And confess. Caesar is Lord. But of course. That's not to be the case. For the Christian. They were not to bow down.

[26:58] To Caesar. Or any other authority. And confess. That they are Lord. And what. That's what Paul is stressing here. That for the Christian. Jesus has a name.

[27:08] Above Caesar. And he has a position. Exalted. Above the position of emperor. Because he has been given a name. The Lord Jesus Christ. And he has been exalted.

[27:20] To the right hand. Of God. The Father. Which is a far greater position. Than all the kings. And emperors. And false gods. And false idols. Of this world.

[27:32] But you know. What strikes me. About the apostle Paul. And his theology. Is that he never separates. The resurrection. And the ascension of Jesus.

[27:44] They go hand in hand. And he views them as. Both of them. As key moments. In the life. Of the church. And crucial to our salvation.

[27:57] And I say that because. When Paul wrote his letter. To the Christians in Rome. They were living. In the heart of the Roman Empire. And.

[28:08] The location you could say. Of Caesar's throne. Paul. But Paul reminds them. That experiencing salvation. And being a Christian. It's not about. Moral reformation.

[28:20] It's about living out. Your confession. And what every Christian. Must believe in their heart. And confess with their mouth. Says Paul. Is the resurrection.

[28:30] And ascension. Of Jesus Christ. Because experiencing salvation. Because of the resurrection. And ascension of Jesus. They go hand in hand.

[28:42] Paul says in Romans. Chapter 10. And verse 9. If you confess with your mouth. That Jesus. Is Lord.

[28:53] That's the ascension. Jesus. Is the exalted Lord. If you confess with your mouth. That Jesus is Lord. And you believe in your heart. That God raised him.

[29:05] From the dead. Then you will be saved. And. I know that for some of you.

[29:16] In here. You believe in your heart. That God raised Jesus. From the dead. You believe in the resurrection. You've got no issue.

[29:27] With the resurrection. No issue with the empty tomb. But the sticking point. In all this. And what holds you back. From becoming a Christian. Is the confession.

[29:38] With your mouth. That Jesus. Is Lord. Because to confess. That Jesus is Lord. Is to bow your knee. In submission to him.

[29:50] To confess. That Jesus is Lord. Is to live your life. By putting Jesus first. In everything. To confess.

[30:03] Jesus as Lord. Is to seek. First. The kingdom of God. And his righteousness. And Paul says. That's what will bring through joy.

[30:15] That's what will. Bring through joy. In your life. Putting Jesus first. Is what will cause you. To rejoice. And be glad. And is that not what the acronym.

[30:25] Joy means. I'm sure you've heard it before. J-O-Y. Jesus. Others. Yourself. And so putting Jesus first. In your life.

[30:36] That's what will bring through. Lasting. Eternal. Joy. If you confess with your mouth. Jesus is Lord. Lord over my life.

[30:48] Lord over every area. Of my life. And you believe in your heart. That God raised him from the dead. Then. You will be saved. And as we said.

[30:59] To confess that Jesus is Lord. Is to bow your knee. In submission. But what Paul warns us here. In this last section. Is that if we are not willing.

[31:12] To bow our knee. And confess Jesus. To be Lord. Over our life. If we are not willing. To do it. In this life.

[31:24] He says. We will be made. To do it. In the next. And with that. We come to the end. Of Jesus's journey. Of humiliation. And exaltation.

[31:35] We've gone down. Down. Down. From. The crown. The cradle. To the cross. And we've gone up. Up. Up. From the grave. The government. And the glory.

[31:47] The glory. So let's look lastly. At the glory. Read these verses again. They're wonderful verses. From verse five. Have this mind. Among yourselves.

[31:57] Which is yours. In Christ Jesus. Who though he was in the form of God. Did not count equality with God. A thing to be grasped. But made himself nothing. Taking the form of a servant.

[32:08] Being made. Been born in the likeness of men. And been found in human form. He humbled himself. By becoming obedient. To the point of death. Even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him.

[32:21] And bestowed on him. The name that is above every name. So that at the name of Jesus. Every knee should bow. In heaven. And on earth. And under the earth. And every tongue confess.

[32:31] That Jesus Christ is Lord. To the glory. Of God. The Father. And in these verses. Paul has challenged us. And encouraged us. To have the mind of Jesus Christ.

[32:44] And that we can rejoice. And be glad. By thinking about. The humiliation. And the exaltation. Of Jesus. And in only two sentences. Paul has presented to us.

[32:56] The entire drama. Of the Bible. He has spoken about. The best day of the year. On the best day of the week. He's spoken about.

[33:07] Christmas day. And the humiliation. Of Jesus Christ. And he's spoken about. The Lord's day. And the exaltation. Of Jesus Christ. But now as Paul. Concludes. Jesus's journey.

[33:17] Of humiliation. And exaltation. He speaks about. An even greater day. Than Christmas day. Or the Lord's day.

[33:29] Because he speaks about. Judgment day. And he reminds us. How this world's history. Is going to come. To its conclusion. And he tells us.

[33:41] That it's going to come. To its conclusion. With Jesus coming. In his glory. My friend. The climax. And culmination. Of God's redemptive.

[33:51] Purposes. In this world. They're going to take place. With the second coming. Of Jesus Christ. But the second coming. Will not be like the first. The first coming of Jesus.

[34:04] And entry into the world. It was an entry of. Humiliation. But the second coming. Of Jesus. Will be an entry. Into the world. Of exaltation.

[34:16] Because the Lord. Jesus Christ. Will come. As the exalted. And reigning. King of kings. He will come. With glory. And with authority. And power.

[34:27] Because that's the position. He has been. Exalted to. At the ascension. That's the position. Jesus was given. He ascended. And he. He was exalted. To the highest. Rank.

[34:37] Sitting at the right hand. Of the father. He's been exalted. To the position. Of Lord. He is the Lord. Jesus Christ. And because he is Lord. He's been given.

[34:48] All authority. In heaven. And on earth. And with all the government. Upon his. Shoulder. He is to judge the world. He is to judge the world.

[35:02] My friend. When Jesus comes again. He's coming to judge the world. At the last day. And when Jesus spoke. About his second coming. And the day of judgment.

[35:14] He often emphasized. That it will be a day. Like no other. He tells us. In Matthew 25. That. When the son of man. Comes. In his glory.

[35:26] And all the holy angels. With him. Then he will sit. On the throne. Of his glory. So the one. Who has been exalted. To the position. Of authority.

[35:36] Jesus will be sitting. As the judge. Of all the earth. The governor. When the son of man. Comes in his glory. And all the holy angels.

[35:46] With him. Then he will sit. On the throne. Of his glory. That's what. In Matthew's gospel. And all the nations. Will be gathered. Before him. And he will separate them. One from another. As a shepherd.

[35:57] Divides the sheep. From the goats. And he will set. The sheep. To his right hand. And the goats. To his left. And then. This exalted king. Will say to those. On his right hand.

[36:09] Come you blessed. Of my father. Inherit. The kingdom. Prepared for you. From before the foundation. Of the world. But then he will say. To those on his left. Depart from me.

[36:20] You cursed. Into the everlasting fire. Prepared for the devil. And his angels. And then Jesus says. In Matthew 25. They will go away. Into eternal.

[36:32] Punishment. But the righteous. Into eternal. Into eternal. Life. And what Paul affirms. To us here. Is that because Jesus. Is Lord. His judgment.

[36:44] Is an eternal. Verdict. It's an eternal. Outcome. It's an eternal. Judgment. Judgment. And you can't appeal. To a higher court.

[36:56] For a better hearing. Because the judgment. Of the Lord Jesus Christ. Is final. It's the final. Judgment. And what Paul is reminding us here.

[37:08] Is that Jesus is coming again. And we need to be ready. And this is what we were saying. This morning. To the children. With the advent calendar. In reality.

[37:20] Thinking about it. It's the greatest irony. Because we count down the days. To remember the first advent. Of Jesus. The first entry of Jesus. Being born into the world. And on days like today.

[37:32] Christmas day. There has been so much. Of a build up. So much. Hype. So much. Preparation. So much. Buying. So much. Celebration.

[37:43] So much joy. And yet. Time and time again. Jesus says to us. On the pages of scripture. It's not the first advent. You should be concerned about. But the second advent.

[37:55] It's not the first advent. That we should be preparing for. But the second advent. Because the second advent. Will be judgment day.

[38:09] And Jesus says. We need to be ready for it. Because of that day and hour. No one knows. Not even the angels of heaven. But the father only.

[38:21] And when Jesus spoke about. The unexpected nature. Of the second advent. He pointed us back. To the days of Noah. Remember the days of Noah. He said. In the days of Noah.

[38:33] They were eating. Drinking. Marrying. Giving in marriage. Until the day that Noah. Entered into the ark. They were unaware. They were unaware. Of the coming.

[38:44] Of the flood. They only became aware. When the flood. Took them all away. And Jesus says. So also. Will the coming.

[38:55] Of the son of man be. Like we were saying. To the children. It will be a big surprise. A good surprise. For the Lord's people.

[39:06] The day of vindication. The day when sin and death. Comes to its end. But not so. Not a good surprise. For those who are not ready.

[39:19] Watch therefore. Says Jesus. You do not know. What hour your Lord is coming. Be ready. For at an hour. When you think not. The son of man.

[39:31] Will come. And you know. We need to be ready. We need to be ready. Because he's coming. He's coming. And you know.

[39:42] When you think about it. We might not see. The second advent. But that doesn't mean. He would come for us. Individually. And take us out.

[39:54] Of the scene of time. Into eternity. He's coming. One way or the other. He'll come and take us. Out of the scene of time. Into eternity.

[40:06] But we need to be ready. Because at his coming. All must appear. Before the judgment seat of Christ. Every knee will bow.

[40:17] Says Paul. Those in heaven. Those on earth. And those in hell. We will all bow. All the authorities. Of this world. All the atheists.

[40:27] Of the age. All the godless idol. Worshippers. They will all bow down. Before King Jesus. Even Satan. Will bow. Every knee will bow.

[40:38] Those in heaven. Those on earth. Those in hell. And every tongue. Will confess. That Jesus Christ. Is Lord. They'll confess. Him to be the Lord. Whatever confession.

[40:48] They had in this life. Whatever religion. Sect. Philosophy. They followed. Whatever. We praised. Even if it's ourselves. As Lord. Over our own life. And destiny.

[40:59] Whoever we are. We're told. That we will all confess. They will be the sea of people. On their knees. Confessing. Jesus Christ.

[41:11] Is Lord. Jesus Christ. Is Lord. Those in heaven. Those on earth. Those in hell. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[41:21] Amen. But what about you? What about you? The proposition is simple. Bow your knee in this world.

[41:35] Or bow in the next. Confess Jesus as Lord. In this world. Or confess him. In the next.

[41:47] You decide. You decide. and so on the best day of the year and the best day of the week what better thing to do than gather to rejoice and be glad in our saviour Jesus Christ and think about his humiliation and his exaltation we went down, down, down crown, cradle, cross and we've gone up, up, up grave, government, glory on the best day of the year and the best day of the week what better thing to do than remind ourselves of what Jesus Christ has done for us and he did it all out of love all out of love all so that he could say to us tonight come unto me and I will give you rest my friend today

[42:56] I'll say it one more time it's the best day of the year and the best day of the week this is the day that the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it may the Lord bless these thoughts to us let us pray Lord our God oh how we give thanks to thee for being able to gather around thy word we thank thee oh Lord that thy word is precious that even though we have only considered two verses of it today two sentences in thy truth we thank thee oh Lord and we praise thee that it is unsearchable it is past finding out but Lord that we might be able to confess with the apostle oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out bless us Lord we pray bless thy truth to us we thank thee for this day help us to rejoice and be glad in it and we do pray oh Lord that even this evening that there may be rejoicing in the presence of the angels over sinners repenting go before us we pray to the week that lies ahead the last week of this year and Lord we realise that this year has had much for us much blessing many joys but also it came with it many sorrows and much sadness be gracious to us Lord we ask keep us on the way for we cast everything into thy care knowing that thou art the one who cares for us bless us we pray for Jesus' sake

[44:42] Amen we shall conclude by singing in Psalm 96 Psalm 96 in the Scottish Psalter page 359 Psalm 96 we're singing from verse 10 down to the verse 13 and I mentioned before a few weeks ago that Psalms 96, 97, 98 they're often sung at Christmas they're all talking about the coming of Jesus the singing the new song as it says in verse 1 but at the end it talks about the reason why Jesus has come or what will happen at the last day that he reigns and he comes to judge the earth and he'll judge the world with righteousness so Psalm 96 from verse 10 among the heathens say God reigns the world shall steadfastly be fixed from moving he shall judge the people righteously down to the end of the psalm of Psalm 96 to God's grace among the heathens save for twins the world shall steadfastly be fixed from moving he shall judge the people righteous the people righteous that heavens be

[46:36] God before the Lord and let the earth rejoice let rejoice let cease and all the things let cry out and pick our Lord let fields rejoice and everything that spring that spring in the earth that woods on every tree shall sing with goodness and with much before the heart because he comes to judge me and comes he he'll judge the world with righteous the people with righteousness the people they free the grace of the Lord

[48:20] Jesus Christ the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all both now and forevermore Amen