Church Arise Series - Week 2 - “Arise to Repentance”

  Last week we talked about how our church is on this decision making process of deciding if we are going to change the name of the ministry to better reflect the calling that God has put on us. 

The name we’re mulling over is Arise Church, which carries with it the purpose of God’s call to arise to his work. Next Sunday we will be having a special meeting of the church, where the membership will vote and make a decision. Whichever way the church decides to go in name, matters much less than making sure that we continue to follow the call of God. So last week we began to talk about God’s call for his Church to arise. 

Last we we talked about how the Church is to arise to focus. We are to focus on the core of the Gospel. God created us to be with him, our sins separate us from God, sins cannot be removed with good deeds, paying the price for sin Jesus died and rose again, everyone who puts their trust in Jesus can have eternal life, eternal life starts now and last forever. This core to the Gospel should be the focus of the Church, with secondary doctrines and issues being given grace. We can disagree on music, on clothes, on preaching style, on architecture, on how the end times come about, or our role in the salvation process. I have opinions and interretprations on all of those, but they are second to Gospel work and if we call on Jesus as Lord and Savior, and hold to the core of the Gospel, then we are brothers and sisters and we need to move forward in the work we are called to.

This brings us to our second week in our series, where we’ll be looking at the second place the Church needs to arise. We need to arise to repentance. 

Let’s take it back to the beginning of our Christian walks. Back before we accepted Jesus as our Savior. The message of Jesus is summed up in Mark 1:14 where we read, “14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’”

The Gospel message begins with repentance. Repentance is the acknowledgment of sin and the turning from it. Without this acknowledgment there is no salvation. In Paul’s words in Romans 10:9-10, we can see this underlying understanding of repentance. We read, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." To confess Jesus is Lord and believe he was raised from the dead, pre-supposes an understanding of why Jesus is Lord and why he was raised from the dead. 

If you confess Jesus is Lord, you’re acknowledging that he is God. Believing he was raised from the dead is acknowledging that God came earth to be a stand in sacrifice for humanity’s sin, so that that sin could be dealt with without the shedding of his creation’s blood. The resurrection is the realization that what Jesus said was true and that his sacrifice for us was acceptable as payment to God the Father. 

We see this played out in the life of of the woman caught in adultery. In her encounter with Jesus in John 8 we see her brought before Jesus to be killed through stoning. Jesus responds with challenging those there that they could throw the first stone if they had no sin. All eventually left. But being sinless himself, Jesus could have picked up the first stone and began the process. Yet he had compassion and after everyone left, we get this brief conversation between Jesus and the woman, “10 Jesus stood up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ 11 She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more (v.10-11).’

Moving away from sin is a part of the acceptance of Jesus as Savior. If there is no repentance, then salvation does not happen. 

But repentance doesn’t stop at the door of entering into salvation. Repentance should be a part of the believer’s life. You might have heard people quote this passage from 2 Chronicles 7:14, “14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Let’s walk through that real quick, “If my people” in the context these are the people of Israel. But if this is a prescription for all of God’s people, then it would be for anyone who is in covenant relationship with God. So “if you confess  with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,” you have entered into covenant relationship with God and are now a part of the people of God. So then this would apply to you.

What must the people of God do, they must, humble themselves, pray ( which is seeking the face of God), and turn from their wicked ways. What is repentance but, humbling ourselves to the reality of sin, praying for forgiveness by seeking God’s way and not our own, and turning away from sin’s wickedness? Repentance is a part of God’s people. And what follows repentance? Forgiveness. 

But maybe this verse is taken out of context, maybe it’s descriptive of what was for the people if Israel and it’s not prescriptive for the Church today. Let’s fast forward to the first letter of John, chapter 1, starting in verse 5.

“1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

“2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says ‘I know him' but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”

Verses 1-10 can be looked at as addressing those who have not accepted Jesus yet. It’s about who God is light. It’s about what sin is, darkness. And in God there is no darkness or sin. To have fellowship with God there needs to be an acknowledgment of sin, because if we deny that we have sinned, then we cannot have fellowship with God. It would be the same as calling God a liar, and if we can believe God’s word, then we cannot be with him. 

But then John’s address of little children, and the use of fellowship, makes it clear that this isn’t just about those who have not yet accepted Jesus as Savior. It’s not just about people who have yet to repent. It’s about God’s children, his people, his Church. John’s encouragement that if we sin, even now as believers, our Advocate is Jesus. And just as he saved us that first day we repented of our sin, he continues his role as Advocate in every proceeding sin. Because his work on the cross didn’t just cover our past sins, it covers our current sins, and our future sins. 

When we then repent as believers, it’s not to receive salvation, that already happened. No, it’s to build our relationship with God. It’s David crying out in Psalm 51:12, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” David was apart of the people of God, but because of his sin, the joy of the Lord wasn’t in him. He wanted that restoration of relationship, which comes through acknowledgment of sin and a turning away from it.

God uses the idea of marriage to describe Jesus’ relationship with his Church  in Ephesians 5. The day we accept Jesus as Savior is like the wedding day, it’s a moment in time  when we move from being single, to being a recognized couple. It would be strange then to never say you’re sorry for something you did to your spouse. That’s a break down of communication, and it leads to unhappy marriages. 

Why are so many Christians struggling in their relationship with God? It’s because they don’t have the joy of their salvation. Sin is still too prevalent in their lives. And without the acknowledgment and turning away from that sin, too many Christians fall back into sin’s grip, and too many don’t experience God in his fullness. Repentance is as much a part of the Christian’s walk with God as reading the Bible, praying, meeting in worship with God’s Church, and doing Gospel work. 

And it’s all done through the cross at Calvary. So in the discussion of should we change our name here at the Alliance Church, this is the new logo that we’re looking at. It continues the blue that we have had for several years, the sunrise in the back represents the rising to our calling. The two saguaros both represent the desert we’re in, but also coupled with the central cross, point us to the three crosses of calvary. The place at which our salvation was bought. 

The Church is called to arise to repentance, both on a individual level in our personal relationships with God, and on a corporate level. Every week there seems to be another pastor who has embezzled money. Another pastor who has sexually groomed and assaulted a youth. Another professed Christian caught in adultery, or in a shady business deal. The world is quick to notice that Christians are just as likely to gossip, and judge as anyone else. The world sees us quick to call out sin, but in such a venomous way when we do that the truth is not coupled with love (Ephesians 4:15).

In his book, Blue Like Jazz, author Donald Miller relates a story of his time in college. He was a part of a small Christian group at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. The story begins with an annual party that goes on at the college called Ren Fayre, where Millar states, “…everybody gets pretty drunk and high, and some people get naked.” As Millar and his friend Tony were talking about what they could do to “come out as Christians,” Millar made a joke that they could do a confessional booth, because a lot of the students would be sinning.

Tony took the idea and ran with it, embarrassing Millar along the way in front of the other Christians in their friend group. But Tony change it from a booth where the sinning college students would come and confess, to a place where the Christians would confess to the college students. Millar records Tony saying, “Here’s the catch. We are not actually going to accept confessions. We are going to confess to them. We are going to confess that, as followers of Jesus, we have not been very loving; we have been bitter, and for that we are sorry.”

The first “customer”, as Tony called him, was a guy by the name of Jake. After Millar confessed his unlovingness, they had this conversation, “It’s really cool what you guys are doing…A lot of people need to hear this.” “Have we hurt a lot of people?” You haven’t hurt me. I just think it isn’t very unpopular to be a Christian, you know. Especially at a place like this. I don’t think too many people have been hurt. Most people just have a strong reaction to what they see on television. All these well-dressed preachers supporting the Republicans.” “That’s not the whole picture. That’s just television. I have friends who are giving their lives to feed the poor and defend the defenseless. They are doing it for Christ.” “You really believe in Jesus, don’t you?” “Yes, I think I do. Most often I do. I have my doubts at times, but mostly I believe in Him. It’s like there is a something in me that causes me to believe, and I can’t explain it.” “You said earlier that there is a central message of Christ. I don’t really want to become a Christian, you know, but what is that message? (pgs 116-127)”

Through this act of repentance in front of a non-believer, Millar was able to share the Gospel with him. Repentance is such a powerful work of God in our lives, that it not only brings us closer to him, but opens up the work of God in the lives of others as well. 

I once heard a speaker share how he was attending a church and had invited a non-believing friend to a service. As they sat in the service the pastor got up and publicly confessed a heated altercation he had with a board member. Because the altercation was public, the pastor felt the need to ask forgiveness publicly from this board member. The two reconciled on the platform that Sunday morning. The person telling the story says he sunk in his seat. His thought was, my friend doesn’t need to hear the problems of the Church, they need to hear how victorious we are. But on the way home the friend broke down crying, saying that if the pastor could ask for forgiveness like that, then they wanted to as well. Because of the repentance of God’s people, a non-believer came to Christ.

Church, we are called to arise to repentance. We are called to turn away from our sin. We must do this before we can call the world to Christ. We must set the example, if we want to call others to it. This is why Jesus states in Matthew 7:5, “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.” Jesus isn’t saying we can’t call out sin, what he is saying is that we need to start with our own, before we can move on to another’s. 

So my challenge today is this. We have two cross laid out in this room. There are hammers with those cross and nails with those hammers. There are also papers and pencils. Take a moment go before God and if there is a sin that needs to be confessed I want to challenge you to write it down, walk to one of those crosses and nail that sin to the cross. Repent of it, that we as the Church would arise to repentance. That we would look to ourselves first, that we may be ready to share the Gospel, the hope of the forgiveness of sins with the world. Amen.

Church Arise Series - Week 1 - “Arise to Focus”

 Over a year ago now I had been wrestling with God over an issue. There’s this common practice that God does throughout the Scriptures of changing names when he calls people to his purposes. He does this with Abram, who he calls Abraham. He does this with Jacob who he calls Israel. He does this with Levi, who he calls Matthew, and he does it with Saul, who he calls Paul. The significance of these renaming is to show that these people were called to a new relationship with God. That their old life had passed away, and his new life was ahead.

Speaking of eunuchs who think they could never be accepted as part of God’s people, God says this to them in Isaiah 56:5, “I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.” A new name awaits all those who overcome is what we read about in Revelation 2:17. A name only God knows. If we have called on the name of Jesus for salvation we have a new name which Jesus looks forward to bestowing on us. 

It’s the issue of a new name that I had been wrestling with. Not for myself, but for us here at the Alliance Church in Quartzsite. Years ago when Jeff was the Senior Pastor of our congregation, we’d talk on many issues concerning ministry and this church in particular. One of the things we talked about was a name change. The name Quartzsite Alliance Church never sat well with him because it didn’t really speak to who we were. 

I’m not for name changes that have no reason behind them and so, I would tell him that there was no need for it. That was until about a year ago. As I thought about new names in glory, this memory of these discussions with Jeff came to the forefront of my mind. And with them one word, Arise. 

Through the months that followed I kept running into passages with this word. God says it to Abraham in Genesis 13:17, “Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” He says it to Joshua in the second verse of the first chapter of his book, "Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.” To the paralyzed man Jesus says in Matthew 9:6, “But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.”

This arise language occurs again and again and again throughout the Scripture, and it’s based on this Hebrew word qum (koom) which means, stand up. And it carries with it a sense of command to action. God calls Abraham to survey the land he is giving him. God calls Joshua to take that land. Jesus calls the paralyzed man to show those sitting there that he, Jesus, was God incarnate.

And so God pressed on me, this is who his Church is, they are those who Arise. 

All around us we see a world spiraling faster and faster into debauchery and destruction. And what is the role of the Church in this? As the Nazi’s rounded up Jews and destroyed Europe with their ideology, a Lutheran Pastor named Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “We must finally stop appealing to theology to justify our reserved silence about what the state is doing — for that is nothing but fear. ‘Open your mouth for the one who is voiceless’ — for who in the church today still remembers that that is the least of the Bible’s demands in times such as these? (https://sojo.net/articles/11-bonhoeffer-quotes-remember-pastor-who-resisted-evil-unto-death)”

The same should echoed through every church hall in this nation. The Church needs to arise to speak to the issues of today. A few years ago we had a series on things that we think are political issues, but are actually things that the Church has taken stands on since it’s founding. An issue today that we need to have clarified in our own lives is that of abortion. The Church has always been against abortion because it is the killing of an innocent life. 

To the issue of rape, the Church has always been against the sexual assault of people. To the issue of homosexuality and hook up culture, the Church has always stood against any sexual divergence from one man and one woman in a monogamous life long marriage relationship. To those who are singled out because of their skin color for abuse, the people of God have always been called to protect, and seek justice for those who experience injustice. 

To the issues of drag queens and transgenderism, the Church has always stood against the blurring of male and female divinely distinct and beautifully designed strengths. The Church needs to arise in our day to stand firm in the biblical teaching of God’s word. 

But it starts at these four walls. It starts at the Church itself. Peter tells us this in his first letter, “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? (4:17)” Until we are willing to cry out to God and say as David said in Psalm 51, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow (v.7).” We have no leg to stand on in speaking to the culture around us, because we don’t take seriously the call of God on our lives. 

So for the next few weeks, I want to share with you, not only why we here at the Alliance Church of Quartzsite are pondering a name change, but why this name and it’s ramifications, not just for how people address us, but why we do the things we do. 

And for today, I want to bring our attention to Luke chapter 9, starting in verse 46. And as you open your Bibles to Luke 9:46, let me give you a brief summary as to where we find ourselves in this Gospel. 

Jesus is about halfway through his earthly ministry. He and the disciples have entered Capernaum and we get two moments where they need correction. Let’s read together Luke chapter 9, starting in verse 46.

“46 An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. 47 But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side 48 and said to them, ‘Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among all of you is the one who is great.’

“49 John answered, ‘Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.’ 50 But Jesus said to him, ‘Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.’”

This brief moment is at a turning point in the Gospel of Luke. Less than twenty verses earlier Peter, John, and James experienced Jesus’ transfiguration. A monumental event and experience where they got a glimpse of Jesus in his full God glory. After this event, Jesus begins to point his disciples to his intention of going to the cross. Nestled in-between two of these teachings of his eventual death, we get the passage we just read. 

And we’re told that an argument broke out. From where did this argument stem? Could it be that the three who saw Jesus’ transfiguration were a little haughty at the fact they were chosen over the others? Or maybe it was something else? Regardless from where the issue came from, we know that it was about who was the greatest. To quail this argument, Jesus uses a child that was there as an illustration of what it means to be great in the kingdom. 

A child is seen by many as a necessary nuisance until they are old enough to fend for themselves. So to have a child be the greatest, flips the social norm of the strongest, the most intelligent, the prettiest being the best, on its head. In Jesus’ kingdom the greatest are those that humble themselves to be the least, and the least are those who promote themselves to be the greatest. 

But here’s the thing, this doesn’t even seem to register with John. I pick on Peter a lot for putting his foot in his mouth, but Peter is a representation of the whole batch. Here John speaks without thinking showing us that the closest disciples of Jesus were likeminded in the fact they kept missing Jesus’ teaching. 

John seems to hear Jesus’ words but doesn’t realize the scope of what he was just told. It seems like John is thinking, “okay, in the hierarchy of our group the least of among us is the greatest, but all of us in the inner circle here, must be greater than anyone outside it.”

The reason it seems like this is his line of thinking, is because he moves quickly away from the topic at-hand and points out someone who he believes needs to be shut down because they are not part of the inner circle of Jesus. 

John believes this man, who was casting out demons in Jesus name, needed to be shut down, but Jesus corrects him. The man is doing the work of the kingdom. This man recognized the power that Jesus had over demons, and trusted in Jesus’ name to overcome those demons. We don’t know anything else about him. We don’t know if he was “saved” or what ever became of the man. What we do know is John wanted to stop him because he wasn’t a part of the inner circle, and that Jesus told John, no.

And this is the first point in our sermon series on the Church Arising to the issues of our day. Church, we need to arise together. You know what the biggest desires Jesus’ for his Church is? Jesus prayed about it in John 17:22-23. Speaking to the Father, Jesus prays, “22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”

Consider Jesus’ words here in John 17. His desire for us is to be perfectly one as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one. God’s desires is that, as he is of one mind in the eternal love that the three persons of the triune God have for each other, his Church would be of the same mind. Yet, we too often allow secondary, and thirdary, and fourthdary issues to divided us. The core of the Gospel is what matters, Jesus is what matters. Not issues that are are yet to be revealed, like if a rapture is pre-, mid-, or post-tribulation. Not issues of hymns or contemporary songs. Not issues of verse-by-verse or topical preaching. Not issues of red or blue carpet. The core of the Gospel message should uniting us together, and where we disagree on these other issues, we should be extending grace to cover those differences.

It’s the unity of the Church that Paul pleads for in 1 Corinthians when he address the factions that were developing when he writes, “10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgement. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, ‘I follow Paul’, or ‘I follow Apollos’, or ‘I follow Cephas’, or ‘I follow Christ.’ 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?(1:10-13)”

It is because of the unity that Christ has called us into that Paul later writes in that same letter, “12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body (12:12-20).”

Do we need to continue to stress the need for unity of God’s Church? Do we understand why it’s so important? In Jesus prayer from John 17 he states, “I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”

How is the world to know that Jesus was sent by the Father for the salvation of the world? Is it by the flashiness of his Church? Is it by the best apologetics? Is it by charismatic leaders, or signs and wonders? No, it’s by the love Jesus’ Church has for each other. We are not to seek our own good, but the good of the Saints of God. We are not to seek our own power, but the power of the Holy Spirit at work in Christ’s Church. We are to lift up the work of Jesus that our brothers and sisters are doing for the glory of God, and not our own.

Here at the Alliance Church of Quartzsite we have Alliance missionaries come in and speak. We also have groups like Graceworks, and Creation Ministries, and every band and group of different denominational backgrounds come in, because it’s not the work of the Alliance, it’s the work of God. We need to strip away anything that isn’t core to the Gospel work, taking a stand only on what’s primary doctrine, and giving grace on everything else. We need to come together in agape, godly love and lift up the name of Jesus and bless those who do the same. 

Those who profess the name of Jesus as their Savior, who hold to the core of the Gospel which is, we were created, humanity fell to sin, God descended, died on a cross, rose again, is coming back, and a person must put their trust only in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, those who profess this, I call my brother and sisters. 

So my challenge today is this, I want to challenge you to stand. If you come from a baptist background, I want you to literally stand up. Do you profess the name of Jesus as you Savior and hold to the core of the Gospel? You are brothers and sisters, we are the Church. If you come from a pentecostal or charismatic background, I want you to stand. Do you profess the name of Jesus as you Savior and hold to the core of the Gospel? You are brothers and sisters, we are the Church. If you come from a non-denominational, or high church background like a Methodist, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Presbyterian background, I want you to stand. Do you profess the name of Jesus as you Savior and hold to the core of the Gospel? You are brothers and sisters, we are the Church. And if I left out your background, yet you profess the name of Jesus as you Savior and hold to the core of the Gospel I want you to stand. We are brothers and sisters, we are the Church.

Church, we arise together to focus on what matters, so let us stand in Christ alone. In his love, in his unity and let our voices raise in praise to God our Father who sent God the Son for our salvation. Let us praise the Holy Spirit that indwells all of God’s people, and move forward in our salvation, so the world may know that Jesus was sent by the Father to accomplish the work of breaking the power of sin. Amen!

A Fourfold Gospel Series Week 4 - “The Coming King”

  Christmas, birthdays, a long planned for vacation, the birth of a child, retirement, these are all events that people look forward to. I’m looking forward to my sabbatical that’s coming up in just over a month. Everyone of us has or is looking forward to an event that gives us wonder, or peace, or excitement.

And it’s an event like this that brings us back to our series where we’ll be looking at the final pillar in what drives the Alliance to do ministry. 

The first of these pillars is Jesus the Savior. What we looked at in the first week was the biblical claim that humanity is corrupted by sin. Because of humanity’s corruption, we are on a path to eternal death and separation from the eternal God who created us. When we experience the hurt and suffering of this world, we are only getting a small glimpse into what awaits us in the eternal death. But the biblical claim is also that God deeply cares for us and so enacts a plan to bring us back to himself.  This is called salvation, a saving from the corruption of sin that was originally caused by Adam, the first human. So, because it only took one human to open the path of eternal death, it only takes one to reopen the path to eternal life. God takes that upon himself because all humans are tainted by sin. God the Son himself comes to earth fully taking on humanity’s flesh, yet not sinning. Then giving himself as a payment for our sin, which then gives anyone who would accept Jesus’ sacrifice the forgiveness of their sin, and moves them off the path of eternal death to the path of eternal life. 

In the second week we talked about how God doesn’t just save us from sin, but saves us to holiness. The biblical claim is that God is holy, meaning he’s perfect, good and just. When he creates the universe, he creates it to be perfect as he is. Sin perverts that perfection and puts the creation into bondage. Jesus sacrifice breaks the bondage of sin and it’s power over those who would then allow Jesus to transform them, through the power of the Holy Spirit. This transformation is in a sense a reset of who we were originally designed to be. We were created to be loving, yet sin’s power leads us to hate. We were created to be just in how we treat people, but sin’s power leads us to gossip and tearing each other down. God’s work in the believer’s life is to bring them back to his holiness, a place where we were created to live in the first place. This process, is called sanctification, which means to be made holy, and it’s why the second pillar is called Jesus our Sanctifier.

The third pillar we talked about is Jesus our Healer. Because sin has ravished this creation, God is at work through his saving power to bringing both momentary healing, and eternal healing. Eternal healing comes through accepting Jesus as Savior and begins the moment we accept him and is fully realized at the end of our lives here, or when Jesus returns. But God still cares for our momentary or temporal hurts as well. Physical, mental, emotional, relational, social healing are all areas in which God works. The key to healing is not us, but God. We are to trust that God is working for our good. Temporal healing is used to point to his glory, but sometimes God doesn’t heal because there are lessons to be learned and trust that needs to be built. And if we really seek healing from God, we must be okay with whatever he has for us, whether that be healing or not. Because in the end, if we accept Jesus as Savior, then we are already eternally healed and every healing after that is icing on the cake.

With those three pillars in our minds let’s look to the last pillar of what drives the Alliance, Jesus our Coming King.

One of the interesting things we see within the Bible is the description of creation. Unlike most creation stories, where the gods use the enteral universe to reorganize things into other things, the biblical account shows us that the God of the Bible creates out of nothing. He speaks things into existence. Time is created, space is created, matter is created, all by the power of his Word. Then once these things are created, he focuses on a very particular creation, earth. Landmasses are separated from water, and all sorts of plant life bloom. Animals who take flight in the air, and dwell in the water, and on the land are created. And at the end of the creation an image bearer, known as humanity, is created. All this is good and perfect just as the Creator is (Genesis 1:1-2:3). 

The imagery and the language that is presented in the first 34 verses of the book of Genesis, is that of kingdom language. Boundaries are set, rules are implemented, subjects are placed. And over it all is the King.

So, going forward in the biblical account, we see this King do kingly things. When is appointed care taker rebels and does the one thing that he’s told not to in Genesis 3, the King acts in judgment, sending the care taker out of his honored place, but the King also has compassion. There are consequences for the image bear’s sin, but the King gives his people clothes. And through the punishment enacts a way to bring back the care taker and all his kind.

And like a King, we see in the following chapters and books, blessings and judgments come. But each judgment is used to deal with the problem and to make a way for any one who choses to escape the judgment, a way out. 

It’s then we come to Exodus 6:7, and the first time we see this King of Creation speak about his direct intentions of a particular people. When speaking to Moses, God states of the people of Israel, “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” The name this God uses of himself in the text is Elohim. That name carries with it the idea Divine Ruler or Judge. In other words, God is saying to Moses, that his intention is to be the God King of Israel.

So we begin to see this language through the rest of the Old Testament. The Psalmist speaks of God as King over and over again. “The Lord is king forever and ever; the nation perish from his land (10:16).” “Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle (24:8)!” “For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm! God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne (47:7-8).”

The prophet Isaiah is brought into God’s throne room in the sixth chapter of his book, and there he is overwhelmed by what he sees, stating, “…Woe to me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts (v.5)!” Later on in Isaiah’s book, God speaks of his relationship with Israel in chapter 43:15, “I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.”

And in the tenth chapter of the book of Jeremiah, God speaks of his relationship with other gods that people worship, “But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation (v.10).”

But the nation of Israel sought to reject God as their King just as the image bearer Adam did. In 1st Samuel 8:4-5 we read, “4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, ‘behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.’” Though God grants their request, this doesn’t go well for the nation of Israel and they eventually descend into internal strife, civil war, and eventual destruction, because they choose not to follow their rightful King.

Yet even in this, God was still working, not just for the salvation of Israel, but for the whole world. And so we begin to see prophecies of a future King and kingdom that will be everlasting. In Daniel 7:13-14 we read, “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.”

And the prophet Zechariah also speaks of this future King when he writes in the ninth verse of his ninth chapter, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

So when we fast forward then to the New Testament, what do we see of Jesus?

At his birth the Magi from the east, come to Jerusalem nds ask, “…Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him (Matthew 2:2).”

Meeting Jesus for the first time, a man named Nathanael exclaims, “…Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel (John 1:49)!”

And what do we see Jesus do when he enters into Jerusalem on his purposeful way to die on the cross? He rides into the city riding a donkey, as the people begin to shout and rejoice and paraphrase from the prophet Zechariah, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden (Matthew 21:5).”

In Jesus first trial in front of the Jewish ruling council, as he’s being asked if he is the Savior of Israel, Jesus paraphrases from Daniel’s vision, “…You have said so, But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven (Matthew 26:64).” Jesus claims that he is the king that was foretold and the Jewish leaders say he speaks blasphemy. And it’s because of Jesus’ claim to be the King of Israel, that they seek to have him executed by the Roman government.

It’s Jesus’ kingship that is questioned by the Governor Pilate at Jesus trial. We read in Matthew 27:11, “Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ Jesus said, ‘You have said so.’” Jesus accepts the title of king, but just like Adam and the nation of Israel rejected God’s rule over them at the beginning of creation and in Samuel’s day, they reject God’s rule once again. When Pilot presented Jesus to the people, we get this interaction in John 19:14-16, “14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, ‘Behold your King!’ 15 They cried out, ‘Away with him, away with him, crucify him!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar.’ 16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.”

Just as Adam rejected his King, just as the nation of Israel rejected their King, we see again humanity rejecting the King. 

But it does’t end there. Jesus goes to the cross for the salvation of those that would accept it. He resurrects from the dead three days later, breaking the power of sin and opening the path to eternal life to all those who would accept him as Savior. And as his disciples looked on, the Bible claims he ascends to heaven where we read this in Acts 1:10-11, “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 for you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

So now a promise of Jesus’ return becomes a theme throughout the rest of the New Testament writings. We read that Jesus is coming again in places like 1st Timothy 6, where Paul ends his letter challenging his readers, “13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, 14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of king and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, 16 who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.”

At Jesus’ return we get John’s vivid description of that day in the book of Revelation chapter 19, starting in verse 11, “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rode of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of king and Lord of lords.” If that doesn’t give you shivers, are you even alive. 

The book of Revelation ends with this, “20 He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen (22:20-21).”

The Coming King’s return is both a joyful meeting of his people with their God, and a horrific moment for all others. It will be a day filled with overwhelming tears of happiness for those who have accepted Jesus’ salvation call, but for those who haven’t it will be filled with overwhelming tears of despair for the day to be saved has passed. 

And on that day of the King’s return, we see a mix of joy and sorrow for God as well. The reason is because on that day the hope of God’s people will be fulfilled, they will be in his full presence, but all others will be sealed to eternal death. A death God has worked for all of human history to provide a way away from. We read, in 1st Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient towards you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

In Paul’s first letter to Timothy he writes of God’s heart, “3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (2:3-4).”

But not all people will, and on that day when Jesus returns and on that day when he judges as the King of Creation, there will be those who go to eternal life because they trusted in Jesus as their Savior, and there will be those who go to eternal death, because they did not believe him (Matthew 25:46; John 3:18).

So what must we do? If we have not put our trust into Jesus as Savior, we must, it’s the only way to eternal life. Because if Jesus is right, and he is the only way, then all other ways are wrong and will lead to eternal death. If he’s wrong, then the whole thing is mute and you can believe whatever you want. But the key to the Christian faith is the resurrection, an historic event that many people have tried to debunk, yet none have been able to. 

If the resurrection of Jesus is true, that means he’s coming again. Which means we need to take seriously his words to repent and follow him. He’s either the greatest thing to ever occur to humanity, or he’s nothing. The decision we make about Jesus, is literally a decision for eternity. A choice that shouldn’t be made lightly in either direction. 

If we are a believer, we need to take our role seriously as well. On that day when Jesus returns, our hope is fulfilled! Eternity awaits us! Perfect Joy, peace, healing, holiness, all awaits us! But there are people around us who won’t be joyful on that day. Who’s every experience of love, and peace will be replaced with horror at what awaits them in eternity. If we are not about the business of sharing the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection, then we are not loving our neighbor as ourselves. We need to share the Gospel in word and in deed to a world that needs it more than anything else. Everything we have should be put to Gospel use, so that others may know the King of kings and Lord of lords, who is on the horizon of returning. A day of joy for us, a day for mourning for countless others.

So my challenge is two-fold. If you don’t believe, take seriously this question, is Jesus true? If he is, the eternal consequences are beyond the scope of our imaginations. If you do believe, engulf yourself with prayer and asking God this week, how will he use me to share the Gospel

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Let us not be like Adam or Israel who rejected the King of Creation, but rather embrace him and work for him until when he returns or calls us home to his glory. Amen.