I trust that your hearts are indeed hungering for the Lord our God who reveals himself so clearly in his words. So will you take your Bibles and turn to Mark's gospel chapter 12, as we continue to make our way through it, verse by verse this morning. We will be dealing with the issue of "Who is Jesus Christ?" And this is what the Lord is dealing with in the text in verses 35 through 37. By way of brief context, Jesus knew that the Jewish leaders rejected his claim to be God, very God; they rejected his deity. They considered that to be blasphemy, worthy of death. In fact, the Jews actually believed that their Messiah would be a mere man; a human, being a descendant of Abraham, and David, but a great charismatic type of leader, great amount of power and influence, but not God in human flesh. And here Jesus asks the religious elite, a very important question. And the answer to this question is going to be irrefutable proof that he is indeed, God. As he said, let me read the text Mark 12, beginning of verse 35. "And Jesus began to say, as He taught in the temple, 'How is it that the scribes say that Christ is the Son of David? David himself said, in the Holy Spirit, 'THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET."' David himself calls Him 'Lord'; so in what sense is He his son?' And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him."

Most people today deny the deity of Jesus Christ, and therefore they refuse to worship him, to obey him. We certainly see this in the cults like the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons. You see it in other false religions, like Islam, that believes that he was just a human prophet. And you see it in many apostate Christian groups that have so distorted the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, that it bears virtually no resemblance to who he really is, the true Jesus. And this is certainly true of most so-called Christians in our country. This week, I was thinking of our president who claims to be a Christian, a Roman Catholic. And I was reading that on January 28, he spoke at St. John Baptist Church in Columbia, South Carolina, an African American church. And the purpose, of course, was not to preach the gospel, because he has no clue what the gospel really is, but rather to bolster black support for his re-election. And at the end of the service, President Biden spoke from the pulpit saying, quote, "In my life, I've tried to walk my faith. Here's what I've learned. We're all imperfect beings. We don't know where faith is going to take us or when it's going to take us. But we can do our best to seek the light, the hope, the love. Where I come from, that's the power of faith."

Well, of course, this kind of frivolous drivel is typical of those who have no understanding of what genuine faith really is. They know nothing of the person and the work and the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. And certainly, we witnessed this in a profound way in the State of the Union address where we saw basically an angry, angry rant from a senile narcissist promoting the platform of the Democratic party that's rooted in ideologies that are nothing short of blasphemous to the Lord, our God. Tragic thing. You see, the issue is not "do you have faith?" The issue is, "in whom have you placed your faith? Who is the object of your faith? And why is he the object of your faith?" I wish the President would have quoted First John five beginning in verse four that reads, "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"

So, the question before us is, "Who is Jesus Christ?" The world does not know, nor does it want to know. And Satan makes sure that most people do not know and do not care. Perhaps you've seen the "He Gets Us" marketing campaign that you see on, see it on billboards, TV ads, and so forth. I checked out their website, there's no Bible verses in it. It's a $100 million advertising campaign designed to quote, "rediscover the life and teachings of Jesus, the world's most radical love activist. That is our agenda at He Gets Us; to move beyond the mess of our current cultural moment, to a place where all of us are invited to rediscover the love story of Jesus." Wouldn't it have been nice that the purpose would have been to fulfill the Great Commission. The Jesus that they emphasize is the kind of Jesus the world wants; an idol that winks at sin and judges no one. John Lee, one of the primary organizers of the campaign said this, "Our goal is to give voice to the pent-up energy of like-minded Jesus followers, those who are in the pews and the ones who aren't, who are ready to reclaim the name of Jesus from those who abuse it to judge, harm and divide people." In other words, they want to present a Jesus that the world will love, that the world will follow. Something that obviously Jesus was unable to accomplish. Jesus even said in John seven in verse seven, "'The world hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil.'" And in Matthew 10, beginning of verse 34, Jesus said, "'Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.'"

In the frequently asked questions on the website, they asked this, "Who do you believe Jesus is?" And of course, the answer now is going to reek of the stench of wokeism. Here's the answer. "How did the story of Jesus the world's greatest love story get twisted into a tool to judge harm and divide? How do we remind people that the story of Jesus belongs to everyone? These questions are the beating heart of He Gets Us. We hope to remind everyone, including ourselves, that Jesus’ teachings are a warm embrace, not a cold shoulder. That he didn't let "pro this" and "anti that" opinions prohibit him from seeing the value in all people. He Gets Us invites you to explore Jesus' story, on your own terms and at your own pace." It goes on to say, "Our campaign comprises humble perspective, from a diverse group of Jesus fans and followers with a variety of faith journeys, and lived experiences, bound by a common desire." Don't you wish that their perspectives were derived from the word of God? Goes on to say that, "The common desire is to rediscover and share the compelling story of Jesus' life in a new way. The campaign exists to remind us of the example that Jesus set, while inviting all to explore his teaching so we can all follow his example of confounding, unconditional love. Because he gets us, all of us."

So sad, dear friends, there's nothing in the website about the gospel, which begins with the violated law of a holy God. The president of the marketing agency behind it says quote, "Ultimately, the goal is inspiration, not recruitment or conversion." Dear friends, Jesus did not come to this earth to be our example. He came to this earth to be our Savior. He did not come to this earth to be our inspiration. He came to this earth to be our Lord, our master our God because he is infinitely holy. He is not only a God of love, providing salvation for all who will place their trust in Him, but He is also a God of justice that requires that all sin be punished. The true Jesus said in John 3:36, "'He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.'" And yet there is no place that that is described.

It asks the question, in the Frequently Asked Questions section, "What is your stance on the LGBTQ plus community?" Now here, I wish that they would have said, "Well, our stance is God's stance; that unfortunately, for people that live that, who practice that, they will never enter the kingdom unless they repent of that. That that is an abomination, and we need to love people enough to warn them, and to point them to the forgiveness and the transformation that is in Christ." But no, here's the answer. "These are probably the most common questions we receive. And we understand why many of those who represent Jesus have made people in the LGBTQ plus community feel judged and excluded, and others in the Jesus community have simply ignored their stories and lived experiences. So let us be clear, in our opinion, Jesus loves gay people, and Jesus loves trans people. The LGBTQ plus community, like all people, is invited to explore the story of Jesus and consider his example of unconditional love, grace and forgiveness of others. No matter who you are, you are invited to explore the story of Jesus and consider what it means for your life." They failed to mention that in Leviticus 18, the abomination of homosexuality is sandwiched between the prohibition of child sacrifice and bestiality. They didn't mention that. It didn't talk anything about Sodom and Gomorrah, First Corinthians six, nine and 10, that says the people that practice these things will never enter the kingdom. The emphasis is always love, love, love, but no mention of holiness. In Revelation 21, in verse eight, we read that "the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons, and sorcerers and idolatersa and all liars, their part will be in the lake of fire that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." No mention of that. The true Jesus said, indeed, "'God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.'" But it also went on to say, in verse 18, of John three, Jesus said this, "'He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already.'" In other words, he stands condemned already, and "God's wrath remains upon Him," verse 36. And he goes on to say, "'because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men love the darkness rather than Light, for their deeds were evil.'"

My point with all of this illustration is to simply give you an example of how Christ's deity, and his holiness and His authority over all creation, has been replaced by a politically correct woke, sin tolerant Jesus that doesn't exist. My friends, what the culture needs, is a soul terrifying, sin destroying vision of the true Christ. In Isaiah six you will remember that Isaiah had a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ, lifted up upon his throne, and the serafim all around him. And he did not say "he gets me." He said, "Woe is me." My friends, these are doctrines of demons. These are clever, brilliant counterfeits. And for this reason, John warned in First John four beginning in verse one, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God." Here's the test. "Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God." In other words, those that would never deny the true nature, and therefore the purpose, of Christ's incarnation. And then he contrasts this with "every spirit that that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world." You see, apostate evangelicalism, wants a Christian faith that will accommodate people that really want nothing to do with the true Jesus. And sadly, this is a damning example of inclusivism that is responsible for sowing countless tears among the wheat; weakening the church, weakening believers that are in the church, by putting so many unbelievers in the church, and therefore they have no discernment, no power, no sacrificial love for Christ and for his people, because they have no saving faith. As Paul said, in Titus one and verse 16, "They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed."

It is so sad to see people call Jesus Lord and yet they have no desire whatsoever of worshiping and honoring Him; obeying Him. Jesus spoke about this in Matthew seven, verse 21, when he said, "'Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven,'" that's the ones that will, then he will even do many astounding religious works, but never enter the kingdom. As he goes on to say in verse 22, and following, "'Many will say to Me on that day,'" the day of judgment, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name, perform many miracles?" And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS."'"

Beloved, I wish this morning to immerse you into the great depths of the identity of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, so that we can contemplate the infinite perfections of his nature and His work of redemption. And I pray we will all humble ourselves before his Lordship, as together, we examine these profound and eternal truths concerning Christ. Before we look at the text, again, this is Wednesday probably, of the Passion Week. Jesus is literally hours from his crucifixion; he's teaching in the temple court. He has handily fought off the religious political elite, seeking to humiliate him. He has parried every blow of the devil, with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; leaving them utterly defeated, but not contrite. And here we see the long suffering, love of Jesus as he boldly proclaims the only truth that can save, even to people who absolutely do not want to hear it and hate him for speaking it.

In Ezekiel 18, verse 23, we read that God takes no pleasure "in the death of the wicked." But he knows the wickedness of their hearts, that they're plotting to kill him, to embarrass him, to expose him, to challenge his authority. And he also knows that they refuse to acknowledge what they know to be true. Namely, that this son of a Nazarene ccarpenter, is in fact, the Messiah; the Anointed One, the son of David, the son of God. And again, may I underscore this reality, that truth that Jesus is God, is the quintessential truth of Christianity, the truth that separates Christianity from all other religions which are false. So just remember Jesus was and is, and will always be God, very God.

So here in Mark 12, as we come to the text, beginning in verse 35, Jesus is is challenging the conventional understanding regarding the nature of the Messiah. He says in verse 35, "And Jesus began to say, as He taught in the temple, 'How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?'" Matthew puts it this way in chapter 22, beginning in verse 41. "Now, while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 'What do you think about the Christ, whose Son is He?'" Literally what he's saying is, what is his pedigree, what his his genealogical record? What is his ancestry, from what Jewish line is he descended? And then the text says, "They said to Him, 'The son of David.'"

Now, this is a bit humorous. I mean, Jesus knew that they knew, but he also knew that they couldn't stand what they knew to be true. You see, the Jews kept meticulous records, genealogical records. They were destroyed in 70 AD when the Romans came in and obliterated the temple. But no one could hold any position of authority in Judaism without verification of their genealogy. Priests, for example, had to be descendants of Levi in order to serve. So, without question, the temple authorities had poured over the genealogical records that they hadm to check the veracity of Jesus outlandish, and frankly blasphemous, claim to be the descendant of David, making him the Messiah. And his claim to be all the more credible. If that was not the case, they would have long since exposed him as a fraud.

Now, I wish to remind you of the Old Testament background, that they were trying to disregard, that they were trying to distort in order to justify their rejection. But also, I might add, the source of the answer, they rightly gave, as you will see. And by the way, what's always interesting with people, is folks want to believe certain things, and they don't want to believe other things. And so they pick and choose in the Bible what they want to believe. But, for example, the concept of Christ, the Messiah, being the son of David, comes from the covenant that God made with David in Second Samuel seven, beginning in verse 12. There we read God, now speaking to David through Nathan, "'When your days are complete, and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.'" Went on to say in verse 15, "'My loving kindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house, and your kingdom shall endure before Me, forever; your throne shall be established forever.'" Obviously, this was not a reference to Solomon. Also, they would have known Psalm 89, verses three and four, that further proves the Messiah would be from the line of David. There we read, "'I have made a covenant with My chosen; I have sworn to David My servant, I will establish your seed forever and build up your throne to all generations.'" Moreover, they would have known Ezekiel 37, from which we read earlier, especially verse 21. And following, there, the Holy Spirit speaks through the prophet Ezekial about the future of his covenant people. And he says, "'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; nd I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king over all of them; and they will no longer be two nations and they will no longer be divided into two kingdoms."''" And then he went on to add, "'I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and I will cleanse them, and they will be My people and I will be their God.'" And then in verse 24, he says this, "'And My servant David, will be king over them.'" This is a reference to their ultimate final, eternal King, the greater son of David, often called David, as a reference to the Messiah's ancestral name. He goes on to add, "'And they will all have one shepherd and they will walk in My ordinances and keep my statutes and observe them and they shall live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons forever; and David, My servant shall be their prince forever.'" That ultimately will happen, oh, what hope we have in Christ dear friends. When Jesus returns, and he establishes His earthly kingdom, the New Jerusalem will descend from heaven, from the third heaven and hover over the earth, like a giant space module, like a glorious chandelier, suspended over the earth, illuminating the Earth with the glory of God. And this will be an interim kingdom prior to the eternal state where the Lord Jesus Christ will rule upon his throne. And his bride will be able to travel back and forth from the glory of city that Abraham anticipated. We read about it in Hebrews 11, verse 10, "for he was looking for the city which has foundations whose architect and builder is God." And that kingdom will be inaugurated by God, binding Satan. The tribulation martyrs will be resurrected, the sheep and the goat nations will be judged, the entire topography of the holy city will be changed. The millennial temple that is described in such great detail, in Ezekiel chapter 40, through 48 will be built, and the son of King David will rule and he will reign upon Mount Zion. And New Testament saints who constitute the church will reign with him. Folks, this is the long-awaited consummation of redemption, that has been the blessed hope of the saints down through the years. Jeremiah speaks of this in Jeremiah 23, beginning in verse five. where the Lord says, "'When I shall raise up for David's a righteous Branch; He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name, by which he will be called, the LORD our Righteousness.'"

Now, there's some of the Old Testament background, that these scribes and these Pharisees would have understood surely. But they hated to admit it because the genealogy of Jesus Christ could be traced back to David, making him the son of David, the rightful heir to the promised throne. And you will also recall that Matthew's genealogy validated the very same thing that indeed Jesus is the Son of David. Well, that being the case, which the scribes and the Pharisees could not deny, Jesus asked this penetrating question in verse 35. "'How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? David himself said, in the Holy Spirit,'" in other words, under the inspiration of the Spirit, "'THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET."'" And there he's quoting Psalm 110, verse one, David himself calls him Lord, so in what sense Is he his son? In other words, how can the Messiah merely be a human descendant of David? And if you look more closely at Psalm 110 and verse one, we see something very interesting. It says, "The Lord says to my Lord: 'Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.'"

Now, to help us understand this, there's a distinction in the Greek translation of the Hebrew. That makes it clear. Here we see Yahweh, being the first Lord that You see, I believe, I have it underlined. I do. Yahweh, Jehovah, that's the covenant name of God, the first Lord in the phrase, "The Lord said to my Lord,"and the second Lord is "Adonai", a reference to David's Lord, the title name of the Messiah. Yahweh, remember, is the covenant name of God, the tetragrammaton, the four letters, the English translation is capital letters, and Adonai is a substitute for his covenant name. That's a title name, translated with capital or sometimes lowercase letters. So, David is saying this, Yaweh, Jehovah God, addressed my Lord, the Messiah, my ancestral son, the very Son of God, by extension, the Lord Jesus Christ, and here's what Yahweh said to my Lord Messiah, "Sit at my right hand until I make thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet." In other words, Yaweh promised his mediator, the Messiah--David's Lord, that he would give him the final and ultimate glory and majesty and power. This is a promise of preeminence that could only be given by God himself. So, Jesus is saying, since you agreed that the expected Messiah Christ would be the son of David, why would David call his own son, Lord? Mark 12:37, "'David himself calls Him, "Lord"; so in what sense is He his son?'" And the answer is, David's Lord is far more than merely his son, merely his descendant, no, no, he is also the Messiah. He is the Son of God, and they couldn't stand it. And by implication, what Jesus is saying to them is, "I am he--if you reject me, you reject David's Lord."

Now dear friends, please hear me, Jesus Christ is the Promised Messiah. He is the Son of God, the Son of David. Paul also expressed his eternal preexisted deity, you will recall and in Colossians, one, verse 15, where we read, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." He is the firstborn, the "prototokos", the preeminent one, the superior one. And the writer of Hebrews says this in Hebrews chapter one, beginning of verse two, "In these last days, God has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory, and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power." I would plead with you, do not be like the Jewish elite and try to deny the deity of Christ. Over and over, he proved his deity. He had power over the seas, he had power over the wind, he had power over sickness and sin and Satan and death. And only willful rejection can possibly deny such an obvious truth. You see, friends, the issue in unbelief is not one of insufficient evidence, nor is it an issue of presentation. The issue is hardness of heart. People simply do not want to believe and how sad to see the response of the Jewish elite. Can't you imagine their response as he asked them this question? You know, like we would say down here, I mean, it was like a mule staring at a new gate. Didn't know what to say? Overwhelmed. There's silenced in their guilt before their Creator. In Matthew 22, verse 46 ee read, "and no one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question." You know, truth will always silence error ultimately. To argue with truth is like spitting into a gale force wind. Ultimately, error will always yield to the omnipotent power of divine truth.

Notice in Mark 12:37, we read, "the great crowd enjoyed listening to Him." My how nice, what a clever man, what a clever man. You see, they heard him with their ears, but they did not hear him with their heart. Frankly, in a matter of hours, they would cry out, "Crucify Him." Can there be any better illustration of spiritual blindness than this? This is what Paul talked about in Second Corinthians four, four, "The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." I mean, when it is pitch black and somebody flashes a light and you can't see it, you are blind. Satan uses every means possible at his disposal to prevent people from seeing and understanding the truth and the astounding attractiveness of the gospel. He uses errant theology, false teachers, often they're unwitting. The dribble like I gave you a little bit ago--He Gets Us. All these deceptive schemes that appeal to man's fallen nature. In Ephesians four Paul says this about unbelievers beginning in verse 17, "Gentiles also walk in the futility of their mind being, darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them." And here's why, "because of the hardness of their heart; and they having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness." I mean, these people witnessed countless miracles from Jesus. He manifested unparalleled love, and kindness and compassion before them. They marveled at his wisdom, they marveled at his command of Scripture. In fact, in John 7:46, we read what they said, "Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks." And when he asked his most bitter, bitter enemies in John 8:46, "'Which one of you convicts Me of sin?'" None of them was able to respond to his challenge. Indeed, he is holy, he is innocent, he is undefiled; "separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens", Hebrews seven and verse 26. Yet despite all of this, they rejected him.

This is illustrated as well in First Corinthians two and verse 14, you're familiar with the text, it says, "But a natural man,"--it could literally be translated, "a man of animal soul," "one led by lower animal nature", "a person that is ruled by his bodily appetites", he's estranged from divine life. In fact, in James three, verse 14, and following you read about it, it says, "you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant, and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is not attached to this earthly, natural, demonic." Wisdom that is earthly, natural and demonic. The description, quite frankly, of the vast majority of our political leaders today that are in authority over us. "But a natural man", a man that is bereft of the indwelling Spirit and lives for himself and the things of the world, "does not accept" or literally, does not welcome the things, "of the Spirit of God." In other words, he rejects those things, he refuses those things, and here's why, "for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them." Here I'm reminded of Romans eight and verse seven, where Paul says, "the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so." Oh, what would we do were it not for the regenerating power of the Spirit of God? They are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised, spiritually judged, spiritually discerned. In other words, because they judge according to their depraved animal nature, they are unable to render a proper verdict, because they can't recognize the facts. Well, in light of this amazing scenario, I wish to address just two final subjects that I believe emerge from this text that are very practical to each of us.

First of all, I would encourage each one of us to number one, revel in his glorious character. I like that word, "revel". We don't use it much. It means to celebrate, to rejoice in, to delight in. This so sad, Jesus so clearly, and compellingly revealed himself to the people. And yet they turned away their ears from the truth and turned aside under myths. I'm reminded of Second Timothy two as I was meditating upon this passage this week, beginning of verse 24, we read, "The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses, and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will." Oh, dear friends, we revel in the glorious character of Christ, and what he has done for us in His saving work of redemption. And here we see Jesus, doing exactly what we just read about here. He is compassionately, but forthrightly presenting the truths of the gospel. And yet most of them remained incarcerated, captured by the ghoulish clause of Satan's deception. They refuse to believe that he was who he said he was, and proved he was. And oh what mercy is ours to know the truth, and what indescribably precious gift that we have in our faith that has come to us by the power of regeneration.

I'm reminded of James one and verse 17, "Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow." And then he says this, "In the exercise of His will"--not my will--but, "in the exercise of His will, He brought us forth by the word of truth." Oh, dear child of God, we need to revel in his glorious character and be devoted to him. And be able to say, "Oh Savior, what a blessed thought, to know of your great love, yet, Lord, I pray for what I ought to live for you above."

That brings me to my second point for you. Just really, practically, not only should we revel in his glorious character, but I would challenge you to rediscover the implications of his Lordship, in your life. Even as David called him, "Lord", and therefore worshipped and obeyed him as Lord, so too, we must submit to him, as our Lord, as our Master. We should willingly and joyfully call him Lord, because he loved us and gave himself for us. For example, in First Corinthians six, verse 19, we read that our "body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God." Isn't it amazing? As I say so often, because it's such a powerful truth to me, he redeemed us that he might inhabit us. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God. He goes on to say, "You are not your own, for you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body." Think of the implications of that. Our master has laid claim to us, and rightfully so, how dare we dispute such a claim? In Romans four in verse 24, the Holy Spirit caused the inspired apostle to speak of him as quote, "Jesus our Lord." "Jesus", in other words, our Master, the one we obey. Can you honestly refer to him in such a way? We are to obey none besides him, for he alone has the right to rule in our life.

May I ask you is it your passion to offer him your very life? To love him more than even your own family? Your earthly goods, your personal ambitions? Is it the desire of your heart to labor for him, and labor to love what he loves, and hate what he hates; to train your mind, as I say, to love him. Is it the passion of your heart to flee from anything that would grieve Him; that would cause him to be sorrowful for what you are doing, and thus forfeit blessing in your life and even put yourself in a position of divine chastening. Is it the passion of your heart to patiently endure every trial? Trusting completely in his sovereign care. Is it the passion of your heart to consecrate all that you have to his service, to live in light of his return? To cherish him more than life itself? This is the stuff of the Lordship of Christ, dear friend. Do you love fellowship with the saints? Do love to serve the saints? To sing with the saints? Let me put it this way, does the name of Jesus stir your blood like nothing else? Does the thought of Jesus and his Word and his ineffable sweetness come stealing over your soul habitually, as you spend time with the lover of your soul? Do you long to see Christ face to face? Can you honestly say, "Even so, Lord Jesus come quickly." That's the stuff of the Lordship of Christ. Can you say with the Apostle Paul in Philippians, three, verse seven, "Whatever things were gained to me, those things I've counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be lost in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ, Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ." Beloved, this is the stuff of the Lordship of Christ. And the result in your life is going to be one of great blessing and great power--come what may.

In closing, there are stories that abound regarding saints who claim Jesus as Lord and even in the face of persecution, they never flinched, they never bowed to another God. I think of those that were persecuted under Rome. The things the Romans did were unimaginably demonic and brutal. I think of Ignatius Theodorus, who's also called Ignatius of Antioch. By the way, he succeeded Peter, as the pastor at Antioch. He was seized by the Romans because of his faith in Christ Jesus as Lord and sentenced to be devoured by wild beasts in Rome. And as he passed through the cities, from Syria, all the way to Rome on the way to be delivered to martyrdom, he encouraged other believers all along the way. Let me give you a quotation of some of what he said, quote, "Now I begin to be a disciple. I care for nothing of visible or invisible things so that I made but win Christ. Let fire and the cross, let the companies of wild beasts, let breaking of bones and tearing of limbs, let the grinding of the whole body and all the malice of the devil come upon me. Be it so. Only may I win Christ Jesus."

I have a plaque that I put right here many years ago and it simply says, "we would see Jesus." Is that the cry of your heart? Polycarp, the venerable Bishop of Smyrna, asked to pray before he was burned. And what's fascinating is that he prayed with such fervency that his guards actually repented. And the Proconsul urged him, quote, "Swear and I will release thee. Reproach Christ." And here's how he answered, quote, "Eighty and six years have I served him, and he never once wronged me. How then shall I blaspheme my king who hath saved." 1000s of similar stories. Beloved, you will know that Christ is your Savior and Lord if your life proves that he is your Lord. If he is not your Lord, you need to seriously examine the veracity of your faith, because it is probably spurious. Those of you, who perhaps are like the Pharisees, who refuse to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the only Savior of sin, I plead with you this morning as a minister of the gospel, that you trust in Him, that you will repent and place your faith in him before it's too late. And for those of us who have bowed the knee to Christ, as everyone will, either in triumph or in terror, may we all celebrate even more; all that he has given us. And pray that indeed, he will come quickly. But until he does, may we be found faithful in serving, worshiping, and honoring Jesus, our Lord and our Savior, amen? Let's pray together.

Father, the eternal truths of your word are always so penetrating to us. Whenever we examine them, we find our hearts being laid bare. And how thankful we are that there is grace, that there is mercy, that there is forgiveness at the foot of the cross. Lord, for those who perhaps only know you by name, but they don't love you as Savior, and obey you as Lord, may today be the day that you overwhelm them with such conviction that they writhe in misery until they come to you in repentant faith. And Lord for all of us, who are debtors to your grace, may we have a renewed spirit of joy and excitement as we anticipate all that is ours in Christ? For it's in his name that I pray, Amen.