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December 18, 2002
Advent Midweek
Genesis 49:10
Pastor Ben Berger

Christ Rules

Do you ever feel like everything is out of control? One thing happens after another and it seems that there's no end in sight? Have you ever wondered if anyone is in control of this world? Or do you look around and see chaos everywhere? Sometimes in the world and especially in our lives it feels like everything is turned upside down and inside out and all over the place. It's at that time that it becomes easy to wonder if God or anyone is really in control. God's word says that there is someone in control: him - more specifically, Christ. God tells us that Christ Rules. He is in charge, in control. Christ rules 1) on earth 2) among believers and 3) in heaven.

This Advent season we've been looking at the offices of Christ. We have heard about Christ as priest, as prophet and now we will hear about Christ as King. While there are many places where God's word shows us that Christ is ruling as king, we begin with a prophecy made by Jacob. You remember Jacob right? Of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Jacob had twelve sons who became the twelve tribes of Israel. On his deathbed he spoke to each of his sons. While speaking to Judah, he prophesied about a king. These are his words: "The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs, and the obedience of the nations is his."

Jacob didn't prophesy that any old king would come from Judah. He prophesied about a very powerful king who would rule forever. He said, "The scepter will not depart from Judah."

At first glance, it appears that Jacob was mistaken. Do you know anything about the king of Judah? Have you heard anything about him or his kingdom recently in the news? Of course not, because Judah doesn't even exist anymore. At one point in history it appeared that Jacob was right. King David ruled of Judah and all of Israel for many years as the dominant king of the world. But, he died. His son Solomon also ruled for many years, then he died too. Soon the whole country died as other nations came in and destroyed it. It appears that Jacob was wrong.

Then there was a census taken - hundreds of years after the last king of Judah died. Joseph and Mary went to register in Bethlehem because they were both of the house and line of David, the line of Judah. While they were there, Mary gave birth to a son. After the angels and shepherds celebrated, men from the east came. They were looking for the new king of Judah. They brought him royal gifts and worshipped him as their king. God's word shows that Jacob was right; the scepter has not departed from Judah. Christ rules.

Though he no longer rules by physical presence, do not think that Christ doesn't rule on the earth. He does rule on this earth. First, he rules over absolutely everything. That doesn't mean that he controls our every action like a puppet. But, it does mean that nothing happens unless he allows it and nothing happens that he doesn't know about. That includes your life.

Christ is in charge of your life; it is not out of control. As Christ ruled history, he took very special care to make you the person you are right now. At just the right time, in just the right place, he gave you life. Since then he has been with you every step of the way. We try our best to take over. We think that we know what's best for us. We know what we want and how we're going to get it. We don't care what anybody else thinks, including God. And with our sinful minds we find a way to ruin our lives and throw them out of control. But all along God is there, using even our worst and most sinful decisions for our good. He does that by constantly raising our eyes to him. Sometimes he lets bad things happen just to remind us that he is in charge. When we repent and hand the reins back to him, he brings it all back in. He teaches us to let him take care of business, as the king should.

While Christ rules on earth over everything and everyone, he rules in a very special way among believers. If Christ rules over us only for this life, we are to be pitied more than all men. We'd be wasting our time and missing out on all that the world has to offer. But, Christ's rule extends beyond the physical world and into the spiritual world.

Maybe that doesn't seem important to you. Yes, you would like to know that your life is not out of control. It gives you comfort to hear that God or Christ or someone up there is in charge and can help you through the rough times. You truly do appreciate the promises that even when all hell breaks loose and even when you really make a mess of things and even when you just do what you want, even then God will work everything out. But, that's really all you need. You need only think of today, and maybe of tomorrow, but not much further than that. You need only thing of what will make you happy right now, and you'd rather not worry about your soul, your spiritual needs or anything like that.

Let me tell you right now that unless you have a king who can provide for your spiritual needs as well as your physical needs, you have no king at all. Let me also tell you that you do have a king who provided and continuously provides for your spiritual needs.

Your king, Jesus Christ, loved you so much that he was willing to do whatever it would take to provide for your needs. What it took was for him to leave his throne in heaven, to take off his royal robe, to take off his crown, and to put down his scepter to become one of you. For a brief moment in time it appeared that the scepter had departed from Judah while Christ became a man.

However, while living here on earth, he was busy providing for your spiritual needs. He was busy obeying his Father's will and suffering his Father's wrath. He allowed bad things to come into his life. He willingly suffered at the hands of the Jews who hated him and Romans who beat him. He willingly let Pilate send him to die on the cross. He died, and it appeared that the King was gone. Three days later he rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and now sits on the right hand of God, as the King.

As a result, you have forgiveness for your sins. You can look forward to more than just a good day next week or a good next year. You can look forward to more than a weekend's rest or a summer's vacation. You can look forward to a life without problems, a life of complete rest, a life with your king. In response, as you wait for that life, you thank and praise your king for ruling not only over your physical needs on this earth but also over your spiritual needs.

Already Christ rules on this earth and over believers. That rule has been established and gives us comfort and peace in a world and lives full of chaos. However, even with that comfort and peace, we long for more. We long for the days when comfort and peace will be permanent. Christ tells us that those days will come when he also establishes his rule in heaven.

One more time we may stop and wonder if those days will ever come. When we look all around us, it looks like Satan is loose and his followers are running the show. It's the unbelievers who are most successful, have the best jobs and the most money. It's the unbelievers who have the most fun - eating, drinking and being merry with the opposite sex. It's the unbelievers who have the freedom to do what they want.

We look at our own lives and see Satan ruling the roost there too. I truly do try my best to look for spiritual happiness more than physical. I do try my best to store up treasures in heaven rather than on earth. I do try my best to worship my king rather than myself. But, all too often I lose. Sin gets the best of me; Satan gets the best of me. Besides, the days when Christ will rule in heaven seem so far away. It's so hard to focus on something that seems like it's never going to be here.

Don't worry. Advent gives us a chance not only to see our king coming to establish his rule on earth and among believers, but also in heaven. Advent gives us a chance to hear once again that the time is near for the return of our king. It won't be long now. Soon we will no longer have to feel like our lives are out of control. We'll no longer have to look around us and wonder if anyone is in charge. Finally, with our own eyes we will see the king. We will gather around his throne to worship him and to live under his protection. He will provide all we need. What hope we have to know Christ as our king!