Christ Church

The Clouds of Heaven (Ascension 2020)

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Introduction

One of the great difficulties that modern Christians have is that we do not let the two testaments inform one another. Because of this neglect on our part, we miss many visions of coming glory that the Old Testament prophets set before us. And as a people starved for glory, we ought not to miss any of it when God offers it.

The Text

I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed (Daniel 7:13-14).

Summary of the Text

In the night visions, Daniel sees someone like the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven (v. 13). This one like the Son of man approaches the Ancient of days (God the Father), and is brought before Him (v. 13). When this mysterious figure approaches the Ancient of days, the end result is that universal dominion is bestowed on him—dominion, glory, and a kingdom. The nature of this kingdom was that all people, nations, and languages would serve Him (v. 14). His dominion was to be everlasting, and the kingdom he was receiving would never be destroyed (v. 14). And therefore preaching the kingdom of God, among other things, means preaching this.

The Son of Man

The first thing to note is how Jesus identifies with this phrase—“the Son of man.” Although the phrase is common in the Old Testament, this passage in Daniel is the only place in the entire Old Testament where it is used in a messianic sense. Thus, it is a messianic term here, but not a common messianic term. The Lord Jesus uses it of Himself, and it simultaneously conceals and reveals His identity. Some common examples would include Mark 2:10, 8:38, and 10:33.

The Lord Jesus did not want His disciples proclaiming His identity until the time was right. After His resurrection and ascension (Rom. 1:4), the time was more than right, and so two thousand years into it, this reality now must be declared until the end of the world. This is what we are charged to declare—the universal lordship over (and consequent salvation of) the entire world.

The Clouds of Heaven

We must let the Bible tell us what a phrase means. When we think of “the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven,” what do we tend to think? We almost always think of the Second Coming, with Jesus descending to earth on the clouds of heaven. But this is not what it means at all.

The fact that Jesus ascended into heaven on the clouds (the event we are commemorating today) is not meant (with regard to this prophecy) to point to another event many thousands of years later. Although Jesus will come again the same way He left, His manner of going was the beginning of the fulfillment itself.

“And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:9-11).

Where This is Quoted

The first place to consider is in the Olivet Discourse. “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Mt. 24:30-31). This is not a sign in heaven, but rather a sign concerning the Son of man, who is in heaven. The tribes of the earth see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven. Now, in Daniel, where does He come? Into the presence of the Ancient of Days. His authority is apparent on earth (the tribes see it), but the coming is apparent in heaven. Put simply, He is crowned in Heaven; we see the ramifications of that coronation on earth.

The Jews who put Jesus on trial understood the ramifications of this phrase better than many modern Christians do. This is why, tearing his clothes, the high priest considered the statement blasphemous. “Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.” (Mt. 26: 64-65; cf. Mk. 14:62-64). We should pay close attention to it—for this was the passage that brought about the conviction of Jesus. These were the words that condemned Him.

Lord of All

Returning to Daniel, what did the Lord Jesus receive after He departed from the disciples’ sight in a cloud? What did He receive when He approached the Ancient of days? The Scriptures are exceedingly clear on the point. He received everlasting dominion, glory, and an indestructible and universal kingdom (Dan. 7:13-14). He received the heathen for His inheritance, and the uttermost ends of the earth as His possession (Ps. 2: 8). He received the worship of all the families on earth, and the remembrance of all the ends of the world (Ps. 22:27). He will receive all men as they stream to Him, the ensign of Jesse (Is. 11:10), and His rest shall be glorious. The earth will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord Jesus as the Pacific Ocean is wet (Is. 11:9). He will receive all His adversaries, fashioned by the power of God into His footstool (Ps. 110:1). He will receive the human race, unveiled (Is. 25:7), and will set a feast of fat things, full of marrow, full of fat, and wine on the lees, well-refined (Is. 25:8).

This world, the one we live in now, will be put to rights, before the Second Coming, before the end of all things. The only enemy not destroyed through the advance of the gospel will be death itself (1 Cor. 15:26)—and even that enemy will be in confused retreat (Is. 65:20). The ramifications of this are many, but one of the things it means is that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. So return to your labors encouraged. You know your weakness, that is true, but hear the words of your God. It is an invincible weakness because one like a son of man has entered into the throne room of the heavens. His name is the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Sin & Dust (Easter Drive-In)

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Introduction

In the Garden of Eden, when God shaped the first man from the dust of the ground (Gen. 2:7), the Almighty was simply playing the part of a sculptor. He shaped Adam from the dust of the ground, but until the second half of the verse, this Adam was simply dust rearranged. After the semblance of a man had been fashioned out of dust, God breathed into his nostrils the “breath of life,” and it was then that man became a living soul. The dust was still there, but something else was not present. The image of God was now present.

But that image was soon to be marred. Despite the warning of God that if he ate the forbidden fruit he would “surely die,” our first father disobeyed, and in the curse was dragged back down to the dust of the ground. “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Gen. 3:19).

The Text

“For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:16–17).

Summary of the Text

God brought Adam out of a state of “death” when He first created him. Adam was not, and then he was. He walked with God in the Garden, and was free to eat from all the trees but one, and so had free access to the tree of life. He and his bride were really and truly alive. When they sinned, they plunged themselves and all their posterity into the dust of death. In our text this death is equated with being in our sins. That is what spiritual death is—separation from fellowship with the holy God. And that is what sin is—separation from fellowship with the holy God.

Notice Paul’s logic. If the dead are not raised, then Christ was not raised. And if Christ was not raised, your faith is vain, and you are still in your sins. Now if you put all this together, you should see that when Christ was raised from the dead, and we were raised from the dead with and in Him, we were also at that moment raised from our sins. Our sins are our death; our death was our sinfulness.

The Death That Is Sin

This is how Paul describes our previous condition in Ephesians:

“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others” (Eph. 2:1–3, NKJV).

Notice here that death does not mean being “stone cold out of it” because when we were in this condition of death, we were walking around in the course of this world. When we were dead, we were living in a certain way. That way, that path, was the way of death, which meant that we were walking in a condition that was separation from God. So death is not simple cessation; death is separation. Physical death is the separation of soul and body. Spiritual death is the separation of man and God. When we die to the ways of the world, we separate from her unholy ways. “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you” (2 Cor. 6:17).

So that is what death is. Death is distance, death is separation.

We used to live in a separated way from God, aliens to Him, enemies to Him. Christ came down to us in that condition, and in His passion and death, He experienced that death. “My strength is dried up like a potsherd; And my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; And thou hast brought me into the dust of death” (Ps. 22:15).

So Flip This Around, the Way Easter Did

Look again to the words of our text, and work the logic the other direction.

“For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:16–17).

If the dead are raised, then it is not remarkable that Christ was the first to be raised. And if Christ was raised, then your faith in Him is not in vain, and more than this, you are no longer in your sins.

Ushered Out

Apart from Christ, what is the condition of man? Apart from Christ, where are we? Separated from God, what good is anything? We are the ones who reached for the forbidden fruit in our vain question to “be as God,” and what did we actually accomplish?

Now we live in the dry and choking places. Dust over everything. Broken bottles. The air is sour. The smoke of selfishness has left an acrid taste on your tongue. The walls lean in. There is scarcely any light. Ghostly shadows flicker faintly on the curtains, but they don’t mean anything. Nothing moves. The only sound we can ever hear is our own muttering, the bootless sound of endless complaint.

And in the middle of all of this dusty death, Christ suddenly appears. He speaks to the wall opposite you, and it vanishes. It had seemed immoveable and untouchable, and yet it just vanished. Christ turns to you, and speaks one simple word, and that word is come.

This is the day of resurrection. So what will you do?

This is Easter Sunday. Will you follow Him?

Today is the day of all reckoning. Christ embraced death. Christ descended to the grave. Christ has risen triumphant. That is the good word. That is the gospel. What do you intend to do?

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Sin & Dust (Easter A.D. 2020)

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Introduction

In the Garden of Eden, when God shaped the first man from the dust of the ground (Gen. 2:7), the Almighty was simply playing the part of a sculptor. He shaped Adam from the dust of the ground, but until the second half of the verse, this Adam was simply dust rearranged. After the semblance of a man had been fashioned out of dust, God breathed into his nostrils the “breath of life,” and it was then that man became a living soul. The dust was still there, but something else was not present. The image of God was now present.

But that image was soon to be marred. Despite the warning of God that if he ate the forbidden fruit he would “surely die,” our first father disobeyed, and in the curse was dragged back down to the dust of the ground. “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Gen. 3:19).

The Text

“For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:16–17).

Summary of the Text

God brought Adam out of a state of “death” when He first created him. Adam was not, and then he was. He walked with God in the Garden, and was free to eat from all the trees but one, and so had free access to the tree of life. He and his bride were really and truly alive. When they sinned, they plunged themselves and all their posterity into the dust of death. In our text this death is equated with being in our sins. That is what spiritual death is—separation from fellowship with the holy God. And that is what sin is—separation from fellowship with the holy God.

Notice Paul’s logic. If the dead are not raised, then Christ was not raised. And if Christ was not raised, your faith is vain, and you are still in your sins. Now if you put all this together, you should see that when Christ was raised from the dead, and we were raised from the dead with and in Him, we were also at that moment raised from our sins. Our sins are our death; our death was our sinfulness.

The Death That Is Sin

This is how Paul describes our previous condition in Ephesians:

“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others” (Eph. 2:1–3, NKJV).

Notice here that death does not mean being “stone cold out of it” because when we were in this condition of death, we were walking around in the course of this world. When we were dead, we were living in a certain way. That way, that path, was the way of death, which meant that we were walking in a condition that was separation from God. So death is not simple cessation; death is separation. Physical death is the separation of soul and body. Spiritual death is the separation of man and God. When we die to the ways of the world, we separate from her unholy ways. “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you” (2 Cor. 6:17).

So that is what death is. Death is distance, death is separation.

We used to live in a separated way from God, aliens to Him, enemies to Him. Christ came down to us in that condition, and in His passion and death, He experienced that death. “My strength is dried up like a potsherd; And my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; And thou hast brought me into the dust of death” (Ps. 22:15).

So Flip This Around, the Way Easter Did

Look again to the words of our text, and work the logic the other direction.

“For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:16–17).

If the dead are raised, then it is not remarkable that Christ was the first to be raised. And if Christ was raised, then your faith in Him is not in vain, and more than this, you are no longer in your sins.

Ushered Out

Apart from Christ, what is the condition of man? Apart from Christ, where are we? Separated from God, what good is anything? We are the ones who reached for the forbidden fruit in our vain question to “be as God,” and what did we actually accomplish?

Now we live in the dry and choking places. Dust over everything. Broken bottles. The air is sour. The smoke of selfishness has left an acrid taste on your tongue. The walls lean in. There is scarcely any light. Ghostly shadows flicker faintly on the curtains, but they don’t mean anything. Nothing moves. The only sound we can ever hear is our own muttering, the bootless sound of endless complaint.

And in the middle of all of this dusty death, Christ suddenly appears. He speaks to the wall opposite you, and it vanishes. It had seemed immoveable and untouchable, and yet it just vanished. Christ turns to you, and speaks one simple word, and that word is come.

This is the day of resurrection. So what will you do?

This is Easter Sunday. Will you follow Him?

Today is the day of all reckoning. Christ embraced death. Christ descended to the grave. Christ has risen triumphant. That is the good word. That is the gospel. What do you intend to do?

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Palm Sunday A.D. 2020

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Matthew 21:1–11, Psalm 118

1-7 The King Enters Jerusalem

Jesus had visited Jerusalem many times before, but this was to be his last visit prior to his arrest. And when he entered, he entered on the back of a donkey, in fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy.

It is important to understand that in biblical literature the donkey was actually a sign of kingship. This goes all the way back to Jacob’s dying prophecy over Judah (Gen. 49:10-11). And throughout Scripture we continually see kings riding donkeys. Remember when David publicly announced that his son Solomon was to be the new king of Israel, he demonstrated this by parading Solomon through Jerusalem on the back of the king’s donkey (1 Kings 1:38, for other examples of rulers riding on donkeys see Judges 5:10, 10:4, 12:14). So it make sense that Zechariah would prophesy that the new king of Israel would arrive in Jerusalem on a donkey, a king who would exercise universal dominion (Zech. 9:9-10).

8-11 Hosanna

This next bit gets particularly hard to understand. The people lay branches in the road before Jesus as he enters Jerusalem, and they cry out “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” This seems like a bizarre way to behave. But to understand what is happening here, you need to understand Psalm 118 and that is not easy.

Psalm 118

Psalm 118 is like a confused dream if you just read it by itself. But when you hold it up to the rest of Scripture, especially to the life of Christ, and especially to his triumphal entry, then instead of being this confused dream, it turns into an answer key that helps to make everything else make sense.

Feast of Booths

Remember that in Old Testament Israel there were three pilgrim feasts – Passover, Pentecost, and Booths. At all three of these celebrations, the Jews would sing the Hallel – Psalms 113-118. And as part of the Feast of Booths, the Jews would bring their lullavim, made from the branches of the fruitful trees of Israel, and cast their lullavim onto the altar, while reciting Psalm 118:25. The cry “save now” in Hebrew is Hosanna!

So the people were taking the pieces of their celebration of the Feast of Booths and were applying this ceremony to Jesus. What they had celebrated as a type and a shadow they were now able to actually celebrate in its reality.

The Cornerstone

In verses 22-24, the Psalmist describes a rejected cornerstone, describing the very humble beginning of a building project. This is likely why bits of this Psalm are picked up to celebrate the laying of the foundation of the second temple (Ezra 3:11-13). But in a very early Jewish tradition this passage is understood as referring to David’s selection as king over all his brothers. And so you see all of these elements picked up in Jesus’ triumphal entry.

The Rejection

Over the next several chapters the Jewish leaders (Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, the chief priests, and the scribes) all make clear their final rejection of Jesus’ teaching. He makes this the point of his parable of the wicked vinedressers (21:42-45, quoting Ps. 118:22-23). And again, after completing denunciation of the Jewish leadership in Matthew 23, he concludes with 23:38-39 (quoting Psalm 118:26).

Conclusion

One of the greatest vices of the evangelical church over the past century has been our bad habit of attempting to read our Bibles in light of our current events, instead of the other way around, which is to read our current events in light of our Bible. In Scripture you have a firm and certain word. In the world around you, as we have right now, you have a raucous multitude driven by whatever emotion has worked its way to the top of their esophagus. If you go from that raging emotion to Scripture you will have no end of confusion. But if you start with the clear testimony of Scripture you will find that you suddenly have your feet on an immovable rock.

So let’s start with Scripture and the promises of Psalm 118. These things have been promised to us and for us to be obedient means reading our current situation in light of this text.

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State of the Church 2020

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Introduction

The Lord has been blessing our congregation in many striking ways. We have been growing in remarkable ways, and an essential part of this growth entails the inevitable growing pains. Quite a few of you just moved to our community within the last year, and it may seem to you that you have jumped into the middle of a conversation that has been going on for forty years. But some of you newcomers might be puzzled over something else. Where you came from felt like a wilderness to you, and so you would devour all kinds of things that would come out of Moscow, and then when you arrived here, you found yourself more checked out about what is going on than some of the people who have lived here for years. Life is funny.

The Text

“And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the Lord: and Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel; and the Lord heard him. And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel. And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Beth-car. Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us” (1 Sam. 7:9–12).

Summary of the Text

On the threshold of battle, the prophet Samuel interceded on behalf of Israel, with a sacrifice and intense prayer, and the Lord heard him (v. 9). In the very moment of offering up the ascension offering, or whole burnt offering, the Philistines approached the Israelites to do battle (v. 10). But the Lord responded from heaven with loud thunder, so much so that the Philistines were thrown into confusion and Israel overcame them (v. 11). The men of Israel seized control of the situation and drove the Philistines back as far as place called Beth Car (v. 11). In response, Samuel in his gratitude set up a monument stone, and named it Ebenezer, saying that the Lord had helped them to “this point” (v. 12). The word Ebenezer literally means “stone of help.”

Earlier in the narrative, when the Ark of the Covenant had been captured by the Philistines, they took the ark from the place called Ebenezer to their city of Ashdod. This lost battle was a humiliation to Israel, and an indicator of their idolatrous faithlessness. Twenty years later, Samuel called Israel to return to God with all their hearts (1 Sam. 7:3), which they did. God granted them this victory, which Samuel memorialized, and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel (1 Sam. 7:13).

Here I raise my Ebenezer
Hither by Thy help I’ve come
(Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing)

Our Ebenezer

I would like this message to serve as an introduction for our “new members,” and a reminder for our old timers. Our congregation is alive and thriving, and there were many occasions when it all might have gone otherwise. Thus far the Lord really has helped us. We have no right to still be here.

The Centrality of Worship

We believe that the most important thing that any of us can do in the course of a week is to appear here before the Lord. “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve [worship] God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:28–29).

The Interconnectedness of All Things

But worship is not a disconnected important thing, like a diamond in a load of driveway gravel. Rather it is central and connected to absolutely everything else we do—the way the engine is central to the function of the car. “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist” (Col. 1:17). We believe that all things in the universe are related to one another, and they are related in Christ. In fact, the only reason why the universe can even be a universe is because of Christ. God is sovereign and therefore Christ is Lord.

Three Governments

Self-government—which is the fruit of regeneration—is foundational to every other form of God-given government. Those three other governments are the government of the family (Gen. 2:18), the government of the church (Eph. 4:11-12), and the government of the state (Rom. 13:1-2). The state is the ministry of justice. The church is the ministry of Word and sacrament. The family is the ministry of health, education, and welfare. Among other things, this means that you and your family all belong here at worship.

Chestertonian Calvinism

We are followers of Christ alone, and so it may seem odd to describe one of the attitudes that we are seeking to cultivate by using the names of two of the Lord’s more notable servants. But that is all that it is—odd. “Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10). Joy is not just an attitude we have going into the fray. That joy is one of our most formidable weapons.

All of Christ for All of Life

If there is one most noticeable thing that is missing in our lost generation, it is the fact of identity. They have had almost all of their old established (and idolatrous) identities smashed, and now are reduced to making up their own ad hoc identities as they go along. To this we answer, not with “traditional values,” but rather with the message of the crucified and risen Christ.

He is the risen one, and therefore the Lord of all. He is Lord extensively, and He is Lord intensively. There is therefore nothing in this cosmos that He did not extend His scepter over. Our task is to fan out and claim it.

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