Every Knee Shall Bow…

September 29, 2013

Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church

“Cruising Sacred Waters with Jesus”

Sermon 11 of Summer Series

Worship Theme: Lordship

Revelations 19:11-16 MSG

Philippians 2:1-11 CEB

Let us pray… (Pray for Spirit to open the word of God…)

A reading from the letter to the Philippians written by Paul, we will be reading from the second chapter of this letter, verses one through eleven. Listen to the word of God for you and me, the children of God.

Imitate Christ

Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort in love, any sharing in the Spirit, any sympathy, complete my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, being united, and agreeing with each other. Don’t do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility think of others as better than yourselves. Instead of each person watching out for their own good, watch out for what is better for others. Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus:

Though he was in the form of God,

        he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit.

But he emptied himself

        by taking the form of a slave

        and by becoming like human beings.

When he found himself in the form of a human,

        he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,

        even death on a cross.

 Therefore, God highly honored him

        and gave him a name above all names,

     so that at the name of Jesus everyone

        in heaven, on earth, and under the earth might bow

       and every tongue confess that

            Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Good morning…there are so many ministries that we can be involved with in life. Some of them may not seem like ministries but they are in fact some of the most important ministries there are. Take for instance the ministry of hospitality. Now we may think that it is just something we do…it is part of our makeup but this ministry is very important. It what makes people feel loved and accepted. Without this ministry I think most churches would be closed. If people didn’t feel accepted and loved in a church why would they bother going?

I think one of the most rewarding and insightful ministries is the ministry of raising children. Yes…raising children is a ministry even if we don’t think of it as a ministry… I find that it is one that I love doing but there are times when it is hard. It is hard to raise children now a day. With all that is going on in the world it is a tough job. But I find that not only do I teach my children but they also teach me about God and how I act towards Him.

It seems like today most parents want be friends with their children. Now don’t get me wrong. It is nice to have my children as my friend. But sometimes they forget that the parent is a parent first. They act as if their parent is just their friend and when we, as parents, try to correct them when they are wrong it is as if they don’t need to listen. They treat them as they would a friend who just doesn’t agree with them so…they can just ignore them and go on their way. Maybe this is part of what’s wrong with the younger generation today. They have no respect for parents and others…they have forgotten who the parent is and why they have one. They have no respect or cherish those who have lived longer and may know a little more than they do.

Now as I said…parenting has really taught me about myself and my relationship with God and Jesus. So, my question is this…have I treated God and Jesus with the respect and awe that is due them or have I forgotten and just treat them as a friend? Ok…do we as Christians forget who Jesus is? We live in a world that Jesus is thought of as our brother and friend. Have we lost that holy awe towards Jesus? Is He just a friend that we visit once and a while? Do we ignore what He has to say because it doesn’t fit in our agenda? Who is Jesus to you and to me?

This summer we are on a cruise together on the SS Stetson Memorial.  We are “Cruising Sacred Waters with Jesus”. Last week we stopped at the port called “Ambassadorship” and what it means to be an ambassador for Christ. We decided that in order to take on this call we need to be contagious Jesus Freaks...we need to spread our joy and our story and infect the world with the love of Jesus. We talked about how children have the right idea. If we just trust in God and do all that He asks…If we would follow Jesus no matter what…the world would be a better place…be on fire with Jesus…do what Jesus did for and to others…be a mirror image of Christ to the world. It’s just that simple. Just be a “freak for Jesus”.

Our next port gives us a new perspective of who Christ is. This week’s port is called the port of “Lordship”…the Lord ship of Jesus and why we can get excited…our spirits are set on fire… Let’s look at what this port has to say to us about Jesus’ Lordship. Who is this Lord we have and why should we, as Christians be excited about this port we are visiting? Is Jesus still Lord of all?

OK…so this Lord we have has lessons to teach us. As a matter of fact, the Philippians I just read tells us one of the lessons we should learn from the Lord. We should imitate…have the same mind as…Jesus our Lord. Now Jesus our Lord is our friend but look at what He did for us. Even though He is equal to God…even though He is part of the Trinity…the Three in One…He came from His throne in Heaven to not only teach humanity the way but to die for humanity’s sake. He what?! This King died for His subjects…His followers. This is crazy…really!?

Yes…Jesus died for you and for me. He didn’t think that the cost was too high. He had a choice to follow God’s will for His life or to follow what society would have Him do. Society would have had Him be a savior like David that “took Rome by storm.” His disciples thought that this is the type of Savior…the type of King He would be. But God had different plans for Him. He was to be a savior not just for a short time as a king of earth but a Savior for all time as He conquered sin and death to free humanity from the bonds of sin. Instead of flaunting His power and might He was gentle and loving. He had compassion. He was fully human and divine. His human part wanted to have this not happen but His divine part said “not my will but your own.” Jesus was equal to God but knew that God was the Supreme and that He needed to remember that. Jesus came and in His human form remember that God was equal…a friend but God was to be revered.

The other scripture form this morning is from the Book of Revelations…OK…forgive me about that whole flying to the rafters while reading it. I have told you that this is one of my favorite Books of the Bible and that it gives me hope and excitement. Our friend…this Jesus…is not just a friend. Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords. This friend is judge and jury of the world but He does so not in the way our legal system is but how God judges…with righteousness. This Lord is full of power and might. As a matter of fact…this Lord…will subdue the nations…all nations. He will rule with an iron rod. He cannot be bought by the kings and lords of this world. He is not in it for His own glory but for the glory of God…no agenda of His own.

But here is an awesome piece that we may not think about when we read this description of this King. We…you and I are part of that heavenly army. We will ride that white horse, dressed in dazzling white and follow Him. Through Jesus…because of the choice He made to follow God’s will for His life…we are washed white as snow when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Think about it for a moment…maybe you will get as excited as I do. It is the end of days and Jesus is coming back with the heavenly army. We too are there with Him and we are ready for battle. We are following our King and we are fighting the final battle that will bring about a new world. Just picture yourself there for a moment…What an awesome picture is the one you are picturing now. Jesus is King of kings and He is coming back to rule the nations and we get to fight with Him. How Awesome is that?!

Church…Christ’s warriors, we…as Christians…need to be sure that we are not taking Jesus for granted. Yes Jesus is our friend but He is so much more than that. He is King of kings and Lord of lords and we have the honor to call Him friend. But with this honor comes with a price. The price is to put Jesus in authority in and over our lives. The price is to not only call Him friend but to remember who He is and where He came from. Is the price to high for you? Are you happy with calling Him just friend or are you wanting to be part of that battle that He leads not as friend but as Lord? Some day everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth WILL bow and every tongue Will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. We have an awesome Lord in the person of Jesus. How will you choose to be parented by God…to be lead by God? Will Jesus be just a friend or will He be not only your Brother but you King? Which will you choose?

Amen.