THE KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS

Berean Baptist on February 23, 2015

And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war…And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. (Revelation 19:11, 16)

 This may well be the most magnificent passage in all of scripture. Since the awful day of disobedience in the Garden of Eden, the world has been waiting for the entrance of creation’s gracious King. He visited us before under different circumstances and for a different purpose. He did not appear as the royal King; He did not project the fierceness of a mighty warrior; He did not come with fire in His eyes to bring vengeance upon His enemies. He came as a humble, meek servant with compassion in His heart. He came to seek and save that which is lost. He came for helpless sinners doomed to suffer the wrath of Almighty God for their crimes against Him. He came to take away the guilt of sin for all that believe by satisfying the divine justice of God.

The first advent of Christ was for you and me that trust Him. He came to give us salvation. He had to come in the humiliation of human flesh in order to do it. So, He appeared the first time as Hebrews says to “put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” He was the pure innocent Lamb slain for the vile and guilty. The Second Advent is also for us. The writer of Hebrews adds to the first statement: “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” (Hebrews 9:28)

The second time Christ comes it will not be as the sin bearer, but nonetheless it is also to bring us salvation. In this sense, salvation means our final deliverance from this sin cursed world. The Second Coming is for believers as Christ enacts His plan to rid the world of all opposition and bring us the blessedness of the new heaven and new earth. But, there is also a sense that the Second Coming is for unbelievers. They humiliated Him the first time. They despised Him and turned their backs on Him. They beat Him without mercy and then nailed Him to a rugged cross. The second time He comes He will not permit this. All will be forced to give Him the honor and glory He deserves. At the end of the 19th chapter, He destroys so many unbelievers that the fowls feast to the full upon their bodies as if it was carrion.

Revelation 19 is very unlike Luke chapter 2. There is no stable; there is no manger; there are no swaddling clothes of peasants. There is no lowly humility. This time He comes as a mighty warrior to conquer the world, to make it His kingdom, and to force His enemies to submit to His rule. This is the side of Jesus most never hear about. And yet, you must understand the wrath of God before you will ever understand the love of God. Do not take your ease because you think you are not guilty. Do not comfort yourself in the erroneous hope that God will never punish the guilty. Revelation 19 is as true as Luke 2. The KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS is coming. Are you ready? Repent of your sins, trust Jesus to save you from them, and you shall be!

Pastor V. Mark Smith

 

 

 

 

 

You and the Pastor

Berean Baptist on February 16, 2015

And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:62)

One of the difficulties of pastoral leadership is handling disappointments without discouragement. A pastor is expected to be exuberant, cheerful, and positive at every service no matter what may be going on in the church or in his personal life. Another pastor once advised me to never let the people know when you are sick, never ask specifically for personal prayer, never show any vulnerability because each of these will be seen as weakness and will make you an ineffective leader. I am not sure if there was ever a worse piece of advice given because pastors are vulnerable, do get sick, and need personal prayer just like any other member of the church. It is a great myth fostered by many independent Baptist pastors that they are demigods and should be treated as such. This only fuels the unbiblical teaching of separation between clergy and laity.

For the most part, I handle the sicknesses and the occasional personal problems without much difficulty. The most trying times for me are when I see church members that help foster separation between the pastor and the people by acting as if the requirements of their Christianity are different from those of the pastor. It might be helpful to understand that in the first century pastors were not appointed by denominations; they were not graduates of seminaries that waited with diploma in hand to be picked over by leaderless congregations. Pastors were chosen from among the people and most of them spent their lives with that one group of people. Working consistently and faithfully in the church was a common enterprise for all the members, not just a special few.

I am never disappointed in the Lord because I know He does all things well. I have a much harder time not being disappointed with people. Our Sunday School Superintendent, Taber Jarrell, sent an email reminding teachers about faithfulness in teaching and also commitment to church attendance. Taber said it well: “The children, as well as adults in our church family and especially our class, are watching and learning from our testimony—let them find us most faithful.  I would ask that you carefully consider before being absent from your class, or service of the church, is there any way I can find a way to be present and in my place of service?”

Our church needs a revival of commitment from all members. It is understandable to miss for vacations and when work or other situations are unavoidable. I am concerned, however, that most absences are avoidable. Much of it is plain indifference rather than necessity. Including WEDNESDAY evening, we have four hours of worship each week which hardly seems too much for the Lord to ask. Corporate worship is not a suggestion from the Lord; it is commanded. As church attendance dwindles, separation, consecration, and holiness follow suit. Consider your children. Are they better off for your example or worse?

You are no different than the pastor. The Lord requires the same from you as He does from me. Could you tolerate me as pastor if I approached church responsibilities as you do? Think about it and get back to me. If you love Christ, your truthful evaluation will fix you and encourage me greatly.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

 

Earthly Instructions for Heaven’s Citizens

Berean Baptist on February 4, 2015

For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: (Philippians 3:20)

In the morning preaching service, I am starting a four part sermon series on Christian citizenship. The basis for our study is Matthew 17:22-27 in which Jesus taught the disciples their responsibility to the Roman and Jewish authorities. The issue is raised in the matter of taxation, in this case a temple tax, and Jesus used this incident to show the disciples how we are to be good citizens of our country in order that we might not hinder the preaching of the gospel.

When we become Christians, we are born into the family of God and become heirs of the riches of Christ. We are in the world but no longer of this world. We are citizens of the new heavenly country and we are to reflect the worthiness and character of people that are privileged to be granted citizenship. In Philippians 3:20, our King James Version uses the word conversation which had much more depth of meaning in past centuries than it does today. The word means “the conduct of our lives” or “the manner in which we live our lives.” This usage is reflected in our modern word “citizenship.”

Christians are to be good citizens even when we do not agree with everything our government does. As we shall see in the next few weeks, human government was ordained for our good and where it does not conflict with our obedience to Christ we are to defer to it. In today’s text, Jesus made the point that He was not subject to the Jews’ taxation, but rather than create a needless controversy over something they did not yet understand, it was better to accede to their demands. If Jesus had been insistent that He should not pay the tax, He would have been considered an anarchist and troublemaker which would have given the Romans and Jews a viable cause to crucify Him.

We must keep the same things in mind as we live in this world while being citizens of another world. We must always reflect well on the Saviour. If we are persecuted, it should be for our well-doing not because we have offended others needlessly. Matthew Henry wrote: “Christian prudence and humility teach us, in many cases, to recede from our right, rather than give offence by insisting upon it. We must never decline our duty for fear of giving offence…; but we must sometimes deny ourselves in that which is our secular interest, rather than give offence.”

We often encounter laws enacted by Congress and our local governments that we do not agree with (especially taxes!). Sometimes our lawmakers pass nonsensical laws and many we think are surely more harmful to our country than helpful. While our government allows peaceful protest of these laws, we must be very cautious in our exercise of the right to protest. When Christians picket and make a ruckus over issues that do not affect the heavenly kingdom, they can inadvertently bring the heavenly kingdom into the controversy. It is better that we bear the inequities of bad legislation rather than reproach the Kingdom of God.

These are some of the things we will discuss over the next few weeks. At times you may think you are back in middle school civics class. This is fine because we need to look at secular citizenship through the lens of heavenly citizenship. Someone said Bible stands for “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.” The Bible instructs Christians on living in this perverse world. You cannot be a good citizen of heaven if you are not a good citizen here.

 

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith