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Psalm 45 Jesus Our Valiant Warrior King Reigns Forever

7/5/2015

Psalm 45

This Messianic Psalm was a love song used to celebrate the wedding of a king, likely Solomon. But the description given of the king is one far better a far above any earthly king. It is about our King of kings, Jesus. So it is far more than a love song, it is an Agape song.

The Psalmist was excited to write this, he described his heart as overflowing with verses to his king. When the Holy Spirit gives us a word, a praise, or a message, He also gives us the eagerness to share it. He flows out of the fullness of our hearts in delight to touch others. And since this song is prophetic scripture we know it is breathed by God, our Holy Spirit. (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Verses 1-2 read,

“My heart overflows with a pleasing theme;
    I address my verses to the king;
    my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.

2 You are the most handsome of the sons of men;
    grace is poured upon your lips;
    therefore God has blessed you forever.”

Jesus was not a physically beautiful man (Isaiah 53:2). Yet He was far more beautiful than any man has ever been or could be. He was perfect, holy, and loving. That spiritual beauty far surpassed His physical form to emanate to everyone around Him. He spoke with grace to those who needed it. He acted with grace to everyone. All we have to do is acknowledge we need His grace and He gives it to us freely.

Jesus is not only a graceful King, He is a mighty and majestic warrior. He is the King who leads His army. Verses 3-5 describe Him this way,

“Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,
    in your splendor and majesty!

4 In your majesty ride out victoriously
    for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;
    let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!
5 Your arrows are sharp
    in the heart of the king's enemies;
    the peoples fall under you.”

I can picture Him on His strong white stallion leading the angel armies to defeat God’s enemies for us. (Revelation 19:11). His sword on His thigh ready to be drawn. His sharp arrows always meeting their target. He not only charges the enemy, He teaches us to defeat him as well. The great and mighty works of God are possible for us as His children. We are victors and conquerors with Jesus. (Romans 8:37). Satan has so much of the world in chains but they can be freed from that slavery by the blood of Jesus. We have the sword of the Word of God to battle. We have the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome the enemy. We are warriors for the Kingdom of God. Jesus gave us the right and authority to use His name in the battles. He gave us the ability to fight and win. Jesus promised us this in John 14:12-14

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

Believer, you have the right and the ability in Christ to do free the prisoners of the enemy. You have the responsibility to exercise the gifts God gave you for the Kingdom.

Jesus is our majestic and undefeatable King. Nothing can usurp His thrown. He is righteous, holy, and anointed. He reigns now and forever. One day, we will reign with Him. (Revelation 20:6). Verses 6-9 describe Jesus’ magnificence and His worthiness.

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
    The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;
7     you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
8     your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.
From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;
9     daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;
    at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.”

Jesus was anointed by The Father for the purpose of our salvation. His robes are fragrant with myrrh, aloes, and cassia because that is what Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea anointed Him with when they buried Him after the crucifixion. (John 19:38-42). But those oils of sadness and death are given to us as a gift, an oil of gladness that erases our mourning. (Isaiah 61:3).

Jesus is our bridegroom and we are His beloved and adored bride. He gives us a place of honor, He takes away our shame and sin and gives us an esteemed place in His Kingdom. He takes us out of the world where we once lived in and gives us a royal position as His cherished bride. We look, not at our past, at our earthly position, but to our new place with Jesus our King. Verses 10-15 say,

“Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear:
    forget your people and your father's house,
11     and the king will desire your beauty.
Since he is your lord, bow to him.
12     The people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts,
    the richest of the people.

13 All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.
14     In many-colored robes she is led to the king,
    with her virgin companions following behind her.
15 With joy and gladness they are led along
    as they enter the palace of the king.”

We are no longer who we were. Though we do not deserve it, Jesus gave us virtue. He looks at us and He doesn’t see ugliness, sin, or shame. He sees us as virtuous, beautiful and humble royalty. We have the privilege of being in Jesus presence. Only His bride may enter the most intimate of places with Him. Only His bride may know Him so personally. That relationship is exclusively ours with Him. But the people looking on should see that special closeness and desire it. They should see the gifts God gave us, they should notice the favor we’ve been granted and want it too. And they can have it, we can lead them to the King’s palace and teach them to submit to Him and be saved. Our royal position is not meant to be horded and secreted away. We have the royal obligation to give our Lord and King heirs.

Believer, do you see Jesus as the Valiant Warrior King? Do you see yourself as His royal bride? He is and you are. It is a joyful position and it is one that carries great honor, privilege, and responsibility. But we are able because Jesus loves us so passionately that He gave us His Holy Spirit. In Him we can. In fact we should not be able to withhold our exultation. Like the psalmist our hearts should overflow with Him.

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John 3:22-30 Do You Wish You Got as Much Attention as the Other Guy?

11/15/2014

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John Chapter3 Verses 22-30

John the Baptist was baptizing people at Aenon in Judea and Jesus and His disciples were a little ways away from them and Jesus was also baptizing and teaching. A Jew had come to John’s disciples and they were discussing purification. (Baptism was originally a Jewish purification ritual.) Wherever this discussion went it made John’s disciples go to him and point out Jesus and the fact that more people were going to Him for baptism than to them.

It is a very common trait to compare ourselves to other people. That comparison rarely leads to anything good. Too often we aren’t evaluating with right motives. John’s disciples were feeling slighted and they wanted John to feel it as well. John’s disciples were upset about losing their glory and honor to someone else. But John set them straight.

First John pointed out that everything we have comes from God. Verse 27 reads,

“John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven”

This attitude is vital to keeping yourself from envy, jealousy, and judging. Everything you have, including your gifts and ministry are from God and for God. That leads you to praise, thank, and glorify God rather than yourself. It reminds you that believers have a common goal, we’re working to promote Jesus and share His love. We can be happy for each other and support one another.

John continues in verses 28-30

“You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”

It is Jesus not ourselves that should be the focus of our ministry and lives. John compared it to a wedding party and probably didn’t realize the complete prophetic impact of his words as they pointed to Jesus’ return to bring His bride, the church to the wedding feast.

John explained to his followers that it is Jesus who he follows and the people are meant to follow Jesus and not him. He was merely the voice announcing Jesus and now that Jesus was there, his job was complete. It was a joyous and wonderful thing that Jesus was there and that Jesus’ ministry was gaining steam.

He told them “He must increase, but I must decrease.” He let them know this was how it was supposed to be. His ministry had to lessen because Jesus glory was the objective of the entire thing.” And in each of us, Jesus must increase and we decrease. As His Spirit grows in us we look more and more like Him, while our flesh, our sin nature, and our old desires decrease.

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, The Word and the Light. He is King of kings. We are supposed to be exalting Him. Our life on this earth is not about looking good or making people think highly of us. It is supposed to be about directing the world to see Jesus, leading them to know Him and glorifying Him.

Who is the focus of your life? Is it you or Jesus? When you see other people’s success do you know that all good things come from Heaven and therefore you can praise God for it? Do you join with your fellow Believers in glorifying Jesus or do you envy their accomplishments and worry that their achievements will take away from yours?

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John 1:19-34 John the Baptist, the voice who pointed to Christ

11/9/2014

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John 1 19-34

John the Baptist was baptizing[1] a lot of people. He had followers and he taught people. He was making a splash. So much so that the Pharisees were becoming concerned about a possible new sect sprouting up. So they sent some representatives out to find out more about what he was doing.

Everything John did pointed to Jesus. His ministry was about the Messiah. And so when the priests came and asked him who he was, his answers directed them to the Messiah. They said, “Who are you?” He said, “I’m not the Christ.” But that didn’t answer their questions. So realizing that he wasn’t going to start teaching them about his ministry, they asked, “are you Elijah?” and then, “are you the prophet?” (The Jewish people were expecting Elijah and the Prophet to come before judgment day). John answered both, “No, I am not.”

John wasn’t the only guy out there talking about the soon to come Christ, but he was different. He wasn’t claiming to be a great prophet, although he was. (Later in this chapter we will see God speaking directly to John). He wasn’t trying to gain fame for himself, but for Christ. He wasn’t trying to get rich, in fact he lived kind of a hippie lifestyle, eating organically in the wilderness and wearing clothes no one was going to rush out to copy. So the Levites were kind of exasperated and they said, “C’mon who are you? We’ve gotta tell the big wigs something!” So John answered, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” (Verse 23).

John quoted Isaiah 40:3 to them. That should have answered them completely or at least piqued their curiosity, but the priests were not open to the truth of scripture, only their preconception about the scriptures and the prophecies. With this quote, John told them exactly who He was and once again pointed to the Messiah. But they were too stubborn to hear his answer and asked. “Then if you aren’t the Christ, and you’re not Elijah or the Prophet, why are you baptizing?”

John could have told them about himself, his ministry, his training and the good he was effecting but once again took the chance to tell them about the coming Christ. Instead of explaining who he was, his identity was related completely to Christ. His answer is recorded in verses 26-27.

“ John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”

John was telling them that the Messiah was already living among them and He would soon begin His ministry. And the ministry of the Christ would be so much higher and better than his own. John baptized with water, but Christ would cleanse and purify differently. His ministry as so much higher that John couldn’t even untie his sandal. Even this sentence referred prophetically to Christ and should have caused the Levites to want to know more about Him. It alludes to Christ as our Bridegroom and John as the one unable to be a bridegroom[2]

Every opportunity John had, he gave attention to Christ rather than himself. His entire ministry was about shining a light on The Light. He had gained fame. He could have live the comfortable life of a rabbi. Pharisees were worried about his identity. The government had taken notice of him. He was shining the light of Christ into the darkness of people’s lives and they were either humble enough to repent and want to know more about the Savior or they got angry and afraid.

Is your ministry about Jesus or you? Does your life point people to God’s power and grace or your charm and strength? Is your identity in Christ or in your flesh? When people ask who you are do they hear who Jesus is?

[1] Baptism was not a new concept in Judaism, it was something the people did to purify their bodies and prepare themselves for a closer walk with God. It was different than the ritual washings to that cleansed the body for particular sins. It was not because it had been prescribed by the law but because they were choosing to for something special. It had its roots when God revealed Himself on Sinai, before He did so the Israelites had to wash themselves and their clothes by immersion. When proselytes were ready to commit to Judaism, they were baptized to bring them into the protection of God.

[2] Deuteronomy 25 5-10

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Psalm 45 Jesus Our Valiant Warrior King Reigns Forever

John 3:22-30 Do You Wish You Got as Much Attention as the Other Guy?

John 1:19-34 John the Baptist, the voice who pointed to Christ

Donna Campbell

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