ALL ABOUT HIM! – chuckhilltoday.com

ALL ABOUT HIM!

Psalm 110

INTRODUCTION:

Good morning. It’s great to be with you today. Thanks for joining us this weekend for worship (both here in person, and online).

This morning we’re continuing new series called FINDING JESUS.

And it’s really a sub-title for a series we do each summer called…SUMMER IN THE PSALMS. It’s just that this year, we’re focusing on FOUR PSALMS that point to Jesus. And so, we are discovering — that if you seek Him…you will FIND HIM! So, we’reFINDING JESUS!

Well, last week we began this series by looking at Psalm 2, which showed us that (in this life), there’s really only 2 ways to live. One is to serve this world — and the other is to serve Jesus.

Last’s weeks Psalm showed us that God had anointed and appointed Jesus to be the Messiah, and soon coming King.

Well, today we’re going to pick up on that theme in Psalm 110. Where again, God the Father has something to say about Jesus being our King.

So, if you have your Bible, turn with me to Psalm 110.

TRANSITION:

As you turn there — let me share some things I’ve discovered about this Psalm. First of all, its one of the most treasured Psalm in all of the Bible. It is treasured by Jewish people and Christians alike. In fact, it’s also the most quoted psalm in all of the New Testament. There’s not another passage in all of the Bible that’s referenced more than Psalm 110.

Out of all the verses in the Hebrew Bible, the most frequently quoted in the New Testament is Psalm 110:1. And it’s quoted some 25 times in the NT. But that’s not all. Verse 4 gets almost an entire chapter’s worth of commentary by the writer of the book of Hebrews. Basically anytime you hear anyone in the New Testament talk about how Jesus ascended into Heaven and now sits “at the right of God — they’re talking about this psalm!

Like many other psalms, Psalm 110 is labeled a Psalm of David. But perhaps nowhere is David’s authorship more significant than here.

It’s significant because David was Israel’s human king and “lord”. And as such, He was the most powerful man in His Kingdom. The only he was subject to was His Heavenly Father — God (Yahweh)…the creator of all. But (as we’ll soon discover), in verse 1, David says that there was someone else to who he answered. Another “Lord”. And this one was called Adonai (a name used to identify God as the Lord of All). It’s this one, that the New Testament writers tell us is Jesus.

So, way back in Psalms — some 1000 years before Jesus would walk the planet, David speaks in a prophetic manner about Jesus…and He calls Him his Lord.

So again, if you have your Bible opened — follow along as I read.

1 The LORD (Yahweh) says to my lord (Adonai): “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” 2 The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion (the mountainous area around Jerusalem), saying, “Rule in the midst of your enemies!” 3 Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, your young men will come to you like dew from the morning’s womb. 4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

I’ll explain who this was — and what it means in a moment. But, in verse 5 we read,

5 The Lord is at your right hand; he will crush kings on the day of his wrath. 6 He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. 7 He will drink from a brook along the way, and so he will lift his head high.

Psalm 110:1-7 (NIV)

Alright, you’ve got to admit — this is a pretty crazy psalm. It talks about Lords and mountains and priests and the power of a warrior. And all of that — in just one psalm.

Well, as crazy as it seems — the Early Church was almost obsessed with it. And that’s because the New Testament writers understood this Psalm to be speaking about Jesus.

For generations (after David wrote this)— the Jewish people would read this psalm and wonder who this might be. They believed it would be an incredibly powerful leader who would come as God’s anointed who would then sit as King over all the world. And so, this intrigued them,

Who would this be?

But it wasn’t until Jesus’ arrival in the first century that people began to understand this as Jesus. After His death, burial, resurrection, and then ascension — they saw this psalm fulfilled in Jesus. Even Jesus understood this psalm to be about him. Three out of the four gospels…tell a story where Jesus quotes this psalm (to help the people of his day understand who He was).

And so, what I want you to understand today…is that this Psalm is very different from most. This Psalm isn’t about us. It’s about Jesus.

But that’s quite different than most. Because most psalms address our lives. How we think. How we pray. How we live. Where we find help, and hope, snd strength.

They teach us to be thankful—to recognize the good gifts that God gives.

They teach us to worship—to celebrate the beauty and goodness of God.

Most psalms address us—but not this psalm…this psalm is about Jesus! It’s ALL ABOUT HIM!

This psalm seems to ignore the people we find most interesting in life — and that’s us!

Even so (EVEN SO), this psalm is so important — but mostly because, it helps us gain a CHRIST-CENTERED perspective on life. And to do this, it teaches us 3 things:

First of all, it teaches us…

1. There’s a throne we cannot claim.

Notice again, how this psalm begins. It starts by saying:

1 The LORD says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”

Psalm 110:1 (NIV)

As I noted earlier, David is saying that His God (the creator of all) — says to His Lord, or His Messiah (Jesus the Son), that He has been given a seat of honor. And not just any seat — but THE SEAT! The seat at the RIGHT HAND OF GOD. This was the seat for the RULER over all things — the seat for the KING OF KINGS!

That His seat! It’s not just the seat for the slain savior — but for the resurrected King.

And David (who was Israel’s human king) writes these words — and he was saying, there’s a great King than me. There’s a THRONE that isn’t mine to claim. And it’s not yours or mine either.

While He hadn’t met Jesus — and didn’t know Him personally, he knew He was coming. And he’d be one of His descendants. And so, in a way he was saying that his future offspring (Jesus)…His great, great, great, great, great to the 14th power (right?)…His future grandson (14 generations later) — would not only be the savior of the world — but also, the RISEN KING!

And so, God says — there’s a SEAT especially reserved for Jesus.

The right hand seat was ancient code language — describing great authority and mighty power. It was a description of strength and influence.

In ancient times, the one who sat at the right hand of the king held the total trust of the king. He was one who was able to act and speak for the king.

And that’s who Jesus is! He is God’s only son — the Heir to the THRONE of Heaven. He is the KING OF KINGS (and He is empowered to SPEAK FOR GOD).

And isn’t that what Jesus said in the New Testament?

In John 7, Jesus said,

“My teaching is not mine but his who sent me.”

John 7:16

In John 8, Jesus said,

“…the one who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.”

John 8:26

In John 14, Jesus said,

“…the word you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me.”

John 14:24

Understand, Jesus was the full and complete representation of God (the Father). That’s why in John 10, he said, “I and the Father are one.”

Meaning, they were one in essence — and one in purpose.

And so, after His death, burial, and resurrection — God calls Him to ascend back into the heavens, to take His rightful place on the Throne of Heaven — as the King of Kings.

That’s what this psalm is pointing to — the ETERNAL THRONE OF GOD.

And if we’re not careful, we may try to read this psalm and maybe try to place ourselves on this throne. But that not our place. This is a throne we cannot claim!

While we all want to possess power, authority and influence in life — this place of power, authority and influence isn’t ours. We aren’t Kings — we are called to be SERVANTS of the King.

But don’t let this disappoint you. Let this encourage you.

Because, this means that you aren’t the one who is ultimately responsible for all of life. He is! As the KING ON THE THRONE of the kingdom in which you live, He’s responsible for you. For your provision and well-being.

After all. HE’S THE KING! As long as you SERVE THE LORD — He is responsible for you!

So if things aren’t working right now, if things aren’t falling into place like they should, if life isn’t working out the way you had hoped…don’t despair. Just call upon the KING to intervene!

And remember, YOU weren’t made for the throne. YOU were made TO SERVE the one on the throne!

So, find freedom in that. And put your trust in Him.

There’s a throne we cannot claim. And so the weight of the world is not ours to bear.

Which leads us to the second discovery in this psalm. And it’s this,

2. There’s a world we cannot fix!

Just as you don’t have all power to rule — you also don’t have all the power to FIX or HEAL the brokenness within this world. But that’s okay, because that’s not your role — that’s Jesus’s place. Look again at verse 4. It says,

4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: “You (speaking of Jesus) are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

Psalm 110:4 (NIV)

Now, I know this is pretty mysterious sounding. But to the ancient Hebrew person, the name Melchizedek was pretty important.

Melchizedek was a royal person who appears only once in the Bible. He shows up in a story with Abraham in Genesis 14. We don’t know a lot about Him, except that He was an honorable man. His name actually means, “king of righteousness.” In Genesis, he cares for Abraham — and gives him bread and wine after a great battle. Then he blesses him! Its as though He cares for, refreshes, and sort of brings healing to Abraham’s soul.

Well, he becomes a key figure in the Jewish world. They honor his memory and think of him as the first and greatest priest. Someone who acted on God’s behalf and brought peace and healing and blessing to someone in need.

And so, when David says, there’s one who will be the FOREVER PRIEST (in the order of Melchizedek), he’s describing Jesus.

In Psalm 147, the psalmist describes the Lord — by saying,

3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

In Isaiah 61, the prophet Isaiah describes the ministry of one who would come and care for the brokenhearted. And in Luke 4, Jesus quoted the prophets words — and said, they were fulfilled in Him. Listen to them…they describe the work of this FOREVER PRIEST. Jesus says,

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Luke 4:18-19 (NIV)

Again, this is who Jesus was — and is! He is both the KING OF KINGS and the FOREVER PRIEST. But what that means is it’s His job to bring healing to the WORLD…He is the great HIGH PRIEST (not us). While we can serve Him and work with Him and do His bidding — we are not the GREAT HIGH PRIEST of this world. We are not the Messiah. We are not the SAVIOR’s of this world.

This is a description of Jesus — not us! But again, there’s tremendous freedom in recognizing this. Because it can become exhausting trying to be the SAVIOR of the WORLD. It’s a heavy weight to try and bring healing to every wound, and a solution to every problem.

We can’t do that — but that’s not our job! Instead, we are to turn to Jesus. And we are to point people to Him — and we are to lead people down the path to discover the kindness and compassion of our GREAT HIGH PRIEST. And it’s important to remind this world that Jesus understands. Because He came and lived among us, He understands our struggles. So, He’s not looking to put us down — He’s looking to pick us up. I love the words of Hebrews 4, which speaks to the kindness and compassion of Jesus. It says,

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.”

Hebrews 4:15-16 (NIV)

To think correctly about Jesus, you have to understand that He is the great FOREVER priest…full of Grace and mercy. And that’s something else that WE often struggle to show. Instead, we get impatient, and frustrated, and self-righteous (when it comes to dealing with the pain and heartache of others). But not Jesus…He came to HEAL THE BROKENHEARTED!

So, you can rest assured — that THIS PSALM ISN’T ABOUT YOU! It’s ALL ABOUT HIM!

And so, while this world is still not FIXED…know this, your FOREVER PRIEST isn’t done. And there’s a day coming when He will make all things right. And that brings us to the final point of this psalm. And it’s found in verses 5-7. It’s where we see…

3. There’s (ALSO) a victory we cannot lose.

No matter how bad things may be in your life — or in this world, know this — WE HAVE A HERO WHO HAS ALREADY WON THE VICTORY!

And this HERO is the same one previously described as our King (v1), and our Priest (v4). But now, David describes Him as a Warrior (v5-7). Look again at verse 5-7. It says,

Psalm 110:5-7 (NIV)

Now, don’t get lost in all of the MILITARY IMAGERY. Just understand that David sees this ONE (the Christ) as a MIGHTY WARRIOR. So great, that nothing can stop Him. And that includes you and your struggles, and failures, and sin, and mistakes. Because the BATTLE belongs to the Lord. It’s not your and mine to win.

He’s the CHAMPION — and He’s already fought the BATTLE (and defeated the enemy). Satan’s a defeated foe — He just doesn’t know it yet. It gets a little graphic toward’s end… with this WARRIOR GOD crushing heads, and judging nations, and heaping up the dead and wiping out the rulers.But this is all point to the fact that HE CAN’T BE STOPPED! He’s the greatest WARRIOR EVER!

If you start at the CROSS and look back — it’s nearly impossible not to see Jesus in this Psalm. Because He’s the mighty Warrior — who has won the battle and defeated the enemies of our lives, through the CROSS! It wasn’t done by sheer power, or might, or raw strength — it was accomplished through His love.

But because of the cross — the corpses of RULERS and KINGS have been piled up. But they are the corpses of sin and the curses of the enemy…and the things that have ruled our world.

Those things are the corpses that David describes in this psalm.

But they have no power against our great MESSIAH! He is our conqueror. And through the CROSS, He has won the victory. It began with your SIN! But it didn’t stop there.

And for most of us — we’ve really not understood the depth and breadth of His victory. He has broken the back of sin…and shame.

So where do you need Him to bring you victory in your life today? Is it:

Your battle with sin?
Or is it an addiction (alcohol, drugs, prescription pain pills, anger, pornography)…
Maybe it’s…victory over fear, or doubt, or the shame of your past…
Or maybe you need to experience His victory over Sicknesses (maybe it’s cancer, or heart disease, or diabetes, or deafness, or blindness or back pain)…
Listen, He took a beating for our healing—and he died on the cross for our victory. So, where do you need the HERO OF HEAVEN to bring you victory today?

Whatever it is, HE IS ABLE! And in Christ, we have a VICTORY WE CANNOT LOSE!

CONCLUSION:

As we prepare to close today — I want to give you the opportunity to respond.

1. Since Jesus is King, we must submit to His Lordship.

2. Since Jesus is our HIGH Priest, we must look to Him as our advocate — and our access into the God’s presence.

3. And since Jesus is HEAVEN’S HERO, we should trust Him to give us victory over whatever battle we’re facing.

And if you’d like to pray about any of these things…then would you make an altar right where you are?

Would you, bow your head — and pray with me?

CLOSING PRAYER:

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father, we thank you for Jesus. Thank you for your grace and mercy and unending forgiveness. Today we pause to acknowledge that there’s none like you. No one greater. No one higher. No one able to rule, or heal, or deliver the way you can. Today we trust in you! We re-commit our lives to serving you. Would you help us quit trying to be the SAVIOR of this world, and instead lead people to you?Would you save the lost, and deliver the afflicted or addicted?Touch our lives with you glory and grace. And make us more like you. We pray this in Jesus name! Amen.