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Jesus, Our Victor

By Joey Tomlinson

10 Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord of hosts,
    he is the King of glory! Selah (Psalm 24:10 ESV)

Most historians believe that King David, the author of this psalm had these lyrics sung as the Ark of the Covenant was brought to the place prepared for it. In verse 10 alone you see a call and response format. This was a tactic used all throughout church history by which people remembered things. The psalm asks, “Who is this King of glory?” The answer is “Yahweh of battle”. Think about that for a moment. Our King is the Lord of battle. Not only is He the Lord of battle, He is the Victor. In Genesis 3:15 we see Yahweh promising Adam, Eve, and the serpent (who is the Devil) that the Messiah would come and crush the devil’s head. And Jesus actually did this in His first advent. In his incarnation, Jesus took our sins on Himself (2 Corinthians 5:21). On the cross Jesus and our sins experienced the holy wrath of God (Matthew 27:46). In the tomb, Jesus laid to rest our sin so that when He rose, He alone and not our sin came out with Him (Matthew 28:5-6). In Jesus, the battle is won (Hebrews 10:12). So today as you reflect on this call and response in Psalm 24:10, remember the answer: Our Lord is mighty in battle. Our Lord won the battle. Our Lord saved us.

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Luke 24:36
As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!”

The resurrected Jesus announced himself to his own disciples with this greeting, “Peace!”. As the disciples were scared because they thought they were seeing a ghost, Christ showed them his nail scarred hands and invited them to touch him. Of all the things that Jesus could have done to prove that it was him- he chose to show them his scars. He could have told them details of their lives that only he would know, he could’ve recounted a story about one of their journeys, but he chose to show them scars after declaring peace to them. How does this apply to us. Some of us are looking for a miracle today, looking for God to show up during this pandemic and prove to us that he cares. Some of us are looking for God to radically convert a long lost family member or to provide for you financially through this crisis.

The miracle that you are looking for has already happened. It happened on a hill and in a tomb about 2,000 years ago. Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection proclaims peace to between you and God. Rest in the truth that your biggest problem has been solved. God has removed your sin as far as the east is from the west. He has wiped your deepest stains clean and is preventing any future sins from staining you. This is the glory of the power of the blood of Jesus Christ- He is risen, He is successful at saving you from darkness and bringing you into light.

Pray in faith that God will stop this pandemic, pray in faith that he will save your family members, pray in faith that he will provide for you but REST in the truth of your risen savior and your sins forgiven. Peace to you.

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A WRITTEN DEVOTIONAL: 

Please read Luke 19:37. 

Many Christian who grew up in the church can imagine, this scene in their Sunday School kids books, Jesus riding on a donkey, people pleasantly laying down palm leaves and their coats for Jesus and the donkey to ride on, it is almost too picturesque. How is it possible that from this there are religious leaders in the background that are rebuking Jesus as seen in v.39 and in v.41 Jesus begins to weep for the city of Jerusalem and the lack of faithfulness that it’s people will have? Weren’t these people just praising God? Shouldn’t the religious leaders of all people understand what Jesus is about to do for them? There is a crucial defining detail that we forget about the people who were praising God, they were praising God for “the mighty works they had seen”.  The Pharisees had forgotten that God was a mighty God who still acted in peoples lives not just a God of checked boxes and rituals, the future people of Jerusalem would forget that Jesus himself came to their city and healed the sick and preached the path of salvation and forgiveness of sins. 

How often in our own life’s do we forget the works that we have seen God do? While we worship God on Sunday morning but the evening we are already stressed out and overwhelmed by the upcoming week and instead we turn to the idols that bring us the greatest comfort instead of God. We must make it a priority to remember what God has done in our lives, first and foremost the gift of salvation for all eternity by the shed blood of Jesus Christ, but God does even more! Perhaps you should begin keeping a recorded of answered prayer God has done for you, get into a small group or the Men’s & Women’s ministry to hear how God is working in others life and share how God is moving in yours. When you begin to remember how God has worked in your life, you will begin praising God with zeal, you will trust Him not just with eternity but with TODAY. The thing that separated those worshiping Jesus and those that were either rebuking him or were going to face Gods destruction was that they remembered the works of God, may we work diligently this week to remember we have a God who is working today, tomorrow, and forever.  

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God Takes Joy in Providing for Us
Luke 12:32

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

Fear can often cause us to think in irrational ways. I remember driving up to my parent’s Pennsylvania house in my old Plymouth Neon before the days of gps’ on phones. It was night time and it was snowing hard and yet there it was the dreaded Deleware/Maryland/Pennsylvania interchange. I remember the moment well- I had dropped the MapQuest directions on my passenger-side floor and the exits were fast approaching. At that moment, I honestly feared that if I were to take a wrong exit I would forever be lost, never to arrive at the safety of my parent’s home.

Many of us feel that way about our lives today- we feel aimless, without a sense of direction for “now” let alone our future. Yet, we know we have to act- we have to keep moving forward. What is important to note about this verse is that it comes immediately after Jesus informs His disciples that because His Heavenly Father not only clothes the grass (which is alive today and then thrown into fire the next day), He will give significantly more care to His children. Why is this important, you may wonder? Because, as Jesus says, “seek His kingdom, and these things [clothing, food, drink, your future, etc.] will be added to you” (Luke 12:31, added points). 

It doesn’t matter if it’s the clothes on your back, or the food in your children’s bellies, God already knows your need. Right now, at this moment, my neighbor is mowing my lawn because he knows we have two children under two and a broken mower. I didn’t ask him to do it, he simply chose to do it. Without us even saying a word about it, God knew we needed that help. Believer, God knows you and because He knows you, He knows your needs. How wonderful is that? What’s even greater is that God has a kingdom in store for everyone who belongs to Christ’s flock- if you’re in Christ, that’s you! But there’s more- He also has a throne of power (Rev. 3:21), a crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4) and more unsearchable riches than any earthly king or kingdom could obtain. Make note as well, that this giving from God is not out of a debt owed to us, but of free grace, great grace, sovereign grace. And this grace should dispel all fear. Matthew Henry’s words say it well, “Fear no trouble, for thought it should come, it shall not come between you and the kingdom that is near. There is not an evil worth trembling at the thought of, which cannot separate us from the love of God.” 

So church, fear not the want of any single thing that is good for you- God will give it to you with pleasure. There is no need to question whether He will come through, for “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” 

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A WRITTEN DEVOTIONAL: 

"And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” Luke 7:13-16 

Compassionate people are wonderful and refreshing to be around, but often compassion feels empty without the ability to effect change. On the other hand, powerful people can be useful to be around, but that power can be scary if not laced with compassion. Only in Jesus Christ do we see the perfect wedding of compassion and power. Jesus comforted a grieving mother out of deep compassion and raised her son from the dead with the omnipotent power of His voice. Jesus is the One who not only loves you with a compassionate, merciful love, but also has the power to accomplish your eternal good. Cling to Him today.