Fixing our Eyes on Jesus, Our Joy, Part 3

Welcome to Delight in Grace.

The teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. After becoming the one and final sacrifice for sin and conquering death, Jesus sits down at the right hand of God the Father. He sat down. This is an easy statement to overlook, but today Pastor Rich shows us how rich of meaning this little clause really is. Let's look at Hebrews 12 to today in this message titled, Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus, Seated. I want to begin this morning with a point of today's message and then we're going to look at it more thoroughly and then conclude with it as well. The point of today's message as he's saying, we run the race looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The idea of sitting is very important. And so as we sit, as you sit at Jesus' feet, think about that imagery now. And I'm going to ask you to keep that imagery in your mind to sit at Jesus' feet. As you sit at Jesus' feet, as you walk with Christ, as you follow him, your life will become all about God's character and purpose. And your life will have one clear message and it is this, Jesus is Lord. Because when everything is said and done at the end of time, this will be the confession of everyone, that Jesus is Lord. And so that is the challenge before us today, to sit at Jesus' feet. Now, the idea of sitting is very important in the scriptures and it's mentioned very much. And so Jesus Christ who has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God, we see him as one who has finished his work and is now seated. It's important for us to understand this.

And this is just a review here. These are the four main points of what it means, the importance of his taking a seat. It speaks to his deity. It speaks that he is a ruler. It speaks that he is a judge. And it speaks that he is a teacher. And that's just a little bit of review. But it's very important for us as we read this verse, we could look at it and say he has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. You just kind of read over that and miss it.

And we need to look at that. Why is it important that the writer mentions that he sat down? You would think it was a trivial exercise and it's not because it has all of this rich meaning to it. And the first one is his deity. As you study the Near East and the ancient Greek Hellenistic worlds, it shows very clearly that sitting is a distinctive sign of deity and those who surround worship. So all the drawings and the writings and clear whatever their concept of the deity was, the deity was seated and those who surround it worship the deity. And so it is with Christ the fact that he has taken a seat speaks to his deity. That he is the God man who is seated at the right hand of the throne of his father. The throne of God is mentioned often in scripture. Let's look at a few of these in 2 Chronicles chapter 18 verse 18.

I saw the Lord sitting on his throne and all the hosts of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. Psalm 47 verse 8. God reigns over the nations. He sits on his holy throne. Psalm 97 verse 2.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Isaiah chapter 6 and verse 1. The prophet Isaiah receiving his call. I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up and the train of his robe filled the temple. And then you move to the end of the canon of scriptures in Revelation chapter 4 and verse 2.

It says immediately I was in the spirit and behold a throne set in heaven and one sat on the throne. It is a sign of deity and deity is worshipped. I want you to stop and think for a moment what it means to worship something. To worship something means to devote yourself to it.

What motivates you at your deepest desire? That is what you worship. What motivates you at your deepest desire is what you worship because you devote yourself to it.

And that to which you devote yourself is what you worship. When Christ takes a seat at the right hand of the throne of God, it is his deity that is in view and those who surround worship him. He is taking a seat on the throne when the writer of Hebrews says he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Not only does it speak to his deity but it says that he is a ruler.

He is a ruler because a ruler sits on a throne. We find this in Psalm 45 verses 6 and 7 which is also quoted in Hebrews chapter 1. Look back with me in your copy of the scriptures to the first chapter of Hebrew. Look with me at verses 8 and 9.

Hebrews 1, 8 and 9. The fact that Jesus took a seat speaks to the fact that he is authority. He is master. Hebrews 1, 8 and 9, he is quoting Psalm 45 and he says to the son, he says, your throne O God is forever and ever.

This is the father speaking to the son. Your throne O God is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom.

You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions. He is a ruler. Not only is he deity, he is a ruler which means he has authority and he is the master and he is establishing a kingdom of righteousness. And Paul tells us in Philippians that we are citizens of that kingdom. We are his people, to use the term that Paul and Peter use. We are his people. We are in Christ. We are the people of God. His people are those in whom righteousness dwells.

That I understand that when I surrender myself in faith to Jesus Christ, Christ's righteousness becomes mine and God looks at me and he sees the righteousness of Christ. I am one who belongs to the kingdom of God because righteousness dwells in me. And therefore, one who belongs to God, he is my master, Christ is my master.

I am one and you too if you are in Christ, you are one who operates by the priorities and values of his government because I abide by the authority of the higher kingdom. This is made very clear in Colossians chapter 1 verses 13. Those who are in Christ, those who are in the faith, it speaks that Christ that we have been translated from the domain of darkness, rescued from the domain of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of the son of his love.

These powerful, powerful words. That's where we belong. So we belong to the higher and greater kingdom, yet we still live as aliens and strangers in the context of the lesser kingdom, operating according to the rules and values and priorities of the higher kingdom. That's the kingdom of Christ. That is how he rules now. He will rule on this earth one day, physically sitting on the throne of David in Jerusalem. Today, he rules in you and me as his people, people in whom righteousness dwells and people who operate by the priorities and values of his government. So the fact that he is seated at the right hand of the throne of God speaks to his rulership, not only his deity, but his rulership. Thirdly, it speaks to the fact that he is the judge.

He is the judge. All things were made by him and for him and he is the judge. Listen to this verse from Psalm 110 verse 1. The Lord said to my Lord, now Jesus quoted this in the New Testament, speaking of himself, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. He is the judge of all the earth. There is a profound verse that is mentioned in Acts chapter 17 verse 31, where Paul the Apostle was in Athens speaking to all the great philosophers of the day. And as he was going through the town, he recognized all the religious monuments and he recognized one in particular, the monument to the unknown God.

He says, let me tell you about that God, the one who made everything else. He says this about him, he has appointed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising him from the dead. The fact that Jesus Christ in his finished work walked out of the grave is certification of the fact that one day he will be the righteous judge of all the earth. He will be in that day when all confess him as Lord. Some will confess him as Lord in adoration, others will confess him as Lord in defeat.

It all depends on the choice of surrender that you make today or do not. He is judged, the fact that he is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. It just simply means this, when it's all said and done, there's only one opinion that counts and it's the opinion of the one who conquered death. It's his opinion that counts. What does that look like in real life? Practically speaking, what does that mean in the day to day where the rubber meets the road as was said earlier? The fact that Jesus is seated at the right hand of the throne of God, that he is ruler and that he is judge.

It is only his opinion that counts ultimately. It reminds me of a Colombian evangelist who is down there working among the guerrilla revolutionaries, a Marxist group who is by definition atheist because it is Marxist and they're trying to bring this revolution to the country of Colombia. We're so glad you've joined us for Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. You can hear this message and others anytime by visiting our website, www.delightingrace.com. You can also check out Pastor Rich's book, Seven Words That Can Change Your Life, where he unpacks from God's word the very purpose for which you were designed. Seven Words That Can Change Your Life is available wherever books are sold. As always, tune in to Delight in Grace weekdays at 10 a.m. .