The Superiority of the Son Hebrews 1 Vs 5 14 1

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And a blessed Merry Christmas Eve to you all. This is, as believers, this is a special time of the year, and certainly every day we do worship our

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Lord and give praise to Him, but this is especially a unique time when we can celebrate the birth of our

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Lord. And it's also when we're out in the world and a lot of, they're seeing all the decorations and a lot of it's not necessarily thoughtful.

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I'm not talking about you guys, but not necessarily thoughtful about when you see the colors and the lights. They haven't paused to think about, why am

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I doing this? You know, what's behind all of this? And as Christians, it's wonderful to know that Christ is behind all of this.

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And it's Jesus's birth that we are celebrating. So it is a very special time.

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I wanted to bring to your attention just a couple of things. Bible study is going to be Wednesday, the 27th at 530 in the book of Jonah.

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And you can see pastor about that if you need instructions about how to dial in there online. And let's be praying for our missionaries.

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Some of them are some of them are serving in the states to support the field mission missionary.

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Some of our missionaries that we support are in the field and in foreign lands and different countries.

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And I think it's it may be a difficult time if they're not on stateside to be celebrating

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Christmas away just because they're away from that's family gatherings and things like that.

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Maybe children that are back in the states. But we can be praying for them that God would bless them where they're at and what they're doing and in their ministries abroad.

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And I see a men's fellowship breakfast. It's going to be January 6th at nine o 'clock, and I think that's all we have for announcements.

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Again, it's it's wonderful to be able to celebrate together as God has brought into this world light through his son,

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Jesus Christ. Without the light, we would not have life. And but God in bringing his light to us, we know that his judgment is coming, too, because he put to death sin because we have life in Christ.

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But that means he's also still going to judge those that have not accepted him.

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He's still the judge. And so as believers, we can be assured that we get to spend eternity with our

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Lord in in heaven. John 8, 12, says Jesus said, I am the light of the world.

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He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. And that's what

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I find so amazing and so wonderful. So let's let's go to the

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Lord in prayer. A gracious heavenly father, we thank you this morning that we do have the light of Christ.

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If we have put our faith and trust in you and your and your son, Jesus, that we can have life eternal, that we can give glory to you for forever and ever.

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But God, we pray as as we are still walking on this earth, that we would be faithful to what you have called us to do,

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Lord, especially this time of year. May may our lives be a testimony of who you are, of what your son did for us as he was born and later to die and be resurrected again to be at your right hand.

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Father, we thank you for the hope that we have in Jesus, Lord. We do not need to be fearful.

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We did not need to be afraid, but we can rest assured that we can commune with you, that we can be with you and we can be safe in your presence.

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So, God, this morning, I pray that as we lift our voices, as pastor comes with his word and message to us,

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Lord, that you would bless each one of these people here today, that we would be receptive and attentive to what you to your message, to what we are to learn is to know and to go about life,

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Lord. So, God, bless those that aren't here today that are traveling. Many people are out in different towns and different parts,

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Lord, and some are home sick. Father, we pray that you would help to heal them, help to give them rest and comfort, knowing that you are there in their midst.

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So, God, bless our time today. Thank you for each one that is here. And we give you praise in all things.

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In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. I love it. Let's stand together.

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We're going to you're going to see a little theme of angels today. God used angels as messengers to proclaim things, to command things, to direct things, to bring kind of a bridge between God and man.

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And that was very true when Jesus came into the world, when he was talking to Mary and Joseph and others.

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So a special role. They're not what kind of the world is, characterizes what an angel is.

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But we God use them to minister to us and to to be a messenger to us.

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So let's think about that as we sing these words together. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh morning morning this is the day the lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it scripture reading today is from psalms chapter 2 verses 1 through 12 the entire chapter psalms 2 why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the lord and against his anointed saying let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh the lord shall have them in derision then shall he speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure yet have i set my king upon my holy hill of zion i will declare the decree the lord has said unto me thou art my son this day have i begotten thee and i shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession thou shalt break them with a rod of iron thou shalt dash him in pieces like a potter's vessel be wise now therefore oh ye kings be instructed ye judges of the earth serve the lord with fear and rejoice with trembling kiss the son lest he be angry and ye perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little blessed are all they that put their trust in him may the lord add his blessing to the reading and hearing of his holy word still amazes me that people today some churches try to divide or separate and only focus on the new testament and kind of say the old testament is old and the new is for new but there's hundreds of passages that foretold and and prophesied that jesus's life is coming his death and his resurrection so it is extremely important as believers so let's stand together as we continue to sing angels we have heard.

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Angels, we have heard on high, Sweetly singing o 'er the plains,

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As in reply they spread,

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Noel's hymns ringing o 'er,

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Noel's hymns ringing o 'er.

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Please turn to Hebrews 1, chapter 1, verses 5 through 14. Hebrews 1, 5 through 14.

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A couple things before I read from Scripture. Lauren designed the pen here, and Savon actually designed the logo for our church.

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It's a beautiful logo, and Lauren designed the pen for the fonts and what goes on it, and I couldn't have done it myself.

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Designing is not my thing. So it's a Christmas gift to you all.

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Please take not just one, take a couple, a handful. There's so many, but it's a limited edition pen.

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Don't expect to get another pen next year. Second, I would like to read a thank -you card for the church.

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Dear Faith Bible Church, we're so grateful that we can serve and be a part of a compassionate,

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God -fearing, Christ -loving community. Thank you for your generous Christmas gift.

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We were shocked by your generosity. We appreciate how much you care for us, pray for us, and love us in so many ways.

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We could not think of a better church to call home. We thank God for guiding us here and keeping us here.

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We're excited to spend another special Christmas Eve with you all. Love always,

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Iljin, Lauren, and Baby. Thank you. All right, let me pray for us, and then we'll read.

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Father, we're thankful that Jesus Christ is the ultimate gift, and we're thankful that he is better than the angels.

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He is better than all other things combined. He is better than the whole world, and we are honored to celebrate the coming of your son,

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Jesus, today. And we pray that our hearts would be postured appropriately and our minds would be centered on how great your son is.

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In Jesus' name, amen. Hebrews 1, verses 5 through 14.

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For to which of the angels did he ever say, You are my son, today I begotten you? And again,

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I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. But when he again brings the firstborn into the world, he says,

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Let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels, he says, Who makes his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire?

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But to the son, he says, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom.

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You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. Therefore, God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions.

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And you, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.

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They will perish, but you remain. And they will all grow old like a garment.

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Like a cloak you will fold them up, and they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will not fail.

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But to which of the angels has he ever said, Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool?

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Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

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This is the word of the Lord. Now, when you ask around what

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Christmas is about, you will get various answers. You don't even have to ask around.

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People who are trying to sell you something will incorporate Christmas into their marketing and tell you what

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Christmas is all about. They will say it's about gifts, it's about decorations, time with family,

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Santa Claus, elves on the shelves. Our culture focuses on gifts while we forget the true gift of Jesus Christ.

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Our culture focuses on decorations and lights, but we ignore the light that entered into the dark world to save.

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Our culture perversely pushes Santa Claus on kids who creepily knows what you're doing and gives gifts in legalistic ways, whether even good or bad, while we forget the true grace of God in Jesus, who forgave us despite our lack of good deeds, despite our enmity toward Him, despite our sin, because He took on our sin for us on the cross.

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Grace and earning gifts through our good deeds do not go together. In the end, all of these answers, other than Christ, are just faint shadows at best.

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They are far below on the list of priorities on Christmas Day. And this is why

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I chose to preach from Hebrews 1, 5 through 14. We desperately need to see how worthy

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Jesus is. We desperately need to see how great He is. The book of Hebrews has a thread of themes going through the whole book, and that thread is

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Jesus is better. Jesus is better than the angels. That's how it starts.

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Jesus is better than Moses, chapter 2. Jesus is better than Joshua. Jesus is better than Aaron.

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Jesus is better than Melchizedek. Jesus is better than the Old Covenant. Jesus is better than the whole sacrificial system.

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Now, one may be wondering, it may be concise to just say Jesus is the best. However, I think the author of Hebrews is doing this rhetorically.

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Instead of just flat out saying Jesus is the very best, which is true, the author pits

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Jesus against things that are highly regarded in the Old Testament, and after comparing each figure and element with Christ, there's no contest.

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Jesus is better. Jesus is better. Jesus is better.

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And this morning, we need to see that Jesus is better. Jesus is better than all the gifts that the world can give.

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Jesus is better than Santa Claus. He's more gracious than he. Jesus is better than your family.

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Jesus is just better. In this text, this passage, the structure focuses on the angels.

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And the reason is the angels are highly regarded in the Old Testament in the Jewish culture.

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As Harold mentioned, they are sent from God to deliver God's message. They've announced the good news of Jesus' coming.

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They've given prophecies to the prophets. The angels were often the mouthpieces for God.

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Therefore, they were highly regarded. But what the author of Hebrews tells us, even with the structure of this text, that Jesus is better.

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Verse 5 starts with a rhetorical question that emphasizes the sun's superior position compared to the angels.

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And verse 13 ends with a rhetorical question to emphasize the sun's superior position.

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And in between, we have various Old Testament quotations that highlight the preeminence of the sun compared to the angels.

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The main point of today's text is that the divine sun is better than the ministering angels because he reigns righteously forever.

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The divine sun is better than the ministering angels because he reigns righteously forever.

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First, the sun divinely reigns while the attending angels worship him. The sun divinely reigns while the attending angels worship him.

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Verse 5 starts the argument as to why Jesus is better than the angels. The argument directly flows from verse 4, which

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I will read, as he has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. The reason why

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Jesus is better than the angels is that Jesus, the sun, has a more excellent name than they.

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And in this context, a more excellent name here is the sun. The sun. What's so special about that?

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Hence, the first verse to support this argument, why

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Jesus is better than the angels, is from Psalm 2 7, which was read to us this morning by David.

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For to which of the angels did he ever say, You are my son, today I begotten you? Before we unpack

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Psalm 2, it is important to talk about the biblical theology of sonship.

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While sonship is heavily tied to genetics in our culture, in ancient

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Israel, it was more functional. So if your dad was a baker, you were a baker.

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Your dad was a carpenter, you were a carpenter. Now, the key to understanding this sonship, the importance of Jesus' title as God's son, how that makes him superior to the angels, is the text,

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You are my son, today I begotten you. The key here is that the sonship is so tied to function and identity.

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Unlike the modern -day sonship, it's not about genetics. It's about function and identity.

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So this is not to say that, right, the angels are never called God's sons.

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After all, in Job 1 and 2, they are called, these heavenly creatures are called sons of God.

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However, in the context of Psalm 2, which the author quotes, only the Davidic king, the messianic king, is

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God's son because he has the authority to rule over God's covenant people as king.

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No angels are given that right. In that regard, angels are not sons of God like Jesus is.

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God has only chosen one human Davidic king to rule over his own people, and they're not angels.

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Hence, the begotten language is not about birth. The begotten language here is about Jesus' enthronement.

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It's about Jesus as king. It's about what he does.

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The Davidic king is truly functioning as God's son when he rules over God's people as God does.

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If you're the son of God, then you do what

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God does. And as the Davidic son, Davidic king, you rule over God's people as God does.

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That's what it means for Jesus to be called the son. The son does what the father does, and if your father is

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God, then logically, then you're God. The second verse quoted is from 2

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Samuel 7, 14, and it actually sets the context for Jesus' sonship. And again,

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I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. In the context of 2 Samuel 7, by this point,

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David has finally achieved peace in his kingdom. He's no longer a fugitive running for his life.

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He's no longer in the battlefield, and he's just captured Jerusalem, and he's looking outside, and he sees the tabernacle,

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God's dwelling tent, God's makeshift tent that can be folded up and transported at any point.

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And he sees himself living in a palace, not a tent, not running away, and he thinks to himself,

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I better build God a house. So he offers that to God. Let me build you a house, a temple.

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However, God rejects David's offer, and that's because, in one sense, only

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God gets to take the initiative for his redemptive history.

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He decides where history goes. And David, you're not the one.

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You have too much blood on your hands. But instead, God makes a pun intended offer.

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No, David, you will not build me a house, a temple, but I will build you a house, a dynasty.

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And this was a reassuring promise to David. After all, his immediate predecessor,

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Saul, didn't have a dynasty. He was unfaithful to God, so God removed him from the throne.

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His sons didn't rule after him. His son just gave up.

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Now, when God promises David regarding his offspring, I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son, the immediate context of 2

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Samuel 7, of course, refers to Solomon. After all, the rest of verse 14 makes it clear he cannot be the sinless son of God.

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I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the sons of men. Jesus did not have to be disciplined by the rod of men because he never sinned.

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However, the promise to David was not completely fulfilled by Solomon, because consider verse 16 of 2

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Samuel 7. This promise of eternal reign can be only fulfilled by two options.

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One is an eternal generation of sons. One king reigns, and his son takes over.

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That son reigns, and when he dies, his son takes over. It's on and over and over and over and over again.

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Now, we know that we haven't had a Davidic king on that throne since the

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Babylonian exile. So how would God's promise endure for his throne to be established forever?

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And that's the second choice. There is a Davidic king sitting on the throne who doesn't die.

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There is a Davidic king who lives eternally and is seated on the throne. The true

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Davidic king, who is truly God's own son, has to be Jesus Christ alone.

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Not angels. He is the eternal Davidic king who fulfills the promise made in 2

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Samuel 7. Not any of the heavenly hosts sit on that throne.

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And that's because Jesus is the son of God par excellence. There's no other son like him. Now, what is the angel's relation to the son?

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First, they're to worship the son. But when he again brings the firstborn into the world, he says, let all the angels of God worship him.

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The firstborn highlights the preeminence of the son rather than the birth order. Hebrews tells us the angels are commanded to worship the son.

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And this is actually a quotation from the Greek translation of Deuteronomy 32 -43. And it is in the context of the

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Song of Moses, the song that Moses sings of God's deliverance. And in the immediate context, the angels are to worship

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Yahweh, the Lord, God himself. However, the author of Hebrews applies to the worship of the son.

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This would have been blasphemous in Judaism. After all, they only believe in one

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God. How is this possible with one God?

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Yet, the angels are to worship the son just as they worship

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Yahweh. This is because Jesus is perfectly God's son, that he reflects the full glory of the

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Father. In fact, verse 3 of this chapter makes it clear, who being in the brightness of God's glory and the express image of his person.

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Jesus is the perfect representation of who God is. And he exudes the radiance, the full radiance of God's glory.

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No angels can do that. Jesus is the full representation of God the

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Father. When you worship the son, you worship the father. The angels worship the father just as they worship the son.

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In another sense, you cannot worship the father without worshiping the son. There can be no father without the son.

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Now, the second, the angels have a ministering purpose. And of the angels, he says, who makes his angels winds as he ministers a flame of fire.

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This is from Psalm 104, 4. It shows the angels' purpose in relation to God.

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Although they are heavenly beings, although they radiate light, although when they show up, everyone is scared, they're far from being equal to God.

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They are at God's disposal. They become whatever God wants them to be.

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They are to serve according to God's will, not according to their own will. Angels can take whatever shapes and functions

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God wants them to for his own purpose. The angels attend to God.

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The angels serve God. The angels serve the son.

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The divine son rules as God does. The angels serve him as his ministers.

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That's why the son is better than the angels. And when we read

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Hebrews 1, we have to be... We have to be intentionally misreading the text to miss that Jesus is better than the angels.

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Not only that, the son has to be God himself. All these Old Testament texts, other than Psalm 2 and then 2

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Samuel 7, they refer to God, but the author of Hebrews applies to Jesus.

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So Jesus has to be God. It is willfully blind to read

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Hebrews 1 and come out viewing Jesus as less than divine, less than God. Hebrews 1 is why rejecting

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Jesus because of the alleged testimonies from the angels is not only preposterous but extremely dangerous.

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Both Islam and Mormonism reject Jesus of the

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Bible because of the alleged angelic messages that reframe who

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Jesus is. This passage shows us that there is no other way to read who

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Jesus is. This passage shows us that there is a perversion in priority if you listen to these angels to reject the son as God himself.

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Second, our culture's focus on the angels instead of the son during the

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Christmas season is, in fact, greatly troubling. Focusing on the angelic announcements of the coming of the son rather than the son himself.

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That's why all of the angel hymns that we sing, they actually point to the son.

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We have to focus on the son, not what the angels do. It's what the son does.

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Focusing on the announcement of the arrival of the king rather than the king himself is deeply troubling. Out of all the houses in the fab 40s, if you go out there a little bit in the 40s, the streets, these million -dollar houses are decorated like no other.

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It's just a sight to see. Bright lights, colorful lights, big figures, moving figures.

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Now, out of all the houses in the fab 40s, there are countless angelic decorations.

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You can't miss them. Various kinds of angels. But only one, as far as I know, that points to the son, and that's a giant cross that lights up the night.

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You can't miss it. It's the main decoration of that house.

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Whoever lives there knows the true meaning of Christmas. It is not the angelic announcement that captures the glory and majesty of the coming of Christ, although they are beautiful, although they're shiny and light exudes.

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It is the humble king who died for sinners on the cross and rose from the dead that best capture his glory and majesty.

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No wonder Acts 13 .33 quotes Psalm 27 to prove that God's promises to ancient

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Israel is fulfilled in Christ's death and resurrection. Jesus ultimately and perfectly reflects

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God and his glory as his son when he dies for our sin and rises from the dead.

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God's action of reconciling sinful humans to himself through the death and resurrection of his son is his crowning victory.

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Jesus' resurrection seals his enthronement. Jesus' resurrection proves his unending rule.

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No angels have done that, and no angels can do that. That's why all of the angels must worship the son.

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Even though our culture may focus on the angels during this season, we have to know the true angels in heaven focus on the son, and so must we.

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Now, what characterizes the son's reign? The eternal, immutable son righteously reigns while the angels serve the people saved by the son.

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The eternal, immutable son righteously reigns while the angels serve the people saved by the son.

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Contrasting the angels' changeable states, right? He makes them flames of fire and winds.

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We focus on Christ's immutable reign. But to the son, he says, your throne,

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O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness.

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Therefore, God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions.

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This is from Psalm 45, verses 6 through 7, and it is traditionally a marriage psalm.

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It's a psalm that's read when there's a marriage, a wedding ceremony for a Davidic king, just any

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Davidic king. Here, the courtier, the one who is exclaiming the blessing to the king who is getting married, he characterizes the king's reign as forever righteous.

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A scepter is a rod. It's a kingly rod, a rod that a king would hold. And if you saw the crowning of King Charles, he had a rod.

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It's a kingly rod. It represents his authority to rule. And how is a

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Davidite supposed to rule? How is any Davidic king supposed to rule? Well, it is forever characterized by righteousness.

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Righteousness is ruling according to God's standards, not feelings or popular ideologies.

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Righteousness for a king or any ruler in that matter is that the ruler rules according to God's rule rather than human ideas.

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Now, what's astonishing is that this psalmist calls the Davidic king God. You cannot escape this in verse 9.

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You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. Therefore, God, your

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God, has anointed you. Wait. So there's God, who's the one getting married, and then your

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God, that's Yahweh, the God of Israel. He's anointed you,

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God. Now, Yahweh is the

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God of Israel who anoints a Davidic king to be God over Israel?

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This is very odd considering the fact that Jews actually make the distinction between God and His creatures.

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However, it is not unprecedented to call a human king God. The Israelites asked

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Moses to be God for them to speak on behalf of God rather than God speak directly toward them.

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In that sense, the Davidic king about to be married must rule over God's people on behalf of God.

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Now, how the author of Hebrews is using this psalm is this. According to D .A.

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Carson, a renowned New Testament scholar, if it is true of a weakened sense of a

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Davidite, just any offspring of David, how much truer is it for the ultimate

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Davidite, Jesus? It is not to establish the nature of ontology in Hebrews 1.

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It is to establish Jesus as king. So if the wedding wish for the righteous rule forever applies to any of the

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Davidic king who is about to be married and then Psalm 45 is read, how much more would that text apply to the ultimate

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Davidic king who is, in fact, ruling righteously forever as God?

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And now from the eternal righteous rule, Hebrews 1, 10 through 12, compare Christ's eternality compared to all of creation.

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And you, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.

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They will perish, but you remain, and they will all grow old like a garment, like a cloak you will fold them up, and they will be changed.

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But you are the same, and your years will not fail. Again, the author of Hebrews applies this psalm, which is

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Psalm 102. And, of course, the subject here is the Lord Yahweh himself,

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God of Israel, and he applies to Jesus. Jesus is

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Lord. Jesus is God of Israel. Verse 10 talks about the

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Lord's work in creation. He is the one who created all things.

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In fact, Jesus is the one who created all things. Notice angels were not part of God's creative work in any part of Scripture.

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Only the Lord is the creator, and the author of Hebrews makes clear that Jesus is also the creator.

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The heavens are the work of Jesus' hands, just as the heavens are the work of the Lord's hands.

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Verses 11 to 12 show the fleeting nature of all creation compared to God. They will perish, but God remains.

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The grandeur of the whole nature will one day perish, but God will not.

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They will change, but God will not. They will grow old like a garment, but God will not.

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And verse 12 shows how the whole created realm is at God's disposal. He folds them up like a robe.

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They're mutable, they're changeable, but God is not. God is immutable, he is unchangeable.

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This emphasizes the greatness of the Son, not only compared to the angels, who were changeable according to the previous part, but the rest of creation.

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Jesus is better because he doesn't change. Jesus is better because he doesn't change like the rest of creation.

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And that's comforting to us, because Jesus' love for you is unchangeable.

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Jesus' salvation accomplished on the cross is unchangeable. We change our minds like we'd flip the

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TV channels. Jesus doesn't. When Jesus saved you, when

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Jesus looked to you, and he loved you, and he chose to save you, when he died for your sin, and he rose from the dead, that's an unchangeable act.

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There's no sin that is too great that Jesus' unchangeable act cannot conquer, and that's eternal.

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And after establishing Jesus' eternal, immutable, righteous authority to rule, we return to the comparison of the

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Son and the angels. But to which of the angels has he ever said, sit at my right hand till I make your foot enemies your footstool?

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Verse 13 quotes Psalm 110, and this is directly messianic.

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It is talking about the Messiah. It is talking about the ultimate Davidic son.

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The Lord will one day place the Messiah at his right hand, and the right hand does not mean second in command.

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The right hand in the ancient Hebrew context is the place of honor. It's the place of authority.

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And only Jesus will be placed at God's right hand in the place of honor, in the place of authority.

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And the Lord will place everyone, whether they like it or not, under Christ's feet, which means a complete submission toward the

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Son. They will all submit to the rule of Jesus Christ. And the

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Lord in the Old Testament directly promises the reign of Jesus Christ, not the reign of angels.

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Now, what then is the purpose of the angels? Hence, verse 14 asks the rhetorical question.

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Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? They're not to rule.

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That position is taken. That throne has a person there. They're to minister those who belong to the

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Son. They're to minister those who inherit salvation with the

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Son. They're sent by the king to serve his people. Jesus is better than the angels because he is king and they are his servants.

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And this is comforting to us because we live in a day and age where our politicians, presidents, senators, and congressmen, judges, are fallible men and women.

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They're sinners. Even the very best are limited by terms or deaths, whichever comes first.

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And nowadays we know many of them are both bought in, paid for by various interest groups who are against our interests.

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And we know many of them don't have the interests of this nation or even you.

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Then you may ask, what do you think the best form of government is? Are you saying the constitutional republic is not the best form of government?

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To that I say the best form of government is absolute monarchy under the

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Son. God has placed a king on the heavenly throne whose rule is eternally righteous.

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The Son cannot be bribed. He made the world. What can the world give him?

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He cannot be deceived. He is omniscient. His righteousness perfectly aligns with God's law.

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His rule is impossible to oppose. Even his enemies will submit to him.

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Not only that, his rule will have no end. This job position is filled forever.

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He is not limited by terms or deaths. And now why is this comforting?

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For those who belong to Jesus, for those who trust that Jesus died on the cross for you and that was the only possible way in which you can be forgiven and that he rose from the dead, for those of you who are on that list, the whole heavenly hosts, under Jesus' command, serve you.

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The whole of heaven, all the angelic hosts minister to you by the order of the

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Son. You may not have a single representative speaking on your behalf in Washington, D .C.,

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and you may not have had that for decades if you've been living in California for a while.

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And you may feel left behind by where this nation is going, but if you belong to Jesus, you have a king who is the commander -in -chief of all the heavenly armies looking out for your very salvation.

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He sends the angels to serve you, minister to you, protect you, because he is the one in charge.

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And to make it to this list, you don't have to be nice. In fact, the fact that you know you're not on the nice list is the first requirement to belong to this king.

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The fact that you know that you're naughty, sinful, and that there's nothing you can do to be on that nice list is one of the first requirements, because that will lead you to see the one who has taken your place to suffer

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God's wrath, the judgment that you've earned for all the sins you've committed, the one who took your place so that you could take his place and be forgiven and be declared righteous.

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To be part of Jesus' list, the inheritors of salvation, you don't have to be on Santa's nice list.

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You just have to be on the forgiven list. Let us pray.

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Father, we're thankful that Jesus is better than the angels, and even all the angels serve him, for his kingdom, for his people.

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And we're thankful that he calls us his own. And we're thankful that his reign is eternally righteous, and we wait for the full consummation of that.

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And we eagerly long for the second coming of your son. In Jesus' name, amen.

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I wanted to just thank the pastor for his message this morning. And for any that have not committed their lives to Christ, today is a good day, that the

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King of Kings does bring salvation. And we can rest in that. And he does.

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And all of this that we celebrate, and all of this, there's a meaning behind it. And it's having everlasting life with our

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Lord. So, please consider that today. What child is this? Please stand with us.