Trey H. Little

Sermon Text:  Revelation 4

November 21, 2010

Albany, Texas

“CSI: Albany”

I want to invite you to open your Bibles to Revelation 4—this one should be easy to find—just turn to the last book of the Bible and look for Chapter 4.

Charles Schultz was a genius with his Peanuts comic strip.  The other day I was reminded of one that came out several years ago just a few days before Thanksgiving. Lucy’s feeling sorry for herself and she laments, “My life is a drag.  I’m completely fed up.  I’ve never felt so low in my life.”

Her little brother Linus tries to console her and he says, “Lucy, when you’re in a mood like this, you should try to think of things you have to be thankful for; in other words, count your blessings.”

To that, Lucy says, “Ha!  That’s a good one! I could count my blessings on one finger!  I’ve never had anything and I never will have anything.  I don’t get half the breaks that other people do.  Nothing ever goes right for me!  And you talk about counting blessings!  You talk about being thankful!  What do I have to be thankful for?”

Linus says, “Well, for one thing, you have a little brother who loves you.”

With that, Lucy runs and hugs her little brother Linus as she cries tears of joy.  And while she’s hugging him tightly, Linus says, “Every now and then, I say the right thing” (Leonard Sweet).

What kind of mood are you in this morning?  Are you counting your blessings or are you feeling sorry for yourself?

I think Revelation 4 says just the right thing on this “Christ the King” Sunday—and this Sunday prior to Thanksgiving.  Listen now to the word of God.

            We don’t watch a lot of television in the Little house.  In fact, at least when it comes to Leslie and me, we seldom watch television before the 10 o’clock news—and even then I am usually flipping back and forth between the news and Sportscenter.  However, there is one show that has the potential to shut down all operations in the Little house—CSI.  You can be in Miami on Sunday night; Las Vegas on Thursday night; and New York on Friday night.  . 

Crime Scene Investigation—that is the premise of the show.  They go to the scene of the crime and they gather all the evidence they can and use all of their high-tech equipment to find out “who done it.”  Have you ever noticed how smart they are—they always figure it out—and they do so in an hour—simply incredible!

This Sunday, in the life of the Church, is what is called “Christ the King” Sunday.  A day we remember and celebrate the supremacy and all surpassing reign of Christ in our lives and in the world.  And as I considered this day I found myself wondering if Christ truly is our King?  Is He truly the Lord of our lives?  What if there was a CSI: Albany—what if we thought of CSI: Albany as “Christ Scene Investigation?”  A reality show where the premise was to search every aspect of our lives for evidence that Christ was on the scene—what evidence would the investigators find?

Would they find evidence in our homes?  Would they find evidence in our workplaces?  Would they find evidence in our relationships?  Would they find evidence in our checkbooks? Would they find evidence in how we raised our children?  Would they find evidence here at MMPC?

As we look at Revelation 4—there is an abundance of evidence showing that Christ is the King of Kings.  What a breathtaking picture that is painted—a door standing wide open—inviting anyone who would choose to walk right in.  Trumpets sounding—day and night—all those present would never stop saying “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come” (v. 8).  They are falling down on their knees in complete awe and wonder and worship of the King.  They recognize that they are not the king—and so they lay their crowns before the throne and say:  “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being” (v. 11).

Case closed!  Slam dunk!  Guilty!  Throw away the key!  I can just hear Horatio Caine saying in the annoying voice of his:  “You don’t stand a chance—we’ve got you!”

27.9% of the world’s population has no believers living among them.  2 billion people have no humanly possible opportunity to hear the Gospel today.  98% of American church giving goes mostly to paying mortgage payments for buildings.  More money is embezzled by church leaders than is spent on reaching un-reached people (from Jambo/Salaam—East West Ministries).

What a perfect alibi.  A quick look at those statistics gives us the defense plea we need—the proof that we were somewhere other than at the Christ Scene.  But so too are other alibis being played out every day in our lives.  In the workplace when we fudge on our taxes or take advantage of an unsuspecting customer.  Or how about at school when we glance over at the “A” student’s paper during an exam.  Or how about at church when we choose not to volunteer because we are just “too busy” or we choose not to give financially because times are just “too tough.”  Or how about when we are asked to follow the rules that have been set before us and rather than adhere to them we act as if we are the victim when we break them.

Friends, this morning I want to challenge you break the rules of this world and to consider being a criminal for Christ.  I want to encourage you to live so radically for Jesus that if being a Christian was a crime you would be totally busted—and I want to challenge you to begin with the three most visible areas in your life.

First, let Christ be the King of your relationships.  Whether it is your marriage; a relationship with a friend; or your relationship with your children—surrender them to Jesus and allow Him to be the King of them.  Allow Him to make the decisions in your relationships—decisions that would bring glory to His name not yours.  If you are worried about your children and might they might do or not do—trust Jesus when He said, “Do not worry—but seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness.”  If there are anger issues in your relationships—allow Christ the King to remind you of the grace and forgiveness He has shown you and convict you to show the same to your spouse.  Too many relationships have taken The King out—I want to say to you this morning—bring the King back in. 

Second, let Christ be the King of your finances.  Listen, there is no question that all of us have been impacted by the difficulties in the economy.  Many of us have lost our jobs because consumer spending has declined in such drastic fashion.  Many of us have felt the sting on our investment portfolios and what used to look good on paper no longer seems worth the paper it is printed on.  Many of us have leveraged ourselves so high that we feel a tremendous since of stress trying to figure out how in the world we are going to make ends meet.  Friends—it doesn’t matter what the economy is doing—Christ is still the King and I am convinced the King provides for His people.  The question we need to ask ourselves is this:  “Do we believe His provision is sufficient?  Will we continue to be good stewards of our resources—tithing to the ministry of Jesus Christ—giving to those in need—whatever He may call us to do—even when times are tough and especially when times are good?  You see, if He is the King of your finances—then He makes the decisions of what you do with the resources He has entrusted to you.

Finally, let Christ be the King of your time.  How is managing your time working for you?  How are you doing with trying to fit 26 hours into a 24 hour day?  How many of you have said in the last 24 hours:  “I am tired.  I need a break.  When can we just have a minute to just stop and breathe?”  Throughout the Gospels we read of what a great time manager Jesus was.  He knew when it was time to work and when it was time to rest.  He knew when it was time to play and when it was time to pray.  He knew when it was time to listen and when it was time to speak.  I am pretty sure He knows what is best for us as well.  However, if we spend all of our time for US—when will we have time for Him?  If we continue to live life like it is a sprint race—like we have to go full speed all the time or risk losing—then we will miss precious time with the King.  I challenge you to spend some time on your knees in prayer asking the King of time to plan your day for you—down to the last second.  Allow Him to make time in your day for prayer, for reading, for worship, for play, for work, for love and for life. 

Let me close with this—it is a story I read in one of my devotionals this week.  “Edward VIII was elevated to the throne on January 20, 1936 as a bachelor.  He reigned less than a year before making public his intention to marry and elevate as queen Mrs. Wallace Simpson, an American citizen whose second divorce was then pending.  A storm of protest quickly raged across the nation.  So Edward chose to abdicate his throne.  To the shock of the world, he gave up his throne and power and glory for the one he loved” (God Issues, Dr. James C. Denison).

Is Christ the One you love? 

Then why not shock the world by giving up your throne, your power and your glory in order that He will know the depth of your love for Him?

Pay attention—wherever you are is a “Christ Scene.” 

AMEN