The Exalted Christ

Years ago, I was preaching in a church down south, and it was a Sunday morning service, and I was preaching on the subject of eternity and the judgment seat of Christ, and about midway through my message, a touch of God began to move in that congregation, a solemnity gripped the people, and it was as if a cannonball was shot down the center of that aisle. When I gave the invitation, I said something like this, Now friends, I don't normally give what is a traditional gospel invitation, but if you want to come down front and get serious with God, I will now ask the deacons of the church to come down front and counsel with you as you come. And I waited a few minutes, and nobody moved.

It was as if everyone was just frozen in their chairs. So after a while, I stepped down from the platform and took my seat on the front row of the church. The worship band came out, and they started singing very reverently, Holy, Holy, Holy, and something came over me.

I'm not an overly emotional person. I strongly refrain from any hand-waving in church and emotionalism. That's just not me.

But that morning, as the worship band sang, I felt strongly compelled, and I believe I was led by the Holy Spirit to do it. I got down on my knees on that hard floor, and I knelt there with my back to that congregation, and I raised my hands up over my head, and I just worshiped the Holy God, and I didn't care who was looking at me. Well, all of a sudden, things began to pop.

I heard feet coming up the aisle, and people were gathering at the front of the platform. A young man rushed up to me and started yelling, I just got saved, I just got saved, and he was jumping up and down like a yo-yo. I looked at him incredulously and said, you did? He said, yes, I've come out like this before, but this time, God really saved me.

I've been saved. And then after a while, the music minister walked up to me and said, did you see him? And I knew what he was talking about because I had seen him too, but I waited to hear it from his own lips. The music minister said, I saw Christ exalted on his throne, and all I could do was weep.

I said, I saw him too. Now, did we see a physical manifestation of Christ? No, we did not. But it sure felt like Christ was sitting on the throne and exalted because his presence came into that sanctuary for a little while, and it was overwhelming.

It was just a dewdrop of revival, but it showed me how when Christ returns to his church, he does it by reinstating his prominence and preeminence in his sanctuary. I saw that day in exalted Christ where he should be high and lifted up and reign in an authority and majesty as the head of the church. But the sad thing is, in many of our churches today, we've grieved away the presence of God through compromise and sin.

We have replaced God with worldly entertainments and man-centered programs. But if the church was operating as it should, there should be a God consciousness there all the time, and that's what revival does. Revival brings a God consciousness back to the sanctuary of God and reestablishes Christ as the exalted head of the church where all is under his authority.

The title of my message this morning, friends, is The Exalted Christ. Our preaching should be Christ-exalting. Our preaching should maintain a high view of God.

The passage of scripture which best illustrates this is found in the book of Revelation where the apostle John encounters the risen Christ. You may turn in your Bibles there now to the book of Revelation. We'll be in chapter 1 and verses 10 through 17 because this is the picture of the exalted Christ.

I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, and what thou seest, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia, unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me, and being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks, and in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girded about the paths with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool as white as snow, and his eyes were as a flame of fire, and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters.

And he had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength, and when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead, and he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not, I am the first and the last. Now friends, that's an exalted view of Christ. His glorious form appears to the Apostle John, and it's too much for the old boy.

He drops down as dead. I'll never forget the time I was sitting in a Baptist church listening to a seminary trained pastor who made the following comment. He said, I can't wait to get to heaven.

When I get to heaven, I'm going to walk up to Jesus and grab his hand and shake his hand and thank him for all he's done for me. Well, I guess that seminary trained pastor never read this passage in Revelation where the Apostle John encounters the risen Christ and falls down as dead. No, that foolish pastor's going to walk up to Jesus like he would walk up to a pal, like he'd bump into a deacon and pump his hand in a glad handshake and thank him for all he did.

And that's the problem in many of our pulpits today, where a low view of God is maintained and a high view of man is exalted. Listen, friends, we've shrunk God down to our size today or smaller, and we've lifted up our proud heads and we exalt ourselves. But the proper view of God must be maintained in our pulpits.

And that view should be a high view of God. We should all be preaching an exalted Christ. If we did that, maybe we'd have a chance at seeing revival come to our churches once again.

I like Matthew Henry's comments on this passage on the glorious form in which Christ appeared to the Apostle John. I wrote it down for you. Let me read you what Matthew Henry said about verses 13 through 16.

Number one, his garment, a princely and priestly robe denoting righteousness and honor. Number two, a golden girdle, the breastplate of the high priest on which the names of his people are engraven. Number three, hairs white like wool.

He was the ancient of days. Daniel 7, 9. His hoary head was no sign of decay, but was indeed a crown of glory. Number four, his eyes, a flame of fire piercing and penetrating into the hearts of men.

Number five, his feet like fine brass, strong and steadfast, supporting his own interest, subduing his enemies. Number six, his voice like many waters, as the sound of many rivers falling in together. Number seven, he had in his right hand seven stars, the ministers of the seven churches under his direction.

Number eight, out of his mouth came a two-edged sword, his word which both wounds and heals. Number nine, his countenance like the sun, its strength too bright and dazzling for mortal eyes to behold. I like that.

That's an exalted view of Christ. Oh, how I would desperately need an exalted Christ in our sanctuaries again. How I would need an exalted Christ to return once again to our land in a mighty spiritual awakening that would shake this nation from coast to coast.

A mighty outpouring of his grace that would make evil run for the shadows and hide like it used to when there was a God consciousness in the land during the great awakening under the preaching of men like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield. When Edwards was preaching in Enfield, Connecticut and thundering his sermon, sinners in the hands of an angry God, the people started to cry out, Oh, I'm going to hell. Oh, I'm undone.

Why? Because the spirit of God was attending the preached word. Out of his mouth came a two-edged sword. The presence of God was in that meeting in his awful solemnity and the people were undone.

I have visited that sacred spot in Enfield, Connecticut. It's marked by a large stone marker which states the meeting house stood on that spot until 1775. Now it's just an empty field.

But on July 8th, 1741, all hell was a popping in that little meeting house. Christ was being exalted and it was too much for the unconverted church members. It was said that some of the hearers, the soles of their feet became warmed as if hell itself was beneath them ready to devour them.

How we need Christ to be exalted like that again in our pulpits to thunder the law in the ears of sinners again to lift up an exalted Christ and preach with his authority. We need to preach Christ and him crucified and not fear what the good deacons are going to say. We need to bring back the bloody cross and the Christ who died there.

We need to preach man's duty of repentance and not be afraid of offending anybody. Every time Jesus preached, he made some people mad. John the Baptist preached such a hard message it cost him his head.

But we don't see revival today because the man in the pulpit, for the most part, is a jokester, an entertainer, a comedian who wants to make you laugh. He needs your approval or he can't preach. Listen friends, I don't need your approval.

I don't want your admiration. I want you to see a risen Christ and I want you to bow to him, repent toward him, do it now, repent or you will drop into hell. Jesus said, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

You better surrender to the claims of Christ on your life, friend. Take up your cross and deny yourself and follow him. He must be a complete master.

You must live under the lordship of Jesus Christ. He is a living Lord. He sits at the right hand of the Father and he earned that right by way of a bloody cross.

Bow your neck in subjection to him with all his rights and claims on you as a follower of him. Oh how I would need to preach an exalted Christ today. Let me tell you why Christianity differs from other world religions.

Listen, Buddha lived, died and was buried. Confucius lived, died and was buried. Muhammad lived, died and was buried.

Jesus lived, died and was buried. But he rose again. We serve a risen Lord.

Christianity was never built on a coffin lid. Christ is in glory right now. God has highly exalted him.

God set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places. For above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named. Not only in this world but also in the which to come.

And have put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the church. Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all. All in all Christ is exalted.

He is seated at the father's right hand. Administering his kingdom. Acting as our advocate.

He reigns. He reigns. Hallelujah.

He reigns. But there was a time when Christ emptied himself on our behalf. To lay aside that royal robe of glory and put on the rough hewn garments of man.

I remember J. Sidlow Baxter saying, How can a man full of himself preach a Christ who emptied himself? And that's true brother preacher. The exalted Christ must be restored to our pulpits once again. Christ must become prominent and preeminent in our sanctuaries once again.

Only a Holy Ghost revival will accomplish this friends. I pray that God would be pleased to pour out his spirit upon the land. Let me pray.

Oh Lord. How we need you. How we desperately need you in our places of worship once again.

Forgive us great God for replacing you with things of this world and childish entertainment. Oh ancient of days. Return to your church in your manifest presence.

Pour out your Holy Spirit upon the dry ground of your church in America today. Arouse your slumbering bride in your mercy. Oh Lord send us revival.

Let Christ be exalted in your church as he is exalted in glory. What you have done in former times through spiritual awakenings. Do again great God.

The sacrifice is ready Lord. Send now the fire. Do these things for thy namesake and for thy glory we pray.

Amen.