Now, as the Irishman said, before I commence, I'd like to say a few words. Every other time I've come here, it's sort of being with somebody else preaching afterwards. So I had to really finish on time. But this time, I guess the sky is the limit. And I really want to say thank you to you all for your welcome and fellowship and for the joy of being with you. I've really enjoyed it, and I'm quite sure all the rest of those who've ministered to you have. And it's a great privilege for me to be with these men and to enjoy their ministry and to really learn from them lessons that will be a great blessing in my own life in days to come. And out of appreciation of all their ministry, I happen to come across this little piece of paper, and I thought I should read it to you. It's not really poetry. It's sort of doggerel, but I guess it was around. And it said, There was a man whose name was John. He talks of missions on and on. In many works he has a part, enthusiastic, brother smart. He guides the male Bible school. He helps in his assembly's rule. He edits missions magazines. Enjoyed his talks with Willie Deans. Of missionaries there are reams, but few compare with brother Deans. At Yim Kundi, you can see the fruit of Calver's rugged trees. He's been in Africa forty years. He's reaped in joy and sown in tears. His ministry is geared to shake. He urged us all to stay awake. And now a word read by the star, the editor who travels far. He gets quite half on interest. His ministry is really blessed. He came one day from Newfoundland to live in Mayor Daly's land. He left the realm of maple leaf, we hope he does not come to Greece. Flight hoses in the desert hush, we've seen him press with burning bush. And even David with his sling would not make George's armor sting. And now we go our several ways to live for Christ and sing his praise. Let's hope that all we thought and said will reach our heart, not just our head. So thank you all for your welcome and God bless you. By the way, that's not the poem for interest next month. Let's read from Colossians chapter one. I think you're very patient people, so you really deserve the break. Colossians chapter one, and we'll read from verse twelve, a wonderful passage of scripture reminding us of the headship of Christ. It says, giving thanks unto the Father, who made us partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins. Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every... creature. For by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth visible and invisible. Whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by him and for him. And he is before all things. And by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence. Let us pray together. Father, we do pray that our Lord Jesus Christ may have a first place in all our lives, and in those local churches of which we're apart. And we pray that through the reading of the living Word of God, the Holy Spirit may again reveal the Lord Jesus to us. If there are some here tonight who do not really know Him personally, may their hearts be open to receive Him. And if there are some of us who are aware that Jesus Christ is not the Lord in our life, then may we, whate'er the idol be, tear it from His throne and worship Jesus Christ. Oh God, thank you for all we've heard and for all those wonderful things that are happening around the world as your servants minister the name of Jesus. grant that from this evening we may live and walk worthy of Christ. In his name we pray. Amen. Our subject this evening is Christ, the head of the church. If I may, I'd like to suggest a slight alteration in that title to Christ. the risen head of the church. I think it is important to realize that our Lord Jesus Christ was not only the foundation stone and chief cornerstone as founder of the church, but that he is still the living head of his church. And if we talk about this subject tonight, we would like, first of all, to see how the fact of Christ's headships is stated in Scripture. In the passage we read, we had a marvelous unfolding of the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul wrote, he is the head of the body, the church, the beginning, the source, if you will, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the first place. Writing to the Ephesians in chapter one and verse twenty two he says of Christ he is head over all things to the church. In chapter five and twenty three of that same letter Christ is the head of the church being himself the savior of the body. In Colossians two and verse nineteen we read of people who were not holding the head from whom all the body being supplied and knit together through the joints and bands increases with the increase of God. Stated in its simplest terms, the doctrine of the headship of Christ means that Jesus Christ is the sovereign Lord of His redeemed people. Whether viewed individually or corporately, Jesus Christ is Lord. Whether we view the church universally or locally, Jesus Christ is Lord. Perhaps we hardly realize what this phrase meant as spoken by the primitive Christian church. For them to confess that Jesus Christ was Lord might mean death itself. The popular thing to say was Caesar is Lord. that the Christians said, Jesus Christ is Lord. He is the Lord or the head in the sense of being the source of the church, that is the past. He is the head in the sense of being the sustainer of the church, that is the presence. He is the head in the sense of being the savior of the church, and that his future. He is head over all things to the church. As far as the installation of Christ as head is concerned, we may say that he was considered eternally by God the Father to be head of the church. I think that's the intent of Paul's words to the Ephesians when he says in chapter two that, or in chapter one rather, And verse twenty-two, he gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body. But historically speaking, it would seem that at our Lord's ascension he became the head of the church. He ascended as the risen Lord. And as he ascended, our glorious head, the Holy Spirit descended. and incorporated believers into his mystical body. This, of course, is the significance of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. This was the fulfillment of the imagery of the Old Testament feast of Pentecost. This feast at the beginning of the barley harvest, this feast that spoke of the in-gathering is suggestive of the fact that the day of Pentecost was the beginning of the harvest, resulting from the death of our Lord Jesus Christ and his being glorified. When we think of the spheres of this sovereignty of our Lord Jesus Christ, we may say on the basis of Colossians chapter one that he is the Lord of the universe. Did you notice those words? Paul wrote. In him were all things created. He is before all things, and in him all things cohere. He is the head of the Universal Church, as we've already noted in Ephesians chapter one and verse twenty-two. It would seem also that he is the head of the local church, and this is surely the emphasis of Paul's word in one Corinthians chapter one, where you will read, Unto the Church of God, which is at current, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called in, with all that in every place, call upon the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, and theirs. For after all, the Church is a theocracy. In it God rules. It is not an autocracy. nor is it a democracy. It is a theocracy, and Jesus Christ is Lord. Then Christ's headship is illustrated, and we have noted before that Scripture is full of pictures to illustrate the headship of Christ in his church, his glorious supremacy. For example, in the illustration of the head and the body. We have the illustration from our physical body of Christ and his church. We were hearing about that from Mr. Starr. There's another picture used of a king and his kingdom, and we are said to be translated into the kingdom of the Son of his love. Colossians Then there is the picture of the husband and his wife, which is already being discussed in Ephesians five, twenty-five and thirty-two. There is the picture of the shepherd and his flock in John ten and verse sixteen, referred to I think in Hebrews thirteen, twenty and one Peter five and verse four, where he is described as the great shepherd and the chief shepherds, respectively. Perhaps the picture of the high priest and the royal priesthood reminds us again of the sovereignty of Christ. Hebrews chapter three, verse one, and one, Peter two, verses five and nine. Then, of course, the cornerstone in the temple, in Ephesians two, and one, Peter two, and verse five. Perhaps that illustration of the head and the body, speaking of our physical body, is the one that illustrates best the complete control and sovereignty and headship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul uses that interesting device in one Corinthians chapter twelve, where he presents this illustration of personifying the various members of the body. And as we heard this morning, He supposes that they are talking to each other and suggesting that they ought to have this place or that place, or that because they do not have that place, then they don't really belong. Did you notice the phrase, the head cannot say to the feet, I have no need of you. Now that, of course, applies primarily in the figure of that chapter to the physical head and the physical feet. But to me it's a wonderful word concerning the Lord Jesus and his interest in me. The head cannot say to the feet, I have no need of you. Perhaps you've heard the missionary illustration of this particular phrase. I think it was Mr. Tiernitz Wilson that I heard tell this story about a missionary who was suddenly face to face with a lion. You know, we were always fascinated by those missionary stories when they included a lion. This particular missionary, he came around the corner in the jungle and here was the lion. And he said, for the minute he didn't know quite what to do, but he raised his rifle and he pulled the trigger and he missed. And then said, Mr. Wilson, this illustrates the fact that the head cannot say to the feet, I have no need of you. Well, it may be figurative and it may be metaphorical, but you know, quite literally, in a spiritual sense, Christ is the head of the body. This is not simply an illustration. It's a fact that Jesus Christ is the head of his mystical body, the church. Don't think of it simply as a picture that's trying to convey something. He actually is the living head of his church. Now, thirdly, how is Christ's headship demonstrated? How is the abstract truth of the headship of Christ made concrete, real for us? For example, in the local church. Now, if you don't understand those words, abstract and concrete, again, maybe I should illustrate it. There was a man who had laid a new cement path to his house. And this man was in bed, and of course, next day he expected that his beautiful new path would look just smooth and clean. Unfortunately, he had forgotten that before the time of his going to bed and finishing the path, the newspaper boy would come. And of course the newspaper boy delivered the evening paper. He usually ran right at the path and threw it at the door, which he did. Of course he found himself in a bit of a mess. But in the morning when the man sort of put his head out and looked at what had happened, was he mad? And his wife said to him, but my dear, you don't have to be mad at that boy. After all, you've told me always that you love boys. Well, he said, I love them in the abstract, but not in the concrete. See, that's the difference between something abstract and something concrete. Not really, but it means that something that's theoretical suddenly becomes practical and real. Now, how is this made practical down to earth in the life of the assembly? Well, we speak about Christocentric churches, and by this we mean that if you really believe in the headship of Christ, you will believe this, that each church is responsible to and representative of Christ. You will understand that no human being is to be regarded as head or in charge of the church. Of course, this is not to deny the scripturally recognized pattern of godly elders. it will become obvious that all oral and practical ministry in the local church will be under the control of Christ as its chief shepherd and head. Christ as head will supply each local church as exercise before him with gifts requisite for its maintenance and its witness and testimony. The Lordship of Christ will be expressed and exercised by the Holy Spirit through the Scriptures. Christ is the source and sphere and goal of each local church. Now I wonder if in your local church Jesus Christ is recognized as Lord. What about our acceptance of the headship of Christ? It's one thing for us to see it stated in Scripture, to see it illustrated in Scripture and to say that it's demonstrated in the church. But are we prepared to accept the headship of Christ? It's one thing to believe in this truth. In an academic way, it is an altogether different thing to accept this practically in our churches and in our homes and in our lives. Because these are the areas in which we can demonstrate our acceptance. Ephesians one verse twenty two and twenty three suggests that the church is the fullness or the complement of hymns that fill us all in all. In other words, Christ wants to work through us and we are the means he employs to express his light in the world today. He has no hands but our hands to do his work today and so on, says the hymn writer. And there is a sense in which if we will accept his headship in a church, our local church will become effective in doing his work. It will mean total involvement. It will mean total personnel involvement. It will mean all of us serving Christ. How sad it is to see so many Christians either too busy or too lazy or too ambitious, or too greedy. We are more concerned about our own advancement and prestige than we are about the glory of Jesus Christ, it would seem. Are we prepared, for example, to accept the authority and guidance of those who are under shepherds in the Church? We were reading this afternoon that we are to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. What is your attitude to those who are elders in your local church? We are responsible to use our gifts. and we are responsible to Christ. It's not that we're responsible to that group, nor to the elders. We are responsible to Christ. He is the head. We are his members. Here's a quotation from the book called God's Church by Alan Stibbs. He says, Also, while some functions may seem more important or gain more prominence in the eyes of men, all are necessary. nor are some less directly in touch with Christ than others, and so more dependent on some of their fellow Christians than on Christ himself. For while Christians do in measure all depend on one another, they all primarily depend upon the living Christ himself, and draw light and grace directly from him through faith alone. He is the one high priest over the house of God. Also, they all enjoy as priests equal and full access to God in Christ. So there is in the Church of Christ no priesthood limited, as in the Old Israel, to a select class. The priesthood is a priesthood of all believers. He's an Episcopalian minister. Mr. W.E. Vine writes in his book, The Church and the Church's Only when Christ has his rightful place in the local church can it be constituted according to God's design. The measure in which his authority over a local church is recognized by it is the measure of its spiritual vitality and power. What about our home and family? It was a joy for me to visit a family last week A family that has recently come along to the local church where we enjoy fellowship. And the husband was formerly in a local dance band, quite well known in the city. And he was showing me around his house. He showed me the bar that he had built. And up behind the bar, against the mirror on the wall, were all kinds of different shaped glasses. You wouldn't know what they were used for, of course. like me. But I said to him, well, that's interesting, Mike. He said, yes. And when I built this house, this was the thing that meant so much to me, to build this bar so that I could entertain all my friends. So as I looked around past all the glasses, now there was a big text and it said, Christ is the head of this house. He said, man, is that a conversation piece now? I can believe it. It's a dry bar now. But I wonder, is Christ the head of our house? It's one thing to put a little text on the wall, isn't it? It's another thing to accept the very principle of headship in our marriage and in our family. You've heard about the chain of command. God is the head of Christ, and Christ is the head of man. And then husbands and wives. in that order, and then parents and children in that order. Now we've been reminded, of course, that Paul is very tactful in his approach to this subject in his epistles. But I wonder if we recognize this sort of thing. Are we prepared to accept in principle and reality the headship of Christ? whether or not you wear something on your head. I can remember being in an assembly where I couldn't see the preacher because of the hat behind which I sat. But boy, did that lady run the assembly. See, it's the principle of recognizing that Jesus Christ is Lord that matters. Is there a family altar in your home? Is your daily schedule, so full that you don't have time to pray. Is the Word of God a closed book in your house? Are there such divine patterns as righteousness and truth and love and discipline in your home? What about your personal life? Remember, every member of the body stands in direct relation to Christ the head. It is not enough, said Jesus, to call me Lord, Lord. It's better rather to do my will and prove that I am your Lord. To use Peter's phrase, we must sanctify in our hearts Christ as Lord. Does it mean in terms of Romans twelve and one that we must present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God? Yes, this is our reasonable service. It means that we shall say, Lord Jesus, you take the throne of my life. Not in some passing moment of emotion, but in the everyday routine of our life to be acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord. Put him on the throne. Allow his Holy Spirit to direct your life. There is in the north of England a little town called Huddersfield. You may know the name because of the famous Huddersfield Coral Society that sings the Messiah so beautifully. Well, there once lived in the town of Huddersfield, an old Quaker man. called John. And apparently, a very rich man wanted to buy all of the town of Huddersfield. It really wasn't much of a town then, it was just a village, but he wanted to buy it all so that he could say, this is all mine. And he bought it all, except the little cottage in which John the Quaker man lived. And he came to John and he said, John, I own all this town. except your house and I'm prepared to pay you any price you ask. Well, he said, all right, cover my kitchen table with gold. Well, he said, it's as good as done. And he said, cover the kitchen table with gold. Gold coins, sovereigns. And then old John looked at him, but he said, I meant that you had to stand the coins on edge. Well, he said, that's ridiculous. Nobody could do that. I said, that's my price. You said you'd pay it. Well, he said, I won't pay that. And he stormed out of the house and down the path. And he slammed the garden gate. And old John called after him and he said, Sir, remember, this town belongs to thee and me. Now, when I heard a preacher tell that story, for the first time, he said, Is it possible that Satan can say to the Lord Jesus, that life belongs to thee and me? I've got a foothold in there. Is Jesus Christ really the head? In the sense that he is the Lord of your life, is he really in control when you've been flying on one of those great jet liners? Have you been so annoyed because you've been five minutes, six, ten minutes late, thirty minutes late, an hour late, and the thing has gone round and round, and you've said, why doesn't he take this thing down? Well, now while the captain is in charge of that airplane, he is not in control of its movement. There's somebody else who tells him what to do. Now, you don't know, and maybe he doesn't know, all the circumstances. that are preventing the landing. But fortunately, there's somebody in control. And on that giant computer screen, that man is watching the movements of all those other airplanes. And so there's no collision. Because they're all under the control of the man in charge. You know why we have problems in some of our local churches? Why are our frictions and fisms? Because we aren't all recognizing... the orders from the man who is in control. Perhaps to use the words of Paul, we are not holding the head. He may mean something slightly different in that context, but this is the thought that if we will accept the Lordship of Christ in our lives, then the headship of Christ will be obvious in the assembly and in our home. Jesus Christ is Lord. As I thought of this title, Christ the Head of the Church, I thought of the words of Wesley's great hymn, and he wrote so many beautiful hymns that he sings like this. Rejoice the Savior reigns, the God of truth and love. When he had heard our sins, he took his seat above. Lift up your heart. List up your voice. Rejoice again, I say, rejoice. His kingdom cannot fail. He rules over earth and heaven. The keys of death and hell are to our Jesus given. He sits at God's right hand till all his foes submit and bow to his command and fall beneath his feet. Lift up your heart, lift up your voice. Rejoice again, I say, rejoice. Rejoice, but save your reign. Now, is that really true in your life? If not, as we bow together in prayer, let us make the necessary adjustments so that Jesus Christ is Lord. Let us pray. Our Father, we pray that the Lord Jesus Christ may have the first place in our lives, in our homes, in our assemblies. We are so glad that His Lordship is in no way contingent upon our acceptance. He is Lord. we are sad to think that we may miss the blessing of His Lordship by not allowing Him to reign in our hearts. Oh God, if there are some of us here tonight who sense in this moment that there is sin in our lives, that secret, no, no, me to ourselves, that is cursing the Lord Jesus, grieving the Holy Spirit. May we in this moment confess it and believe that we are forgiven and cleansed and restored. If there is a brother or sister here to whom we should speak in apology, help us to do it. If we have to go back to our home assembly and shake hands with a brother or sister we haven't spoken to for a long time, help us to it. Oh God, as we have been reminded so forcibly in these days, it is time for us to awake out of sleep. May we not be ashamed before you at your coming. May Jesus Christ be praised. Amen.