Jump Start # 303

Philippians 2:10-11 “so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in Heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

  Every—Paul likes that word in this verse. He uses it twice—every knee and every tongue. Similar words are found in Romans fourteen where Paul talking about the judgment says, “As I live says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall give praise to God’ (14:11).  Every knee…every tongue. Everybody!

  Let’s think about that for a moment. Never has everyone been together—never. Even in some families it is hard to get everyone gathered at meal time. We are spread out, busy and going many directions. More than that, the history of our lives do not allow us to all be together. We have never been with Abe Lincoln—impossible. He lived and died long before any of us were around. What about Napoleon? Nope. The Caesar’s? No. This will be the grandest gathering of all. Notice from our verse where they are coming from: Heaven (possibly the angels), the earth (those alive), those under the earth (those departed). God has not left anyone out. Every knee…every tongue—living and dead. What a once in history event this will be. And you won’t miss it, you’ll be there.

  Also notice, that everyone is doing the same thing. Every knee is bowed and every tongue is confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord. Have you ever had a group photo taken with a whole bunch of people? Was everyone smiling? No. Usually someone is looking off in space, someone has their eyes closed, some kid is pitching a fit. Can’t get the group to do the same thing. More than that, it is hard to get a group of people to all agree. Try to pick a place to go out to eat? That’s hard sometimes. Does everyone agree with the President? No. Has everyone ever agreed with any president? No. What about movies? No. What about sports teams? No. What about best song of all time? No. What about favorite vacation spot? No. Desert? No. Book of the Bible? No. The one thing we all agree upon is the fact that we don’t agree. But the day is coming where every knee will bow. That is a sign of reverence and respect. It shows that Jesus is the King of Kings. Does every knee bow for Jesus today? No. Some defy Jesus. Some deny Jesus. Some curse Jesus. Some if given the choice, would stand in rebellion. But a day is coming when every knee shall bow. Also, every tongue will confess. Paul is not giving us details such as, one by one we will confess, or all of us together. I tend to think it will be a united confession. Interesting, we all don’t speak the same language in the world, but every tongue shall confess.

  At that grand day there will be no doubters. No atheists will remain atheistic, even their knees shall bow and their tongues shall confess. This brings questions to our minds, such as, “How is God going to do this?” “Is He going to force us?” The Bible teaches that when Jesus comes, there will be a shout from an angel, Jesus will appear in the sky with all the angels, myriads and myriads of angels. This won’t be like a movie. This won’t be like anything else anyone has ever seen. This event will remove all doubt. Is Jesus real? We’ll know then. Is He God? We’ll know then. There will be no escaping, there will be nothing more important.

  Those who haven’t known Jesus or followed Him, will beg for mercy. Those that have loved and followed and longed for this day, tears will streak their faces as they see their Savior coming to take them home. There is an old hymn we sing that says, “There’s a great day coming, a great day coming…”

  Jesus Christ is Lord. God declared that. The Bible teaches that. And it is up to us to believe that. Accepting that is life changing. It alters the direction of your life. It puts God at the helm of your heart. Your focus becomes His focus. You realize that you were made on purpose for His purpose. You can bow your knee, your head and your heart now to Christ and follow His words, and imitate His ways and long for the joyous day when He comes, or, you can just keep on doing what you are doing. But know this, a day is coming in which every knee, that includes my knees and your knees and every tongue, including my tongue and your tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord. There is a great day coming.

  Won’t that be marvelous? Every knee and every tongue…It won’t be something in which I’ll think, “I wish my kids could have been here to see this.” They will be there. Parents, too. The goofy cousin. The neighbor. The boss. The mailman. The doctor. The news anchor on TV. The athlete. The superstar. The folks from church. The people from down home. There won’t be anyone who missed it. There won’t be anyone who was out of town or sick that day and couldn’t be a part of it. Everybody from everywhere—all bowing…all confessing. Jesus finally getting His honor for all creation!

  There is a great day coming!

Roger