The King and the Kingdom

November 23, 1997

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness...

We've come full circle through another church year. But we aren't simply going around in circles. God's people are headed for glory! Real faith is going somewhere! And the reason is— JESUS CHRIST IS KING OF KINGS!

The idea of God as Sovereign is not particularly popular because it reveals God as God not the servant of man's ambitions. Even though God is love, and gave Jesus to die for us, WE are not the center of the Universe! This is a God-centered creation! It is RIGHT for us to worship and bow down before our great KING!

Three Old Testament psalms, Psalm 93, 97 and 99 all begin with the same phrase, "The Lord reigns! The Lord is KING!" Then each one reveals a different facet of the glory that is our King. First— the simple statement itself: The Lord reigns! To think of God as King to say that Jesus Christ is the King of Kings may not have the impact that the words deserve.

I. THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

"The LORD reigneth!" [Jesus said:"All authority is given unto Me in heaven and in earth" (Matthew 28:18)]

1. This is present tense truth Not "shall one day reign" ... but even NOW He is in charge. Certainly that raises many questions. We hold God accountable for all the injustices of the world in our puny courts of logic. I do not defend god that is as foolish as defending the sun when people throw mud at it. And I know it is a statement of faith, but I do declare: God IS and God is GOOD!
2. The LORD himself is in charge Not some intermediate power, and not some impersonal force. Jesus declares that the authority is given to Him! It makes a difference when we pray.

   God cares when we speak with Him. The cry of our hearts is heard at the center of all authority.

3. To believe otherwise is to live in a pre-Copernican age, spiritually.

   We have a God centered universe. The Universe is not centered around ME, or around YOU or even around the human race!

   Even though the finest minds in philosophy and science cannot finally provide adequate theories to allow us to understand unifying patterns of all we can observe of creation, the Bible gives us this word which we may choose to believe: The LORD is in charge of His universe!

II. THE MAJESTY OF GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY

"He is clothed with majesty!"(Psalm 93:1) [Jesus declared: "Before Abraham was, I AM! (John 8:58)]

1. How can we speak of the transcendent majesty of God? I pity those who cannot see His hand in the heavens. We do not worship creation. But creation speaks to us of a Creator. (The beauty all around us speaks to us of God!)
2. The Psalmist sees God as unperturbed by the noise of many waters. He is not a figurehead ruler; the disasters and appalling happenings that threaten our very sanity are not beyond His control. (93:5) We may depend on God's WORD!

III. THE MERCY OF GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY

- "Let the earth rejoice! (97:1)" [Jesus said: "I am come that they might have life..."(John 10:10)

1. [Majesty is not always synonymous with caring, but] THIS majestic (transcendent) One is also involved with a people which He calls His own. This great God "preserves the soul of His saints"(v10) Certainly there is MYSTERY here! But God will make Himself known to us all. If we SEEK, we shall FIND. IF we will listen, God will speak.
2. This great God "preserves the soul of His saints"(v10) He takes care of His own!
   1. To say that God overcomes evil is not a simplistic statement. We may never understand all that is involved here. I sincerely believe that we do not need to become experts in evil but true Christians are specialists in belonging to God] God's people are called to a clear clean separation from evil (v 10) "Ye that love the Lord, hate evil." [It is a mark of low spiritual attainment to continually ask 'What is wrong with this?' or 'Can I do that and be a Christian?' The person who loves the Lord lives in order to draw nearer to Him. What offends the Holy Spirit offends those who are His temple.]

      The LORD (Himself) is the touchstone of that righteousness. (v 12) "Rejoice in the LORD!" Not in the certainty that "we are right."

   2. I am interested in democratic process and in doing what I can in saving the United States of America. But God is NOT American, and He is not committed to preserving our way of life as WE see fit. God may well be more interested in you than he is in any institution! If I understand the teachings of Jesus, YOU will be alive and conscious long after the United States of America is ancient history! The church of Jesus Christ will be Christ's BODY eternally! Are you in tune with that fact?

IV. THE MIGHT OF GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY

"Let the people tremble! (99:1)" (From Revelation 1:17 18) John the Beloved says "I fell at His feet as a dead man" And Jesus, the glorified Savior King lays his hand on John and says: Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last, and the Living One; and I was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades."

1. The Old Testament Psalm gives us just a glimpse of God seated between the cherubim. Majestic, YES! LOVING, certainly! But staggering the earth in His holiness. He is executing judgment in Jacob (v 4) The God who is faithful in nature and in creation ... faithful in mercy and loving-kindness .. faithful and just to forgive when we confess our sins ... is also faithful in judgment.

   The first part of the New Testament is mostly about the earthly ministry of Jesus, the meek and lowly Nazarene. But that is not how the New Testament ends!

2. All mankind shall be judged by our response to the Word Christ brought into this world, A word of love and of justice. Christ's love and Christ's justice are not decided democratically. We begin to define them and to understand them only as we come down off the throne of our own kingdoms, and acknowledge Him Lord. There is NO holiness apart from God. ONLY God is holy! All holiness is HIS! But there is GRACE! God accepts sinners! In fact He ONLY accepts sinners!

CONCLUSION: Why speak of this [God's Sovereignty] at all?

1. Maybe I am reminding myself, (and maybe you, too) as I think again of the greatness and goodness and holiness of God, that whatever it takes, I need to seek repentance and a drawing near to Him. This great king is available to us—
2. Certainly as an act of worship! I have tried in a pitifully small way to lift up the sovereignty of God so that we might desire to exercise our highest privilege, of (ongoing) worship.

We do not have to wait until Sunday to tell God we love Him! We don't have to wait until we die to sing God's praises! Somehow I feel that when a humble boy or girl or man or woman really worships, there is an echo that sounds throughout eternity! GOD TAKES NOTICE!

"So you are a king?" These words by Pontius Pilate seems so far removed from the questions we ask today about Jesus. Because of our culture and who we are, the idea of kingship doesn't compute very well and, in some cases for some people, it is an abhorrent term. Yet, isn't this the question we all ask about Jesus, in one way or another? "Are you a king?" And whether Christ is King or not, depends upon how we answer our own question. It was only a few weeks ago that Jesus said this to his disciples "Who do people say that I am?" (Mark 8:27) He then turned the same question directly upon them, "But who do you say that I am?" (Mark 8:28) Pilate says, "So you are a king?" To Pilate, he didn't seem to be a King but, is he king? What do you say? Is He king?

What would it mean to you and me if Jesus Christ was king just NOW in our lives? What would mean here in our church if we made Jesus Christ king? Would it make any difference? What about in our denomination? What would it mean to Quincy and Boston and the surrounding towns, if Jesus Christ was recognized as `king'? How I would like to know!!

PRAYER (contemporary language)

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: grant that all the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.