Jesus as King

Our American history is not used to kings.

You guys probably know the history of our nation.

On July 4, of 1776, we declared our independence from what nation?

England.

And who was in charge of England?

A king.

What followed, was a war that would last until 1783, the American Revolutionary War.

That was our fight for freedom from the British Empire.

As Americans we then made a government that was as far from a monarchy as possible.

We saw the bad side of a king and so our government would be nothing like a king.

What does this mean for us?

It means we have forgotten what a good king looks like.

Why is that important?

We have forgotten how kings

Because tonight we come to the third function of Jesus, Jesus as King.

We’ve learned that Jesus is:

Prophet

Priest

Because Jesus is our king.

And now King.

And this is a very strange thought, because we don’t understand kings.

He’s not our president.

No one votes for Jesus to be king.

We don’t give Him permission to be king.

These are all very anti-American thoughts.

So today, we will look at how Jesus is our King.

First, Jesus is a Protecting King

When you think of a king, where does he live?

In a castle.

Back in the day, a castle was an important part of a kingdom.

It was more than just the home of the castle.

It was a fortress for those who lived under the king.

There were people who worked out in the fields.

But if an enemy approached, or there was some kind of danger, the villagers would run tot he castle.

He would raise the drawbridge, and lock the gates.

He offered protection for those who he ruled over.

Now open your Bibles to .

Look at verse 1 - “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Now look at verses 6-7 - “The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah”

And now look at verses 10-11 - ““Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah”

What is the description of God in those verses?

A fortress

A castle.

It was this chapter of the Bible that inspired Martin Luther to write his hymn, A Mighty Fortress.

God is described as a fortress in our times of trouble.

Not just a fortress, but a refuge.

Someone that we can run to.

Let’s be honest, most things in life are completely out of your control.

We make plans, but we don’t know if they will ever come true.

The world around us is spinning out of control.

Life seems absolutely crazy.

Perhaps it’s moving to a new school.

It’s having friends who attack or gossip about you.

And yet, what is God?

He is a refuge.

A help in our time of trouble.

He is who we run to, knowing that He protects us.

The thing about God being a castle or a refuge is you must run to Him for protection.

If an enemy was coming, they would be out in the fields looking to kill.

The villagers response to danger was to run to the shelter of the castle.

They ran to the castle because they trusted in the protection of the king.

This becomes a good example of what faith is.

Faith is running to God to protect you from the most frightening of things.

But what could he be protecting you from?

The reality is that each of us will one day die.

Death.

The enemy of death is approaching each one of us.

And the only way to escape that day is if you run to the shelter of God’s protection.

The next element of a king is that Jesus is a Judging King

A king would hold court.

People would come before the king and he would intervene and rule on difficult matters.

A great biblical example of a king holding court was Solomon.

King Solomon was the son of David who ruled over Israel after his father’s death.

Solomon was the wisest man to ever live.

One of the greatest examples of Solomon’s wisdom was how he interceded over two women (:16-28)

These 2 women each had a child.

People would come before the king and he would intervene and rule on difficult matters.

As they were sleeping at night, one of the mothers rolled over and accidentally killed her son by laying on him.

In the middle of the night, she saw the other woman sleeping with her son awake.

So she did the old switcheroo.

She took the living son, and swapped him with the dead son.

In the morning, the woman who had her son stolen woke up and saw that she had a dead son in her arms, while the other lady had a living son.

She looked closely at the other baby and saw that he was actually her son.

And so a fight began.

They came to King Solomon and told the case.

King Solomon’s solution to the story was awesome.

There were no witnesses.

There was no evidence.

He’s never met either woman.

He’s never met either of the two babies.

So how does he solve this murder mystery?

He asks for a sword.

He then orders that the living child be cut in half, and the two woman split the boy.

Now before you freak out, listen to what happened.

The mother of the living boy, knew that it was his boy, and didn’t want anything to happen to him, so she said to let the other woman have the baby.

Meanwhile, the woman who accidentally killed her son, and kidnapped the living boy, she didn’t care.

It wasn’t her son.

So she said to go ahead and cut the baby in half.

His order to cut the baby in half showed who the real mother was.

By the way one time I tried this in real life.

There were 2 boys at church who had a giant Pokemon card.

It was huge.

The two were fighting over the Pokemon card, one said it was his, while the other said it was his.

So I asked them to give me the card.

I held it in my hands, and I said I was goin to cut the card in half and make them share it.

The boys reacted just like the two moms.

One of the boys said, “Go ahead, I don’ t care.”

While the other boy said, “No, don’t rip it up.”

I was so excited, I just pulled a King Solomon.

I then explained the story of Solomon to them and gave the card to the boy who it really belonged to.

It turns out the kids didn’t understand the story, because I got a phone call from their parents a little while later.

They wanted to know why I threatened to cut their kid in half.

Any way, all of that is to explain that a king judged.

He decided tough matters.

Jesus is our king who judges.

He hears cases and then He makes a decision.

A king would make rules and if that law was broken, then by order of the king, a sentence was carried out.

God being king has made certain rules, He has made laws.

He has commanded us to obey Him and to obey His rules.

When we break His rules that is called a sin.

God has given us His laws.

Do not lie.

Do not steal.

Do not use His name in vain.

Worship only Him.

Love nothing more than Him.

So have you ever:

Lied?

Stolen?

Used His name in vain?

Lusted after anyone?

Put anything before God?

Yes?

And it doesn’t matter how many times you do this.

If you have broken any of His laws, then this makes you a sinner.

And the consequence of sin, the judgment of sin is death.

And more specifically Hell.

This is the nature of a king.

He rules.

He judges.

Therefore He is to be obeyed.

We are to obey Him.

The good news is that we have a good king.

He is a judge.

But He is also a kind judge.

He did something incredible to save His people.

Normally, when people rebel against their king it’s called treason.

It’s a crime against the king.

There is a punishment.

But in this instance Jesus did something wonderful.

He stepped down from His royal throne.

And He took the punishment that those who rebelled against Him deserved.

We deserved death.

And Jesus died for us.

God is so committed to justice that He knows that there must be punishment for sin.

And yet in His love He saves us from our sin by receiving that punishment.

Ruling King

The final thing about a king is probably the most obvious.

What separates you from a king?

If someone is a king … He needs to have a kingdom.

You don’t get to wake up and declare yourself a king.

Do you now if you go to Burger King and ask for a crown they’ll give you a crown?

News flash, that doesn’t make you a king.

What makes you a king?

You need a kingdom.

You need a country.

You need people.

What Jesus is doing right now is making His kingdom.

He is saving a people.

These are people who:

Believe in Him.

Trust in Him.

Know that Jesus has in fact died for them.

And the day is coming when Jesus will return.

And He return as a king.

says:

“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”

He will come with His armies.

He will come in power.

He will punish those who have never bowed their knee to Him.

And He will come to punish those who have never bowed their knee to Him.

He will condemn.

He will judge.

He will destroy His enemies.

What I want you to see is that Jesus as king is not some cute little idea.

It’s real.

It’s not some fad or trend.

Being a follower of Jesus isn’t like following some new band.

Have you ever noticed that things that are popular are cool for a while, then fizzle out?

3 years ago, most of you were all excited about fidget spinners.

Now, who cares about them?

No one.

For many things this is how we live our life.

We go through phases.

We like something for a while, then we stop liking it.

But not with Jesus.

He’s king.

It’s real.

It’s serious.

Following Him has eternal implications.

How do you know if you are one of His people? If you are a part of His Kingdom?

How do you know if you are one of His people? If you are a part of His Kingdom?

This is one of the biggest and most important questions you can ask yourself.

A lot of people always assume they are a part of His kingdom.

Jesus said you must be born again.

This means you become a new person.

First it means your allegiance is to Jesus.

Most of you are citizens of the United States of America.

If you were to renounce America and move to a new country, you would become citizens of that new country.

We are to renounce our allegiance to our old life and become citizens of God’s kingdom.

This means following Him.

Obeying His laws.

Next you repent.

You stop your sinning.

You obey Him.

Those sins, those things of lawlessness that you loved … you give them up.

Are you a part of Christ’s Kingdom?

Have you trusted in Him?

Are you a new person?

Would those that know you say you put Christ first?

Ask yourself these questions, and live under the rule of Christ.