Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / He Is “King of Kings, Lord of Lords” Msg 212

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He Is “King of Kings, Lord of Lords” Msg 212 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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  Speaker 1: Had we been living in the days that Jesus was
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  Speaker 1: born and grew up, I'm confident we would not have
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  Speaker 1: seen him as the King and the Lord. As a
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  Speaker 1: matter of fact, his birth would have been rather obscure
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  Speaker 1: and extremely humble. We would never have selected him to
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  Speaker 1: have been the one chosen to be the Messiah. Had
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  Speaker 1: we seen him standing with the children's choir and singing
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  Speaker 1: with them, I'm sure we would not have picked him
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  Speaker 1: out and said, that boy third from the left in
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  Speaker 1: the second row, that's the young Messiah. Had we watched
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  Speaker 1: him when he became a man in a carpenter's shop,
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  Speaker 1: I'm sure we would have never selected him to have
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  Speaker 1: been the one who would redeem our nation today. And
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  Speaker 1: had we seen him when he became a man and
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  Speaker 1: even stepped into ministry, I doubt that anyone here or
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  Speaker 1: anywhere in time would have put their hand on his
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  Speaker 1: shoulder and said, you're obviously the one. A British minister,
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  Speaker 1: realizing the significance of all this contrast, decided to put
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  Speaker 1: his thoughts in a paragraph that has outlived his own name.
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  Speaker 1: He wrote, here is a man who was born in
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  Speaker 1: an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He
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  Speaker 1: grew up in another obscure village. He worked in a
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  Speaker 1: carpenter's shop until he was 30, and then for three
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  Speaker 1: years he was an itinerant preacher. Never wrote a book,
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  Speaker 1: never owned a home, never went to college, never had
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  Speaker 1: a family, never traveled 200 miles from the place where
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  Speaker 1: he was born. He never did one of the things
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  Speaker 1: that usually accompanies greatness. While still a young man, the
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  Speaker 1: tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends ran away.
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  Speaker 1: One of them denied him. Another betrayed him. He went
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  Speaker 1: through the mockery of a trial and was nailed to
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  Speaker 1: a cross between two thieves. His executioners gambled for the
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  Speaker 1: only piece of property he had on earth while he
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  Speaker 1: was dying, and that was his cloak. When he was dead,
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  Speaker 1: he was taken down and placed in a borrowed grave
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  Speaker 1: through the pity of a friend. Nineteen wide centuries have
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  Speaker 1: come and gone, and today he is the centerpiece of
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  Speaker 1: the human race. He is the leader in the column
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  Speaker 1: of progress. I'm far within the mark when I say
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  Speaker 1: that all the armies that ever marched and all the
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  Speaker 1: navies that ever were built and all the parliaments that
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  Speaker 1: ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned put
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  Speaker 1: together have not affected the life of man upon this
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  Speaker 1: earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life. That's true.
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  Speaker 1: What a contrast. This simple, obscure man was indeed king
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  Speaker 1: of kings and lord of lords. In our study of
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  Speaker 1: the wonderful names of Jesus, we have come to perhaps
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  Speaker 1: one of the greatest, if not the greatest. We have
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  Speaker 1: seen earlier that he is indeed the Lord. And we
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  Speaker 1: suggested to you that there were some simple things to
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  Speaker 1: remember when we call him Lord. In fact, as I remember,
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  Speaker 1: we gave them to you in ABCD fashion.
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  Speaker 2: ABCD.
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  Speaker 1: When we call him Lord, we affirm our allegiance. We
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  Speaker 1: affirm our allegiance. B, when we declare he is Lord,
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  Speaker 1: we bow to his rightful authority over us. He's not
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  Speaker 1: just one among many Lords. He is the Lord and
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  Speaker 1: we bow to his authority. C, when we call him Lord,
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  Speaker 1: we commit all we are and have and hope to be.
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  Speaker 1: We commit to him. And D, when we call him Lord,
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  Speaker 1: we dethrone our own will and way. We give him,
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  Speaker 1: as it has often been said, the throne room of
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  Speaker 1: our lives. We turn over the reins. We give him
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  Speaker 1: the steering wheel. We tell him that we're under his
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  Speaker 1: authority and therefore we want to live under his direction
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  Speaker 1: and under his control. Scripture intensifies the whole idea of
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  Speaker 1: Lord by calling him on a few rare occasions, not
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  Speaker 1: simply Lord, but King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Now,
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  Speaker 1: when a Britisher writes that more than any of the
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  Speaker 1: kings that ever reigned, he is the highest reigning one,
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  Speaker 1: that's saying something. We who are not regal minded, we
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  Speaker 1: who do not have a king cannot appreciate the authority
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  Speaker 1: of a king. In fact, we rebelled against it when
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  Speaker 1: we formed our nation. But in God's plan, there is
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  Speaker 1: a monarchy, not a democracy. God's arrangement of things is
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  Speaker 1: that there be a king, and this king be a
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  Speaker 1: king over all, and this Lord be a Lord above all.
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  Speaker 1: No one has the right that he possesses over us.
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  Speaker 1: No one but he. Several times in scripture, we find
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  Speaker 1: this reference to his being king and Lord. To begin with,
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  Speaker 1: I see it in Deuteronomy chapter 10. If you'll trace
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  Speaker 1: with me briefly. First of all, in the Old Testament,
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  Speaker 1: Deuteronomy 10. Let me read for you verses 12 through 17.
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  Speaker 1: Let's see where this name occurs. Deuteronomy 10, 12. And now, Israel,
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  Speaker 1: what does the Lord your God require from you but
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  Speaker 1: to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all
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  Speaker 1: his ways and love him, and to serve the Lord
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  Speaker 1: your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
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  Speaker 1: and to keep the Lord's commandments? Look at the references
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  Speaker 1: to the Lord. Fear the Lord, love him, serve the Lord.
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  Speaker 1: Keep the Lord's commandments. And keep his statutes which I
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  Speaker 1: am commanding you today. For your good. Behold to the
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  Speaker 1: Lord your God belong heaven. And the highest heavens. The earth.
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  Speaker 1: And all that is in it. Yet on your fathers.
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  Speaker 1: He writes the Israelites. On your fathers did the Lord
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  Speaker 1: set his affection. To love them. He chose their descendants.
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  Speaker 1: After them. Even you above all peoples. As it is
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  Speaker 1: this day. Circumcised in your heart. And stiffen your neck
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  Speaker 1: no more. For notice now. This is the earliest reference
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  Speaker 1: to those words. For the Lord your God. Is the
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  Speaker 1: God of gods. And the Lord of lords. He's king
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  Speaker 1: of kings. He's Lord of lords. the great, the mighty,
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  Speaker 1: the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take
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  Speaker 1: a bribe. He executes justice for the orphan and the
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  Speaker 1: widow and shows his love for the alien by giving
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  Speaker 1: him food and clothing. And then Moses goes on to
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  Speaker 1: exhort the people of Israel to be like their God
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  Speaker 1: and to show mercy to the aliens and compassion to
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  Speaker 1: those who need him. But notice the reference in verse 17.
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  Speaker 1: The Lord is your God above all gods, little g.
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  Speaker 1: And he is your Lord above all lords, little l.
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  Speaker 1: He's king of kings. He's Lord of lords. Again, in
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  Speaker 1: Psalm 136. Very interesting psalm because it has a repetitive
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  Speaker 1: phrase throughout the psalm. No doubt to be stated antiphonally here.
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  Speaker 1: from choir to people or from one side of the
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  Speaker 1: congregation to the other. Psalm 136 is filled with the phrase,
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  Speaker 1: his loving kindness is everlasting. A statement is given and
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  Speaker 1: then his loving kindness is everlasting. Another statement, his loving
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  Speaker 1: kindness is everlasting. Let me read the first four verses. 136,
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  Speaker 1: give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His
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  Speaker 1: loving kindness is everlasting. Give thanks to the God of gods.
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  Speaker 1: Note the reference. God of gods. His loving kindness is everlasting.
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  Speaker 1: Give thanks to the Lord of lords. His loving kindness
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  Speaker 1: is everlasting. To him alone. To him who alone does
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  Speaker 1: great wonders. His loving kindness is everlasting. To him who
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  Speaker 1: made the heavens with skill. His loving kindness is everlasting.
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  Speaker 1: It goes all the way through these 26 verses. Similar words,
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  Speaker 1: but now given in poetic manner. Verse 2, he's the
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  Speaker 1: God of gods. Verse 3, he's the Lord of lords.
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  Speaker 1: When you're making your plans to determine who to worship,
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  Speaker 1: choose the one who is above. all other gods. And
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  Speaker 1: when you're determining your direction as to who will take
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  Speaker 1: charge of your life, choose the one who is Lord
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  Speaker 1: above all who are lords. The head monarch, the top God,
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  Speaker 1: the God above all gods. Another in the Old Testament
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  Speaker 1: is in Daniel chapter 4. By the way, these are
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  Speaker 1: references not to Christ, but to the living God himself.
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  Speaker 1: He transfers this name to the Savior when we get
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  Speaker 1: to the New Testament. Daniel 4. This is a great
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  Speaker 1: chapter and it's given in the first person often. It
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  Speaker 1: seems as though it is Nebuchadnezzar's testimony. I wondered in
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  Speaker 1: my study if at this point in the writing of Daniel,
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  Speaker 1: Nebuchadnezzar the king asked for the stylus and said to
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  Speaker 1: the prophet, let me write this section of the book.
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  Speaker 1: Let me make this entry into your journal. Notice how
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  Speaker 1: it begins. Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples. It's
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  Speaker 1: like he's writing it himself. To all the peoples, nations,
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  Speaker 1: and men of every language that live in all the earth,
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  Speaker 1: may your peace abound forever. It has seemed good to
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  Speaker 1: me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most
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  Speaker 1: High God has done for me. This is not some
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  Speaker 1: Israelite king. This is a Babylonian king. That's what makes
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  Speaker 1: it unusual. And yet, Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, is saying
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  Speaker 1: that Jehovah God is the Most High God. Not his
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  Speaker 1: gods in Babylon, but the God of the Israelites. How
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  Speaker 1: great are his signs. How mighty are his wonders. His
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  Speaker 1: kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. His dominion is from generation
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  Speaker 1: to generation. I, Nebuchadnezzar, see the personal reference? It's as
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  Speaker 1: though he's giving a testimony. I, the king, was at
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  Speaker 1: ease in my house and flourishing in my palace. Now,
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  Speaker 1: Nebuchadnezzar is going back to earlier days in his life
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  Speaker 1: before the God of heaven was the God of his life.
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  Speaker 1: He says, I was at ease in my house. I
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  Speaker 1: was flourishing in my palace. I saw a dream and
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  Speaker 1: it made me fearful. And these fantasies as I lay
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  Speaker 1: on my bed and the visions in my mind kept
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  Speaker 1: alarming me. You who know the story know that He
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  Speaker 1: saw a very unusual scene and only Daniel the prophet
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  Speaker 1: could give the interpretation of it. Nebuchadnezzar says that in
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  Speaker 1: the balance of the chapter. Let's notice Daniel's words toward
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  Speaker 1: the end of the chapter. Verse 24. This is the interpretation,
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  Speaker 1: O king, and this is the decree of the Most High,
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  Speaker 1: which has come upon my lord the king. that you
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  Speaker 1: be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be
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  Speaker 1: with the beasts of the field and you be given
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  Speaker 1: grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the
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  Speaker 1: dew of heaven and seven periods of time will pass
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  Speaker 1: over you. How long? You may want to mark it
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  Speaker 1: until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over
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  Speaker 1: the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever he wishes.
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  Speaker 1: By the way, I think there are some people who,
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  Speaker 1: in order to face the fact that Jesus Christ is
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  Speaker 1: King of kings and Lord of lords, must go through
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  Speaker 1: a period like this. Maybe not as severe, but a
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  Speaker 1: period of time when God must break you. He shakes you.
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  Speaker 1: He cuts your feet out from under you. He levels you.
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  Speaker 1: He puts you in a position of weakness and dependency.
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  Speaker 1: He takes away your reputation. He even maybe for a
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  Speaker 1: period of time virtually takes away your mind. And you
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  Speaker 1: were left in this state of waiting until you recognize
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  Speaker 1: that That the most high is indeed the God of
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  Speaker 1: your life. Nebuchadnezzar had to go through such a time.
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  Speaker 1: And he remained in that condition for as long as
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  Speaker 1: it took. Until the recognition of past. That he is
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  Speaker 1: indeed king of kings and lord of lords. You wonder
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  Speaker 1: how bad it got for Nebuchadnezzar? Look at verse 28.
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  Speaker 1: All this happened. To Nebuchadnezzar the king. Twelve months later.
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  Speaker 1: He was walking on the roof. Of the royal palace
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  Speaker 1: of Babylon. The king reflected and said. Is this not
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  Speaker 1: Babylon the great. Which I myself have built. As a
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  Speaker 1: royal residence. By the might of my power. And for
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  Speaker 1: the glory. Of my majesty. While the word was in
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  Speaker 1: the king's mouth. a voice came from heaven saying, King Nebuchadnezzar,
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  Speaker 1: to you it is declared, sovereignty has been removed from you.
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  Speaker 1: And you will be driven away from mankind and your
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  Speaker 1: dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field.
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  Speaker 1: You will be given grass to eat like cattle and
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  Speaker 1: seven periods of time will pass over you Until you recognize,
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  Speaker 1: here it is again, that he's king of kings and
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  Speaker 1: lord of lords. Until you recognize that the most high
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  Speaker 1: is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it
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  Speaker 1: on whomever he wishes. I think the most significant part
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  Speaker 1: of what follows is the first word of verse 33. Immediately. Immediately. Immediately.
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  Speaker 1: The word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled and he was driven
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  Speaker 1: away from mankind and he began eating grass like cattle.
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  Speaker 1: His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until
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  Speaker 1: his hair had grown like eagle's feathers and his nails,
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  Speaker 1: his fingernails like bird's claws. He went mad. He roamed
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  Speaker 1: the field like a wild animal. He lived outside for
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  Speaker 1: this period of sevens, however long it was. He lived
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  Speaker 1: away from humanity in this terrible, isolated state. You know
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  Speaker 1: who comes to my mind? Chuck Colson comes to my mind.
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  Speaker 1: The man who was the assistant to the president the
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  Speaker 1: personal counsel of Richard Nixon, the one who had access
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  Speaker 1: to the Oval Office, the one who had built his
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  Speaker 1: own kingdom and reared it high, in the poet's words,
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  Speaker 1: till its towers had pierced the blue of the sky.
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  Speaker 1: And then God leveled him. Watergate came in a prison sentence.
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  Speaker 1: And the humiliation of living as a felon in the
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  Speaker 1: eyes of the public, the loss of reputation, the embarrassment
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  Speaker 1: of family. And he lived like that in a prison
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  Speaker 1: in the deep south for months. It could have been years.
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  Speaker 1: Until he recognized that the Most High rules over the
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  Speaker 1: kingdom of men. He came to his senses. He was
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  Speaker 1: born again. And he wonderfully released the controls of his life.
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  Speaker 1: What a change. Just 180 degree change in his life.
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  Speaker 1: Some of you are on the early part of this story.
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  Speaker 1: You haven't yet broken. Some of you are in the
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  Speaker 1: transition of it. You're in a maddening state of mind.
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  Speaker 1: You know the fight is going on and you can't
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  Speaker 1: release it to the living God and yet you know
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  Speaker 1: you can't hold on to it yourself and you're in
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  Speaker 1: this state in between. Like Nebuchadnezzar, perhaps not as dramatically,
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  Speaker 1: but mentally you find yourself in that state of confusion
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  Speaker 1: and God is going to get your attention and get
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  Speaker 1: the controls. And you will someday recognize. He is king
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  Speaker 1: of kings. He is lord of lords. And none other.
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  Speaker 1: Certainly not myself. And when you do. Peace will return.
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  Speaker 1: In fact Nebuchadnezzar verse 34. Writes at the end of
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  Speaker 1: that period. He's got the pen back in his hand.
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  Speaker 1: I Nebuchadnezzar. Raised my eyes toward heaven. Must have been
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  Speaker 1: a wondrous. moment. And my reason. Returned to me. And
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  Speaker 1: I blessed. The most high. And I praised and honored him.
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  Speaker 1: Who lives forever. He adds all the inhabitants of the earth.
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  Speaker 1: Are recounted as nothing. And he, not I, he does
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  Speaker 1: according to his will in the army of heaven and
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  Speaker 1: among the inhabitants of the earth. And none can stay
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  Speaker 1: his hand or say unto him, what are you doing?
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  Speaker 1: What are you up to? How dare you take charge?
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  Speaker 1: None can say that to him, certainly not I. Nebuchadnezzar
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  Speaker 1: has bowed his knee to the king of kings and
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  Speaker 1: the Lord of lords. Over at 1 Timothy chapter 6,
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  Speaker 1: 1 Timothy 6, the final scene is one of the
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  Speaker 1: most descriptive and magnificent description of the Lord Jesus, of
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  Speaker 1: the living God, as he's pictured as King of kings
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  Speaker 1: and Lord of lords. Look at 1 Timothy 6 verse 13.
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  Speaker 1: I charge you in the presence of God who gives
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  Speaker 1: life to all things and of Christ Jesus who testified
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  Speaker 1: the good confession before Pontius Pilate that you keep the
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  Speaker 1: commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our
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  Speaker 1: Lord Jesus Christ which he will bring about at the
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  Speaker 1: proper time. Now look at this description. He who is
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  Speaker 1: the blessed and only sovereign The King James Bible says
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  Speaker 1: the blessed and only potentate. It's the only time it's
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  Speaker 1: found in scripture. Potentate. The blessed and only sovereign. The
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  Speaker 1: king of kings and lord of lords. Who alone possesses immortality.
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  Speaker 1: You say, I thought we had immortality. I thought we
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  Speaker 1: will live forever. But wait. God is the only one
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  Speaker 1: who inherently possesses immortality. Throughout his existence, he has never
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  Speaker 1: been threatened with the possibility of death. Our immortality comes
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  Speaker 1: as a gift from Christ. Because he has been raised,
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  Speaker 1: we will be raised. We are immortal because he has
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  Speaker 1: given us new life in himself. And the Father has
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  Speaker 1: passed to the Son, and the Son has passed on
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  Speaker 1: to us immortality. 1 Corinthians 15 uses the same word.
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  Speaker 1: This perishable must put on imperishable. This mortal must put
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  Speaker 1: on immortality. Interesting term, immortality. Athanasia is the word. Thanatos
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  Speaker 1: is the Greek word. And when you put an a
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  Speaker 1: privative in front of it, it's like putting non in
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  Speaker 1: front of our English word. It negates it. So it
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  Speaker 1: means not subject to death. A thanatos. And that's the
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  Speaker 1: word immortality. He possesses a thanatos. And he dwells in
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  Speaker 1: unapproachable light. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: When you get to the book of Revelation, you find
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  Speaker 1: two references to king of kings and lord of lords.
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  Speaker 1: Chapter 17 mentions it. Verse 14. And finally, chapter 19. 1714,
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  Speaker 1: these will wage war against the land. And the lamb
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  Speaker 1: will overcome them. Because he is lord of lords. And
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  Speaker 1: king of kings. And those are with him. Those who
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  Speaker 1: are with him. Are the called and chosen and faithful.
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  Speaker 1: In chapter 19. The scene is similar to the one
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  Speaker 1: in 17. Where he is called. Verse 16. On his
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  Speaker 1: robe and on his thigh. He has a name written.
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  Speaker 1: King of kings. Lord of lords. One of the final names.
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  Speaker 1: Attributed to Christ in the scene of history as well
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  Speaker 1: as in scripture is the name King of Kings and
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  Speaker 1: Lord of Lords. What does it mean? It means, listen carefully,
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  Speaker 1: he is king above all who call themselves king. He
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  Speaker 1: is Lord over all who call themselves Lord. In simplest form,
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  Speaker 1: it simply means king. the highest of all kings and
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  Speaker 1: the greatest of all lords. At every Christmas season, when
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  Speaker 1: you hear the hallelujah chorus and you hear the resounding
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  Speaker 1: sounds from Handel's work, king of kings, lord of lords,
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  Speaker 1: remember that, remember the meaning. He is king above all
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  Speaker 1: who call themselves king. He is lord over all who
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  Speaker 1: call themselves lord. Now, what's the practical effect of all
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  Speaker 1: of this? Well, I can think of several. First of all,
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  Speaker 1: it means he has no equal. When we turn to him,
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  Speaker 1: we turn to one of whom there is none greater.
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  Speaker 1: You know, the discouraging thing about being a human being
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  Speaker 1: is that we always find someone greater than we are.
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  Speaker 1: About the time we reach a certain level of education
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  Speaker 1: and earn a degree, we, sure as the world, come
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: upon someone who's earned one beyond us. As soon as
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: we get a hold of our IQ and we're so
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: proud of its number, we meet someone who's got an
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: IQ that's greater than ours. As soon as we have
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: reached a certain achievement in life, no matter what it
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: may be, it may be literary or it may be athletic,
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: It may be in the realm of some particular technology.
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: It may be even some invention. You will invariably find
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: someone who has outdone you, who has outstripped your record.
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: As every athlete will tell you, all the records we
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: set are temporary. There will be someone who will come
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  Speaker 1: along someday and beat the, can it be nine second,
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  Speaker 1: hundred meter? Boy, would that be fast, huh? Or the
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: 30 foot long jump, or the 20-foot pole vault, someday, sometime,
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: someone will beat that record. But because he's the king
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: of kings and lord of lords, he has no equal.
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: No one will ever beat his record. Here's another practical effect.
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  Speaker 1: He has never been and never will be outranked, overthrown,
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  Speaker 1: or undermined. No one will come on the scene now
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  Speaker 1: or in the future who has a higher rank, who
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: has greater power, or who in some way can undermine
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: his working. Here's another thought. He knows no limitation and
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  Speaker 1: he experiences no frustration. Isn't that a great thought? You
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  Speaker 1: and I who live with such serve a God who
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: lives with none of it. He never ends a day
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  Speaker 1: with a sigh. Wouldn't that be wonderful to be like that?
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: You turn to one who is your king of kings
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  Speaker 1: and lord of lords. You turn to one who never
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: knows a frustration. He never comes up against a barrier
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: he can't overcome or go through. He never knows such
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: a thing as an impossibility. He's king of kings. He's
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: lord of lords. He salutes no one. All salute him.
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  Speaker 1: He bows to no one. All bow to him. Furthermore,
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: he remains absolutely invincible. He knows nothing of defeat. His
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: record is only success. Victory. Winning. That's your savior. Webster
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: says of invincible, incapable of being conquered, overcome, or subdued.
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: That's why Moses would say when he comes to the
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: Red Sea, stand still and watch the deliverance of the
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: Lord which you will see today. For the Egyptians whom
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: you see today, you will see them no more again forever.
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  Speaker 1: How could he say that? Because his Lord was greater
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: than the Egyptian army. It's the same thing David said
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: when he came running across the valley of Elah and
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: was on his way up the slopes to sling that
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: stone into the face of Goliath. He said under his breath,
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: the battle is the Lord's. We have nothing to fear.
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: This stone will be led by him and it will
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: find its mark because there is no Goliath greater than
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. That
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: has practical ramifications. We're all fighting giants, aren't we? There's
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: no giant that he can't conquer. The simple sling and
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: a few stones. Why is it necessary to acknowledge this name? First,
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: because we are proud. people. Like Nebuchadnezzar, we love to
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: strut around our little kingdom and say, look at what
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: I have done. Come on, face it. Have you built
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: your own business or ministry from scratch? Have you accomplished
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: something that is rather rare and impressive in the minds
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: of other people? Do others come and seek you out
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: to learn the secrets of your strategy because you've done
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: that which very few, maybe no one else has done?
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: It makes you proud. It could easily make you proud.
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: And because we are proud people, we need to be
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: reminded who is in charge. When I say he is
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: the king of kings and lord of lords, that means
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: I am dethroned and he is enthroned above all. Being proud,
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: I need that. Here's another side of it. We are
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: weak and we need the assurance that he's absolutely reliable.
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: When you sink your head into your pillow tonight, and
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: when you sigh over that which you're facing or living
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: with or struggling through, you're calling on one who is
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: absolutely reliable. He will see you through. You will never
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: hear an answer back from heaven that goes like this.
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: You know, I don't know really what to do about
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: this either. He will never answer you like that. He
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: will say things like, Fear not, I am with you.
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: Don't be dismayed, I am your God. I will strengthen you.
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: I will help you. I will uphold you with the
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: right hand of my righteousness. He won't shriek in frustration.
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: He will say, be still and know that I am God.
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: Trust me. I'm the king over all who call themselves king.
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: And I'm Lord over all who say they are Lord.
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: I can handle it. I'm reliable. There's one more. It's
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: necessary to acknowledge his name because we face an insidious enemy.
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: And we need to remember he can handle our adversary.
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: I was speaking with missionaries just this past week who
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: spoke to me directly of some demonic pressures they've been
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: living with on the field. They've come back to the States,
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: and they feel that some of the demonic attack is
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: still upon them. And they said, you know, we learned
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: while we were away, and they named the place where
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: they were serving, we learned that our God is faithful.
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: That every time we would go into these places that
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: would otherwise frighten us, we could call on the invincible
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: name of our Lord, and he never once let us down.
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: Two grand hymns come to my mind, words of which
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: often bring me new strength. Interestingly, they are both second
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: stanzas of great hymns. The second stanza of Wesley's hymn, Oh,
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: for a Thousand Tongues to Sing, says, Jesus, the name
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: that charms our fears, that bids our sorrows cease, tis
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: music in the sinner's ears, tis life and health and peace. Jesus,
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: the name, I love the way Wesley puts it, that
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: charms our fears, that bids our sorrows cease. And the
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: other name, is Luther's great hymn and the second stanza
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: of a mighty fortress. Did we in our own strength
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: confide our striving would be losing? Were not the right
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: man on our side the man of God's own choosing?
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus. It is he,
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: Lord Sabaoth. It means Lord of hosts is his name
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: from age to age the same and he must win
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: the battle. I thought as I was putting the finishing
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: touches on this, what is the best way to drive
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: home the truth of those two hymns? I decided I
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: would call a great organist and have her come To
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: the pipe organ. And she's now there. And she's going
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: to play for us. These two hymns. If you have
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: a hymnal nearby. Locate them. You may want to look
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: at the words. If you don't. Just stay very quiet.
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: Close your eyes. And drink in the sounds. I told
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: her to take her time. 25-30 minutes. Fine with me.
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: Don't hurry. But play it loud. My opinion, you cannot
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: play a pipe organ too loudly. So hold on. Hymn
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: number 90, hymn number 11. Hymn number 90, hymn number 11.
• 36:28
  Speaker 2: Amen. © transcript Emily Beynon Thank you.
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: Thank you. Our Father, we thank you for Christ who
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: loved us and gave himself for us, for his authority
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: over us, his right to reign as King over all
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: kings and Lord above all lords. We commit to him
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: and to you the struggles of our lives, our own inadequacies, faithlessness, weaknesses, rebellion, wrongdoings,
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: And we count on you to hold us. Near and
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: dear to yourself. To be to us all that you
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: have promised to be. And to fulfill every word to
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: the last. Yod and tittle. As you have promised to do.
• 39:23
  Speaker 1: Because you are God. And because we worship. Your son Christ.
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: In whose name we pray. And all the people said. Amen.
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: The preceding message. He is King of Kings.
• 39:44
  Speaker 2: Lord of Lords.
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: Was copyrighted in 1987.
• 39:46
  Speaker 2: 1992.
• 39:46
  Speaker 1: And 1998. And the sound recording was copyrighted in 1998
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide.
• 39:58
  Speaker 1: Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.