That's My King!

That's My King!

From Sermon by Pastor S.M. Lockridge

The Bible says he’s the King of the Jews. He’s the King of Israel. He’s the King of Righteousness. He’s the King of the ages. He’s the King of heaven. He’s the King of glory. He’s the King of kings and He’s the Lord of lords. That’s my king! I wonder, do you know him?

My king is a sovereign king. No means of measure can define his limitless love. He’s enduringly strong. He’s entirely sincere. He’s eternally steadfast. He’s immortally graceful. He’s imperially powerful. He’s impartially merciful. Do you know him?

He’s the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of this world. He’s God’s Son. He’s the sinner’s Savior. He’s the centerpiece of civilization. He’s unparalleled. He is unprecedented. He’s the loftiest idea in literature. He’s the highest idea in philosophy. He’s the fundamental doctrine of true theology. He’s the only one qualified to be an all-sufficient Savior. I wonder if you know him today.

He supplies strength for the weak. He’s available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and he saves. He strengthens and sustains. He guards and he guides. He heals the sick. He forgives sinners. He discharges debtors. He delivers the captive. He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged. He rewards the diligent. He beautifies the meager. I wonder if you know Him?

He’s the key to knowledge. He’s the wellspring of wisdom. He’s the doorway to deliverance. He’s the pathway of peace. He’s the roadway of righteousness. He’s the highway of holiness. He’s the gateway to glory. Do you know him?

Well, His life is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteousness. His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

I wish I could describe him to you. He’s indescribable. He’s incomprehensible. He’s invincible. He’s irresistible.

Well, you can’t get him out of your mind; you can’t. You can’t get him off your hands. You can’t outthink him. You can’t outlive him. You can’t outlast him. And you can’t live without him.

Well, the Pharisees couldn’t stand him. But they found out they couldn’t stop him. Pilate couldn’t find any fault in him. Herod couldn’t kill him. Death couldn’t handle him. And the grave couldn’t hold him. That’s my king! Yes, yes, yes, you are my King!

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever and ever and ever and ever--how long is that? And ever and ever and ever…and when you’re through with all the forevers, then amen, amen…Yes, you are my king! Thank God, thank God, almighty God, you are my king, amen and amen!”

Beholding the Glory of Christ

John Owen in The Glory of Christ stated a foundational truth when he said, “One of the greatest privileges the believer has, both in this world and for eternity, is to behold the glory of Christ.” In this duty, Owen wrote, “I desire to live and to die. On Christ’s glory I would fix all my thoughts and desires, and the more I see of the glory of Christ, the more the painted beauties of this world will wither in my eyes and I will be more and more crucified to this world."

 

Beholding by Sight and by Faith

There are two ways of beholding Christ. The angels and departed saints behold Christ’s glory by sight, as did Jesus’ first disciples. John said, “We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). The Lord Jesus wants all his followers of Christ to behold him by sight and enjoy him to the highest degree of intimacy. He prayed for that day in John 17:24, “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory that you have given me."

What Famous People Said About Jesus

I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creation of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him. --Napoleon

I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history. -- H.G. Wells

A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act. -- Mahatma Gandhi

Jesus was the greatest religious genius that ever lived. -- Ernest Renan

As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene....No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life. -- Albert Einstein

No one else holds or has held the place in the heart of the world which Jesus holds. Other gods have been as devoutly worshipped; no other man has been so devoutly loved. -- John Knox

Even those who have renounced Christianity and attack it, in their inmost being still follow the Christian ideal, for hitherto neither their subtlety nor the ardour of their hearts has been able to create a higher ideal of man and of virtue than the ideal given by Christ of old. -- Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander the Great, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon; without science and learning, he shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of school, he spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since, and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, he set more pens in motion, and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times. –- Historian Philip Schaff

A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.-- C.S. Lewis

Buddha never claimed to be God. Moses never claimed to be Jehovah. Mohammed never claimed to be Allah. Yet Jesus Christ claimed to be the true and living God. Buddha simply said, "I am a teacher in search of the truth." Jesus said, "I am the Truth." Confucius said, "I never claimed to be holy." Jesus said, "Who convicts me of sin?" Mohammed said, "Unless God throws his cloak of mercy over me, I have no hope." Jesus said, "Unless you believe in me, you will die in your sins." -- Unknown

Fundamentally, our Lord's message was Himself. He did not come merely to preach a Gospel; He himself is that Gospel. He did not come merely to give bread; He said, "I am the bread." He did not come merely to shed light; He said, "I am the light." He did not come merely to show the door; He said, "I am the door." He did not come merely to name a shepherd; He said, "I am the shepherd." He did not come merely to point the way; He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." -- J. Sidlow Baxter

The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the crowning proof of Christianity. If the resurrection did not take place, then Christianity is a false religion. If it did take place, then Christ is God and the Christian faith is absolute truth. -- Henry Morris

To holy people the very name of Jesus is a name to feed upon, a name to transport. His name can raise the dead and transfigure and beautify the living. --John Henry Newman

God will answer all our questions in one way and one way only. Namely, by showing us more of his Son. -- Watchman Nee

I have one passion. It is He, only He. -- Count Zinzendorf

Bing Crosby recites "ONE SOLITARY LIFE"

St. Patrick's Breastplate--A Prayer

Warfare prayers have a long history in the life of God's people. Typically these are prayed aloud or sung. Verbalizing better enables us to focus our thoughts, appropriate the truth of our position and resources in Christ, and assert our firm stand against evil powers.

St. Patrick's Breastplate is a prayer attributed to the famous 5th century missionary to Ireland. It was written in the style of a druidic incantation for protection on a journey and was no doubt inspired by Ephesians 6:10-18.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength,
The invocation of the Trinity,
Through the belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.
 
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth
With his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion
With his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection
With his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent
For the judgment of Doom.
 
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In predictions of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
 
I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun, radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire, speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind, depth of sea,
Stability of earth, firmness of rock.
 
I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear, alone and in multitude.

I summon today all these powers

Between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power
That may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that
Corrupts man's body and soul.
 
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me
Abundance of reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,

Christ behind me, Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today

Through a mighty strength,
The invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.
 

Grace Inexhaustible and Undeterred

It is good to sorrow over sin, and in our day when we are preoccupied with things of the world and find so little leisure for reflection, true sorrowing is perhaps rare. But we must also guard against the opposite danger and not allow the enormity of our sin to so overwhelm us that the small flame of our passion for God is quenched. In those cases, it is good to think of Jesus praying from the cross for those who proved faithless and abused him and stubbornly refused his love: “Father, forgive them.” 

 

“Men may flee from the sunlight to dark and musty caves of the earth, but they cannot put out the sun. So men may…despise the grace of God, but they cannot extinguish it.”  A.W. Tozer

“God never gave a believer a new heart that it should always lie a-bleeding, and that it should always be rent and torn in pieces with discouragements.” Thomas Brooks (1608-1680)

The "One"

Scriptures for Meditating on Christ's Victory

When we are weary and discouraged and the battle looks grim--maybe we are thinking about our sin problems, or problems in the church, or the unresponsiveness of loved ones--it is good to focus and revive our faith by meditating on those scriptures which proclaim the truth of Christ's conquest.

Colossians 2:15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to shame, by triumphing over them in him [i.e., the cross].

Hebrews 2:14-15 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage.

Colossians 1:13-14 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

I John 3:8 The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

I John 5:18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.


Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
James 4:7 Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

I John 4:4 He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

I John 2:14 I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

Romans 16:20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

Revelation 12:11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

Christ the Victor

The Lord Jesus is pictured in Scripture as a Mighty Warrior leading the armies of heaven to put a final end to evil: "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" (see Revelation 19:11-16).

But the victory is not primarily, or even first of all, a future event. Christ in his first coming was the Divine Warrior who conquered sin and the dark powers of evil by his perfect life and redeeming death and resurrecton. "He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him" (Colossians 2:15).

To stand firm as soldiers of Christ, we must concentrate all our thought on the Captain of our salvation, leaning on him and not relying on ourselves. Christ is  in our midst, "a warrior who gives victory" (Zephaniah 3:17), and that is what we must set before our minds. Christ Jesus has won the war, won the decisive victory over the world, the flesh, the devil, and death itself. And now he is pressing the victory against the dark powers.

This is the real picture of spiritual warfare. This is the reality we must insist on when the father of lies calls us "losers" and "failures" and brags that he has the upper hand.

Christ has already conquered and now he sits enthroned at the Father's right hand, far above every rule and authority--far above Satan and all his foul spirits. And this is also is the truth about the followers of Christ: 

• Our sin and guilt are forgiven and taken away by his blood shed on the cross. 
• We are new people in Christ, children of God, saints (holy ones) of God.
• We are seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:20-22; 2:6). 

This is our identity. This is our position. This is our authority in Christ. We must insist on these truths--say them aloud even--as we watch and pray daily against sin, temptation, and the devil.