Christ the King Art 19 & 20

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Okay, so as I said, we'll go back into the Confession and tonight we'll deal with Article 19 and Article 20, which really have to do, of course, with the kingship of Christ.
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And so before we read the Articles, just as a reminder of what, how this is moving along in the Confession, if anybody needs a copy of the Confession, I have one.
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Daisy, do you need one? I have one.
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Okay, good.
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Thank you.
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Alright, as we're moving through the Confession, remember we, the 10 Articles that we're looking at now from Article 11, Article 10 forward to Article 20, all deal under the main thought of Christ as Mediator.
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And so now we've been kind of working through the different realities of the fact that He is the Mediator, and we've been looking at different aspects, and we've been focused, as the brothers laid out in the Confession, these three great offices that Christ holds, and they are, what, prophet, priest, king.
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And we've kind of looked at the prophet and the priest a little bit, and remember that when we think of this, it's not separate offices, they're distinct offices that He holds, but they're not to be thought of as sequential in any way, that Christ is both prophet, priest, and king, and that we, and the reason why I say that is there are some that separate it.
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There are some that will say, and it really comes out of some of the thoughts in dispensational thinking, that Christ really doesn't become king until the Millennial Kingdom, which is a very dangerous teaching, but some dispensationalists will go to that extent, and really, if you think about it, if you hold to that thought, you really remove the reality of Christ as He is now seated on the throne, but we'll get into that a little bit further.
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So let me just take a moment, I'm going to read both Articles, Article 19 and Article 20, as they both deal with His kingship.
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Article 19, Concerning His kingly office, Christ being risen from the dead, and ascended into heaven, and having all power in heaven and earth, He doth spiritually govern His church, and doth exercise His power over all angels and men, good and bad, to the preservation and salvation of the elect, and to the overruling and destruction of His enemies.
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By His kingly power He applieth the benefits, virtue, and fruits of His prophecy and priesthood to His elect, subduing their sins, preserving and strengthening them in all their conflicts against Satan, the world, and the flesh, keeping their hearts in faith, and forlying fear by His spirit, by His mighty power He rules the vessels of wrath, using, limiting, and restraining them as it seems good to His infinite wisdom.
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And then they have a separate article, and remember the titles were added, but nevertheless they make a distinction, not only from the fact of His authority as king, but the fact of its glorious nature.
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And that's why in Article 20 it says, This His kingly power shall be more fully manifested, when He shall come in glory to reign among His saints, when He shall have put down all rule and all authority under His feet, that the glory of the Father may be perfectly manifested in the Son, and the glory of the Father and the Son in all its members.
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So there we have the two articles that the brothers back in the 1644 Confession, which was edited and brought out in 1646, that they lay out these points concerning the kingship of Christ.
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So I want to make a couple of comments, and I wrote the scriptures that we'll look at down on the board.
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If you care to write them down, that's fine.
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If you can't follow, that's fine.
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If you can't follow, that's fine.
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But what I found interesting, and it struck me as I started to read the two articles, if you look at the two articles for the thought of Christ being king, it was interesting to me that in the references that they used, remember all those scriptures underneath are their scriptural support for the statements that they're making.
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As a matter of fact, many of the statements that they make are nothing but what? Scriptures put together.
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But I found it interesting that if you look at the list of the scriptures that they used for these, you will find that they are all New Testament scriptures.
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Look at it.
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There is not a single Old Testament scripture that is used in stating the kingship of Christ in either of the articles.
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And I thought that was interesting, and I don't really know why.
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I honestly don't know why they did that.
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I have some thoughts, but they're not strong enough in my mind to say it.
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But here's the thing.
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When we think about the Lord Jesus Christ as king, is that solely a New Testament teaching? Yes? No? Maybe so.
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No.
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Okay.
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Anybody else? Is that a definitive no? Are we saying that the reality of Christ's kingship is not something that is foreign from the Old Testament, nor from the revelation of God, and that it is really, as they lay out these New Testament scriptures, it's really opened up and blossomed and manifested in the New Testament.
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But surely, Christ as king runs through the whole scriptures, doesn't it? Even as Brother Keith has been bringing up, when we looked at Genesis, about Christ being a priest after the order of Melchizedek, right? So what I thought to do, and this is going to be a little bit more of a Bible study than anything else, because I want to look at some of the scriptures, and I thought to entertain some of the scriptures from the Old Testament, just to show us that this thought of Christ as king is something that runs throughout the Word of God.
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And that's very important, especially in our day where there are many who would seek to divide to too much a degree the Old Testament from the New Testament.
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So let's just look at a couple of scriptures, and these are to, if you will, help us understand this whole idea of Christ as king.
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But before we do that, let me just ask you a question.
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When I say king, what comes to your mind? Sir? A ruler.
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Okay.
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What else? Authority.
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Absolutely.
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Anything else? Power.
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Sir? Power.
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Power.
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Okay.
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Yep.
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Well, let me ask you a question.
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If you're a king, that means you have to have a kingdom, right? And if you're a king and you have to have a kingdom, that means you have to have what? Subjects.
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Subjects.
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So when we think of king and we think of power and authority and rule, we have to also include within that thought the reality of a kingdom.
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What kind of a king would it be if the king didn't have a kingdom? I can go home and tell Candy I'm the king of the house, but there's no authority in that one.
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And there's no subjects in that one.
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Yeah, or she will tell me she's the queen of the house, and then I'll say, yes, ma'am.
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That kind of thing.
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But really, think about this as we go through it.
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In order to be a king, there has to be a kingdom attached to it.
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And in order for there to be a kingdom and a king, there has to be subjects.
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The king has to rule over someone or something.
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So keep that in mind because, again, that's important.
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All right.
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Let's just look at a couple of Old Testament ones just to get our juices flowing.
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And so 2 Samuel, and again, if you can't turn to it, that's fine.
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It's why I wrote them down.
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And many of these are very familiar to us, so it's not like we don't have some understanding.
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But nevertheless, it's always good to read the same truths over and over again.
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So you remember when David was promised by God to have an heir from him sit on the throne? And this is that great promise in 2 Samuel 7.
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And I'll just pick it up in verse 12 as God, through the prophet, speaks to David.
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He says, When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
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Historically, in context, who is he speaking about? Jesus.
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Okay.
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He's speaking about Jesus, but in Solomon, right? Because Solomon is his son, his own seed.
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However, we must go far past that, right? Not ignore Solomon, but also include the greater one.
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And you'll see it as you read through it.
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I will establish his kingdom.
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Verse 13, He shall build a house of my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
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I will be to him a father, and he shall be my son.
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If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the son of men.
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But my mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul when I removed him from before you.
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And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you.
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Your throne shall be established forever.
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Now, within this prophecy or this unfolding of truth here, we have to be careful that we see both Solomon, right? And certainly as God told him, and as God did, if David's sons, his physical sons, if they were disobedient, God would chastise them.
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And certainly he did, right? He chastised the kings to the point where ultimately they go off into captivity.
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So we have to see both historically who that king is that's being set up, but we often see far beyond that as we see Christ.
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Just as he talks about the seed, and so the seed would be Solomon, but the seed also has to be what we realize from all the way back in Genesis 3, right? The seed of the woman shall crush the seed of the serpent.
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And it has to be Christ.
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So that certainly is a prophecy about the kingship of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Okay, let's look a little bit further.
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Go to Psalm 2.
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Psalm 2.
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Very short psalm and yet very powerful psalm.
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All I want us to do is see that there is a setting for this, a disclosure for this as it comes through the Scriptures.
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Psalm 2, and it's so short I'm just going to read it.
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Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing, and the kings of the earth set themselves against, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against his anointing, saying, Let us break their bands in pieces and cast away their cords from us.
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He who sits in the heavens shall laugh.
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The Lord shall hold him in derision.
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Then he shall speak to them in his wrath, and distress them in his deep displeasure.
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Yes, yet I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion, and I will declare the decree.
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The Lord has said to me, You are my son.
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Today I have begotten you.
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Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession.
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You shall break them with a rod of iron.
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You shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
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Now, therefore, be wise, O kings.
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Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
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Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
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Kiss the son, lest he be angry, and you perish in a way when his wrath is kindled but a little.
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Blessed are all those who put their trust.
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There we certainly have a messianic psalm, but a psalm that speaks to us of the kingship of not only an earthly king, but a king that transcends those things of merely this world and this life.
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And so certainly that is a beautiful passage to look at.
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We could go, and I'll just mention something.
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I want to try to get as much as I can in.
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Remember the great prophecy, and Isaiah and I wrote it down if you want to look at it, of Isaiah chapter 9, where it says, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.
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And his name shall be called Wonderful Counsel, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
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And then it says of the increase of his government and kingdom, there'll be no end.
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There'll be no end.
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And so when we think about the kingship of Christ, we must seek to understand it in its majesty, in its fullness.
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I mean, what king of this earth, I don't care where you find that king, in time or space, whether it be a thousand years ago or today, what king could make such a claim to have a kingship over all? None.
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None.
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And so the Lord Jesus Christ, as the king, and what does the New Testament say, and what does the Scripture say of him? He's the king of kings and the Lord of lords.
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And so his reign far surpasses anything that any earthly king could accomplish, and when we look to him as our king, we ought to be able to find a great deal of comfort in that.
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In other words, I think of it this way.
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Maybe you would agree, maybe you don't, and that could be a discussion.
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I am thankful that I live in Florida.
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I am thankful that I live under the governorship of our governor.
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Right? Okay.
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And I really appreciate that.
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I'm thankful and I thank God for someone who stands up for truth.
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If I move to another state, I'm under another authority.
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And if I move to another state, and there are people, right, because of everything that's going on in the affairs of life, people are going from one state to another state and coming underneath this authority and this rule and in essence this little kingdom versus another kingdom.
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What we're talking about tonight and what the brothers laid out in the confession concerning Christ's kingly office, this is the king of kings.
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Has no boundaries, has no, and if you will, there are none that are exempt from his rule.
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And that is, my friends, that is a thought that should in essence humble us and yet comfort us.
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That I don't have to worry about my king being voted out in a couple of years.
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And I don't have to worry about picking up and moving to another place where the authority is what I think it ought to be or where I can find comfort.
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No, no, we are under the rule of the king of kings and the lord of lords, and his rule, he rules over the kings that he has set up to rule as the government powers that he ordained would be.
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Remember the scripture that teaches us, and it says the heart of the king is what? In the lord's hand.
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Like a river of water, he turns it wherever he wills.
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And I'm going to show you a scripture that certainly speaks to that.
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So that's another Old Testament setting forth of Christ in his kingly office.
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One more from the Old Testament, and it's in Daniel.
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Let's go to Daniel for a minute, Daniel chapter 7.
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And this one is so powerful.
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You can read a couple of them in Daniel, but I just want to look at one in Daniel chapter 7.
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As Daniel has a dream, as Daniel had many dreams, and some of them were very troublesome to Daniel, and he has this dream in Daniel chapter 7, and it was a vision in a sense, and there were beasts, and there were all kinds of things, and horns, and I'm not going to get into that right now, but I want you to look at verse 9 in Daniel chapter 7, and this really is a foretelling or a prophecy concerning a king.
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It says in verse 9, I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated, and his garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head was like pure wool, and his throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire, a fiery stream issued and came forth from before him, a thousand thousands ministered to him, ten thousands times ten thousands stood before him, the court was seated, and the books were opened, and you can keep on reading and reading and reading, and then you'll see, coming down into verse 13, I was watching in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven, and he came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before them, and then to him, him was given dominion and glory, and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him, his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.
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You know, as you, we're together, you know I repeat myself certain things, and I have a tendency at the Lord's Supper to say often, be careful what you do with Jesus.
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This is one of the reasons why I say that, because this is not some two-bit king that could be voted out, or a coup could overthrow him, or he could be displaced, or he could die, or he could be assassinated, no no no, this one that we're talking about tonight, this is the king who rules over it all, and that's why the brothers set it forth in such a glorious way, concerning his kingly office, Christ being risen from the dead, and ascended to heaven, having all power in heaven and earth, he thus spiritually governs his church.
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And so when you think about that, as I said, we must keep in mind that not only is he a king, he has a kingdom, and if he has a kingdom, he has servants.
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Okay, I want to think about something else along with this.
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And it really is what they say in the article itself.
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It says he ascended into heaven, having all power in heaven and earth, now look, he doth spiritually govern his church, and doth exercise his power over all angels and men, good and bad.
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We'll just stop there for a minute.
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Good and bad.
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So when you think of the nature of this king, and the kingdom, and the subjects, we have to remember that Christ is not just the king over his people, but Christ is king over who? All.
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Good and bad.
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Right? He is, in essence, the only true king, as we can look at a scripture in Timothy, and I wrote it down.
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He alone has immortality.
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He's the only potentate there is.
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So when we think about Christ and his kingship, to us it's dear, right? To us it's comforting.
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But he's also the king over all, good and bad.
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And how many there are that think that they can, and we were talking about it with Brother Jack a little bit when I was discussing this a minute ago, how many people think they can get away with things, where they can usurp the authority that's over them.
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Or maybe they can get by doing something that they ought not to do, and never find themselves in a situation where they have to answer for it.
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Well, the one that we worship is the one who, to him at what? Every knee shall bow.
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Every tongue shall confess.
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So, again, important to remember that that his kingship is not only everlasting, not only is it above all, but it's overall.
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And it has these two different aspects of it.
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One is to his church, and that's what it says, right? It says, good and bad, now look, to the preservation and salvation of the elect, and in the overruling and destruction of his enemies by his kingly power, he applies the benefits, virtue, and fruits of his prophecy and priesthood to his elect.
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So there it is, there's the, if you will, two different outworkings of his kingship.
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One is, he preserves his subjects.
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And who are his subjects? They very clearly state who the subjects are, don't they? It's the elect.
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It's the ones that he has called.
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Now, if you think about it, and we talked about this a little bit in Sunday School when we were looking at, we started some thoughts on the God who's there.
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In the eternal counsel of God, God determined to have a people for himself, right? And we call that the counsel of redemption, and Christ was the one who was going to purchase that determined people and present, and I'll show it to you in a few minutes, and present it to the Father.
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He came.
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But when you think about it, as he came forth, he came forth to ensure, to purchase, to establish those for whom he came.
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Remember what it says in John? All that the Father, what? Gives me, shall come to me, and he that comes to me, I shall in no wise cast out.
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Why? Because he's the king over his people.
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And as the king he came, and certainly the Jews had it in their mind, right? That weren't they looking for the Messiah? Weren't they looking for one to come? Although they really messed it up, didn't they? And I'm not throwing rocks at them because we mess it up an awful lot, right? What did they want Christ to do? Do you remember at one point in the Gospels what they tried to do and he basically got away from them? They wanted to take him and make him king, right? But their idea of a kingdom or their understanding of a king was much different than the purpose for which this king came.
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It wasn't just to establish some earthly kingdom, right? It was to establish the kingdom of God and it was to be a kingship that covers all of God's people from every nation, tribe, tongue, and language, right? So you think about it, that's so important for us that we see that as the great king he first establishes, or not just first, but number one, he preserves his elect.
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You know, I have trouble with people who do not believe in the sovereignty of God.
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One of the reasons why I do, there are many, one of the reasons why I do is because I don't understand how you can look at the Scriptures where it talks about a king coming to purchase a people for himself and establish the kingdom and then in the next breath to say, well, he's not really sure who's in that kingdom because he's really got to kind of wait and see who will and who won't come.
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I mean, what kind of a king is that? What kind of a rule is that? That's like a hope so king.
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It's like, I hope they vote for me.
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That's not how it is, is it? In God's sovereignty, what God has purposed, God will complete, and why? Because his son is the king and his son came to establish this kingdom and his kingdom, as we read already, has no end to it.
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And you think about the other, another aspect of it is that as they stated that he not only is the king to preserve his elect, the salvation of the elect and the overruling and the destruction of his enemies.
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In other words, that's what we just read in Psalm 2, right? Kiss the son, lest he be angry with you and you perish in the way.
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I ask us to think about that because it's not perhaps the most pleasant thought at times, but when we think of the kingship of Christ, there is the beautiful reality of him being our king, and it's a kingdom of love, right? And he laid down his life for his friends and he will not let anything happen to us, right? The perseverance of the saints.
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But at the very same time, he is a king who is going to subdue all rebellion.
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He is a king that will put down his enemies.
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And if we really understand who his enemies are, it really gets to us, doesn't it? Because who are the king's enemies? Who are King Jesus's enemies? Is it just the Saddam Husseins and the Hitlers and the followers of Allah and Buddha and, as I say, the genie in the bottle? No.
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The enemies of God are those that are not for him.
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Right? I mean, we just can't escape that.
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Jesus, as clear as language could be, if you are not for me, you are against me.
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So when we talk to people about the gospel and people say, you know, this Jesus thing, I like a little bit of it, but let's not get carried away.
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Not get carried away? The king will destroy his enemies.
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That's what he's coming to do.
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He's coming to take us to be with himself and he's coming to put down his enemies.
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And it's almost like we always want to talk about the love of God, but we never want to talk about the wrath of God and the judgment of God and the justice of God.
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We love the first one.
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We're not too thrilled about the second one.
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But the king is one who is a king over all, as I said, not just for the comfort of his people, but for the destruction of his enemies.
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There are many kings in this world today that would love to destroy their enemies, but they don't have the power.
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They have to stay within their little boundaries.
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Not this king.
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And certainly as we can read in the New Testament, and I will show you as we get to a little bit further, when he comes, he comes with all the power and the authority of heaven and angels and there is no place.
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That's why it says in Revelation that as men see the reality of the finality of the law, it says they hide under the rocks.
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Why? They won't repent and they hide under the rocks.
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Well, guess what? This king can lift rocks and he will look under every rock and find his enemies.
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Just as much as, listen, as sure as every one of his elect will be with him for all eternity, so as sure is the reality that everyone who opposes him will be cast into the lake of fire.
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Now that ought to knock some of the foolishness out of us when you think about it.
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And as we think about these offices that Christ holds, these are glorious truths and they are fearful truths.
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And certainly that's what it says.
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It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
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Right? Like I said, if I don't like this king, I think about all those people in Hollywood, how they, you know, we don't like what was going on when we had the last problem.
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We don't like what's going on.
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We're going to move to Canada.
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I just want to say goodbye.
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But, you know, I don't like the rule here, so I'll go live there and I'll do what I want there.
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When this king, when the king of kings comes, there's no place to run.
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There's no torches like Jonah trying to run from the Lord.
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It won't be that way.
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So we must keep those two aspects in mind.
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So think about this also.
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Not only is he the king over us, but the reality is, as the scriptures teach us, that the Lord knows those that are his.
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Isn't that cool? Cool is a theological word, at least in my mind.
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It's cool.
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Think about it.
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What king knows every single subject in his kingdom? Now, if your kingdom has only got five people, that's a little bit different.
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I mean, I'm the king of my castle.
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I know my wife and my dog.
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And we've got fish and we've got squirrels and raccoons and opossums in the backyard.
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That's my little kingdom.
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And I know every one of them.
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We even name them.
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Please, I shouldn't.
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I've got to watch myself.
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My wife's named Snake.
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We've got a little gecko that knocks on the window.
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His name is Godzilla.
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But anyway, my whole point is we know all the people in our kingdom.
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Right? What king of this world can make that claim that he knows all his subjects? And yet it says the Lord knows those that are his as well as he knows those that are not his.
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Every single name.
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Every single life.
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Nothing gets past his desk.
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What king can make such a claim? Only the king of kings and the Lord of lords.
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And when you think about that, think about this also, that this king in his kingdom and his subjects, that it's not only the thought of ruling over them, but it's to nurture.
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It's to protect.
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It's to comfort.
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It's to transform.
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It's to provide for.
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I don't know about you, but if I had to depend on a king for my support, my welfare, for my everything, I want the biggest king I can find.
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Don't you? I don't want to just come to some little king.
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I want the big guy.
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I want the highest that you could find, because I'm going to believe that he's going to do the most for me.
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And then we come to the king of kings and the Lord of lords.
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See what a glorious thing it is to be a child of God? Why do people not want to be ruled by such a great and glorious king who loves and nurtures and seeks to protect and seeks to feed and seeks to comfort? Why? We all know the reason why, right? Sin.
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Sin.
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The only reason why people don't come to Christ, by the way.
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People could have a thousand reasons why they don't come to Christ, and they'll give you a thousand reasons.
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You want to know the real reason why people don't come to Christ? Sin.
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You get rid of sin, you'll come to Christ.
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But until you get rid of sin, you'll oppose him.
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So this kingdom and this rule of this king is altogether glorious, and it's for our welfare and for our well-being, and it's really to draw us closer to him.
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Isn't that great? Think about it.
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How many of us could go to the White House tomorrow and knock on the front door and say, I'm here to see the president? Yeah.
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You'll be in zip ties or down on the ground before you know it.
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You're not going to get past the fence.
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In today's world, you're not going to get past the national guard and whatever, the barricades.
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So we don't have access to this king.
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The kings of this earth, it's very hard to have access to the kings of this earth.
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This king, this Lord Jesus Christ, he is the one who welcomes us to approach him.
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Isn't that great? In that sense, he says, come and jump.
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Sit on my lap.
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Let's talk.
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What does he need? He says, God cares for us.
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He says, God desires that we come to him.
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Come to me, all you.
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I have you laid, and I'll give you rest.
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He goes and gets us, right, like the prodigal son, and as the son comes back towards the father, the father runs towards the son, doesn't he? And the father throws the robe on the son, and the father throws the feast for the son.
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And the other son, all he cares about is, that ain't fair.
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But that's what this kingship means to us.
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It's so glorious, my friends.
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It's so wonderful.
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And if you think about it, another aspect of it, and I'm just trying to give us a lot of things to think about under these two articles.
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He's not only king over his creatures.
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He's king over his creation, isn't he? It says that fire, smoke, wind, and vapor fulfill his purposes.
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I was at Set Free a couple weeks ago, and one of the guys came up to me after our time together.
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He had this real serious face.
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He said, I got to ask you a real serious question.
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He says, I haven't been able to figure out the answer.
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I said, okay.
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I'm thinking, oh, has this stumped the teacher here? What's going to happen? Anyway, he said, can God use animals to bring people to Christ? And he was as serious as could be.
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And I thought about it for a minute, and I said, what do you think? So he said, I don't know.
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And I said, well, I know he does.
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And I was thinking really fast, and I said, well, let me ask you a question.
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What if you were walking down the street, and you got bit by a dog, and you had to go to the hospital, and you go to the hospital, and the nurse who's taking care of you is a Christian, and she talks to you about the gospel, and you come to Christ? Would you not agree with me that God used the dog to bring you to himself? What did God do with Pharaoh? With the lice and the frogs and all those different things? Did not God use the whale for Jonah? Does God use creatures? Absolutely.
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Does God use the animate and the inanimate? Absolutely.
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See, this king that we're talking about, he's not just, again, some two-bit king.
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He's not even just a great king.
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His greatness, as the psalm says, is what? It's unsearchable.
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Because we still think in humans.
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Yes, brother.
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We think in humans, right? We think in terms of how it affects us, and yet, and it does.
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But this king, he is truly the king of kings and the Lord of lords.
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And there isn't a king that has been, will ever be, that can make that kind of a claim that they are not only king over creatures, but creation.
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Brother? The lightning storm got Martin Luther's attention.
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Absolutely.
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You're right.
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Right.
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And how many people look at, just in the book of Acts, when Paul's ship is being torn apart, and what does he tell the men there? Stay in the ship.
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You'll be safe.
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Right? Did not God use an ark? Did not God use water? Did not God use the sea? Does not God use things? Did God not use the disciples singing hymns in the Philippian jail to bring a jailer to himself? You start talking to people, and you ask them, how did you come to Christ? And you'd be surprised what you'll get if you ask enough people.
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Because everybody doesn't come, I mean, it's a narrow gate, and it's a straight path.
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But there's a lot of obstacles in the way, right? So, again, maybe it's something that is other than what we are normally accustomed to thinking.
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That's why there's no such thing as a coincidence in the life of a Christian.
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That's right.
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And there couldn't be, right? There couldn't be if he is the king of kings.
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And as we read, I'll never get to the New Testament, but nevertheless, as we read, And maybe that's why the brothers didn't do that, because it took too long.
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But just think about it.
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If he is not the king of kings, then God is not the ruler.
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And if God is not the ruler, then there is no rule.
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And if there is no rule, there is no God.
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So think about it.
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If you deny the kingship of Christ, you're really denying the person of God.
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You're denying the creator, the sustainer, and the judge.
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And that's why the scriptures say, and some people won't like this, but it's exactly what it says in certain translations.
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It says that unsaved people are insane.
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In the Old Testament, it says that men have, that the unsaved, the unbeliever has a warped mind.
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And some translators will translate it as unsaved people are insane.
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And I tend to agree with that.
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Not out of pride or arrogance, because I was probably right up there with the most insane people.
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But just think about what you are turning from, rather than turning to.
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A loving king, a comforting king, a providing king, an all-powerful king.
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And what do we choose? The things of this world? The king of gold, and the king of lust, and the king of fun? I'm going to get myself in trouble, but I'm going to say it anyway.
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This whole thing with the Pride Month, to me, is a personal affront on the kingship of Christ.
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Because its premise is that God is wrong when he said a man is a man and a woman is a woman, and marriage is between a man and a woman.
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That God got it wrong, and we'll be our own king, and this is what we say.
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And our rule stands.
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It doesn't work that way.
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You can paint the rainbow any color you want.
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You can have colored lollipops.
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You can do anything.
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You can tiptoe through the tulips, if you like.
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But ultimately, does anybody know what I meant when I said tiptoe through the tulips? Tiny Tim.
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Tiny Tim, thank you.
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You guys probably don't.
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You don't know Tiny Tim, you two, right? You don't? Okay.
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Alright.
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But again, it's an affront on the kingship of Christ.
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It is, sister.
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And we try to paint it in beautiful pastels.
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You just can't do that.
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The only way you can do it is, again, walk away from the Scriptures.
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Say, I'll be my own king.
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Huh? It's not their rainbow.
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No, it's not their rainbow, sister.
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You're right.
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They stole God's rainbow.
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Satan disguises himself.
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As an angel of color.
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Yep.
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Yep.
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Well, again, I wanted to try to demonstrate that from the first article.
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But just for a moment, I want to look at the second article and ask you to think about it.
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So let's just read that one again.
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It's real short.
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And it says, as far as Article 20, This His kingly power shall be more fully manifested when He shall come in glory to reign among His saints and, well not and, but when He shall put down all rule and all authority under His feet that the glory of the Father may be perfectly manifested in the Son and the glory of the Father and the Son in all its members.
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So I think what they're seeking to do is not only to set forth that Christ is the king and that He came to establish the kingdom.
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But I believe there's a reality for us that we have to understand that as the mediatorial king there is yet a fulfillment to be consummated.
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That's right.
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And when is that? Well, it kind of depends on what you believe about end times, right? I mean, you can go down the road and there's basically three comings of Christ.
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The first coming, the millennial kingdom, and then the final one.
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I don't believe that's the way it is.
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But nevertheless, people say, my whole point is there's still consummation to be had, right? He's on the throne.
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He is seated at the right hand of the Father.
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Everything is subject to Him.
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And yet, until...
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And I don't know how you consider it, but this is how I consider it.
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The day that the last of God's elect come to know the Savior is the last day.
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Because I do not know any other reason for Christ not coming until all His chosen ones have come to Him.
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Could have been born this week.
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You're right, brother.
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And in that sense, His return is, in my understanding and description, His return is imminent.
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Right? As soon as the last sheep comes into the fold, I believe the gate's locked.
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The door is shut.
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And then it talks about those that were out, banging on the door, let us in.
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And I never knew you.
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But there's still this reality of a consummation.
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And there's still this reality as the...
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Again, as the mediator and as the mediatorial king, He is yet to consummate.
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And it also talks in Scriptures about the marriage, right? He's yet to consummate the marriage with the bride.
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There are many Scriptures we could look at.
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I'm not sure how much time we have.
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But the one I really wanted to focus in on, because I think it's one that troubles people, is 1 Corinthians chapter 15.
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Let's look at that together.
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1 Corinthians chapter 15.
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And there's a lot of discussion that could be had about it.
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About what it's really saying and what it's not saying.
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But let me read this to you.
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And it's...
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I'm going to read from verse 20 through verse 28.
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And read this with me.
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And see if you understand it.
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And then we can have a little bit of a discussion about it.
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And as Paul is dealing with this whole idea of Christ having come, the king has manifested himself.
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He came.
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He purchased his kingdom on the cross.
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He conquered the grave as the king of kings.
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He ascended.
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He's seated at the right hand of the throne.
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And then in verse 20 it says, But now Christ is risen from the dead, and he's become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
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For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead.
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For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
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But each in his own order, Christ the firstfruits.
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After are those who are Christ's at his coming.
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Now look at what it says in verse 24.
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Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom of God, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father, and when he puts an end to all rule and all authority and all power.
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For he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet.
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The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
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For he has put all things under his feet, but when he says all things are put under him, it is evident that he who put all things under him is accepted.
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Now, when all things are made subject to him, the Son himself will also be subject to him who put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
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Now, we don't have enough time to look at this scripture in detail, but I'm going to ask you, does anyone have a complete understanding and feel absolutely comfortable with what we just read about the King delivering up the kingdom and then the Son being at least as one honest person in the room? All right, I'm going to take a quick thought about it.
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Remember what we've been saying, that the Lord Jesus Christ performs the office as the mediator and it breaks out in those three great offices of prophet, priest, and king, right? So the Father sent the Son to do what? To purchase the kingdom.
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The Son, in obedience to the Father, came and bought the kingdom with his own blood.
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He then ascended and he's seated at the right hand of the Father.
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And as we think about the consummation, what I believe the Apostle is teaching us is that as the final sheep comes in, that the Son, in a very real sense, will present back to the Father the kingdom that the Father sent the Son to establish.
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And that he will have brought in every one of all that the Father has given me, I won't lose any.
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And that he presents it back to the Father.
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And I think that's why it says, it is evident that he who puts all things unto him is accepted.
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I believe what he's saying is, the Father sent the Son, and not to think of one being less and the other one being more, because I think we really have a hard time with that anyway, don't we? Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
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Who's one? Who's two? Who's three? So that's very difficult to comprehend.
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But nevertheless, the Father gave the Son a mission.
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And the Son, in obedience, said, I delight to do your will.
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And I believe that the Son is actually going to present, in some tangible way, the kingdom to the Father to please the Father, because that's all the Son desires to do, is to please the Father.
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I do always the things that please the Father, Jesus said.
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And then at that point, that God becomes all in all.
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God's purposes are fulfilled.
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That God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit...
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Let me ask you this.
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Will we ever see the Father? Okay.
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The Father is the Spirit, and no man has seen the Father in any time.
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So, who shall we see in heaven? Ha ha ha ha ha ha! She says, I don't know.
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We'll see the Son! Right.
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So we'll see Him.
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We'll see Him.
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We will see Him, because He is the manifestation.
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He is the bodily presence of God.
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So I submit to you that in that day, when the Son presents the kingdom to the Father, then God will be all in all again.
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And there will be unity, and there will be completeness, and there will be fulfillment.
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And we shall see the Son, and He shall ever reign as King over His kingdom.
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And in that sense, that God's purposes have been completed.
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Now, you might have a different understanding of it, and there's much more that could be said.
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Huh? I have no understanding.
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Okay.
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Well, maybe this will help you form some understanding, and that would be great, too.
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I guess my whole point is, as you think about this, the kingship of Christ, it was prophesied from the very beginning.
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It was revealed to us slowly.
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We saw it in David.
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We saw it in his descendants.
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We saw it in Solomon.
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We saw it in this way and in that way.
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We saw them fail and go into captivity.
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And we also see Him in the Gospels as He comes.
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He not only comes as the Lamb of God, He comes as the kingdom of the kingdom of God.
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Right? What did they do when He went into Jerusalem? Behold, the King is coming, lowly on the foal of an ass.
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Right? And so when He ascended, He's seated at the right hand.
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And that's why in Revelation it says, Of Christ's thou art worthy to receive honor and glory and power and dominion, for you have created all things, and for your pleasure they were and are created.
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Isn't that great? Let me just...
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Two more scriptures and then we'll end.
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We'll close with prayer.
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And they'll both be in Thessalonians.
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Although you could look at the one in Philippians, which is really good, of course, but that's very for me too.
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But let's just look at the two in Thessalonians.
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First Thessalonians, Chapter 4.
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First Thessalonians, Chapter 4.
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And of course, this is a very difficult passage for a lot of different reasons.
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To some it's concerning the second coming of Christ or the beginning of the millennial kingdom and many other things.
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But I'll just pick it up in verse 13.
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First Thessalonians 4, 13.
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But I don't want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
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For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
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For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord will by no means perceive those that are asleep.
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For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with the shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
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Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with Him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
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And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
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Therefore comfort one another with these words.
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The kingship of the Lord Jesus Christ is to be a comfort for us.
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He is coming for us.
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He will not tarry one second more than the purposes of God being fulfilled.
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And whether we go to Him or He comes to us, we shall ever be with the Lord and we ought to find comfort in that.
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And isn't that, in a sense, such a dichotomy that for those who by repentance and faith trust in Him there's nothing ahead but comfort.
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But for those who deny and reject and rebel there's nothing to look forward to.
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And I'll show it to you in the last scripture in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1.
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2 Thessalonians chapter 1 and these are terrible words in that sense and I'm sorry, it's 2 Thessalonians 2 and it's talking again in the context of the man of sin and we just don't have time for that but I want you to just think about what it says The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan with all powers and signs and lying wonders and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved.