Let's see if I can get this right.
Turn with me to 1 Timothy chapter 6. He said, perverse disputings
of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth. That's a description
of some men. As a matter of fact, of most
men, of humankind. is of that description. Supposing that gain is godliness, from such withdraw thyself. That is, those that suppose that gain what you attain has
some form of merit to it, withdraw yourself from those.
For godliness or but godliness with contentment is a great gain. To be content, to be content
with the situation, condition, and the state that you're in
is a great gain to be content. He said, For we have brought
nothing into this world, we come into it naked, without any redeeming
features or qualities. It's the way we came into this
world, and it's certain, he said, certain we can't carry nothing
out. So what happens to the gains?
What happens to the man's estate, all of his property, all of his
bank accounts, all of his stocks, and all of his bonds? What happens
to it? He can't take it with him. He
didn't bring anything in, he ain't gonna take anything out.
Now if that ain't so, your argument's not with me. It's got to be with
Him. Having food and raiment, we got
that. We got something to eat. That's
cornbread and soup beans. And if we've got some clothes
on our back, let us be there with content. But they that will be rich, they have a terrible time because
they're subject unto temptation and a snare into many foolish
and hurtful lusts. which drown men in destruction
and perdition. For the love of money, I know
that the old saying is that money is the root of all evil, but
it is the love of money that is the root of all evil, which
while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, been
seduced from the faith, and pierce themselves through with many
sorrows. But thou, O man of God," and
that is who I am talking to here this morning. Thou, O man of
God, flee these things and follow after righteousness, godliness,
faith, patience and meekness. To do right, to think right,
to act right. Righteousness. Righteousness
that's acquired by imputation. That's the righteousness that
all other righteousness points to. A righteousness that is not
of our own. A righteousness that cometh by
imputation. Blessed are those unto whom the
Lord will not impute sin." Our righteousness is the righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so he says, fight the good
fight of faith. Fight the good fight. It's a
fight, it's a battle, it's a war. He likens the Believer unto a soldier, a soldier
who goes to war and he fights a good fight. Lay hold on eternal
life. Lay hold of it. It is in Christ
Jesus. Eternal life is in Him. Lay hold
of Him. Whereunto thou art also called,
and has professed a good profession before many witnesses, I give
thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and
before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good
confession, that thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable,
until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ when He comes again. And this is what I want to talk
to you about here this morning. Which in His times, which in
His times, He shall show who is the blessed and only Potentate. In His time, He is going to show
this. In His times, He shall show who
is the blessed and only potentate, the King of kings and Lord of
lords, who only hath immortality, dwelling
in the light which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath
seen, nor can see, to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen. I want to talk to you for
just a little while here this morning about the King of Kings.
The King of Kings. Not just the Kings, but the King
of Kings. Oh, lots of Kings. I'm talking
about the King of Kings. Now, certainly, when it says,
the King of kings and the Lord of lords, He's not referring
here to the Father in heaven. He's not referring to God the Father over all and above
all. Besides Him, there is no other.
He's not referring to the Creator of the universe and the sustainer
of all things. The words here are concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the King of Kings. Now, you say, why does it apply
to the Lord Jesus Christ here? Because this characteristic,
this expression that speaks of A characteristic of the Lord
Jesus Christ applies to him, and him only, elsewhere in the
New Testament. The King of Kings. Over here
in the book of Revelation chapter 17, let me read something to
you. Revelation chapter 17 and verse 14. Listen to what it says. Verse 14 talks about a time that is not now, but shall be a period
of time. They shall make war with the
Lamb. The nations of the earth shall
make war with the Lamb. We know who the Lamb is. Behold
the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. The Lamb
who is the King of kings, the only potentate, the ruler of
the inhabitants of the earth. Power! God has given him power
of everything that is in heaven and everything that is on earth.
He's got power and authority. He's the Lamb! They shall make
war with the Lamb. They've always been against the
Lamb. This whole world in its hostility
is directed against the Lamb. It's against God. Every sin is
against God. It's against the Lamb. And the
Lamb shall overcome them. Thank God. The Lamb shall overcome
them. that make war with him, he shall
overcome. I like them shalls, don't you?
And the Lamb shall overcome them. Why? For He is Lord of Lords. For He is Lord of Lords and King
of Kings. No contest. No contest. Why will a man war with God? Why will a man argue with God? He's futile in his efforts. He
cannot overcome Him, for He's Lord of lords and King
of kings, and they that are with Him, they that are with Him,
somebody with Him, They are called and chosen and faithful. King of kings and Lord of lords. Then turn over there in that
19th chapter and verse 16. Verse 10, he said, I fell at
his feet. Well, verse 9, And he said unto
me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage
supper of the Lamb. The Lamb again, the Lamb of God. Blessed are they which are called
unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These
are the true sayings of God. Now this is John. And I fell
at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See, Thou
do it not, I am thy fellow servant, and I, brethren, have the testimony
of Jesus, and worship God in the testimony of Jesus in the
spirit of prophecy. Now I saw the heavens open, and
behold, a white horse, and he that sat upon it was called Faithful
and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His
eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns.
And he had a name written that no man knew but he himself. And
he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood. His name is
called the Word of God. And the Word was made flesh.
The Word was with God. And the Word was God. And the
armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed
in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a
sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and
he shall rule them with the rod of iron. He treadeth the winepress
of the fierceness and the wrath of Almighty God. He hath on his
vesture and on his thigh a name written,
King of kings, and Lord of Lords. Now, this is why I believe that
here in I Timothy chapter 6, when it says, The only potentate,
King of kings and Lord of lords, it is not referring to God the
Creator, but it is referring to the Lamb of God, the Lord
Jesus Christ, because In these places in the Scriptures, that
title is given to him and applies to him alone, King of Kings and
Lord of Lords. Now listen to me, he is the King
of Kings. Now, I want to emphasize, I want
you to believe it and bow to him and worship him as the King
of Kings. He is the King of Kings. There's
no question about that. It's indisputable. No argument
can be made. That would change my mind as
to who He is. He's King of Kings. But the world,
the world in which we live, we're living in the world. We're living
on the planet Earth. It's the world we live in. The
world does not own His universal authority as King of Kings. This is not His time. Remember
I read to you over here in 1 Timothy, chapter 6, where it says, where he says, This is not his time, verse 15,
which in his time shall show who is the blessed and only potent
date, king of kings, Lord of lords. He will show that. But
this is not his time in this world. They do not own him to
be king of kings, Lord of lords. But this is not His time. There
will be a time when He shall show. Remember one time it says
there that every knee shall bow. There will come a time. That
will be His time. When every knee, every knee,
When He gathers the dead from the grave, and the waters give
up their dead, and they all gather together, every knee, every knee
shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that He's the Lord, that
He's the King, the King in His time. Not now, it's not now they
don't own him as king. Oh no, now he's manipulated. Now, men won't let Jesus do what
he wants to do, they say. He's prohibited from carrying
out his will, from doing his purpose, because men won't let
him do it. So therefore, They say he's such
a little god that he can't do what he likes to do, wants to
do, desires to do, what he purposely can't do it. We prohibit him. They don't own him as king of
kings and lord of lords. But in his time they will. Now
they don't. These are not his times in regard
to this wicked, weary world. in which we live in. I always shudder when I think that
here we are, just a handful of people, just a handful. All of
us, all of us could die today and we probably wouldn't be missed.
We probably wouldn't be missed. How many times have I talked
to people and they say, well, you're a preacher? And I say,
yes. Well, where do you pray? They say, well, at the Baptist
Church up there, the Katie Baptist Church. Well, where's that at? I say, well, it's about four
or five miles from Fairmont, Route 250 north, and it's a stone
building. The building we meet is a stone
building on the right-hand side. Well, I don't remember seeing
it. We could all die and we wouldn't
be missed very long. Maybe not missed at all. If missed,
not very long. Well, what I'm saying is, these
are not His times with regard to this wicked world. You see,
right now, this is the hour of the power of darkness. Right
now, this is the hour and the time of the power of darkness.
In this age, in this age, Satan, the devil, is the prince and
the power of the world. He's the god of this world. That's
the reason why there's so much problem, so many problems. He's
the God of this world. Let me read that to you over
there in the book of 2 Corinthians, I believe it is. 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 4. Verse 3, let me read
that first, verse 3. said, But if our gospel be hid,
the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is hid in this world. It's hid. If our gospel be hid,
it be hid to them that are lost, lost before God, because they
don't know God or His Christ, the Lamb of God, and they're
lost. They're not interested. They're not interested in the
truth of God. They've already manufactured
a God of their own, made a God out of their own thinking, the
God of their own hands. They've made a God likened to
themselves. And what they do, they let God
do. And what they will not do, they
won't let God do. They are lost if the gospel be
hid. It is hid to them that are lost. They have no saving knowledge
of the Lord Jesus. Now, here is what I want you
to see. In whom? The God of this world. It is Satan's time now. In his time, he will show forth
who is the only potentate, the king of kings, in his time. It's
the devil's time now, you see, "...in whom the God of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not." He's blinded
their minds. That's the reason why it takes
a revelation of God to reveal Himself to a lost man, to show
the lost man that He is lost, and that Christ Jesus is the
Savior of lost sinners. They don't know that. The Gospel
is hid to them, and they never will find it out until God Himself
reveals the Gospel to them. And then they'll believe the
Gospel, and then they'll follow the Gospel, follow the Lord Jesus
Christ, follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes. blinded the minds of
them which believe not." Believe not. The Bible, admonition after admonition
in the Bible, is to those that believe. To those that believe. Believe what? Believe Him. Believe that God sent Him to
be their Savior, to meet all their needs as a sinner. To them which believe not, they
won't believe that. We don't need a Savior. What
are you talking about? I'm as good as the next guy.
What are you talking about? You do this and I don't do what
you do. That's not what it's all about. It's all about Him. Not what
I do and what I don't do. It's about Him, the Savior of
sinners. Can you trust Him and Him alone? That's what it's all about. which
believe not less, they won't believe less, the light of the
glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine
unto them. For we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves, your servants, for
Jesus' sake, for God's who commanded the light to shine. He's got
to command that light to shine. You can't turn that light on.
He's got to command it to shine. God said, let there be light. In the beginning of the first
creation, the old creation, when the earth was without form or
void, God said to nothing, there was nothing there. And God said
to nothing, let there be light. And light there was. He commanded
the light to come out of nothing. And He's got to command the light
to shine. If it ever shines in our hearts,
it's got to be God. See? Hath shined in our hearts,
to give light of what? Listen to me. This is probably
the most important thing I can read or say this morning. To give the light of the knowledge,
the knowledge of the glory of God, the knowledge of who Jesus
Christ is, why He came upon this earth, why He suffered, why He
bled, why He died. If you know Why He came, and
why He suffered, and why He died, and why He was resurrected, and
where is that, if you know that? My God, you're a child of God.
You've got light. You've got light. Oh, He says, we have this treasure,
this blessed treasure, this gospel, we have it on earth in vessels.
That's just the body of it. We've got it here. Here I am
up here talking to you about the gospel. This is a weak package. We've got this which is important,
which is vital, which is precious, and it's wrapped up in paper.
Don't look at the paper. Look at the treasure. We have this treasure in earthen
vessels that the glory might be of Him. the glory might be
attributed to him and not to the vessel, see, that we have
this treasure in earth when vessels that the excellency of the power
may be of God and not of us. I don't have anything to do with
it. I can't do it. I can't save myself.
If I could save people, I'd save my whole family. I'd save all
my, all that's blood of my blood and flesh of my flesh, I'd save
them. I'd save them in a New York minute. I can't do it. Only God can do it. I'm shut
up to God. That's the reason I cry out to
Him. Lord, show mercy, if you will, if you will. Make your
light to shine in that dark sinner's soul that he might see. Give
him the knowledge of who he is and who you are. God's got to
make the light shine. Listen, Satan, that's what I'm
saying. I'm saying this. This is not
His time, the King of Kings. It's Satan's time in this world.
He's the Prince and the Power of the Air. He is the God of
this world. But you say, well, what is the
Lord Jesus? What's God doing now in regard
to His people? This is what He's doing. He's
taking out a remnant. A remnant. You know what a remnant
is? They have a sale every once in a while at the stores, particularly
the stores that sell carpet and stuff, said, we're selling remnants,
pieces of the road, pieces of the home. A remnant is a part,
a small part of the home. What's God doing today? He's
taking out a remnant of His people to be subjects to His coming
kingdom. They're born into His kingdom,
but His kingdom is not yet set up here, not established here
on this earth, and it will be one day. See? He's calling out
a people for His name. That's the reason why this is
one of the first things that kind of gave me some light in
what God's doing, was when I found out When I found out that God
wasn't trying to save everybody who's a member of Adam's race,
when I found that out, and I found it out, when I found out that
what He's doing now in this age, He's calling out people for His
name. He's called them, and He's not
defeated in His purpose. He'll get every one of those
that He has elected unto His salvation, He'll get every one
of them. He's calling them out. That's
the reason we're preaching. That's the reason there's preachers
all over the country, and they're preaching the gospel. God's called the people
out. He's not trying to save people.
He's calling out a people, a specific, a special people, a people that
He chose unto Himself. He could have chosen them all,
but He didn't. He chose a few. He chose many
unto His name. Now, before the world was, before creation, before time
was, before the world was, the Father, God the Father, appointed
the Lord Jesus Christ to be King of kings. Now, we can see a few
gleanings of this truth in the second psalm, if you'll turn
with me. Psalm number 2. Let's do what it says. It says, Why do the heathen rage? And the people imagine vain things. And the kings of the earth set
themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the
Lord and against His anointed. Why do they do that? And they
say, Let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords
from us. And how does God react? He that
sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, and the Lord shall have
them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them
in his wrath, and vex them, torment them in his sore displeasure."
Listen to what he says. Yet, in spite of the heathen
raging, in spite of what the heathen do and the people imagining
the vain thing, yet have I sent my King upon my holy hill of
Zion, I will declare the decree the Lord hath said unto me, Thou
art my son, this day have I begotten thee." As a king, as a king, he will
rule over the uttermost parts of the earth in absolute sovereignty. God hath appointed him before
the world ever was, yet I have set my King upon this holy mountainside. I have set him there. I have
anointed him. I have appointed him before the
world was. The Old Testament prophets foretold
the character of the King of Kings over there in the book
of Isaiah. Chapter 9 of the book of Isaiah. Chapter 9. Listen to what he
says in verse 6. He is foretelling. the character
of the coming of the King of Kings. He said, For unto us a
child is born. That is, unto the human race,
under human beings, a child is born. The Lord Jesus Christ was born
of a woman. He came forth from a woman's
womb. A child is born. human flesh. Unto us a son is given. A son. A son. A son is given. Given by whom? This is my beloved
son in whom I am well pleased. This is my son. My son. Unto us a son is given. He is
given. Given by God, born of a woman. See? Unto us a child is born. unto us the Son is given," now
listen to this, "...and the government shall be upon his shoulder. His
name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the
Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of
his government and peace there shall be no end." upon the throne
of David and upon his kingdom, to order it and to establish
it with judgment, with justice, from henceforth even forever
the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform it. Then there is another verse I
want to read to you in the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 23. And verse 5, Behold, behold, the days come,
saith the Lord, talking about the coming of the King of kings,
the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise up unto David
a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper,
and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his
days Judah shall be saved, Israel shall dwell safely, and this
is his name, whereby he shall be called the Lord our Righteous. He's our righteousness. The king
of kings, that's our righteousness. That's how God can accept us,
because He's our righteousness. He established righteousness
in our behalf, and His name shall be called the Lord, our righteousness. So, I'm not looked upon with
favor by God because of any merit, any value, any righteousness
that I think I have of myself. I am accepted by God for Jesus'
sake, for His righteousness, which
is charged to me, imputed to me. The prophet foretold the
character of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the King of kings. And
there is a verse over here in the book of Daniel. The book of Daniel. Chapter 7. The book of Daniel. If I can find it, I found Daniel
chapter 6. Now, if I can find chapter 7,
I found it. He had a vision. Verse 13, Daniel,
beloved of God, I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like unto the
Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven, came to the Ancient
of Days, and they brought Him near before him. And there was
given Him dominion," this is concerning the coming of the
King of Kings, "...and there was given Him dominion and glory
and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should
serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting
dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which
shall not be destroyed." Daniel had a vision. Zachariah
had a vision. Many other of the Old Testament
prophets had a vision of the King of Kings. Well, not only
was he prophesied by the prophets, Not only was he anointed by God
before time ever was. The Bible says he was born to
be a king. And you'll find some scriptures
pertaining to that in the first chapter of the book of Luke.
And I'll read it to you. Luke chapter 1. It says here, Verse 30, And the angel said
unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. Grace with God. No merit. She didn't earn it. She found
it. And behold, thou shalt conceive
in thy womb, and bring forth a son. Thou shalt
call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall
be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto
him the throne of his father David, and make a king out of
him. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and
of his kingdom there shall be no end. And Mary said unto the
angel, How can this be, seeing I know not a man? Unto us a child is born. Unto
us a son is given. Do you see that? How shall this
be seen? I know not a man. Before a child
is born, there has got to be a man and a woman. This is a
miraculous birth. There is no man involved here.
It is just a woman. angel answered her and said unto
her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee. That is the third
person of the Trinity. The Holy Ghost shall come upon
thee, Mary, and the power of the highest shall overshadow
thee. Therefore also that holy thing
which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. He was born. a king. Born a king! And if you'll notice
in those, that 31st and 32nd, 33rd verse, there is seven shalls
in these passages. Seven shalls. Shalls and shall are only important
when God says it. You can say, I shall do this
and I shall do something else and maybe you won't do it. Maybe
you haven't got the power to perform what you think you can
do. But behold, he says, thou shalt,
number one, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a
son and shout, call his name Jesus, he shall, notice that,
he shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord shall give unto
him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over
the house of Jacob forever and ever and there shall be no end."
Do you see those seven shalls there? He was born a king, king
of kings, in spite of the humble and lowly surroundings of this
baby who was none other than God Almighty in the flesh. In
spite of those humble The wise men of the east followed the star, and they said, We come to worship
Him, the King of the Jews. Remember that? We shall come
to worship Him, the King of the Jews. John chapter 1. They came to worship Him, these
wise men, and they worshiped Him. And they took of their coffers
a presence of gold and myrrh and frankincense and gave unto
Him. Well, He was born a king. And He was publicly acknowledged
by men that He was a king. Over here in John chapter 1,
John chapter 1, verse 46, verse 45, Philip findeth
Nathanael, and said unto him, We have found him of whom Moses
wrote in the law, and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth,
the son of Joseph. Nathanael said unto them, Can
there be any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip said
unto him, Come and see. And Jesus saw Nathanael coming
to him, and saith of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom
is no guile. And Nathanael said unto him,
Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto
him before that Philip called thee, When thou wast under the
fig tree, I saw you. Nathanael answered and said unto
him, Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of
Israel. He was publicly owned by Nathanael. Nathanael declared him to be
the Son of God, and thou art the King of Israel. Well, let
me go on. The time has gone here. Not only
was he anointed and appointed and commissioned
by God before time ever was, As the king of the prophets foretold
it, he is born, born as a king. Also in the New Testament, they
mocked him as a king. Let me read a little bit of that
to you. He was tried by Pilate, do you remember that? As a king. Pilate viewed him as a king.
And when that Jewish mob cried out for the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ, Pilate said, this is what Pilate said unto them,
Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? Other Scriptures drive me out
of time, Maria. They said, we will not have this man to reign
over us. We have no king but Caesar. What a sad day that was. for those folks. They said, We
will not have this man. He said, Will I release unto
you your king, the king of the Jews? Will I release him? They
said, We will not have this man that you call a king. He said
he was a king. He's not our king. We'll have
nothing to do with him. We have no king. But Caesar, soldiers, came around and they
mocked Christ as king. They said he said he was a king,
so they put a crown on his head, a crown of thorns. They had disrobed
him. So they took a purple robe and
they put it on him, a sign of royalty. And they bowed down
and mocked him, mocked him, the king of kings. Men do that today, don't they?
They mock Him. Why are you always talking about this Jesus? I'm
talking about Him because He was appointed and anointed to
be King before time ever was. He was born as a King. He lived
as a King. He died as a King, and He's coming
back as a King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. And everybody
is going to bow, and every tongue is going to confess. Aye, that
he's Lord of lords. There's two thieves on the tree,
one on one side and one on the other. One turned to him. Aye, so this one had more knowledge
and understanding of who this man was than that whole country. whom they said, We'll not have
him to reign over us, and this thief who was justly hanging
there on that cross due to his own crimes, a murderer. And he turned to this one king
of kings on the cross. He didn't know he was a king.
He didn't know it by recognizing the position he was in. He was
fastened to a tree, but they looked upon him. And some told
him that this one was a king. And he said, Lord, remember me
when you come into your kingdom. We know you're going to have
a kingdom. It's not now. It's not his time now. It's Satan's
time now. But Lord, remember me when you
come into your kingdom. Oh, did the Lord honor that man?
Did He honor that confession? He said, ìToday shalt thou be
with me in paradise.î Sad day when they said, ìWeíll not have
this man to rule over us.î Iíll tell you, heís coming again as
a king, and Iíll read one verse here and quit. Revelation chapter
17. Revelation chapter 17. I read this to you before and
I will read it again. They shall make war with the Lamb, and the
Lamb shall overcome them, for He is Lord of lords, King of
kings. And they that are with Him are called and chosen and
faithful. Then it goes over into chapter 19, and it says, And
the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white
and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with
it he should smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a
rod of iron. He treadeth the winepress of
the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God, and he hath on
his vesture and upon his thigh a name written, King of kings,
Lord of lords." The Lord of Lords, the King will come. The King
will come. And we're to pray, you and I.
The first thing we're to pray for in that model prayer that
He gave to His disciples, He said, when you pray, say, Our
Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Huh? He's coming. The King is coming. Be content. Watch and wait. The Lord is coming for us. He is not going to send a comet
either. He is going to come Himself.
Come Himself and take us unto Himself. We are going to live
with Him throughout the dateless ages of the eternities. There
will be no end. from sea to sea, he'll reign in righteousness
with all of those who are called unto himself. Those that believe,
those that hear the gospel and believe the gospel, they'll be
with him.