Judges 21. We recently finished studying through the book of Matthew. We went through the book of Matthew for a few years, maybe three and a half years. Maybe a few months ago, we finished the book of Matthew, and then last Sunday, we finished our study through the book of Titus. We went through 2 Timothy, and then we went right into Titus. And because we now are not going officially through a book, I pray the Lord will lead me to one, but I do what I do, and that is just start skimming the scripture. You just start reading the scripture, reading through verses, and you ought to see me in my study. I'm at the front of the Bible, the back of the Bible, the middle of the Bible, waiting, asking the Lord to bless my heart, speak to my heart, let me know where would you have us to be? Where should we be?

And as I was moving around, I was curious about how some of the different books ended Sometimes it ends on a really positive note, and sometimes it ends on woe. And I was reading a few different, the last verse of a few different books, and as I was passing by Judges, I looked at the very last verse of the book of Judges, chapter 21, verse 25, and it said, in those days, There was no king in Israel. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. As soon as I read that, I thought, that is religion today. That is religion today. And I mean religion in a wide sense. You just open that up as wide as you want to go. You include whatever denominations you want to include. That is religion. Religion. Today, that right there is not talking about heathen nations. That's talking about Israel. That's talking about the ones who claimed to be God's people. They claimed to be God's people.

There are so many in the world who claim to be God's people. They'll say with their mouths that they are God's people. But if they really were, if they really were God's people, they would evidence that by bowing to their king. If they really were, they would evidence that by bowing to their king. Psalm 2 says, God the father has sent his king on his holy hill of Zion and every subject of his will kiss. And what that means is bow down to and kiss the feet of. That's what it means. I meant to look this up. I'll look it up, I don't know, but in my brain, the only person I can think of that kissed the Lord on the cheek, on the face, was Judas. Everybody else fell at his feet. The only one who kissed him on his face was the one who had no respect for him, no... But... God the Father said every subject of his is going to bow down and kiss the feet of that king lest he be angry. That's what it says.

The way you can know a true child of God is that man or woman bows to God's king. Bows to God's king. But the problem for men and women today and And I don't say this haughtily or arrogantly or pridefully. I say this with a broken heart. I want men and women to hear this. I do. I want people to hear this. I want men and women to realize I'm in a false religion. I want men and women to see the truth concerning these things and not just be blind and not just be deaf because there's a problem. There's a problem in religion right now. And that problem is there is no king in it. There's no king in it. No king in man's religion. And when there's no king in man's religion, it is a false religion. That's the fastest way to spot a false religion. If you walk into some building and you sit in some pew and you listen to some man preach from some pulpit and he does not declare the king to you, you're in a false religion. The truth of God declares the king. The king. The gospel is totally concerning the authority work of the king. That's what the gospel is concerning.

I googled the definition of a king. And this is what it said. It said a king is an absolute monarch. A monarch is a ruler or a controller. A king is an absolute monarch who holds unrestricted governmental power. and exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Webster's Dictionary added to that, he is one who rules for life. Long as he lives. Webster's Dictionary said, he is one who holds the preeminent position. Preeminent means surpassing all others. At the very top of all rank, dignity, and importance, the greatest, the highest, the first, number one. Number one. That's a king. That's a king. An absolute and all-powerful, a sovereign ruler who holds all the preeminence for life.

Well, here is the problem for men and women in religion today. They have no king. They have no king. And I'm telling you, it saddens me. It makes me angry at the men who stand in pulpits, but bless their hearts, somebody lied to them. And but for the grace of God, we would all be lied to, living in lies, declaring lies. I mean, my heart breaks. God be merciful. God be merciful, and I want to say it in this way. Please understand my preface, but let me say it in this way.

As I hear these ridiculous speeches, they're not messages from God. As I hear these ridiculous speeches, By these ridiculous men, they're not true preachers. People talk about, I was called to preach. Not if you don't have God's message, you were not called to preach. You're not a preacher, not God's preacher. Speaker, public speaker, motivational speaker. But as I hear these things, it's very clear to me they have no king. They have no king. You go into that place and you sit down and you listen to what they're saying, and it's obvious they have no king. Every man is doing and saying what is right in his own eyes. That's what they're doing, just whatever they think, whatever they think is right in their own eyes. And what I mean by that is there's no king in their own minds and hearts.

There is a king. There is a king. but they're not acknowledging him because they do not know him and therefore they do not bow to him. They do not bow to him. There's no salvation without a king. None. There's no salvation without bowing to a king. Those who are in false religion today who have no king that they worship and no word of a king that they bow to, who are just doing what's right in their own eyes. There is no salvation in that. There's no salvation in that.

There is certain condemnation. Lord, please open the ears of men and women. Please open the ears of men and women. Open the eyes of men and women. There is certain condemnation and destruction in that because Jeremiah 26 and Jeremiah 36 say that every way of man is an evil way. What it says, every way of man's just doing what's right in his own eyes. Every way of man is an evil way. Genesis six says the thoughts and imaginations of man are only evil continually. And I'll speak on all of our behalf. We all can attest that that's so. Jeremiah 17 says, the heart, and that's talking about the heart of all men and women, is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. That's why Solomon said in Proverbs 14, there is a way which seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Every time. Every time. The Lord told Isaiah, your ways are not my ways. Neither are your thoughts my thoughts. They're the exact opposite. And the opposite of holiness in life is wickedness and death. That's the opposite.

So the great danger for men and women today is They have no king. They have no king. They bow to no king. They kiss the feet of no king. And again, in Psalm 2, the father said, whoever does not bow and kiss the feet of the king is gonna fall under the anger and wrath of God.

Now, upon hearing this, False religion will respond by saying, oh yes, we have a king. Jesus is our king. That's what they'll say. Yeah, we have a king, Jesus is our king. They may even go so far as to say, Jesus Christ is our king. And to that, the response needs to be, let's find out if that really is so. Let's find out if that really is so. This is too important. Condemnation's on the line. Let's find out if, in our minds and our hearts, we really do have a king. Or are we in a false religion? Specifically, is Jesus Christ really our king? Is he really our king? Or even in claiming his name, are we still in a false religion?

I wrote down about 20 scriptures that declare the kingship of Jesus Christ. And I just could have kept on going. I finally had to stop. Of these roughly 20 scriptures, we're going to turn to a few. We'll just turn to a few. I'm going to quote quite a few. And after we acknowledge some of these scriptures concerning Jesus Christ, let's assess ourselves. Let's assess our hearts and our minds and find out if he's just someone that we acknowledge. As we continue just doing our own thing. Or is he our king? Is he our king who we heed the word of and bow to?

Right here, verse 25 says, in those days there was no king in Israel. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Is that us? Or is Christ our king?

Let's turn to a few scriptures in the Old Testament. Go with me to Isaiah 6. Isaiah 6 verse 1 says, in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord. Oh, I pray that more men and women would see the Lord. I saw also the Lord. Where was he? Sitting upon a throne. I thought he was supposed to be standing at your heart's door knocking. No. No. Sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. And his train filled the temple. Above this throne stood the seraphims. Each one had six wings. With twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory, and the post of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

Then said I, woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the king. the Lord of hosts. Holy, holy, holy, justice, judgment, perfection, righteousness. Is that who Jesus Christ is to us? This one who sits on the throne, the king, is that who Jesus Christ is to us? The just, holy judge of the earth. Who is the judge of the earth? Who sits in the judgment seat? We're all gonna stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Christ. The holy judge of the earth who heaven trembles before. Sinful man cries, woe is me. I've seen him. I've seen him. Is that who King Jesus Christ is to us? I don't want to make a big deal out of this, but a dear sister, I was talking with a dear sister last week. Somebody gave her, I've seen them so many times, these little plastic figurines. It's just a little man in a white robe and he's got a beard and long hair and he's supposed to be Jesus. And people like to give them out and say, you know, you look like you could use a little Jesus. Lord, be merciful. Open some blind eyes.

In just a minute, in just a couple of seconds, we're all going to go stand before Jesus Christ. And in that moment, we're going to realize this is not little Jesus. This is the king. I'm telling you this, you're about to stand before a king. We're all about to stand before a sovereign authority who is holy and just, must punish sin.

You know, when you see those little things, you know what that ought to tell us? There's no king in Israel. There's no king there. Oh, who is Jesus Christ in our minds and hearts? Who is he in our minds and hearts? Do we have a king or not? Do we have a king or are we just doing with Jesus whatever we think is right?

Look at Isaiah 9. Isaiah 9 verse 6 says for unto us a child is born a child unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called wonderful counselor the mighty God now wait a minute who's that little baby Who do we have here? Do we have a little baby? Do we have a martyr? Do we have a helper? Do we have an example? Or do we have a king? Or do we have a God? That's what is meant there. An absolute sovereign authority. Wonderful, counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father. Who do you want me to call that? That baby, the everlasting Father. Because inside the body of that child dwells all the fullness of the Godhead. The everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. The one who everybody's gonna celebrate, they're gonna celebrate his birth in about a month. Who is he to us? Who is he to us? What do we think about him? Do we believe the government is really on his shoulders? The one who Matthew 2 verse 2 says was born king, born king. Do we believe that that child truly was the mighty God? Or is he just the reason for the season? Just a reason to put on plays and promote kindness, which I like kindness. Give gifts to each other.

Who is he to us? Turn over to Luke 1. Luke 1, verse 26. And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her and said, Hail thou that art highly favored. The Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son and 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 he shall reign over the house of Jacob. Jacob's name was changed to what? Israel, forever. And of his kingdom, there shall be no end.

What exactly does that mean? That announcement that God sent through his messenger, what exactly does that mean? A man named Nebuchadnezzar said that it means his dominion is an everlasting dominion and his kingdom is from generation to generation and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. Nothing? Yes, nothing. And he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none. It's not according to man's will, it's his will. None can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest thou?

Nebuchadnezzar, who was the little lowercase k king of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar said, that's a king. That is a king.

In Matthew 28, our Lord said, all power is given to me in heaven and earth. In John 17, he said, thou father has given me power over all flesh. Ephesians 1 says, all things have been put under his feet. Philippians 2 says, every knee is going to bow and every tongue is going to confess that he is Lord because his name is above every name. Now that's a king, that's a king.

Is that our king? Turn over to Colossians 1. This is speaking of Jesus Christ, Colossians 1. Verse 16 it says, for by Him were all things created. Who created everything that is? Who created the world? Jesus Christ. By Him were all things created. that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence. That's our king, isn't it? That's our king.

If this is our king, and let me just ask one more time, is this our king? No, do we say, no, he's not, he's not my king. are our hearts saying, this is my king. If this is our king, who we bow before in reverence and awe, confessing that he is our Lord and our God. If so, then hold your place right here. This ought to be the most enjoyable moment of the message to you. Hold your place right here and turn to John 19.

John 19, verse 13, when Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour, and he said unto the Jews, behold your king. Behold your king. Is he our king? Is that our king? Is that man our king that we bow to in reverence and worship? Well, behold your king.

Verse 15, but they cried out away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate said unto them, shall I crucify your king? The chief priest answered, we have no king but Caesar. He said, he's not our king. They had no king, they just did what was right in their own eyes. Just like man is still doing today, just like but for the grace of God, any and every man and woman would still be doing today.

Verse 16, then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified and they took Jesus and led him away. And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha. where they crucified him and two other with him on either side, one and Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. This title then read many of the Jews for the place where Jesus was crucified was not to the city. And it was written in Hebrew and Greek and Latin. Then said the chief priest of the Jews to Pilate, write not the king of the Jews, but that he said, I'm the king of the Jews. Pilate answered, what I have written, I have written.

He's the king. He's the king. Look at verse 30. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, it is finished. And he bowed his head and gave up the cup.

Now turn back to Colossians 1. Verse 20 says, and having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself, by him I say whether they be things in earth or things in heaven, and you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight.

That's a king. That is the work of a king. Thank God that's our king. The king who was born to save us from our sins, the king who finished the work of reconciling us to God by his blood, so making peace. That's our king. Do we have a king? We better believe we do. Absolutely we do.

Revelation 19 says He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Hebrews 1 says His throne is forever and ever. Ephesians 2 says by His blood He has made us to sit and reign with Him. That's a game. For that reason, by his grace, we cry from the bottom of our hearts.

In closing, turn to 1 Timothy 1. 1 Timothy 1, this is what we cry because of who he is, because of what he's done, because of where he is now, because he has revealed himself to us. We cry in 1 Timothy 1 verse 17. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, the honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Not our will, done be done. Thank God we have a king in this our day. Right here in this our day. And he has done what has been right in his eyes. Thank God. We give him all the glory for that. Amen.