If you'd like to follow along,
I'm just gonna read two verses. Let's see, in Luke chapter 19. Luke chapter 19. And they're
gonna be kind of spread out, but I have a purpose in mind. And oh, also good morning to
everybody streaming. I'm glad you're with us. Luke chapter 19, I wanna read
verses 14 and 27. Luke 19 verse 14, but his citizens
hated him and sent a message after him saying, we will not
have this man to reign over us. Now look at verse 27, this is
the end of the parable. But those mine enemies, which
would not that I should reign over them, bring hither and slay
them before me. Now these are the words of little
Jesus, meek and mild. Yes, I was being a little sarcastic
there. You understand, most people have
no idea what this book says. Most people don't care what this
book says. but I do care. I didn't used
to, but I do now. Now, this is sort of gonna be
partially a continuation of what was on the TV this morning, and
it's also gonna be a continuation of what you read from Arthur
Pink. Because here's the thing, God reigns, and God rules. This is a fact. There's no argument,
there's no debate. If you don't like it, it's tough.
And it's tough on you if you don't like it. I said this last
week, the Old Testament and the New Testament both are categorically
stating that God is sovereign. And not only that, see this is
the thing, see people will say God's sovereign, but they won't
say that he reigns. They won't say that he rules.
Well, that's what sovereign means. That's what sovereign means.
He reigns whether we like it or not. He reigns whether we
know it or not. But to those who know and love
the reigning Lord Jesus Christ, this is glad tidings. It's good news, it is. That's
my title. Glad Tidings, comma, The Lord
reigns, the Lord reigns. Now, I picked this scripture
mainly because of what this says. And these are the words of Christ,
this is a parable. Now, I understand there's a middle
part to this parable and I'm not gonna be dealing with that.
But there are some things I wanna point out about this verse and
verse 27. Because it seems to be an aside
from the parable. But it's not, it's not. The rest
of the parable deals with what the Lord gave certain men to
do. I'll tell you here, where is it? A certain noble man went
into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and he
called his 10 servants and delivered them 10 pounds and told them,
occupy till I come. Then it says in verse 14, but
his citizens hated him. Now it's not talking about those
10 men that he gave the pounds to. That's he deals with there,
in the middle. But he does also deal again with
these men right here that said his citizens that hated him.
That's how it ends. But those mine enemies, which
would not that I should reign over them, bring hither and slay
them before me. Not exactly the best news in
the world for them, for them. You understand? There's two different
sets of people in this parable. Now, this part of the parable
starts with hatred for the Lord. And it ends with enemies. Enemies. I didn't call them enemies,
Christ did. I'm just repeating what he said.
His citizens hated him. Now, they were those that were
living in the kingdom that this Lord ruled. This Lord reigned
over them anyway. You know what? They hated it. They hated it. No, they hated
him. They might have hated it, but
they hated him. That's what the scripture says.
Hear the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, mine enemies. That's what he said. Because
here's the thing. Yes, Jesus Christ does have enemies. No, everybody loves Jesus, They
might love their Jesus. They might love the Jesus of
their own imagination. They might love the Jesus that
most pulpits preach in this day and age. But I'm gonna tell you
this, the natural man does not love the Lord Jesus Christ as
he is. He does not. His citizens hated
him and he calls them mine enemies. And matter of fact, that was
his description of his enemies. What is it? but his citizens
hated him. That's what it said. Later on,
he tells his disciples, they hated me. Who's he talking about? He's talking about real people.
That's not a parable, folks. That's real people. They hated
me. They hated Jesus Christ without
a cause. Without a cause. Oh, my. They
hated him. Why? Well, the scripture also
tells us men, natural men, love darkness. What? That's not all though. Rather
than, rather than in the place of the light. Men love darkness
rather than light. Why? Men hate the light. His citizens hated him. He is
the light. Men hate the light. That's what it says. Men hated
him who is the light. Therefore, the enemies of the
Lord Jesus Christ, this is how they talk, we will not have this
man to reign over us. That's what it says. And you
know what? That's exactly what it means.
They'll take little Jesus in a manger, a baby who needs somebody's
help. Oh, isn't he cute? You know,
my favorite thing about Christmas is the part of baby Jesus is
played by a 25 watt light bulb. They have a little glow coming
out of the, no, he became flesh and blood. And he was king at
that time. And he was reigning at that time,
whether we knew it or not. But they hated him, they hated
him without a cause. Though they hate him and they
despise him, they will not have this man to reign over them.
Because they don't want it. They don't want anyone to reign
over them. But here's the thing. Though they will not have this
man to reign over them, he does, he does. That's why I said it. He reigns whether we like it
or not. He reigns whether we know it or not. He reigns whether
we want it or not. Because he is king. The Lord
reigns. What does it say? What did he say? Mine enemies
bring hither and slay them before me. You understand, it doesn't
end well for the enemies of Jesus Christ. It never has. Never has. Unless it does. Because I'm gonna tell you this
right now. If you went to Saul of Tarsus while he was standing
there, watching the clothes of people who were stoning Stephen,
and you asked him, what do you think of Jesus Christ? He'd throw
a rock at you. But God stopped him. God stopped
him. He saves some of his enemies. But in the end, when it comes
down to the end of this parable, when it comes down to the end
of this world, the enemies of that time are gonna be slain. That's what he says. And it's
not a pleasant thought. But more about that in a little
bit. Those who don't want Christ to
reign over them are called enemies by the Lord who does reign over
them. I like this. I wrote this down. Their desires, their wants, and
even their will will not change him that reigns over them. He
may change them, but they're not gonna change him. Oh, I like
that, I do. I like a God that's sovereign.
I like a God who reigns. Because here's the thing, there
are those who rejoice over having this man reign over them. There
are those that rejoice. He does have enemies. He states
it clearly. But there are those whom he calls
friends. He calls brothers. I'm not ashamed
to call you brethren. Oh, I like that too. Let's look at it here a bit in
the Old Testament, just for a minute. This is 1 Chronicles chapter
16. This is David speaking. after they brought the ark back
to Jerusalem and put it into the tent. Uzzah died, but then
they read and they found out how to carry the ark properly
and they brought it back rejoicing, all right? Verse Chronicles 16,
verse 23. Sing, sing unto the Lord. All the earth show forth from
day to day his salvation. Declare his glory among the heathen. His marvelous works among all
nations. For great is the Lord and greatly
to be praised. He also is to be feared above
all gods. Especially if you're his enemies.
Glory, well just let me drop down. Glory and honor are in
his presence. Strength and gladness are in
his place. Give unto the Lord ye kindreds of the people. Give
unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory
due unto his name. Bring an offering and come before
him. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Fear before
him all the earth and the world also shall be stable that it
be not moved. Here it is, verse 31. Let the heavens be glad and let
the earth rejoice and let men say among the nations, what? The Lord reigneth. Oh, that's
the message. That's the message. The Lord
reigneth. The heavens and the earth are
glad and rejoice. Let men say among the nations. What's that mean? Preach it.
Preach it. Proclaim it. You understand?
Our God, the God of the heavens, is not a beggar. I'm not here,
or listening, wherever you are, I'm not here to beg you to get
saved, and Jesus Christ certainly is not. Not a bit. Call upon the name
of the Lord and thou shalt be saved. But if you don't call
on the Lord, on the Lord, mind you, you're not gonna be saved. If you won't have this man to
reign over you as Lord, You won't have it. And that's a sad story. The Lord reigns, and what's it
say? Show forth, what is this? From day to day, his salvation. His salvation. Oh, I like that. You understand, that's the salvation
of God. That's the salvation he gives,
it's his salvation. and it becomes your salvation
when he gives it to you. But it's still his salvation.
He gives his salvation, he gives his righteousness, he gives his
justification, he gives his redemption, the reconciliation, he did it
all. And he gives it to his people,
his salvation. Sing unto the Lord, why? He reigns,
he reigns. David, the man after God's own
heart, rejoiced that the Lord reigned over him. And over all
the earth. You understand what it'd say? For all the gods of the people
are idols. There is but one God. There is
but one God. Oh my, what? But the Lord made
the heavens, the maker of heaven and earth. There is but one Lord,
and he reigns over everyone. Everyone. You don't have to turn
here, but I got a few of them. Psalms tell us to worship the
Lord, and they proclaim his reign. Psalm 96, nine and 10 says this. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty
of holiness. Fear before him all the earth. Say among the heathen that the
Lord reigneth. The Lord reigneth. The world
also shall be established that it shall not be moved. He shall
judge the people righteously. Righteously. What did he say?
What was it? Let me get it right. But those
mine enemies which would not that I should reign over them
bring hither and slay them before me. I'm gonna tell you something. That's righteous judgment. That's
righteous judgment. Psalm 97 and one says this. The
Lord reigneth. Let the earth rejoice. Let the
multitude of isles be glad thereof. Understand, the Lord reigning
is good news. It's glad news. Psalm 99 and
one says the same thing. Just a little more to it here.
The Lord reigneth. What? Let the people tremble. Let the people tremble. He sitteth
between the cherubims. Let the earth be moved. Ah, I
like that. Now, we go back to the New Testament.
Luke chapter one. The announcement by Gabriel to
Mary. What's it say about Jesus Christ? What does it say? Luke chapter
one and verse 31. And behold, thou shalt conceive
in thy womb and bring forth a son and shalt call his name Jesus.
Verse 32, he shall be great. 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. The Lord said unto my
Lord, sit thou on my right hand until I make mine enemies thy
footstool. He shall give him the throne
of his father David, and, verse 33, Luke chapter one, and he
shall reign over the house of Jacob forever. Why? Of his kingdom there shall
be no end. The good news of the angel Gabriel
to Mary is the Lord's gonna reign. Excuse me. The Lord reigns. The
Lord reigns. Oh, I like that. Why am I preaching
this? This is a message given to me,
but I saw something in particular that made me think of it. If you wanna look for just a
minute at Romans 10 and verse 15, I'm not gonna be keeping
you long, but I got a couple more things here. Romans chapter
10 and verse 15, very familiar piece of scripture it should
be. I'll go ahead and read 13. For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved. I already quoted it. How
then shall they call on him in whom they've not believed? And
how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?
And how shall they hear without a preacher? What's the next verse? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring
glad tidings of good things. That's what you're supposed to
preach, glad tidings of good things. Now, those that are preachers
are sent. Those that are preaching are
sent, and they are sent to preach the, what? The gospel, the gospel
of peace. And the glad tidings, that's
the gospel of good things. Same word. The gospel of good
tidings. Now what are these good tidings?
This is actually, as it is written, this is Paul quoting from Isaiah
52 and verse seven. Isaiah 52 and verse seven. How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth
peace, that bringeth good tidings of good. That's what Paul exactly
quoted. Here's the rest of that verse.
That publishes salvation. That saith unto Zion, here it
is. Thy God reigns. That's good news. That's the
glad tidings. You know, it's good news that
God reigns. This is what the world doesn't
understand, the world doesn't want to understand, because the
world doesn't want Him reigning. He doesn't want to reign over
them, but they won't have it. The gospel of peace, the good
tidings of good are the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The
publication is of his salvation, his sacrifice and offering to
God has been accepted. Believers are redeemed and are
reconciled and they are being called in in his good time. They've
been given the righteousness of God, the righteousness of
Christ, imparted and imputed. Pearson, his covenant is sure
in all things. Ordered and sure in all things. You wanna know why? Because he
reigns. Because he reigns. His salvation
is sure because he reigns. Those that are sent believe,
say, and preach, and teach, thy God reigneth. Ah, this is the
Christ we preach, the sovereign God who saves and who keeps saved
and who brings in to his glory. This is the good tidings of good
things. Thy God reigns. The Lord Jesus
Christ reigns over all. He said in his prayer, Father,
you've given me all power, power over all flesh. that I might
give to as many as thou hast given me eternal life. We believers believe him, the
God who reigns, the God who rules. Finally, what's it say? What will we rejoice in heaven?
Who will we rejoice in? Who gets all the praise and honor
and glory in heaven? The Lord God who reigns. What? The Lamb of God slain from
before the foundation of the world. What shall be heard in
heaven? This is what we say when in heaven.
Revelations 19 and verse six. And I heard, as it were, the
voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters,
and as the voice of mighty thundering, saying, Alleluia. Alleluia. What? For the Lord
God omnipotent reigneth. Oh my, that's good news, folks. That's good news. What's it say?
Verse seven, let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him
for the marriage of the lamb is come and his wife hath made
herself ready. Oh, I like that. Hallelujah for
the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Paul continued on in Romans 15,
he said, and Isaiah said, Isaiah, there shall be a root of Jesse,
and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles. In him shall
the Gentiles trust. There's a lot of reigning going
on in the Old Testament and in the New, isn't there? What'd
he say then? Now the God of hope, this is
Romans 15, 13. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and
peace. in believing, in believing that
he may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Understand who reigns, who it is that reigns? The God of hope. The God of hope. My only hope,
your only hope. He reigns, he reigns. Oh, I like that. Understand,
he is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He has all power,
and you know what he does? He keeps every single one of
his promises. Now, there's a promise to those who
believe, and there's a promise to those who don't believe. What'd he say? Bring them here
and slay them in front of me. Oh, but there's another promise.
The ones to those that believe him. He says, I will never leave
thee. I will never forsake thee. Why? How can he do it? Oh, he reigns. He reigns. He's got the power. We don't have any power. We were
without strength. And guess what? We still are
without strength. But Christ died for the ungodly.
Oh, I like that. The God of hope fill you with
all joy and peace in believing. It's a blessing to believe the
sovereign Christ. It's his salvation we are given
and our salvation is blessed and complete because the Lord
Jesus Christ reigneth. He reigns. He reigns over all
and he gives us rejoicing Hope, love, and peace. And that's the
good news I wanna pass on today. Thy God reigns. You understand? You may not feel it, you may
not know it. He does. Rejoice. Be joyful. This is the thing. People don't
trust God. People don't trust Christ. because they don't know him.
If you knew him, you'd love him and you'd trust him. If you know
him, it's because he made himself known unto you. He's called you
to himself. I heard Henry preaching on it
the other day. The thing we've talked about, Walter, once we've
preached on it. You didn't choose me, I chose
you. And he reigns, and he reigns. And Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday and today and forever. If he chose you yesterday, he
chose you today. And if he chose you today, he
chose you forever. I will never leave thee, I will
never forsake thee. Thy God reigns. He has the power
and he's using it. Oh, I like that, I do. Our Heavenly Father, we're thankful
again for this day and this time. And for most of all, most of
all for your son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who you've given to reign
over us, who you've given to be our salvation, to be our wisdom,
to be our righteousness, to be our redemption, to be our sanctification. We need it all. And you have
given it all in your son. Be with Walter as he comes to
preach. Be with Paul, bless him, as he preaches where he is. Be
with all gospel preachers preaching the sovereign Lord wherever they
may be. In Christ's name we pray, amen.