In the 17th chapter of Revelation,
John is given a vision of the world in its depravity, as led
by Satan, the beast, and the kingdoms of the world, and the
kings of the world, who are drunken, besotted by Babylon the Great. and how this people are moved
to fight against the Lamb of God and His truth. How the woman is drunken with
the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. How the kings and the nations
and the peoples of the world make war with the Lamb. We read in verse 13, These have
one mind and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. They shall make war with the
Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them. For he is Lord of lords
and King of kings, and they that are with him are called and chosen
and faithful. They shall make war with the
lamb and the lamb shall overcome them for he is lord of lords
and king of kings and they that are with him are called and chosen
and faithful. We are passing through historic
days of great importance both nationally
and internationally. As the queen of this country
is laid to rest and a new king ascends to the throne, gone are
the cries of God save the queen to be replaced with God save
the king. But salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. Only
God can save. Only God can save the Queen. And only God can save the King. And of course, many who cry out,
God save the King, have but a temporal view of the matter. They are merely crying out for
the preservation of the monarch upon this earth, to be kept from
trouble, to be kept from opposition, to be given long life. But as we see, with the passing
of one and the ascent of another, no man, no woman, great or lowly,
lives forever. We are mortal and our lives are
brief. We come into this world with
nothing. We go out of this world with
nothing. There is a time appointed in
which we are born. And there is a time appointed
in which we die. And after death, the judgment. We shall all come to stand before
Almighty God and give account of ourselves. And the salvation
that we all need, kings and queens included, is that eternal salvation
from our sins and the judgment and wrath of God against our
sins. We need everlasting righteousness. We need eternal life. We need
to be delivered from our sins. We need to be delivered from
ourselves. We need Christ. We need Christ. God saved the king indeed. And
as a new king comes to the throne, we indeed pray for his salvation. Because outside of Christ, all
men are nothing. and none can lead a people justly
and rightly and with wisdom who knows not Christ. Through the
scriptures we read of the many kings of Israel of old and some
are said to have been good in that they knew God and they were
led of God and they did that which was right in God's eyes.
God blessed them, God honoured them, God led them by revealing
himself unto them and putting his spirit within them and causing
them to do that which is right in his eyes. But many of the
kings of Israel turned aside from God, turned unto wicked
ways, turned unto their own wisdom. and led the people astray to
serve false gods, to offer up sacrifices unto idols. Oh, that we would be led by those
whom God, in grace, is pleased to bless in his gospel by leading
them unto faith in Jesus Christ. For the kings and the queens
of this world come and go, but there is one king and one lord
unto which all are accountable. The great, the mighty, the leaders
of nations, those in power, those who serve, the lowliest, whoever,
you and I included, we are all accountable to that one who is
called the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. This world, in
its darkness and blindness and foolishness and rejection of
the truth, may indeed make war with the Lamb, with Jesus Christ,
with his truth, with his gospel, with his people, with his kingdom. But the Lamb shall overcome them,
for he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. And they that are with
him are called and chosen and faithful. O'er the darkness there is in
this world that even the kings and the rulers of the world would
set themselves up in opposition to God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Oh, the foolishness of our hearts
that we would rage and fight against the very Creator of heaven
and earth, the very One that gives us our being. The very
one that gives us all that we have. The very one that gives
the kingdoms and the countries and the land. The very one that
controls the weather, the storms, the rain, the sun. The one who
is in control of all things. The one in whose hands we are. Our lives depend upon him. and
yet by nature our hearts rage against him. The psalmist of
old cried out, why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a
vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against
his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and
cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens
shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision,
Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in
his sore displeasure. Yet have I set 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. ask of me and i shall give thee
the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the
earth for thy possession thou shalt break them with a rod of
iron thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel
Be wise now therefore, O ye kings. Be instructed, ye judges of the
earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and
rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry,
and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put
their trust in him. Yes, why do the heathen rage
and the people imagine a vain thing? Why do the kings of the
earth and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and
against his anointed Jesus Christ saying, let us break their bands
of sunder and cast away their cause from us? Why do they do
that and why do you and I do that in our hearts? What foolishness
that we should seek to fight against God and think that we
will win. Think that if we cast his bands
asunder, think that if we cast his rule and his righteousness
and his way and say we will not follow him, we'll not follow
in his righteousness, we'll do our own thing, we'll go our own
way, we'll seek our own pleasure, we'll seek our own will, our
own desire, we'll enrich ourselves, we'll increase our wealth, we'll
increase our empires, we will rule. and he shall not reign over us.
Oh, what foolishness to think that we can do this and that
he won't rise up and answer. The Lord said, if in the heavens
he shall have them in derision, he shall speak unto them in his
wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure. He shall laugh, because He has set His King,
the King of kings, the Lord of lords, Jesus Christ, He hath
set Him upon His holy hill of Zion, from whence He rules over
all, the greatest and the lowest. I will declare the decree. The
Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten
thee. Ask of me and I shall give thee
the heathen for thine inheritance. All things are his. He rules over all, every nation,
every country, every empire, every king, every leader, every
soul upon this earth. All are His. We are His. We are in His hands. And we are accountable unto a
holy and a righteous God, the Lord of Lords and the King of
Kings. But will you yet make war with
the Lamb? All these have one mind. And
they give their power and their strength unto the beast with
one intent of making war with the Lamb. We do, don't we? In our hearts we say there is
no God. And we live, if we can, as if
there is no God. We know there's a God. We know
the lamb reigns. But we put him out of our thoughts
and out of our thinking and we seek our own way, our own will,
our own end. We don't wish to consider. We
don't wish to hear. We say away with this man. Crucify
Him. Crucify Him. In our hearts we
make war with the Lamb. And yet we read that the Lamb
shall overcome them. He shall overcome them. When
this world rose up as one, when the kings of the earth, when
the heathen raids, when the rulers of the earth came together and
said let us break their bands asunder, when they came together
and they took Jesus Christ and they took hold of him and brought
him forth to be tried, when they declared their charges against
him and in their fake court their kangaroo court they found him
guilty when they said away with this man crucify him crucify
him when they said we shall not have this man to reign over us
and they took him away to crucify him when they nailed him to the
tree when they beat him and bruised him and spat upon him When they
put that crown of thorns upon his head, upon the head of the
King of Kings, and said, Hail King of the Jews, and arrayed
him as a figure of derision, when they mocked him and scorned
him and laughed at him, when they hung him up naked upon the
tree, and let him die, and watched him die, and derided him, When
you did that in your heart, when you pierced Him with your sins
and your opposition and your hatred, when I did that in my
heart, when we all stood there and the whole world crucified
Him, the whole world made war with the Lamb, what did He do? He overcame them. He overcame
you, He overcame me by shedding His blood because He bore the
sins of His elect. He bore the sins of every one
of His people and in dying He wrought a great victory. In dying
He overcame death. He overcame sin. He overcame
the hatred which was set upon him. A multitude put him to death
and he took their hatred and he paid the price for it. A multitude
spat upon him and he took their derision and unbelief. and paid the price for it. A
multitude set their unrighteousness upon him, set their sin and iniquity
upon him, and he bore it and took it away. And he overcame
them by shedding his blood in their place. What we thought was putting this
king of the Jews to death actually brought about his people's salvation and his everlasting victory over
sin, death, and hell. At the cross, he wrought a great
victory over all his enemies. There were those who put him
to death, for whom he suffered, who he overcomes with grace,
with mercy and with love. He washes them in the blood that
was shed on their behalf. And there are those who put him
to death, who sought to put him out the way, who know Him not, who will one
day stand before Him as they pass from this world into eternity
and will be cast aside into everlasting darkness and judgment because
of what they did to Him. Every single one that cast Him
out Every single king, every single leader, every single person
in every kingdom and nation and empire upon this earth that put
him to death will be overcome by him and his death. Because he either saves them
or he will destroy them. They're overcome. What a vain thing It is to make
war with the Lamb of God. Yes, they took Him. They crucified
Him. And yet in His death, He overcame
them. We took Him. We crucified Him. And in His death, He overcomes
us. Yes, we made war with the Lamb. Didn't we? Didn't you? don't you perhaps? We took him
and we crucified him yet he overcame us and he overcomes us and if
we're his he will overcome us by his grace, by his gospel,
By His mercy and His compassion, He will overcome us with the
power of His blood. Though we put Him far from us,
though we try to take His bands and cast them aside, though we
try to break them, though we try to escape His rule, He comes
unto us in mercy. Though we poured hatred upon
Him, though we spat upon Him, He looks upon us with forgiveness. Father, forgive them. They know
not what they do. Today yet you may hear the words
of the gospel and you may put it far from you. You may put
your hands over your ears. You may turn aside and say, I
will not listen. But if you're his, the time will
come when he will turn your hard heart and open your deaf ears
and open your blind eyes to see, and He will turn you and lead
you under Him and bring you to fall down before Him, before
He who is King of kings, Lord of lords. He will overcome you
by His grace. O child of God, have you been
overcome by the grace of Jesus Christ? Have you looked upon
He who you have pierced, the One that your sins put to death? Have you looked upon Him and
seen Him suffering in your place? Have you fallen down before the
Lamb, overcome by His mercy, overcome with His forgiveness,
overcome with His love, overcome with His sovereign grace? For
he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings, and they that are with
him are called and chosen and faithful. Yes, he is the Lord
of Lords and the King of Kings. He is sovereign over all. Many
kings have lived upon this earth, many queens, many great leaders
and presidents and rulers, many emperors. many who have risen
to great heights but where are they now? Where is Alexander
the Great now? Where is Julius Caesar now? Where are the great kings of
Europe now? Where are they all? Where are they all? He is sovereign over all. Throughout
the scriptures we read of this King, this mighty King, with
thousands of references to Him. Throughout the Psalms, throughout
the Scriptures, the Lord is King forever and ever. He is an eternal
and everlasting King. Earthly kings come and go, but
He is from everlasting to everlasting. Of His kingdom there shall be
no end. No end. The kings of the earth
may make war with him, but he overcomes them. There's no end
to his kingdom and no end to his reign. Glorious is his reign. Glorious is his kingdom. Psalm
24, we read, who is this king of glory? The Lord strong and
mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. He's a victorious, conquering
king. He came into this world of darkness. He came into this world of sin. He came to go to the cross, to
fight the greatest battle, in the bloodiest of wars, with
the greatest enemies. And he went victorious. He was stripped of all His glory
that He had in heaven above. He came into the darkest of valleys. He came into a world that wanted
Him not, that rejected Him. Every man, woman and child, we
all rejected Him. He was put to death. but He waded
through death. He went through the darkness
of the hours upon the cross as He bore the sins of His people,
as God made Him to be sin, as God the Father Himself forsook
Jesus because of the sins that He bore. As He hung alone in
the darkness, He still looked by faith unto
His Father. knowing that he would be victorious
in the end. He fought the greatest battle
and he overcame all his enemies. He overcame everyone so that
all shall bow the knee to Jesus. Everyone shall bow before him. Psalm 72 reads, Yea, all kings
shall fall down before him. All nations shall serve him. He is the King of Kings and the
Lord of Lords. Colossians Paul says, 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. He's the Creator, He rules over
all. He brought every kingdom, every
throne, every dominion, every principality, every power into
being. He brought them to be and He
can take them away. He's over all. Then will you
fight Him, make war with Him and think you will win? He's
a mighty King. the king of kings. He's a king
who has crowns, and a scepter, and royal robes of righteousness. He is seated upon a throne, a
throne of grace. Oh, what a king he is, and oh,
what a throne he sits upon. and oh what crowns there are
upon his head. Oh what a king. But he's a king which is approachable. These for whom he died, this
people of whom we read that they that are with him are called
and chosen and faithful the citizens of his kingdom. have an entrance
into his presence. He is the king of kings and the
lord of lords and yet his people are bid to come boldly under
his throne. As the writer of the Hebrews
says, let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that
we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. He's a king like no other king. He can be approached. There is a way of entrance into
his presence. And yet what a throne he sits
upon. Earlier in Revelation, John writes
in chapter 4, After this I looked, and behold, a door was opened
in heaven, and the first voice which I heard was as it were
of a trumpet talking with me which said come up hither and
I will show thee things which must be hereafter and immediately
I was in the spirit and behold a throne was set in heaven and
one sat on the throne and he that sat was to look upon like
a jasper and a sardine stone and there was a rainbow round
about the throne in sight like unto an emerald And round about
the throne were four-and-twenty seats, and upon the seats I saw
four-and-twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment, and
they had on their heads crowns of gold. And out of the throne
proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices. And there were seven
lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven
spirits of God. And before the throne there was
a sea of glass like under crystal. And in the midst of the throne
and round about the throne were four beasts full of eyes before
and behind. And the first beast was like
a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast
had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying
eagle, and the four beasts had each of them six wings about
him, and they were full of eyes within, and they rest not day
and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which
was and is and is to come, And when those beasts give glory
and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth
for ever and ever. the four and twenty elders fall
down before him that sat on the throne and worship him that liveth
forever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne saying
thou art worthy oh lord to receive glory and honor and power for
thou has created all things and for thy pleasure they are and
were created oh what a throne he sits upon in what glory and
power and with what a crown upon his head. And yet once, when
this king came into this world, when the world made war with
the lamb, what crown was found on his head in that hour but
a crown of thorns, a bloody crown, a cruel crown. how we took the
king of kings and hated him and despised him. This one that sits upon this
throne in eternity, we took upon this earth and put to death. And yet we see Jesus, who was
made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death,
He is now crowned with glory and honor, that he by the grace
of God should taste death for every man. This one came to taste
death for his people, that he should save them everlastingly. In the first chapter of Hebrews,
as it quotes Psalm 45, We read these words. God who
at sundry times and in diverse manner spake in time past unto
the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken
unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things,
by whom also he made the worlds, who being the brightness of his
glory, and expressed the image of his person, and upholding
all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself
purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty
on high. being made so much better than
the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name
than they. For unto which of the angels
said he at any time, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten
thee. And again I will be to him a
father, and he shall be to me a son. And again when he bringeth
in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all
the angels of God worship him. And of the angels, he saith,
who maketh his angel spirits and his ministers a flame of
fire. But unto the Son, he saith, thy throne, O God, is for ever
and ever. A scepter of righteousness is
the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness
and hated iniquity. Therefore God, even thy God,
hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And again, thou, Lord, in the
beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens
are the works of thine hands. They shall perish, but thou remainest. And they all shall wax old as
stuff of garment, and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and
they shall be changed. But thou art the same, and thy
years shall not fail. But to which of the angels said
he at any time, sit on my right hand until I make thine enemies
thy footstool. Are they not all ministering
spirits sent forth to minister for those who shall be the heirs
of salvation? Yet this son, this king is sat
on the right hand of the throne of almighty God. What a king
he is. And what a crown he wears. What a crown. Elsewhere in Revelation,
John writes, I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse and
he that sat upon him 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 was clothed with a vesture dipped
in blood. And his name is called the Word
of 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 a rod of iron. And
he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of almighty
God. And he hath on his vesture and
on his fire name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. What a king this is. What a king
this is. whose vesture is covered in blood
because he gave his life for his people. This king has a kingdom
with citizens, a people for whom he died, a people for whom he
gave his life, his all. a people every one of whom is
washed clean from their iniquity in his own blood, a people whom
he has arrayed in righteousness because of his blood, a people
who are with him. They that are with him are called
and chosen and faithful. They that are with him are called
and chosen and faithful. Are you with him? Or are you
yet making war with him? Has he come unto you in his gospel? and made himself known unto you,
and by that gospel called you unto him. Come unto me, all ye
that labour and are heavy laden. Are you brought to an end of
yourself, an end of your self-righteousness, an end of your own wisdom, an
end of your own works, an end of your own will? Have you come
to see that you are lost? that you spent your life making
war with the Lamb of God and He's overcome you, He's brought
you to nothing, He's broken you, you've wrestled with Him as Jacob
wrestled and He's pulled your thigh out a joint, He's shown
you your weakness, you're nothing before Him as He come in the
gospel and broken you. and brought you and called unto
you and said come unto me and believe in me. Has he chosen
All those he comes unto with his gospel who are brought to
faith, they're chosen, chosen of God before the foundation
of the world, elected by grace unto salvation. The Father chose
a people before they were ever born, before they ever did good
or evil. And he said, I will send my son
for them. He shall die for them. He shall
wash them in his blood and they shall be mine. A people called
the sheep for whom he offered his life and all his sheep will
hear him and follow him. Has he chosen you by grace to
hear this gospel and to be brought unto faith to believe on him?
The people that are with him, they that are with him are called
and chosen and faithful. Why are they faithful? Because
he's given them that faith, that turns from self and clings onto
him, that believes him wholeheartedly, that never turns from him, that
recognizes that he is their all. that says my righteousness is
as filthy rags but he's my righteousness, he's my salvation, he's my deliverer,
he's my king, he's my lord. These people are called and chosen
and faithful. Could it be clearer? How many
fight against the truth of God's sovereignty, His sovereign grace
in electing and choosing and saving a people. They fight against
the particular redemption of Christ, that He came and He died
for His people. Thou shalt call His name Jesus,
for He shall save His people from their sins. They fight against
this, but could this not be clearer? They that are with Him are called
and chosen. and faithful. Yes, his grace is free. His grace is sovereign. They are chosen by a king with
free and sovereign grace. Has this king come unto you? Has He overcome your war? Has He overcome your battling? Has He overcome your fighting
against Him and brought you by grace under Him to fall down
before Him and praise His name forevermore? Has He? Has He? Has your heart been brought
to indict a good matter concerning the King of Kings? Concerning
the King of Kings, have you been brought before this one? Are you with him? Is he your
King? Is he your Lord? Our God, give
us grace to hear his word, to hear his call, to be brought
to faith, to believe in him. and worship Him forevermore.
Praise His name. Amen.