Have you just about had your
fill of news about politics and politicians and government? I
suspect most of you, like myself, consider them necessary evils,
getting to be less and less necessary all the time, filling us with
frustration and giving us very little hope with regard to future
generations. When I read the newspapers, watch
the evening news, and I do so regularly just to, I feel like
I have to be somewhat aware of what's going on around me. But
when I do, I'm always frustrated, if not angered. Our politicians
and the government they exercise are as utterly contemptible as
they are nauseating. I thought about this a lot before
I wrote it down. I can't think of any law, not
one, I can't think of any law imposed upon society in my lifetime
that improved anything for society. I can't think of a one. They
don't fix anything. As a general rule, I wouldn't
cast a blanket and draw all of them in the same colors because
I don't know them all. But as a general rule, they serve
themselves and not the people they're supposed to serve. Liberal
and conservative, Democrat and Republican, they serve themselves. And I don't know that they have
the ability to do otherwise. But what man cannot do, God has
done. This book, God's blessed word,
tells us about another government and the one upon whose shoulders
the government of all things sits. The Lord God has given
his own son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, to be king of the
universe, king of kings and Lord of lords. That means all the
politicians are in his pocket. They're all ruled by his hand. They all perform his purpose,
all of them. The title of my message tonight
is Christ the King. Christ the King, not a king,
the king. When all said and done, he's
the only one there is. Isaiah 9.6. is very familiar prophecy, perhaps
the most familiar prophecy in the Old Testament about our Lord's
incarnation and birth. Handel included it in its words
in one of his great choruses of his Messiah, Oratio. Chances
are, in the next few weeks, you will either sing it or hear it
numerous times. Unfortunately, Isaiah 9-6 seems
to be One of those texts we pull out of the box just during the
holidays like an ornament to decorate your house. What a shame. Isaiah 9, 6 tells us who the
king of all things is, always has been, and always shall be. For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. And the government, the government,
the government of all things shall be upon his shoulder. And
his name, this king, this one who's king of kings and Lord
of lords, shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the
Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Now Isaiah wrote that
prophecy at least a hundred years before the children of Israel
were carried into Babylonian captivity. 600 years or better
before our savior came into the world. Looking at a litany of
failed monarchs and sitting in the rubble of Israel's monarchy,
Isaiah looked across the centuries of time being inspired by the
spirit of God and declares us that there is a time coming when
God would send his son into the world and that time has come. His son. Not to be a king, but
as a king. The Lord Jesus Christ, we're
told by the angel and by the wise men, was that one who is
born king, born Christ the Lord. He didn't come in order to get
to be a king. He came here as the king, born
to sit on his throne manifestly as king, God's son. by whom he
would establish his kingdom in the hearts of men. God's son,
the Lord Jesus Christ, whom he would sit upon the throne as
king over all things, his son, Christ the king. In verse seven,
the prophet of God describes his rule and his kingdom. Now
here's my text, Isaiah 9, 7. of the increase of his government
and peace, there shall be no end. What a statement. This is a kingdom that's constantly
increasing. And this is a government, the
peace of which shall never be brought to a conclusion. Upon
the throne of David and upon his kingdom, he sets to order
it. to establish it with judgment
and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the
Lord of hosts will perform this. Isaiah told us in verse 6, unto
us a child is born. Remember that speaks of our Savior's
blessed humanity. He could not redeem us were he
not a man. He could not suffer for us were
he not a man. He could not die in our stead
were he not a man. He could not sit as David's son
upon David's throne were he not a man. He could not be a priest
touched with the feeling of our infirmities were he not a man.
Unto us a son is given there the prophet speaks of our Savior's
eternal deity This man is a man who thought it not robbery to
be equal with God He didn't look upon it as something to be sought
after to be equal with God for he is God in the flesh God sent
to save sinners The son of God came here in human flesh to put
away sin by the sacrifice of himself and to establish his
kingdom in righteousness, in justice, and in truth. Now let's
look at verse seven. Call attention to four things
here. First, the prophet speaks of his kingdom. The government
shall be upon his shoulder. That speaks of our Savior's absolute,
universal, sovereign monarchy and dominion. His is a kingdom
that encompasses all kingdoms and all governments for all time. Turn back to the book of Daniel,
or turn over to the book of Daniel, Daniel chapter 2, Daniel 2 verse
44. Our Lord Jesus Christ, I want
to remind you of this numerous times as we go through the message
this evening, our Lord Jesus Christ as a man earned the right
to be king over all things by his obedience unto death in the
accomplishment of our redemption. He's born as a man with the right
to be king on the throne of David, the one rightful heir to the
throne of Israel and of Judah because of his relationship to
David as David's son. But he earned the right by his
obedience unto death. And this right he earned before
the world began when he was accepted as our covenant surety. Manifestly
he earned it when he finished his work of redemption on this
earth. The Lord God said to him in covenant
grace, Psalm 2, ask of me and I'll give you the heathen for
thine inheritance. And when he finished his work on this earth,
the Savior said, Father, I finished the work, thou gavest me. Now
restore to me, give to me the glory which I had with thee before
the world was. Make everybody see that I am
indeed Christ the King. Here in Daniel 2 and verse 44.
In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom
which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be
left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume
all these kingdoms. It shall stand forever. This king and this kingdom is
a king who rules over all things and his kingdom encompasses all
things. Listen to this, Zechariah chapter
14. The Lord shall be king over all the earth. day there shall
be one Lord and His name one. Now most of you any kind of conservative
religious background at all in this day in which we live have
been affected greatly by the teaching of the Schofield Reference
Bible and the nonsense taught there about dispensational premillennial
theology. And folks have the idea that
the Lord Jesus one day is going to come in a secret rapture and
take His church out of the world because The Jews wouldn't let
him be king when he came the first time and so he established
church and there's gonna be a great Tribulation period and after
that he's gonna come a second time in power and in great glory
He's going to establish a kingdom and you're going to reign on
the throne in Israel for a thousand years You're gonna have string
beans long as you are and pumpkins big enough to live in and then
you're gonna come a third time and he's going to make all things
new the Word of God says nothing about any of that nonsense and
Jesus Christ is king now. And the kingdom described in
Revelation 20 is the kingdom in which we now live. It's called
the church and kingdom of our God. The kingdom of God, you
see, is not an earthly, material, physical kingdom, but a spiritual
kingdom. It encompasses all things and
all time. And when God saves sinners, He
both puts us in His kingdom and puts His kingdom in us. The kingdom of God is not in
meat and drink, but in righteousness and in peace and in joy in the
Holy Ghost. Look at Luke chapter 17, Luke
17, verse 20. When he was demanded of the Pharisees
when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said,
they said, when's this great millennium going to happen? When's
this Jewish kingdom going to come? The Jews had this idea
long before Scofield came up with his reference Bible. And
the master said, you're asking me when the kingdom is going
to come? The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. This is
not something you're going to see with your natural eyes. Neither
shall they say lo here or lo there. Now watch this. For behold,
the kingdom of God is within you. What kind of kingdom is
this? What distinguishes the kingdom
of heaven from other kingdoms of this world? The kingdom of
heaven has only one ruler, Christ the King. This kingdom is established
like no other kingdom in history has ever been established. This
kingdom is established in righteousness, justice, truth, and peace. Righteousness, justice, truth,
and peace that shall have no end. This kingdom is holy. pure, peaceful, and joyful. Turn over to Isaiah 35. I want
you to look at this. Isaiah 35. I said a moment ago,
it lies not in meats and drinks, but in righteousness, peace,
and joy in the Holy Ghost. Isaiah describes it here in Isaiah
35 verse 8. An highway shall be there and
a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness. The unclean
shall not pass over it. The only folks who walk in this
kingdom are folks who've been made righteous by the doing and
dying of the Son of God, made righteous by the grace of God.
But it shall be for those, the wayfaring men, the fools shall
not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any
ravenous beast shall go up thereon. It shall not be found there.
but the redeemed of the Lord shall walk there and the ransomed
of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and with
everlasting joy upon their heads and they shall obtain joy and
gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Now let's look
at this seventh verse very carefully. Here the prophet of God tells
us that because of his accomplished redemption, Christ Jesus the
King shall reign king forever on the throne of David. First
Isaiah tells us something about our Savior's ever-increasing
government, of the increase of his government. Christ the King,
the Prince of Peace, who carries the government of all things
upon his broad shoulders of infinite omnipotence, is a king whose
government is an ever-increasing government. His government of
creation is not increasing. He ruled everything in the universe
from the beginning. His government in providence
is not increasing. He orders all things after the
counsel of His own will. His government in grace is not
increasing. So what does Isaiah mean when
he says His government shall never cease to increase? Of the
increase of His government there shall be no end. Christ's government
is established in the hearts of redeemed sinners when they're
born again by the omnipotent power and grace of God the Holy
Spirit. In the new birth, this is how
our Savior describes what happens. The King of Grace enters the
city of man's soul. He doesn't enter in because he's
invited in. He enters in by omnipotent, overwhelming
power. He binds the strong man and casts
him out and takes the prey from the mighty and sets up his throne
in you. Every time God saves a sinner,
the Lord Jesus Christ increases his government. There's another
one brought into his kingdom of grace and peace. As the church
and kingdom of God increases in the world, Christ's government
increases. I like to think of the universality
of God's church and kingdom. I recall Brother Bill Clark,
When first the Soviet Union broke down and they went over to Belarus
and established a book ministry there, Bill Clark, Brother Henry
Mayhem went over there and they got on a train getting ready
to go out of Moscow. And as they got on a train, someone
walked by, Bill's arm is hanging out the window, someone walked
by and slipped a little piece of paper in his hand. Slipped
a piece of paper in his hand. And Bill opened it up and The
paper said something of this effect. There are believers here
too. There are believers here too.
God has his kingdom in every nation in the world and calls
his elect out of every nation, kindred, tribe, and tongue into
which he has scattered them. What small beginnings it had
in this world, yet it shall at last When God gets done, be greater
and more glorious than all kingdoms. I don't mean in the sense of
our post-millennial friends who think the church is going to
triumph over the world and just get better and better and better
and the last Christ comes again. But I do mean to be understood,
the kingdom of our God shall at last encompass all the governments
of the world. Christ will have his people from
everywhere. This is the stone that Daniel
spoke of, cut out of the mountain without hands, that smote the
image of Nebuchadnezzar's beast, or image that Nebuchadnezzar
saw in his vision, and became a great mountain and filled the
whole earth. The Lord Jesus Christ himself
compared his church to a grain of mustard seed, the least of
all seeds, just a tiny, tiny little speck of the seed, but
it's planted in the ground and it grows and becomes a huge tree. And the birds of the air come
and make their nest in that tree. Brother Hadani, it doesn't look
to me like that's what's happening. That's because you don't see
much of what's happening and I don't either. God works secretly. He doesn't make us know what
he's doing very often. Christ's kingdom and government
may be said to be increased when the gospel is spread far and
near. The gospel is called the gospel
of the kingdom. Its doctrines are the mysteries
of the kingdom. Sinners conquered by grace through
the preaching of the gospel become subjects of the kingdom, enlarging
it. At first, the gospel was preached
only in Judea and then into the Gentile world and multitudes
were gathered in from among the Gentiles from the four corners
of the earth. And wherever the gospel is preached,
the gospel of the grace of God is that by which God exercises
his power and topples pagan idolatry. breaks the superstitions of Roman
idolatry, and crushes the power of Antichrist will-worship idolatry. What is that gospel by which
God saves sinners and builds his kingdom? It is the gospel
of the grace of God. The gospel that declares the
good news of how that God hath saved us and called us within
holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his
power and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the
world began. The gospel is the gospel of Christ
and him crucified. The blessed good news we proclaim,
free forgiveness, blood atonement, perfect, complete justification. All the gift of God's grace. It's the gospel of God's salvation. It's the gospel that comes to
sinners who don't have anything to offer, who can't do anything,
to you who have no righteousness to give God, no devotion you
can make to him, no sacrifice you can give to him, no work
you can do for him. It's the gospel that says salvation
is of the Lord. God saves sinners, you don't
save yourselves. This is the gospel of the kingdom. Before our God is done, Christ
our King will gather his elect sinners, sinners redeemed by
his blood into his kingdom out of every nation and kindred and
tribe and tongue. Before he's done, this gospel
of the kingdom, this is what he said, must be preached in
all the world. Must be preached in all the world. And today, through the use of
the internet, for the first time in history, for the first time
in history, the gospel is literally being preached in all the world. Isn't that amazing? Don't you
find that astounding? Countless multitudes, shall be
converted by his grace. Every sinner chosen of God, every
sinner redeemed by the blood of Christ shall be saved by his
grace. That's what's meant by the increase
of his government. The children of the desolate,
that is we who are the Gentiles, had been made many more than
the children of the married wife. Murrow read the latter part of
Isaiah 54. Let's turn there and read the
first part of that chapter. Wonderful, wonderful chapter. Isaiah has just described to
us the glorious redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now,
here's the result. Sing, O barren, thou that didst
not bear. Break forth into singing and
cry aloud, thou that didst not prevail with child. For more
are the children of the desolate than the children of the married
wife, saith the Lord. Enlarge the place of thy tent,
and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy inhabitation.
Spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes. He
said, make your tent bigger, make the house bigger. There's
lots of children to be born in this family. For thou shalt break
forth on the right hand and on the left, and thy seed shall
inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. Fear not. For thou shalt not
be ashamed, neither be confounded, for thou shalt not be put to
shame. For thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt
not remember the reproach of thy widowhood anymore. For thy
maker is thy husband, the Lord of hosts is his name. And thy
Redeemer, he's the Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole
earth shall he be called. Look at chapter 61, verse 9.
Chapter 61, verse 9, their seed shall be known among the Gentiles. Who's that? The seed of Israel,
the seed of Christ, God's elect, and their offspring among the
people. And all that see them shall acknowledge them that they
are the seed which the Lord hath blessed. All right, back here
in Isaiah 9, verse 7. Next, the prophet of God reminds
us again of the great peace Christ our King heaps upon chosen centers,
assuring us that it is everlasting peace, peace that never comes
to an end. It is the peace that only increases
with experience. And of the increase of his peace,
there shall be no end. How about that? Of the increase
of his peace there shall be no end. The peace of God's elect
in this gospel age is the peace of God that passeth understanding. Turn to Isaiah 40. Isaiah 40. It's the peace of faith. The
peace of a pure conscience. The peace of blood atonement.
the peace of perfect righteousness, the peace of our sovereign king,
Isaiah 40, 27. This peace never comes to an
end, but only increases with experience. The more you know
and experience of God's grace, the more you know and experience
of the wonders of God's providence, the more you know and experience
the wonders of God's salvation, the greater the peace that guards
your heart. Isaiah 40, 27. Why sayest thou,
O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, my way is hid from the Lord,
and my judgment is passed over from my God? O my God, forgive
me for so often thinking just like that. Hast thou not known
Hast thou not heard that the everlasting God, the Lord, the
creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There's no searching of his understanding.
He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might,
he increaseth strength. Even the youth shall faint and
be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait
upon the Lord, shall renew their strength. They shall mount up
with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. And they'll learn how to walk
in peace and not faint. Listen to this. In his days shall
the righteous flourish and abundance of peace so long as the moon
endureth. He shall have dominion from sea
to sea, from the river unto the ends of the earth. That's the
peace that never ceases. Third, back here in Isaiah nine,
verse seven. The prophet of God next calls
our attention to the great king's throne. He calls it the throne
of David because our savior is Christ the king. Because he is
Christ the king. His dominion gives us peace because
he is our God and King, who is God's King. The King who is God,
sitting upon the throne in human flesh, upon the throne of David
and upon his kingdom. Oh, how that ought to seal our
hearts with peace. The Prince of Peace is David's
son sitting on David's throne right now. Turn over to Acts
chapter 2. Acts chapter 2. Almost everybody in this silly,
charismatic, whoopee religious age misses the message of Acts
chapter 2. Almost everybody points to Acts
chapter 2 and talks about all the whoopee nonsense that they
pretend to have in the gift of tongues and so on. Acts chapter
2 is all about the public, irrefutable, undeniable exaltation, ascension,
and glory of Christ the King. Joel prophesied of this day. Peter said, this is talking about
what Joel talked about. The king has come. And now the
king in his inaugural work as the king has poured out his spirit
upon all flesh. 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. This is what Peter tells
us in Acts 2, verse 22. ye men of Israel, hear these
words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by
miracles and wonders and signs. That's the reason they were performed.
That's the reason the apostles had apostolic gifts, which God
did buy him in the midst of you as ye yourselves also know. Him
being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. Now I'm talking about Jesus of
Nazareth, whom you nailed to the curse tree. This is the one
whom God, verse 24, hath raised up, having loosed the pains of
death, because it was not possible that he should be holding of
it. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw also the Lord
always before my face. For he is on my right hand, that
I should not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice,
and my tongue was glad. Moreover also my flesh shall
rest in hope, because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither
wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast
made known to me the ways of life. Thou shalt make me full
of joy with thy countenance. Now Peter picks up again. Men
and brethren, let me freely speak to you of the patriarch David,
that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us
unto this day. Therefore being a prophet and
knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit
of his loins according to the flesh He would raise up Christ
to sit on his throne He's seeing this before, spoke of the resurrection
of Christ. That is back in Psalm 16, while
David was making a prophecy, he's talking about the day when
the crucified Christ, our Redeemer, having finished redemption, would
be raised from the dead. He's talking about the resurrection
of Christ. That his soul was not left in hell, left in the
grave. Neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath
God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses. Therefore, being
by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father
the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this which
you now see and hear. Verse 34, For David is not ascended
into the heavens, but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my
Lord, Set thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore, let all the house
of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus,
whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. He who sits upon
the throne of heaven is God in our flesh, ruling the universe. God in our flesh. sits upon his
throne with all the ease of absolute sovereignty. That means nothing
in heaven, earth, or hell breathes or wiggles but by his decree. He just sits. He just says, never
anxious, never worried, never fretful, in absolute control. Now would you like to know what
I would be concerned about if I were in absolute control of
everything everybody thinks and speaks and does? Do you know
how I would bite my nails into the quick if I were in absolute
control? Well, Brother Don, you wouldn't
have anything to worry about. Oh, yeah, I would, because I ain't
much. And my control would result in evil. But yonder sits God
my Savior in my flesh in absolute control. Oh God, how I ought to trust
Him and be at perfect ease. Everything's all right, Christ
is King. He who sits upon the throne of
grace is God in our nature. Let us therefore come boldly
to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace
to help in time of need. The throne of David is the throne
of God's Israel, his church. Christ the king, king of the
universe, is Christ the king of Zion. Now, look at what the
king does as king of Zion, as the king of his church. He orders
it. He puts it in order and keeps
it in order. by his word, by the preaching
of the gospel, by writing his law upon the hearts of his people,
graciously causing saved sinners to walk in his way. Giving his
church pastors according to his own heart, governors, guides,
and rulers of his choosing and his appointment. Giving his church
such pastors, our king teaches his people to observe all things
commanded by him. By the ministries of faithful
men, he gathers his elect. By the faithful ministry of the
word, he repairs the walls of his house and makes them strong. I recall listening to a message
many, many years ago, shortly after the folks at Ashland left
Pollard Church and Brother Mahon's ministry began there. And he
had been raised in Southern Baptist Convention and all the tricks
and tomfoolery and gimmickry that went on and been to Tennessee
Temple University and learned all the tricks and tomfoolery
and gimmickry. And he preached a sermon in the house, found
the book of God, dusted it off and read the word. And they began
to build the house again. The sermon was entitled A Trip
to the Garbage Dump. Ooh, you talk about burning bridges.
He said, we're taking this out, it's going to the garbage dump
and we're gonna burn it, not happening anymore. Faithful men
do that. They build the house of God and
God uses them to establish his house and make it strong. Christ the King establishes his
kingdom, the church, with justice and judgment, by righteousness
and justice. Upon the grounds of righteousness
brought in and justice satisfied by his obedience and blood, he
builds his kingdom. By the Spirit's conviction of
righteousness accomplished and judgment finished, he ascended
to heaven and builds his kingdom in his people by making all who
come into his kingdom new creatures. partakers of the divine nature,
created in righteousness and true holiness, he builds his
kingdom. Look at Isaiah's next words. This kingdom, like the king himself,
is established from henceforth, even forever. His throne is forever
and ever. His kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom. He has no successor. No rival
shall ever dispossess our king of his throne and his kingdom,
but rather all other kingdoms will cease and be swatted up
by this king and his kingdom and his kingdom shall remain
forever. One more thing. Brother Don, how can you speak
so dogmatically, so absolutely confidently about this? How can
we be sure of these things? Read the last sentence of verse
7. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Do you know
how many times that statement is found in Scripture? times. Just three times. Here in Isaiah
37 and in 2 Kings 19, just three times. All three times the zeal
of the Lord of hosts will perform this. All three times it's given
in connection with the salvation of God's elect, the building
of Christ's kingdom, the glory of God's name in saving His people.
How do you know everything's gonna turn out just like you
preach it? The zeal of the Lord of hosts
will perform it. Doesn't matter how things look.
Doesn't matter how despairing the things appear. Doesn't matter
how dark things seem. Doesn't matter how troublesome
things look. Doesn't matter what's going on behind. Doesn't matter
what comes out in the future. The zeal of the Lord of the host
will perform this fact. Christ the King shall build his
kingdom, an everlasting kingdom with ever increasing peace. And
it shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. those words,
the zeal of the Lord of hosts. That's His flaming, burning,
fervent love. This zeal, Jehovah's flaming,
burning, fervent love will accomplish all that He's promised because
Christ, He's the King. Christ is the King. And I'll
tell you what that means. That means everything is not
just all right. It means that. But it means more
than that. It means, Merle Hart, everything's
just exactly the way it ought to be right now, and yesterday,
and tomorrow, and forever. Everything. Christ is the King. Christ is the King. Do you believe
that? Walk in peace and serve God faithfully
and trust this King. Amen.