with me please to Second Chronicles. Second Chronicles, Chapter 2. While you're finding that place,
I'll announce my subject for this evening. I'm going to deviate
from our studies in Revelation for one or two weeks. Tonight I'm going to be preaching
to you on the subject the Lord's Supper out of 1 Corinthians chapter
11. If you wonder why we observe
the Lord's Supper, why we observe it as we do, who should observe
the Lord's Supper, when and how it's to be observed, be with
us this evening. I believe that I have something
from God that will be a benefit to your heart and soul. 2 Chronicles
chapter 2 and verse 11. Then Hurem, the king of Tyre,
answered in writing a letter which he sent to Solomon,
because the Lord hath loved his people, he hath made thee king
over them. Hurem said, moreover, Blessed
be the Lord God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath
given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and
understanding, that might build an house for the Lord, and an
house for his kingdom." Now, our text is taken from a letter
that Hurom, the king of Tyre, sent to Solomon, the king of
Israel. Though Hurom was the king of
a heathen country, he was apparently a proselyte one who had been
converted by the grace of God and brought to embrace the faith
of Israel. This man was apparently one who
was well-instructed in the truth of the Lord God. As you read
his letter, this correspondence to Solomon, you'll observe that
he had the highest regard for God and recognize that all the
blessings of this life are blessings that flow freely to men and women
by the hand of God's goodness, mercy, and grace. He speaks to
Solomon in this letter as one who greatly admired Solomon for
his evident wisdom and the grace of God that was bestowed upon
him. Solomon was a man of such rare character, a man of such
reputation, that Hurem, one who was his equal politically, one
who was equal to Solomon in rank and in power, he was the king
of Tyre. This man Hurem looked upon Solomon
and his reign over the nation of Israel as being a token of
God's great love for Israel. Look at what he says in verse
11. He begins his letter to Solomon like this. Because the Lord hath
loved his people, because the Lord hath loved his people, he
hath made thee king over them. Now what he's saying is this.
Solomon is such a man. He's such a man, a man of such
integrity, a man of such faithfulness, a man of such dedication, a man
of such commitment to God, a man of such understanding with people. He is a man of such character
that to have him as king over Israel is surely a manifest token
of God's special love for his people Israel. You see in his
early days It says, as the king of Israel, Solomon lived in such
integrity, with such uprightness before men, and with such faithfulness,
dedication, and commitment to God, that those who knew him
knew that his reign over Israel was a great blessing upon the
nation. I wish that you and I so live
before men. that they might, after beholding
our life in this world, after beholding our deeds, the way
we live upon the earth, that they might glorify the God of
heaven. I would not suggest that we live
merely to win the applause of men. That would be contrary to
the gospel of God's grace and contrary to our motives in this
world. I do not suggest that we live merely for the pleasure
of men. I don't suggest that we live
to impress men with our godliness or our righteousness or our faithfulness
or commitment. I am saying, would to God, that
we live in such a way, day by day, that those men and women
who know us best, beholding us as God's servants, might look
upon the lives we live and glorify the God of heaven by testifying
this is God's grace. This is God's grace. Solomon
so lived before men that this man Jerom looked upon Solomon
and he said now men this is the grace of God. It's God's goodness
that makes such a man and God's goodness that makes that man
your king. God help us so to live for the
glory of his name. Would to God that our lives were
so transparently honest, so obviously faithful to Christ, that those
who know us best might feel that an association with us is a blessing
from God upon me. As you all know, I despise every
teaching of good work as a matter of merit before God. If you would
like to see what I mean by teaching works salvation, you read those
articles of the last three Sundays in the Danville paper. You'll
see what I mean by men who blasphemously teach works salvation to the
damning of men's souls. I despise every, every teaching
that good works will win God's favor, even in the slightest
degree. either in justification or in
sanctification or as a basis of reward in heaven. I'm telling
you firmly, plainly, uncompromisingly that anybody who believes that
his work merits God's favor is under the wrath of God Almighty
and does not know God. Now that's just that. That's
just that. Our works have nothing whatsoever
to do with our salvation. There is no place for work in
the whole scheme of divine grace. Our salvation does not depend
upon our work, but upon Christ's work. Let that point be firmly
settled in your mind. Our relationship with God does
not depend, Bob Poston, on what we do for God. It depends on
what God does for us. It does not depend upon our doing,
but his doing. It does not depend upon what
we do for Christ, but what Christ has done for us. I hope you all
understand this. Our salvation is in no way based
upon our work, but let this also be established. It is our responsibility
as we live in this world to be careful that we maintain good
work for the glory of God and the honor of the gospel we profess. We dare not live with careless
indifference. I have a responsibility, Great
Baptist Church, you men and women who are members of this assembly,
we have a responsibility unparalleled by anyone else in this community.
We stand alone in Danville, Kentucky. We stand alone as men and women
who believe the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace. And
the eyes of the entire city are upon this assembly. You don't
believe me? You just go and listen. Where
do you go to church? Oh, I go out to Greece. Oh, oh,
that's where you go. Oh, I understand now why you're
so radical. I understand now why you behave
as you do. Listen, everybody watches. and they watch for flaws. They
watch for every opportunity to scandalize the gospel we preach,
the God we worship, and the cause for which we sing. Let us then
live in such a manner before men that no man has just cause
to lay blame at our feet. Now, I can't keep men from speaking
ill of what I preach or speaking ill of me. or even scandalizing
my name, my character, my reputation. But I have a responsibility,
Wes, to live in my household and to live in this community
in such a manner that no man can justly lay blame to my character,
my name, or my reputation. Not for my sake. My soul, no,
not for my sake, but for the gospel sake. For the gospel sake,
so that nobody looks and charges us with anything that's contrary
to the character of God and the glory of Christ. Our Lord Jesus
says this. He tells us that we are to live,
so live in this world that men and women of the world who know
not our God may see our good works and beholding our good
works may glorify our Father which is in heaven. Now what
does that mean? What does that mean? You can
read it yourself in Matthew 5.16. It means that as men behold our
lives, it means, Lindsay, as your son and daughter behold
the way you live in your home, or those men at Kentucky's, where
do you work? Central Kentucky or Kentucky
Central, whatever that insurance company is. As they behold your
conduct, they say that man has something that nobody else around
here has. God's done something for him.
God's done something for you. Whether they like it or not,
they distinguish it clearly as being something that is contrary
to the way men in this world live. We don't live for self,
but for Christ. Not for greed, but for God. Not
for our own ends, but for Christ's glory. That's the purpose by
which believers live. Our Lord says that you live in
such a way that men behold you and they glorify God. They honor
the name of our God. The grace of God that brings
salvation effectually teaches those who believe that we are
to deny ungodliness, worldly lust, and that we are to live
soberly, righteously, and godly in this present evil world. Not in some isolated commune,
not in some withdrawn situation. take kids and you send them off
to Bible camp, you know, and for a week they're all pumped
and primed and boy, all those kids get so dedicated and so
worked up and so godly and so nice and sweet. It's not bad. They're isolated and they can
stand it for a week or so. But they get away from all the
other kids and they all are out from under the influence of their
superiors and now they are out in the world and boy, it's tough.
For it's tough to live in this generation for Christ. Somebody
says, it's tough for young people to live in this world for Christ.
It's tough for old folks to live in this world for Christ. No
tougher than it was in Paul's day. No worse then than it is. No worse now than it was then.
Those people to whom Paul wrote in Titus 2, where he says that
we're to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world,
they were living under the rule of the most godless world empire
that had ever existed. They were living under the rule
of Rome. They were living under total godlessness. Paul says
you live for God in this generation. Right here, among these people,
among these people. And that's what we're doing,
to live for God in this world. I get right down where the rubber
meets the road. my daughter sitting here in front
of me, and for the past 16 of her 17 years, I suppose, about
once a month or more often, I say to her, don't ever forget who
you are. Don't forget who you are. Somebody
said, I don't believe a preacher should get off the edge with
the kind of pressure that people put on me. I do. Wherever that girl goes, she
represents not only herself, she represents me. Not only me,
but this assembly. Not only me and this assembly,
but the God I preach. She's representative of her father
and her father's name. And her father's name and reputation
and character is at stake as men behold him in her. Do you follow what I'm saying?
So that whatever she does, Be it good or bad, that's Don Fortner's
girl. You know who that is? She's Don Fortner's daughter.
She's Don Fortner's daughter. That's what happens when you're
Don Fortner's daughter. That's how you turn out if you're
Don Fortner's daughter. Thus far, it's been a delight,
and she honors me in the things she does, in the ways she behaves. And the way she dresses, and
the way she behaves, and the way she speaks and treats other
people, to my knowledge, I'm honored by her. So I'll go play
some boys. Oh, she's an honor to you. That's good. I like to go somewhere and somebody
commend me who doesn't even know me because they know her. Do
you follow what I'm saying, Bobby? Now, this is the way we're to
live for God. So that men and women be holding up look upon
our lives and honor our God. Now that's a, that's a responsibility. That's a heavy burden to bear.
It's a good one, though. It's a good one. And I'm telling
you, buddy, you and I represent our Father for good or for bad. We represent our Father wherever
we go, whatever we do, however we speak, At home, on the job,
walking down the street, in business, in the way we dress, in the things
we do, we represent our God. God helped us to represent him
well. That's what I'm saying. Our text
commends Solomon to us as a man of rare character and wisdom
in godliness and in faith. May God give each of us who are
his people grace to live in this world as Solomon did in the early
days of his reign so that God may be glorified by the way we
live. But I have no intention this
morning of preaching to you either about Solomon or about God's
religion. Behold, a greater than Solomon
is here. Solomon, like his father David,
was an imminent type of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'm going to
use him as such this morning. Our subject is Christ. Now, read
these words of Durham that were given to Solomon, as though they
are the words of God the Holy Spirit, spoken to and about God
the Son, who is Christ our King. For, indeed, they are the words
of God the Holy Spirit, spoken to and about Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, our King. be the Lord God of Israel, that
hath made heaven and earth, who has given us such a king. Now
look at verse 11 with us. Here's our text. Because the
Lord hath loved his people, he hath made these kings over them. The fact that the Lord Jesus
Christ has been made our king is a marvelous manifestation
of God's special love to us, his covenant people. May God
the Holy Spirit speak to your heart as I endeavor to show you
four things about Christ our King. First, learn this. God the Father has made Jesus
Christ his Son to be our King. Now in his divine As God the
Son, the second person of the Blessed Trinity, Christ Jesus
could not be made a king by God the Father. No. Our Lord Jesus
Christ is king over all by virtue of his divinity. God the Father
could no more make God the Son king than God the Son could make
God the Father king, for they are in all things equal. God
the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, in every way
equal in all possessions, in all power, in all attributes,
equal as they are one. But when we come to look at the
Scripture describing how that Jesus Christ has been made to
be king, He's speaking of Christ as being himself the covenant
head, the mediator of his people, the God-man. When the Scriptures
speak of Christ, now you can jot this down, it'll help you
to understand things as you read them. When the Scriptures speak
of Christ being made anything, when the Scripture speaks of
Christ being made anything, they are speaking of him as the God-man,
our mediator. He was made to be sent. not in
his essential character as God. That should never be. He was
made to be seen as the God-man, our mediator. He was made a prophet,
not in his essential being as God, but as the God-man, our
mediator. He is made our high priest after
the order of Melchizedek, not in his essential being as God,
but as being the God-man, our covenant head, and our mediator. And Christ Jesus made to be our
king, not as God, he's always that, but in his glorious manhood,
in his being as the God-man, our mediator, Jesus Christ has
been made of God to be our king. It was in this sense that the
Lord Jesus Christ has a kingship conferred upon him as the result
of his voluntary submission and obedience to the Father, as the
result of his life of righteousness. and his sacrifice upon the cross
by which he brought in an everlasting righteousness and put away the
sins of his people, the Lord Jesus Christ has been invested
with royal dominion over all the universe and made to be king
over all things for God's elect. The Lord Jesus Christ having
obeyed the Father's will, having voluntarily submitted himself
unto obedience unto the Father for the fulfilling of that everlasting
covenant, has now been given the reward of his obedience,
and that reward is the throne of universal monarchy. Let me
show you in this scripture. We've read Psalm 2. Turn over
to Psalm 45. Psalm 45. In Psalm 2, the Lord
God says, I have set my king upon my holy
hill of Zion. Is it asked of me, and I will
give you the heathen for your inheritance. In Psalm 45 in verse
1, the psalmist David says, My heart is indicting a good matter. I speak of things which I have
made touching the king. My tongue is the pen of a ready
writer. Thou art fairer than the children
of men. Grace is poured into thy lips. Therefore God hath
blessed thee forever. Look in verse 6. Thy throne,
O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of thy kingdom is
a right scepter. Thou lovest righteousness and
hatest wickedness. Therefore God, thy God, hath
anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Now
who on earth is he talking about? He's sure not talking about David.
And he's certainly not talking about God and his essential character.
Who's he talking about? Turn over to Hebrews chapter
1 and you'll see. Hebrews chapter 1. Here the Apostle
Paul is showing the Jewish believers how that Christ has fulfilled
everything as the covenant head of his people. In Hebrews 1 and
verse 1, God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in
times past unto the fathers by the prophets hath in these last
days spoken to us one time, he spoken to us by his Son, whom
he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made
the world, who, being the brightness of his glory, and the expressed
image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his
power, when he had by himself purged our sins, he sat down
on the right hand of the majesty on high. Now what does that mean?
Look in verse 7, or verse 8 rather. But unto the Son he saith, Thy
throne, O God, is for ever and ever. Well that's what David
said in Psalm 45. The Lord God says to the God's
man as he sits on the right hand of the majesty on high, because
he has put away our sins. He says, Thy throne, O God, is
forever 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. So, what Paul is telling us is
this. The Lord God, in Psalm 45, before the world was made. As Christ was there looked upon,
as our covenant head, in anticipation of him fulfilling all things
given him in the covenant of grace, the Lord God said, set
thou my right hand. And he turned the world over
to the hands of Christ, our mediator as a king. And then when the
Lord Jesus Christ had by himself purged our sins, when he had
by himself fulfilled everything that God requires of our mediators,
the Lord God said, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten
thee. Set thou on my right hand until I make thy foes thy foes
too. The Lord Jesus Christ then was
a king appointed and made to be king by God our Father before
the world began. I repeat, In anticipation of
his obedience as our surety, God the Father turned the world
over to the hands of his Son, our King. Proof? Well, the text I've read, we
won't turn to others, so I'll give you some other proof. How
did God create the world? Directly or mediatorially? Mediatorially. Read John chapter
1. God the Father did not create anything apart from the mediation
of Christ the King. God turned everything over to
Christ before the world was. And the Word was the Word of
creation and that Word is Jesus Christ our Lord. Do you see what
I'm saying? Without him there was not anything
made that was made. The Lord God gave his law upon
Mount Sinai. He gave his law to his servant
Moses, directly or mediatorially? Mediatorially. He gave his law
through the person of Christ, the angel of the covenant, upon
his holy heel. That's the way God deals with
men, through this mediator. The Lord God made many appearances
in the Old Testament to his people. He made an appearance to Adam
in the garden. He made an appearance to Noah
before the flood. He made an appearance to Enoch.
He made an appearance to Abraham. He made an appearance to Isaac,
to Jacob, to Moses. He made an appearance to David.
And all through the Old Testament Scripture, Manoah saw the Lord. All those appearances are revelations
of Jesus Christ in his pre-incarnate existence as our mediatorial
king. The Lord Jesus Christ, this is
what I'm trying to say here. Christ was not born at Bethlehem
to be a king. Now hear me. Jesus Christ was
not born at Bethlehem to be a king. No, sir. No, sir. I was taught
that when I was in Bible college. They told us that the Lord Jesus
came into the world. He was born to be the king of
Palestine, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Israel. And that
because the Jews kindly frustrated his plans and wouldn't let him
be their king, he postponed the time when he would be their king
until some future millennial reign that men had dreamed up
and concocted in their minds. And he kindly had a plan B by
which he was put to death on the cross and he saved some folks
that God never really intended to save. Now listen to me. The Lord Jesus Christ was not
born to be the king of Israel He was born as the King of Israel. Read it for yourself in Matthew
2, verse 2. Where is he that is born King
of the Jews? He is born King of the Jews. Our Lord Jesus Christ, while
he lived upon this earth, was worshipped and served and honored
as the King. When Nathanael met the Master,
I should say when the Master met Nathanael, Nathanael worshipped
him and said, Hail, thou King of Israel! When our Lord came
into Jerusalem riding upon an ashes coal, and the children
spread palm branches before him, and they waved the palm branches
and sang, Hosanna, Hosanna! They sang praises to the King
that comes riding upon a coal, the coal of an ash, just as Zachariah
the prophet had declared he would. You have a few still carrying,
or still have at your home, a Schofield reference Bible. I'm not faking
it, I'm just telling you. If you still have one, I've got
one. Had to study it when I was in school. When you get to that
passage in, where is it, in Matthew 21, Luke 19, where the Lord comes
riding into Jerusalem on the coat, the foal of an ass, Schofield
and his mentors declare that Christ was coming, making a bona
fide offer, offering himself to be the king of Israel, and
they wouldn't have him. Oh, poor, poor Jesus. They wouldn't
have him. Poor, poor Jesus. He couldn't
be king. Now try to imagine this. They
tell us he's God Almighty, but he couldn't be king because a
bunch of Jews wouldn't let him be king. What would the Son of God want
with a throne in Palestine? Kind of like opening baptism.
Come down from your lofty throne, King Jesus, and rule in them. Sit here upon my throne. Why,
that's foolish. That's foolish. Our Lord Jesus
didn't come into Jerusalem offering himself for nomination as king.
He came into Jerusalem and said, bow down, boys, I am king. I
am king. And when he ascended up into
heaven, the prophecies were fulfilled. Turn over to Acts chapter 2,
I'll show you. Acts chapter 2. When Christ Jesus ascended up
into heaven after his resurrection, the prophets were fulfilled and
Christ Jesus took his throne as king. Here in Acts chapter
2 and verse 25, Peter is speaking. He's explaining to those For
those fellows around there, what happened was the Spirit of God
was poured out on the church. And he says in verse 25, David
speaks concerning Christ. I saw also the Lord 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, my
flesh shall rest in hope. Because thou wilt not leave my
soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to seek
corruption. That's Psalm 16, verse 11. Thou hast made known
to me the ways of life. Thou shalt make me full of joy
with thy counselments. Men and brethren, let me freely
speak unto you. Now Peter talks. He says the
patriarch David, he's both dead and buried. His grave still with
us to this day. Verse 30. Therefore, being a
prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to Christ,
that he would of his fruit, or to David rather, that he would
of his fruit, of the fruit of his loin, according to the flesh,
he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. He, seeing this
before, spoke of the resurrection of Christ. David spoke then,
saying that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh
did see corruption. Now look at verse 32. this Jesus
hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses. Therefore,
being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received
through the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed
forth this which ye now see and hear. In other words, the outpouring
of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost was the fulfilling
of the prophecy of Joel that King Jesus has ascended his throne. And now the blessings of God
are poured out upon his people throughout all the earth. And
the sign is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which was manifested
on the day of Pentecost and in the apostolic age. In verse 34,
for David is not ascended into the heavens, But he saith himself,
The Lord said unto my Lord, Set thou 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
ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. When Christ Jesus
ascended up into heaven, the Lord God made him in public testimony,
by public display, and Christ received from the Father publicly
the throne of his father David, and he set king over God's Israel
forever. He did not then become a king,
but he simply received in a public manner his kingdom from the hands
of his father as the result of his works. All the rites and
ceremonies used in the inauguration of kings were used to show forth
the royal dominion of Christ our King. Are kings anointed? He was anointed with the oil
of gladness above his fellows. Do kings wear a crown? Christ
was crowned with glory and honor. Do kings sit upon a throne? He
sits upon the throne of heaven itself. Do kings hold a scepter? He has a scepter of righteousness
in his hand. Are kings given robes of majesty
and glory? The Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord
our King, is clothed with majesty and with honor. Now this is the
thing I want you to see. Our Lord Jesus Christ reigns
as King over everything for one supreme purpose. For one supreme
purpose. Turn over to John 17. John 17. Here's our Savior's high priestly
prayer. These words speak Jesus, and
lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has
come, glorify thy son, that thy son also may glorify thee. Now
there's a purpose. That's the reason he's raining.
That's the reason he's doing what he's doing. That's the reason
he holds the rain the way he holds the rain. That's the reason
he directs the mule teams of this world with the way he directs
the mule teams of this world. That's the reason he allows what
he allows and he does what he does. That he may glorify the
triune God. That's his purpose. How's he
going to do it? Look at it. Verse 2. As. Now there's a connection, Linsden.
As. He's going to glorify God as thou hast given him power,
authority over all flesh that he should give eternal life to
as many as thou hast given him This is it! Christ reigns triumphantly
to glorify God Almighty by the salvation of his elect people. That's what he's doing in this
world. He's saving his elect. He's saving his elect. Our Lord
Jesus Christ has his subjects. You know who they are? You. You. Me. And everybody else in the
world. He governs everything. He's king
of kings and lord of lords. Oh, he is especially the king
of Israel. That is, he is especially our
king, the king of his chosen redeemed people. That's the Israel
of God. He is especially the king of
Zion. That's us, his church. All believers willingly bow to
the dominion of Christ as their king, acknowledging him as lord
of all. Christ Jesus rules over Zion,
his church, by the word of his mouth. Though many despise his
rule, Christ is also the king over all his enemies. I'll show
you. Turn to 2 Peter chapter 1. I'm
sorry, chapter 2, 2 Peter 2. Verse 1. There were false prophets also
among the people. even as there shall be false
teachers among you, who privately shall bring in damnable heresies,
even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves
swift destruction." I can't tell you how many times
in my youth, when I used to fuss with Arminians, I learned better.
Some Arminians slapped me in the face with that verse of Scripture.
There! The Lord bought even the false
prophet. And the reason they use it is because they didn't
understand what it's saying. This word for Lord is a significant
word. It's the word, if we were to
give a direct transliteration of it, it would be translated
desperate. Desperate. You know what a desperate is?
That's the fellow who has his way, whether you like it or not.
He was dead. And what Peter is telling us
is that the Lord Jesus Christ, by his obedience and by his death,
bought the right to rule the world. John chapter 17 verse
2 is commentary on 2 Peter 2 and verse 1. What the Lord is telling
us in both is that he has power over everybody. He's everybody's
king. He's everybody's king. Now, we
who believe gladly submit to him as king. But if you don't
like him being king, he's still boss. He's still boss. He's still
king. And that doesn't change a thing.
Just because you don't like it, just because you don't want him
to be your king, just because you say, no, I'll not make Jesus
my king. Who said a man can make God his
king? He is your king. And you're going
to find out one of these days. I stress it. Because I want us
who believe to see that Christ our King, being the Lord of all
things, the Lord of all angels, the Lord of all demons, the Lord
of all men, the Lord of all events, the Lord of all time, the Lord
of all circumstances, he sovereignly rules everything for the good
of his people. Merrill, I believe that. I believe it. I will live like
I believe it. We were speaking before the Sunday
school class. Diane had an article on worry.
And we were speaking a little bit in jest. But the jesting is so real. Worry,
worry. I can think of so little. that
more dishonors God. And yet it's so natural to us,
isn't it? So natural to us. My king's on the throne. He's
on the throne. Well, does he have everything
in his hands? Yeah, he's got everything in his hands. Can he do anything
he wants to? He not only can, he does do anything
he wants to. He's my king. He's my king. He rules the world. You lose the world. Walked outside. My car has been bombed. It's gone. In the drive home,
my house has been burned to the ground and everything I own is
gone. And we come back here tonight and find this building to be
ruins of ashes. It's gone. So what are you going
to do? I'm going to do good like I've
always done. The king's on the throne. He's on the throne. He who provided for me when I
had plenty, provides for me when I have none. He's still king. And he's the one who brings the
plenty, and he's the one who brings the none. I'll pray to that presumption.
Call it what you want to. He's the one who brings the good,
and he's the one who brings the evil. He's the one who brings
fatness, and he's the one who brings leanness. And he does
it all for the good of his covenant people, for the glory of God
our Father. Reign on, almighty King, reign
on. Let all the earth rejoice Christ
is King, Christ is King. Charlotte was telling us about
your near-miss this morning. Well, he's the one who directs
the path of the cause. Whether it's a near miss or a
dead on hitch, he's the king. I can't see how it's all going
to work out. Man, how can this be for the
good of God's people? How can this be for the salvation of
God's elect? I don't know, but he does and that's good enough.
That's good enough. Let him do what he will. If God
gives me faith to trust Him, not to murmur and complain and
grumble and gripe. Oh, my soul, my heart is so convicted,
and I'm so tired of murmuring against God and His good, poverty
of Christ! God's made it so. God's made
it so. I finished my work last night
and went to bed. Confession time. Somebody said
confession is good for the soul. It is. But this is going to be
good for you, I hope. And Bob Foster, you'll never
guess what I did. You'd never guess what I did.
You know that hole you've been blocking up over there? We didn't
block it up again yesterday. I laid on my bed last night,
fretting about that cotton-picking hole over there. Talked to an
attorney. Shelby asked me what was wrong.
I seemed to tell her. Then I was fretting about that thing. Well,
what if somebody gets hurt? What if it wasn't? My soul don't
we understand? Christ. Christ. So does that make you careless?
No. No. Go patch the hole up. But my
soul don't fret and worry. Don't let worry crash this kingdom. Here's another thing. I didn't
preach my time now, but I'll give you a couple of statements. The fact that Jesus Christ is
our king is a marvelous manifestation of God's special grace to us. You see, He's everybody's king, but not
everybody has bowed before his throne. And the fact that God
has made us the subjects of this king is a manifestation of his
grace, his great love. This is what Urim said. He said,
because the Lord has loved his people, he has made thee king
over them. Not long ago, I was under the
dominion of another master. I was under the dominion of Satan,
the prisoner of sin, the slave of lust, and the servant of passion. Yeah, I used to live just like
we see our kids living today. used to do some ridiculous things.
Because got fit in, you know, got fit in. Oh, it's drudgery. Man, it's drudgery. When I was
a kid, 12, 13 years old, junior high school, most popular colors
around were burgundy slacks, pink oxford cloth shirts, and
pink socks, and penny loafers. Can you imagine me wearing pink
socks and a pink shirt? Yep. That's what everybody wore. Had to have it too. Slave to
fashion. Next year. The next year. The next year. If you wore that
same outfit, you'd laugh at it. Look at you. Look at you. And
it used to matter. It used to matter to me. Well,
I gotta change. Gotta change. Everybody's changing. Gotta change.
Booey on what everybody's doing. to fashion this world going up
in smoke real quick. Young people, as soon as you
learn it, happy you're going to be. You try to live with this
world and live with this world and the things of this world,
you're going to live in misery all your life. A slave to fashion
is another word for a slave to pain. That's all. That's all. Slave to men. But the Lord Jesus Christ graciously
intervenes. God, by his grace, made Christ
my king." And that's a special act of his
love. Blessed is the man. David's talking about the king.
He said, blessed is the man whom thou choosest and causes to approach
him directly. Psalm 110, David's talking about
the king. And he says, thy people shall be with him in the day
of thy power. You remember how that David,
when he was established on his throne, remembered a covenant
he had made? Remember, he made a covenant
with Jonathan a long time ago. And Jonathan made David swear,
he said, now when you're established on the throne, as you surely
shall be, Remember me. Remember me. My feet. Remember
my feet. And David called his servants
by the inn. He said, Has anybody left of
the house of Jonathan, of the house of Saul, that I may show
him mercy for Jonathan's sake? And Ziba said, Well, yeah, there's
one still living. A fellow down in Lodhi Bar, down where there's
no bridges. There's a fellow named Mephibosheth.
He must be about 21 years old now. When Saul was put off the
throne, his nurse took him in her arms. He was five or six
years old then. And she was fleeing for the boy's
life. When she fell, she broke his legs. And he's been crippled
ever since. He lives down there in that place
of no bread where he sold himself into bondage. And he lives in fear and dread
of the name of David, the son of Jephthah. You know what David
said? Fetch him. Fetch him. Fetch him. That I may show him
mercy for Jonathan's sake. That's what the Son of God has
done for me. And he's done it for many a year.
He says to his spirit, fetch him. Fetch him. Bring him here! I show mercy. I show mercy. Oh, Christ is a king. And the fact that God has made
him to be our king is a marvelous manifestation of his grace. For
you see, he's a king of infinite wisdom and unlimited power. A king of boundless resources.
A king of indestructible love. A king of indescribable, indestructible
love. That's the kind of love I like.
The kind of love I need. The kind of love I need. Read the papers, watch television,
read your mail. Somebody writes and says, well,
I used to love him, but he destroyed my love for him. I used to love
her, but she destroyed my love for her. Yeah, you can do that
with the kind of fickle thing we call love. But he's a king
with indestructible love. Bob Fontaine, you can't destroy
his love for you. You can't do it. You can't. They
preach, you don't dare tell folks that. Oh, I got to tell you. You can't do it. Child of God,
hear me! You can't destroy the King's
love. You can't do it. One that the Lord still loves
me. If he ever loved you, he still loves you. That's fact. Say, well, that'll make folks
live life senselessly. Not his people, it won't. It'll
cause them to seek his grace all the more. and to seek his
glory all the more. Christ is a king of a tender
relationship with all his people. It'd be a great matter of boundless
mercy and goodness if we had such a king as Christ even in
the far off distance of heaven and we were never privileged
to have any close relationship with him. Just to know he's our
king, that'd be good enough. Far better than we deserve. But
listen, this king is our friend. Our friend. He's the friend of
sinners. You better said nothing else
on this earth to give me any assurance that does. If he's the friend
of sinners, I meet the qualifications. He's the friend of sinners. That's
me. That's me. I take my place. I
take my place among his friends. Sinner! That's me. He's a friend of sex. More than
that, he's our brother. He's a friend that sticks closer
than a brother, and he's the brother that sticks closer than
any friend. He's our brother. Touched with
our infirmities. This king is our husband. I saw
a definition for husband the other day. I liked it. It's spelled
A-H-O-U-S-E-D. That's B-A-N-D. House band. That's what a husband is, Bobby.
He's the one who keeps the house band together. He's the one who
holds everything together. He's the one who knits the hearts
together. Who settles all the differences. Who brings peace
in the house. And if he ain't that, he ain't
a husband. He's the husband. The house band. The house band. That's King Jesus. He's the house
band in Zion. He holds the hearts of his people
together in peace and unity. And you know what? This husband
has never, ever, ever signed a bill of divorce. He's never
done it. He's never done it. There have
been many who pretended to be his wife who have forsaken him.
But there's never been one whom he has forsaken, nor shall there
ever be. Oh, God has given us Christ as
our King, and because of his great love for us, he has graciously
made us his willing subjects. For it was great indescribable
love for us that chose such unworthy, base-born, helpless people as
we are to be the subjects of our kingdoms. He's chosen foolish, base-born
men for the world. And I want to tell you something.
Some of you here, you keep toying with things a little bit. And I'm confident, some of you,
God's got his finger on you. You may as well bow down. You
may as well give up the struggle. Because if he ever sets his hand
on you, he'll get you. He'll get you. He'll make you
bow to his throne. And he'll make you glad you did.
He'll see to it. He'll see to it. It was great unseekable love,
redeeming love, that conquered our hearts and put an end to
our rebellion. Oh, how can I reason with you
and persuade you who yet are enemies to King Jesus to bow
down before him, surrender to his claims and his dominion,
and seek his mercy? That's my goal. I'm here to comfort
the king's people, and I'm here recruiting subjects for the king.
I'm here calling for men and women to raise up the white flag
of surrender and bow down to Jesus. I'm here as God's ambassador,
declaring terms of peace with this great nation. Let me give
you one more statement. I'll let you go home. It is the
most blessed thing in this world, the most blessed thing this side
of heaven, to be a subject under the dominion of Jesus Christ
our King. Look around you here. There are
many women from all walks of life here who are the subjects
of this King, and they'll bear me witness to what I'm saying
is so. The greatest blessing outside of heaven itself is to
be under the scepter of Christ's Is that right, buddy? I've been
to other places. This is the best place on this
earth. Under his rule. Under his rule. Folks often accuse us of
saying that we're just robots. Don't have any will of our own. Would to God we served him this
night. No, I would not be a robot, and
God wouldn't have me if I was. He takes men with real hearts
and real flesh. Men who are weak and frail creatures,
but men to whom he gives a heart and a will to serve him. And from such things as we are,
he glorifies his name. His rule, you see, is the rule
of nothing but love. Nothing but love. No threats. No terror. No punishment. No pouring out of wrath. No anger. None. You won't find those things from
King Jesus toward his subjects. You won't find them. Well, how
does his kingdom move? His love. His love. His love toward us, and his love
in us, and our love for him. His kingdom brings us into the
courts of his house. Royal courts they are. Here we
are. Here we are, in the courts of
his house. I'd rather be here than anywhere
on this earth. Anywhere, right here, right here, in the course
of his life. He makes himself known here.
He speaks peace here. Here his family gathers. His
service is our most delightful recreation. His bounty is our riches. His
cross is our crown. And I'll tell you this. Never
one time have I known or even heard tell of a single subject
under Christ the King who regretted his service. Ever meet such a
fellow? I've watched the men and women
die. I've watched them die slow, long
before Christ was dead. And I've heard men and women
declare many things they regret. Most people, most people, when
they come to die, regret almost everything about their lives. Almost everything. Because they realize it's all
vanished. I'm going to tell you something I've never seen. I
have never seen a single person who lived under the dominion
of Christ the King, who wasn't just tickled to death to know
that Christ is his King. I've never seen one who regretted
an hour of service done for the master or a life of Oh, the world
may poke fun at it, the world may laugh at it, the world may
mock it, but I'm telling you that the most blessed thing on
this earth is to be a servant, a voluntary willing bondslayer
under the dominion of King Jesus. God give me a heart more completely
submissive more completely dedicated, more completely committed, more
completely sensitive to the will and the glory of Christ our King. Sooner or later, you're going
to bow to Him. You're going to bow to Him. God's
given Him a name above every name. And at His name, every
knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father. And that's what salvation
is. That's what it is. It's bowing
to Christ as King. It's something more than pretty
little words. It's something more than walking down an aisle
and making a decision for Jesus. I keep telling folks, I get letters
and I meet folks in other churches and in other towns. I meet folks
on the streets. I meet family and friends and
telling you You hear me now? You hear me? Salvation is not
merely saying, I believe in Jesus. Salvation is bowing in your heart,
raising up the white flag of surrender to the authority and
the reign of Jesus Christ as King. He must be king in the
city of man's soul, or the city of man's soul must be destroyed. That's it. His terms of peace
are surrender. Yes. Surrender. Surrender. God help you to do so for Christ's
sake. Amen.