Upon my great and sovereign God,
I cast my soul at rest. My Father's hand controls the
world, and what He does is best. So be still, my heart, and doubt
no more Believe and find sweet rest God's wisdom, love, and
truth, and power Combine to make thee blessed In raging storms and fiery trials,
He keeps me from all harm. He walks with me and holds me
in His everlasting arm. So be still, my heart, and doubt
no more. Believe and find sweet rest. God's wisdom, love, and truth,
and power combine to make thee blessed. My God with skill infallible
and great divines of grace, with power and love and never fail,
shall order all my ways. So be still, my heart, and doubt
no more Believe and find sweet rest God's wisdom, love, and
truth, and power Combine to make thee blessed My life's most minute circumstance
is ordered by my God, Who promised that in all things He will ever
do me good. So be still my heart, And doubt
no more Believe and find sweet rest God's wisdom, love and truth
and power Combine to make thee blessed God's wisdom, love and
truth and power Combined to make the. Would you turn with me to the 15th
chapter of First Corinthians? Verse 25. For he. Must. Reign. I've entitled. This message. He. Must. Reign. Now, this is the message
that every unbeliever needs to hear. It's necessary that they
hear this. Psalm 9610 says, say among the
heathen that the Lord reigneth. Unbeliever needs to hear this.
But this is also the message that every believer needs to
hear. Say unto Zion, that's the church. That's the believer. Say unto
Zion, thy God reigneth. Now, the first phrase of verse
25 is our text. He must reign. But I'd like us
to look at verses 24 through 28 real briefly and remember
this. Jesus Christ is the eternal Son
of God. equal with God in His person,
in no way inferior to God, because He is God. He said, He that hath
seen Me hath seen the Father. But He is subordinate to the
Father, as the Son is always subordinate to the Father. Let's
keep that in mind as we look at this passage of Scripture.
1 Corinthians 15, 24, Then cometh the end, when he, the Lord Jesus,
shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when
he shall have put down all rule and authority and power. Now that doesn't mean he'll stop
being king when he delivers the kingdom to his father. He'll
still be the king of kings and the lord of lords, but he, as
the son, is always subordinate to the father. And he delivers
to him the kingdom, and this is done as he puts down all rule
and power and authority. I like the way that sounds. You
know, all opposition to him is going to be wiped out. He's going
to put down everything that opposes him. He's going to be destroyed. Verse 25, for he must reign. There's a necessity to his reign,
for he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. You see, the Lord said to my
Lord, I'm quoting from Psalm 110.1, the Lord said to my Lord,
sit thou at my right hand. Until I make thy foes thy footstool. Verse 26, the last enemy that
shall be destroyed is death. Now, death is certainly the enemy
of life, isn't it? But Christ will one day put to
death death. There will be no more death. Verse 27. For he has put all
things under his feet. God has put all things under
the feet of Christ, but when he says all things are put under
him, it is manifest that he is accepted, which did put all things
under him. In other words, God, the father,
is not under the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is
equal to his father. Christ is subordinate to his
father as the father is all and he is subordinate to his father
because he is the son. God, the father, is not under
his feet. Verse 28, and when all things
shall be subdued unto him, that time is coming. Isn't it wonderful
to think about that? Everything is going to be subdued
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Then he, the son, will subject
himself To the father, let's read it,
and when all things should be subdued unto him, then shall
the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things
under him, that God may be all in all. That's heaven, isn't
it? God is all in all. Now let's go back to this wonderful,
wonderful phrase. For he. Must reign. The word must means it's necessary
that he reign. I love the word must in connection
with the Lord Jesus Christ. Does anyone remember his first
words that were recorded? He said, I must be about my father's
business. You know, several times during
his earthly ministry, he spake of how he must suffer. There's a necessity for his sufferings. Listen to this scripture from
Matthew chapter 16, verse 21. From that time forth began Jesus
to show unto his disciples how that he must go to Jerusalem. and suffer many things of the
elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be
raised again the third day. It was necessary that this take
place. It must happen. Now, why is it
necessary? Why was it necessary for Jesus
Christ to suffer under the hands of the chief priests and scribes?
Why was it necessary for him to be nailed to a cross? What's
the necessity of this all about? Well, first of all, it was necessary
because God willed it. God purposed it. And whatever
God's purpose is, it must come to pass. Him being delivered
by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Now if
he was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, you know what's going to happen? Everything God determined to be done. He
must suffer because it was God's will for him to suffer. Secondly,
he must suffer and die on the cross because he was guilty. You see, he was actually made
sin. And the father must punish sin. God's just. He can't let sin
go unpunished. The sins of God's elect became
his. And he was guilty. You know, that's... I don't understand
that. I believe it. I believe it. I
believe it from my head to my toes. I believe that whatever
that he became guilty and when he died under the wrath of God,
it's because he deserved to die. The soul that sinneth shall surely
die. The sins of God's people became
his. He became guilty. Therefore,
he must suffer the wrath of God. He must be punished. Why was
it necessary that he die? Well, he must say the elect. Listen to this scripture. Other
sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I must break. And there shall be one bold and
one shepherd. He must save everybody the father
gave him. That's why he had to die for
him. I love that scripture where it says he must need to go through
Samaria. Don't you love that? Why must needs he go through
Samaria? Because one of his sheep's there. And he's always going
to have everybody the Father gave him. It's going to happen.
Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must abide
at thy house. Now the only reason he must do
anything is he must do the Father's will. And that's one of his sheep,
and he's going to have it. I love this scripture. John chapter
20 verse 9 says he must rise again from the dead. He must.
He must. Justice demands it. He made complete
satisfaction. He can't stay dead. Because of
who he is, he must rise from the dead. It was not possible
for death to hold him. And then our text, he must reign. It's absolutely necessary that
Jesus Christ reign. Notice, I don't say that he has
the right to reign. He does reign. Not that he wants
to reign. He does reign. The Lord reigneth. Now, what is meant by the word
reign? We've read this in the Psalms,
the Lord reigns, he must reign. What is meant by the word reign?
Well, it's where the word sovereign comes from. Sovereign. He reigns. Now, if you're sovereign,
that means you have absolute control of everything. Anything short of that is not
reigning when we speak of the sovereignty of God and we speak
of sovereign grace. Well, what is meant by this sovereign
grace or the sovereignty of God, the reign of God, the reign of
the Lord Jesus Christ? What is meant by this when we
talk about or when the Bible talks about him reigning? Well,
first, God has a will. There really is such a thing
as the will of God. God has a will, and not only
does God have a will, but He has the power to cause His will
to come to pass. Isn't that who He is? If he's
God, obviously, if he has a will, he has the power, he has the
ability to make sure his will comes to pass. With God, nothing
should be impossible. If he wills it, he's going to
make sure it happens because he's got the power to make sure
it happens. Now, not only does God have a
will, not only does he have the power to cause his will to come
to pass, His will can't be thwarted. He does make his will come to
pass. The idea that God wants a man
to be saved and he doesn't end up being saved, that's foolishness. You've heard preachers talk,
well, God wants everybody to be saved. God wants this man
to be saved. Listen, if God wants you to be saved, you will be
saved. There's no question about that. That's not even up for
debate. The Lord reigneth. His will must be done. Turn with
me for a moment to Isaiah 46. Isaiah 46. Verse 9. Remember the former things of
old, for I am God and there's none else. I am God. And there's none like me. You
know, there's no one like God. There's no one we can compare
Him to. I mean, it would be bringing
Him down to compare Him to anybody. He's utterly unique. He's absolutely
independent. He's God. Let's go on reading. Remember the former things of
old. For I am God and there's none else. I am God and there's
none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning. And from
ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My
counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. Calling a ravenous bird from
the east, the man that executes my counsel from a far country,
yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass, I have
purposed it, I will also do it. That is the reign of the Lord
God. And not only does God have a
will, not only does God have the power to make his will come
to pass, obviously, because he's God, he has the right to do so. I love that passage of scripture
in Exodus chapter, I mean, Matthew chapter 20, when the Lord has
given that parable of the workers in the vineyard. And you remember
how he decided to give the 11th hour worker the exact same pay
as the one who'd only work, as the one who worked 12 hours.
One worked one hour, one worked 12 hours, and the Lord decided
to give him the exact same thing. And you remember how the scripture
points out, they murmured against the good man of the house, and
they said, this is not fair, this is not right, this is not
just. You've taken that one who's only worked an hour, and you've
made him equal with us. We've borne the burden and the
heat of the day. We've worked like dogs. And you
give this fellow who only worked an hour the same thing as us?
It's not fair. And I love the reply. Can I not do what I will with
my own? Do I not have the right? If I
sovereignly decide to give this fellow who only worked an hour
the same thing as you, what's wrong with that? I can do exactly
what I will with my own. You see, God is on the throne,
and whatever He does is right, and it's right because He does
it. He doesn't do it because it's
right. It becomes right when he does it because he's God.
He gives no account of his matters. He doesn't have to answer to
me or you. None can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest
thou? Give an account for your actions.
Whatever he does is right. Shall not the judge of the earth
do right? Not only does God have a will,
Not only does God have the power to make sure His will comes to
pass, not only does God have the right to make sure His will
comes to pass, He exercises that power all the time. He's always reigning. The Lord reigneth. He exercises
that power so that his will is always done. David said, Our
God is in the heavens in Psalm 15 3. Our God is in the heavens.
He hath done. Not he will do or has the right
to do or wants to do. He hath done whatsoever he hath
pleased. And that's what's meant by sovereignty. God reigns. The Lord Jesus Christ
reigns. He has a will. He has the power
to make sure his will comes to pass. He has the right to make
sure his will comes to pass. And he does, in fact, make his
will to come to pass. He must reign. Now, what's your response to
that? You love it? Or does it make you uncomfortable?
Now, if you find your only hope in Him, you love it. And if you
are not comfortable with it, it's because you're not comfortable
with Him. He reigns. As the God-man, Jesus Christ
reigns. I love to think of the reign
of the Lord Jesus Christ. I love talking about this. He
must reign. He demonstrated His reign in
creation. when as an act of His will, He
created the universe. All things were made by Him,
and without Him was not anything made that was made. He serves
sovereignty there, doesn't He? I mean, He willed something to
happen, and you know what? It happened. Just as an act of
His will, He reigns in creation. He reigns over this physical
universe. I love to think of the fact he
controls the weather. What manner of man is this that
even the winds and the sea obey him? I'll tell you what manner
of man this is, the God-man. Did any of you notice that beautiful
full moon on the way to the service this evening? You know who put
that moon there? The God-man. And it's there according
to his will and his purpose. He reigns in the physical universe. He reigns in the plant kingdom. He reigns in the animal kingdom.
He reigns. He reigns over this physical
universe. He reigns over angels. He reigns over demons. Do you
know demons could not make a move without first asking His permission? That's His reign of... You know,
we talk about the devil, and I'll tell you what, when I talk,
it scares me to talk about the devil. Even when I was thinking
about talking about this, I thought, I just don't... I don't even want to
mention him. I don't want to be known. I don't
want to... I don't want to be exposed to Satan's temptations
and so on. And we're taught to pray, deliver
us from the evil one. And I'm praying, Lord, deliver
me from the evil one. But let me tell you this about
the devil. He's God's devil. He's on God's chain, and he can't
make a move without God being in control of it. The Lord reigns. He reigns over
angels. I love that phrase in Timothy
where they're called the elect angels. The ones that didn't
fall, they're the elect angels. He reigns over all men. Thou
hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal
life to as many as Thou hast given Him. All flesh. He reigns over unbelievers. They don't know it, but He's
reigning over them. They're all going to be made
to bow to Him. You know, everybody's going to have to bow to Christ.
You may do it now, you may do it later, but bow you must. The cry of the natural man is,
we will not have this man to reign over us. You've got no
choice. He must reign. Isn't that wonderful? He must
reign. He reigns in providence. Everything
that takes place in time is simply because He willed it. The lot
is cast into the lap, and that's what we would call luck. That's
what we would call chance. The lot is cast into the lap,
but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. He reigns, and
He reigns most especially in salvation. I love to think of
his reign in salvation. Now, every and every aspect of
salvation, Jesus Christ reigns. Now, when you begin, where do
you begin? Well, let's talk about election.
Bible teaches election, doesn't it? God chose who'd be saved
before time began. You know what the Lord said? John chapter 15, verse 16. He
said, you did not choose me, but I chose you. Don't you know
that so? How does your heart respond to
that? You know it so, don't you? You didn't choose me, but I chose
you and ordained you. He reigns in election in this
sense. Election is chosen in Him. According as He has chosen
us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be
holy and without blame before Him. He reigns in election. He
reigns in justification. I love the parable of the Pharisee
and the publican. What's justification mean? It
means not guilty. Not guilty. Now that's Pharisee. He prayed, God, I thank you that
I'm not as other men are. I fast twice in the week. He
talked about all the good things he did and so on. And this poor
publican, back in the back, he wouldn't even come up. He stayed
back in the back and he'd beat on his breast. He wouldn't so
much as lift up his eyes to heaven. But cried, God, be merciful to
me, the sinner. That's his own confession of
what he was, the sinner. And our Lord said, I tell you. And when he says it, that's the
authority. I tell you that that man went
down to his house justified. Now, Christ says he justified.
You know what? He justified. He's not guilty. He reigns in justification. He
reigns in justification in this sense. He declares us to be justified.
His righteousness is our justification for God. Is he guilty? No. Perfectly
righteous, he never sinned. That perfect obedience of his
is counted to every believer. So he reigns in justification. He reigns in redemption. He redeemed
us with his own precious blood. He put away the sins of all of
his people. He reigns in regeneration. If
you're born again, it's because he gave you life. As the Father
raises the dead and quickens them, even so the Son quickens
whom He will. He reigns in preservation. We're
kept by His power through faith and through salvation. He reigns
in glorification. You know, when I'm brought into
heaven, this is a wonderful thought, when I'm brought into heaven,
I'm going to be perfectly conformed to what? The image of Jesus Christ. He reigns in glorification. And this is the great fact. He
reigns. He must reign. He must reign. It is absolutely
necessary that he reign because of who he is. He's God. You know, to talk about God,
the best definition of sovereignty is God. What do you mean by sovereignty,
God? That's what he reigns. He reigns. He has complete control. He must
reign because he deserves the honor. He must reign because
who can stop him from it? None can take his hand or say
unto him, what doest thou? He must reign because his kingdom
is eternal. It never had a beginning and
it will never end. We read in Luke 133, and he shall
reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there
shall be no end. All earthly kingdoms shall fall.
You know, I'm thankful to be in the United States of America,
aren't you? I'd rather be here than anywhere else. Thank God
for this privilege to be in this country. I'm mighty thankful
for this country, but this country, if the Lord didn't return back,
it's going to fall just like every other society has, just
like every other government has. It's going to fall. You know
that. I mean, anything that men... It's going to change. It's going
to fall. Something's going to happen. That's not going to take place
with his kingdom. His kingdom is eternal. Therefore, he must
reign. He must reign because the Father
has decreed it. Listen to this scripture from
Psalm 2, verses 6 through 8. This is God the Father speaking,
and He says, Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree. The Lord has said unto me, Thou
art my Son. This day have I begotten thee,
ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thy inheritance,
and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." Now,
I've got a question for you. Is it possible for God to decree
something and not come back to pass? Of course not. That's not possible. He says, I've spoken it, I will
also bring it to pass. I have purposed it, I will also
do it. There is a necessity of his reign
because God has decreed it. I have declared the decree. That's
God speaking. Thirdly, he must reign because
justice demands it. You know, there is such a thing
as justice. God is just. And justice demands
that He, the Lord Jesus Christ, reigns. It's the only right thing.
Anything else is wrong. And God's in control. God is
just. He's going to make sure it happens.
He must reign because the very justice of God demands it. He
must reign because all power belongs to Him. He said, All
power is given unto Me. in heaven and
in earth. If he has all power, obviously
he reigns. Do you know how much power you
and I have? Zero. Do you know how much control you
and I have? Zero. Do you know how much power he
has? All power. You know how much control he
has? All control. He reigns. Now, in conclusion, if he must reign, and he must. Scripture says that, doesn't
it? He must reign. If he must reign, then all of
his enemies must be subdued. There's a necessity to that.
It's going to happen. You see, his enemies don't stand
a chance. They don't stand a chance. I
mean, this is talking about a battle that cannot be won. All of his
enemies will be subdued. Secondly, if he must reign, And
this is something I hope we get a hold of this. If he must reign,
and he must reign, he must reign. If he must reign, then we have
no legitimate reason to worry about anything. Why do we worry? Well, while
we're worrying, we're not really believing at that time that he
must reign. Because we really believe that
he reigns All is well. All is well. If He must reign, and He does, what a Savior we have to trust. What a glorious Savior. What
a powerful Savior. Paul said, I know whom I've believed
and I'm persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've
committed to Him against that day. He's able, because of His
power, He's able to save me without my help. Now, is that great or
what? That's the gospel! That's good
news! He must reign. If He must reign, then our efforts
to preach the gospel are not in vain. Never. Never. Listen to this scripture from
1 Corinthians 15. Be ye steadfast, unmovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord. For you know that your
labor is not in vain in the Lord. He must reign. Now what a reason,
and I need to hear this, what a reason for joy and optimism. You know, if you really believe
He reigns, you can't help but have a positive attitude, can
you? He reigns. What a reason for joy. What a
reason for optimism. He reigns. Let the earth rejoice, the Lord
reigneth, let the earth rejoice. Now let's close with this scripture,
Isaiah 52. This is quoted in Romans chapter
10. Verse 7. How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth
peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation,
that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth. The watchman shall
lift up the voice. With the voice together shall
they sing. for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall
bring again Zion." You know, all of God's people see eye to
eye on this, don't they? The Lord reigneth. That's gospel, isn't it? That's
good news. Thank God for His reign. Let's pray together. Lord, how we thank You that You
reign. Lord, we're so happy that You
reign. Lord, give us the grace to believe at all times that
Thy Son must reign and does reign. Deliver us from looking to ourselves.
Enable us to look wholly to Him and teach us what it is to trust
the Redeemer. Lord, give us grace to walk by
faith and not by sight. Bless this message for your glory
and for our good. In Christ's blessed name we pray.
Amen.