[0:00] Verse 6, I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain. This is God speaking. God speaking about himself, installing a king, placing a king.
[0:13] And as you go through that psalm, you realize that that king is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the king of kings and the Lord of lords. That's why we come to worship and to adore him.
[0:24] God has set him as the king of the universe, the king of the world. And the most important thing for us this morning as we come to worship is, is he my king? Is Jesus Christ my king?
[0:36] Is he the one who rules over the throne of my heart? And do I love him and seek to serve him and to worship and adore him? And our first hymn is a wonderful hymn, Crown Him with Many Crowns.
[0:50] The Lamb Upon the Throne, it's number 146. Our Lord Jesus is crowned as king. And our desire is to crown him, to give to him honour and glory and praise.
[1:02] 146, we'll stand as we sing.ه, we'll stand as we sing.
[1:18] The End The End The End
[2:48] Our Lord Jesus Christ is indeed King now and for eternity. And He is the one who rules and reigns over our world.
[2:59] So to Him we can come in prayer for our own needs and for the needs of our world. But let's come to God in the name of Jesus in prayer. Let us pray together. Amen. We thank you, O Lord, our God, that in your great love for this world, your great love for us, your great concern and care for the people that you've created, you have installed a king upon your holy hill.
[3:26] We thank you that that king is like no other king in the whole world. We thank you that that king is not one who rules and reigns for his own glory and honor and praise, but one who rules that he might serve, that he might save, that he might rescue.
[3:43] One who rules and reigns that he might bring about not selfish desires, but only good blessings for this world and for the inhabitants of it.
[3:54] We thank you that though he is king of all the world and all the universe, yet he humbled himself. He took on the frailty and the weakness of our humanness.
[4:05] We thank you that though he is God and always will be God, yet he walked amongst us, lived as we live, knew what it was to suffer, to be hungry, to be pained, knew what it was to grieve, knew what it was to be heartbroken.
[4:19] We thank you that, Lord Jesus, you understand us better than anyone else in the whole world. You understand our concerns, our fears, our anxieties, our problems. We thank you because you are such a great and glorious king.
[4:33] Not only do you understand, but Lord, you are able to do something for us. We thank you your word tells us we can come to your throne of grace and ask for help in time of need.
[4:46] And, oh Lord, we come to you. We are needy people, all of us, whoever we are. We do not have perhaps the needs of many in our world. Lord, we do not have hunger, deprivation, homelessness.
[4:58] But, Lord, we have other needs too. We have needs of sins forgiven. And we thank you that, Lord, there is grace for us. Whatever our sin, you are glad and willing to forgive it because on the cross you took the punishment we deserve.
[5:11] We have the need, oh Lord, of comfort. For many of us mourn and grieve. Many of us struggle, Lord, with heartache, sorrow, loneliness. Many of us suffer, Lord, with the hurts and afflictions of life in this world because it is just not easy.
[5:27] It is hard. We thank you that there, oh Lord, you can pour out your spirit and give us your peace and deliver us from our fears. Fill us with hope. And, oh Lord, grant us faith.
[5:40] We thank you, Lord, that we are those who have great needs because we have loved ones. Loved ones who are dear to our hearts, but, oh Lord, they have no love for you. Loved ones, oh Lord, who we pray for and cry over daily, that they might be saved, that they might be brought to yourself when they live in darkness and sin and shame.
[5:58] And so, Lord, we thank you that you are the God who still saves, that this is still the day of salvation and the day of grace. And that, Lord, you are the one who is sovereign to save. And so we cry to you for those of our families and our friends and those who are dear to our hearts, that even today you would speak to them.
[6:15] Even today you would meet with them. And even today you would convict them of their need of Jesus and give them that trust in you. Lord, we have need of you because we long to hear you speak to us.
[6:27] We thank you that you are the living God. Your words are the words of eternal life. We ask that we might hear you speak to us, Lord, through your word this morning. That we might have hearts that are open, ears that are open, minds that are receptive, that we might not be blocked, as it were, from hearing what you would say to each one of us.
[6:48] Words of encouragement, words of comfort, words of challenge, words of conviction. Oh, Lord, give us ears to hear. So, Lord, we ask for your presence amongst us, that by your spirit you would be at work, and that you would be indeed the Lord of our lives, the King of this church.
[7:05] For we ask it now, in that name which you've given to your Son, the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. We're going to turn in our Bibles now and read from 1 Samuel, 1 Samuel and chapter 10.
[7:24] If you've got one of the red church Bibles, like this one, then that's page 280, page 280. Last week, or the last few weeks, we've been looking at the life of Samuel and things and the events in the life of Samuel, especially now, changes were taking place in his life, and the people had asked for a king instead of Samuel to rule and to judge.
[7:53] And Samuel met with Saul and said to him, you're the one who's going to be God's king. And now it was important that all the nation, all the people knew what was happening.
[8:08] And so we're going to read from 1 Samuel and chapter 10, and we're going to read from verse 17. Verse 17. Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the Lord at Mizpah and said to them, This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says.
[8:28] I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you. But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your disasters and calamities.
[8:43] And you have said, No, appoint a king over us. So now present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans. When Samuel had made all Israel come forward by tribes, the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot.
[9:02] Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri's clan was taken. Finally, Saul, son of Kish, was taken.
[9:14] But when they looked for him, he was not to be found. So they inquired further of the Lord, Has the man come here yet? And the Lord said, Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.
[9:27] They ran and brought him out. And as he stood among the people, he was a head taller than any of the others. Samuel said to all the people, Do you see the man the Lord has chosen?
[9:39] There is no one like him among all the people. Then the people shouted, Long live the king! Samuel explained to the people the rights and duties of kingship.
[9:52] He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before the Lord. Then Samuel dismissed the people to go to their own homes. Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched.
[10:07] But some scoundrels said, How can this fellow save us? They despised him and brought him no gifts. But Saul kept silent.
[10:19] You'll all be aware that this year, in just a little while, many celebrations will be taking place for the 90th birthday of Her Majesty the Queen.
[10:34] And that just a little earlier, I think it was earlier this year or last year, she overtook Queen Victoria, her great-great-grandmother, as the longest-serving English monarch, 64 years and more.
[10:51] But around about a dozen years or so ago, there was a documentary, or some doubt was thrown upon the Queen's authenticity or right to be Queen and monarch.
[11:02] And a scientist or a historian by the name of Dr. Michael Jones said that Queen Elizabeth's claim to the throne was thrown into dispute because of a very distant ancestor, don't know how many greats, Edward IV, because his birth was actually illegitimate.
[11:22] He wasn't really the son of the king. And Dr. Jones' studies led him to conclude that the crown should have passed instead through another royal line, through a man called Michael Abney Hastings, who was a forklift truck driver in Australia.
[11:40] And he's recently died, in fact, this man. But at the time of the documentary, King Michael sort of said he was unlikely to go to Buckingham Palace and ask for the crown, and rather, in fact, he was treated much the same by his family, even after all these things came out.
[11:59] He knew about it. He was, in fact, actually a duke of some sort. He said the only time it affected the family was on Christmas Day, when he was welcomed to dinner with a rendition of God Save the King.
[12:12] But that was all. The rightful king, the rightful monarch, the rightful ruler. However, in verse 17 here of 1 Samuel 10, Samuel calls all the people of Israel together to determine who was to be the rightful king, who was to be the king that God had chosen to rule over them for the very first time.
[12:35] And he did this by drawing all the tribes and casting lots, lots a little bit like we used to draw the shortest straw, you know, that sort of thing, except with a recognition that God governs and controls that.
[12:49] And lots were used often in Bible times to seek God's guidance and wisdom for this. And so, as they drew lots, we're told there in verse 20, the tribe of Benjamin, and then the tribe of Benjamin, a particular clan or family of the tribe of Benjamin, Matri, and then eventually Saul, the son of Kish, was chosen to be God's appointed king.
[13:15] And when he's finally revealed, after hiding away in the supplies, he comes forward and we're told there, they brought him out, verse 23, and as he stood among the people, he was a head taller than the others.
[13:33] And Samuel said this to all the people, Do you see the man the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.
[13:44] He was speaking of the uniqueness of Saul being set apart as king. But these words of Samuel, and these words I want us to think about, really speak more about somebody else, another king.
[14:00] The greatest king of all time. The king to whom, really, alone these words could be said. There is no one like him amongst the people.
[14:13] And, of course, I'm talking about our Lord Jesus Christ. If you remember, all the way back to Luke and Matthew's accounts of the birth of Jesus, even at the very start, when those wise men came, the Magi, to Herod, they asked him, Where is the king of the Jews?
[14:31] Something which Herod took, obviously, great affront to, and led to the murder of so many children. And even at the very end of Christ's life, as he was about to be crucified, Pilate asked him and put him on trial, Are you the king of the Jews?
[14:49] To which Jesus said he was. Written above Jesus' head was the charge when he was crucified. They would nail the charge, the reason this person was dying this hideous death.
[15:02] Why were they there? They would put robber or murderer or revolutionary or whatever. Above Jesus' head was written the charge, we're told, in Matthew 27. This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.
[15:16] The Lord Jesus Christ was much more than simply the king of the Jews, like Saul, the king of Israel. He was much more than the king of God's people. He is the king over every other king, and the king over every other king in every country, nation, and time.
[15:35] That's why we read from Psalm 2 at the very start of our service, which speaks about this king that God is going to send. And it's clear he's speaking about Jesus.
[15:46] I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain, and I will proclaim the Lord's decree. He said to me, You are my son. Today I have become your father.
[15:57] Ask me and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron. You will dash them to pieces like pottery.
[16:09] The king, Jesus, was to be the king whose rule and reign would be over all nations. Oh, to the ends of the earth, a rule with absolute power and absolute authority.
[16:23] And we could go all the way through the Old Testament, New Testament, many, many places speak about the kingship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many of them pointing to the fact that he is the ruler over all things.
[16:37] Just one to suffice from Revelation 19, speaking about the very return, the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ again. And it says there, On his robe he has this name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
[16:52] For at his return, when Christ comes again, every single person will know that this is true and acknowledge that Jesus is king. But I'd like to take just a few moments this morning to think about this event, this event concerning Samuel and this first king Saul, and particularly these words, and comparing Saul, really, the very first king, with Jesus, the greatest king, the lasting king, the true king, and how he's described here in verse 24, What was Samuel saying when he was speaking about Saul?
[17:33] What was he referring to about Saul when he said, There's no one like him in all the people. Well, we're told what it meant because verse 23 says, He stood among the people a head taller than all the others.
[17:46] So we're not told how tall he was, whether he was seven foot or six foot six, or however tall he was, but when he came through the crowd, you just saw his head. He was Saul taller than anybody else.
[17:57] He had this amazing height, and clearly, therefore, an amazing sense of presence, taller than anyone else. It seems to be the only thing that we can find that makes him stand apart, but it clearly impressed all the people.
[18:11] When they saw him, they shouted, Long live the king. But of course, that's often been the case, hasn't it, throughout history and throughout our day today.
[18:23] We are visual people, and so looks and image are what matter most to us. We judge somebody's qualities on their very first appearance, perhaps.
[18:36] We judge their ability to do something by how they look to us, how they appear to us. That's exactly why con men manage to get away with their crimes, don't they? They give this very good first impression, and they take you in.
[18:50] You're taken in by the impression that they give, and believe what they say, and so many are duped in that way. Flash, outward show, are the things that really matter.
[19:03] But who's to say that Saul was going to be a very good king just because he was tall? Seems rather foolish, doesn't it? It's like saying, I'm going to put my confidence in this doctor to cure me of my illness because his hands aren't cold.
[19:16] It doesn't equate, does it, necessarily, that just the one must mean the other. But the whole of our society is governed, isn't it, by what we see.
[19:28] We make our most important decisions based on nothing more substantial than outward attraction or appeal to the eye. When you enter into a relationship, it begins often on physical appearance, physical attraction, physical beauty.
[19:45] Every single purchase we make, and this is, of course, why supermarkets and other retailers know this, is largely governed by how we view the product. How is it presented to us?
[19:59] Politics, political decisions, government determined in the main by, will this make us look good? Is this appealing?
[20:10] Is this something which make us popular? Sad truth is, if we're honest, that there is very little interest in substance, very little concern about character.
[20:24] As people, as human beings, we are a mile wide. We'll accept anything and everything, whether it's good or bad, if it looks good on the surface. Very rarely will we dig deeper.
[20:37] Very rarely will we look under the surface. This is why, sadly, in our day and age, the church of Jesus Christ is so despised. And no wonder, because on the surface, when the world looks at the church, by that I mean the whole presentation of Christianity, it sees something which is divided, something which is full of of outward show, of robes, and all those sort of things, but nothing really attractive.
[21:07] It's no wonder, is it really, that Saul makes such a hash of being a king. If he's chosen only because he's tall, no wonder he fails at the very first or second hurdle. No wonder that, as we read later, through his reign in 1 Samuel, he's a weak man, a man who seeks always popular opinion, a people pleaser, which is his great downfall in the end.
[21:32] Whatever choices we make, and we have to make choices, whatever decisions we make, and we have to make decisions, whether they're in the matter of relationship, whether in the matter of finance, or matter of the life of the church, if we're governed by the superficial, if we're governed by what we see on the outward, then we're going to get it disastrously wrong.
[21:56] Inevitably, inevitably, we'll always come unstuck. We always, dear friends, have to look much, much deeper. And so when we come to the Lord Jesus Christ, we see that in fact it's true that he was someone who in appearance was unattractive.
[22:15] In appearance was someone that didn't look like a king. Isaiah in chapter 53 presents us this appearance of Jesus. He says, there's nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
[22:31] There's nothing about the way Jesus looked which made people drawn to him. He was just very plain. That's why it's so very unhelpful for people to paint pictures of Jesus, to make statues of Jesus.
[22:46] They can put us off Jesus altogether because, well, he looks like this. Well, we don't know what he looks like and those things are very misleading. This Bible teaches us and tells us what Jesus was like in character and that's what matters.
[23:02] Not whether he had a beard, blonde eyes, blue hair, which is highly unlikely for a man who was a descendant of Abraham. Abraham. So what's so different about Jesus?
[23:14] How can these words, there's no one like him among all the people, be true of Jesus in comparison to Saul? Why is he so great? Why is there no one like him? Well, of course, firstly and foremostly, the Lord Jesus Christ, there's no one like him for he is divine and human.
[23:32] He is not just an ordinary man. There's no man like him because he was both God and man, truly God, truly man. He wasn't elevated to the position of being God like Saul.
[23:44] Saul was just an ordinary man in one sense. When we first meet him, he's out trying to find donkeys, isn't he? Saul was an ordinary man, exalted, lifted up from his ordinariness and placed on this throne to be king.
[23:57] But not so with Jesus. He wasn't just an ordinary man who became God. He was God who became man. That's the incredible thing about him. He is God who took on our human nature.
[24:11] God from eternity past. God who has always been. But God who stooped so low. Here's how Paul describes what happened to the Philippians in chapter 2.
[24:24] Jesus Christ, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
[24:44] When the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, became human, he did not become less God. He did not like in the sort of Greek mythology type of stories, become half God and half man.
[24:56] No, he was completely and perfectly God, completely and absolutely human, both at the same time, but in one person. The only difference between the Lord Jesus Christ and you and I in his humanity was that he did not sin, whereby we have all sinned.
[25:17] That was so important, that was so necessary that Jesus should be this king who is God and man. You see, the whole argument that God gives to the people earlier on in chapter 10 is that they really needed God to be their king.
[25:32] See what he says in verse 18. This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, I brought you up out of Egypt, I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.
[25:44] Who had been their king all this time but God? Who had been the one who saved them but God? It wasn't a human hand or a human man, it wasn't Moses who had done those things, it was the Lord. The people needed a king who was God, but now they were looking to a man to be their protector, looking to a man to guide them and lead them and provide for them, a human king.
[26:08] That's why Saul was always going to fail, that's why every single king of Israel failed because they were all pointing to the fact that there was needed someone more, one who was both God and man and that of course is Jesus Christ, he is the one who is our necessary king, we must have him, no one else is able to save.
[26:34] Because Jesus Christ is God, he deserves our worship, he deserves our obedience, he deserves our love, he deserves our honour, he alone is God who has made himself known to the world.
[26:51] Hebrews in chapter 1, the sun is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful words.
[27:04] So when Samuel says there's no one like him among all the people, it's true of Jesus because he alone is both God and man. But notice as well, when we look at Saul and compare him to Christ, we see that the Lord Jesus Christ is none like him because in his determination to serve, very amusing event in one sense, isn't it?
[27:29] They're going through the, all the people are there and they're going through these lots and drawing these lots. Benjamin, yes, okay, the king's going to come from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest one, but that's fine. He's going to come from Matri's clan, his family, that's fine.
[27:43] He's going to be Saul, hooray, where's Saul? Is he here yet? They're asking. No, he's hiding. He's hiding in the baggage. He's hiding in the supply wagon.
[27:54] He's hiding away. It's obvious that he's rather reticent to come forward and take the responsibilities and who wouldn't be? Who wouldn't be afraid of being king of this nation?
[28:07] Who wouldn't be afraid to face the challenge of governing this people who, when you read their history, are a rough rum bunch, aren't they? Always falling out, always disobeying, always getting it wrong.
[28:20] You can understand why he was reluctant. To be king. And so he hides away. Hides away, perhaps in the vain hope that if they can't find him, they might choose somebody else. You know, Saul's not here, well let's take the second person perhaps who may be done.
[28:35] but not our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ was never reluctant to serve. He was more fully aware of what was involved in coming into the world to be our saviour and our king.
[28:52] He knew and understood without reservation the cost. And yet he gladly, willingly took upon himself those limitations. He gladly, willingly came to this world for us.
[29:06] He knew that the pain was involved. He knew the awfulness of bearing our sin. And he came because he wanted to, because he was willing to.
[29:18] No one dragged him out of heaven. The Father did not push him to go and be our saviour, though he sent him. him. Here's again in Philippians 2 where we carry on from where we've read, where it speaks about Jesus coming in our humanity.
[29:34] Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the death, even death on the cross, taking the very nature of a servant.
[29:47] Lord Jesus took this to himself. He made himself humble. He made himself obedience. When it came to that ultimate price of being our saviour, that ultimate price of being the king, the rescuing, protecting, providing, delivering king, the very price that he knew he had to pay, he did that willingly as well.
[30:13] He said earlier in the Gospel of John about laying down his life. He says, the reason my father loves me is that I lay down my life for the sheep.
[30:25] No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. Can you imagine that? Here is one who is God and man.
[30:37] Here is one who is perfect and sinless. Here is one who has the right to command the worship and praise of every human being. Yet here is one who faced with the cross and the awfulness, knowing exactly what he must go through willingly.
[30:51] says, yes I'll do it. Here is Saul hiding away, I don't want to do it. Here is Jesus, yes I'll do it. What a king, no one like him in all the earth, no one like him among men.
[31:04] Why did he do it? Why did he go to the cross? Why did he become king? Why did he humble himself for us? Wasn't it out of unconditional love? No other reason.
[31:16] Love for sinful men and women, love for you and for me. That's what brought him from heaven. That's what brought him into this world. That's what made him humble himself and take on our humanity. That's what made him obedient to go to the cross.
[31:29] Nothing but love for sinners like you and I. He knew that we needed a savior. He knew that we needed not just a king to tell us what to do or how to be good people or how to live our lives.
[31:41] We needed someone who would rescue us from our enemy, the enemy of our sinful heart that has rebelled against God. And brought upon ourselves the consequences that we see in our lives.
[31:52] And more than that, the consequences of everlasting punishment, everlasting hell. And there's only one way we could be saved from that. Not by being good people or religious people.
[32:03] Not by turning over a new leaf. Not by following a set of rules or laws. But only that one who was both God and man was willing to suffer and die in our place and take the punishment we deserve.
[32:16] And he did it. He did it for you and for me. He did it. There's no one like him amongst all the people. There's one more thing here as well that we see in comparison with Saul and the Lord Jesus.
[32:33] There's no one like Jesus in the way that he divides all people. He divides all people. Notice when Saul was chosen as king, there were a lot of people who were very pleased, weren't they?
[32:46] Long live the king, they shouted. But they became a division amongst the people. Verse 26, as he went home, some valiant men also accompanied him.
[32:59] But some scoundrels said, how can this fellow save us? They despised him and brought him no gifts. Some followed, some despised amongst the people of Israel, amongst the nation.
[33:13] But so much more with the Lord Jesus Christ, not just a nation is divided, but the whole world is divided over the Lord Jesus Christ. Even in this very room, we're divided into two groups.
[33:27] And the reason we're divided is not over our age, or the colour of our hair, or colour of our eyes, or education, or accent, or where we were born, or our nationality. We're divided over this one great, vast person, the Lord Jesus Christ.
[33:41] There are those here who follow Christ as king and saviour, and there are those who despise him and reject him, and will not give him their obedience and their faith.
[33:52] And so it is throughout the world. The whole world in which we live is divided between these two opposing sides. And the big question this morning for you, dear friends, is this, simply, on whose side am I?
[34:07] Am I on the side of those who will follow Jesus as king and Lord, or am I on the side of those who despise him? Despise him as king, think little of him. Think him not worthy of that place of king of our lives, because that's exactly what it means, isn't it?
[34:26] To reject Jesus as king is to think him beneath the position that he owns. He's not worthy to be king of my life.
[34:36] He doesn't deserve to be king of my life. He's not able to be king and saviour of my life. He's not to despise him as they did. You may say, well, I don't despise Jesus. I think he's a historical figure.
[34:49] I think he's done a lot of good in the world. The things that he said, if people did them, things would be fine. But dear friends, no, to say that he is not to be my king, how can this fellow save us?
[35:00] Notice that? That's how they put the words. How can this fellow save us? They despised him. To say that I don't need Jesus Christ as my saviour, to say that actually I'm a good enough person and God will accept me as I am, or to ignore the fact that God's laws have been broken by me, is to despise the king that Jesus has provided.
[35:23] It's to say I can do it by myself. I'm quite good enough. I don't need this Jesus to save me. It's to count him as being somebody unworthy of our trust.
[35:34] It's a terrible thing, isn't it? It's not a small thing to despise somebody in that way. Which side are you, dear friends?
[35:48] And notice, isn't it wonderful here, verse 26, how we get a little insight into what it means to be a Christian. Accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched.
[36:00] Why did they follow Saul? Was it because they saw in him something more than others saw? No, because God touched their hearts. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. This is what it means to be a Christian. We can't be a Christian except that God has touched our hearts.
[36:13] Because our hearts are naturally hard. Our hearts are naturally selfish. Our hearts are naturally doubting and unbelieving. But when God by his spirit touches our hearts, we see Jesus for who he is as our rightful king.
[36:26] We can't help but follow him. We can't help but recognize him. It's as if a veil is taken off our eyes, scales off our eyes. We see him as he really is. We see ourselves as we really are.
[36:38] Sinners before God, waiting that day of judgment. But we see him as the saviour who loved us and came from heaven for us and died for us. We see him as the one who we want to be the king of our lives and to follow.
[36:51] That's the work of God's spirit in our hearts. us. And so the question again is this, simply, have I acknowledged Christ as my king, my saviour, or not?
[37:06] It's a simple question. It's a simple answer. You know the answer in your own heart. You know the truth of it. You know whether that's yes or no. the final words of this chapter are full of emotion in one sense, aren't they?
[37:26] But Saul kept silent. He knew there were people who rejected him. He knew there were those who despised him as king. He had the power and the authority now as king to bring them to punishment and to heal.
[37:38] But he kept silent. He did nothing. He did nothing. He didn't use his newfound authority to call them to account. And you know the wonderful thing is that at this very moment in time the Lord Jesus Christ, rampant its way, is silent.
[37:55] He allows you to despise him. He allows men and women to reject him. He allows people to go through their lives being the king of their own lives, doing what they want and what they wish.
[38:08] But he won't do that forever. forever. It doesn't mean that he won't do anything at all to those who now reject him as king.
[38:20] See, the day has to come and will come and is coming when he will show himself to the entire universe as being the king of kings and the lord of lords, the rightful God of heaven and earth.
[38:32] Again, Philippians chapter 2 gives us that wonderful insight and that assurance that this is the case. At the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God.
[38:50] The day is coming when everyone will see him as he truly is. And when he comes to be that glorious king, when he comes to show himself for who he is, there will be an incredible division taking place amongst all of humanity.
[39:06] Those who gladly accepted him as their king, those who gladly enjoyed his wonderful rule over their lives day by day, will enjoy being in his presence for eternity.
[39:18] They shall dwell with him and he with them and they shall enjoy the blessings of heaven forever and ever. But then there are those who have rejected, those who've despised, those who've not accepted him as their king, there are those on that day when Jesus comes again who will forever grieve, who will forever gnash their teeth, who will forever mourn and sorrow that they were so stupid and foolish to reject God's king given to them and they shall spend forever enduring the punishment that their sins have brought upon their own heads.
[39:55] It's not a small thing, it's not a little thing, how we view the Lord Jesus Christ, how we see him, he is the rightful king of your life and of mine and he calls us to come and worship and receive him.
[40:14] There's no one like him, you're never going to meet anyone like Jesus who is so full of love and grace and forgiveness now but who is full of so much justice and holiness and righteousness then.
[40:29] which side are you on dear friends this morning? And can you say yes Jesus to me you are no, there's no one like you to me, there's no one I love more, there's no one I'd rather follow, there's no one I'd rather serve, there's no one I'd rather be with for all eternity than you because that's the wonder of his love.
[40:55] love. We're going to sing a song together, it's a song that's going to come on the overhead projector speaking about the lordship, the rule of our Lord Jesus and the chorus is rejoice for the Christian, this is the truth, we can rejoice, it brings us great joy to know that Jesus is our king.
[41:25] the people of the risen king, who delight to give him praise.
[41:49] Come all unto your hearts to sing, to the morning star of grace. From the shifting shadows of the earth, we will lift our eyes to him, where steady arms of mercy reach to gather children in.
[42:18] Rejoice, rejoice, let every tongue rejoice, one heart, one voice, O church of Christ, rejoice.
[42:32] now unto the king, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.
[42:55] Amen.