The King's People (1 Chronicles 11:1-3)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:04.120 If you're able, please remain standing and let's give our attention to God's word 2 00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:11.869 in First Chronicles, chapter eleven. First Chronicles Eleven, verses one through three. 3 00:00:24.940 --> 00:00:28.699 For those of you who were here last time I preached on his book, 4 00:00:29.219 --> 00:00:33.899 which I believe was last week. This is a passage now that's following 5 00:00:33.979 --> 00:00:38.450 on the death of Saul, God saying that Saul was put to death so 6 00:00:38.570 --> 00:00:44.929 that the check kingdom might be transferred to David. Give your attention to God's 7 00:00:44.969 --> 00:00:52.679 word. Then all Israel gathered together to David at Hebron and said, behold, 8 00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:58.560 we are your bone and flesh. In Times past, even when Saul 9 00:00:58.759 --> 00:01:03.390 was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel and the 10 00:01:03.790 --> 00:01:07.870 and and Jehovah, your God said to you you shall be shepherd of my 11 00:01:08.030 --> 00:01:11.670 people, Israel, and you shall be prince over my people, Israel. 12 00:01:12.469 --> 00:01:17.269 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David 13 00:01:17.310 --> 00:01:21.900 made a covenant with them at Hebron before Jehovah, and they annointed David King 14 00:01:21.980 --> 00:01:26.980 over Israel according to the word of Jehovah. By Samuel, you may be 15 00:01:27.060 --> 00:01:44.650 seated. Whenever I preach about kings and kingdoms. I often find myself wondering 16 00:01:44.730 --> 00:01:51.799 how much we as Americans, naturally connect with this subject. Unlike many parts 17 00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:55.000 of the world and much of history, we obviously don't have a king. 18 00:01:55.480 --> 00:02:00.680 We don't live in a kingdom. We have a strong executive branch, President 19 00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:06.549 with special powers, but not really a king. Of course, this royal 20 00:02:06.750 --> 00:02:10.270 form of government isn't totally foreign either. As far as I can tell, 21 00:02:10.349 --> 00:02:15.099 it seems as natural for American dads to play King and princess with their daughters 22 00:02:15.139 --> 00:02:21.460 as it is for dad's and other countries, and so many of our stories 23 00:02:21.580 --> 00:02:27.580 and legends about times long ago and far away also speak of kings and their 24 00:02:27.659 --> 00:02:34.129 kingdoms. Well, how are you explain this oddity? For Christians, American 25 00:02:34.250 --> 00:02:40.969 or otherwise, King Kingdom, these ideas, this idea, this kind of 26 00:02:42.129 --> 00:02:47.120 government, should be central to our lives because, no matter what form of 27 00:02:47.199 --> 00:02:53.319 government we live under here on earth, Christians belong to a particular form of 28 00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:58.909 government according to our citizenship in heaven, and that form of government, which 29 00:02:58.909 --> 00:03:04.789 is our chief citizenship, our primary citizenship, has a king at its head, 30 00:03:05.789 --> 00:03:09.750 our rule or our authority, the one who directs our lives, who 31 00:03:09.789 --> 00:03:15.259 protects us who watches over us. As Christians, we have to learn to 32 00:03:15.340 --> 00:03:22.379 think about our lives in this way, indeed, probably much more often than 33 00:03:22.419 --> 00:03:25.620 we do. We think we should be thinking about our lives as those who 34 00:03:25.699 --> 00:03:30.090 belong to this king and to this kingdom if we are to live according to 35 00:03:30.169 --> 00:03:36.129 the truth and honestly. The same goes for those who are not Christians. 36 00:03:37.250 --> 00:03:42.080 The Kingdom of Heaven is as real as any country here on earth. It 37 00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:46.280 is different, but it is real and one day, when the kingdoms of 38 00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:53.360 the Earth pass away and only the Kingdom of God remains, I want you 39 00:03:53.439 --> 00:04:00.590 to belong to the kingdom that remains, not what passes away. And so 40 00:04:00.870 --> 00:04:05.949 today, as we begin to consider the Kingdom and kingship of David, a 41 00:04:06.030 --> 00:04:11.780 King on Earth who God used to show us what the Kingdom of Heaven would 42 00:04:11.780 --> 00:04:17.779 be like, we want to think carefully about this point, about this reality, 43 00:04:18.579 --> 00:04:25.610 about our own lives and how they relate to our king, King Jesus. 44 00:04:27.329 --> 00:04:31.410 Today, and particular, we consider one particular aspect of that the king 45 00:04:31.569 --> 00:04:40.120 and his people. The king and his people. Let's begin by considering and 46 00:04:40.439 --> 00:04:46.560 remembering the divine context of David's inauguration as king under God and over God's people. 47 00:04:47.879 --> 00:04:53.670 The Bible teaches that all kings and kingdoms of the Earth are sovereignly assigned 48 00:04:53.910 --> 00:04:59.029 their places by God. This is such an important thing to remember, and 49 00:04:59.069 --> 00:05:03.589 it comes up many times in scripture, both by example and by explicit teaching. 50 00:05:04.790 --> 00:05:09.779 God May use all kinds of secondary means, but God supremacy over the 51 00:05:09.860 --> 00:05:14.939 rulers of the earth should never be forgotten, particularly by those who rule. 52 00:05:15.180 --> 00:05:20.420 Proverbs to our twenty one one says the king's heart is a stream of water 53 00:05:20.649 --> 00:05:26.490 in the hand of Jehovah, he turns it wherever he will. I think 54 00:05:26.490 --> 00:05:30.769 about this whenever I'm my children are taking a long time washing their hands, 55 00:05:30.410 --> 00:05:35.000 just playing with the water, watching it move, just simply by directing their 56 00:05:35.079 --> 00:05:40.560 hands. This is what God says about the Great and awesome kings of the 57 00:05:40.639 --> 00:05:46.560 earth, that turning their hearts is just like turning a stream of water. 58 00:05:46.639 --> 00:05:53.509 He turns it wherever he will. We read something similar in the book of 59 00:05:53.589 --> 00:06:00.709 Daniel, Daniel speaking, or Daniel having received the interpretation of the dream of 60 00:06:00.750 --> 00:06:08.259 a king bless is the God of Heaven and says blessed be the name of 61 00:06:08.459 --> 00:06:14.060 God forever and ever, to whom all wisdom and to whom belong wisdom in 62 00:06:14.139 --> 00:06:20.170 might. He changes times and seasons, he removes kings and sets up kings. 63 00:06:21.689 --> 00:06:26.689 We see in these various ways, in these various teachings and examples you 64 00:06:26.730 --> 00:06:30.850 might be thinking of from scripture, God is abundantly clear that the strongest, 65 00:06:31.089 --> 00:06:38.279 most powerful people in the world are under him and his control. Their hearts, 66 00:06:38.439 --> 00:06:43.959 their boundaries, their kingdoms are all set by him. But the Kingdom 67 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:47.269 of Israel, which is our particular focus, the Kingdom of Israel and the 68 00:06:47.310 --> 00:06:53.470 kingdom under David. In this kingdom, God acts in a very special way 69 00:06:56.029 --> 00:07:00.470 here. He establishes a kingdom, not in this he often does, but 70 00:07:00.629 --> 00:07:05.860 he establishes a kingdom above all other kingdoms, a king above all other kings. 71 00:07:08.420 --> 00:07:13.579 We see that fact here in several ways. We see God's special rule 72 00:07:13.740 --> 00:07:18.810 over David in the People's confession that David was ruling even before he ruled. 73 00:07:20.370 --> 00:07:24.810 Did you hear what they said? They said, behold, we are your 74 00:07:24.850 --> 00:07:29.569 bone and flesh. Then verse two and Times Past, even when Saul was 75 00:07:29.649 --> 00:07:34.160 king, it was you who let out and brought in Israel. There's this 76 00:07:34.439 --> 00:07:40.920 period of time and in a Saul's kingship where there's this kind of overlap. 77 00:07:42.079 --> 00:07:46.110 Saul's kingdom head and kingship had been taken away from him. Samuel, as 78 00:07:46.269 --> 00:07:50.949 is mentioned later, had annoyed to David as the new king. And yet 79 00:07:51.029 --> 00:07:57.110 saul refused to let go and David refused to take the reins as long as 80 00:07:57.629 --> 00:08:03.620 the Lord had his anointed one on the throne. During this time, in 81 00:08:03.819 --> 00:08:09.019 many ways, David still acted as a king. He defeated their enemies, 82 00:08:09.180 --> 00:08:15.370 he saved Israel in various ways, and the people are recognizing that. They're 83 00:08:15.370 --> 00:08:24.850 seeing that David's rule was special and appointed by God. This appointment is made 84 00:08:24.050 --> 00:08:31.680 clear it by this specific promise in verse two. Not only do we see 85 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:35.559 David's the supremacy of his kingship in his actions, but also in the Lord's 86 00:08:35.639 --> 00:08:41.149 words. You shall be the God says to David. You shall be shepherd 87 00:08:41.309 --> 00:08:46.389 of my people, Israel, and you shall be prince over my people Israel. 88 00:08:48.549 --> 00:08:52.509 So we have this specific promise of God. Then, on top of 89 00:08:52.629 --> 00:08:56.419 this and other places of scripture, we read that this particular king in Israel 90 00:08:58.019 --> 00:09:03.059 was very special and was anointed not only above Saul and to have a prominent 91 00:09:03.139 --> 00:09:07.419 place in the history of the Kings, but even in all the world. 92 00:09:07.820 --> 00:09:11.450 Listen to the words of Psalm to, for example, where we here have 93 00:09:13.129 --> 00:09:18.769 a kind of coronation of the king. Here we read, I will tell 94 00:09:18.850 --> 00:09:22.490 of the decree. Jehovah said to me, you are my son. Today 95 00:09:22.490 --> 00:09:26.679 I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will make the nation's your 96 00:09:26.840 --> 00:09:33.480 heritage and the ends of the Earth your possession. You shall break them with 97 00:09:33.559 --> 00:09:37.039 a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a Potter's vessel. Now, 98 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:43.710 therefore, O kings, be wise, be warned, or rulers of 99 00:09:43.789 --> 00:09:48.350 the Earth, serve Jehovah with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss The sun, 100 00:09:48.110 --> 00:09:52.460 lest he be angry and you perish in the way. Now, we 101 00:09:52.539 --> 00:09:56.179 often think of this psalm as speaking of Jesus, and indeed it does. 102 00:09:58.179 --> 00:10:03.220 It is quoted this way and and and, and tells us of Jesus's kingship. 103 00:10:05.179 --> 00:10:09.250 But it also speaks of David and his kingship. And in the first 104 00:10:09.370 --> 00:10:13.370 place, as will come to see, all of David's kingdom in many ways 105 00:10:13.450 --> 00:10:18.889 for shadows the Kingdom of Jesus to come. We see David and Solomon and 106 00:10:20.009 --> 00:10:26.000 others after them ruling in Israel over other kings of the world, something beyond 107 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:33.000 the normal operations of God are going on here. God himself draws his attention 108 00:10:33.240 --> 00:10:39.470 to particular promises, particular commands concerning David and his people, as well as 109 00:10:39.509 --> 00:10:46.629 his intention for a kingdom that rises above all others. And so David's kingdom 110 00:10:46.710 --> 00:10:52.340 was truly unique, as was his sons Solomon, who would follow. Despite 111 00:10:52.340 --> 00:10:58.500 its small size compared to other empires in the world, its greatness would be 112 00:10:58.539 --> 00:11:03.220 evident in many ways in the things that were made in the kingdom, in 113 00:11:03.340 --> 00:11:07.169 the riches that accrued, in the victories of battle, in the wisdom and 114 00:11:07.330 --> 00:11:13.330 righteousness of the kings and Solomon's reign in particular. We have this kind of 115 00:11:13.690 --> 00:11:18.759 UN kissing the sun going on, as people from far, far away places 116 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:26.080 come to Israel to hear of Solomon's wisdom, to bow down and to respect 117 00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:31.360 him as their better and yet the Bible also tells us that God was using 118 00:11:31.399 --> 00:11:37.549 David's kingdom to foreshadow and even greater king, namely the Kingdom of Heaven, 119 00:11:39.029 --> 00:11:41.830 or the Kingdom of God, as the New Testament calls it, whose king 120 00:11:43.029 --> 00:11:46.700 was no less than the eternal son of God himself, Jesus, the Lord. 121 00:11:48.580 --> 00:11:54.379 This is very important point to consider. And thing to remember as we 122 00:11:54.820 --> 00:12:01.220 read first chronicles, as we hear God's word here, because in first chronicles 123 00:12:01.299 --> 00:12:05.129 this idea of kingship is going to come up again and again and again, 124 00:12:05.009 --> 00:12:11.049 and the Bible teaches us a very particular way to read about this kingship. 125 00:12:11.929 --> 00:12:16.440 Bible's own Hermoneutic we might call it, or method of interpretation, and that's 126 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:22.200 this fact that I've mentioned a few times now, that David's King was foreshadowing 127 00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:28.240 Jesus is. David's kingdom was foreshadowing Jesus Kingdom. God requires us to see 128 00:12:28.240 --> 00:12:33.669 this connection for several reasons. Tonight I'll give you three. Three reasons to 129 00:12:33.830 --> 00:12:39.389 interpret the Bible in this way. First and second Samuel Seven, God makes 130 00:12:39.429 --> 00:12:46.700 a covenant with David and which he promises that David's kingship would be central to 131 00:12:46.820 --> 00:12:52.980 God's work of salvation. In particular, God promises that David's righteous son would 132 00:12:52.980 --> 00:12:58.370 build a house for God and that God would grant him and eternal kingdom. 133 00:12:58.409 --> 00:13:05.649 David confesses this in Second Samuel Twenty three five, when he says God has 134 00:13:05.730 --> 00:13:11.570 made with me an everlasting covenant. Well, we all know that David Dies, 135 00:13:11.809 --> 00:13:18.679 Solomon dies, many kings after him die. It's a curse. It's 136 00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:24.320 eternal character. David's kingship and this kingdom's eternal character is only possible because of 137 00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:31.629 Jesus, the eternal son of God and the biological son of David, from 138 00:13:31.789 --> 00:13:35.309 whom God fulfills this promise. It really couldn't happen any other way. As 139 00:13:35.389 --> 00:13:41.309 we look back on it now, God promises David this son who will reign 140 00:13:41.460 --> 00:13:46.220 forever and ever as this great and eternal king. Jesus, as both God 141 00:13:46.460 --> 00:13:54.779 and man fulfills this role perfectly. Second, as I just mentioned, Jesus 142 00:13:54.940 --> 00:14:00.009 is David Son. In some ways, Solomon fulfills this promise of God to 143 00:14:00.090 --> 00:14:03.970 David by building a physical temple for God. But what happens to that temple? 144 00:14:05.090 --> 00:14:09.879 Well, eventually it's destroyed. Just as Solomon dies, the temple will 145 00:14:09.879 --> 00:14:15.360 be taken apart. Jesus, however, we are told in the Bible, 146 00:14:15.559 --> 00:14:20.159 is building a temple out of people, living stones, as Peter Calls Us, 147 00:14:20.799 --> 00:14:26.350 in which the spirit of God dwells. As Paul says, a temple 148 00:14:26.389 --> 00:14:31.269 which can never be destroyed and will last forever is beautiful and glorious. The 149 00:14:31.309 --> 00:14:37.740 book of revelation teaches us so Jesus is this son of David, this one 150 00:14:37.820 --> 00:14:43.659 who is building the temple, one who is reigning forever. And third, 151 00:14:45.500 --> 00:14:50.340 even the Old Testament hints at something greater to come. Then the New Testament 152 00:14:50.460 --> 00:14:54.690 writers often point this Oul by looking back at psalms like psalm to or Psalm 153 00:14:54.730 --> 00:15:00.929 one hundred and ten. The New Testament teaches us that these things that speak 154 00:15:00.970 --> 00:15:05.049 of kingship in the Old Testament are often being used by God to point forward 155 00:15:05.610 --> 00:15:11.799 to Jesus. So Salton one hundred and ten, for example. Jesus himself 156 00:15:11.879 --> 00:15:16.279 asks this question to his hearers and he says, how can David Call his 157 00:15:16.360 --> 00:15:22.350 own son his Lord? Son Isn't Lord over his father? How can such 158 00:15:22.350 --> 00:15:24.789 a thing be? Well, the answer to which is, of course, 159 00:15:24.830 --> 00:15:33.269 if David's son is David's God, then David can call him Lord. There's 160 00:15:33.269 --> 00:15:37.139 many more things that can be said prove and show this connection, and will 161 00:15:37.460 --> 00:15:41.500 consider them as we go throughout this book, but for now let this begin 162 00:15:41.580 --> 00:15:45.500 to sit in your mind, that when we read in the New Testament Jesus 163 00:15:45.539 --> 00:15:48.620 saying things like the Kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe, 164 00:15:50.490 --> 00:15:54.409 or when we read that sign over the cross, that says King of the 165 00:15:54.490 --> 00:16:00.450 Jews, when we sing in our hymns about the crown of the king, 166 00:16:00.850 --> 00:16:06.480 the throne of the king, the kingdom that we belong to. All the 167 00:16:06.600 --> 00:16:10.960 time, in the background we have the Old Testament filling out, coloring in, 168 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:22.509 explaining to us would all this means. So, with that established, 169 00:16:22.149 --> 00:16:30.429 we consider a passage like first chronicles eleven and notice a few things that happen 170 00:16:30.590 --> 00:16:37.379 here at the beginning of David's kingship. First, we read that there is 171 00:16:37.419 --> 00:16:42.460 a unity of that happens under the king, under the king, under Jesus, 172 00:16:42.620 --> 00:16:47.529 our king, people are unified, just as they were under David. 173 00:16:48.769 --> 00:16:52.970 This is a remarkable thing, that it's the the book starts with all Israel 174 00:16:52.090 --> 00:16:59.809 gathered together under David. We don't always see all Israel gathering together under one 175 00:17:00.009 --> 00:17:06.960 thing or one purpose or one king. Often we see Israel angry at each 176 00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:11.799 other, fighting, doing things to harm one another. For a large portion 177 00:17:11.880 --> 00:17:18.789 of their history we see all Israel divided between Judah and Israel, the northern 178 00:17:18.829 --> 00:17:23.230 kingdom and the southern kingdom. But not here, here, where we have 179 00:17:23.509 --> 00:17:30.900 this this heightened kingship of David, we have all Israel gathering together the same 180 00:17:32.140 --> 00:17:37.059 is true under Jesus. Under Jesus we have this unity that happens, this 181 00:17:37.380 --> 00:17:45.089 gathering together throughout the New Testament. We speak or we hear of Jesus is 182 00:17:45.289 --> 00:17:51.849 great gift in unifying people, rich and poor, male and female, Jew 183 00:17:52.049 --> 00:17:57.759 and Greek, week slave and free. In addition to having unity under the 184 00:17:57.839 --> 00:18:03.319 king, together with one another, we also have a unity with the king. 185 00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:10.079 Notice what they say. Behold, we are your bone and flesh. 186 00:18:11.799 --> 00:18:15.269 Is that phrase ring a bell or sound familiar? It's that same kind of 187 00:18:15.390 --> 00:18:19.589 language that we have in the beginning of the Bible in Genesis, bone of 188 00:18:19.670 --> 00:18:25.750 my bone, flesh of my flesh, when Adam speaks of eve and it's 189 00:18:25.789 --> 00:18:27.900 a pro it's an appropriate way of speaking, isn't it, given other things 190 00:18:27.980 --> 00:18:33.180 that we have in the Bible? Refusians five talks about the relationship between us, 191 00:18:33.299 --> 00:18:37.980 the people of God, and Jesus, our King, is one of 192 00:18:37.380 --> 00:18:44.849 unity, of being joined together in marriage. The two shall become one. 193 00:18:45.289 --> 00:18:51.049 Is The people here are stand under David. They don't only stand under him, 194 00:18:51.049 --> 00:18:55.839 they stand with him, united with him. Behold, they say to 195 00:18:55.880 --> 00:19:02.119 him, we are your bone and flesh. We have a confession of faith 196 00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:06.759 of sorts here. Faith in their king, and we express the same thing 197 00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:11.390 when we confess our faith in our king, Jesus, when we confess our 198 00:19:11.430 --> 00:19:15.190 unity with him. Where he goes, we go, where he lives, 199 00:19:15.470 --> 00:19:19.750 we live. If he has put to death our sin, then our sin 200 00:19:21.230 --> 00:19:25.099 is dead. If we have been raised to new life in him, then 201 00:19:25.220 --> 00:19:30.299 we can consider ourselves raised. If he has been exalted into the High and 202 00:19:30.460 --> 00:19:33.220 heavenly places, than the Bible says, we are there with him, our 203 00:19:33.299 --> 00:19:38.369 Lord, bone of bone, flesh and flesh. It's why, when we 204 00:19:38.450 --> 00:19:45.009 think of the body of Christ, and Paul uses this metaphor in various places, 205 00:19:45.609 --> 00:19:49.529 we think not only of ourselves as members, but also Jesus, our 206 00:19:49.609 --> 00:19:56.240 head, directing us, guiding us, being our leader, our king. 207 00:19:59.279 --> 00:20:04.359 So kingship, to to acknowledge Jesus as king, is to be unified with 208 00:20:04.519 --> 00:20:10.630 one another, it's being, it's to be united with him, and it's 209 00:20:10.670 --> 00:20:15.789 also to live a new way of life, and it's a new way of 210 00:20:15.910 --> 00:20:22.420 life that's really marked by submission to the king under the guidance and authority of 211 00:20:22.539 --> 00:20:26.019 God. In verse three, we read that all the elders of Israel came 212 00:20:26.140 --> 00:20:30.819 to the king at Hebron and David made a covenant with them at Cap at 213 00:20:30.900 --> 00:20:37.329 Hebron, before Jehovah, and they annointed David King over Israel according to the 214 00:20:37.410 --> 00:20:44.809 word of Jehovah by Samuel. Notice what's going on here. In a sense, 215 00:20:45.490 --> 00:20:48.890 they in a very real sense, they're not making him king. They 216 00:20:48.970 --> 00:20:53.839 haven't chosen to David as king and they're anointing him as king. It's more 217 00:20:53.960 --> 00:21:00.839 like they're recognizing him as king right because they already recognize one the leadership and 218 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:10.750 authority he has. He's already done. They recognize God's God's sentence, isn't 219 00:21:10.750 --> 00:21:15.349 the right word? Proclamation, assignment to David, you shall be my shepherd 220 00:21:15.430 --> 00:21:19.460 of my people, Israel. They make a covenant with him, not as 221 00:21:19.460 --> 00:21:26.019 a deal or as an arrangement or as some way to get something out of 222 00:21:26.099 --> 00:21:32.700 him, but as submission to the Lord's will. That's exactly what it says. 223 00:21:32.779 --> 00:21:36.809 They're at the end of verse three and they annointed David King over Israel 224 00:21:36.849 --> 00:21:45.609 according to the word of Jehovah by Samuel. When the people of Israel recognized 225 00:21:45.809 --> 00:21:52.480 David as their king, their lives began even here, in the recognition, 226 00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:57.640 this first recognition of him as king. Their lives begin to manifest that relationship 227 00:21:57.759 --> 00:22:03.710 and that difference. And the same is true of King Jesus. When we 228 00:22:03.990 --> 00:22:07.150 turn away from our sin and we bow our hearts and our lives down before 229 00:22:07.150 --> 00:22:12.750 Jesus, our king as our savior, not at Hebron but at the cross, 230 00:22:14.869 --> 00:22:19.819 we recognize and we submit to Jesus's authority. We don't make him ouring 231 00:22:21.059 --> 00:22:25.500 in a sense we did. He doesn't become our king. He's always been 232 00:22:25.579 --> 00:22:30.289 king, but we submit to him as such. We make him our king, 233 00:22:30.410 --> 00:22:34.009 and the sense that we make our hearts recognize him as king, to 234 00:22:34.130 --> 00:22:40.369 submit to him as king and bow down to him. And this beginning of 235 00:22:40.490 --> 00:22:44.880 the relationship that we have with Jesus is to extend all throughout our lives, 236 00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:51.160 and that's why this idea of King and kingship is so important. When we 237 00:22:51.359 --> 00:22:56.160 live our lives, when you live your life, do you consider yourself in 238 00:22:56.279 --> 00:23:02.710 this way? Do you think of yourself as being subject to a king, 239 00:23:03.710 --> 00:23:10.230 as one who whom you owe honor and obedience to, one whom you can 240 00:23:10.349 --> 00:23:15.460 pray to and seek protection and wisdom? Do you think about Jesus as one 241 00:23:15.500 --> 00:23:23.859 who rules with authority not only over all the world but in your heart? 242 00:23:26.700 --> 00:23:29.890 This is one of the amazing things about Jesus and one of the many ways 243 00:23:29.970 --> 00:23:33.849 in which Jesus is quite different from David. David wasn't able to change the 244 00:23:34.130 --> 00:23:40.970 hearts of his subjects, not in any kind of effectual way, but Jesus 245 00:23:41.130 --> 00:23:47.319 can and he does. Are One of our catechism questions asks how Jesus exercises 246 00:23:47.440 --> 00:23:52.519 off his office as a king, and part of the answers that he rules 247 00:23:52.680 --> 00:23:59.910 and subdues us to himself. This is such an important truth and one that 248 00:23:59.950 --> 00:24:03.549 should bring us a lot of comfort, because when our hearts are warring against 249 00:24:03.589 --> 00:24:08.150 us and against our king, we can go to that same king, not 250 00:24:08.349 --> 00:24:17.579 in fear but with hope and forgiveness, and seek his power and rule in 251 00:24:17.700 --> 00:24:22.660 our lives. So this fact that Jesus is our king and does all of 252 00:24:22.779 --> 00:24:26.890 these things, uniting us to each other, uniting us to himself, should 253 00:24:26.890 --> 00:24:33.970 bring us much comfort and direction and even joy. But it's also a great 254 00:24:34.049 --> 00:24:38.960 warning to those who refuse to submit their lives to him, because to not 255 00:24:40.319 --> 00:24:45.240 belong to the king and his kingdom is to be outside of its walls. 256 00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:52.160 It's to belong as to know him only as an enemy and, as will 257 00:24:52.200 --> 00:24:56.950 come to see David as a king, was a very mighty king. He 258 00:24:56.069 --> 00:25:00.829 had mighty men who were able to execute his will and put to death his 259 00:25:00.869 --> 00:25:07.460 enemies. Jesus is the same again, only greater. He doesn't have a 260 00:25:07.539 --> 00:25:11.259 few mighty men at his side, but hundreds of thousands of angels ready to 261 00:25:11.339 --> 00:25:18.019 do his bidding, ready to do his will, and we see him exercising 262 00:25:18.099 --> 00:25:22.250 his authority throughout his street, over the world today, and a promise that 263 00:25:22.329 --> 00:25:27.890 in the on the day that he returns, all those who have been fighting 264 00:25:27.970 --> 00:25:33.529 against him, all those who have refused to bow the knee, will bow. 265 00:25:33.650 --> 00:25:41.480 Not According to grace, though, but in his wrath and hot displeasure. 266 00:25:42.880 --> 00:25:48.559 So as we consider that warning, we are unreminded that there is this 267 00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:55.509 particular time that we have now Jesus is exercising his kingship in this very particular 268 00:25:55.589 --> 00:26:00.950 way, a way of grace. He offers himself to us, in a 269 00:26:00.069 --> 00:26:04.779 way that allows us to come to him. He Ali offers himself to us 270 00:26:04.779 --> 00:26:15.740 in a way that's rescuing us from unrighteousness. Colossians talks about God rescuing us 271 00:26:15.859 --> 00:26:19.930 and bringing us out of a dominion of darkness into the Kingdom of his beloved 272 00:26:21.089 --> 00:26:25.210 son. These are the kinds of things that will think about. These are 273 00:26:25.250 --> 00:26:30.049 the kinds of things that we consider when we consider what it means to have 274 00:26:30.130 --> 00:26:36.079 Jesus as our king and for us to be his people. Let us pray 275 00:26:36.599 --> 00:26:38.759 and as that God would help us to consider these things all the more, 276 00:26:40.599 --> 00:26:45.119 to trust in our king and to live in light of his power and His 277 00:26:45.240 --> 00:26:47.150 grace. Let us pray