Jesus: Our King

Good morning. Turn with me to Matthew 28 in your pew Bibles, page 835.

This morning is the third week in our mini-sermon series on the person of Jesus as prophet, priest,

and king. Broadly speaking, in the Old Testament, the priest came from the tribe of Levi, the kings

came from the tribe of Judah, and God raised up prophets when and how He wanted to. And occasionally,

one individual would come close to embodying all three roles in one person. Think people like David

or Samuel or Moses, but what we see in Jesus is that He embodies these three roles completely.

The prophet who speaks and reveals God's Word to us, the priest who intercedes for us,

and represents us before God, and our King who rules over us with justice and mercy.

And so, this morning, we're focusing on that final theme, the theme of Jesus as our King.

We'll be looking at a few different Scriptures, but let's start by reading the end of Matthew's

Gospel, chapter 28, starting at verse 16. Now, the eleven disciples went to Galilee,

Galilee, and the eleven disciples went to Galilee, and the eleven disciples of all nations, baptizing

them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I

have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

So, I have a very simple outline for this morning. Number one, why we need a King. Number two, how Jesus

has become our King. Number three, why that's good news for us. So, first, why we need a King.

And I want to start by saying we need a King for two reasons. Number one is we flourish when we live

under an authority above ourselves. If you look back to Genesis 1, Genesis 1 presents God as the

sovereign Creator and Ruler of heaven and earth, the one by whom and through whom all things were made.

And as our Creator, God is infinite. We are finite. He is the eternal Creator. We are His creatures.

And therefore, we're responsible to love Him and obey Him. Now, of course, when we hear that,

we are responsible to obey something outside ourselves. Many of us object, right? Isn't there

something inside us that says, I don't want someone else telling me what to do. I want to be my own King.

I want to rule my own life. I know what's best for myself. Obedience is oppressive. And, you know,

this isn't just a modern American attitude. It goes, according to the Bible, it goes all the way back

to Adam and Eve, a long-standing human tradition. God had set the boundaries in the garden. You can eat

from any tree in the garden except one. But Eve decided that she should take the decision into her

own hands and decide for herself what was wise and good. And Adam went right along with that,

was in agreement with that. They chose to make themselves the center of order and the source of

wisdom instead of living under God's authority. But let me ask this question. All right, we have

this instinctive reaction that we don't want someone else to rule over us. But when we behave

as if no one should have authority over us, as if the meaning of life is ultimately determined by

ourselves, do we really flourish as human beings and as a society? I mean, young children don't

flourish if they're allowed to stay up however late they want, watch as much TV as they want,

eat as much sugar as they want. You learn that pretty quick as a parent. All right, a workplace

doesn't function well when every employee acts as if they have personal veto power over any decision

that involves them. And a marriage won't be very happy if one or both partners think that the

primary goal of the marriage is to maximize my individual happiness. A single person will tend to

be shallow if they focus on maintaining their freedom from external commitments. Single people

flourish when they link themselves to and play vital roles in a broader community. Now, in our modern

Western world, sometimes this ideal of being our own king, ruling our own lives, individual autonomy

is idealized. But, you know, I think it's not as satisfying as it's made out to be. A couple of

years ago, David Brooks wrote a New York Times editorial on this topic, and he said this. He said,

in commencement speeches, college graduates are routinely told, follow your passion, chart your own course,

march to the beat of your own drummer, find yourself. But this mantra misleads on nearly every front.

College grads are often sent out into the world amid rapturous talk of limitless possibilities.

But this talk is no help to the central business of adulthood, finding serious things to tie yourself

down to, like a spouse, a community, or a calling. Graduates are told to be independent-minded and express

their inner spirit. But, of course, doing your job well sometimes means suppressing yourself,

being part of a team, following the rules of an institution, going down a checklist. Graduates

are told to pursue happiness. But when you read a biography of someone, it's rarely the things

that made them happy that compel our admiration. It's the things that they did that were hard

and even miserable, which sometimes cost them friends and aroused hatred, yet in the end,

were worth it. It's excellence, not happiness, that we admire most. And he concluded his editorial

by saying this, the purpose of life is not to find yourself, it's to lose yourself.

Now, even though we make great against it, I think the reality is we're designed to flourish

under an authority greater than ourselves. And we don't do well when we try to make ourselves

the ultimate authority. So, that's the first reason we need a king, is because we flourish when we live

under a good authority beyond ourselves. The second reason we need a king, according to the Bible,

is that as we live under God's authority, we're also meant to exercise authority in God's world.

Again, if you look back at Genesis 1, verse 26, God said,

Genesis 1:26

let us make man in our image after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,

the birds of the heavens, the livestock over all the earth. In the ancient world, it was common to

describe the king of a nation as the image of God. But the Bible says not just the king of a nation

bears the image of God, but every human being, male and female, bears the image of God and is called

to exercise authority in some way or other over God's creation. But of course, just as in our rebellion,

we sometimes resist the idea of someone else ruling over us, in our reticence, we sometimes refuse

to take responsibility to rule rightly in the world. And isn't that also what Adam and Eve did

in Genesis 3 when they disobeyed God's command? God had said to them, have dominion over the earth

and its creatures. God placed them in the garden and said, work it and keep it. Take care of it.

Guard it. Exercise authority within it. So when that sneaky little serpent came to them

and started twisting God's word and mocking God's goodness and denying God's reliability,

what were Adam and Eve supposed to do? They were supposed to take up their God-given authority and

kick him out and say, you don't belong here. You are not living, and we have the right and authority

under God to say, no, we are not going to follow you. But what did they do instead? They held back.

They engaged with him on his own terms. They were gradually swayed by his distorted perspective

that maybe God really wasn't that good after all. And finally, they yielded to him when they should have

exercised authority over him. What's the point? The point is humanity's original failure and the way

that we continue to fail as human beings is both a matter of rebellion against God's authority or pride

and also a refusal to accept our responsibility and authority in God's creation. We might call that

sloth. Now, sloth is an old word, and most of us think when we hear sloth, we think laziness,

being a couch potato, right, laying in bed all day for no good reason. But sloth is actually bigger

than that. It's more like apathy. And so sloth can be expressed by an idleness, staying in bed all day

for no good reason, but also in a frenzy of meaningless activity or constant distraction or

avoidance of responsibility. And when we think about it, aren't we often reticent to take up our

authority and responsibility, for those two things are always meant to go together, over the world that

God has put us in. Perhaps the first part of God's creation over which God makes us responsible is our

very own physical bodies. But how often do we allow our bodily desires, our cravings for food, our desire

for sex, to rule us rather than us taking responsibility for our bodies and presenting them to God as living

sacrifices, holy and pleasing to Him? Or how often do we let our emotions control us and drive us and overwhelm us?

Martin Lloyd-Jones said this, he said, most of our unhappiness in life is caused by us listening to ourselves

instead of talking to ourselves. He said, take the example when you wake up in the morning and all the thoughts

that come into your head. Anxious thoughts, fearful thoughts, distorted thoughts. Maybe I don't want to get

out of bed after all. He says, you have to take yourself in hand and preach to yourself. Question yourself.

Say to your soul, why are you cast down? Exhort yourself. Hope in God instead of muttering in this depressed

and unhappy way. And then he says, remind yourself of God, who God is and what God has done and what

God has promised to do and then defy yourself and defy other people and defy the devil and the whole world

and say with the psalmist, I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.

But, I mean, how often do we really do that? Right? Most of us fall short of that.

Often. Another example. What about the decisions that God has placed within our responsibility to discern?

Decisions like whether and who to marry or what kind of career to pursue. All kinds of decisions that are

that require wisdom and discernment. But there's not a particular biblical command

that tells us exactly what to do one way or the other.

Are we wanting God

to be like a GPS

and tell us exactly what to do

and exactly where to go and exactly

when to turn and leave nothing unclear or

ambiguous?

But God has not promised to be our GPS.

He's promised to be

our Heavenly Father and He wants us to grow

into maturity and

take that responsibility

to, within His boundaries,

discern what is best.

When God placed Adam and Eve in the garden,

He didn't say,

when you wake up in the morning,

you need to listen to my voice and I'll tell you which tree to eat from that day.

No, He said, you can eat from any of the trees in the garden.

You have this wonderful freedom

to eat from all the trees in the garden

except one tree that belongs to me,

the tree of the knowledge of good and evil

that represents God's authority

to determine

and set the boundaries

and determine what is right and wrong.

Represents God's sovereignty.

But sometimes we,

right, we don't want to,

we are reticent to take up

our responsibility to make hard decisions

and make courageous choices

within the framework of God's revealed will

even when it's not totally clear.

Or another example,

right, where we can sometimes

hold back.

What about leadership opportunities

that present themselves

in our workplace

or in our family

or in the church?

Now, there's an important discernment process.

Right, we shouldn't immediately,

immediately accept

any leadership opportunity

that comes our way.

There's an important discernment process

about whether that's wise,

but do we sometimes hold back

and shrink back

because we want to preserve

our own comfort

or we don't want to deal

with potentially awkward

or messy situations?

Right, we naturally

have this,

have both this tendency

to rebel against God's authority

and say,

I don't want to live

under someone's authority

and also this tendency to say,

I don't want to be responsible

for anything else.

But you know,

we're not only unwilling

to rule over God's world,

we're also unable.

According to the Bible,

we live now under the power

of sin and death

and the devil.

In Ephesians,

the apostle Paul says,

we're in a spiritual battle

against rulers

and authorities,

cosmic powers

over this present darkness.

God's good world

has been taken over

by hostile forces

and our hearts,

too,

have been corrupted by sin.

Paul says in Romans,

we're under sin,

under the power of sin.

And so when we do

take up authority

in this fallen world,

we're often prone

to misuse it.

Isn't that part of why

we sometimes don't want

to take authority

or responsibilities?

Because we know

how prone human beings are

to misuse authority

in destructive

and harmful ways.

And so we don't want

anything to do with it at all.

And finally,

we live under

the shadow of death,

which in 1 Corinthians,

Paul calls the last enemy.

That none of us,

no matter how desperately

we hard we try,

none of us can overcome.

We're born into a world

that's under the power

of Satan,

sin,

and death.

So this is why

we need a king.

Because we're meant

to flourish under

a good authority

greater than ourselves.

Because we're meant

to rule over God's world

and yet we're often

unwilling and ultimately

unable to do so.

So that's why

we need a king.

Second,

how Jesus has become

our king.

One of the core messages

of the New Testament

is that Jesus

has become

our king.

And that is good news.

Earlier we read

Jesus' statement,

all authority

in heaven

and on earth

has been given

to me.

But that statement

doesn't come out of nowhere

at the end

of Matthew's gospel.

It's a theme

that runs throughout

the whole gospel.

So turn to the gospel

of Matthew.

I want to give you

a seven-minute overview

of the gospel

of Matthew

showing how this theme

goes through the whole book

to put this statement

in perspective.

So flip back

to Matthew chapter 1.

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

Matthew begins,

Matthew chapter 1

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

begins with a genealogy

in three parts.

The first part

goes from Abraham

to David the king.

Second part,

David the king

to the deportation

to Babylon.

That was when

the kingdom vanished

and never reappeared.

It collapsed.

And the third part

is from the deportation

to Babylon

to the Christ.

And that word Christ

means anointed one.

So right from the beginning

Matthew is showing us

Jesus is

in the line

of King David

and he has come

to restore

God's kingdom

that had collapsed.

and had failed.

He's come to rule

over God's people

to bring us

back home from exile

and to save us

from our sins.

Chapter 2.

Verse 1,

after Jesus was born

in Bethlehem of Judea

in the days

of Herod

the king.

Behold,

wise men

from the east

came to Jerusalem

saying,

where is he

who has been born?

King of the Jews.

What this chapter

shows us

is Jesus

has come

to be king

in the midst

of a hostile world.

Right?

If you read

the rest of the chapter

Herod is not happy

that there's this report

about a new king

who could potentially

displace him.

And so Herod

tries to get rid

of Jesus

first secretly

and then openly.

And so Jesus

and his family

have to flee.

So Jesus

has come

to establish

God's kingdom

in the midst

of a hostile world.

Chapter 3.

Jesus is publicly

anointed

and confirmed

by God

as king

when he's

baptized

by John.

John 3 · chapter mention

Chapter 3

verse

the end

of chapter 3.

Back in the Old Testament

when the prophet

Samuel

anointed

King David

in 1 Samuel 16

it says,

the spirit

of the Lord

rushed upon

David

from that

day forward.

And

when Jesus

was baptized

in the Jordan River

verse 16

the spirit

of God

descended

like a dove

and came

to rest

on him.

And a voice

from heaven

said,

behold

this is my

beloved son

with whom

I'm well pleased.

So God

was publicly

revealing

through Jesus

baptism

that he had

anointed

Jesus

with the

Holy Spirit

and chosen

Jesus

to be

the king

and endowed

Jesus

with everything

necessary

to fulfill

that task.

Chapter 4

chapter 4

verse 17

Jesus begins

to preach

and what does

he preach?

From that time

Jesus began

to preach

saying,

repent

for the

kingdom

of heaven

is at hand.

So the

first four

chapters of

Matthew

what we

basically

see is

that

God

has sent

Jesus

to establish

his kingdom

in this

world.

To be king

in the midst

of a hostile

world.

But then the

question we

might be asking

is,

okay,

so what

kind of

kingdom

is this

going to

be?

What

kind of

king

is he

going to

be like?

And that's

the question

that Matthew

reveals to us

in the rest

of the

gospel

through

Jesus'

teaching

and through

his actions.

Now if you

read the

gospel of

Matthew,

there are

five major

sections

of Jesus'

teaching,

which I think

is not

coincidental.

I think

there are

five books

of Moses,

right?

Moses'

teaching was

sort of

divided into

five parts

and Matthew

is sort of

highlighting a

parallel,

saying,

look,

Jesus has

come to

complete,

to bring

a new

kingdom.

The first

part is the

Sermon on

the Mount,

chapter five

through seven.

So if you

look at

chapter five,

the beginning,

chapter five,

verse two,

he opened his

mouth and

taught them,

saying,

blessed are the

poor in

spirit,

for theirs is

the kingdom

of heaven.

Again,

more kingdom

language,

right?

But who does

the kingdom

of God

belong to?

It belongs

to the

poor in

spirit,

in other

words,

the humble.

The people

who realize

their need

for God.

And Jesus

goes on

in the

Beatitudes

and says,

my kingdom

belongs to

those who

mourn,

to the

meek,

to those

who hunger

and thirst

for righteousness,

to the

merciful,

and the

pure in

heart,

and the

peacemakers,

and those

persecuted for

righteousness'

sake.

So Jesus

is describing

the character

of his

kingdom,

but you

know,

Jesus is

also describing

his own

character

as king.

Because as you

see in the

rest of the

gospel,

Jesus

mourns.

Jesus mourns,

he weeps over

Jerusalem,

and he weeps

over our sin

and our

brokenness.

Jesus is meek,

he is all

powerful,

and yet he is

completely self-controlled.

That's what

meek,

being meek

means.

It means being

powerful and

having that power

under control.

Jesus is a

king who

longs for

righteousness.

And Jesus

is a merciful

king.

Jesus is a

king who is

pure in

heart.

Jesus is a

king who has

come to make

peace between

us and God,

and Jesus is

the king who

is ultimately

persecuted and

crucified for

righteousness'

sake.

So the

Sermon on the

Mount shows us

about Jesus'

kingdom and

shows us who

Jesus is as

king.

Now there's

more of Jesus'

teaching in

Matthew.

The other four

parts, the other

four major blocks

of Jesus'

teaching are

chapter 10,

where Jesus

sends out the

disciples to

proclaim and

demonstrate his

kingdom power as

they preach and

heal.

Chapter 13,

Jesus tells seven

parables about how

his kingdom grows in

the midst of the

hostile world.

Chapter 18, he

gives instruction

about living in

the kingdom with

one another,

particularly about

repentance and

forgiveness, and

how forgiveness is

the mark of

people who have

been brought into

his kingdom and

who have been

forgiven by him.

Chapter 24 and

25, the last

section of Jesus'

teaching, he speaks

about the glory of

his kingdom to come

in the final

judgment.

Okay, so that's a

little bit about

Jesus' teaching, which

again, all focuses on

his kingdom.

Now, but it's not

just through Jesus'

teaching that Matthew

shows us about

Jesus' kingdom, it's

also through his

actions.

So let me highlight a

few of Jesus'

actions that Matthew

points out for us.

Chapters 8 and 9, if

you look at chapter 8

and 9 of Matthew, there

are ten little stories.

Okay, the Sermon on the

Mount is a whole bunch

of teaching.

If you've got a red

letter Bible, it's all

red.

Chapter 8 and 9 is a

whole bunch of action.

Jesus is healing

lepers.

He's forgiving sins.

He's delivering people

from demons.

He's calling disciples.

He's even raising the

dead.

What is this showing

us?

It's showing us that

Jesus has come to

overthrow the hostile

powers that have taken

over God's good world.

He's come to forgive our

sin and set us free from

the guilt and burden of

it.

He's come to deliver us

from Satan and all evil

forces.

And he's come to

overcome death.

And isn't that good news?

That we have a king who

can set us free from the

things that hang over us

and that we will never be

able to overcome by

ourselves.

Chapter 14 and 15, again

another section in Matthew,

we see that Jesus as the

king has not just come for

his own people, the people

of Israel from whom he

was descended, but for

all the nations of the

world.

That's why in chapter 14,

Jesus feeds 5,000 people

in Jewish territory.

And in the next chapter,

he feeds 4,000 people in

Gentile territory.

Sometimes we might read

those things and you

think, is that the same

story all over again?

I mean, did they just

sort of, you know, maybe

there were 4,500 people.

And once they rounded up,

and once they rounded down,

right?

Is that what's happening?

No.

It's actually very

intentional.

Jesus is feeding and

teaching the Jewish people

and being their shepherd,

and he's feeding and

teaching the Gentiles and

being their shepherd.

He's come for all the

peoples of the earth.

Chapter 21, another high

point, Jesus rides into

Jerusalem on a donkey to

fulfill the prophecy of

Zechariah that Matthew

quotes, behold, your king

is coming to you humble

and mounted on a donkey.

He's a humble king who's

come to offer us peace.

And finally, here's the

climax.

26 and 27.

The climax of Matthew's

gospel where Jesus' kingship

is most dramatically and

also most ironically revealed.

What happens in these chapters?

Jesus is crowned, but he's

crowned with thorns.

Jesus is hailed as king

by mocking voices.

He's closed with a scarlet robe

that is then stripped off him.

He's symbolically enthroned,

lifted up on a cross with a sign

above his head that reads,

this is Jesus, the king of the

Jews.

You see, this is, of course,

the great irony of Matthew's

gospel and all the New Testament

gospels that Jesus' kingdom was

ultimately established through his

death on a cross.

through his substitutionary

sacrifice.

That means his sacrifice in place

of others.

When his body was broken and his

blood was poured out for many

for the forgiveness of sins.

When he died, he destroyed the

power of death.

And by his faithful and solitary

obedience, he broke the power of

evil in this world.

This is ultimately how Jesus

established his kingdom among us

and how he came to forgive our

sin and deliver us from death

and the devil is by taking those

burdens upon himself and conquering

them on our behalf.

And so when Jesus says after his

resurrection, all authority in heaven

and on earth has been given to me,

it's a fitting conclusion to

Matthew's gospel.

It's a fitting conclusion because

Jesus has come to be the king as was

announced in the beginning.

And we see what kind of kingdom he's

come to bring.

And finally we see how he's

definitively accomplished that through

his death and through his

resurrection.

So that's how Jesus has become our

king.

Third part of the sermon, why is this

message good news for us?

And I want to say it's good news for

us for two reasons.

First, it's good news that Jesus has

come to be our king because he is the

king under whose authority we flourish.

Why do we fear coming under someone

else's authority?

Don't we often fear that they will

oppress us and stifle us and smother

us and confine us, make us less than we

could be on our own?

But look at Jesus.

Look at the people who come under his

authority in the gospels and what

happens to them.

They're liberated.

Look at how Jesus treats the downtrodden,

the outcast, the children, the blind,

the lame, the sinners with mercy.

If you've experienced Christianity or the

church as something oppressive and

stifling and confining, you have not

encountered the real biblical Jesus, but

rather some distorted version.

It's sort of like if somebody tells you

about the burger and fries they had at

Prime 16, and they assume that you're

talking about a McDonald's hamburger

that's been sitting uncovered in the back

of the fridge for 10 days.

There's a big difference between the

authentic biblical Jesus and the kingdom he

came to establish and the distorted, bland,

or even counterfeit versions that have grown

up over time.

Don't reject the real thing just because there's a

lot of bad imitations out there.

No offense if you like McDonald's, but nothing's

good 10 days later in the fridge, right?

Now, the other possibility, there's actually one

other possibility.

If you've experienced Christianity as something

oppressive or stifling or confining,

there's a possibility that you've encountered the

real Jesus, and Jesus is calling you to surrender

completely to him, and you are still trying to sit on

the fence.

You want to have Jesus, but you still want to be

your own king, at least in some parts of your life.

You don't want him messing with some things.

And Jesus did say, if anyone would come after me,

you must deny yourself and take up your cross and

follow me.

And it's only on the other side of self-denial and

self-sacrifice that we find the fullness of

resurrection joy.

Jesus said, whoever would save his life, if you're

trying to hold on to your control, save your own life,

you're going to lose it.

But if you lose your life for my sake, you'll find it

again.

You see, the promise of Jesus is in my kingdom, every

death you experience will lead to a resurrection.

Everything you are called to sacrifice will one day be

repaid a hundred times over.

But you can only know the full reality of that promise when

you actually deny yourself and take up your cross and follow

Christ, when you actually surrender to Jesus as king.

So don't sit on the fence.

Jesus said, come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.

For I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for

your souls.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Jesus promises rest.

Rest from our enemies.

Rest for our souls.

When we accept his yoke, when we learn from him.

So come to him today.

Surrender to him as your king.

He is the king under whose authority we flourish.

But the second reason it's good news that Jesus has come to be our

king is that Jesus is the king who restores our ability to rule

rightly in God's world.

We need a king because we don't do well at being our own authority.

And we need a king who will teach us and equip us and enable us to exercise the

authority that God gave to humanity in the beginning.

Way back in the Garden of Eden, when we refused to submit to God, we lost our

ability to rule rightly over the world.

But in Jesus, we have a king who submitted to God perfectly.

And in him, our ability to rule rightly over God's creation is restored.

He sets us free from pride, and he sets us free from sloth.

Now notice what Jesus says in Matthew 28, after he says,

all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

He doesn't just say, therefore come to me and take my yoke upon you.

He already said that.

Right?

That's a wonderful promise.

Come to me.

You will find rest.

Don't delay.

But he also says, all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.

Jesus the king commissions us as his followers to be his royal representatives in the world.

And to call all people to find freedom and to find salvation in him.

So on the one hand, knowing Jesus is our king humbles us as we take his yoke upon us and learn

from him and find rest for our souls.

But on the other hand, knowing Jesus is our king gives us boldness.

Boldness to step up.

Boldness to exercise responsible, loving, life-giving authority in our families.

For the good of our families.

For the growth of our churches.

For the health of our neighborhoods.

For the well-being of our workplaces.

Jesus is king.

And he delivers us from pride and presumption.

And also from sloth and apathy.

Now, of course, exercising authority over creation begins with offering our very own physical bodies to God.

We'll see this theme in upcoming weeks as we return to 1 Corinthians.

We'll be looking at what it means to glorify God in our body.

Especially as that relates to sex and marriage and singleness.

And all kinds of other topics.

Now, later in the year, 1 Corinthians 12 through 14, we'll look at the topic of spiritual gifts.

How we can use our gifts for the glory of God and how to build up each other in the body of Christ.

And both of these topics, glorifying God in our physical body and glorifying God as we build one another up in the body of Christ.

Both of them are ways that we exercise responsible authority for the good of others in God's world.

You know, Jesus' last words in Matthew point us not just to our physical bodies.

And not even just to the local church.

But beyond that.

Go and make disciples of all nations.

It's a call to extend Jesus' kingdom.

His life-giving authority to the ends of the earth.

Because the whole world rightfully belongs to Jesus.

As Abraham Kuyper once said,

There is not one square inch in all creation.

Over which Christ as Lord does not cry,

Mine.

And so our commission is to go wherever He sends us.

And live under His authority for the good of those around us.

And to call others to come under His authority as the rightful King.

The one who sets us free from our enemies.

The one who gives us rest for our souls.

The one who equips us to rule with justice and righteousness and love.

So let us boldly proclaim that Jesus is Lord.

Let us pray.

May your kingdom come.

May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

And let us rejoice for Jesus is King.

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus,

We thank You that

When You saw us

In our state of

Pride

And rebellion against You

In our state of sloth

Fear

Escapism

Clinging to idols

We thank You that You came into this world.

We thank You that You came into this world

To defeat our greatest enemies.

To defeat sin

And Satan

And death.

We thank You that You

We thank You that You established Your kingdom among us.

Not by

Simple

Force

But by Your

Self-giving

And saving

Love.

We thank You that You

Have proven

To us

That Your authority is good.

That You have come so that we might flourish.

That You are that King promised in that Psalm

Who will reign to the ends of the earth

And under whose rule

We flourish

For You are the God who

Has shown mercy to the needy

And to those who have no helper.

Lord You have become our helper.

You have

Saved us

When we couldn't save ourselves.

So Lord we pray that we would

Joyfully

Live under Your authority

And see that it is for our good.

We pray that we would

Wisely

Exercise the authority You've given us

In Your

In this world

That we may use it

To bless others

And to glorify Your name.

We praise You

That You are our King.

And we love You Lord.

In Jesus name.

Amen.