Sermon

A Picture of Our Returning King

Christ the King Church Sermons

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  1. Maybe you've come this morning to this building and you are overwhelmed by your circumstances.

  2. You are so overwhelmed you can't get past today.

  3. You think that chaos reigns. I mean, that's where you are. That's where you're living at.

  4. You need something to bank on.

  5. Or maybe you've come here this morning and this might not be easy to hear, but let's just be honest with each other.

  6. You're bored. Christianity is boring.

  7. Jesus is boring.

  8. You need some fresh wow.

  9. You need to be awed by the Savior.

  10. Or maybe you've come and you've just been preoccupied with things.

  11. Busy, busy, busy.

  12. Good things, but preoccupied with them.

  13. So much so that you've lost sight of what Jesus has called His disciples to be about.

  14. Making disciples of the nations.

  15. And so this morning you need a bit of a sober encouragement.

  16. A sober wake up call.

  17. Or maybe you've come this morning and you've just been adrift.

  18. Your devotion to Jesus is just kind of distracted.

  19. And what you need is another kind of wake up call.

  20. A call to a full and exclusive devotion to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

  21. You know what you need this morning, brothers and sisters?

  22. If you fall into any of those categories.

  23. And I fall into each one sometime during every day.

  24. Alright?

  25. If you need some...

  26. If you see in that, what you need is a renewed vision of the Lord Jesus Christ.

  27. And in the book of Revelation, chapter 19, verses 11 through 16, God delivers.

    Revelation 19:11–16

  28. He delivers.

  29. He gives you a vision of the coming Christ.

  30. Your Christ.

  31. Your Savior.

  32. That is to compel you.

  33. That is to strengthen you.

  34. That is to have the effect of producing in you a perseverance to follow Jesus no matter what comes.

  35. Revelation 19, verses 11 through 16 gives us a view of our glorious, risen, returning King.

    Revelation 19:11–16

  36. Speaking of views, do you know what a view master is?

  37. One of those little red things.

  38. It's got the black kind of click thing on the side.

  39. And what you do is you have these white discs with pictures in it.

  40. And you drop it in.

  41. And you click it.

  42. And you're like, oh, that's awesome.

  43. Clickety-click, click, click, click.

  44. And you just kind of scroll through a bunch of things on a variety of different subjects.

  45. Well, your Bible is like God's view master.

  46. And there are a variety of discs that he has in the Bible for you to be compelled by.

  47. To be taught by.

  48. To be spurred on by.

  49. And so imagine this book.

  50. All right, all right, all right.

  51. Everybody, get your Bible out.

  52. All right.

  53. There's some in the pews.

  54. Here's what I want you to do.

  55. I want you to put the spine of your Bible up to your eyes like a view master.

  56. I just personally want to see it from up front here.

  57. And so this book is God's view master for you to see things as they really are.

  58. And so in this book, let's say we put in the film of Christ's birth, click.

  59. There's an angel speaking to Joseph, click.

  60. Angel speaking to Mary, click.

  61. They're on their way to Bethlehem, click.

  62. Oh, there's Jesus in the manger, click.

  63. Click.

  64. Oh, angels, myriads singing praises to God in the darkness around Bethlehem to shepherds.

  65. Click, click, click, click, click.

  66. Wise men bowing before him.

  67. Oh, click, click, click, click.

  68. Awesome, awesome.

  69. Let's put another disc in.

  70. The life of Jesus.

  71. Life in ministry.

  72. Oh, he's tempted in the wilderness, but not sinning once.

  73. Click.

  74. Oh, there he is again.

  75. Preaching, teaching with authority like nobody else.

  76. Click.

  77. Click.

  78. Oh, with just words, raising people from the dead.

  79. Click, click, click, click, click.

  80. He's awesome, isn't he?

  81. Let's put another one in.

  82. The crucifixion of Jesus.

  83. Now, this is a disc that should get a lot of use for you.

  84. Jesus.

  85. He's betrayed with a kiss.

  86. Click.

  87. He's given over to the Sanhedrin.

  88. Trial one.

  89. Click.

  90. Before Pilate.

  91. Before Herod.

  92. Click, click, click.

  93. Look.

  94. Soldiers beating him.

  95. Soldiers mocking him.

  96. Soldiers putting a crown of thorns on his head.

  97. Click, click, click.

  98. Scourged.

  99. Click.

  100. Cross on his back.

  101. Carry to Golgotha.

  102. Click, click, click.

  103. Click.

  104. Nails in his wrists and in his feet.

  105. Put up on the cross.

  106. Darkness covers the land.

  107. Click, click, click.

  108. Now we put the sound in.

  109. Eloi, Eloi.

  110. Lama Sebektani.

  111. My God, my God.

  112. Why have you forsaken me?

  113. The curtain is torn from top to bottom.

  114. Click, click, click, click, click.

  115. Your salvation is accomplished.

  116. Let's put another one in.

  117. The resurrection.

  118. Click.

  119. Empty tomb.

  120. Jesus rode to Emmaus.

  121. Jesus eating fish with his buddies up in the upper room.

  122. Click, click, click, click, click.

  123. Jesus, Mount of Olives.

  124. He commissions his disciples to go make disciples of the nation.

  125. Jesus ascends.

  126. This book gives you a view of your Savior.

  127. It's God's kindness to you.

  128. Click, click, click, click, click.

  129. All of our clicking so far has been on what Christ has done.

  130. And so this morning what I want to do is put in a disc into your viewfinder called The Return of Jesus Christ.

  131. I want you to get a good look.

  132. And it has an intended effect.

  133. God has Revelation 19, 11 through 16 in your Bible for a reason.

  134. It's to encourage you.

  135. To strengthen you.

  136. Now, I don't know what goes through your mind when you hear the book of Revelation.

  137. Ooh.

  138. But when God had John write these things down, and when they arrived, when this letter arrived to its original audience in the first century,

  139. it was arrived to a group of Christians who were being persecuted for their faith.

  140. They were being challenged.

  141. They were being challenged.

  142. They needed to be strengthened.

  143. They needed to be encouraged to press on in faithfulness to Jesus.

  144. And so this book of Revelation, which we're going to just crack open today,

  145. this whole book, not only was it intended for the encouragement of the first century Christians,

  146. it's intended for the encouragement of 21st century Christians for this church this morning,

  147. for us living in Kenosha in 2016.

  148. Do you need encouragement?

  149. God's going to deliver it.

  150. Revelation 19, 11 through 16 is a glorious picture of our returning king.

  151. And just to be forewarned, when he comes back, we're going to see a picture here of him coming back as a warrior.

  152. Triumphant conqueror.

  153. Coming back to wage war.

  154. To carry out justice.

  155. Peace.

  156. And so, as we're about to look at this passage and read it,

  157. hey gang, you know, chaos isn't in control.

  158. Evil doesn't have the final say.

  159. God's in control.

  160. And Jesus is sitting on G, waiting for O to come back and make all things right.

  161. So, would you open up your Bibles, if you haven't already, to Revelation 19, verse 11.

    Revelation 19:11

  162. And now, children, if I can have your attention,

  163. this is the time where I want for you to draw a picture for me,

  164. and I would love to see it after the service.

  165. I'm going to read this passage, and there's going to be some images that go into your head.

  166. Try to draw a picture of that.

  167. I would love to see that afterwards.

  168. Revelation 19, 11-16.

  169. May God bless the reading of His Word.

  170. Then I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse.

  171. The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True.

  172. And in righteousness he judges and makes war.

  173. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems.

  174. And he has a name written that no one knows but himself.

  175. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood.

  176. And the name by which he is called is the Word of God.

  177. And the armies of heaven arrayed in fine linen, white and pure,

  178. were following him on white horses.

  179. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.

  180. And he will rule them with a rod of iron.

  181. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

  182. On his robe and on his thigh, he has a name written.

  183. King of kings and Lord of lords.

  184. Amen.

  185. This passage is a glorious picture of our returning king.

  186. And there's a whole lot of descriptions of our returning king in this,

  187. but what I want you to see this morning are the four titles given to Jesus.

  188. There are four of them.

  189. And they're all given for your encouragement to press on.

  190. Let me show you the...

  191. I'll just name them and then we'll come back to them.

  192. The first one is in verse 11.

  193. It's the trustworthy title.

  194. Faithful and True.

  195. The second title is found in verse 12.

  196. It's the mysterious title.

  197. A name written that no one knows but himself.

  198. Verse 13 is the sobering title.

  199. The Word of God.

  200. You may say, well, how is that sobering?

  201. Wait till you see the context.

  202. And the last title, verse 16, is the supreme title.

  203. The glorious title.

  204. The King of kings and the Lord of lords.

  205. Each title in its own right is an encouragement.

  206. When you take them all together,

  207. your encouragement should bloom into worship.

  208. So let's jump right in.

  209. The trustworthy title found in verse 11.

  210. Faithful and True.

  211. John writes,

  212. Then I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse.

  213. The one sitting on it, it's called Faithful and True.

  214. And in righteousness, he judges and makes war.

  215. Well, verse 11 opens with the opening of heaven.

  216. A revelation.

  217. And God gives John this vision of the returning Christ.

  218. And what does he see?

  219. He sees Jesus mounted on a white horse.

  220. And what you need to know is that at that time,

  221. a white horse represented conquest.

  222. Victory, triumph over one's enemies.

  223. Caesar's would ride into Rome on a white horse,

  224. or following white horses.

  225. Victorious.

  226. Victory won.

  227. And so John starts this description saying,

  228. Done!

  229. Victory won!

  230. Victory won!

  231. But John doesn't stay focused on that white horse.

  232. He actually focuses the rider,

  233. on the rider of the white horse.

  234. The one who accomplishes the victory.

  235. And John calls our attention to that first title,

  236. Faithful and True.

  237. But can we just ask a question?

  238. Of all the titles,

  239. why does he start with Faithful and True?

  240. Why that title?

  241. And here's a second question.

  242. Faithful and True to what?

  243. Let's answer those starting with a second.

  244. Faithful and True to what?

  245. Here's a clue.

  246. If you turn back into Revelation chapter 3,

    Revelation 3 chapter mention

  247. if you turn back to Revelation chapter 3,

    Revelation 3 chapter mention

  248. and you look at verse 14,

  249. and if you remember,

  250. at the beginning of the book of Revelation,

  251. the risen Christ talks to John and says,

  252. Hey, send out seven letters to seven churches,

  253. and here is the last letter to the church of Laodicea,

  254. and this is how it begins.

  255. And to the angel of the church in Laodicea,

  256. write the words of the Amen.

  257. The faithful and true witness.

  258. It's a clue.

  259. What do witnesses do?

  260. They bear testimony.

  261. They bear testimony to the truth.

  262. They're faithful to their word.

  263. And so, what is Jesus faithful and true to?

  264. He is faithful and true to His word.

  265. So why does John the Revelator begin with this title?

  266. Because Jesus has already said that He's coming.

  267. He's being faithful and true to what He's already said.

  268. That He's going to return and come back and judge the world,

  269. wiping out His enemies and vindicating His saints.

  270. In Matthew 24 and 25,

  271. Jesus spends a long discourse

  272. in talking about the end times and of His return.

  273. There's overlap with what we're talking about this morning

  274. in Revelation 19.

  275. And what we learn from Matthew 24 and 25 is

  276. that no one knows the day or the hour of Jesus' return.

  277. No one does.

  278. Well, one person does.

  279. One person has it on his calendar

  280. with permanent marker

  281. and that's God the Father.

  282. The day's set.

  283. But nobody else knows.

  284. And so He will come back suddenly.

  285. And when He comes back,

  286. He will hold all His own accountable.

  287. That's the point of the parable of the ten virgins.

  288. The parable of the talents.

  289. Be faithful while He's gone

  290. because He's going to come back

  291. and hold us to account.

  292. But not just that.

  293. When He comes back,

  294. He will judge all the nations.

  295. Separating the sheep from the goats.

  296. That's what He said in Matthew 24 and 25.

  297. So why does John start with faithful and true?

  298. Here is the first title.

  299. Because Jesus is being faithful to what He said.

  300. He's come back to do what He said He would do.

  301. He's told us,

  302. I'm going to return.

  303. I'm going to bring with me fullness of justice to all.

  304. So, let's say that you're in need of encouragement this morning.

  305. You're overwhelmed by your circumstances.

  306. You feel like chaos reigns.

  307. Well, what this title, faithful and true,

  308. should do is say no.

  309. Chaos doesn't reign.

  310. Evil doesn't have the final word.

  311. Jesus has spoken.

  312. He's coming back.

  313. And here we have a picture of His return.

  314. It's going to happen.

  315. You can bank on it.

  316. There's something else you need to know.

  317. This title, faithful and true,

  318. presumes something else.

  319. It presumes God is in control of all things.

  320. That God is working all things out

  321. according to His good purpose.

  322. He's reigning over all.

  323. Orchestrating all things.

  324. Even hard things.

  325. He's orchestrating it all

  326. for His good and gracious purpose.

  327. So, if you're discouraged today,

  328. you know what you do?

  329. You focus your heart on that day.

  330. That day when Jesus comes back.

  331. That day when He comes back

  332. to make all wrongs right.

  333. Faithful and true is a trustworthy title

  334. that should encourage

  335. your discouraged heart.

  336. Our God is in control.

  337. He's coming back.

  338. And He knows you.

  339. Let's look at the mysterious title.

  340. Verse 12.

  341. A name written that no one knows

  342. but Himself.

  343. Look at verse 12.

  344. His eyes are like a flame of fire

  345. and on His head are many diadems,

  346. many crowns.

  347. And He has a name written

  348. that no one knows but Himself.

  349. So, if I'm understanding this right,

  350. John is saying,

  351. He's got flames of fire,

  352. many crowns,

  353. and by the way,

  354. He's got a name

  355. that He knows

  356. that you, reader,

  357. do not know.

  358. How does that make you feel?

  359. Make you feel out of the loop

  360. a little bit?

  361. Make you feel like you don't

  362. fully know this one?

  363. That there's mystery

  364. to Him still?

  365. Another way to talk about it is

  366. He knows everything about us.

  367. We don't know everything about Him.

  368. At the beginning of verse 12,

  369. He says,

  370. His eyes are like a flame of fire.

  371. What does fire do?

  372. Well, it warms you

  373. and we're plenty warm right now,

  374. aren't we?

  375. It also gives light.

  376. The eyes of Jesus

  377. are flames of fire

  378. of an intense omniscience

  379. that knows everything.

  380. He sees everything in you.

  381. He sees everything in everyone

  382. in every place

  383. at every time.

  384. He knows everything

  385. about us,

  386. but we don't know

  387. everything about Him.

  388. You know what this makes Him?

  389. This makes Him

  390. the most interesting man

  391. in the world.

  392. My son and I

  393. were recently driving together

  394. and we heard

  395. a Dos Equis commercial

  396. about the most interesting

  397. man in the world.

  398. You know,

  399. that guy that says,

  400. stay thirsty,

  401. my friends.

  402. I tried my accent

  403. with Mary Nichols today

  404. or this week

  405. and she goes,

  406. that sounds French,

  407. not Spanish.

  408. Well,

  409. so I thought,

  410. okay,

  411. let's see if there's any quotes

  412. on the internet

  413. from the most interesting

  414. man in the world.

  415. And of course,

  416. I found the top 100 quotes

  417. of the most interesting

  418. man in the world.

  419. Here are some of the ones

  420. I found most interesting.

  421. And I was laughing

  422. in my office

  423. out loud.

  424. This week.

  425. This first one is

  426. very compelling.

  427. When he drives a car

  428. off the lot,

  429. its price increases

  430. in value.

  431. The most interesting

  432. man in the world.

  433. Once a rattlesnake

  434. bit him,

  435. after five days

  436. of excruciating pain,

  437. the snake finally died.

  438. If he were to punch you

  439. in the face,

  440. you would have to fight

  441. off a strong urge

  442. to thank him.

  443. Superman has pajamas

  444. with his logo.

  445. Sharks have a week

  446. dedicated to him.

  447. He once made

  448. a weeping willow laugh.

  449. Roses stop

  450. to smell him.

  451. Bigfoot tries

  452. to get pictures of him.

  453. He never wears a watch

  454. because time is always

  455. on his side.

  456. He has won the

  457. Lifetime Achievement

  458. Award twice.

  459. If opportunity knocks

  460. and he's not at home,

  461. opportunity waits.

  462. This guy's amazing.

  463. His blood smells like cologne.

  464. On every continent

  465. in the world,

  466. there's a sandwich

  467. named after him.

  468. International respect.

  469. Panhandlers give him money.

  470. His pillow is cool

  471. on both sides.

  472. He taught

  473. Chuck Norris

  474. martial arts.

  475. Once he ran

  476. a marathon

  477. because it was

  478. quote unquote

  479. on the way.

  480. The police

  481. often question him

  482. just because

  483. they find him interesting.

  484. If he was to pat you

  485. on the back,

  486. you would list it

  487. on your resume.

  488. He's considered

  489. a national treasure

  490. in countries

  491. he's never visited.

  492. The most interesting

  493. man in the world.

  494. And he happens

  495. to drink Dos Equis beer.

  496. Stay thirsty,

  497. my friends.

  498. When you read

  499. a bunch of quotes

  500. like that,

  501. it doesn't take much

  502. to realize

  503. that human beings,

  504. we want to be

  505. in awe of someone.

  506. It's deeply ingrained

  507. in each of us.

  508. It's built in.

  509. This is just a creative

  510. funny way to express it.

  511. And we all know

  512. that the Dos Equis

  513. beer commercial guy

  514. is just an actor.

  515. He's really not

  516. the most interesting

  517. man in the world.

  518. In other words,

  519. if this guy

  520. who's the most interesting

  521. man in the world,

  522. the best thing

  523. that he can say

  524. is stay thirsty,

  525. my friends.

  526. come on.

  527. Come on.

  528. Forget about it.

  529. How about this?

  530. The real most interesting

  531. man in the world

  532. said in John 4

  533. to the Samaritan woman,

  534. this water that I give you

  535. to drink,

  536. drink it

  537. and you will never

  538. be thirsty again.

  539. The most interesting

  540. man in the world

  541. is not the beer guy.

  542. It's the rider

  543. on the white horse.

  544. He has a name

  545. that only he knows.

  546. With just words,

  547. he spoke into

  548. our planet,

  549. the universe.

  550. With just words,

  551. he rose people

  552. from the dead.

  553. With just words,

  554. we'll just see in a moment,

  555. with a word,

  556. he strikes down

  557. the nations.

  558. patience.

  559. He's the most interesting

  560. man in the world.

  561. We don't know

  562. everything about him,

  563. but what we do

  564. and even what we don't

  565. adds to his mystique.

  566. And the result

  567. is awe.

  568. Have you lost

  569. some of the wow factor

  570. over Jesus?

  571. Are you bored

  572. with Jesus?

  573. That speaks more

  574. of you than of Jesus

  575. because he's not boring

  576. and he knows it.

  577. Be encouraged.

  578. Be awed

  579. by Jesus.

  580. Savor the Savior.

  581. You cannot fully

  582. comprehend him.

  583. Now, if you're sitting here

  584. and you're like,

  585. man,

  586. I'm a little bored.

  587. I need a little

  588. what do I do?

  589. Can you just hang out

  590. in Revelation 9,

  591. 11 through 16

  592. all week?

  593. Seriously.

  594. Just read it every day.

  595. Say,

  596. God,

  597. would you awe me

  598. with Jesus?

  599. And then read it.

  600. See what happens.

  601. Or you can read

  602. John 1

  603. or you can read

  604. Hebrews 1

  605. or you can read

  606. Colossians 1.

  607. A lot of the ones.

  608. John,

  609. Hebrews,

  610. Colossians.

  611. There's a lot of

  612. big Jesus action

  613. in your Bible.

  614. He's a mysterious guy.

  615. The most interesting man

  616. in the world.

  617. And he's riding

  618. this white horse.

  619. Let's look at this

  620. sobering title

  621. in verse 13.

  622. He's clothed

  623. in a robe

  624. dipped in blood.

  625. Makes you wonder

  626. whose blood it is,

  627. doesn't it?

  628. He's clothed

  629. in a robe

  630. dipped in blood.

  631. And the name

  632. by which he is called

  633. is the Word

  634. of God.

  635. Now,

  636. the same guy

  637. who wrote

  638. the book of Revelation,

  639. he wrote

  640. the Gospel

  641. of John 2.

  642. The Apostle John.

  643. And in the Gospel

  644. of John,

    John 1 chapter mention

  645. chapter 1,

  646. the Apostle John

  647. describes Jesus

  648. as the Word of God.

  649. The same kind of language

  650. he's using here

  651. in Revelation 19.

  652. And what that is getting at

  653. is this.

  654. Jesus is the ultimate

  655. divine

  656. self-expression

  657. of God.

  658. He explains them.

  659. Jesus,

  660. the incarnate Word,

  661. the Word in the flesh,

  662. is the greatest

  663. self-revelation

  664. of God.

  665. John 1.18.

  666. And so,

  667. with that in mind,

  668. we come back to

  669. Revelation 19.13

  670. to this title,

  671. The Word of God.

  672. And it's carrying

  673. the same kind of meaning.

  674. Revelation.

  675. Revelation.

  676. The writer on the white horse

  677. is revealing

  678. something about God.

  679. God's active

  680. self-disclosure

  681. in the person of Jesus.

  682. But what you need

  683. to understand is

  684. in this passage,

  685. there is a real

  686. sobering nuance.

  687. We see that

  688. in verses 14 and 15.

  689. The incarnate Word of God

  690. leads out in

  691. the army of heaven.

  692. And they're clothed

  693. in fine linen,

  694. white and pure,

  695. riding white horses.

  696. That's you and me.

  697. I don't care if I've got

  698. a big horse

  699. or a little horse.

  700. I'm just going to be

  701. on a horse following Jesus.

  702. That's awesome.

  703. We're with Him.

  704. Protected by Him.

  705. But what I want you to see

  706. is in verses 14 and 15,

  707. there are three

  708. acts of judgment

  709. by the Word of God.

  710. You ready?

  711. Look at verse 14.

  712. And the armies of heaven

  713. are raided and fine linen,

  714. white and pure.

  715. Excuse me.

  716. 15.

  717. From His mouth

  718. comes a sharp sword

  719. with which to strike

  720. down the nations.

  721. Jesus comes back.

  722. He's the Word of God.

  723. God's self-expression.

  724. Active self-expression.

  725. And we read here

  726. that He strikes down

  727. the nations.

  728. All who oppose Him.

  729. All who oppose Him.

  730. He strikes down the nations

  731. with this broad sword

  732. that is coming out of His mouth.

  733. It's a word of judgment.

  734. In verse 21,

  735. John comes back to it.

  736. It says,

  737. the rest were slain

  738. by the sword

  739. that came from the mouth

  740. of Him

  741. who was sitting on the horse.

  742. Jesus wins the victory

  743. not with weapons,

  744. but with a word spoken.

  745. What you understand here,

  746. it's violent.

  747. It's judgment.

  748. The incarnate Word here

  749. is a word of God's judgment

  750. on the enemies of God.

  751. Let's look at that second picture.

  752. The Word of God rules

  753. with a rod of iron.

  754. And He will rule them

  755. with a rod of iron.

  756. It's actually speaking

  757. of an iron shepherd's club.

  758. And John is drawing off

  759. of a prophecy of the Messiah

  760. in Psalm 2, verses 8 and 9.

    Psalms 2:8

  761. If you want to flip back there

  762. to Psalm 2,

  763. it would be good for you to see.

  764. To see that this is in your Bible.

  765. I'm not making this up.

  766. This is that great psalm

  767. about the coming Messiah.

  768. And His reign over the nations.

  769. Verse 8,

  770. Ask of Me

  771. and I'll make the nations

  772. your heritage

  773. and the ends of the earth

  774. your possession.

  775. Verse 9,

  776. You shall break them,

  777. the nations who oppose Him,

  778. You shall break them

  779. with a rod of iron

  780. and dash them in pieces

  781. like a potter's vessel.

  782. The image John is painting here

  783. is not of a Messiah

  784. who comes back

  785. and keeps the nations in lines

  786. with an iron scepter,

  787. but the returning Messiah

  788. who is dashing to pieces

  789. all who oppose Him

  790. with an iron shepherd's club.

  791. Psalm 2.

  792. That's what's happening here.

  793. Our warrior king has returned.

  794. It's violent

  795. and it's judgment.

  796. Let's look at this third picture.

  797. It's very sobering.

  798. And He,

  799. the Word of God,

  800. will tread the winepress

  801. of the fury

  802. of the wrath

  803. of God the Almighty.

  804. I doubt that you have a winepress

  805. in your house.

  806. Maybe you do.

  807. But back in the day,

  808. a winepress was a big vat

  809. and after a grape harvest,

  810. they dropped the grapes in it

  811. and through a couple different means,

  812. they would apply pressure down

  813. upon the grapes.

  814. And they would squash the grapes,

  815. causing the grape juice

  816. to squeeze out.

  817. And there would be this little hole

  818. in the bottom of the vat

  819. and the grape juice

  820. would flow out

  821. and from that

  822. you could make some wine.

  823. This isn't in here

  824. to give you instructions

  825. of how to make wine.

  826. This is in here

  827. to help you understand

  828. what Jesus is going to do

  829. when He comes back.

  830. He is going to be

  831. the force applied

  832. to the winepress

  833. of destruction,

  834. of judgment

  835. on all who oppose

  836. God and His purposes.

  837. Jesus,

  838. the incarnate Word of God,

  839. is the executor

  840. of God's judgment

  841. on the nations

  842. who will not bow their knee

  843. to King Jesus.

  844. You can't miss

  845. that Jesus is treading

  846. the winepress

  847. of the fury

  848. of the wrath

  849. of God Almighty.

  850. Why is God so angry?

  851. He hates sin.

  852. Always has.

  853. Always will.

  854. Whether it's the Old Testament

  855. or the New,

  856. God is opposed to it.

  857. He's holy.

  858. And He will carry out

  859. judgment on it.

  860. All three of these.

  861. All three.

  862. Whether it's the sword,

  863. whether it's the shepherd's club,

  864. whether it's the winepress,

  865. all of these are images

  866. of Jesus,

  867. the incarnate Word of God

  868. as the executor of God's judgment

  869. on the rebel nations.

  870. He returns violently

  871. against all who oppose Him.

  872. It's a sober word,

  873. isn't it?

  874. But blessed and safe

  875. are those who have already

  876. bowed the knee.

  877. We're riding behind them

  878. on white stallions.

  879. But for those

  880. who haven't repented,

  881. haven't bowed the knee

  882. to Jesus,

  883. Jesus comes back

  884. to shed blood.

  885. That's the blood

  886. on His robe.

  887. It's the blood of the nations.

  888. His robe is dipped in blood.

  889. This is terribly sobering,

  890. isn't it?

  891. I don't tell this to you

  892. joyfully,

  893. but soberly.

  894. How can this be encouraging?

  895. Two ways.

  896. The first is this.

  897. This is a sober encouragement

  898. to you to take stock

  899. of your life.

  900. To take sin seriously.

  901. To not minimize it.

  902. God does not minimize sin.

  903. He gave His Son for sin

  904. or He's going to come back

  905. and judge it violently.

  906. So the question I have

  907. for you this morning

  908. is have you been washed clean

  909. by the blood of Jesus?

  910. Can you say yes?

  911. The second way

  912. this is a sober encouragement

  913. is more bigger picture

  914. for us as a church.

  915. When Jesus comes back,

  916. He's going to execute judgment, right?

  917. He's going to execute judgment

  918. on sinners who haven't yet

  919. bowed the knee.

  920. And for those of us

  921. who have,

  922. by God's grace,

  923. bowed our knee,

  924. we're surrounded by people

  925. that if Jesus were to come back,

  926. they're under His sword.

  927. They're under His club.

  928. They're in the wine press.

  929. Do you see where this is going?

  930. It should have a sobering effect

  931. on us.

  932. Now we can get preoccupied

  933. with things in our own lives.

  934. Good things.

  935. And we can get busy

  936. doing things

  937. that are things we need to do.

  938. But they can become

  939. first things

  940. when they're not.

  941. What this sober vision

  942. of the Word of God does

  943. is compel us

  944. to be about His mission.

  945. To make disciples

  946. of the nations.

  947. We've been entrusted

  948. with the message

  949. of reconciliation.

  950. We have the message

  951. of peace.

  952. We can help people

  953. not fear the wrath

  954. of God to come

  955. by telling them

  956. about what the King's

  957. already done for them.

  958. The title,

  959. Word of God,

  960. given the context,

  961. is that Jesus

  962. is God's decisive

  963. word of judgment.

  964. And it should be

  965. sobering to us.

  966. The last title is this.

  967. It's the supreme title

  968. and we see it in verse 16.

  969. On His robe

  970. and on His thigh

  971. He has a name written

  972. King of Kings

  973. and Lord of Lords.

  974. This title

  975. is the climax

  976. of all the titles.

  977. And it seems like

  978. when you read

  979. the description

  980. that it's written

  981. twice.

  982. But the reality

  983. is this.

  984. Jesus is on His war horse.

  985. His robe

  986. would have been

  987. draped over His thigh.

  988. And so,

  989. it's King of Kings,

  990. Lord of Lords.

  991. But what I want

  992. to draw your attention to

  993. is where it's at.

  994. The perspective

  995. John has given.

  996. Your eye level

  997. with King Jesus' thigh.

  998. Reading King of Kings

  999. and Lord of Lords.

  1000. Do you know what that means?

  1001. You're looking up to Him.

  1002. He's high and lifted up.

  1003. Supreme over all.

  1004. Supreme over you.

  1005. He's exalted

  1006. over all.

  1007. On His head

  1008. are many diadems,

  1009. verse 12.

  1010. Many crowns.

  1011. He reigns over all.

  1012. He alone

  1013. has the rightful claim

  1014. to rule

  1015. all the people

  1016. and places

  1017. on the earth.

  1018. Psalm 2.8

  1019. The nations

  1020. are His heritage.

  1021. The ends of the earth

  1022. are His possession.

  1023. Revelation 19

  1024. He comes back

  1025. to claim them

  1026. as His own.

  1027. If you were to read on

  1028. for the rest of

  1029. the book of Revelation

  1030. from here,

  1031. you would see

  1032. the King of Kings

  1033. and Lord of Lords

  1034. doing some amazing things.

  1035. The King of Kings

  1036. and Lord of Lords

  1037. completely wipes out

  1038. all of His enemies.

  1039. Including the beast.

  1040. Including the false prophet.

  1041. Including Satan himself.

  1042. Even death and Hades

  1043. He throws into

  1044. the lake of fire.

  1045. King of Kings.

  1046. Lord of Lords.

  1047. Jesus.

  1048. The King of Kings

  1049. and Lord of Lords

  1050. takes up His place

  1051. on the great white throne

  1052. of judgment

  1053. and He judges

  1054. all the dead.

  1055. He separates them out

  1056. like sheep and goats.

  1057. And those who are not

  1058. written in the Lamb's book

  1059. of life

  1060. He casts into

  1061. the lake of fire.

  1062. But for all who are

  1063. written in the Lamb's book

  1064. of life,

  1065. all who have

  1066. bowed the knee

  1067. to Jesus

  1068. by grace

  1069. have seen Him

  1070. for who He is,

  1071. the King of Kings

  1072. and Lord of Lords

  1073. comes back

  1074. with the new heavens

  1075. and the new earth.

  1076. He wipes away our tears.

  1077. He dwells with us.

  1078. He's with us

  1079. for eternity.

  1080. I want to clarify

  1081. just one thing.

  1082. When Jesus comes back,

  1083. He doesn't become

  1084. the King of Kings

  1085. and Lord of Lords

  1086. at that point.

  1087. He is the King of Kings

  1088. and Lord of Lords

  1089. right now.

  1090. He's reigning now.

  1091. And He is poised

  1092. to come back

  1093. at an unknown hour.

  1094. So this title,

  1095. King of Kings

  1096. and Lord of Lords

  1097. should compel you

  1098. to devote yourself

  1099. fully and exclusively

  1100. to Him.

  1101. To worship Him.

  1102. To live for Him.

  1103. So let me just

  1104. wrap it up

  1105. by saying this.

  1106. Be encouraged

  1107. by Revelation 19,

  1108. 11 through 16.

  1109. Be encouraged.

  1110. If you're overwhelmed,

  1111. you can bank

  1112. on Jesus Christ

  1113. coming back.

  1114. If you're bored,

  1115. be awed

  1116. at this Savior

  1117. who defies

  1118. your comprehension.

  1119. If you're preoccupied,

  1120. be sobered up

  1121. with His mission.

  1122. And if you've been

  1123. adrift,

  1124. in your devotion,

  1125. He is your King of Kings

  1126. and Lord of Lords.

  1127. Don't give up.

  1128. Let me pray.

  1129. God in Heaven,

  1130. we do thank You so much

  1131. for Revelation 19,

  1132. 11 through 16.

  1133. God, we pray

  1134. that You would use this

  1135. now and throughout

  1136. the week

  1137. to stir us

  1138. to be faithful.

  1139. To press on.

  1140. Lord Jesus,

  1141. we don't want to live

  1142. for anybody but You.

  1143. we praise You

  1144. and trust our lives

  1145. to You.

  1146. In Your name we pray.

  1147. Amen.

  1148. Amen.

  1149. Amen.

  1150. Amen.

  1151. Amen.