One True King - What King Will You Bow To? (Blake Bergstrom)

Well, how we doing one church you guys doing all right?

Yeah.

It's great to see you here.

My name is Blake.

It's an honor to have you in the house.

If you're new, thanks for coming.

Uh every week we have online visitors that join us all around the world.

Will you guys say hello to them?

We love you no matter where you're at.

Thanks for joining.

It's great to have you.

So this week um my heart was filled up.

My staff got away.

We went up to the North Georgia Mountains, LAJ area, and we went and hiked in McCola Falls, if you've ever done that.

It's a whole bunch of stairs, and it's very hard.

Yeah, I have one clapper.

It's amazing waterfall.

And we got to the top and had dinner, and then we had time together as a team to pray and to worship and to reflect on what God's doing in our church.

And it was just so refreshing.

And I we kept saying over and over, I have a picture of all of our team here.

We kept saying like over and over as a staff, like it's my favorite staff I've ever been on, and what we have is just not normal.

The team we have and the fun that we have together, how much it's like so easy to laugh, so easy to talk about our brokenness and confess.

And like it's just so refreshing to be with a team that loves the Lord and loves this church.

And I I am biased, but I think we have the best church staff on the planet.

Will you guys give a hand for our our staff and our team?

Incredible, incredible.

Alright, so this is our last week in a series that's called One True King.

Uh in this series, we've had one foundational question and thought, and that is who's sitting on the throne of your heart?

And we've been talking about, you know, does God get the final word in your life?

Is he your supreme authority?

Um, and who who gets to tell us how we should live and what we should do?

And the question is, is that you?

Are you the one in charge of you?

Um, or is it culture that shapes you?

Is it um your family?

Or maybe, maybe it could be that you have placed Jesus as the actual king that sits on the throne of your heart and he reigns and rules over your life.

And so a statement we've been saying is that Jesus plus nothing equals everything, right?

We don't add to Jesus.

Jesus is enough.

And so I've I've gone after a couple of other religions and taught that, you know, in Mormonism, why would I need Joseph Smith?

And so why why would I need Joe in Islam and Muslims?

Why do I need Muhammad?

And last week we talked about Catholicism, and I said, why do I need a priest or a pope?

When I have Jesus, I can go directly to the throne room and talk to Jesus himself.

And so the question is, don't add anything to Jesus.

He's enough in our lives.

And so we've talked about how, you know, how things can come across as like they're real, but they're actually counterfeit.

And how like we we sometimes make something into a true like gospel when it's really a false gospel.

And the reason it's like that in this world is because the enemy masquerades as an angel of light.

And so he's shiny, he's pretty, and it's convincing.

Uh he but he's pretending, right?

What he offers is fake, and it's a distraction from the real thing.

And so today we're going after a little bit different slant, and I'm gonna talk about the religion of sports.

Come on now.

All the women are like, amen, you preach that pastor.

Uh I am gonna go after the Georgia Bulldogs.

Oh, I'm picking some fights now.

And I I also have to go over anything in our life that we spend an enormous amount of time, like for me, it would definitely be golf.

And I I love golf.

And this town we need to talk about things that, you know, the the religion of entertainment, the religion of uh self-worship, the religion of uh self-image and the gym.

And so we're we're gonna talk about a lot of those things.

And I I'm also I I need to speak about this because literally, and when I said the religion of sports, in the first service, my son-in-law, Tifton, was sitting on the front row and he was looking at his fantasy football team.

And my daughter's like, Bam, put that down.

He's like, Oh, my bad.

And so um, my son Luke, he's an Alabama fan.

And uh I see, all y'all people, and so we have a whole bunch of roll tighters over here.

When we pray in my house, I'll say in the name of Jesus, we pray.

And most Christians say, Amen.

But my son-in-law Luke says, roll tide.

And so um, I think that's demonic.

My daughter Mariah is now an Alabama fan.

I that's satanic.

And so I'm kidding.

But um, I think, you know, what I want to talk about today is things that are a distraction to us.

And so I'll start by saying everybody bows to something.

We all bow to something.

And you you may in your life never physically get on a knee.

Maybe it's not that you're in a temple or even at an altar, but here's what I'm saying: whatever receives your ultimate allegiance, your time, your affection, your worship, those things can easily become your king, or at least an idol in your life.

And so here's here's what I'm saying.

If if you're living for something that is taking the majority of your time and your money, then pay attention, it might be a God.

And so, what is it that you're really living for?

Well, what is it that you you maybe can go?

I I can live with a lot of things, but I can't live without filling the blank.

You know, for for some of you it's it's like fantasy football.

For some of you, I can't live without my my Xbox.

For some of you, it it might be your device, your phone.

It could be um things in your house, a car, or something.

You know, for me, it's probably my golf clubs.

I love my golf clubs more than I love Allie.

I'm just I'm just kidding.

I didn't say that in the first round.

I was so stupid.

I'm gonna get in trouble for that.

And so the the truth is, I I think we hate we make a lot of things an idol in our lives.

And we we may say, you know, Jesus is the Lord with our mouths, but our lives reveal what we actually are living for and who's actually in command and giving the orders.

It's how you spend your time, how you spend your money.

And so I'm I'm gonna go into Philippians 3.

I want you to hear what Paul said.

He said, For as I have often told you before, and now say even again with tears, many people live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

And it says, their destiny is destruction, their God is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame.

And it says this, it's a simple statement, their mind is on what?

Earthly things.

But our citizenship, it's in heaven.

And we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so this passage, it's drawing a line between two different ways of life, two different kingdoms.

One kingdom is an earthly kingdom and one is a heavenly kingdom.

And when he is saying their God is in their stomach, he's not just talking about food, even though some of us might make food a God in our lives.

Uh he's also talking about our appetites.

He's talking about our cravings and the things that we desire.

Because our flesh it always desires and bows down to whatever we feel, whatever we want, whatever we think will bring satisfaction in the moment.

And so our nature is keeping a mind on earthly things and the passions and desires of this world.

And it actually in the process becomes an enemy, and we resist the cross because the cross calls us to something very different.

The cross calls us to deny ourselves while the world teaches us to indulge ourselves.

But I'd like to remind us today that we don't belong to this earth, and this ground that we are temporarily trotting upon is not our final destination.

We are aliens and strangers here, just temporarily passing through, because our citizenship and our allegiance belongs to heaven, where we belong with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Can I get an amen?

And so again, I just want to ask you who's your king?

Is it the king of this world or the king of heaven?

You can tell um what and who we worship by what we're willing to sacrifice our time and our money for.

And some of us sacrifice an enormous amount of time playing sports or going to sports, being a fan of sports and watching sports or playing golf for me.

And we we sacrifice tons of time and our sleep for success and for money and for achievement.

We we sacrifice our peace for money.

We sacrifice our family so that we can be out there chasing it down and achieving things in the world.

And sometimes we live for the things for this world, where our focus is primarily on the things of this world rather than living for heaven, where our we're setting our minds on the things above, right?

And so we we may never say out loud, those things are my I have an idol in my life.

We don't use that kind of language.

We might not say, those things are my God.

But if we spend most of our time and money on those things, then what should we call them?

Maybe they are.

So here's my question I want us to wrestle with today.

Why would you bow to something that will eventually bow to Jesus?

Right?

If if every rival throne is temporary and every counterfeit kingdom will collapse and every knee will finally bow before Christ, then we need to decide where our allegiance belongs right now, today, this week, this month.

Like, so my message today is called, what king will you bow to?

What king will you bow to?

You like that?

Okay, good.

I've got one person that likes it.

The issue is not if you worship or if you will bow, because we all worship something and someone, and we will all eventually bow our knees.

And so some some people bow to money, some people bow to success, some bow to their body and their image, some bow to their sexuality, some bow to personal comforts and personal freedoms.

And so the issue is not whether you will worship or bow, the issue is whether what you worship and who you worship and who you bow to is worthy of your worship.

Okay?

I like to say this a lot.

If the devil can't destroy you, then he's gonna distract you.

So there's all kinds of counterfeit distractions in this world.

And the devil's good at it, and they compete for our allegiance.

And so let's start with sports.

Um, I think a lot of people, especially in this town, will say if my child just makes the team, if they can make the cut, if they can earn the scholarship that and they get noticed by the certain coach, all of our sacrifices are gonna be worth it, right?

And sports are are wonderful.

There's so much you learn from the discipline and the obedience that it takes to work hard and achieve things.

And and God endows some people with incredible talents and gifts and abilities.

I'm not denying any of that.

But can I talk about the fact that travel sports, especially in this town, can easily become a god and that they they take over our lives?

We'll like drive four hours, spend$500 in a weekend, we'll sit in the rain, we'll eat a gas station hot dog, and we'll scream until we can't talk.

All for like an 11-year-old team.

And and then Pastor Blake gets up and says, Hey, could you make it to church at nine o'clock?

And you'd think I'm asking you to climb Mount Everest.

Like, I ain't doing that.

She's asking too much.

And so here's what I'm saying.

Here's what we should consider as parents.

What are we teaching our kids to give their allegiance to and their time to and their money to?

If you're not making church a priority, and you're not making the Bible a priority, and God a priority, but you you're clearly making all your time and all your attention towards sports, then maybe you're teaching something you shouldn't be teaching.

I also want to talk about how we're distracted by fitness in our world and how it can easily become a God.

And it says this your value comes from the mirror.

Your value comes from the scale.

Or your value comes from the shape of your body according to the world, right?

And now I believe in taking care of the temple that God gave us to eat healthy, to get good sleep, to work out, right?

But the gym is a wonderful servant and it's a terrible savior.

We can't place it as where we find our identity, right?

You you can count every calorie, close every ring on your watch, and still be starving spiritually in your relationship with God.

And so my challenge for us is give God the same amount of attention and affection that you give to the gym.

Or give him more, right?

And so I also want to talk about the distraction or religion of success and of money, because those things promise us that if you achieve, then you'll be given significance, and you'll be made important, and you'll have followers, right?

And it goes along with money that promises if I if I have a big enough bank account, then I'm secure.

If I have enough wealth, then I've arrived.

And so Jesus said something very different.

He said, it's better to give than to receive.

He said in Luke 9, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves.

Whoever wants to be my disciple must make a bunch of money and be successful.

No.

Deny themselves, take up their cross daily and follow me.

And so, what distraction have you made a religion?

What's become so important to you that it has priority over your love for Jesus?

Are there things in your life that you go, I don't, I don't want to give those things to the Lord?

Well, pay attention to what those things that you're holding on to.

What is it that you're like, I don't, I don't want to sacrifice this thing?

It could be that it's not just distracting you, but it's actually destroying you.

It could be way too many hours scrolling mindlessly.

So do you believe that Jesus is king?

Then make him the Lord of your life and your time and your spending and all that you do and say, right?

Maybe I need to remind you who Jesus is.

If he's really your king, then let's talk about his power and his might and his authority that King Jesus has on the earth right now.

I love the account in Mark chapter 4.

Mark 4 · chapter mention

It's where Jesus is taking his disciples onto the Sea of Galilee.

He's just assembled this ragtag group of 12 men that are a bunch of clumsy fishermen, and he's saying, Hey guys, let's get to know each other.

And so they get in this boat and they head across the sea, and a violent storm approaches them.

And it's like terrifying thunder and lightning.

The waves are crashing over the sides of the boat, and they're there freaking out.

And Jesus, he goes down underneath the boat and he falls asleep.

And the disciples are panicking.

And so Jesus finally comes up to the top.

He's like, What's going on?

And he stands up and he rebukes the wind and he commands the waves and he says, Quiet, be still.

And it happens.

The boat slows down, the winds dissipate, the clouds roll away, the sun comes out, and the birds are chirping.

And they're like, What just happened?

I really think at this moment was Jesus taking the disciples away from all the distractions, getting them away from all the crowds for one reason, and that's to reveal his glory.

To show them who he is, to show them that the winds and the waves, they have to obey him because creation has no choice but to obey its creator.

And so the disciples are left going, what in the what just happened?

Like they say in Mark 4, who is this man?

Even the winds and the waves, they obey him.

And then to solidify the deal, they cross over the lake, and Mark 5, they encounter this demoniac that's lost his mind.

He is in chains, he's naked, he's screaming violently, and he's tormented by a legion of demons.

And the disciples, they're like going, I can't believe we just saw this dude stop the wind and the waves.

Who is this guy?

And they're trying to determine who he is, but then this demon comes running at them, and he he starts yelling out, crying out, What do you want with me, Jesus, son of the most high God?

And so, oh, now the disciples are like, uh, you really are the son of the most high God.

It was a demon that completely established who he really is.

And so Jesus does what he does, and he casts the demon out, and this man is set free, and it says he's put in his right mind, and people are amazed by that.

And so here's what I'm saying.

Clearly, demons don't wonder about the authority and the dominion of King Jesus.

The enemy of darkness, Satan himself, he doesn't doubt about the identity of King Jesus.

The wind and the waves know exactly who King Jesus is.

And so why do we question and doubt the authority of the King?

And we do it all the time.

We want a Jesus that calms my storms for today.

We want a Jesus who heals our bodies in the hospital.

We want a Jesus who protects our children.

We also want a Jesus who blesses our plans and is going to make us rich.

We want a Jesus who's going to improve our lives.

But when he wants to know if we will actually make him the Lord of our lives, and we're actually going to give him our heart so he can sit on our throne, that's when we go, hold up.

We start getting uncomfortable.

Because he starts to ask things of us.

Okay, well then come follow me.

But here's the deal deny yourself and take up your cross.

And what does that mean?

It means you forgive your enemies.

It means that you abstain from temptation, you remain sexually pure, you love difficult people, and you give God your time, affection, energy, and even your resources and your money.

It's when you're saying to God, okay, I I surrender all.

I surrender control.

And we're like, hold up, hold up.

No.

It's on my terms.

You you meet my needs because I'm the king, not the other way around.

We wouldn't say that, but it's how we live.

But but Jesus said this when he came after money more than anything else when he was here.

And he said in Matthew 6, for where your treasure is, there your what?

Your heart will be also.

Our treasure, whatever you treasure, whatever idol you have in your life, whatever temptation or desire or longing or craving that you want, maybe it's pornography, maybe it's an addiction, maybe it's something that you've been struggling with for years that nobody knows about, our treasure reveals our heart.

So if you if you want to show me how you spend your time and how you spend your money, how you spend your energy and your attention and what gets the majority of your emotion and affection and worship, I can probably show you what's actually sitting on the throne of your heart.

Because we say, hey, listen, man, how I spend my time, my schedule, my calendar, none of your business.

But Jesus.

Says, I I gave you life.

I gave you all that time.

We say, hey, my money, my checkbook, how how I spend it, none of your business.

Jesus says, I gave you the ability to earn.

We say, hey, my body, it's none of your business.

The Bible says, you are not your own.

You were bought with a price.

Your temple and dwelling place of the Lord God.

We say, hey, it's my life.

I can do what I want.

The gospel says, you were created by him and for him.

You were created by a king.

You were deemed by that king, and your life belongs to the king.

See, I want to read you 1 John.

I think it's confusing for a lot of us.

We're like, I want to live a life that pleases God, but I end up living a life that's chasing after the things of this world.

But 1 John says, do not love the world or anything in the world.

If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.

Bro, that's rough.

So I love the things of this world.

I don't love the Father.

For everything in the world, here it is.

The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life comes not from the Father, but from the world.

And the world and its desires pass away.

But whoever does the will of God lives forever.

So when John says, do not love the world, he's not telling us to love the things, to not love the things he created, like his creation and his people.

He's telling us to not love the rebellious system of the values that operate without God, apart from God, and become enemies of God, right?

That are constantly competing for our attention and our allegiance, that are actually a distraction from God.

See, John identifies three of those primary things.

He says, the cravings of the flesh, right?

So if it feels good, do it, right?

It's your life, you do you, right?

The lust of the eyes, if you see it and you want it, take it.

And then three is the boasting and the pride of life.

And that's like proving our worth by what we own, by what we achieve, and how we're displayed for all the world to see.

Those things are counterfeit kingdoms.

And it's the counterfeit kingdoms of appetite, of accumulation, and of achievement.

And we chase after them.

We're mesmerized by them.

Gets all our time and money and affection.

But John's reminding us that the entire system, it has an expiration date.

Our bodies will age.

Our possessions, they will mold and rust and disappear.

And the applause and the approval that gives us such pride and arrogance, all of that will grow quiet.

And every earthly kingdom will eventually fall.

The world and its desires pass away.

But whoever does the will of God lives forever.

So why would we bow to a kingdom that's already passing away?

This long, just a wisp of wind.

We're here for a second, and then we're with God forever and ever and ever.

Why do we want a king who does things our way according to our terms and according to our wishes?

One of my favorite all-time quotes by an old preacher that I used to listen to all the time on the radio.

He's got this real high-pitched voice.

His name is Jay Vernon McGee.

And he he always says, This is God's universe.

And he does things his way.

You may think you have a better way, but you don't have a universe.

I love that.

And I'll tell you, you know, we don't act like the universe revolves around me.

But we kind of live that way.

We act like it's all for me.

I want things done my way.

And I'll tell you, this might sound offensive to people that, you know, believe in the Burger King have it your way motto.

Like, I'm the boss, I'm the king of my castle, and live like that.

It's the American way, is what we say.

But I I need to tell you something.

That you aren't the king of your castle.

There's only one true king, and you're not it.

And it reminds me of Daniel chapter 3.

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

If you remember, King Nebuchadnezzar, he he builds this massive idol of himself.

You talk about a narcissist.

And it's this massive golden idol of himself.

And he he asks everybody, he commands everyone to come before him and to bow before this idol.

And so the music plays, and when that happened, the entire crowd, they all bowed down.

But there were three dudes Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

And they remained standing when everyone else bowed.

And they tell the king in chapter 3, verse 17, the God we serve is able to deliver us.

But even if he doesn't, will you guys say that?

Even if he doesn't, even if he doesn't, he will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold that you have set up, bro.

So what they're saying is, our God's gonna deliver us.

But even if he doesn't, I'm not bowing.

You can do whatever you want to us.

If you need to murder us, okay.

If you're gonna threaten me, if you're gonna label me, if you're gonna torture me, okay.

But hear me, we live for the one true king, and we're not bowing to your counterfeit king.

And so they do.

They they turn up the furnace, blazing hot, and they chuck all three of these guys in the fire.

And King Nebuchadnezzar, he looks in the fire, and he knows he sent three people in, but lo and behold, there is one more person in the fire.

And since they chose to put their lives on the line in danger, and stand against the authority of man and this world, God himself joins them in the fire.

And I have to tell you something today.

Somebody might need to be reminded of this that sometimes God doesn't remove or reveal his power by removing the fire.

Sometimes instead, he reveals his presence in the midst of the fire.

And maybe you're in a fire today.

Maybe your life is falling apart.

Maybe you're broken and heavy and you don't understand how it's going to turn out, it doesn't make sense, and you're saying, God, I need you.

Can I remind us today that maybe we need more men who are not willing to bow down to the pleasure of this world and instead they choose to bow down to the presence of the King of Kings?

Men who refuse to live for the flesh and instead choose to get on their face before God.

Men who live with conviction and integrity.

Men who will willingly surrender their allegiance to the King of Kings, right?

God's looking for men and women who will not bow to the systems of this world, and no matter what the world around them is choosing to do, they refuse to bow to the temporary pleasures of this place.

People who say, I'm not bowing to sexual promiscuity.

People who say, just because everybody else is doing it, it doesn't mean it's right.

And I'm not going to join you, right?

Of people who remain pure, of people who fight for truth, of people who won't bow to temptations, who won't bow to pressure, of people who won't bow for the approval of men.

Because our declaration hasn't changed.

We say I've already bowed to the King Jesus, and I cannot bow to anything or anyone else.

My knees, they belong to the king.

My heart belongs to the king.

My body belongs to the king.

My family belongs to the king and no one else, because my future is secure.

It belongs to the king in heaven, and my worship belongs to him and him alone.

Amen?

And so please hear me.

Jesus, he's worthy of our worship.

He's worthy of our praise.

And he is a worthy king.

Why?

Because the winds obeyed him.

They had to.

The waves, they obeyed him.

Demons, they fell before him and declared that Jesus is the Son of the Most High God.

So you better believe that every counterfeit king and kingdom, it will crumble underneath the feet and the might and the rain and the power of King Jesus because the Bible tells us that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord over all creation.

So I'm not bowing to fear.

I'm not bowing to temptation.

I'm not bowing to cultural pressure.

I'm not bowing to money.

I'm not bowing to sports.

I'm not bowing to success.

I'm not bowing to sexual promiscuity.

I'm not bowing to self-worship.

And I'm certainly not bowing to the powers of darkness because I've already bowed my life before the king.

I've recognized that every counterfeit God will bow, every political ruler will bow, every demonic force will bow, every celebrity, every billionaire, every pope, every prophet, every athlete, every skeptic, and every king will bow.

So why would we bow to something that will eventually bow to King Jesus?

Why?

Right?

I'm just gonna read you Philippians 2, and we're gonna close the series with this, and we're gonna declare this.

Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every now knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

There's only one name that saves.

Only one.

Have you declared that name as your king?

There's only one throne that will last, there's only one kingdom that cannot be shaken.

There's only one Lord that conquered sin and he conquered death, he conquered hell, and he conquered the grave.

And his name is Jesus Christ.

And I'm asking you today if you'll call upon him to be the Lord and Savior of your life.

I'm asking you to consider making him the king on the throne of your heart.

Because he's not merely a king, he is forever and for eternity the one true king.

Will you guys bow your heads and close your eyes?

Maybe some of you would say to me, Blake, I need prayer.

Man, I'm in it right now.

I'm in a fire.

And I need some prayer for what I'm going through.

If that's you and you want prayer right now, will you raise your hand high?

Because we want to pray over whatever fire you're in.

I see hands everywhere.

I see hands, I see you.

The second thing that I want to pray over is maybe some of you are here for the first time.

You've never said, I want Jesus to be my King.

I'm ready to surrender all for the sake of the call.

I'm ready to give my life to him completely and make him the Lord of my life.

I'm ready for him to come and redeem me and restore me and wash me clean.

I'm ready for him to fill me with the power of his spirit so I can live my life for him because I want to be a disciple of his.

Come on, right here.

Oh, I see two in the back.

Praise God.

Anybody else?

Lord Jesus.

You know what people are going through.

You know the fire that they're in.

You know the pain and the struggles and the challenges and the despair.

And I pray, Father, in the midst of the fire, that your presence would be overwhelming.

I pray, Father, that you'll heal, restore, you'll set people free.

If there's demonic forces in their life, I pray you'd break the chains and that the shackles would come off and you'd give them a clear mind.

We pray against any distractions that we've been living for.

We ask, Lord, you'd forgive us.

We repent of being so easily distracted from the things of this world.

God help us and heal us.

Help us not to have appetites and desires for this place and have a desire and a hunger for you and your word and your presence more than anything that this world can give.

So deliver us from those things, God.

And right now I lift up anybody in this room that just gave their life to Christ.

I pray, Father, you'll protect them from the enemy of darkness that wants to destroy them.

I pray that they would get people around them to help them walk according to your will and your ways.

I pray, Father, they'd have a hunger for your word.

I pray, Father, that they would resist temptation and that they'd walk in the power of your spirit, that they choose to be baptized and to follow after you the rest of their life, Lord.

We ask for your blessing, your hand, your favor, and your anointing on them.

Lord Jesus, thank you for what you're doing here.

You blow us away by the way you're growing your church.

Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your kingdom and for the way that you're moving in and through this church.

We love you, God.

We give you our whole lives and our whole heart.

Come and be the king on the throne of our heart, Lord.

It's in your precious name we pray.

Everybody said, Amen.

I love you on church.