KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS
(Later,
I plan to make this sermon one chapter in the second edition of my book,
CREATURE VERSUS CREATOR.)
“And
I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called
Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes
were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name
written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture
dipped in blood: and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies which
were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and
clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite
the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the
winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his
vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:11-16)
These
astounding events recorded here are soon to occur. This greatest KING OF KINGS
AND LORD OF LORDS, Who is Almighty God Himself, is soon to mount up on that
white horse, likely a stallion. Called Faithful and True, called the Word of
God, He is going to ride that great white stallion from Heaven to earth, to
judge mankind and to make war in holiness, justness, and righteousness. What a
sight He will be, astride that powerful, white steed; His Eyes as a flame of
fire, with many crowns on His head, clothed in a vesture dipped in blood.
Behind Him, also on white horses, will follow the armies which were in Heaven.
Devastation
and destruction like has never, ever been known in the whole war-torn history
of this ol’ planet, when that sharp, two-edged sword goes out of His Mouth and
smites the nations. Then He will take over as an Absolute Ruler of His Own
Creation, ruling all the nations on this planet with a rod of iron, which will
entail treading the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. Must
get all the bad out, and tread it out, he certainly will do.
“And
I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to
all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves
together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings,
and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of
horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and
bond, both small and great.” (Revelation
19:17-18)
What
a gathering it will be as the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their
armies, gather together to make war against this KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF
LORDS, and His army. An angel will stand in the sun and cry out ever so loudly,
calling all the fowls of the air to come gather around for the supper of the
great God, because God is going to feed all those birds the flesh of kings, the
flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses, and the men
that sit on those horses, and the flesh of all men, both small and great. What
a supper that will be for all those vultures and other unclean birds to feast
upon, as they pick all those proud eyes out of their sockets and pick the flesh
off the bones of those proud, rebellious God-hating Christ rejecters.
“And
I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered
together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.” (Revelation 19:19) The ol’ beast is so deranged of mind that
he thinks he can do battle with this Almighty King. Could he be so dumb not to
even know what you and I know, that his large army is soon to become the supper
of the great God?
“And
the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles
before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the
beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a
lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword
of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all
the fowls were filled with their flesh. (Revelation
19:20&21)
Why,
God will just take that beast and his false prophet and cast them alive into a
lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant of his army will be slain
with the sword of Him that sits upon that great white horse, which sword
proceeds out of His Mouth. And all those buzzards and other dirty birds will
get their fill of the highest quality of human flesh on the face of this earth;
the human flesh that set itself higher than Almighty God Himself and did battle
with Him.
God’s
angel will thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gather the vine of the
earth, and cast it into the great wine press of the wrath of God. Then the
winepress will be trodden without the city, and the blood will come out of the
winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six
hundred furlongs, which is about 200 miles. (You can read that account in
Revelation 14:19&20.)
What
a sight will be that great river of the blood of the enemies of the KING OF
KINGS, snaking for 200 miles and about 5 feet deep (up to the horse bridle).
What an appropriate tribute of stunning victory to the KING OF KINGS AND LORD
OF LORDS, that shining, snaking red ribbon of blood will be. Glory to God!
Large
flocks of countless buzzards, vultures, and other such unclean fowl will pick
the eyes out of the sockets and the flesh off the bones of pompous, mighty,
powerful, sinful, rebellious, God-hating, God-rejecting mankind; and God will
be greatly glorified at this Supper of the Great God. Amen! And then
this Almighty KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS will rule and reign forever on
this earth in Holiness and Righteousness. Also, He will rule with a rod of iron
in absolute power and authority.
Hallelujah and Amen! How I look forward to that day in great anticipation.
(Read the entire book of Revelation at the end of the Bible for a vivid
description of this great, soon-coming event.)
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One
reason I so look forward to this great event is because I have the honourable
privilege of being a servant of this KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF
LORDS. Seems as if it has been such a long time that I have served Him by
faith, never having seen Him in Person. But soon, faith will be made sight as I
meet Him Face-to-face after this life. I am so blessed to be serving this
Greatest King now, and I will have that same privilege for all eternity, He
tells me in Revelation 22:3.
I
watch the masses of mankind serving man, money, self, society, religion, power,
fame, and pleasure. People fervently serve the lust of the flesh, the lust of
the eyes, and the pride of life. (I John 2:16) Fun, fame, and fortune. Pride,
power, and possessions. And I feel so sorry for them, while feeling so blessed
that by His Wonderful Grace, God has chosen me to serve Him. He doesn’t
need my service. By simply speaking the Word or lifting His Hand, God can
thereby accomplish anything He desireth. Still, He has ordained that a little,
lowly being like me should have the privilege of serving this Almighty God. What
a blessing that is to me. I thank God for it. But that is not even the half of
my relation with this King.
Not
only am I a servant of this great KING OF KINGS, I am also a child of His
Father. “But as many as received him, to them
gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his
name.” (John 1:12) “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we
are the children of God. (Romans 8:16) Because
of Adam and Eve’s transgression, I was born a child of the devil. But now by the
grace of God, I have received this KING OF KINGS as my Saviour and have thereby
been made into a new creature, a child of God. Hallelujah! I am also a child of
this KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS, as Christ said, “I and my Father are one.”
(John 10:30) How I praise God for making me into His child. But God has even
done much more for me.
“The
Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so
be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” (Romans 8:16&17) I am also an heir of God and a
joint-heir with Christ Who is the “heir of all
things.” (Hebrews 1:2) Hallelujah! In our
present life on earth, heirs often only receive a small pittance when they
receive an earthly inheritance. But not so with us who are joint-heirs with
Christ, because He is the “Heir of all
things.” “He is Lord of all.” (Acts 10:36) And together with Him,
we Christians own all things. I have an inheritance in His Great Kingdom. “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor
of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to
them that love him?” (James 2:5) “And of his kingdom there shall be no end.” (Luke 1:33) Glory to God!
As
an heir of God and a joint-heir with King Jesus, I am an heir of ALL things and
am an heir FOREVER! Oh how rich we are, who have Christ as our Saviour. Aren’t
you glad you are a Christian and a part of Christ’s Eternal Riches? I am!
Meditate
daily on these wonderful scriptures I have listed here and also on Galatians
4:1-7. Rejoice in these wonderful truths and regularly thank God that as a
believer, you are a child of God and a joint-heir with Christ in God’s
Everlasting Kingdom, the glory of which is so great that presently we cannot
begin to fathom the extent of it. Oh how blessed we are, who have been redeemed
by the blood of the Lamb. Amen!
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Years
ago, I was reading a Christian’s writing and he said that the best form of
government is a just king. I was somewhat stunned when I first read that. What
about the importance of our freedom to choose (vote for) our government
leaders, and choose (vote on) the laws we want to live under? That was my first
reaction. But then I looked at where that freedom has taken us. As a “free”
nation turns sinful, wicked, immoral, lewd, perverse, perverted, and such, then
that is the exact kind of leaders, rulers, and laws they vote on and choose.
Therefore the leaders and laws of our “free” nation have become the sinful mess
that they now are. And I quickly saw the wisdom of having a just king ruling in
absolute authority over a nation.
“Where
the word of a king is, there is power.” (Ecclesiastes
8:4) You had better believe it, there is power in the word of a king.
Absolute power in the word of an absolute ruler.
A
ruling just king can simply decree just laws. He does not have to ask the
people their opinion of those laws or let them vote for or against those laws.
He needs no legislature to formulate laws, debate them, vote on them, override
his veto, and such. He needs no court of judges to strike down or uphold his
laws. He simply decrees the laws. And the people under his rule have
just one thing to do regarding a king’s laws, and that is to obey
them.
“Where
the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest
thou?” (Ecclesiastes 8:4)
Now
this Great KING OF KINGS hath proclaimed His Word to us His subjects. And how
powerful it is. He hath decreed His Law and it stands forever. He has given it
to us, perfect, inspired of God, without error. It is God’s Holy Bible, King
James Version, 1611. It is God-breathed. Though He used the hands of humans to
pen it for our use, in no way did we or do we have a part with Him in
formulating this law.
“Who
may say unto him, What doest thou?” It is not
our lot to question it, doubt it, debate it, vote on it, take opinion polls on
it, alter it, change it, help Him rewrite it and make it better, explain it
away, or any such thing. Concerning this most powerful Word of this Great King,
we are not to ask Him, “What doest Thou?” Our lot is simply to OBEY it. Regarding the Eternal Law of
this Eternal King, our part is so simple, plain, and easy; just OBEY His Law.
“Behold,
to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” (I Samuel 15:22)
“Almighty
God, please help me to always obey all Thy Law. Help me to love it, reverence it,
treasure it, study it, learn it, memorize it, understand it, hide it away in my
heart, and above all, OBEY it. Amen.”
In
the case of a nation being ruled by a just king, there is always the question
of the situation of the government when this just king dies. His successor may
be an evil ruler instead of a just one. But we servants, children, and
joint-heirs of this KING OF KINGS will never have to worry about that
possibility. That’s because our King lives forever, never to die. “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive
for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” (Revelation 1:18) Also the Word of His Law is forever
settled in Heaven and it will never pass away. Hallelujah! What wonderful,
everlasting hope we have, who are children of this Great KING OF KINGS. How I
praise God for it.
***************************
Our
present age is not an age of kings, with many nations being absolutely and
totally ruled by a king’s authority. To me, it is exciting to read about
powerful kings and emperors down through history, reading in the Bible and in
other history books, of their power, glory, and majesty. Many of them have been
mighty in battle, going forth conquering other kings or nations. How inspiring
to read of the good that just kings have accomplished with their power. How sad
and tragic to study of the death, destruction, spread of sin and evil, and
such; brought about by the power of wicked, sinful kings, emperors, dictators,
and such absolute rulers.
As
we think on the pomp, power, and glory of a king, several associated physical
objects come to mind. His palace or castle. His throne. His banquet table. His
servants. His chariot. His army. His robe. His scepter. His crown.
Let us consider his crown.
When
a king receives his kingship, it is common practice for there to be a crowning
ceremony, with someone placing a crown upon his head. Typically, this ceremony
is a magnificent event of great splendor. And the greater the king, the greater
the splendor of this crowning ceremony and of the crown he receives, skillfully
crafted of silver or gold and studded with many precious jewels. Other powerful
rulers from far and near will come to pay honour and homage to the new king.
Common people will flock out just hoping to get a glimpse of the glory of him
and his crown. The gala festivities associated with a king’s crowning may go on
for days. Anyone who gets to attend feels so privileged to be there. And the
closer one is able to get to the king, the more privileged and honoured he
feels by it. And the one person who has that great privilege of taking
that glorious crown of gleaming precious metals and sparkling, rare jewels, and
placing it upon the head of that king arrayed in his regal robes of splendor;
likely that person feels the most honoured of all those present. What a privilege
it is, to have the honour of crowning a king. That most privileged person
likely will never forget that great event, fondly thinking on it most every day
afterward.
About 2,000 years ago,
this Greatest KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS did us the greatest favor that
has ever been done to mankind, by coming from Heaven to this earth. Though He
was God, He took on the form of human flesh, was born as a baby to a human
mother, and lived in this world just over 33 years. While here on earth in
human flesh, He proclaimed that He was God the Son, the Messiah, the Christ,
the One Way to Heaven. He also announced that He was the King of the Jews.
And thus, He was duly crowned.
“And
they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about
his head, And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote him
on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees
worshipped him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from
him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.” (Mark 15:17-20)
The
entire time The Lord Jesus Christ lived as a man with mankind upon this earth,
He never once sinned. He never once wronged anyone. “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.” (I Peter 2:22)
He went about doing good. Thus He healed many
of various diseases and bodily deformities. “How
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went
about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was
with him.” (Acts 10:38)
He
multiplied the loaves and fishes to feed the hungry multitudes. (John 6:1-13)
He raised the dead, causing much rejoicing among their loved ones. (John 11:44)
Pilate said of Him, “I find no fault in this
man.” (Luke 23:4) The common people said of
Him, “He hath done all things well.” (Mark 7:37)
So
just why did such a good, even perfect, King, Who was God Himself, end up being
crowned with scorn and thorns?
I
believe the title of this book (Creature Versus Creator) and the majority of
what is written between the covers of this book go a long way in answering that
question. In a nutshell, the answer simply is; man himself wants to be king.
Man himself wants to be God.
God’s
greatest created being, Lucifer, said; “I will
ascend…I will exalt my throne…I will be like the most High.” (Isaiah 14:13&14) I believe, in the same manner, it is
possible for such thoughts and desires to exist in the hearts of each and every
angelic being and each and every human being that God creates. I believe it is
possible for these beings to harbor such thoughts and emotions in their
perfect, created state. Lucifer certainly did, with no tempter in existence to
tempt him to do it. Eve had such thoughts while still in her perfect state. And
now the degenerate hearts of men just overflow with this desire to rise up and
become the greatest being in existence.
Years
ago, a popular song proclaimed, “I’m gonna be a big wheel someday. I’m gonna be
somebody.” There are many such theme songs of fallen man. “I’m gonna be the
greatest!” “I am a self-made man! I evolved from absolutely nothing and by
my own power; I made myself into this great, powerful, proud creature that I
am. God had nothing to do with it, because there is no God. Actually there is
no one or no thing that is greater than I.” And the battle is on. With
all his power, might, and mind, man wars against God, his Creator.
And
in doing so, fallen mankind’s attitude toward this KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF
LORDS is, “WE WILL NOT HAVE THIS MAN TO REIGN
OVER US.” (Luke 19:14)
And
in the same way that God’s first and greatest commandment is, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” man also desires absolutely NO competition in his quest to
be the greatest being possible. He is so intent on this that he craves to kill
the real God, to completely do away with Him. And when God took on flesh and
came to this earth, that is exactly what “aspiring to be the greatest,”
sinful, wicked men did to Him. They killed God the Son.
“And
he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and
set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower,
and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.
And
at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from
the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. And they caught him, and beat him,
and sent him away empty. And again he sent unto them another servant; and at
him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head and sent him away shamefully
handled. And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others;
beating some, and killing some.
Having
yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them,
saying, They will reverence my son.
But
those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill
him, and the inheritance shall be ours. And they took him, and killed him, and
cast him out of the vineyard.
What
shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the
husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. And have ye not read this
scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the
corner: This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? (Mark 12:1-11)
This
parable is so rich in meaning. You can also find it in Matthew 21:33-40 and
Luke 20: 9-16.
Down
through the Old Testament age, God sent His prophets and believers into this
world of sinners. And the result was that they “were
tortured.” They “had
trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and
imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were
slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being
destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they
wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. (Hebrews 11:35-38) Because they came forth and went forth in
the Name of Almighty God, they were thusly treated.
Then
God the Father, having yet therefore One Son, His Wellbeloved, He sent Him also
last unto them, saying, “They will reverence My Son.” Since this parable
mentions the father’s thoughts of them reverencing him son, likely God the
Father harbored such thought regarding sending God the Son to this earth. And
no doubt the All Knowing Father knew exactly what the outcome would be when
Christ came to this world. But there are many paradoxes about this Omnipotent
God that are not conflicting errors, though they may appear that way to our
pea-size brain. So please don’t warp your feeble mind, trying to figure them
out.
Anyway,
in this parable, when the father’s well beloved son came to those husbandmen,
they said, “This is the heir; come, let us kill
him, and the inheritance shall be ours.” You
see, ever since Lucifer fell, this has been the attitude of the enemy (Satan)
and his lackeys (fallen angels and fallen men) toward God. They are so desirous
to do away with God, dethrone Him, kill Him, in order to take over His
creation as their inheritance.
We
see this action in all the false religions of the world, each claiming that
their false god is the true God. We see this action in communism, as the
communists try to force the masses under them to believe, “There is no God.” We
see it in secular humanism, enthroning man as the greatest being in existence.
We see it manifested in the many, various wicked movements of the enemy and his
lackeys throughout the world. And as our nation (U.S.A.) steadily comes under
the control of communists, humanists, perverted sodomites, and every kind of
wicked ruler, we clearly see God being shut out of His inheritance.
It
just isn’t “politically correct” to have a Bible out in public, display any of
its scriptures in public buildings, in schools, or any public place. It is just
out of place to sing praises to God, preach His Word, pass out literature, even
talk about God or just mention His Name out in public (in the world). Christ
must be taken out of Christmas, making it a secular holiday of worldly
pleasure. Christ must not be in Easter, only the bunny rabbits and the eggs,
which come from heathen idolatry fertility rites.
“We will not have this man to reign over us.” (Luke 19:14)
God
must be totally shut out of His inheritance. He must be completely done away
with. The enemy will be satisfied with nothing less. The enemy will not have
any other gods before him. “This is the heir;
come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.”
And
though the enemy constantly wages the most fierce warfare possible on every
front, praise God that we know that the enemy will suffer total defeat
in the end. And we know that we, the children of this great KING OF
KINGS, are always completely victorious. Who is on the Lord’s side?
In
every age of time on this earth, the enemy always has and always will murder
the sons and daughters of God, simply because they are the sons and daughters
of God. If possible, they would gladly pull God the Father off His Heavenly
Throne and murder Him. And when God the Son came unto His own here on earth,
they did not reverence Him. “He came unto his
own, and his own received him not.” (John 1:11)
Instead of reverencing Him, they gladly murdered Him.
“We
will not have this man to reign over us.” (Luke
19:14) “This is the heir; come, let us kill him,
and the inheritance shall be ours.” (Mark 12:7)
Let
me throw in a little side note here, just as food for thought. Have you ever
thought about what a fix God would have been in, had God the Son come to this
earth “to give his life a ransom for many,” and no one bothered Him, no one killed Him? I mean
absolutely no disrespect toward Almighty God when I speak of Him being in a fix
in this hypothetical situation. But do consider this as food for thought. God
the Father certainly could not be the instigator of murder by prodding men to
kill God the Son. So just suppose fallen, sinful men had ignored Jesus Christ
about 2,000 years ago when He walked among them here on this earth, and did no
harm to Him. What would have happened? We do not have to worry about pondering
the possibility of that. Because when degenerate men meet up with God, they
will murder Him as quickly as possible, if it is in their power to do so. And you
know for sure, that is exactly what they did to God the Son, Jesus Christ.
And
those God haters were not satisfied to simply murder The Lord Jesus Christ. But
while doing so, they had to ridicule, scorn, and torture Him extensively to
vent their wicked anger against their Creator, against Whom they were viciously
fighting. So before they killed Jesus, THEY GLADLY CROWNED THIS GREATEST KING
OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS WITH SCORN AND THORNS. How low in sinful rebellion
can a human being descend?
I
read that a thorn 2 to 3 inches long is common in that area where Christ was
crucified, and that was likely the thorns that composed His crown. The Bible
tells us that they “platted” this crown, weaving several thorny strands together. So this
crown was not just one little, slender stem of fingernail length briars
delicately tied around Christ’s Head. It was several tough little branches of
finger-length, sharp thorns, platted together and pushed down on that precious
Head, penetrating to the bone.
But
even that isn’t nearly all of it. Before that, Jesus had been scourged, a Roman
soldier ripping His Back apart with many lashes from a cat-of-nine tails,
likely having pieces of bone and metal tied into the ends of the thongs. (Mark
15:15) Then they put the crown of thorns upon His Head, a reed in His Right
Hand, bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him saying, “Hail, King of the
Jews.” They plucked out His beard. They blindfolded Him and smote Him, asking
Him to name the smiter, if He were God. They spat upon Him.
And they took the reed from His Hand and with
it, they smote Him on the Head. We would expect this reed to be somewhat larger
than broomstick size. And in smiting Christ on the Head with it, they would
naturally, liberally, and forcefully strike this King’s crown of thorns,
gouging the thorns in against the skull, twisting and breaking them. What a
crimson flow. While they did all this to our Saviour, they blasphemed Him
in most every way imaginable.
SCORN
AND THORNS! SCORN AND THORNS!
“We
will not have this man to reign over us.”
“This
is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.”
Poor
ol’ Pilate, showing much desire not to murder this innocent person, declared
that he found no fault in this King. He offered the bloodthirsty mob the choice
of crucifying a murderer, Barabbas, instead. But they loudly and adamantly
absolutely refused that offer. They turned him down flat.
Pilate
tried to shirk his responsibility by dumping Jesus off on Herod. Herod, also
finding no fault in Jesus, sent Him back to Pilate. So Pilate again declares
that neither he nor Herod find any fault in Jesus (Luke 23:6-15). Pilate
cowardly begs the mob for mercy, hoping they can be appeased with the much
torture, abuse, ridicule, scorn, blasphemy, and blood flowing that has already
gone on. But their minds have long been made up and they will settle for
nothing less than crowning this KING OF KINGS with death.
“We
will not have this man to reign over us.” (Luke
19:14)
“This
is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.” (Mark 12:7)
Pilate
finally has Jesus, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, brought
before the mob. Pilate declares unto them, “Behold
the man!” (John 19:5) “His visage was so marred more than any man, and his form
more than the sons of men.” (Isaiah 52:14)
“When
the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying,
Crucify him, crucify him.” (John 19:6)
Pilate
keeps trying. “Behold your King! But they cried
out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I
crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. Then
delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified.” (John 19:14-16) They rejected God as their King and chose a
man instead, just as Israel did back in I Samuel 8. “We will not have God to
reign over us. We choose to rebel against our Creator and to rule ourselves.”
And the eternal fate of all such God rejecters is the never-ending flames of
Hell fire.
In
the end, Pilate washed his hands of Jesus and turned Him over to the mob for
them to do as they pleased with Him. In doing so, Pilate declared that he was
innocent of the blood of this just person. “When
Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he
took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of
the blood of this just person: see ye to it.” (Matthew
27:24)
But
you lied about being innocent of the blood of that just Person, didn’t you,
Pilate? You sure did, didn’t you? And you didn’t get your hands clean with that
washing, did you, Pilate? No sir, you sure didn’t, did you? Too bad about that,
wasn’t it, Pilate? Yes, it sure was, Pilate! It was just too bad!
And
ol’ Pilate has been washing those bloody hands ever since then and will be
washing them forever, but to no avail. They will always be bloody with the
blood of The Innocent KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!
You
ol’ coward! That’s what you are, Pilate! You pompous, magnificent, eternal
COWARD! You had no courage to stand against a mob of murderers and protect
the Innocent from them, just exactly like a world full of present-day,
cowardly and evil rulers. What a pitiful sight you are, Pilate. And what a pitiful sight all you
present-day evil rulers are who condemn just men and praise evil men. Rest
assured that your judgment day is coming and you are soon to be eternally busy
in Hell, washing your bloody hands forever to no avail, just like ol’ Pilate. “Prepare to meet thy God.”
In our present time, it
is such a common sight to see rulers oppressing just and good people. And all
the time they do it, they make their fair speeches, claiming how right and just
their actions are, vainly trying to wash the blood of the just off of their
guilty, sinful hands, declaring how innocent they are. You who commit such
sins, rest assured that all your efforts of trying to be innocent, are totally
in vain.
Presently
in our sin-laden nation, many people are determined that it remains legal to
murder unborn human beings (abortion).
So the women who want to slaughter the unborn fruit of their womb, the abortion
mill workers who make good money performing the slaughtering, and the
politicians who covet the votes of the people who want to murder their
offspring, all fill the air with their pious speeches about women’s rights, the
right to choose, etc., trying to wash their hands of the most innocent blood of
little humans who have not yet even been born. But I warn you murderers, it is
all in vain, and you are soon to join Pilate in eternal Hell fire, to weep,
wail, and gnash your teeth forever as you never cease trying to wash your hands
of that innocent blood. I warn you to cease your murdering now, repent to King
Jesus now, and trust in Him to save you from this awful sin NOW.
My
fellow Christian, those millions of unborn who get slaughtered each year, don’t
have a voice at all to cry out against the awful crimes being committed against
them, do they? Therefore you and I are duty bound to them, and to Almighty God,
to speak up for them, and cry out loud and long against this most awful
slaughter of the innocent. Speak up for them. Defend them. And clearly warn
their murderers of the tragic fate they are soon to meet.
All
Christ rejecters are guilty of His blood in much the same way that Pilate was.
You are trampling His precious shed blood under your feet, when you refuse His
offer to cleanse your sins by that blood and to save you from the punishment of
your sins. Please beware of that and of your need to repent to God NOW!
*****************************
So there you have it, the
crowning ceremony for this Almighty KING OF KINGS. Scorn and thorns. Scorn and
thorns. What a marvel. What a G R E A T MARVEL!
“We
will not have this man to reign over us.”
“This
is the heir, come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.”
That is the kind of battle that the creature does against his Creator. That is how full of hatred toward God, are the hearts of fallen, degenerate men. May God help you not to be one of them.
Almighty
God, please help me not to do battle against Thee. Help me not to rebel against
the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Help me to be most desirous for the Lord
Jesus Christ to rule and reign over me. Lord Jesus, help me not to covet what
is Thine. Help me to submit myself to Thee, for Thee to rule and reign over me,
I pray. I am Thine, O Lord Jesus. Please help me to live in obedience to Thee.
Amen.”
Starting with Eve’s disobedience, mankind has always treated his Creator with such scorn. And man will always do that as long as time, as we know it, goes on here on earth. The Creator’s remedy to this rebellion and blasphemy is the events recorded here in Revelation Chapter 19. This KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS is coming again in great glory and power to make war with and destroy all those who rebel against Him. “What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.” (Mark 12:9)
“Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20)
And as you fellow Christians live in obedience to your Creator, it is only natural that much scorn and many thorns will be heaped upon you. So don’t let that catch you off guard. Don’t be surprised by it. And most important of all, don’t be cowered by it. STAND UP FOR JESUS! Stand up for your wonderful Creator. Let your light shine. Let everyone know that you are on God’s side. God will be most pleased with you doing that and will greatly reward you for it.
How it firmly confirms my
belief in the truth and the power of the Word of God, to see the reaction of
degenerate men and women when I proclaim God’s Word out in public (out in the
world). Some people return the most vulgar gestures and the most vulgar
language they know. Scorn and thorns. They threaten me with violence.
They call the police to have them stop me, and such. Scorn and thorns.
And though this abuse and opposition is heaped upon me, it is directed at my Creator. I am just His little messenger boy. But because it is not handy for them to reach Him in the Third Heaven, and since I am handily within their reach, they gladly vent their wrath against God upon me.
God haters will also gladly vent their hatred for Him against you, when you glorify the KING OF KINGS in their presence. Each and every martyr since Abel is a testimony to this fact. So is every righteous person that has suffered persecution. “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (II Timothy 3:12)
Concerning this, God clearly commands us, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified…Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf…Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. (I Peter 4:12-14, 16,19)
Jesus also tells us, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” (Matthew 5:11&12)
Usually the enemy doesn’t get very upset by what you do for God inside the walls of your abode, or inside the walls of your church house. But when you go out and invade his territory (the world/public places), stand face-to-face with the enemy’s crowd, and there lift Jesus up as high as you possibly can; then in return for that, you certainly will get scorn and thorns. SCORN AND THORNS!
“Ye
are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick;
and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is
in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)
Christ, the Light of the World, shines God’s True Light into the hearts of all believers, and then calls us the light of the world. In this scripture, He commands us not to hide our light under a bushel basket, but rather to let it shine before men. I believe that, in general, the main ways we hide our light is to speak of God, sing praises to Him, and pray to Him only as “secretly” as possible, like only in our own house and at church. To let our light shine before men, is to speak of God and sing to Him in public, wear a “badge” with some of His Truth written on it, display Bible Truths on your car and house, pass out Christian literature, witness of God to others, and such. And when you glorify God by doing those things, you can expect scorn and thorns to come your way.
Presently, I have a little, part-time business, selling on the street in the mountain resort town of Karuizawa in central Japan. Along with my goods displayed on a little cart, I also put a Bible there for everyone to see. On seeing it, many people with scorn will say aloud, “A Bible.” “There’s a Bible.” “Why is a Bible out here?” They are so indignant about just looking upon a Bible out in public. Scorn and thorns. Scorn and thorns for the Author of the Bible.
On the end of my cart hangs a fairly large sign. On it in large print (in Japanese) is, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” With scorn, many read it aloud and some voice aloud their scornful reply.
“I won’t believe (on Christ),” stubbornly announced a middle-age woman. “Save that woman, Lord.”
“I want to go to Hell,”
proudly proclaimed a young woman about 20 years old. “Wake her up, Lord. Show her just how awful Hell really is, and give
her a repentant heart and cause her to repent and receive Thee as her Saviour.”
“Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you.” (Numbers 14: 28) So I am saying unto all of you who have cursed, blasphemed, and rejected this KING OF KINGS as your Ruler, and have boldly proclaimed that you will have no part of Him; then that is just what He is going to give you. He is going to give you just what you spoke into His Ears that you wanted, no part of Him. You will get none of His Glorious Inheritance. Instead, He is soon to return to this earth in person, to destroy you with that sword that comes out of His Mouth. And then He is going to cast you into eternal hell fire to be tormented in that fire without end. He is going to give you just what you have asked for. You have spoken most plainly into His Ears, and into the ears of all who will listen to you, that you will have no part of Him. So rest assured that you will get just what you ordered, NO PART OF HIM!
On the boxes of my goods and on the display stands where I sell my things, I have written several things about Christ. These short lines of Bible Truth get read aloud with scorn.
While attending the store, I preach. And more scorn comes my way when I do that. I am presently taking a short break from preaching, and writing the “rough” of this manuscript, by hand, on the back of used paper, while tending the store. I feel like Nehemiah’s workers rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem, working with one hand while holding a weapon of war in the other hand. Building and battling. Battling and building. Amen and Amen! What a blessed and glorious life. “Thank Thee, Lord Jesus!”
It takes some time to set up my display each morning. And coveting that time to preach, I do so by singing praises to God. All of these methods of lifting high the Saviour of the world receive plenty of scorn. Scorn and thorns. Scorn and thorns.
I have long known that the hearts of present-day Christ rejecters are no different from the hearts of those rejecters who tortured and killed Him 2,000 years ago. But seeing them again and again, heap scorn and thorns upon Him each and every time He is lifted up high in their presence, always reconfirms that fact to me. Also, it has taught me something else of grave importance to all of us. Each of us daily crowns this KING OF KINGS. We do so by the life we live each day. As children of the devil, each and every person who has not received Christ, crowns Him with scorn and thorns by their unregenerate lives. We, who are saved, born-again children of God, have the ability and privilege to daily crown this KING OF KINGS with a crown of GLORY. We do that by living in obedience to His Holy Word.
So we believers do not automatically crown Him with glory, just because we are saved children of His. When we deliberately spurn His commands and disobey Him, we too commit the awful, horrible act of crowning Him with scorn and thorns. How tragic.
So regrettable it is that Christians disobey God. And even more regrettable it is that many delight in doing so, and even more regrettable that many proclaim their disobedience to not be such, but rather to be a good thing. We see church people proudly proclaiming that their sin is not sin. They explain away clear, Biblical commands, rendering them meaningless. We cannot precisely discern which among these people are tares (children of the devil) and which are wheat (God’s children). But even among the wheat there are those who crucify Christ afresh, and crown Him with scorn and thorns by their sinful disobedience to Him. May God make us gravely aware of this important fact and give us more desire to be holy and perfect as He is. May He help us to love and obey Him with all our heart, thereby crowning Him daily with a crown of great glory. He is most worthy of that from us.
Listen to me now, as I tell you something most important. Just stop and think what God did when He wanted to manifest His Glory on the face of this earth. He created YOU. Of all the masses of small and great people on the face of this planet, not a one of them is any more important to God than you are. Almighty God loves you and cares about you just as much as He does anyone else. And no matter how insignificant a creature you may consider yourself to be, the crown you daily place upon His Precious Head is just as important to Him as the crown given to Him by any of the other 6 billion people on this globe. And no matter how lowly your estate may be, you stand on equal footing with everyone else in your ability to crown this KING OF KINGS with glory.
Meditate on that and let that truth sink deeply into your heart and mind. Each of us has this ability. Each of us has this privilege. And most important of all, each of us has this duty and responsibility. God has ordained it to be so. Therefore we have no choice about it. This crowning of the KING OF KINGS takes place daily in each and every human life, no matter how ignorant one may be of it. I am clearly serving you notice of that fact right now. So that henceforth, you are not ignorant of it, tho you may have been until now.
And if, by the grace of God, you can grasp the vast significance of this daily crowning that you perform, you can put an end to all such thoughts as, “I’m worthless. I’m not important. I’m accomplishing little or nothing. So why do I even exist?” You exist because daily this Mighty, Righteous, Holy KING OF KINGS delightfully awaits you crowning Him with Glory. And in no way does your lowly estate in this life handicap you in performing this great deed. Actually the opposite is true. Believe what the Bible teaches and what I have written in this book about how greatly God is glorified by us walking humbly before God and man. Believe God when He says that the least among us shall be the greatest. The most humble person crowns the Lord Jesus Christ with the greatest Glory. That is a great and marvelous truth. So do believe it, and rejoice in this most honourable privilege.
Constantly be aware that this crowning you do is a God ordained duty that you have no choice about opting out of it. And come Judgment Day, you will receive the just gain or loss derived from it. So it behooves us to live daily with this thought foremost in our minds, because Judgment Day is a certainty and it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Please live every day to crown Christ with Glory.
“Lord
Jesus, please help me to do just that. Please make me totally aware of this
most important duty that I have. Also, help me to rejoice in this most
wonderful privilege I have of daily crowning The KING OF KINGS with Glory. Help
me to fully believe that I am just as important to Thee as any other person is,
when it comes to performing this great act. Please help me to live in complete
obedience to Thee, thereby daily crowning Thee with Great Glory, I pray. Amen.”
Many years ago, there was a very godly shoemaker who did a good job of training the young lad who helped him. One day, that lad went into another shoe store and watched that store’s ungodly owner as he short cut time consuming and painstaking work that was necessary to make good, durable shoes. When the lad saw that, he told the wicked cheat how differently his own boss put in much more painstaking labor in making shoes. With his cunning grin, that ol’ sinner remarked about how easier his method was. Then he added; “And this way, they come back quicker.” (Repair would be needed sooner, meaning more filthy lucre for that money-loving reprobate.)
Likely the boy was somewhat stunned by the vast difference in the work of these two men and maybe perplexed as to how right or wrong each might have been. Anyway, he soon related to his own boss, what he had seen and heard at the other store. Knowing the importance of properly molding that young, formative mind, the godly shoemaker gave the boy a valuable talk on doing right. Among the several wise things he said, was one real gem. “When God judges me, I believe I will meet all the shoes I have made.” He believed that when he faces God on Judgment Day, he will see all his shoes lined up there; and God the Inspector Judge will then inspect and pass judgment on each shoe and reward him appropriately for his daily work done during this life.
That thought of his really impressed me. Knowing the Bible, I already knew that on Judgment Day, we will stand accountable for each idle word we have spoken (Matthew 12:36) and for each deed done in our body (II Corinthians 5:10) But when he said he believed all his shoes would appear with him at the Judgment Bar, more clearly did I realize the importance of each and every deed and act we do in this present life, no matter how small and insignificant we now consider those things to be. “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.” (Psalms 2:11)
Our daily life is filled with numerous, mundane and small tasks, which are boring to our fleshly nature. The lifestyle God ordained for us, tilling the soil, is especially noted for such tasks. So you must keep it foremost in mind that when you are tending a plot of vegetables, feeding the animals, milking, cleaning stables, cooking, canning food, cleaning house, washing dishes/clothes, and such; you are not just doing these things for your livelihood and your family’s. You are doing all these things for God’s Glory. You are doing them to crown the KING OF KINGS with a crown of Glory. Believe that and it should radically change your life. Believe that and you will become diligent in all you do.
“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (I Corinthians 10:31) “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” (Colossians 3:17 & 23) These three important verses of God’s Eternal Word should be one of the main guides in your daily life and every thought, word, and deed that you perform each day, should be formulated in regard to what God commands us in these three verses. Don’t ever forget that each individual thought, word, and deed that you do in this life is going to be judged by The All-Knowing God, Who is Holy, Righteous, and Perfect. Also, He commands us that we be holy and perfect.
“Heavenly
Father, please help me to be obedient to these commands of Thine, to do
everything unto Thee. Thou well knowest how that I get caught up in the rush of
my work and all the affairs that I must attend to each day, and therefore
forget that all the things I think and do, are to be done unto Thee. So please
help me to ever be aware of these important commands of Thine and help me to
obey them. How greatly my obedience to them would glorify Thee, and I desire to
do that. I pray this prayer for Brother Richard too. I also pray it for all
other Christians. Help us all, Lord, I pray. Amen.”
Monotony, boredom, sadness, and loneliness are some of the most common plagues that beset us in daily life. Victory over such things is won by believing the reality that as a believer, you daily have Christ with you as a Friend Who sticketh closer than a brother. So believe that, please. And the main goal of your each and every task, no matter how small or great, is to crown this greatest King with Glory. When you come to live in that reality, life ceases to be boring, lonely, sad, or monotonous. You can awake each morning in joyful anticipation of living together with this great King and in anticipation of the delightful privilege you have set before you of crowning this KING OF KINGS with Glory by each and every thing you do throughout the day.
This is the zenith of a fulfilled life. It is impossible for any thing else to put more meaning into your life, because this is exactly what you were created by God to do. So it is well past the time for you to cease living in the dull world of monotony, boredom, and loneliness, and live daily in the reality of this relationship of yours with the KING OF KINGS.
Christian parents, start drilling this truth into your children’s minds, that each day they crown King Jesus by all their thoughts, words, and deeds, whither good or bad. Thoroughly teach them how they can crown the Lord Jesus with great glory each day, though they are only children. Typically, children “naturally” consider themselves less important than adults. So in all truth and sincerity, explain to them that they stand on equal footing with adults in their ability to crown Jesus Christ with great glory. Many adults who read this message are likely to not get very excited about what I am preaching here. But you tell it to children, apply it to them personally, and watch how excited they get over the prospect of crowning King Jesus with great glory. From the very start of their lives, train them up to live to do that.
What an awesome and tragic sight it is, to see multitudes fervently worshipping self and other humans as idols. It is a bad enough sin for one to love self, a family member, or close friend, more than one loves God. But now-a-days, life-like moving pictures hold many people spell-bound for long hours as they watch their idol entertainers, stars, athletes, and other such false gods perform for the devil’s glory. Mobs will stand for hours (in the rain), waiting to get inside the place where their idol (person or team) is performing. Once inside, they go stark raving mad as those idols go all out to glorify humanity, or sin, or the devil.
The human creature is also noted for worshipping government rulers. The more “god-like” a politician can be, the more votes he will get. Therefore the politicians go all out to make themselves into a god by making the most promises of bettering the common person’s life, when only the True God can do that.
All of the earthly glory of all those vain creatures, worshipped and worshipper alike, is less than dung when compared to the Eternal Glory of the KING OF KINGS. But when you or I tell any of them they should repent of their creature worship and worship their Creator instead, usually they immediately hatefully spurn that invitation, crowning Christ anew with scorn and thorns. Scorn and thorns.
Therefore I take much delight in standing up for my King out in front of them, out in their domain (in public/in the world). How I love to highly lift Him up and exalt Him before all those who deem The Lord Jesus Christ to be worthy of nothing more than scorn and thorns. You should delight to do that also. And you should do it regularly, just as regularly as you do anything else.
“Lord
Jesus, please help me to do that. Help me to be proud of Thee. Help me to daily
exalt Thee in front of all the people around me. Help me to show them that I
delight to crown Thee with great glory. Please help me to glorify Thee. Amen.”
When I preach in public here in Japan, I do it in the Japanese language. Much of the time, I just read the Bible, because when I speak my own mind in Japanese, my speech is riddled with plenty of language mistakes. One of my favorite passages to read to the Japanese with all their idol gods, is Colossians 1:12-23, as it is so bright with the Glory of God the Son.
“(Christ) Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell.” (Colossians 1:15-19)
I try to wear out John 1:1-18 by repeatedly broadcasting the glory of God the Son in it, to everyone out in public. Look at just parts of that passage here. “All things were made by him: and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” (Verses 3-5) “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” (Verses 9-14)
I read to the Japanese out in public, the portions of the Gospels, Revelation, Psalms, Isaiah, and portions of other books in the Bible, that just overflow with the Glory of this KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Doing so always causes His joy to fill my entire being and overflow from me.
Fellow believers, stand up for the Lord Jesus! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Lift Him up as high as you can, before the devil’s crowd, waiting with their scorn and thorns. And the joy that you get from it will be unspeakable.
When these scoffers and scorners hear the Word preached out in public, most of them consider it so ridiculous. So they readily cackle out with that laugh that clearly means, “How ridiculous you are.” I believe they laugh that laugh of ridicule for three reasons. (1) They are so deceived by the devil that they truly believe God’s Everlasting Word to be ridiculous. (2) They are trying to fully and completely convince themselves that it is ridiculous and therefore they are safe in scorning it. (3) They hope their ridicule will make me ashamed of God’s Precious Word, so I’ll cease proclaiming it. (Dream on, dreamer, dream on.)
I never cease to marvel at the “greatness” of those people in group one. The devil is a master deceiver and he finds a most willing crew to work with, when he comes to fallen men and tells them that they are gods totally in control of their own fate. When on Guam back about 1980, I saw a large poster in a post office there. On it was a picture of a man who looked as if he considered himself a god. Also on the poster was written a short saying about life’s struggle, likely authored by him. That writing ended with something like, “No matter what may come, I am master of my fate.”
So there we have another big lie that is a main theme song of man who has risen up to be like the Most High God. “I am in complete control of my life, now and forever.” So when I try to tell such people of the eternal lake of fire that awaits all Christ rejecters, that is so ridiculous to them. Tell them of the Saviour Who poured out His Life’s blood to provide salvation for them, and Who readily waits to save them from perishing; and it is so ridiculous to them to think they could possibly have any need of Him. What pitiful creatures they are, proudly headed for an eternal Hell. “Lord, please have mercy on them and bring them to a saving knowledge of Thee.”
Those in the second group, who laugh with ridicule to try to convince themselves that there is no possibility of them perishing in Hell, sure do have their work cut out for them. Likely they hope their laughing ridicule will silence me, as that alone would help them breathe easier, not having to hear God’s Eternal Word that is alive and as sharp as a two-edged sword, piercing to the heart of their conscience and raising scary doubts about it being safe for them to live in opposition to God.
But God forbid that I should ever be silenced or cowered by them. That’s because that crown of scorn and thorns placed on Jesus’ Head before His crucifixion was for ME. It opened up the way for me to be saved from the everlasting punishment of my sins and enter into the eternal glory of God’s Heaven. It opened up the way for me to be changed from a child of the devil into a child of God, from one who daily crowns the KING OF KINGS with scorn and thorns to one who crowns Him with Glory, therefore reaping the overflowing blessings and joy that come from it.
Had this KING OF KINGS refused to endure that crown of scorn and thorns for me, that would have sealed my doom. I would have been hopelessly lost, with no remedy or way to escape eternal damnation. How I love Christ for willingly enduring that crown of scorn and thorns just for my sake, because He loves me so much. Therefore I want to exalt my Lord Jesus and lift Him up as highly as possible before the scoffers and let them know just exactly what I think of Him and how much I love my Lord Jesus Who is my ALL.
Many of the scorners just love to give me the look, “You must be kidding. Surely no one could seriously believe what you are proclaiming.” So as their laughter of ridicule and scorn peels forth, I fix my eyes right on their scoffing faces as I sing or preach. And I let them know by my countenance that I am just as serious about crowning the KING OF KINGS with Glory, as anyone can possibly be about anything they do.
My stern looks send a ripple of fear through a few of them, causing them to mutter under their breath, “That’s scary.” But they do not yet know what true fear is. On Judgment Day, when they see the KING OF KINGS’ Eyes as a flame of fire, looking down on them in Holy condemnation; then they will know what is truly fearful. At Christ’s Judgment Bar, they will meet every sin they have committed during this life, including the numerous crowns of scorn and thorns they daily shoved down upon the High and Holy Head of this KING OF KINGS. Right now, you Christ rejecters cannot possibly fathom the deep fear awaiting you on Judgment Day. I warn you, you had better repent now and receive Christ.
Meanwhile, I do my best to warn the scoffers of how fearful it will be for them, when they meet this KING OF KINGS Face-to-face and receive their eternal punishment for having lived a life of crowning Him with scorn and thorns. I would love to see all of them repent and do right. But I can’t force any person to change their will and mind. The only person whose volition I can control is my own. Neither can you force others to do right. But you certainly can decide for your own self, that you will live to crown your Creator with Glory. So I urge you to please make that commitment to Him now.
“Lord
Jesus, please help me to do just that. Make me ever aware of this daily
privilege and duty I have, to crown Thee with Glory by my actions and words.
And no matter how many other people choose to crown Thee with scorn and thorns,
I beg Thee, by Thy Great Power; help me to constantly, daily crown Thee with
great Glory. Amen.”
In this end-time age, there is such a deluge of evil speech by many people both small and great, calling good evil, and evil good, praising the evil and condemning the just. It is so appalling to see and the enormous volume of it tends to overwhelm us at times, causing us to feel powerless against it. When you feel that way, remember; “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) So let your light shine! Glorify your precious KING OF KINGS! God forbid that you do nothing because you feel what little you could do would be too small to matter. If we believers will each do our individual part to glorify our Creator, how great the sum total of that glory will be. Stand up and speak up!
And when you speak up for this Great KING OF KINGS, be sure to name His Name loudly and often so that all who hear you will know exactly Who the One True God and this Great KING OF KINGS is. His Name, of course, is The Lord Jesus Christ. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, is the True God, and eternal life. (I John 5:20)
“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10&ll) God the Father hath highly exalted the Son and given Him a Name that is above all names. In the universal language of our present-day world, that Name is Jesus Christ.
So, my fellow Christian believer, don’t ever be ashamed of the Name, Jesus Christ, as now-a-days, more and more people are becoming afraid to say that name, and the powers- to-be forbid it being mentioned. A Christian friend of mine in the U.S. who takes Bibles to schools to give to the students, reports that lately there is an increase in the number of school authorities who refuse the Bibles. He reports that they are afraid of the Name of Jesus. You can see government leaders in several nations now, forbidding the Name of Jesus being mentioned in any government ceremony.
They will freely refer to “God” in a general generic sense, as all false religions have their false gods. Therefore, not so many people get upset when they hear the word “God.” But when you clearly proclaim that the Name of the One True God is The Lord Jesus Christ, then you make most of the devil’s crowd boiling mad, and that is a big crowd. But don’t fear them and don’t be cowered by them. Stand up, speak up, and sing out for your Greatest KING OF KINGS, by clearly naming His Name, the Lord Jesus Christ.
When the devil sends a group of his servants called Jehovah Witnesses my way, I just love to tell them that The Lord Jesus Christ is Jehovah God. How those liars detest hearing that truth. Most of the cults that fly under the flag of Christianity, deny the deity of God the Son, Jesus Christ. So I greatly delight in proclaiming the Name of God the Son, this Great KING OF KINGS. I delight in calling Him The Lord Jesus Christ, as He is The One True Lord. I capitalize the “T” in “The” doing all I can to lift Him as highly as possible and crown Him with the greatest Glory possible, as He is most worthy of that. You do the same too, please.
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“Vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” Pay attention as wise King Solomon repeats that to us throughout Ecclesiastes. And the older one gets, the more clearly the reality of that fact hits home to the mind. How the glitter and glamour of the things of the world rapidly fade as one’s earthly life draws toward an end. But oh so much brighter and glorious are the sunset years of the life that has been lived to crown the KING OF KINGS with glory. Live for that eternal glory. Live to serve this great King Who created you. Live to daily place a crown of great glory upon His Head. You will never regret doing that with your short life here on the earth.
To enter into this eternal glory, you must start by repenting. Repent of living for self and for the pleasures of sin. Repent of having rejected this KING OF KINGS as Ruler of your life. Ask Christ to cleanse you from your sin, by His shed blood. Put your trust in The Lord Jesus Christ to save you, and receive Him into your life as your Saviour, Lord, and King. If you have never done that before, then please do it now by praying aloud this prayer.
“Almighty
God, I now repent to Thee of my sins. I acknowledge that I have sinned against
God and against other people. And now I want to repent of that. I repent of
living for my own pleasure and for sinful and worldly pleasures instead of
living for Thee, my Creator. I repent of having thus far rejected The Lord
Jesus Christ as Saviour, Lord, and Ruler of my life. I now realize that by
having constantly rejected Christ, I have daily crowned Him with scorn and
thorns. I now deeply regret having done that and I sincerely repent of it with
great remorse. Heavenly Father, I now therefore ask Thee to have mercy on me
and forgive me of it. Lord Jesus, I ask Thee also, to have mercy on me and
forgive me for having committed the terrible sin of crowning Thee with scorn
and thorns. Please cleanse me from all my many sins by Thy shed blood. I now
put my trust in Thee, Lord Jesus, as My God, My Saviour, My Lord, My King, and
Ruler of my life. Please come into my life to rule it and make me into a new
creature, a child of the One True God. I thank Thee, O God, for hearing this
prayer of mine. Please give me assurance in my heart now, that Thou hast heard
and answered this prayer of mine. Thank Thee, O Lord. Amen.”
Love this KING OF KINGS with all your heart, as He commands us to do. Daily read the Bible, God’s Guidebook for our lives. Always ask God to have the Holy Spirit teach you the meaning of the Bible as you read it and ask him to help you to completely understand it and obey it. With God as your Almighty Helper, daily do your utmost to live in obedience to His Holy Word, thereby crowning God your Creator with great Glory. Then when Christ comes back to this earth, riding that great white horse, you will be most glad for each and every effort you put forth to glorify Him.
Why should we do our utmost to be pleasing to this KING OF KINGS? Because He is ever so worthy. “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.” (Revelation 5:12-14) This Great KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS is ever so worthy of our all. So it is best for you to give Him your all.
“Heavenly
Father, please help me to love Thee with all my heart, mind, soul, and
strength. Teach me how to do that. Help me to daily read Thy Holy Bible and
obey it. As I read it, please teach me the meaning of what I read and show me
how to put that into practice in my life. Please give me Thy Perfect Wisdom,
Perfect Knowledge, and Perfect Understanding of Thy many laws in the Bible and
create within my heart a perfect desire to obey them all. Lord Jesus, I now
confess aloud with my voice that Thou art The KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS,
God the Son, The Son of God, and the One and Only True God. I desire to
completely make Thee all those things in my life. So by Thy Unlimited Power,
please enable me to do that. Please keep me from ever again crowning Thee with
scorn and thorns. Please help me to daily crown Thee with a crown of great
glory by every deed and thought of mine. I acknowledge that Thou art my Creator
and therefore art most worthy of everything Thou desirest of me. So please make
my will one with Thy Will and help me and enable me to totally comply with Thy
will for my life. I beg Thee to destroy all my selfish desires and give me a
burning desire to live for Thy Pleasure alone. Lord Jesus, please reveal to me
Thy Great Glory and show me just how worthy Thou art of my all. I now confess
that Thou art truly most worthy of my total commitment to Thee. So please help
me to give Thee my all and live my life in total obedience to Thee. All these
things, I humbly beg of Thee. Thank Thee for hearing and answering this prayer
of mine. Thank Thee for helping me. Amen.”
In our present state, we cannot begin to fathom the rich depth of the fact that Almighty God took on human flesh, lived on this earth as the most humble and lowly Human Being there has ever been. And in the end of that life here on earth, God the Son silently endured all the pain and shame of rebellious mankind’s scorn and thorns as they tortured Him in the most painful ways possible when they murdered Him.
The Lord Jesus Christ willingly endured all that pain for you. God the Son willingly gave His life as a sacrifice for you, to give you a chance to share in His Eternal glory, if you desire to do so. No one else has ever done such a great thing for you. And no one else ever will do such a marvelous deed for you. Stop and consider just how much The Lord Jesus Christ loves you in that He gladly endured that scorn and those thorns for your sake, to provide a way for you to escape the eternal punishment of your sins in Hell fire. So won’t you repent, believe on Christ, receive Him into your heart and life, love Him with all your heart, and live daily to crown Him with Glory?
“Heavenly Father, as I prayed those previous two prayers that Brother Richard wrote out here, I meant every word of it. As best I know my heart, I truly repented of my sins and I trusted in Christ to save me. So I now totally open my heart wide open to Thee, God my Creator. Please come into my heart and destroy all the powers of the devil, demons, sin, and human flesh that are at work within me. Please take complete control of my life. By Thy Power, please keep me constantly in the center of Thy Will. Please give me a greater love and zeal for Thee than anyone else has. Please help me to daily crown Thee with a crown of Greatest Glory. Help my every thought and deed to greatly glorify Thee. Convince me that it is just as possible for me to be the greatest Christian on earth, as it is for any other person to be. Why should it be thought incredible that I can glorify Thee more than anyone else? Please help me to make it the goal of my life to do that. Please help my eye to be single and help me to keep my eye on Thee and Thee alone. Help me to always set the most high and most noble goals for my life, knowing that with Thee, all things are possible. Please perfect strong faith in me so that my life may be totally pleasing to Thee and greatly glorify Thee. Please grant all these requests of mine for Thy Great Name’s Sake, Lord God, I most humbly pray. Amen.”
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“Hast thou given the horse strength? Hast thou clothed his neck with thunder? Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? The glory of his nostrils is terrible. He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men. He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword. The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield. He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting. (Job 39:19-25)
“He paweth in the valley.”
We had horses on the farm when I was growing up. And I recall watching them, as they would paw the ground occasionally, as they grazed in the pasture. Even if you haven’t been around horses, likely you have seen in a moving picture, a mighty horse running free in nature, stopping to paw the ground, raking one front paw backward across the ground a few times. It is a majestic sight of a beautiful and powerful creature made by God.
“He paweth in the valley.”
Do you know what a horse means by pawing? He is signaling that he is ready and waiting for action. Note here in Job 39 what a warrior the horse is. And of course, our Lord, This KING OF KINGS, is a Man of War. (Exodus 15:3)
“He paweth in the valley.”
As you daily go about crowning this KING OF KINGS in the manner you have chosen to do, likely, right now in a beautiful green valley up there in Heaven, just outside of the Celestial City, that large white stallion stands in his majesty and glory. He is the War Horse of all war horses. And he is pawing in the valley. By doing so, he is saying, “I am ready and waiting for action. I am ready and waiting to go to war.”
“He paweth in the valley.”
Meanwhile, Gabriel is
getting his horn all polished up, getting ready to blow that great last trump
at the soon coming time prescribed by God the Father. And when Gabriel blows
that final trump, The KING OF KINGS is going to mount that Great White Steed,
that War Stallion, and come riding on Horseback in all His Great Glory to this
earth. This King is then going to put all His enemies under His Feet, making
them His footstool. He is returning to totally defeat His archenemy the devil,
who is “the prince of this world,” “the prince of the
power of the air,” “a king over all the children of pride.”
And if you are a Christ rejecter, you are one of His enemies. You are one of these children of pride, because you are a child of the devil. Therefore this KING OF KINGS is returning to end your sinful life on this earth and send you to the eternal punishment of your sins in never-ending Hell fire. “For I am a great King, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.” (Malachi 1:14) This KING OF KINGS is soon to return to this earth in all of God’s Power, riding that white horse. And at that time, every one of you who has lived in rebellion to Him and have lived to crown Him daily with scorn and thorns, will instantly come to know just how dreadful that Name is, as He quickly destroys you. “The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.” (Psalms 110:5&6) Not one of His enemies will escape the great wrath of this KING OF KINGS. If you don’t repent to Him now and start obeying Him now, He is soon to make your worthless carcass a meal for the buzzards.
My fellow believers in Christ, as we joyfully look forward to our Great King returning to this earth for us, let us ever be mindful of His words to us in II Thessalonians Chapter I. “Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe.” Let all of us believers rejoice in that this KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS return to this earth is drawing ever so near. Amen and AMEN!
And when He does return, you are personally going to meet This KING OF KINGS Face-to-face and look directly into those Eyes of Flaming fire. You will see those diamond-shaped scars in His Hands and Feet, left by the nails which pierced them. You will see the scars on His Brow left by those thorns when wicked men crowned Him with scorn and thorns.
And you will have the privilege of personally addressing This KING OF KINGS and telling Him just why you daily crowned Him in the manner you did. You will have all the time you want, to explain to The Lord Jesus Christ in person, just why you treated Him as you did during this life. So it would be a good idea to start preparing your Judgment Day speech to Him right now. Actually, I expect each of us to be totally silent before Christ on Judgment Day. So why don’t you just go ahead right now, and tell This KING OF KINGS just exactly why you crown Him the way you do. He is listening to you, and is most desirous to hear your reason for treating Him the way you do.
Each day that passes, each of the six billion human creatures on this globe crown their Creator, This Greatest KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Most people crown Christ with a crown of scorn and thorns. A few people crown the Lord Jesus with a crown of Great Glory.
So, what about you? Just exactly what kind of crown do you daily place upon the Precious Head of this Great KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS Who is Almighty God Himself???
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“Lord Jesus, I proudly and joyfully confess to all Thy
universe, that Thou art my Saviour, my God, my KING OF KINGS, my LORD OF LORDS,
and my ALL. Thou art most precious to me, Lord Jesus. The time I have spent
writing this message has been such intimate and precious fellowship with Thee.
And how I praise Thee for it.
Lord, Thou hast made me fully aware that when I disobey
Thee, by doing so I place a crown of scorn and thorns upon Thy Precious Brow.
It hurts me so to know that I do that. And I am most sorry that I do. Please
forgive me for treating Thee so. Please help me to do better. Please help me to
always obey Thee and thereby always crown Thee with great glory.
Heavenly Father, please deal with many people to read
this sermon. And when Christ rejecters read it, smite their hearts with
powerful, irresistible conviction over the terrible sin they are committing by
daily crowning The KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS with scorn and thorns.
Destroy the devil’s power in their hearts and set them free from him. Grant
them great remorse for their wicked deeds and grant them repentance please.
Save all of them, and change them into children of God who will start daily
crowning Thee with a crown of Great Glory. Please do that, Father, I pray.
Heavenly Father, I also pray for my Christian brothers
and sisters who read this sermon. Stir up a desire in each of their hearts to
be the person who crowns Thee with the greatest glory today, and each day from
henceforth. May The KING OF KINGS now become more dear and more precious to
each of them, and more highly exalted in their sight, than He has ever been
before. Please make this sermon a source of much more glory to Thee, glory that
comes from each of Thy redeemed who read it.
Please look on me with favor, Heavenly Father, and grant
these requests of mine, I humbly pray. Amen.”
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If you were already a
Christian before reading this sermon, likely you are now desirous to pray to
your KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS along the lines of this following prayer.
“Lord
Jesus, I thank Thee that long ago, Thou madest me into a child of The King. I
am so thankful that I know Thee as my Saviour, my Lord, my God, and my King. I
now thank Thee for the content of this sermon and for it exalting Thee higher
in my sight and making Thee more precious to me. I thank Thee for being willing
to receive that crown of scorn and thorns for my sake, taking the punishment of
my sins to provide a way of salvation for me. I thank Thee for making me aware
of the fact that each day I place a crown upon Thy Head. Each time I crown
Thee, Lord Jesus, I so much want it to be a crown of Great Glory. So please
help me to make it that.
Lord
Jesus, Thou well knowest the life I have lived since becoming a Christian. Thou
knowest all the times I have been careless. Thou knowest which commands of
Thine I spurn and disobey for my own convenience, selfish will, and pleasure.
Thou knowest how lightly I treat Thy Holy Word at times. I am now well aware
that I crown Thee with scorn and thorns each time I sin against Thee. Please
break my heart over that and grant me much remorse and true repentance
concerning it. By Thy Great Power, change me. Help me to forsake all my
careless and indifferent ways. Please help me to truly love Thee with all my
heart and be the person who crowns Thee with the greatest glory each day. May
each and every deed that I do, be done as unto Thee.
Heavenly
Father, please help Brother Richard to love Thee with all his heart and daily
crown Thee with glory. Please give him victory over sin in his life and enable
him to be totally pleasing to Thee. Please give him many sermons like this that
will glorify Thee. Please help him in his battle against pride and help him to
be humble. Please fight his battles for him as the enemy tries to destroy him
and the missionary work that he is doing. Please give him victory and help him
to overcome sin, the flesh, and the devil. Please give him a great harvest of
souls there in Japan.
Please
deal with many people to read this sermon. Save the lost souls who read it and
change all the Christians who read it into fervent and zealous Christians. Lord
God, please hear this earnest prayer of mine and grant these requests, I most
humbly pray. I graciously thank Thee, Lord. Amen.”
(This is the end of the sermon KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. May it greatly glorify our God of Great Glory.)
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