To any who would like a picture of Christ as Warrior King. The flip side to Jesus as "Lover"?? (reference to another Thread)It is long...it is not professional. It is from my heart.I.\tBEHOLD! THE KING“THE LORD IS A WARRIOR, THE LORD IS HIS NAME!” Exodus 15:4A.\tGOAL: In the age we as humans find ourselves in, it is mandatory that we proclaim that Jesus Christ is King of All and will soon be revealed as such. MAIN SCRIPTURE:“The Lord shall reign forever and ever.” Exodus 15:18“The Lord shall reign forever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord.” Psalms 146:10“And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1:33“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.” Revelations 11: 15“And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and ever.” revelations 22:5B.\tChrist is The King and will reign forever and ever. 1.\tThink about the dynamics of what this means.2.\tWe in the west have limited knowledge of a monarchy…it will be a rule by a king that has absolute power…no democracy: where the “wisdom” of popular opinion turns the laws of right and wrong upside down as so evident in our culture…. it will be non-compromising.3.\tEverlasting…this in itself is overwhelming to the human intellect…first to consider that there will be an eternity…that is “a state of being without end”….second that their will be one king on the throne forever. 4.\tThis kingdom will be a monarchy with the Literal God-Man as King…a true Theocracy put into terms that will be understood by the most simple of men--Bow to the King or you will not be of the Kingdom…the time for this submission is now….you and I make the choice in the present fully impacting our future when the King returns….so quite literally; this day you are of the Kingdom or you are not…if there is one listening who has not made the distinction of allegiance…how long will you procrastinate on making the decision…the gamble is for nothing less than eternal happiness or eternal hell….what are the odds you will be breathing tomorrow? will you decide then? What are the odds you will be alive next year….will you have decided? ----it is the question of this age as it has been the question of all ages for all men….Who is your King----Friend or Foe?C.\tCHRIST IN THE U.S.A “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:161.\tChrist as savior is the predominant view we as Christians in the west look at Jesus as personifying. This is a true and accurate picture of the Lord. But it is simplistic and abused to fit the evil desires of the human heart which we will look at shortly. 2.\tGreat deception based on the abuse seeps into the Body causing us to think all is well when in fact things are not.a.\tRampant sin amidst the body of Christ: statistics are shown to put those confessing “the Faith” on par with non-believers in regards to divorce, abortion. These two issues alone are huge and give evidence that the “Christians” view of God is that he is “loving and tolerant” of all that is done….having the one sided view that God is the Savior of Humanity.b.\tLacking the perspective of Jesus as King and Judge allows for humans to justify all their deeds under the blanket of “love”….over time this God of Love has in fact become the god of nothing….a myth or tale to make one feel good about the life one leads, believing that at the end this god will save you and bring you to heaven to live happily ever after…floating around on a cloud…served by fat little angels flying around taking care of our every wish.C. By keeping our eyes closed to the fact that he is King and Judge also; we have persuaded ourselves into thinking we owe no allegiance to anyone…and that we can do whatever we want….as long as we keep a façade of religious terms and actions moving in our lives we comfort ourselves when the reality of life comes crushing in at times….i.e. divorce, death, job loss, financial problems…becoming quite stoic…never realizing they are Gods attempt to break in…to get you to look at Him rather than the circumstance…building an intimacy—a relationship with the King now on earth so that when the King comes we will not only recognize Him but will act as His forerunners; as in the days of old when the subjects of a King heralded his arrival to all. D.\tChrist and the M-1 Tank----commonalities? (personal experience related...I give away my intelligence or lack there of by admitting I was a Tanker:))1. picture a brand new M-1 tank….most have at least seen one on the news….very masculine looking, powerful…edgy, exciting to see in a picture (at least for a guy) even more commanding up close in actual physical proximity on a military base. Looking at this tank…perceiving it is on your side is comforting, gives a sense of ease, pride, even peace to some extent….a savior so to speak. (stretch your thinking to get this picture) 2.\tActually being commissioned to command one of these tanks goes beyond the “viewing” and into the realm of “knowing”, something more than one can gather by merely looking. All of a sudden you become aware of the power as the jet turbine engine roars to life and you feel the 1000’s of horsepower being generated, then rolling this 50 plus ton of metal out into a field up over terrain you would struggle to climb on gives a sense of ability….now thundering along say at 40 miles an hour (fifty tons mind you---about 25 cars worth of weight) you have the loader throw a 50 lb armor piercing bullet into the chamber of a 15 foot cannon….you aim this cannon at a vehicle close to a mile away that is moving in the opposite direction at a higher speed than you and press an engagement button which locks a laser sight onto the target; you yell “FIRE” and a thunderous impact, ear shattering noise and billows of smoke hit you all at once. At the same time you see the target blow up before your eyes. This can now move you beyond observance of something you think is your salvation to awe and wonder that there is something this powerful within your grasp….something deserving much reverence and respect……something a KING might command if you know Him in this way.3.\tNow we move to the next step in our analogy…..we move to the subject of Judge…..hopefully I am communicating and you can see where I am going at this point. If you are on the receiving end of the bullet shot from this weapon you understand that you are being judged …..Judged in the sense that if you are not protected by something more powerful than the devastation that is traveling to you at a speed you cannot break free from…..you will be destroyed. 4.\tThis then is the plight of the western church at large…..we think of the Lord as our protector our salvation as if looking and observing is all that is needed….we refuse to be “commissioned“…not jumping in to see that the King is Good and worthy to be praised….the awesome power of the Lord should bring a fear and reverence, a wisdom to pronounce Him King. \t\t\t “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” prov.1:7 5.\tThe tragedy hits when we realize that it is too late to pronounce Him King but are now watching the “bullet of judgment” speed towards us not protected by the Blood of the Lamb in fact, some will face this day never knowing the Jesus of the Bible only the Jesus of the times…..times that dictate a fictitious Jesus… one made impotent and weak. II.\tTHE TIME IS NEAR“And in the morning, it will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” Matthew 16:3A.\tHypocrites then: Hypocrites now.1.\t If we indeed in the western church are seeing Jesus only in this one dimension; as savior only, then we, based on the symptoms manifested from this pretense, immediately fall subject to the hypocrites chastised in Matthew 16:3. We lack the discernment to see that the times are near: the session “Jesus and His Return” will get more into specifics, but the point of being hypocrites as a Body is evident in these (following) and many other traits:\t2.\tJudging others while we continue to walk in sin before the Lord, i.e. look at the church up the road and speak against them yet what sacrifice of Love have we offered to them…walk past the neighbor in need saying “be blessed” and yet we don’t take time to listen, qualify and then act upon their need. How often in the church we speak the words, raise our hands, acting the walk out, but truly not walking the walk. We expect the signs and wonders of the 1st century church but we refuse to walk in the community exemplified within that period….not ever really looking at how they lived as actually being the catalyst to the signs and wonders.“A brother or sister in Christ might need clothes or food. If you say to that person, “God be with you! I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat,” but you do not give what that person needs; your words are worth nothing.” James 2:15“The group of believers were united in their hearts and spirit. All those in the group acted as though their private property belonged to everyone in the group. (In fact, they shared EVERYTHING!”--- then and possibly because of? this happened—)“With great power the apostles were telling people that the Lord Jesus was truly raised from the dead. And God blessed all the believers very much. No one in the group needed anything. From time to time those who owned fields or houses sold them, brought the money, and gave it to the apostles. Then the money was given to anyone who needed it.” Acts 4:32-35a.\tHypocrisy within the Church is deeply ingrained in traditions and carries over to the individuals family’s and personal lives…..the system of community broke quickly after the first century church never to be regained in any large scale within the body. 3.\tFrom the Body at large to the individual within this body we can gauge not if, but how much hypocrisy runs deep within us by three areas of our lives: thoughts, time and resources.a.\twithin our thought life we birth the words of our mouth and actions of our hands……only one of two possibilities exist we either create goodness by our thoughts and this only by the leading of the Holy Spirit or we create death by sin…..these words from Jesus.“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil.” Luke 6:45“And he said, that which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, follishness: All these things come from within, and defile the man.”b.\t Where we spend our time and what we are doing with that time dictates to who are allegiance really lies. America is the nation of ease, entertainment, and wealth. we as Christians suffer from “the chameleon complex” where we blend in to our surroundings so well that we cannot be told apart from those around us…..we have the same houses as those within our income levels, we visit the same restaurants and movie theatres, we generally go to the same schools, careful to not stir up trouble by critiquing what is taught. We spend the same amount of effort if not more in gaining ground within our places of employment or personally owned business….believing the lie (consciously or sub-consciously) that he who dies with the most, the best of this world wins…..when do we give to God the time he is worthy of and indeed commands in order to know Him?...we contrive sermons of convenience to give to those who have only 45 minutes on Sunday morning to offer the King of Kings….we glibly assume it is enough….not even searching His heart but there only to be relieved of the constant nagging in the back of a thinking mans mind….the ticking of time and the shallowness of the life led.c.\tthat which we put our hands to with the time we have yields the resources we end up with…..with the resources, we choose in fact what we worship…..again we say we are Christians and do what the Bible says….tithes are but one gauge of where our resources are going….according to statistics those claiming to be Christians give somewhere between 2 and 4% of their earnings to the church…..this is a high estimate and used because I cannot quote where the lower estimate of only 1-2% is given. This in itself clearly defines the fact that we do not support the Faith which we claim to adhere to. Moving from this example of neglect we move to the corporate body or actual Church structure to view what is done with the limited funds it receives from the congregations….could the example set be instrumental in the neglect shown by the congregants? We see churches with hidden financial reporting….who is it being hid from?....certainly not God and if God sees this report, should there be any fear in showing dollar by dollar breakdown of where the funds that are in fact given to God going? Where is the community? Could it be that the funds are being used in a way that would shame the name of God, to buy a bigger steeple, to put more stained glass windows in….to purchase a bigger sound system? What accountability before God does the church have in spending the money given in His name? What of the churches bent on increasing numbers at any cost? those spending money advertising, making the church comfortable so that when people come they will think it pleasant as they hear consoling messages of peace, safety and prosperity.B.\tHaving made a case for hypocrisy within the church; where does this put us in relation to “knowing the signs of the times” and the return of the King?a.\tAcknowledging that we can look out the window and based upon what we see we discern what the weather will be like. The analogy is made that we must be aware of the signs of the times in order to know how close we are to the Kings return. In a later message “eschatology and the beauty of Christ at the end of the age” we will discuss in depth what these signs look like, the intensity and frequency in which they are happening, and the resulting actions that will transpire because of the time we live in. For now, looking at Christ as King, the information which will convey the urgency of the now in relation to Christ’s coming need not be detailed. For the sake of argument let’s assume we are in the time period that is close to the return. How we look at Christ now while we have a choice is detrimental to how we will see him when he comes as King to Reign…will he be the savior the church so often romanticizes him to be or the Righteous Judge judging the nations, forcing the non-bent knee to bow.b.\tWe have become blinded to the Christ, Blinded to the position of King and blinded to the signs of the time. The Bible expressly gives information relating to the end time and how to know if you are in them...also information to the fact that Christ is not only Messiah but also King of Kings. The consequence of this blindness will ultimately put this group (the group of “believers” that claim Christianity as theirs making up some 70-80% of the United States) and others around the world at jeopardy of having the king come not as the Bridegroom but as a Judge executing the death penalty. God help us come out of our stupor and wake up to the fact that The End of the Age stage has been set and the King is Coming. The forerunners are gathering through out the world….gaining the intimacy needed, the passion and fire of the Holy Spirit with which martyrdom may become the end of a means. The Alarm will sound and the ensuing Battle will fuel others in the Body to stand up and be counted or to stay on the fence waiting for the day when the choice will be made for them....when the King will no longer be known as Savior but as Judge. This verse speaks to the actual day when the choice will no more be in the hands of the people….it will be too late and the Day of Judgment upon them.“Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.” Joel 3:14\t\t III.\t THIS IS THE STATE OF THE NATIONS—PSALMS 2A.\tREBELLION OF MANS’ HEART MANIFESTEDWhy do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing?The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed,saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. Psalms 2:1-3\t\t\t\t1.\tThese verses speak to the gentile nations bringing to light the anger in their hearts instigating them to imagine there is none above them. 2.\tThe wisdom of man is to believe the lie within their heart that takes false comfort in counsel amongst themselves to speak against the Lord and his anointed.3.\tThe goal of this rebellion is to “break free” from the rules and attributes of God, and to untangle the cords that hold them in check. (cords that hold some sense of order and moral law...without which Hell will be on earth.)4.\tAll nations in the age which scripture was written were considered Heathen…..Jewish nation set apart.\t\t 5.\tThis is a two part prophesy….speaking to the nations of the day….but equally to the day in which we live. David’s reign is a smaller example…a type of Christ’s’ reign to come….with this in mind the nations speaking against God were in that day speaking against His rule as manifested by David’s reign.6.\tNations now are in a situation of having the ability to be “within the fold” (of Israel) so to speak…verses now speak to nations having no excuse to speaking against God…being able to enter in rather than be excluded based on their nationality.. “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life: but unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrightousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first and also of the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile . For there is no respect of persons with God. Romans 2:5“For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." 7.\tAs the end of this age comes to a close….nations will become and people will become more openly in rebellion to God and angered at his statutes and anointed representatives. Reference: 2 Timothy 3:1-5 “Remember this! In the last days there will be many troubles, because people will love themselves, love money, brag, and be proud. They will say evil things against others and will not obey their parents or be thankful or be the kind of people God wants. They will not love others, will refuse to forgive, will gossip, and will not control themselves. They will be cruel, will hate what is good, will turn against their friends, and will do foolish things without thinking. They will be conceited, will love pleasure instead of God, and will act as if they serve God but will not have his power. Stay away from those people. B.\tLAUGHTER FROM HEAVEN“The one enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, “I have installed (anointed) my King on Zion, my holy hill.” Psalm 2:4-61.\tConfirming that this speaks of Jesus: Prophetic Zachariah 9:8-10 then fulfilled Matthew 21:5“Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His Rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. Zechariah 9:8-10“Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” Matthew 21:52.\tAs man challenged and continues to challenge the sovereignty of the King; HE LAUGHS! a.\tThe wisdom of man has created an image of God as though he is not significant anymore…..based on the perceived lack of divine involvement….this speaks to mans ignorance and short memory…disbelief of the many and powerful times God visibly (meaning even in our dullness can recognize) became involved in the world. Look at but one such example:“As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the, with their households and all Korah’s men and all their possessions. They went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community.” Numbers 16:31-33b.\tIf you turn to Numbers 16 and see this great display of Gods’ power in context it is to his own people that this judgment falls…..they are well known community leaders who became insolent; grumbling against the fact that Moses and Aaron were set by God as their leaders….the outcome was fatal for those leaders and 250 followers….quick, decisive judgment against their attitudes. c.\tThroughout the Old Testament we see this over and over with no lasting remorse or repentance from man. This is the period that God uses law to show man his bent towards sin and away from Him….the new testament or period we live in now is a time when God uses grace to show that man is no more able seek Him in Liberty than they were during period of law. This is the time when the Holy Spirit lives within us declaring all things are now “legal” yet not all things are edifying. It is the time when if we are intimate with Jesus the God-King we can walk “freely” under His statutes….the Cross allows for this…even demands this of His followers. These acts of God in Judgment of mans sin quell the uprising only as long as man fears what has happened as soon as the generations and sometimes only years pass man goes back to his true characteristic which is open rebellion to God. (generally speaking though exceptions exist) Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. Romans 8:1-3 But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God). Also see Galatians 5:15-17 If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit. Galations 5:25d.\tThe point to this side track is that we whether “under the Law” or “under Grace” continually as a people treat God as though he were Clark Kent (expound on) who has lost his ability to become Superman. Imagine that we through our arrogance and short term memory believe that God is not looking, not listening, and not caring about the happenings on this Earth and particularly as it pertains to the USA (being in America). God is long suffering but the day is coming when He will be quick, decisive and bring judgment to those who claim to be His….just as he did the leaders in Moses’ assembly. He laughs from Heaven at the insolence shown Him through the ages and which has increased as the age comes to a close.e.\tProper view must be taken in order to maintain proper behavior….viewing God as the Eternal King, Savior, and Judge keeps in perspective our position before him. When we focus (keep our eyes on) Christ we can overcome our natural bent towards sin….but only if we view Him through these three characteristics properly defined. Intimacy within the context of each must be nurtured through spending time with Him, with His Word, and seeking the Holy Spirits guidance.“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. Collossians 3:16IV.\tJESUS THE WARRIOR KINGYou will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery." Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. Psalm 2:9-12A.\tSHOCK AND AWE—(context/speak to the Iraqi war...name of mission etc)—those shocked will be unbelievers (mostly people thinking they believed) …those awed will be believers.1.\tThese versus need to be internalized with all the might and revelation one can muster. The Jesus that came on a colt to offer salvation to this lost and dying world is soon coming with the power unshielded, glorified and majestic. There will be no time to decide then….it will have been chosen for you, by your life by the choices you make minute by minute within the short span of 70 years or so. 2.\tKings in relation to the Bible days were fierce warriors….to hold a kingdom meant to defend and conquer….in the verses I see no evidence that defense will be necessary only attack and shattering of those not falling under His rule. The “meek and weak” Jesus as portrayed by the western culture will finally be shown how apocryphal our thoughts are towards the Majestic Warrior King Jesus. “THE LORD IS A WARRIOR, THE LORD IS HIS NAME!” Exodus 15:4Isaiah 63:1-3 WHO IS this Who comes from Edom, with crimson-stained garments from Bozrah [in Edom]? This One Who is glorious in His apparel, striding triumphantly in the greatness of His might? It is I, [the One] Who speaks in righteousness [proclaiming vindication], mighty to save! Why is Your apparel splashed with red, and Your garments like the one who treads in the winepress? I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the peoples there was no one with Me. I trod them in My anger and trampled them in My wrath; and their lifeblood is sprinkled upon My garments, and I stained all My raiment. 3.\t Homage as expressed to a king is simply a public expression of honor and respect. At this time in history God will forcefully; for those not having chosen Christ as King demand that Jesus is shown the honor and respect due him….Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else. By myself have I sworn, the word is gone forth from my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Only in Jehovah, it is said of me, is righteousness and strength; even to him shall men come; and all they that were incensed against him shall be put to shame. Isaiah 45:22-24.\tIncensed against Him!, even at the end people will still be brash enough to be angry at God….still puffing their chest out in defiance the verse below aptly sums up the true state of our nations before God Almighty: Lowborn men are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie; if weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath. Psalm 62:95.\tTo Behold the Beauty of the King as the Age comes to a close is to understand this verse; Psalm 62:9.May the King show mercy and open our eyes.
