Have you ever wanted to be a King?
When our kids were in preschool they had this day at school where once a year all the kids would dress up. The girls loved this day because it was Prince & Princess Day. All the girls would wear their favorite Disney Princess dress. We had everyone from Cinderella to Snow White to Anna & Elsa. You name it. Pretty much every princess you could think of made an appearance that day.
The guys, this was a harder day for them. While every 3 & 4 year old girl has a princess dress, not every boy has a prince outfit. So the guys struggled a bit more. Some would come dressed as a knight in shining armor — this meant they could bring their plastic swords to school. Some would come dressed up as royalty — this meant they could wear a cape! But then some of the guys had parents who would stop by Burger King on the way into school & put that crown on their head so that they could come to school not just as a prince, but as a King!
When we’re in preschool, it’s fun to play dress up. But at some point, we all grow up. And then what happens to us is that we either want to have a king or be a king.
[Tweet “We all either want to have a king or be a king. #Jesus #makeJesusKing”]We All Want to know WHO is King
This is the way it’s always been. People have always wanted a king or queen, a leader to look to who can deliver the things that we really want most. This was no different for the people of God. If you remember how the story goes, from the beginning of time the people of God had never had a king other than God. But all that was about to change.
Up to this point in the story, God had used people like Moses & Joshua to lead his people. He had used judges like Deborah & Gideon. But everyone always knew that God was in charge. Now, God had raised up another prophet for his people. A spiritual leader. His name was Samuel. But the people, they didn’t want a prophet. What they wanted was a king. If they were going to be a nation like all the other nations, they wanted to have a king.
So God tells Samuel to give them a king. His name was Saul. But Saul failed as a king. In fact, every king that they ever had would fail as king. There were some good kings, but mostly every king they would ever have would lead them further & further from God.
Until now.
A New King is Coming
Now God’s own angel Gabriel would announce that a new King was about to enter into the world.
“You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” Luke 1.31-33
What Luke announces in His gospel is that God is coming to be King. This is the good news. That God is coming in Jesus & that Jesus is King. This is what the gospel writers were trying to say then & it’s what they are trying to tell us now. So many times we read the gospels & what we think is that Jesus came to fix the sin problem. But it’s more than that. When Jesus enters the story it’s the climax of Israel’s story. This is the point in the story we’ve all been waiting for.
[Tweet “The big news at the beginning of the gospel story is that God is coming to be King in the flesh.”]When God becomes King & the world learns about the love of God. This was what Israel was always supposed to do. They were set aside as the people of God to be a light to the nations, to demonstrate what life looks like when you belong to God. But they failed over & over again in their mission & purpose to be the people of God & a light to the nations. So Jesus comes & when He comes He comes as King.
Jesus becomes the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to David. And He ushers in His Kingdom, the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom that makes all things right & all things new. As he inaugurated His kingdom he heals the sick because there’s no sickness in his kingdom. He feeds the hungry because there’s no hunger in His kingdom. And He raises the dead because there’s no death in His kingdom.
He ushered in His new Kingdom when He came & He became King. And now we, we get to claim Him as King & we get to be a part of His Kingdom & we get to partner with our King to make things in the kingdoms of Earth as they are in the Kingdom of Heaven.
[Tweet “Our King is not like any other king. #Jesus “]Now, Jesus was coming to be King. And the big question… would they let Him? Would they let Jesus be King? Would they follow Him? Would they serve Him? Would they acknowledge Him?
The question today is, Will you?
So… Who is your king?
If you’re being honest, your king like my king is self. It’s me. You’re the king of your life. And even if you claim Jesus as King & Lord of your life, there’s probably an area or some areas of your life that you’re still holding on to because even if Jesus is king of your life He’s probably not King of your whole life.
Here’s a quick test. See how you honestly answer these questions…
Who is the king of your marriage? Your kids? Your parenting? Your money? Your time? Your behavior? Your words? Your career? Your influence? Your stuff?
So what happens when Jesus becomes King?
1. When Jesus becomes King we realize that He’s King & I’m not.
We have to submit to His authority in our lives. The question is, have we? Have we fully submitted to the authority of King Jesus in every area of our lives? In what ways are you living right now in disobedience to God?
When Jesus becomes King we submit our lives to His authority & His ways & His rule in our lives. And some of you think, that’s exactly why I don’t want to be a Christian. Too many rules & too many things you can’t do if you’re a Christian. And if you think that I want you to know, this King isn’t like any other king you’ve ever known before. It’s never been about what you can & can’t do. It’s never been about what this King wants from you or wants to keep from you. It’s always been about what He wants for you. When you make Him King of your life everything changes for the better!
2. When Jesus becomes King we realize our new identity.
We struggle with this, especially in America. We think of ourselves as American Christians. But we aren’t. We are Christians who happen to live in America. Please don’t misunderstand me, I don’t mean any disrespect to our country or those who serve it. What I mean is that our primary identity is found in Christ.
[Tweet “When Jesus becomes King we realize our new identity. #Jesus “]We are Christians who live in this place at this time. No doubt, God wants to use us in incredible ways to usher in His Kingdom here in our community & in our world. But we are “ citizens of Heaven where the Lord Jesus Christ reigns!” (Philippians 3.20) We belong first & foremost to His kingdom.
3. When Jesus becomes King we realize our new purpose & mission.
If Jesus is our King then we have marching orders to join Him in making things on earth as they are in Heaven. And it’s time to get busy, folks. We get to participate in the life & ministry of Jesus. Nothing could be more exciting. It’s our job to carry forward His work in our world, in our community. To love those who need loving. To serve those who need serving. To befriend those who don’t know Jesus. To reach out to those who for whatever reason are untouchable, unreachable.
[Tweet “When Jesus becomes King we realize our new purpose & mission. #Jesus “]Have you noticed yet how much Jesus loved those whose lifestyles seemed to put them farthest from God? Jesus loved sinners even thought he hated sin. Take one look at the cross & simultaneously see how much God hated sin & yet how much Jesus loved the sinful. May we join Jesus in loving people, whoever they are, wherever they are, whatever they’ve done. May we love people the way Jesus loves people. The way Jesus loves us.
[Tweet “When you see Jesus & when He becomes King, everything changes. #Jesus “]When Jesus becomes King we realize who we are, who we’re not & what we’re called to do.
When we take off our little crowns & lay them down at the feet of Jesus, when we surrender the desire & the pursuit to be the king or queen of our own little kingdoms, we enter into the life God always wanted for us. The life He always planned for us. Into His Kingdom where Jesus is King.
What’s one area in your life this week that you could submit to the Kingship of Jesus Christ?
