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Somewhere, sometime, somebody
coined a proverb. It's a woman's prerogative to
change her mind. I guess that excludes the other
half of the race, but I'm going to violate that proverb. I have changed my mind. The topic
that you see on the screen is not the topic I'm going to address
this morning. Instead, I'm going to try to
give you a summary of the most important doctrine of the Reformation. And that is the doctrine of God
Himself. We in the Reformed faith must
honestly admit that our understanding of God is not unique. Almost
everything that we believe about God we share with some other
community of God's people. But the significance that we
attach to the doctrine of God is really the hallmark of the
Reformed faith. So much so, that we believe theology,
that is the doctrine of God proper, is the overriding and controlling
principle that determines everything else that we believe. So while
our beliefs are not peculiar or unique to ourselves, The importance
that we assign to this doctrine certainly distinguishes the Reformed
faith from practically every other branch of the Christian
church. A phrase comes to mind from that
magnificent musical composition we all know and love, Handel's
Messiah. The Lord God, omnipotent reigneth,
King of kings and Lord of lords. So that will be the topic. The
Lord God omnipotent reigneth, King of kings and Lord of lords. As a basis for our meditation,
please turn to Psalm 93. Psalm 93. The Lord reigns He is clothed with majesty. The
Lord is clothed. He has girded himself with strength.
Surely the world is established so it cannot be moved. Your throne
is established from of old. You are from everlasting. The
floods have lifted up, O Lord. The floods have lifted up their
voice. The floods have lifted up their waves. The Lord on high
is mightier than the noise of many waters, than the mighty
waves of the sea. Your testimonies are sure. Holiness
adorns your house, O Lord, forever. The grass withers. The flowers
fall, but the word of our God stands forever. We live in a
fascinating world, don't we? A world of sometimes bewildering
diversity. Could you answer this question?
What is the only monarchy on the continent of North America? Very few people in the United
States would answer that correctly. It is the Dominion of Canada. Canada is, formally speaking,
a monarchy. Elizabeth II, Queen, is the monarch
and the official head of state in Canada. So that close to this
great republic of the United States, there is a monarchy. A constitutional one, to be sure,
but a monarchy just the same. South of us is the Republic of
Mexico. And throughout Latin America,
a variety of other would-be Republican states, some of them perilously
close to dictatorships. There's a great variety in forms
of government throughout the world. That's always been the
case in history. Humanity never seems to be able
to agree. that one form of government is
most desirable and ought to prevail everywhere. This much is clear. No two forms
of government can exist in the same place and at the same time. The United States could not be
both a republic and a monarchy at the same time. Do you know
that throughout history most of the people of the world have
lived under some form of authoritarian or dictatorial government. That's
true. What we have in the United States
with limited government and constitutionally protected rights, that is not
common in history. It's a relatively recent development
peculiar to only a few nations in the world. Most of the countries
of the world today have different government than ours. But above,
behind, beyond, below, every political form in the world,
there is actually but one government. It happens to be the government
of God. Perhaps Handel had that in mind.
when he had the chorus sing, The Lord God omnipotent reigneth,
King of kings and Lord of lords. The concept of monarchy is now
in disfavor throughout much of the world, where once there were
scores of monarchies, now barely a handful remain. And most of
those are constitutional monarchies, where the reigning monarch is
actually only the ceremonial head of state. were we to travel
to Great Britain, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland. We would go to visit the land
over which Elizabeth II is the monarch. But even a casual investigation
of British government would show us very quickly, while Elizabeth
has all the trappings of sovereignty, she is not the actual ruler of
a nation. Oh, her name is on everything.
And the Royal Navy, they are Her Majesty's ships. The cabinet is Her Majesty's
cabinet. There's even Her Majesty's stationary
office. Almost everything seems to be
in the name of Her Majesty the Queen. Were you to go north to
Canada, you could travel on Her Majesty's highway. all in Her
Majesty's name. In fact, legally speaking, at
least in England, it is not possible to own land outright. If you
purchase land, it will say in the deed, you hold this land
in trust for Her Majesty the Queen. So in some distant, remote
sense, Her Majesty is actually the owner. It's all very amusing
to us now, isn't it? Elizabeth certainly looks like
a queen, especially when she's in full regalia with a crown
upon her head and wrapped in gorgeous robes and a scepter
in her hand, sitting upon a throne and receiving the obeisance of
her subjects. It's a very impressive scene
indeed. But the crucial decisions of
state don't occur in Buckingham Palace. They occur at Whitehall
in the government offices where the cabinet convenes or at No. 10 Downing Street, residence
of the Prime Minister. Oh, he is Her Majesty's chief
minister. But in practice, she answers
to him more than he answers to her. See, governments throughout
the world Even those that are dictatorial are quite limited. We sometimes use the term totalitarian
government. There's no such thing, really.
There are severely autocratic governments. There are severely
cruel dictatorial governments. But there's no government which
is absolutely total, except one. There's only one who qualifies
as king of kings and lord of lords. He is the one about whom
Handel wrote. He is the one about whom we sing. He is the one we love and adore.
He is the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. Psalm 93 gives us a picturesque
description of His Majesty, the real King. It tells us the Lord
reigns. Ah, Elizabeth reigns, does she
not? Do not other monarchs reign?
Yes, in a sense, but they do not rule. Now that's the catch. They reign, but they do not rule.
They sit in splendor, surrounded by all the trappings of authority,
but the real authority is in other hands. That does not pertain
to the King of Kings. He is not a limited monarch. Some countries in history have
had elected monarchies. The so-called Holy Roman Emperor,
for example, of the Middle Ages obtained his office by election. The princes gathered together,
voted, and chose the emperor. He therefore was greatly limited
in his authority because he owed his office to somebody else,
to the princes. The king of kings and lord of
lords is not a limited monarch. On the contrary, he's a complete,
total, and absolute monarch. And when the scripture says the
Lord reigns, it does not thereby designate him as a ceremonial
figure, but on the contrary, the actual ruler of heaven and
earth, of all things he has created. And the Lord is clothed, it tells
us. He is clothed with majesty. He is clothed with strength.
Again, the monarch of Great Britain has no shortage of majesty. People bow in her presence and
regard it a great privilege to do so and hail her as her majesty. She has majesty, but she does
not have strength. Because of the limitations of
the British Constitution, she is unable any longer to exercise
actual rule. Be careful. don't conceive of
God in those terms. He is by no means subject to
such limitations. On the contrary, He sits in the
heavens and administers the affairs of the entire creation. He does
as He pleases, when He pleases, where He pleases, and all circumstances. He has girded Himself with strength.
He does not depend upon anyone other than Himself. God Almighty
is literally almighty. He is the omnipotent creator,
the ruler of heaven and earth, unlimited by any of his creatures,
and he answers to no one, but everyone must answer to him. Sounds almost un-American. But let the light dawn, folks.
God is not an American. and the body of Christ is international
rather than national. He has girded himself with strength.
He doesn't need to depend upon anyone other than himself. We
can do nothing to enhance the well-being of God. That's why
God's Word commands us to serve Him through serving others. And
when we love God properly, we will love our fellow human beings,
our neighbors as ourselves, and by serving the interests of our
neighbors, we bring honor to our God. We do not enhance God
in any way. We cannot improve the quality
of God's life by anything we do, but on the contrary, God
alone is entirely self-sufficient. He has girded himself with strength.
Surely the world is established so it cannot be moved." Well,
technically speaking, the world's moving all the time, isn't it?
And this, of course, is not the language of precise science,
but it means that the world is exactly in the place where God
put it. God is the author of all creation. He has designed this intricate
universe and every aspect of the universe testifies to his
ingenious creativity. Every star, every planet. Have
you ever speculated about the number of the stars? How many
stars are there? Would you believe I know? You
wouldn't, would you? I dare you, I do know. I know
how many stars there are. Exactly enough. Not one too many,
not one too few. Exactly enough. Because the ingenious
Creator God has placed the stars in their position and He's placed
exactly the proper number to accomplish His will. He has girded
Himself with strength He has established the world. He has
placed the planets in their proper orbits, in their pathway around
the sun. The vast universal machine operates
under the laws that He has decreed because He's the Lord God Almighty. And the Lord God Almighty reigns
and rules everywhere, all the time, over everybody and everything. That should bring us delight.
That should encourage us, perhaps, more than any other truth of
which we can conceive, that God Almighty is in full control of
all that He has made. The earth is not going to collapse
beneath us. The stars are not going to all
fall from the sky in one great avalanche. Mars and Jupiter are
not going to collide. because God is a God of order
and has created a cosmic order in which things operate according
to his intelligent, yes, intelligent design. So the throne of God presides
over the whole creation. It tells us here your throne
is established from of old. You are from everlasting. On Earth, Kingdoms rise and kingdoms
fall. Thrones totter and thrones collapse. Sometimes royal heads part company
with royal necks. 1791 to be exact in Paris, Louis
XVI, had boasted he was the absolute king of France. By that time,
he was a prisoner of French revolutionaries. And a kangaroo court sentenced
him to death by decapitation. And just like that, the royal
head rolled across the platform. And when it did, bizarre souvenir hunters rushed
forward with handkerchiefs and dipped them in the royal blood
and then offered them for sale at a very high price. He appeared to be a great king.
He appeared to have great authority. There was no constitution in
the old kingdom of France. In principle, the king would
answer to no one but himself, or perhaps on occasion, he might
admit, he would answer to God. But he answered to the revolution.
and then to God. The throne of God Almighty, the
King of kings and Lord of lords is not in danger. To say we live
in troubled times is to make perhaps a gross understatement.
We have due reason to be seriously concerned about the corrupt condition
of Western civilization, including our own nation. We have very
good reason to lament the sinfulness which is becoming socially acceptable
throughout our society. And we're tempted to throw up
our arms in disgust and despair and say, this is the end. The end is going to be in sight.
We can't continue this way. Only God knows how much longer
we can continue this way. God is amazingly patient. And perhaps of all of his attributes,
we should be especially grateful for his patience. that He often
delays judgment, giving more and more people opportunity to
hear the gospel, to believe it fervently, and to come to forgiveness
and eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. how long God
is going to tolerate the situation as it is now, only He knows. But let us be prepared that whether
the end be soon or far in the distance, that we will be encouraged
by our complete confidence in the sovereignty of Almighty God. His throne is established. It's cemented in the heavens.
As another psalm tells us, Jehovah has prepared His throne in the
heavens, and His kingdom rules over all." Aren't you glad it
doesn't say, over some? No. His kingdom rules over all. Oh, His enemies are numerous.
His enemies are clever, sometimes diabolically so, and they are
wickedly vicious. stooping to the most base means
to conduct their rebellion. The psalm here likens that rebellion
to the activity of a storm roaring at sea. The floods have lifted
up, O Lord. The floods have lifted up their
voice. The floods lift up their waves. In your mind's eye, conceive
of a vessel at sea. And suddenly a horrendous storm
appears upon the horizon. The wind blows at gale force
and soon the ocean is a churning cauldron and a little vessel
is bobbing up and down this way and that way. And those on board
are in danger of perishing in a watery grave. Scripture uses that imagery to
portray human rebellion against God. In many ways, the history
of the human race is the chronicle of human beings revolting against
their sovereign God. But be assured, brothers and
sisters, that all who rebel are destined to lose. God is victorious in every engagement. He is never liable to defeat. His throne is established and
has been established from everlasting. His kingship is eternal in duration,
had no beginning, had no end. There never was a point when
God Almighty was not King of Kings and Lord of Lords. There
never was a place where His kingship did not envelop the entire created
domain. His throne is established and
has been well established since eternity. Yet the floods lift
up their waves. The floods roar in their anger
against their Creator. But the Lord on high is mightier. He is infinitely stronger than
those who oppose Him. And when rebels declare war against
God, the outcome is never in doubt. Never in doubt. All of those who foolishly shake
their fists toward the heavens in defiance of God are doomed
to everlasting defeat. They will never prevail. They
cannot prevail because God's throne has been established and
is established forever. He is the King of Kings and the
Lord of Lords. He's mightier than the mighty
waves of the sea. The most powerful forces on earth
and in hell, conspiring with all of their might, cannot budge
the throne of God even an inch. He remains secure in the heavens
and He lasts to scorn those who try to change His condition. And let us remember, this sovereign
God, this all-powerful potentate who created the universe and
maintains it by His power and rules it by His might, that very
God is our Heavenly Father. He has loved us with an everlasting
love. With tender kindness, He has
drawn us to Himself. He has adopted us into His family
and made us His very own. He has promised to hold us in
the palms of His hand from which no one can ever pluck us out. We have no reason for despair. However grave our situation may
be, however numerous our enemies may become, we have no reason
whatever for despair." He turned to John Calvin's Institutes.
Perhaps the most potent thing he wrote there is a sentence
of three words, God must win. Yes. God must win. Aren't you glad? Amen. God must win. There's no possibility
of defeat where God is concerned. Oh, His people may suffer. In
His sublime wisdom, He sometimes allows them to suffer terribly.
They must endure the persecution of those who hate God and hate
God's people. And today, our brothers and sisters
suffer cruel persecution. We have a student at our seminary
who's been a pastor in Eritrea. And when he left Eritrea, numerous
members of his congregation were imprisoned by a Marxist government. Imprisoned in metal packing cages,
left exposed to the scorching heat of the sun, with bars on
the roof to give them the only ventilation, meager food and
water to sustain them, and guards that take delight in provoking
them and treating them with maximum cruelty. As disgusting as this
sounds, one of the perverse pleasures of the guards is to stand on
top of the packing cases and urinate through the grate. That's
how some of our brothers and sisters are suffering for Christ
today. But they have no reason to despair.
God is not ignoring their plight. And God is not ignoring the perversity
of their tormentors either. In His own majestic plan, God
is bringing all things to a glorious climax, when as we so ardently
and often pray, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as
it is in heaven. That day is approaching. That
day is getting closer with every tick of the clock. And therefore,
we have every reason to be optimistic and encouraged. Christians ought
to be the most optimistic people of all because we already know
the end of the story. We don't know what's going to
happen in the intervening chapters, but we do know the end of the
story. Christ is coming again on the
clouds with power and great glory, and every eye shall see Him.
He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is the Lord
of hosts, and He is coming with irresistible might to subdue
all His and our enemies. Of that be well assured. He's
coming to judge the earth. He'll judge the earth with righteousness
and the peoples with equity. Psalm closes, Your testimonies
are very sure. Holiness adorns your house, O
Lord, forever. It ends with majesty as it opened
with majesty. The testimonies of the Lord are
sure and we have the perfect record of those testimonies in
written form in our possession in Holy Scripture. Every government dispatches its
emissaries throughout the world. The United States appoints an
ambassador to Canada, to Mexico, to Ireland, to Israel, et cetera. And so our diplomats go throughout
the world representing our government. Same is true of the British government.
There's a British ambassador resident in Washington. There's
a British governor general at Ottawa in Canada, et cetera,
et cetera. Our governor is Jesus Christ. He's not only our governor, He's
the King who governs us. And we have the inestimable privilege
of being His diplomats. We are ambassadors for Christ.
And He dispatches us to all the nations of the world, there to
represent His interest. There as ambassadors to proclaim
His Word. there to call people to submit
eagerly to his kingship. Because the world at large is
in a state of animosity toward his creator. The most urgent
need of human beings today is to be reconciled with God. And that's the ministry of Christ's
ambassadors. We are to represent Christ as
agents of reconciliation, bringing hopeless people hope, bringing
damned people salvation, bringing oppressed people liberation,
as they turn to Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who
actually reigns and actually rules everywhere, all the time,
over everything and everyone. by privilege to have served a
brief time in the United States Navy. And our ship was once docked
at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. And on the other side of the
pier was a destroyer from the Royal Navy flying the British
flag. And as the British seamen came
off the ship to enjoy liberty in the city, they dressed in
their best uniforms, and on every cap there were these initials,
OHMS, On Her Majesty's Service. And every seaman in the Royal
Navy is expected to conduct himself in such a way as to bring honor
to his monarch. Wherever he goes in uniform,
he has the stern reminder he is always on Her Majesty's service. How much more does that apply
to us? We are on His Majesty's service
all the time. It's our solemn responsibility
to live according to His laws. It's our obligation to proclaim
His word. It's our obligation to be Christ-like
in our deportment, in our speech, in our thinking, in all of our
activity. Because everywhere we go, we are on His majesty's
service. And we are the ambassadors of
the victorious king. the king who came once, entered
history literally, and literally is coming again to bring history
to a spectacular climax. And then with Handel, we'll be
able to shout exuberantly, the kingdoms of this world have become
the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign
forever and ever. Hallelujah. Let us pray. Our God, we are almost overwhelmed
with gratitude. How wonderful it is to enjoy
the encouragement of knowing that we are subjects and servants
of the sovereign of the universe. We're so delighted that your
power is not limited, but you, on the contrary, accomplish everything
that you please. And when you send forth your
word, it does not return void, but it prospers in the places
where you place it. And thank you for putting that
word in our hands. Thank you for commissioning us
as ambassadors for Christ and sending us to the nations of
the world to proclaim the kingship of our sovereign Savior. And
thank you, we can tell lost people there is hope. Ah, yes, there
is hope. There is hope in Christ, the
hope of the world. And those who turn to Him in
faith will enjoy the forgiveness of sins, the gift of everlasting
life, and the assurance of eternal victory through Him who loved
us and gave Himself for us. Amen.
The Only Sovereign Monarch
Series Principles of Protestantism
| Sermon ID | 32309223320 |
| Duration | 33:22 |
| Date | |
| Category | Special Meeting |
| Bible Text | Psalm 93 |
| Language | English |
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