Good morning, everyone. It's good to see you as we start out this new year, the year of 1990. We're going to continue in the series on the Lordship of Christ, and today's message will be the seventh in that series and will be the first part of the message which we will entitle, The Lordship of Christ and His Present Kingdom of Grace. We repeat again, the Lordship of Jesus Christ and his present kingdom of grace. After we have completed this message, which will probably be in two parts, maybe even three, we will then conclude the series with the final message entitled, The Lordship of Christ and His Coming Kingdom of Glory. the present kingdom of grace and his coming kingdom of glory. Would you turn with me in the word of God to Matthew 28, verses 18-20. This portion is known as the Great Commission. It comprises the Church's marching orders given by our Commander-in-Chief, Jesus Christ himself. In Matthew 28, after his resurrection, he is appointed the eleven apostles there in the mountain of Galilee, and there he meets with them. They worship him, but even among that group of eleven, some are still doubting. Bear that in mind. That's what verse 17 informs us. Some are still doubting. Verse 18, Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." And I say amen to that as well. In the previous messages on the Lordship of Christ, we have seen how the Lordship of Christ affects nearly every area of Christian service and worship. We have defined the Lordship of Christ. We have seen how the Lordship of Christ affects our view of the scriptures. We have seen the Lordship of Christ and the existence of sin in the world, how those are to be related. We have looked at the Lordship of Christ in providence. We've looked at the Lordship of Christ and salvation. We've looked at the Lordship of Christ and how the gospel is to be preached unto men. Now, in the remainder of this series of messages, we want to look at the Lordship of Christ and his kingdom rites. And we divide it into two areas, his present kingdom of grace and his coming kingdom of glory. For review purposes, because it's been several Sundays since we've been in this series, we have defined lordship based upon three scriptures which give us this understanding. In Mark 10, verse 42, our Lord defined lordship there as the authority to rule over others. It's the right to exercise one's power. In John 17.2, we find it is the right to use one's own power as their wisdom sees best. That is, whoever is the Lord has the option of either using their power or withholding their power. God is the Lord of heaven and earth in that he created the heavens and the earth. He had the option to have created a thousand, but he only created one heaven and one earth. Why? Because he's the Lord. He could have created many, many more, but he chose to create what he did because he exercised his option. He's all-powerful, but he doesn't always use all of his power. Sometimes he withholds his power, but it's at his option. And to be a Lord, you must have the ability and the wisdom and then the option to use it as you see best. And there in John 17, too, Jesus said that as thou hast given him power over all flesh to give eternal life to as many as the Father hath given him. So Jesus Christ has power over all human life to control the destinies of men, but he exercises that power under the course of wisdom, according to a plan and a purpose. He gives eternal life to as many as the Father hath given unto him. And life eternal is to know the one true God. and his son whom he hath sent, Jesus Christ." John 19, verse 10, we also have used. And there in his confrontation with Pilate, why Pilate said, Don't you know I have the power to release you or to condemn you or to crucify you? And Jesus said, You have no power at all except to be given you from above. In other words, Pilate thought he was holding the option. But Jesus reminded him there is a Lord over Pilate. who holds the option as to what Pilate shall do in that case. And if Jesus had exercised his option, he could have spared his life, as he had done on many occasions, when the multitude would have killed him. But he submitted his option and submitted himself unto Pilate's releasing him unto the multitude to be crucified instead of preserving his life. But he was still the Lord. The beauty of seeing the Lordship of Christ is seen when God opened the eyes of the dying thief to enable him to see that even though there was a man dying at his side, he saw Jesus as a Lord who had the option of either being there or not being there. For he said, Remember me when you come into your kingdom. Now that's seeing Lordship in a practical way. It's acknowledging that Jesus as God has the option to exercise whatever his will sees best to do. Now today we come to this question. It involves in theology or doctrine what is known as the realm of eschatology, that is, the future events, what the future holds. And we want to address a question which has divided Christians for hundreds of years. And that is, is Jesus presently a king on the throne of his kingdom, or will his kingdom begin at his second coming? If you hope that Jesus' kingdom will begin at his second coming, you are what is known in eschatology as a pre-Middle Middle East. If you believe that there is going to be a rapture of the Church, separated by a seven-year tribulation period in which the Church will be taken out, and then there will be a seven-year tribulation period here on earth, and Christ will return at the end of the tribulation period, and then establish his kingdom and rule as king in Jerusalem, you are a dispensational pre-millennialist. If you do not believe in that, then you either fall into the camp of a postmillennialist or an amillennialist, or a panmillennialist, as some say. They don't know what it's going to do, it's just going to pan out all right. They don't understand how it's all going to work out, but somehow it's going to work out. But the main issue that divides the dispensation or position of interpretation And the classical, all-millennial view of interpretation is this issue. Is Jesus presently a king in a kingdom, or has his kingdom been postponed until the second time he comes, and then he will sit on his throne and be a king in his kingdom as promised by the prophets? The Lordship of Christ addresses this issue. just as it addresses all the other issues which we have seen. Invariably, the ones who do not affirm what we have affirmed as the Lordship of Christ, in that they believe that man's free will is that which controls God, and that God, in order to rule, must gain his willpower from the permission of man, They invariably hold to what is known as the postponement view of the kingdom. What is that view? It is simply this. It is held by those in the dispensational school that Jesus Christ came into the world to set up a kingdom, that this kingdom was to be in Jerusalem, that he was to rule over the earth as King of the Jews. that he presented himself to Israel as a nation. But they did not receive him as a king, and hence rejected his purpose and crucified him. And what has happened now is that Jesus' plan A has been postponed. He has gone back to heaven, and there he's going to get him a kingdom. And during this interval time in which you and me live, it's known as the church age in which he's calling out individuals to be a part of this world to come. And then at some time in the future, Jesus Christ will come back to this present earth and rule and reign for 1,000 years in Jerusalem. So this view holds that the original purpose of Jesus Christ coming as a king was interrupted, and now then it has been postponed for at least 2,000 years in church history, and he may come at any time to set up his kingdom." Now, I used to hold to this view when I was in Bible college, because all independent Bible colleges that I know of teach this present view that I've just described to you. It is that which is espoused by the famous school Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas. But it has not been the classical view that has been held throughout the history of the Church. And just one area of showing how it hasn't been is in our hymnology. For example, all of you seemed very robust while ago in singing the song, Crown Him With Many Crowns. That psalm goes like this, "...crown him with many crowns, the Lamb upon his," what? "...upon his throne." If you hold to the dispensational view, as we'll see in the message this morning, you cannot believe that. Because this view espouses that Jesus is not presently on the throne. that his throne was postponed because Israel rejected him. But when he comes the second time, he will sit on his throne. So the Reformers and all of these who brought these famous hymns have been passed down to us. They saw that Jesus Christ, in his death, burial, and resurrection, ascended to a throne. and that he is ruling just as real as if he were here on this earth in Jerusalem. Only he has power over all heaven and earth. Hark how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own. Awake, my soul, and sing of him who died for thee, and hail him as thy matchless king through all eternity." I was taught in Bible college, you never refer to Jesus as king in this present age. He will not be king until he comes the second time to be king. Hence, that song cannot be held as true. We cannot hail him as our matchless king if he is not upon his throne. Crown him the Lord of life, who triumphed over the grave, and rose victorious in the strife for those he came to save. Do you see where this hymn is placing the kingdom at? It's in the spiritual realm of Jesus ruling over all men and giving eternal life to as many as the Father has given him. This is where his kingdom is viewed as being. Crown him the Lord of Peace, whose power a scepter sways. Only a king can have a scepter. From pole to pole, that wars may cease, and all be prayer and praise. His reign shall know no end. You see, it's already started, according to this hymn. And round his pierced feet, fair flowers of paradise extend, their fragrance ever sweet. Crown him the Lord of love, behold his hands and side, those wounds yet visible above, in beauty glorified. Jesus has a real physical body today. I can't see it, but it's just as real as yours and mine. And just because I can't see it, doesn't mean that he doesn't have it. And just because I can't see him on a throne, doesn't mean he's not on a throne. I don't have to go to Jerusalem to see whether Jesus is on his throne or not. He's at the right hand of God, and that, as we're going to show you this morning, is where the prophets said the kingdom would be set up at. Whenever Christ sits upon the right hand, then that's when the kingdom has been established. Those wounds yet visible above in beauty glorified, All hail, Redeemer, hail, for Thou hast died for me. Thy praise and glory shall not fail throughout eternity." Now, I wish to make this present statement, and then try to show from the Word of God the background or the support for this position. I want to state first this presupposition that Christ Jesus is presently reigning as a king on his throne. Christ Jesus is presently reigning as a king on his throne. Now, that is very precise. The other system which I presented does not want him to be viewed as a present king, because if he is, then there's not going to be any kingdom set up in Jerusalem on this earth. So you cannot, if you are dispensational, you cannot affirm that Jesus is a present King. If you do, then it weakens your system, and the authors and those who hold this are very pronounced in emphasizing this. Secondly, you cannot hold that Jesus is on his throne. And we'll see this as Dr. C.I. Schofield, the leading proponent of this, makes that emphasis in the message this morning. Now if you will begin with me, let's go back to the 110th Psalm and see how the prophets viewed the coming of the Messiah. Psalm 110. We know the Messiah was promised back in the Garden of Eden, do we not? He was to come from the seed of the woman. that God announced then of how that he was going to deal with sin and his enemies, and he would deal with it through bringing a human being out of the womb of the very creature Satan had destroyed. That was man. Out of a destroyed creature, God would bring a person who would destroy the destroyer, that being Satan and sin. And this takes place in the person of Jesus Christ. Now in Psalm 110, here is a promise that God the Father gives unto this one who is going to conquer sin. Verse 1, The Lord said unto my Lord, this is David speaking, God said unto David's God, Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool." Now, if you understand Christian theology, you know there is a Trinity—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And here, David is saying, the Lord God said unto my God, or my Lord, sit there at my right hand until all your enemies be made your footstool. This is a prophecy of the Godhead promising to the Son of God incarnate victory over the enemies of God. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion. Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Whenever the kingdom is established that the one who is sitting at the right hand of God sits on that throne and begins to rule, it will not mean the overthrow immediately of all of his enemies. He will be ruling and he will have enemies opposing him. There will not be a sudden intervention in which everybody becomes a friend of the Messiah. When Messiah is sitting at the Father's right hand and he is ruling over his enemies, he is exercising lordship over them. But they are opposed to him. Just as Jesus was crucified on the cross, he was still exercising lordship over his enemies, even though they were crucifying him. Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. When Messiah rules at the Father's right hand, he shall have a power that shall secure a willing response from the people that were given to him by the Father. He has been given authority over all flesh to give eternal life to as many as the Father hath given him, and when the ministry of the Holy Spirit is sent out into this world, he secures the willing response of a people that were given to him by the Father. In the beauty of holiness from the womb of the morning, thou hast to do with thy youth. The Lord has sworn and will not repent. Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." Notice that this king is also an interceder. The king is also a priest, and other scriptures establish that the king is also a prophet. And Jesus Christ incarnate became a prophet, priest, and king. He is not only a king to rule over his enemies, he is a priest to intercede for all those who come unto the Father by him. So he's a prophet and a priest at the same time, not at different times. While he is ruling at the Father's right hand, he is also interceding. Is that not what is going on today? Is he not a high priest after the order of Melchizedek? And is he not at the Father's right hand? The Lord promised Jesus Christ a kingdom. And he said, you're going to rule here until all your enemies are brought to serve your purposes, brought to your footstool. Now then, Christ was to come to this throne by way of a suffering cross and an empty tomb. How was Jesus, or the Messiah—he was unknown as Jesus in the Old Testament—how was Christ to assume and be inaugurated to this kingdom and sit on this throne? Was he suddenly to make his appearance on a white stallion and parade into Jerusalem and assume the throne and overthrow The Romans, this is what the Jews interpreted the Bible to mean. And it's what Christ's disciples even interpreted, because they were all Jewish, to mean. But Jesus, instead of coming in on a white stallion, how did he enter Jerusalem? He came in on an ass, didn't he? A little donkey. And they began to put two and two together and say, wait a minute, This is the Messiah? This is the one who's come? Man, that's not our king. He's got to have a better horse than that. A king will come on a white stallion. A king will overthrow Caesar. This can't be our king. This fellow's actually telling us to turn our cheeks to Caesar and go the extra mile when we're mistreated by him. We'll not have this man to what? rule over us. This is not our king. So was the problem inadequate revelation in the Bible, or was it an inadequate interpretation of the Bible by the Jews of Christ's day? That is the issue. Now, what did the Old Testament have to say about the appearance of the Messiah? It presented him as a glorious person. presented him as a sovereign ruler. But how was he to get to that place of sovereignty and rule? And the prophets speak clearly to this. He was to get to that throne by way of suffering and a resurrection. If you would go with me for the basis of this to Luke chapter 24. Luke chapter 24. Now while you're turning there, ponder this in your mind, if the dispensational view is correct, and Jesus came to present himself as a bona fide King of Israel in Jerusalem, what would have happened if Israel as a nation had received him? Where would the cross have entered into this picture? If Israel had not rejected Jesus, but they would have received him as king and he set up the kingdom which they were looking for, then he would never have been crucified. Where would your salvation and mine be at then? I present to you that Jesus came to be a suffering Lord who was to suffer, bleed, die, and be resurrected from the grave to ascend to a throne wherein he could be our Lord and our Savior. And that was why God sent him into the world in the womb of the Virgin, not to be a physical king over a temporal kingdom in the Middle East. but to be a king in the moral realm over all heaven and earth, that he might accomplish redemption. The cross is the center of God's program, not Israel. The cross, the suffering Messiah, and the prophets foretold this. Look with me in the words of Jesus now as he explains this to his followers after his resurrection. You see, Jesus could not make this clear prior to his resurrection. If he had come and given the mysterious plan of God and made it known to all, then they would not have crucified him. But this had to be kept secret, Brother Jim, even from his own disciples, if word leaked out. Now, I've come and they're going to crucify me, I'm going to let them crucify me, I'm going to come forth from the dead, and the enemies of Christ found this out, all they'd have to do is say, well, we just won't crucify him then. This all had to be kept cloudy in the minds of his own followers until the resurrection. But was it revealed in the Bible, or was it something new that had never been heard of before? Let's let Jesus explain it. Luke 24, verse 25. Then he said unto them, let's look back up in verse 21. We trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel. Beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done." Here's a disappointed band of disciples. Now verse 25, "...then he said unto them, O fools and slow of heart, to believe all that the prophets have spoken." Now what did the Old Testament prophets reveal about Christ? What did they speak about Him? "...ought not Christ to have what?" suffered these things and to enter into his what? His glory. And if you will run the references down on that, you'll see that the suffering refers to the cross and the glory to his immortality he assumed in the resurrection. He must suffer and enter into glory. That's why that in the remaining message, after we finish this message on the kingdom of grace, we'll be dealing with the kingdom of glory, and seeing how each of these aspects affect us. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the what? What does your Bible say? The scriptures, the things concerning himself. Now, was what happened to Jesus included in the Old Testament scriptures? Had it been foretold, or was it something that they knew absolutely nothing about? Jesus said here, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he expounded the scriptures of what was going to happen to the Messiah. I present to you that what happened to Jesus was not unknown to the Old Testament revelation. In fact, it was prophesied. that it would happen. Then what has happened with the religious interpretation that existed at the time of Christ, that Messiah must not suffer, he must come as a king, when the Bible says before he gets to that throne he must go by the way of humiliation and suffering. I say the problem, listen carefully, is not in the Old Testament scriptures. The problem was in the misinterpretation of those scriptures by the scribes and the Pharisees. That was where the problem was. And the issue as it relates today is not a question of whether you are premillennial or amillennial, whether that you believe the Bible or not. The problem is how do you interpret the scriptures. Both camps believed the Bible to be the verbal inspired word of God. But how do you interpret those scriptures? And my approach is simply this, that the New Testament apostles must be allowed to interpret the Old Testament prophets. We must not impose an external system of interpretation, but the prophets and Jesus must say, this is what the prophets say. Now look on. Look down in verse 31, their eyes were opened and they knew him, and he vanished out of their sight. Now drop down as he reappears to them in verse 44. He said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me. Then opened he their understanding that they might understand the what? The scriptures, where was the problem lying? Was it in the Bible, or was it in their misunderstanding of the Bible? The problem was not with the Old Testament revelation as to what was going to happen to the Messiah. The problem was there was a cloud over the interpretation of those prophets. Now look on in verse 46, He said unto them, Thus it is written, Whereat, in the Old Testament scriptures by the prophets, Behoove Christ to what? To suffer, and to rise from the dead to the third day. And that repentance and remission of sin should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning where? At Jerusalem. And he are witnesses of these things. Now notice, Christ is not introducing a new message, But he's explaining what the prophets had foretold under the old covenant that would happen when Messiah would come. And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you. What is that promise? We just read it in Psalm 110. The Lord said unto my Lord, sit here on my right hand. until all your enemies be brought to your footstool. And how is Christ going to administer the power of his kingdom? The Father is going to send forth the person of the Holy Spirit to act as the administrator of that kingdom. So Jesus Christ will send forth the power of the Holy Spirit accompanying the human witness, and it will secure a willing people in the day of his power. This is the promise that the Father has said that he would give to the Son when he sits at the Father's right hand. But tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endured with power from on high." This is the great commission that we just read in Matthew 28. How much power and authority does Jesus Christ possess today? What does our text tell us? All authority. I ask you, in the name of biblical interpretation, if Christ possesses all authority, And how is it that he's going to get more authority at his second coming? He already is Lord of heaven and earth. And if we see his present Lordship, it not only affects our understanding of the scriptures, it affects our understanding of the gospel, it affects our understanding of providence, of the existence of sin, of even the nature of gospel preaching. And it also affects our view of prophecy, if we see the present Lordship. of Jesus Christ. So it was foretold by the prophets. Now, the dispensational position says that this whole age in which we're living was unknown by the prophets. And they quote Ephesians chapter 3, of how it's now been revealed unto us, which was not revealed in times past. And I'll fill in the next word, as it is now revealed. True, they did not understand all the ramifications of suffering of Messiah as we now understand it, but to say that the Old Testament prophets did not foresee the suffering of Messiah is certainly not consistent with the teachings of the Word of God. If Christ then was foretold by the prophets that in order to get to his throne he must first suffer and then enter into his glory, Then this was what was set forth in the Old Testament. There are two passages of scripture which make this very clear. I'll not turn to the first one. If you are familiar with Isaiah chapter 53, you know it sets forth the what? The sufferings of Jesus Christ. All we like sheep have gone astray, we've turned our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. You know that famous, famous chapter of Isaiah 53. The Jews never could interpret that right. In fact, the fellow that was over there in the Ethiopian, there out there in the desert, he was reading that passage and he didn't understand it. He said, is the Prophet Isaiah speaking about himself suffering or somebody else? The Jews interpret that passage, even to this day it refers to the suffering of them as a nation. But no, the New Testament writers, by the authority of the Holy Spirit from the Christian standpoint, say no, it was Christ Isaiah was talking about. Because Philip opened up Isaiah 53 to the Ethiopian eunuch, and who did he preach unto him? Jesus. Jesus. He said, this is the fulfillment. The Messiah must suffer. Then if he must suffer first, he could not have come and presented a bona fide offer to Israel as an earthly king. He had to suffer first. Now then, the second famous passage is in Psalm 16, it foretells his resurrection. Would you turn there with me for a moment? Psalm 16, the resurrection. If the Old Testament prophets foretold the resurrection of the Messiah, it must surely, under logic's name, assume that Messiah must have died. Would it not? What kind of logic would talk about a resurrected Messiah who has not died? It assumes that. Psalm 16. In verse 8, David says, I have sent the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand. I shall not be moved, therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth. My flesh also shall rest in hope. David said, I know that my grave is coming soon, and I keep the Lord. right before me. And my flesh is going to rest in hope. That is, when I go into the grave, I have hope it's going to come out one day. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption. And that Holy One is not David here, according to New Testament writers, but it's the Messiah. Thou wilt show me the path of life, and the presence is fullness of joy at thy right hand." There are pleasures forevermore. Bill, there's where the hope is. Whatever is at the right hand of God, there's where the believer's hope lies. And there's someone at the right hand of God today that I can have hope in. It's the same one that David died having hope in. that there was going to be a Messiah who would conquer death, and because he would live, all of his people shall also live in the flesh one day in the resurrection. Now then, I want to read to you the footnote here by Dr. C. I. Schofield, who proposes the dispensational interpretation of scripture. He says, The sixteenth psalm is a prediction of the resurrection of the king. I say, Amen. That's very clear. We agree. As a prophet, David understood that not at his first advent, but at some time subsequent, means after, to his death and resurrection, Messiah would assume the Davidic throne. Now, Dr. Schofield sees this. He sees this much. He sees that sometime after his death and resurrection, the Messiah would assume the throne of David. All right, I agree with that. I agree with that. The king then must first suffer, be raised from the dead, and established on his throne. Both systems agree up to now. Now the difference is whether the king is on the throne now, as I'm talking, or whether he will come back one day and start the kingdom. That's where the difference is. If you would, go with me to the book of Revelation chapter 3. I want to show you how this is so important to the dispensational understanding of what Dr. Schofield's note is in Revelation chapter 3. Verse 21, Jesus, speaking to the church at Laodicea, says, "...to him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I overcame and am set down with my Father in his throne." Now then, let me read to you the interpretation of how the dispensational position interprets this passage of scripture. This passage, in harmony with Luke 1, Matthew 19, Acts 2, etc., etc., is conclusive that Christ is not now seated upon his own throne. The Davidic covenant and the promises of God through the prophets and the angel Gabriel concerning the Messianic kingdom await fulfillment." And there I part with Dr. Schofield. Why does he say this? He says that Christ is not on his throne, he's on the Father's throne. And that Christ's throne will be a separate throne from the Father's throne. Now why is he emphasizing this? Because if Jesus is on his own throne right now, the whole system that he espouses goes out the window. If Jesus is on his own throne right now, then he has fulfilled the promises and the prophecies of the Old Testament prophets. He's already fulfilled them. But if he's not on his throne right now, then this position says he will come back one day and establish the Davidic throne. We won't have time today in this message to show you how David interpreted the Davidic throne and how the New Testament apostles interpreted it, but we will in messages to come. But I submit to you this question, if you'll look at verse 21, where in the Old Testament Did the Father, the Godhead, ever promise a separate throne to Jesus from that of his own, of their own? What did he say in Psalm 110? Sit thou at my what? Right hand. Not I'm going to give you another throne over here. You sit here on my throne. And that's what Jesus is saying here in Revelation chapter 3. He's saying, to him who overcomes, will I grant to sit with me in my throne even as I overcame, and him sit down with my Father in his throne. I submit to you that the Father's throne and Jesus' throne are not two separate thrones. They're the one and the same authority. Sit there at my right hand and rule over your enemies. And whoever overcomes as a believer also overcomes their enemies. That's the meaning of the term throne. Now then, let's see if Jesus is at the right hand of God today. The prophet said that he was to sit at the Father's right hand until all his enemies be brought to his footstool. Is the right hand of God the throne of Jesus Christ? Let's look and see. Mark 16, verse 19. Here's the great commission given to us in the gospel of Mark. Chapter 16, verse 19. I'll read verse 15 first. He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe, in my name they shall cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents, they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them, and they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." So then, after the Lord has spoken unto them, he was received up into where? heaven, and sat down on the right hand of God." Beloved, there is where he inherited his throne rights. That is what Psalm 110 predicted. Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies, and while you are ruling you shall have a willing people who will come and receive you as Lord and King. Jesus Christ in the New Testament prophets, as you read their writings and will study them in the future messages to come, they saw him at the right hand of God. If you will for one final passage with me today, go with me to Acts chapter 2, Peter's message on the day of Pentecost. Acts chapter 2. Verse 22, "'Ye men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, the man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know, him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.' whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible he should be whole another. For David, the prophet, speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face." Now he's quoting Psalm 16. For he is on my right hand, that I shall not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad. Moreover, also my flesh shall rest in hope, because I will not leave my soul in hell. Neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known unto me the ways of life. Thou shalt fill me with joy, full of joy with thy countenance." Now Peter stops quoting David the prophet, and Peter then expounds the meaning of Psalm chapter 16. Let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried. His sepulcher is with us unto this day." Where was David's body at at the time of Pentecost? It was in the dust of the earth. He had not yet ascended into heaven in his body. Look on. and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his what? His throne. I present to you, did David understand that? He sure did. He being a prophet, foreseeing this, that out of his own body there would come one who would be Christ, and God would raise up Christ to sit him on his throne. He seeing this before, he understanding this before, spake of the what? The resurrection of Christ. David understood what he was speaking about, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses, therefore being by thee right hand of God exalted. I present to you an exalted Lord today, not a king who has to get permission by the will of the people to reign. I present to you a Christ whom God has set at the Father's right hand. Rule in the midst of your enemies. Do what you want to with the race of men. It's her heresy. It's idolatry. to ascribe religious teaching that Jesus can only rule by the permissive will of men. God has made him king. Rule in the midst of your enemies. We must get permission to live and move and have our being in him. He doesn't get his from us. Being by the right hand of God exalted, having received of the Father the promise of the Holy He has shed forth this which you now see and hear, for David is not ascended to the heavens, he's not been resurrected yet, but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom you crucified, both what? Lord and Christ. What was the result of such preaching? They were pricked in their hearts, and they said, what can we do? We're caught. We killed God's Son, and now He's on the throne. He can do with us as we did unto Him. Men and brethren, what must we do? Repent is the answer. Acknowledge what we have done. to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is presently Lord. He is at the Father's right hand. He is ruling there today. You see, this was all established before the resurrection of the saints. I may not mean something to you right now, But if you hold to the premillennial position, you hold that the kingdom is set up after the resurrection of the saints. Jesus comes back and then the saints are resurrected. That's when David is supposed to be resurrected at the second coming of Christ. I believe that. Then why are you laboring this? The kingdom that was promised to David was to be set up before the resurrection. It's pre-resurrection. Then that means the kingdom is already here before the resurrection of the saints takes place. That's why then we preach lordship. We preach it in our understanding of the scriptures, in the outlook on providence, the existence of sin. It affects the way we preach. We do not just say, raise your hand and vote for Jesus, as the TV evangelists do. We say, bow down to the Lord and acknowledge that he has the right to save you or condemn you. And if he's just, he'll condemn you. If he's merciful, he'll save you. And you must bow down and acknowledge that he has the sovereign right to hold the option what he'll do with you. How does that affect me as a sinner then? I must then, Brother Bill, go to that one who's on a throne and say, I'd love to be forgiven of my sins. You don't owe me forgiveness. And if you don't forgive me, I can't hold against you. But oh, if there's any mercy, I'd sure like to have it. My friend, it affects the way sinners approach the throne. They do not come with shoulders thrown back and a proud, boastful heart to come and do a bargain with Jesus. Salvation is in the free will of Jesus Christ to do with men as he sees best. And I must come and cast my being upon him to do with me as he sees best. He'll be just with all men. He may be merciful with some. I want that mercy, don't you? But if he doesn't give it to me, I can't blame him, for I'm a sinner. All I deserve is hell. I've broken the laws of God, and the Bible says if we break one of the laws, we're guilty of what? of all of them. If I'm speaking to somebody here today, and you think that you're righteous because you've done so many good deeds and lived a moral life, I present to you, you commit one sin, and the whole charge of the broken moral law is laid against your account, and you've got to pay for it. For the wages of sin is death. And if you don't have a Savior, you're in bad shape. In bad shape. You need a Savior today. There's only one that can save. There's only one name given among men whereby we can be saved, and that's in Jesus Christ. You say, how in the world can I pay for it? What if he chooses to send me to hell? What can I do about it? You can't do a thing. Because he'd be just if he did so. Now, I know this is not what men and women want to hear today. They want to hear how good they are, how kind and loving little Jesus' baby is. My friend, he's not in a manger. He's on a throne, a throne of justice, in which that every knee shall come and bow down and acknowledge all the charges that he's recorded that men have committed against him. And if those charges are not washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, the eternal destiny of men shall be assigned to part from me, you workers of iniquity. I never knew you. We preach a risen Lord who is in a present kingdom of grace. But it is a gracious kingdom. Come to him, because he has promised whoever comes, he will then want no wise cast out. Come today. Let's stand.