Turn with me if you would to that portion of God's word that we have read together in Revelation chapter 17 and at verse 14. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them. For He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings, and they that are with Him are called and chosen and faithful. We want this morning to consider the subject of Christ the King, Christ the King, Christ the King of the Church, Christ our glorious King. Now I want to do so looking at Revelation chapter 17 and I want to do so in terms of looking at these verses in relation to what we already spoke about last night. We spoke last night of course about the need to return to Biblical Calvinism. We saw that Biblical Calvinism principally and foremost looked to the sovereignty of God. The sovereignty of God in salvation, divine grace. And I thought this morning we would sort of carry on the same theme. And for that reason, we could go into Revelation chapter 17 and ask the question, who is the great whore of Babylon? and we could go into that subject and for myself I believe it is in fact Romanism and the Pope of Rome that is represented here culminating and we could go into that. But that's not really the subject we want to particularly look on this morning. We want to look at Christ as the King. Christ who overcomes that great whore Babylon. and who himself draws to himself his people. He draws them, he calls them, they are chosen and they are faithful so that he is given the title Lord of Lords and King of Kings. You notice here immediately almost the, not a contradiction, but between on the one hand the Lamb the Lamb. A contrast between the Lamb and yet the Lamb who is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. You can have no higher authority, no higher title to aspire to among men than to be the King. Well here is the one who is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. We read of him in Now there are three things that I want to look at. First of all, how He is King over all things. He is King over all things. And Lord over all things. That's the first thing. And then we want to see how He is King of the Church. Lord over the Kingdom of Grace. And then thirdly, He is Lord over the Kingdom of Glory. And then we want to see some of the characteristics of this glorious King. First of all though, let us see how he is the Lord of all things. He is the King of Kings of all things. You go back to the Old Testament, go back to the first Adam and you will see that Adam was created and he was created with authority and to rule. He was like a King. He ruled over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air and the beasts of the land. He was one who had authority and who ruled. But yet you see the limited scope and the limited duration of that kingship. The limited scope was that it was of the earth. The first atom is of the earth, earthy. He rules over the fish of the sea, the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field. But he doesn't rule over all things. Like the second Adam. And also his kingship comes to an end. Adam falls. He falls into sin. And he loses that authority. He loses that rule that he has. And you can see that. It's not just that the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air are no longer subject to him. He cannot rule himself. He has no authority and rule over himself. You look at the chapter that we've read and at the beginning of the chapter it says here, those who are drunk with the wine of fornication. They are full of abominations and filthiness of our fornication. Now that, not all are involved in that, that's as it were a consummation of fallen human nature. But it is true when you go through the scripture and in practice you see that man has lost the role that he had, even to offer his own passions. How often do you read every single day? how man cannot control his own passions. The courts of the land are full of people convicted because they can't control themselves. Man thinks he can. Man thinks that he's a king. It's wonderful, you know, the Lord Jesus Christ took our place, didn't he? He took our place at Calvary, but he takes our place even before then because he was dressed as a mock king. He was dressed with a crown of thorns, a reed for a scepter and he was dressed up and they all bowed before him. What was he doing? Taking the place of a fallen sinful man who thinks himself a king. But he's not really a king, he's got a crown of thorns and he's got a reed for a scepter. He's no power. And this chapter tells you ultimately where the fall of Adam has taken man, filled with the abomination, filthiness, as John Calvin says, plagues have come upon the face of the earth. But look at the second Adam. The second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at what Paul writes regarding the second Adam in Hebrews chapters 2 and verse 1. Thou hast made him a little more than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honour, and set him over all the works of thy hands. Not only is the Lord Jesus Christ Authority as the One who has created all things, all things have been created by Him and for Him. But as the Mediator in our nature, all things have been laid into His hands. He was made a little lower than the angels, but now He is crowned with glory and with honour, and thou hast set Him over the works. Thou hast put all things in subjection under His feet. For in that he has put all in subjection under him, he has left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him, but we see Jesus, who was made a little more than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and with honor, that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. You see how everything is laid into his hands. Everything is in His hands. Providence is in His hands. Everything now, everything, as the Apostle says, works together for the good of them that love the Lord. Because everything is in the hands of Him who is the Lord of Glory. Paul, when he writes to the church at Ephesus, he says something very similar. He has put all things under his feet for the sake of the church. And he has put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the church. Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all. in awe. No wonder then the psalmist is able to say, ye kings be wise, ye judges of the earth, you that rule, and you think you rule independently, you think you are the highest authority, there is one that is higher than you. It was Andrew Melville who stood before the king and said to him, you rule. But there is one before whom you will be brought into subjection and you will be brought before as a judge. All the kings of the earth ought to be reminded, all the rulers and judges of the earth ought to be reminded that Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. It's His Kingship. But secondly, we notice here that he is not only the king and the authority over all things, but there is a particular relation which he has to the Church of Christ. He rules over the Kingdom of Grace. There is only one head of the Church, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Others make pretension to rule and to lord over God's heritage. But there is one who is the only head of the church, the Lord Jesus Christ. And look at how the Lord himself when he was confronted by Pilate. If you go to John's Gospel chapter 18. John's Gospel chapter 18. And there you find the Lord Jesus Christ is brought before Pontius Pilate. And it's as though Pontius Pilate perhaps sees himself something in this man. He doesn't believe in Jesus as the Saviour but there's something. When he comes and Pilate in verse 33, Pilate entered into the judgment hall again and called Jesus to him and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? Now it may be that he is sort of saying to himself, well, I don't believe. But there's something about this man that's maybe different from other men. Or it may be that he's just deriding him. You? Look at you. Aren't you the King of the Jews? Whichever way it is, Pontius Pilate expects no for the answer. It's ridiculous. This is what they're accusing you of, and if only you say no, then I can let you go. They're accusing you of saying you're a king. Are you a king? Are you the king of the Jews? And notice how here, Jesus gives them a challenge. People don't like to be challenged by the Lord Jesus Christ, you know. You ever found that? You can speak to people about everything you like, and you can challenge them about everything you like, but they don't want to be challenged. but the truth of the gospel. They don't want to be challenged with that. Jesus himself doesn't immediately answer Pilate, he challenges him. Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or the devil hath telleth of you? Is this rumour? Is this because you have enquired yourself to find out who I am? Have you enquired, have you searched the scriptures? Caiaphas doing that which is expedient, he says he's the Messiah, let's condemn him, not let's go and search the scriptures to find out if these things be true, but it is expedient that you ignore what is true. Now the Lord Jesus Christ confronts Pilate and challenges him, you are going to sentence me to death on the mere suspicion, have you enquired whether these things be true? Or is it just that other people have told you these things? You know, Pilate does what many do today. I think it's Krumacher who points out that Pilate does what many people today do. He says, your religion hasn't anything to do with me. I'm not a Jew. Am I a Jew? You say that to people today. What, think ye of Christ? Well I'm not Christian. I'm a Muslim. Your religion's to do with you, it's not to do with me. I'm a Buddhist. Or I've given my own religion. And really your religion has nothing to do with me. Jesus cuts right through that. Cuts right through that. Every other religion is an abomination and has nothing to do with you. But there is one, the Lord Jesus Christ, who has to do with everyone. I'll tell you an account of the evangelist in our own denomination. He went round the doors of Inverness and when he went round the doors of Inverness he knocked the doors and he came to a door and on the door it says no religious callers. Welcome. And he looked and said what am I going to do? So he knocked the door. And a young lad came and he spoke to him about the gospel and spoke to him about his soul. And he went away and he left him tracks and he went away and he'd hardly got to the next door when the door opened again and his father came out. The father of his. Here! Come over here. He saw the door and he said yes. He said can you not read? Can you read what the sign says? No religious callers welcome. Well, says the evangelist, he says, I agree with you. He says, see if I, that's a good idea. I would put that in every house. I would put that in every door. The man says, what are you talking about? You're a religious person. I'm not. I'm here on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's altogether different, he says. I wouldn't welcome anybody else, but he says, I'm here on behalf of the King of Kings and the Lord of Glory. And that applies to everyone. year, they have put Pilate here and says, am I a Jew? Thy own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me. What hast thou done? And Jesus, immediately you will notice, when he begins to speak here, he doesn't deny the truth. He says clearly, I am a king. Isn't that wonderful? I'm a king. Here is the Lord confronted with Pilate, no hesitation, no going, let's see that there is the presupposition here that he is the King and the Lord of Glory. And that is how the church ought to today be found. Even as the Lord Jesus Christ, here when he has no advantage to get from it. There were times before when Jesus had the Jews around him and they were all saying, you're a king! And if he had said, I am a king, they would have put him on his shoulders. Not here though. He was to have no advantage. It was his part of his humiliation. His admitting here and saying, you have said it, I am a king. It's not him exalting himself. It's part of his humiliation. And yet in that humiliation, He is victorious. Do you not see that? When Christ goes to Calvary, He's not one who has been defeated. He's one who is victorious. When He stands before Pilate, He's victorious. He is triumphing. It is not Jesus who is here being tried and tested. The world looks at this and they see Jesus entire. Not at all. I have come that the world may be put entire. What will they do with Jesus? What will they do with God? When they have God in front of them, manifest in the flesh. And do you know what they do? What fallen, depraved human nature always does. Release Barabbas and crucify God. That's what they do. Because that's fallen human nature. may have God himself before them in human nature and Jesus says I am a King. I am a King. And it doesn't matter you see how poor the church may become. It doesn't matter whether in Dublin you have a handful of people here and maybe a handful of people there who love the Lord Jesus Christ and he's at Which is the same as the Lord standing before Pilate. I am a King. And he even tells them what kind of Kingdom he has. He has come as a King. My Kingdom, he says, is not of this world. My kingdom wedded of this world, my servants would fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now is my kingdom not from hence. And eventually Pilate says to him again, Art thou a king? And he says, I confirm you have said it. I am a king. I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. The truth, what does he mean here when he says he is bearing witness to the truth? You see Pilate says just like the world says, what is truth? There is no truth really, there is no absolute truth. There's many truths out there. There are many truths. You can believe many things. You don't know what the truth is. Let's search for the truth. Jesus says, I've come to bear witness to the truth. And what is the truth there? The truth there must be the truth of God the Father. The truth of God. See what he says earlier in John's Gospel and in chapter 14 in verse 7. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also. And from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. If you know me, you know the Father. That's the truth. Because I am bearing witness to the truth of the Father. And what is the truth? That is here part of that truth is that the Father has given to him a kingdom. You see there's no doubt here in the mind of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has come into this world to suffer and die for that kingdom. That he might go, but now is my kingdom from hence. If my kingdom were of this world, I would die. But it is not of this world. My servants do not fight that I should be delivered up to the Jews. Now is my kingdom not from hence. He would suffer and die for his kingdom. Now is he suffering and dying for somebody he doesn't know? Is he suffering and dying for a people that maybe believe in him? Not at all. When the Lord Jesus stands before Pilate, he says, I am standing before you and I am witnessing the truth. You only need to go back to his high priestly prayer as he makes his way to Calvary in chapter 17 and in verse 9. I pray for them, I pray not for the world, but I pray for them which thou hast given me, for they are they, he says, are thine, they're the fathers. And look what he says at the beginning of his prayer in verse 2. As thou hast given him power over all flesh, we've already spoken about that, that he should give eternal life. Now notice here he gives it. You don't earn it. You don't earn it. You don't earn it because you yourself have exercised some good, be it faith or anything else. He bestows it. He gives eternal life. And who does he give it to? To as many as thou hast given him. And now the Lord stands before Pilate and he says I am here to witness to the truth. I have a kingdom. And that kingdom will be saved. He will go to Calvary that he will save it. And I will have power over all flesh that I will give by sovereign divine grace eternal life to as many as the Father has already given me. And when you go to Revelation. You go to the book of Revelation chapter 17 and go back to the text that we have in verse 14. These shall make war with the Lamb and the Lamb shall overcome them for he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings and part of his kingship is that they that are with him are called and chosen and faithful. That's a sovereign It's not a Christ that stands, weeping, saying, oh please, if only you'd do it, I'll do my wee part. That is a Christ that is sovereign. The Lord of lords and the King of kings. Who comes and He calls depraved, fallen sinners, unable to do anything for themselves, and He irresistibly calls them out of darkness into His marvellous light. I mentioned last night, for those who weren't here, Benjamin Morgan Palmer had this man come in to him. I'll just use this to introduce another story. This is just a wee introduction so that I can introduce another story that I've got. Benjamin Morgan Palmer had a young man come in to him and said, you Calvinists, you preachers are all contradictory. You tell me in the one hand I've got to believe and then you tell me that I can't believe. Benjamin Palmer sitting right and said, well that's fine, he says, if you can go and believe yourself then go and do it. I suggest you go and do it. He just kept on writing. And the man says, I can't do it. I've tried for three days. Ah, now, says Benjamin Palmer, that's a different story altogether. That puts a different light in it. He says, let's take your problem to the Lord. And he takes him down on his knees and he commits the sinner to the Lord. Lord, be merciful to me, the sinner. Now I'll just do that to introduce another story. Because I heard recently of a man in my own congregation and he had a similar situation. He said, I prayed that the Lord would save me. I wanted to be saved. And he says, I prayed and nothing happened. And he confided in a man that worked with him that was a Christian and he says, I prayed And the man says to him, well, he says, you're a businessman. And he was, he's a very successful businessman. He says, you're a businessman, he says. If you want something, you want something in business, what do you do? Well, I says, I go out and try and get it. And you, do you do a hard part of it? No, he said, I go out and I labour and I sweat. He says, if you want something, he says, you labour and you sweat and you toil. Now he says I'll ask you this, when it comes to salvation can you say that you've had sweat and toil seeking the Lord? And he says I had to say that I didn't. He says I wanted salvation and I would come home and at times I would be convicted and then I would pray before I went to bed and then I would sleep and I would get up the next day and off I went. And maybe I would come back again, again I would maybe pray but he says I wasn't, he says when I come to thinking salvation the greatest price and pleasure of all when I would go out in my business and I would labour I wanted something I knew that it was going to be profitable to me I would go and I would labour and I would sweat and I would spend hours on it until I got it and when it came to salvation I said I wanted it but I didn't do that I remember an old man up in Skye where I was living in the west coast of Scotland, an old man, an old elder, he's in glory now, and he told me when he was 16 years of age conviction came into his life. And he says it came into him so he couldn't even work on the croft. He would go out and he would be cutting, and these days they would be cutting with a scythe. He says one day he says, I had to throw the scythe away. I couldn't work. I was so bothered with sin and my need and he says I got down on my knees and he says it was the liberty of the gospel when I came to Christ and lay hold of him by faith. I knew that it was all of the sovereign grace of almighty God. It was when I came and bowed my knee to him and said Lord I cannot do it. But what I can't do you can do. Lord help me. You know that's surely what he says here when he says they are called by a sovereign, by the King of Kings and the Lord of Glory. He calls them not just with the outward call of the Gospel to repent, but he calls them with an irresistible Divine call where they are born again. You see that's what's needed. They're born again. A new birth. You're not needing a renovation, you're needing a transformation. The transforming of your mind leading to be born again by the Spirit of God. Can I ask you today, have you been brought to the place where you have seen yourself as such a hell deserving sinner that without Christ you are lost? Now that doesn't mean to say that you go down into, Jonathan Edwards says that that conviction doesn't mean to say that you end up in toils but it does mean that you must have such conviction in your soul that you know that without Christ you're going to hell. Have you experienced that? You'll need it. And have you then come in His grace to cry out to Him, Lord be merciful to me and in He and His mercy gives you Out of his free love and grace in Christ he gives you eternal life. They are called, who? Those who are chosen in him before the foundation of the earth and they are faithful because they love him. They are faithful not because they see they have done it all themselves, they are faithful because they see he's the king of the church and he's the king of glory. Thirdly, the king of glory, heaven. We read in chapter 18 of the desolation of Babylon. The desolation, you see the fearful, you know as you go through Revelation you see how everything in nature, he brings plagues by the sea, he brings plagues by the rivers, his hand. Everything. And ultimately there is the great destruction of Babylon. How often do you hear people today praying, Lord we seek thy return, that thou would consume the Antichrist with the brightness of thy coming. That's what the Bible tells us. He will consume him with the brightness of his coming. according to His will. He says here, for God hath put in their hearts to fulfil His will. Remember what we were saying yesterday? Everything is to the glory of God. The saving of the Lord's people is to the glory of His grace and mercy. The destruction even of Babylon. He has raised up a Pharaoh that His power and justice will be seen and will be magnified in the dawn. There's nothing outside the will of God. There's nothing outside the hand of the sovereign king of kings, the Lord Jesus Christ. Even the Saddam Husseins of this world, even there, they're in his hand. They're in his hand. You know, one of the most abominable things I ever saw and ever heard was when the last Pope came to Scotland and he came to Glasgow Green and he was taken in in his cavalcade. And as he arrived into Glasgow Green, went down the cavalcade and went up the steps, you know what the crowd was singing? He's got the whole world in his hands. What a blasphemy. What a blasphemy. Who has the whole world in his hands? The Lord Jesus Christ. He's the one who has that world in his hands. And he has glory in his hands. Look at the song. When you read through 18 and the destruction of Babylon, you then come into 19 and the marriage supper of the Lamb and what a different story. Isn't it? Look at chapter 19 and at verse 6. And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thundering, saying, Hallelujah for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. You go to heaven and there's no doubt about the sovereignty and the omnipotence and the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the very subject of the song, the Lamb who is the Lord God omnipotent reigner. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. If you don't sing that song here, how can you sing it in glory? If you say that man reigns, free will reigns, not God, how can you sing that in glory? Because free will is not through willism. And it is not because of making an easy decision for Jesus. It's the need for being born again by the Spirit. And the need of sovereign grace in our lives that draws us to the foot of that cross. John Calvin, John Kennedy, John Owen, all these great men, Martin Luther, they all came to the foot of the cross and they drank in the love of God and Christ into their souls. It filled their souls. because they saw the glory of God, all the attributes of God. I have come, he says, to witness to the truth. What truth? The truth of who God is, and you see it at Calvary. His glory, his wisdom, his justice, his truth, his love and his mercy, all magnified. As the psalmist says, truth met with And you see that if you go on in verse 7 in chapter 19. Let us be glad and rejoice and give honour to him for the marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife hath been made herself ready. Go on to verse 10. And I fell at the feet and worshipped and he says see thou do it not I am thy fellow servant and thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of the body. to declare and to show the truth. And you notice that when he comes he says to Pilate, he doesn't say I've come to establish new truth. He's come to show the truth as it is in God. He's come to fulfil all the shadows in the Old Testament which themselves testify to the truth. The truth of what? The truth of God the Father. He has come to tell us the spirit of prophecy, the spirit of truth, the spirit that speaks of God. You listen to the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater than the apostle. And blessed. Now let's just for a few moments at the end, think of some of the characteristics of this King. Of all, He's the King of the Church, He's the King of Glory, the Lamb who's in the midst of the throne, the One whom the saints in glory will raise, blessed is the Lamb. They will sing the song of the Lamb in the midst of the throne and they will sing the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. That's what they'll sing. Let's see some of the characteristics of this Lamb. And you know when you come before Pilate, Pilate has before him two wonderful truths that show and open up something of the truth. He has come to testify to the truth. And how does he do that? Well he tells him. Revelation in John's Gospel he talks, he says, for this Was I born? Thou say'st, to this end was I born. Here's one who is born. King of kings, Lord of lords, yet he's born. He's born of our bone and flesh of our flesh. It's not just that the Lord Jesus Christ is a great high priest who is able to help and to succour in time of need because he has been tempted in all points as we are yet without sin, but even in his kingly office, he has exalted human nature to the right hand of God the Father. I, he says, was born for this end. Who was born? Pilate's told this as well, if only Pilate had some spiritual discernment. Pilate's been told this, for this cause came I into the world. You see, he was born, but in existence before that. Now who You and I wouldn't naturally, you and I would say, well I was conceived and I was born and I was conceived, born and I was brought into this world. But when you're talking about witnessing to the truth, can you and anybody else say, for this reason came I into this? He actually came. He had an existence before he was born. Now that's wonderful. The King of Kings and the Lord of Glory is God of very God, the Lord God omnipotent and he is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. So that you can say, who's standing here before Pilate? Well a man is standing before here, before Pilate. A man like you and a man like me. A man who has been persecuted, who has been He's standing there in all his humility. He's standing there before Pilate. But who's there? God himself. The second person. He's not there in his nature. He's there in our nature. But so far as his person is concerned, it is the second person of the Trinity. It is God. But it's God-man. If you see what you say about one nature, it can be said about the person. You can't confuse the natures. You can't say about his divine nature what you can say about his human nature. And you can't say about his human nature what you can say about his divine nature. But you can say about both natures about the person. This person is the second person of God. This person is man. And what Pilate has before him here is the God-man. And what a characteristic that is, isn't it? Whatever kings you have or authorities you have in this world, they do not have the descent that this king has. They can all talk about the kings and the descent of the Pope from Peter or whatever else. Nonsense. Look at the descent of the Lord. Look at him. Look at where this king has come from. And look at his power. Look at his power. The power of the lamb. You come to a lamb and you look at the power of a lamb. I used to have sheep, before I went into the ministry I worked in agriculture and I had my own sheep and everything and you could get a hold of a lamb, sometimes a lamb was difficult but you could get a hold of a lamb and a lamb wasn't really all that strong, you could lift it up and put it in your arms. Here's a lamb, here is a lamb of whom it is said that is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. That's who this lamb is, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He doesn't rule by the will of the people. The people follow Him. He subdues them to Himself and they follow Him. He doesn't rule by their will. They live by His will. That's the difference you see. And He rules with an absolute power. And you see that power magnified when even death itself is given up to Him. The grave could not hold Him. Even the grave itself, when it received, and here was a tomb that never before had received an occupant like this. The grave had never received an occupant like this. It was alien to the grave. And when that word came, and that stone was rolled away, the women came down and thought, we'll roll it away ourselves. We're going to do it. Couldn't do it, could they? They went there hoping, but they couldn't do it. Maybe a sinner comes hoping he'll do it himself, but the stone's still there, you see. They could never do it. But when these women came to the tomb, the stone was rolled away for them. Amen. Why? Why was the stone rolled away? Because Christ's voice, the voice of the Father, the voice of the Father, the voice of God, the voice of Christ, it couldn't hold it. And it broke it. See that's what's needed. I will take from you the heart of stone and I will give you a heart of flesh. That's what you need to see. What divine power. They hear my voice. My sheep hear my voice and they follow me because they hear as it comes with power. But not only that. Dominion. Dominion. Kings of the earth, you know, you read through chapter 17 and you read of 5 kings, then you read of 10 kings, some of them have no kingdoms at all but they're allowed to rule and to give it all to the feast. There are various kings, but here is a king whose dominion is from sea to sea and has no end. You can go with the gospel and nobody has the authority to stop you going with the gospel anywhere and preaching it anywhere. because you have the authority of the King of Kings and the Lord of Glory. His great dominion shall from sea to sea extend. Hosea says that the knowledge of the glory, the knowledge of what? He's speaking here of the coming of Christ, he's not speaking about the Gospel Because he's talking about it will go from sea to sea. As the waters cover the sea, what is it that will be seen? The glory of the Lord. That's what it is. That's what he's saying. The day will come, he says, when the glory of the Lord will extend to all the nations as the waters cover the sea. What dominion. And what stability. Nations today come and go, don't they? You know, even in our own lifetime. Even in the lifetime of some of the young people here, you've got a kingdom like Saddam saying, unstable, false. Alright, kingdoms come, kingdoms go. Here's one kingdom that is stable. Why is it stable? What makes it stable? Is it you that makes it stable? Is it me that makes it stable? Does my free will or anything else make it stable? What makes it stable is the covenant of grace. The covenant that God has entered into with His Son and that is sure and steadfast. That's a foundation, a wonderful foundation. The prophets and the apostles, Jesus Christ, the chief cornerstone. What greater foundation can you have for the church, for your soul's salvation, for the kingdom of grace, for heaven, than the covenant of grace. Even David the king at the end of his days says, I have a, he has established with me a great covenant, sure and steadfast. This is all my hope and it's all mine. desire. He is a king that has promises. Promises that are not just earthly. You know, churches that look to give earthly wealth and earthly pomp and outward, you know, you go in and people go, wow, look at this. Let me tell you something, that's nothing. It's not even entered into the heart of man, but God has prepared for them enough. He gives great and precious promises and these promises are yea and amen in Christ Jesus. Thank you very much. Yea and amen in Christ Jesus. These are promises and what wisdom! I couldn't see but came to listen to the wisdom of Solomon. You see in a way the half was not told me. Yet Solomon for all his wisdom was taken up eventually with women. And he himself at the end of the day had to say, you know, I've tried it all. But to trust in God, to go to Him, that's the only thing that shows wisdom. His sentences are ultimately brought to pass. He that believeth in me shall have everlasting life. He that believeth not shall not see life. They shall see perdition, destruction. He shall overcome them. And the sentences he places upon them. A king or someone in authority can lay a sentence on you. They laid sentences on the Covenanters. They laid sentences on the Reformers. They put them to death. They put them to the stake. Fear ye him that will destroy both body and soul in hell, and fear the Lord Jesus Christ in whose hands all judgment has been placed. God judges the world, it's God that will judge the world at the end of the day. But he's now placed that judgment into the hands of his Son, so that Jesus Christ will now judge the quick and the dead. He will judge the world and he will judge the world in righteousness. But finally, just by way of conclusion, another characteristic that this King has, how gracious, how gracious. No matter who came to the Lord Jesus Christ, and who sought from him. Nicodemus, in the middle of the night, the Lord no doubt tired, what would you do if somebody came to you in the middle of the night and wanted a theological discussion about salvation? You'd say, well, maybe come back tomorrow. I'm having a hard day, I've got wife and family and, you know, and the Lord Jesus in the middle of the night when Nicodemus came to him and he started, we know that thou art a A teacher come from God. What did the Lord Jesus say? Well yes Nicodemus I am a teacher come from God. It's as if he ignores her and takes Nicodemus to his ignorance. Nicodemus thinks he knows that Jesus is a teacher come from God. Jesus says to Nicodemus you must be born again. Someone came to me and said Mr Gracie, we know you're a minister, right? I said, well yes, I am a minister. First thing I'm going to say is, you must be born again. See, Jesus didn't go and entertain this, you know, Nicodemus coming and say, well I know you're a teacher and all that. I said, well you know I'm a teacher, you'll know this Nicodemus, you must be born again. He showed his ignoms. See? But how gracious he was with Nicodemus. Nicodemus, what do you mean I must be born again? Can I go back into the womb again? That which is born of the Spirit of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit of the Spirit. Nicodemus, you must be born of the Spirit. Then he goes on to show him how the son must suffer and be raised up as the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness, so must the son of man be lifted up. And then he goes on to show him the work of the Father. Nicodemus sitting here thinking to himself, this is all of the juice, wonderful. Jesus cuts even through all that and says, you don't even know that because God so loved the world that How gracious, how gracious. And you know Islam, you know what the motto of Islam is? Believe or die by the sword. The Lord Jesus said to Pilate, I told my disciples to put the sword down. We don't need that. But the church has been given something more lethal, a sword of Peter, and that's the word of God, the sword of the spirit. Can I ask you just in conclusion two things? First of all, do you know the saving grace of God that's to be found alone in the Lord Jesus Christ? ever brought you to cry out Lord help me help me Lord save me have you ever been born again and secondly if you have been born again do you often cry out Lord I believe help down mine unbelief oh yes Lord I even need once I believe I still need to be helped with all my unbelief But thirdly, I said there were two points, but I often do that, there's three points. There's three points. The third point is this. Do you rejoice that the head of the church is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords? And that all from the highest to the lowest, great and small, will one day bow before him. They will see His glory. They will see it. And you'll see it. And if you know Him, and you join that chorus in glory, what will your song be of the Lamb? The Lord God Omnipotent. He reigneth. Let us pray. Let us join together in prayer. Gracious and ever blessed Lord, We praise thy name this day that we come to one who gives us all the confidence to continue on. We do not come to one who is impotent and without power, who does not care, but we come to one who has shown his love and mercy upon his people at Calvary, who gave himself for his people, a Lamb who is now the King, the King of Kings and the Lord of Glory. We bless Thee that there was even wise men who had pronounced to them from the very heavens when the Lord Jesus was born into this world, Thy King cometh unto Thee. We pray and ask, O Lord, that Thou would bless Thy word to us this day. Give us grace to wait upon Thee, our God. May we seek Thy mercy and Thy grace every day. May we repent of our sins every day. For, O Lord, we must confess that we need wash, every day and we pray that thou would wash us that we would be clean and that we would seek to be faithful even as thou hast said in thy word those who are mine those who are his he calls them he has chosen them and they are faithful bless us therefore that we would be faithful and when we fall we pray and ask oh lord thou would pick us up when we sin that thou would forgive us that when we are weak then they would make us strong. Bless us and pardon us for Jesus' sake. Amen. We'll conclude singing in Psalm 110. Psalm 110. The Lord is saying to my Lord, said thou at my right hand, Until I make thy foes a stool whereon thy feet may stand. For Lord shall out of Zion send the Lord of thy great power. In midst of all thine enemies be thou the governor. A willing people in thy day of power shall come to thee. In holy beauties from morn's womb thy youth like Jew shall be. The Lord himself hath made an oath and will repent him never. Of the order of Melchizedek thou art a priest forever. The glorious and mighty Lord that sits at thy right hand shall in his day of wrath strike through kings that to him would stand. We'll sing these first five verses, the Lord's praise, Psalm 110, from 1 to the end of the verse, Mark 5. The Lord did say unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand. The Lord did say unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand. ♪ Until thy name thy fold assumes ♪ ♪ Where on thy feet may stand ♪ ♪ The Lord God of Zion's hands ♪ ♪ The rod of thy great power ♪ ♪ In wisdom of life ♪ We are the government, a willing people, united for common good. And all the beauties from our blooms I would like to see. For himself I've made an oath, I will remain at him never. All the honor of Calcutta Decks, the one That sits at thy right hand. Shall in his day of wrath strike through, Kings that to him withstand.