In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25).
We are living in interesting times. We are presently witnessing a revival of interest in the Constitution because we have never seen our elected politicians show such disregard for the law of the land. Each day we see the expansion of Big Government, the freedom of the common man shrinks. We are seeing the slogan; “Don’t tread on me” showing up at tea parties and rallies all over America.
However, during the Revolutionary War, there was another slogan that was widely held in the hearts of the patriots and freedom fighters; “No king but Jesus”. I encourage you to do a Google search of that term to learn more about the spiritual mindset of those times.
During a recent prayer meeting, the Lord spoke to my heart this phrase; “The Gospel is not a religious issue, the Gospel is a governmental dominion issue.” I was stunned by the clarity and force in which those words struck me. Its true. Jesus did not come to establish the “religion of God”, He came to establish the “Kingdom of God”.
Isaiah prophesied; For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of [his] government and peace [there shall be] no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6-7).
A casual reading of the Gospels will quickly reveal that John the Baptist, Jesus and His disciples, focused their teaching on the Kingdom/Government of God. The apocalyptic prophetic books all focus on the Kingdom of God coming to bring to an end to the empires of man for all time and eternity. The coming of the Kingdom of God has always been the blessed hope of the people of God.
However, this generation of Christians seems to be more interested in what A.W. Tozer called “The Utilitarian Christ”. He is the one who can help you win the Super Bowl, throw a no-hitter, and find success in anything your heart desires. After all, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, right? Wrong. The man who wrote those words was a sold out servant of Jesus Christ who had only one thing on his mind; following and obeying the desires of the King of Glory. To imply that Christ is mostly interested in our success in life is to remove Him from the Throne of History and reduce Him to little more than a good luck charm.
The Gospel of the Kingdom view of Jesus offers a totally different perspective. The Word tells us that Christ is fully God, infinitely holy and has a burning zeal to judge the nations and bring His government to all the nations of the earth. God has enthroned His Son to be King and Lord, (the same thing) over all, meaning that due to His glory and power, all men would be wise to fear a King so great. Holiness consumes His inner being and He has little tolerance for the folly of this world therefore He is fully committed to its demise. His ultimate plan is to create a new heaven and a new earth.
His call to the nations to repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand, is a warning siren to all men that this present world is under the sentence of death and men should abandon it and seek the mercy of God while there is time. But that is not all. The world is starving for a just and righteous Ruler, one who can and will lead history to its glorious destiny, a destiny that is above and beyond all that we could ask or think.
The time has come that we should proclaim like John the Apostle on the Isle of Patmos; Jesus Christ, [who is] the faithful witness, [and] the first begotten of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
Daniel saw Christ and said; And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: His dominion [is] an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom [that] which shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7:14).
If people fail to grasp of Gospel of the Kingdom of God, (the government/dominion view of the Gospel), they will by default embrace the religious view. When people see Christ as the leader of a religion, they place Him in the same category of as the other religions of the world. He becomes just another way of being religious. When we do this we inadvertently remove Christ from His exalted place above all things and He loses His authority and majesty in the minds and hearts of the people of the earth.
Anyone who carefully reads and thinks through the Scriptures, will discover something altogether different than nice moral teachings of peace and love for us all to follow. The Bible is about a real King, a Man, who has been enthroned over all government, dominion, principalities, powers, men and earth itself. There is nothing that we can think of that is not under His dominion and therefore, must answer with fear and obedience.
This view of the Gospel might sound strange to some but it is the view offered in the Word of God. We are so accustomed to hearing about the utilitarian Jesus that we have incorrectly interpreted the Gospel to mean that God likes everyone and everything just fine with Him. Such a view of Jesus Christ comes from the pit of hell because it strips Him of the attributes that distinguishes Him from all others in heaven or earth.
Maybe the problem we have with coming to grips with seeing and embracing the Jesus Christ of the Bible is that we could never fathom or even fantasize someone like Him. The only way we can get our hearts and minds around Him in some measure is through that intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. It is His good pleasure to reveal God to our hearts that being our blessed reward.
Christ will never hold the place of King and Lord of all until the people of God are brought face to face with the truth of who Jesus Christ is in reality and fact. If we fail to present Christ as King, the righteous standard by whom all men will be judged, and stop appealing to men based on what Christ will do for their careers, bank accounts, marriages and home life, Christ will never be enthroned where He must be enthroned, in the hearts of His people.
A Christianity that fails to own Christ as King and Lord will downgrade into religious humanism. It will deny Him His right to rule in the midst of His people and therefore offer a distorted view of Christ in its witness, if it has one at all. Our worship of Him will be weak because our view of Him will be of a cosmic social worker or religious icon. Paul closed his letter to Timothy by saying; Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. Jesus Christ is at this very moment a sitting King waiting till His enemies become His footstool. (Psalms 110:1).
It is mentioned four times in the Book of Judges, “in those days, Israel had no king” and twice it is added that “and every man did what was right in his own eyes.” It seems that Word of God is implying that without a King, the King of Glory, men will do what they think is right in their own eyes. This is not a good thing. For the most part, the Book of Judges is not the best of times in Israel’s history. If we are left to ourselves without the presence and influence of the King of Glory, we are lost and blind, living apart from the majesty, glory and victory of the risen Christ. Are we deceived into thinking Christ is King in the midst of His people in this modern age?
It has been my experience in recent weeks to ponder and meditate upon Jesus as King. A new passion to see Jesus’ full expression as King and Ruler is filling my soul. I want Him to have and hold the highest place in my heart and mind so that He might truly be Lord and King of my life and so I can preach Him to others.
Final Note: I recently scripted a ten page study on this subject and forwarded a copy to a pastor friend and asked him to review it. He responded by saying that it reminded him of the last article A. W. Tozer wrote and published just before his death called “The Waning Authority of Christ in the Church”. I have posted this article on the Bread Basket Ministries website and it can be linked HERE.
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