Jesus the King

You may know him as Savior and that he is, but today I want to make sure you understand him as king. Dr. Tony Evans says people have problems when the conversation shifts from what Jesus offers to what he commands. We don't mind Jesus carrying the title as long as he's not telling me what to do. Celebrating 40 years of faithfulness, this is The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans. Author, speaker, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, and president of the Urban Alternative. We love the idea of having a savior, a comforter, a friend in high places, but a ruler? Not so much. Today, Dr. Evans reminds us that Jesus, the gentle shepherd, is also the King of Kings.

Let's join him. If you came into my home and you were smoking a cigarette, I would tell you, you need to put the cigarette out. If you came into my home and you cussed like a sailor, I would instruct you that you would have to adjust your language because we do not allow profanity in my home. Now, the reason why that's the case is, is my house.

And in my house, there are certain governing guidelines by which all who enter must adjust, because I'm the one paying the price. And so, even though I have invited you into my house, it may not be a meaningful gathering in my house because you're in conflict with my house because you're in conflict with me as the head of my house. My daughter conflicted with me about something.

I don't remember what it was, but she was arguing with me about something during her rebellious teenage episode. And then I was trying to explain to her how things were going to go, and she walked away. Exactly. She walked away while I was talking.

Exactly. To which I said, where do you think you're going? She says, I'm going to my room. To which I said, no, you're going to the room I might let you sleep in. Because, see, she had a wrong view of that room.

That room is in my house. And because that room is in my house, she doesn't own it, she gets to use it. Because sometimes, if you are a parent, you know, teenagers can get confused on whose house this is. They want to conflict with you, having not paid a bill, having borrowed your electricity and your gas, your food, and your furniture.

But they want to argue about what somebody told them outside of your house, that they bring it inside of your house, and they want you to adjust. God has a house. The name of His house is called His kingdom. God's kingdom is His rule over His creation. This creation is called God's house.

The earth is the Lord's, the fullness thereof, and the world and all they that dwell in it. He calls the creation His abode. God decided that He was going to run His house a certain way. And the way He was going to run His house was through a creature He would create, who would run His house on His behalf for Him, and that creature would be called mankind. And so, in Genesis chapter 1, the Bible says that God created Adam, He created Eve, and He says, I'm going to let them rule. Adam fumbled the ball because he turned the running of the earth over to the devil when he rebelled against the owner of the house, God. Sin entered into the world, bringing chaos to humanity and corrupting God's creation. God wants His house back. But because of how God set it up, that He would only run His house through a man, through a human being, He did not cancel that approach.

And so He says that I need another man, because the first Adam failed to run my house my way. This led to the unfolding of the Old Testament in anticipating a man who would run God's house God's way, a king, if you will, who would rule on earth from the perspective of heaven. The whole Old Testament is the anticipation of this king. When Jesus came, John the Baptist took the center stage in Matthew chapter 3 verse 2, and John the Baptist says, repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. When Jesus began preaching in Matthew 4.17, He stepped onto the stage of history, and He says, repent, for the kingdom of God is right in front of you. When He sent out His disciples to preach in Matthew chapter 10 verse 7, He says, you go out and you proclaim that the kingdom of God has arrived, because the King is here.

So when we talk about Jesus Christ and the name that we're talking about today, you may know Him as Savior, and that He is. But today, I want you to make sure you understand Him as King. Because He is King, He has a kingdom, a house over which He rules.

It was this claim to His kingdom, and as King that got Him killed. In John chapter 19 verses 14 to 22, Pilate says, here is your King. They said, crucify Him, crucify Him.

That's after they had laid out palm branches on Palm Sunday and laid out their coach, and says, Hosanna, the King has arrived. One week later, crucify Him. Unfortunately today, there are many people who come to church and say, Hosanna, but leave and say, crucify Him. Because we don't mind Him being King by name as long as He's not King by authority. We don't mind Jesus carrying the title as long as He's not telling me what to do. To say that Jesus is King is to declare that He is the ruler of His kingdom. Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 24, 14 to preach the kingdom of God.

Don't miss this. My job is not only to tell you how you can get to heaven. My additional job is to tell you how you can get heaven to you.

When you trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, that got you to the sweet by and by. When He becomes your King, He joins you in the nasty here and now. Unfortunately, we preach how people go to heaven by faith alone and Christ alone, but not how people are to live under Jesus' rule until they get to heaven. Because we want Him to be a Savior, we do not want Him to be our King. And because He is a King, He demands allegiance in His kingdom. Jesus Christ wants to be your Savior who takes you to heaven and your King who rules your life in history.

Which means that your question on every subject in your life should be one. What do you want me to do about this? When you begin asking that question to your King and answering that question in the affirmative, there are only two words you're supposed to give to that question. Yes, Lord.

Yes, King. When you ask that question and answer that question, now you are functioning as a citizen of His kingdom and not as a Benedict Arnold in His kingdom. Now, the problem is when we come into God's kingdom, we bring our own rules with us. We bring how we were raised, what mama taught me, what daddy taught me, what the media taught me, what this taught me, we bring our old way of thinking and living into this kingdom.

It's going to be a conflict. When your teenage kids bring their friends' way of thinking into the house that disagrees with you, there's going to be a conflict. Because they're insisting that you adjust how you run your house because of what they think, what they believe, and what their friends say. My father used to tell me, you ain't lived long enough to recommend anything to me. You ain't been here that long. When it comes to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who is from everlasting to everlasting, you ain't been here that long. He says, I want all of your decision-making to come underneath my rule. I am not just here so you can have a Sunday service. I'm here to rule all of your life because I am your king.

So you are no longer first obligated to that which contradicts me. Dr. Evans will come back with more of our message in just a moment. First though, longtime listeners to this broadcast know that Tony has hosted a number of teaching trips to the Holy Land throughout the years. Well, whether or not you've traveled to Israel with him in the past, we have a wonderful opportunity for you to bring home much of the engaging spiritual perspective Dr. Evans has been able to share from the actual locations where Jesus walked. Our team members have documented his tours, and now these photos, talks, and insights are beautifully presented in a large high-quality photo book called Experiencing Israel. Tony's current teaching series is all about developing personal intimacy with Jesus as you get to know his names and their meanings.

And this book will help you grow closer to him as you see and learn about the places the Lord visited during his time on earth. For a limited time, we're making both resources, Experiencing Israel and the comprehensive 11-part audio series, Encountering Jesus' Names, available to you as our gift when you make a contribution toward Tony's ministry. To get all the details, just visit tonyevans.org or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222. Again, that's tonyevans.org or call 1-800-800-3222, where resource team members are standing by to help you around the clock. I'll have that information for you again after Part 2 of today's lesson.

Let's rejoin Dr. Evans now. The Bible says, seek ye first the kingdom of God, Matthew 6.33, and his righteousness, and then he says, and then all these things will be added to you. In other words, seek my kingdom and the king got your back. Do your own kingdom and my kingdom and you take care of yourself. I like the way Luke puts that same verse because Luke throws in something else because when Luke says it in Luke chapter 12, verses 31 and 32, he says, when you seek the kingdom of God, it's my Father's pleasure to give you the kingdom. In other words, I can't wait.

I can't wait to show you what I can do. I can't wait to let you see what happens when the king takes over your life, when the king takes over your direction, because it's the Father's pleasure to give you the kingdom. So a lot of us are missing out on some things God wants to do, and as a result, the kingdom becomes a conflict for you. It becomes a nemesis to you, and so you'll want church, but you don't want kingdom.

You don't want rule. The Bible says in Philippians 3, verse 20, you are now, I am now, we are now to view ourselves as citizens of heaven. It's your nation. It's your official place of residency.

We are citizens of the United States of America. This is our kingdom. Our kingdom is the U.S. of A. It's our kingdom.

Because we belong to this kingdom, we belong to its constitution and its rules. Now, if you travel, you have a passport. That passport allows you to leave this kingdom and go to other kingdoms. You can go to other countries with your passport.

That passport will identify you, whether you're in England or Spain or Russia or China. That passport says, I'm visiting. I don't belong here, and I may be visiting for a long time, but I'm not a citizen here. I'm a citizen of the United States of America.

When you accepted Jesus Christ, you became a citizen of heaven. He does not expect you to leave your passport at home when you go to work, when you go to play, when you hang out with your friends, when you go to the bank. He does not expect you to leave your passport at home pretending that you don't belong to your homeland. You are part of the kingdom of heaven, and the kingdom of heaven means when you're not in heaven, because we're not in heaven right now, that means that right now we have to carry our passport on the locations of earth that we happen to be, because this is not our kingdom.

This is a foreign country we're visiting for a certain limited period of time. See, what a lot of Christians want to do, they want to be here without a passport. But if you lose your passport, you've lost your legitimacy.

You've lost the official documentation of where you really belong. Jesus Christ says, I am king of a kingdom. He is ruler. He is the final authority, and therefore he says, repent for the kingdom of God is at hand.

He's not just talking about going to heaven, he's talking about experiencing God's rule, which starts off with accepting him as savior, but the kingdom of heaven is his sphere of authority and rulership. Jesus says, Matthew 28, 19, 20, all authority has been given to me, not only in heaven, but he says on earth. I'm in charge of what finally happens at work. I'm in charge of what finally happens in your house. I'm in charge of what finally happens in your relationships. I'm in charge of all that.

So if I'm in charge of all that, it is in your best interest to let me rule all of that. And so he says, your job is to repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. Repentance is the internal determination to turn, proven by fruit. That is visible demonstration you are serious. God's not taking your word for it.

You just could be in an emotional high right now. So he says, no, I won't see some fruit on this tree. You've got to show me something. I'm from Missouri, God says. You've got to show me something. In other words, let me see you're serious by your decision, not just by your church attendance. You must now say, whatever you want me to do, I'm going to do it even though I don't want to do it.

That's called faith, because faith has to operate against emotion sometimes. He is king, and I will give you the final designation of his name in Revelation 17, 14, where it says, these will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings. And those who are with him are the called and the chosen and the faithful. And then in chapter 19, verse 16, and on his robe and on his thigh he has a name, a name written King of kings and Lord of lords. It says in verse 19, and I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against him who sat on the horse and against his army. He's not only king, he's King of kings.

Okay, don't miss that. He's not only king, he is king, but he's also King of kings. When he talks about him being King of kings, it says the kings of the earth go against him. That means all the other chief people who think they in charge are going to come against him. Jesus is going to show the kings that he's not only the king, he is the king of all the other kings. He doesn't just boss the low-level folk.

He doesn't boss the mid-level management. The folk who think they in charge, who think they have the last word, he's king over top of them. The folk you are afraid of, the folk who got more money than you, the folk who have more clout than you, the folk who have a higher position than you, Jesus said, I'm king over them. I'm not only king over you, I'm king over the folk who you think are king over you. So I can not only overrule you, I can overrule the people you think can't be overruled because I'm king of kings and I am Lord of lords. That's why no human being has the last word over me. No human being has the last word over you because no human being is king of kings. They may be a king, but they're not the king. You know the king and the king is king over all other folk who think they're kings because he's king of kings. And in the book of Revelation, when he comes then, he's not just coming to be nice.

He's coming to show up and show off. It's like the man who saw the wagon run away with a little boy in it. And he saw the wagon, the horse was dragging the wagon, the boy would be killed.

The young man ran over and he was able to get to the horse and he stopped the horse and he stopped the horse and he saved the young man's life. The young man grew up and the young man became a very terrible boy. He became a terrible young adult and he began to commit all kind of crimes. He was finally found for committing a dastardly crime. He was brought before the judge.

When the young man looked up, he noticed. He noticed that the judge was the same man who had saved him when he was a boy. It was time for him to be sentenced. That's when the young man said to the judge, Your Honor, I don't know if you remember, but I'm the boy you saved when I was young. I'm the boy you delivered when I was young.

What he was hoping was, because he reminded him of that, that he would get a less sentence. That's when the judge said, Well, back then, I was your savior. But right now, I am your judge.

Right now, God is your savior. When you stand before him, he's going to be your judge. And he's going to want to know then, What did you do with my salvation in ruling your life as a member of my kingdom when you stand before me at the judgment seat of Christ? Don't let him just be a king. Let him be the king. Don't just let him be a king or the king.

Make him the king of all kings so that you can see what it looks like when the king takes over the rule of all of your life. If you're ready to do that, here's Dr. Evans with a word about how. If you have yet to accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior, we can resolve that right now. I'm going to say a little prayer.

Say it after me, but you've got to mean it for yourself. Lord Jesus, I'm a sinner, and I know I need a savior because I can't save myself. So right now, I trust you alone because you died for me and arose for me.

To be my sin bearer, you are now my substitute. And I'm believing you to forgive my sin and to give me eternal life. Thank you for the free gift of salvation that you have given to me.

Help me to live a life to please you. In Jesus' name, amen. Welcome to the family, and we'll keep ministering to you for your spiritual growth through our broadcast. God bless you. If you prayed that prayer right now, let me encourage you to visit TonyEvans.org and follow the link that says Jesus.

There, you can download some free follow-up resources that will help you get your brand-new life started right. Well, a quick reminder that today's teaching is part of Tony's 11-lesson series, Encountering Jesus' Names, and all the full-length messages are available right now on CD or digital download with our thanks when you make a contribution to support Dr. Evans' ministry. Along with it, we'll include the gift-worthy hardcover picture book Experiencing Israel we mentioned earlier.

This special combo offer will only be available for a few more days, so we encourage you to contact us right away. Either give us a call day or night at 1-800-800-3222 or connect online at TonyEvans.org. Again, that's 1-800-800-3222 or online at TonyEvans.org. Mention the word priest, and many people picture a man with a clerical collar or an ancient Jew offering sacrifices. But how many picture Jesus? Probably not so many. Well, that can change tomorrow when Dr. Evans explores the deep meaning of Jesus' role as our high priest. We hope you'll carve some time out of your Thanksgiving celebration to join us. The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans is brought to you by the Urban Alternative and is celebrating 40 years of faithfulness thanks to the generous contributions of listeners like you.