INTRO.- ILL.- It happened in the jungle one day. A lion with a big ego went around asking the other animals who the king of the jungle was.
“Who’s the king of the jungle?” the lion roared at a monkey. “Why you are, Mr. Lion,” said the monkey with fear in his voice.
The lion went on and found a zebra. “Who’s the king of the jungle?” he snarled. “There is no doubt about it. You are Mr. Lion,” said the zebra.
Seeing a turtle crossing his path the lion bellowed, “Who’s the king of the jungle?” Scared out of his shell the turtle said, “You are Mr. Lion. You are the king of the jungle.”
Then the lion came upon an elephant. Once again he roared out the question, “Who’s the king of jungle?” The elephant used his trunk to grab the lion by his tail. He spun him around over his head several times, dunked him in a mud hole, and slammed him into a large tree.
Dazed and dirty the lion said, “Just because you didn’t know the correct answer was no reason to get upset.”
Brothers and sisters, not everyone in our world and America recognizes who the king of the jungle is! We live in a jungle in this world and there is a king! And some who don’t recognize him for the person he is, treat him badly.
Will the “real” King please stand up?
- There is the man who thought he was the king.
- There is the man they called “the king.”
- There is the man who wears the name “King.”
Will the real King please stand up? Who is the man who thought he was the king? That’s the ex-heavyweight boxing champ of the world, Muhammad Ali.
Who is the man they called the “the king”? That’s Elvis Presley, the king of Rock and Roll music.
Who is the man who wears the name “King”? It could be several Kings but the one I was thinking of is Don King, who is a boxing promoter. In fact, at one time I believe that he was Muhammad Ali’s promoter.
Will the real king please stand up? Obviously, from a spiritual standpoint, none of these men are the King.
I thought Muhammad Ali was a great boxer. No doubt, he was, but he was certainly not the King. Elvis Presley was super singer. Millions upon millions loved him and his music, but he was not the King. And boxing promoter, Don King, was far from the King.
Brothers and sisters, there is only one true King and we know Him!
Rev. 19:11-16 “11I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. 12His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” Wow!
Actually, there is more in these verses than we can begin to comprehend or even explain. He is, however, King of kings and Lord of lords!
ILL.- The song says it so well.
All hail the power of Jesus’ name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all!
PROP.- In our text, Jesus is described in various ways, which enforce the fact that He is the King and needs to be crowned Lord of all.
1- He is the Savior
2- He is the Creator
3- He is the Head man
I. HE IS THE SAVIOR
Col. 1:13-14 “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
ILL.- One time the famous evangelist, Billy Sunday, wrote to the mayor of the city asking for names of people he knew who had spiritual problems and needed help and prayer. How surprised he was when he received from the Mayor, A CITY TELEPHONE DIRECTORY.
What is that scripture? Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
The biggest problem than all of us face is life is sin. We may need money, a house, a car, food, clothing, but our biggest problem is dealing with sin. And our biggest need is having it taken away.
ILL.- At a missionary station among the Hottentots, (one of three tribes of South Africa) the question was asked, “Do we possess anything that we have not received of God?” A little girl five years of age answered immediately, “Yes, sir. Sin.” SMART GIRL.
ILL.- Dr. Walter Wilson, ever on the alert to speak to men about their souls, asked an attendant at a service station who had filled his car with gas: “How did sin get in Sinclair?” pointing to the lighted sign atop the gas pump. “I do not know, sir, how sin got into Sinclair; but, sir, I have wished many times that I knew how to get sin out of my life!” How? We know but some people don’t.
ILL.- A girl named Angie Smith wrote: WHILE WORKING in a new pizzeria, I was surprised to find that many people had never eaten pizza. One customer admitted this when she came in for a takeout order. I explained our menu and took great care in helping her make her decision. After baking her pie to a nice golden brown, I sliced it and slid it carefully into a box. "I hope you enjoy your first pizza," I said.
"Thank you," she replied -- and she promptly tucked it under her arm as she left.
Can you believe that anyone wouldn’t know what pizza is? And that they wouldn’t know how to carry it in a box?
It’s not any different than some people today when it comes to overcoming sin. Many people, if not most, don’t know what to do about it or how to overcome it and be forgiven for it. Many people just wallow in their sin instead of getting relief from it and forgiveness for it.
ILL.- The German scholar, Goethe, said, “If I were God, this world of sin and suffering would break my heart.” And it did.
II Cor. 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Col. 1:13-14 “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Jesus is the answer. Always has been. Always will be. He’s the only answer to man’s sin. Jesus’ death on the cross is the cure.
From a purely human perspective it makes no sense to believe that one man’s death on a cross could cure our sins, but from God’s perspective it is possible. And people must believe in Christ and in what He did on the cross and surrender to Him in order to be forgiven and overcome their sin. Christ is the Savior. Crown Him Lord of all.
II. HE IS THE CREATOR
Col. 1:15-17 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
He is the image of the invisible God. Like father, like son. Can you name some famous sons who looked like their fathers? Will Rogers Jr. Peter Fonda. George W. Bush.
If there ever was a son who imitated his father in every way, it was Jesus.
John 1:18 “No one has ever seen God, the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made Him known.”
John 14:9 Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”
Heb. 1:3 “The Son (Jesus) is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.” Wow!
For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth.
ILL.- Did you know that when a beaver builds the entrance to his home, he always takes into account how thick the ice will be the next winter. And even though ice thickness may vary from winter to winter, THE BEAVER NEVER MISSES. How is it possible that he never misses the mark?
ILL.- Did you know that butterflies never try to fly until their bodies reach exactly 81 degrees F. If they did, the material on their wings would come off. How do they know when it is exactly 81 degrees?
ILL.- Last week I had to see a gastro-intestinal doctor. While I waited in the room for the Doctor, I noticed that he had on his wall two pictures of the internal workings of the human body: the stomach, intestines (small and large), colon, and all that other stuff. I stood there and studied in amazement, trying to figure how everything works and gets through that maze. And I was again amazed and I marveled.
Brothers and sisters, life on planet earth is not an accident as some might think. We have an all-wise creator in Jesus. Crown Him Lord of all.
III. HE IS THE HEAD MAN
Col. 1:18 “And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.”
ILL.- It was said that those who worked with President Dwight D. Eisenhower found him very bright, tough and commanding. But Ike liked to verbalize his leadership role in a softer way: He said “I am not one of the desk-pounding type that likes to stick out his jaw and look as if he is bossing the show. I would far rather get in the background and, recognizing the frailties and requirements of human nature, try to persuade a man to go along—because once I have persuaded him, he will stick. If I scare him, he will stay just as along as he is scared, and then he is gone.”
I like Ike. Remember that phrase? I can’t say whether Ike was a good or perhaps a great President or not, but I like his philosophy. A good leader is one who is supportive of his people and tries to encourage them as best he can. But I think we all would agree that not all leaders are good leaders!
III John 9-10 “I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us. So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.”
What does this Diotrephes sound like? Have you ever met Diotrephes? I have. At least one time and perhaps a couple of times.
ILL.- Many years ago while serving in one small church one of the board members came to me and said, “We need to change the evening worship time from 7 p.m. to 6.” I said, “Well, we will need to talk to the board about it.” He replied, “I am the board.” And he proceeded to change the time for the evening service.
ILL.- Recently, I heard the story about a young Baptist minister who started a new ministry. He was stopped by one man in the church before he ever started preaching his first Sunday. The man said, “I run this church. I have money. I sent the last preacher packing and I can do the same thing to you unless you do what I tell you.”
NOW WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT? Shocking! Want to know what happened? I was told that young preacher went into the pulpit and called for an immediate congregational meeting. He told the congregation what the man had just said to him and he asked for dismissal for that man from the board and from membership of the church. Someone in the church gave a second to the motion, the congregation voted and he was gone!
SO BE IT. That man was a Diotrephes who ran the church, but in truth, there is only one Head of the body of Christ. And we must crown him Lord of all.
CONCLUSION-----------------------------
ILL.- It was said that Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, and Jesus for only 3. Yet the influence of Christ’s 3-year ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of teaching from these men who were among the greatest philosophers of all antiquity. Jesus painted no pictures; yet, some of the finest paintings of Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci received their inspiration from Him.
Jesus wrote no poetry; but Dante, Milton, and scores of the world’s greatest poets were inspired by Him. Jesus composed no music; still Haydn, Handel, Beethoven, Bach, and Mendelssohn reached their highest perfection of melody in the hymns, symphonies, and oratories they composed in His praise. Every sphere of human greatness has been enriched by this humble Carpenter of Nazareth.
All hail the power of Jesus’ name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all!
