A King of Power and Authority
John 18:36
I. Introduction:
a. We have been keeping our eyes on the Presidential race
i. We cast our votes on November 7th
1. Many of us waited up to see who would be the next president, but were left hanging and have been left hanging for several weeks
ii. We have watched as the State of Florida has gone through a recount.
iii. We have heard the arguments and debates about what constitutes a legitimate ballot that should be counted.
1. Emphasis has been put on the ballots that have the famous “dimpled Chad”
a. Before the election, I have to admit, I never even knew what a Chad was other then the name of a person I went to school with and the name of a country in Africa.
b. Now these “Chad’s” have become so popular they want to put them in the Smithsonian
b. Some say that this “election limbo” that we are in is affecting us in a variety of ways.
i. Politicians suggest that while we are in a state of flux our nation’s political position is being affected.
ii. The stock market has fluctuated significantly because of this indecision.
iii. The though also has been presented that Christmas sales are down because of peoples un-sureness of the outcome of this election.
c. Like many of you I curiously wait to see how this drama hopefully comes to a conclusion soon, but my life does not depend on the outcome of this election.
i. Because I have a leader that is:
1. Higher then any man’s authority
2. More powerful then any force seen or unseen.
II. I HAVE A KING THAT HAS ALL ATHORITY AND POWER
a. He established the foundations of all that exist.
i. Genesis 1
1. “And God said…”And it was so.” “And God said…And it was so”
2. If God says it, it will happen (whatever “it” is)
b. Creations testifies to His power and Authority
i. Romans 1:20
1. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles
c. His Power & Authority are Supreme
i. King of Kings and Lord of Lords
1. Revelation 17:14
2. There are other kings that rule and reign over us, but there is still one that is higher then all of them.
ii. He is a dictator
1. We don’t like that word though, it brings imagery of:
a. Bondage
b. Cruelty
c. One who seeks his own gain.
2. The simplest definition for a dictator is one who has absolute power.
3. There are two types of dictators
a. Humanistic Dictatorship
i. Born out of one persons desire or belief to be superior to another person
1. Selfishness
ii. Characteristic - Temporal
iii. Examples of Humanistic Dictators
1. Julius Caesar
a. Caesar, Gaius Julius (100-44 BC), Roman general and statesman, who laid the foundations of the Roman Empire.
2. Mussolini
a. Mussolini, Benito (1883-1945), premier-dictator of Italy (1922-1943), the founder and leader of Italian Fascism.
3. Adolf Hitler
a. Hitler, Adolf (1889-1945), German dictator, who launched World War II in 1939. Making anti-Semitism a keystone of his propaganda and policies, he built the Nazi Party (see National Socialism) into a mass movement. For a time he dominated most of Europe and North Africa. He caused the slaughter of millions of Jews and others whom he considered inferior.
4. Joseph Stalin
a. (1879-1953), leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and secretary-general of the Communist Party in the USSR from 1922 to 1953,
5. Saddam Hussein
iv. Pursuit of this kind of dictatorship is domination through manipulation, deceit, pain, guilt, and judgment. Sound familiar? Sounds exactly like what the devil does.
b. Devine Dictatorship
i. Born out of a Creator – Creation relationship
1. Seen in service
ii. Characteristic - Eternal
iii. Example of this kind of Dictatorship
1. Only between God and his Creation
iv. Pursuit of this kind of dictator relationship is Love and care
d. All the power and Authority that established the foundations of everything that exist is found in the person of Jesus Christ.
i. Jesus has all authority
1. Matthew 28:18
a. When Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me
ii. Jesus’ authority is demonstrated in:
1. His teaching, He taught, “as one who had authority” Mark 1:22
2. His Ability to heal
3. His ability to forgive Sins
a. Matthew 9:2
b. Mark 2:5
c. Luke 5:20
d. Luke 7:48
4. His ability to cast out demons
a. Mark 1:24-25
i. What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” 25 “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” 26 The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
5. His ability to control the physical elements
a. Mark 4:39
iii. God has come to establish his supreme rule, through Christ – who is God in the flesh. (John 1:1, 14)
1. His Rule is not a human dictatorship but a Devine dictatorship as we see in John 18:36
a. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
b. His rule will last for ever (Daniel 6:26; Luke 1:33)
c. His pursuit is love (John 3:16; Ephesians 5:1)
i. Napoleon thought he could be great because he founded a kingdom on force. Perhaps it’s worth listening to his words of warning at the end of his life. Napoleon said, “Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ alone founded his empire upon love. And at this hour millions of men would die for him.”
e. The Power God used to created the foundation of all that exist that were manifest in Christ are now manifest in the Church through the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ
i. Acts 1:8
1. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
ii. 1 Thessalonians 4:2
1. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus
f. Some people deny the Kingship (along with the power and authority that are his)
i. 1 Samuel 8:6
ii. But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do.”
iii. If we deny the king and his power and authority then we will always find ourselves dominated by others or in struggle with others to keep the power and authority that we think we have.
g. We must declare his Kingship, embrace His kingdom power and kingdom authority
i. In our marriages
ii. In our parenting
iii. In our jobs
iv. In our church
v. In our witness of Christ and for his glory!!
Conclusion –
We need to lay down our lives in the kingdoms of this world and embrace the eternal kingdom of Power, which is only found through Jesus. We need ask Jesus to come and rule over us with a spirit of love so that the world and the devil who rules over us by manipulation will know that will not be dominated by flesh or foe.
