Sermon Series

No Other Name (2014)

No Other Name (2014)
King of Kings and Lord of Lords
Dave Rodriguez | Dec 24, 2014

Message Transcript


The contrast could not be more startling…
baby in a manger / warrior on a horse
on one hand:
And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7 (KJV)
and on the other hand…
I 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. His 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. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Revelation 19:11-16
Jesus as he was / Jesus as he is
That second reference is, to some, a picture of the future, to others a vision of the past, and to others a picture of present reality…but to all it is an image of who Jesus is right now.
Basileus basileōn kai kurios kuriōn - KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS
· doesn’t need much explanation as to what it implies
o authority, supremacy, jurisdiction, command
o Jesus Christ has universal sovereignty

· There is no one over him …
o He is Greater than any king, queen, emperor, monarch, pharaoh, sovereign, or ruler
o He towers over all dictators, tyrants, despots, Caesars, caliphs, or czars
o He has jurisdiction over all generals, overlords, field marshals, prime minister, president, head of state, premiers, governors, mayors, commanders in chief
o He is greater than any head honcho of anything, anywhere, ever.
Basileus basileōn kai kurios kuriōn -
Jesus is KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

Last year – Time Magazine - When we set out to rank the significance of historical figures, we decided tonotapproach the project the wayhistorians might, through a principled assessment of their individual achievements. Instead, we evaluated each person by aggregating millions of traces of opinions into a computational data-centric analysis. We ranked historical figures just asGoogleranks web pages, by integrating a diverse set of measurements about their reputation into a single consensus value.

Let me remind you of just some of the kings, lords, geniuses Jesus towers over…



Napoleon
Muhammad
Shakespeare
Abraham Lincoln
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Adolf Hitler
Aristotle
Alexander the Great
Henry VIII of England
Charles Darwin
Karl Marx
Julius Caesar
Martin Luther
Joseph Stalin
Albert Einstein
Isaac Newton
Charlemagne
Theodore Roosevelt
Mozart
Plato
Beethoven
Bach
da Vinci
Augustus
Benjamin Franklin
Winston Churchill
Genghis Khan
Thomas Edison
Friedrich Nietzsche
Freud
Gandhi
Galileo
Buddha
Constantine
Socrates
John F. Kennedy
Augustine
Copernicus
Lenin
Robert E. Lee
King Arthur
Michelangelo
…and Elvis Presley



What gives him the right to such distinction? Where does he get off? Who does he think he is?
No one else had hundreds of years of prophecy precede him.
No one else had such a regal lineage
No one else has ever been born as miraculously as Jesus.
No one else ever appeared before they were born.
No one else ever set aside their divine nature on behalf of the world.
No one else had angels attend his birth.
No one else had a miraculous astronomical sign appear on his behalf.
No one else has ever had the holy spirit descend on him as a dove.
No one else stood up face to face with the Devil and stared him down.
No one else turned water into wine.
No one can touch his healing power over paralyzation , blood disorders, mental disorders, skin disorders, blindness, deafness, fever, a severed ear…and death itself.
No one can match his power and authority over the spirit world to drive out demons .
No one else has ever had the power he had to change, bend and control nature…fish, trees, weather.
No one else has ever walked on water.
No one else has ever multiplied food.
No one else was transfigured on a mountain in the presence of long dead Elijah and Moses
No one else’s teaching has been quoted as frequently.
No one else’s teaching has as many ancient manuscripts.
No one else’s prayers have been prayed as fervently.
No one else’s death unleashed an earthquake.
No one else’s death provided salvation for all of humanity for all time
No one else’s death destroyed the power of death itself.
No one else has ever risen out of the grave.
No one else inaugurated a world wide kingdom
No one else created and launched the church.
No one else has had more Billions of followers .
No one else created every molecule in the world.
No one else has been the same yesterday, today and forever.
No one else is sinless.
No one else is the son of God
No one else is the Word of God.
No one else IS God.

Basileus basileōn kai kurios kuriōn
Jesus is KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
So…then…what are we to do with this?
the way I see it – you have two choices and two choices only:
1. Disbelieve it.
It is your God given right and ability…you have the free will to roll your eyes.
It is fully your prerogative to call this myth, legend, folklore or fairy tale.
If you do…I respect your thoughtfulness…but…may I suggest you make darn sure you are right about this? The stakes are too high…
- because there is a lot riding on it including your eternal destiny,,,and that of your family not to mention the state of life as you k now it today.
So…just to make sure…would you make 2015 the year to make sure you are right in your atheism? I or we would love to engage you in the conversation.
2. Believe it. Jesus is indeed King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
- and Paul describes the proper reaction to this belief:

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11

If you do believe in Jesus universal sovereignty then
· bow your knee (surrender) with your palms open
· confess…declare with your mouth and life that he rules all
· submit all of who you are to his agenda…serve him
· make 2015 the year of surrender.

Those are your only two options.

What is NOT an option is some lame middle ground.
What is NOT an option is a fence sitting, apathetic, disinterested, mumble mouth agnosticism.

This is the posture of the vast majority of Americans. So if you are meh about Jesus you are just like most theologically weak minded people.

Sorry, but you are not allowed that non-position… Basileus basileōn kai kurios kuriōn Jesus is KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS…does not leave you that option…
…and neither does Jesus himself : If you are lukewarm…you are distasteful to me.
May I suggest you make 2015 the year you theologically man up.
· you afraid he’ll ask to much? Yep he will
· you afraid this will set you apart from your friends and family…yep it will



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