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 wages 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. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is 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. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. (Revelation 19:11-16 NIV)
Jesus is the “King of kings and Lord of lords”! That’s the message of Ascension Day. Jesus ascended into heaven, where he reigns over everything as our King. There’s nothing outside King Jesus’ control. I find myself telling people all the time: “Jesus is in control.” It’s so easy to say, right? “Jesus is in control!” So why are you still so worried? Why am I so anxious? “Jesus is in control!” Those are some of the easiest words to say, but the hardest words to believe.
Because it sure doesn’t seem that way. 21 more people killed this past week. At an elementary school. Such evil! And the sad thing is, we’re not even really surprised. Because it happens all the time! Violence and murder and abuse. Jesus is in control? There is so much evil.
God has a lot of enemies! I once watched a YouTube video mocking creation. 2 million people had watched it. 50,000 had liked it. Many commented below it: “Christians are a special brand of crazy.” “It’s child abuse to teach creation to children.” “Hey brain-washed people, get with the 21st century!” Insult after insult. How does that make you feel? For me: Anger and Fear! Why doesn’t God do something? Jesus is the “King of kings and Lord of lords.” “Really, God? Do you hear what people are saying? What they’re doing? It sure doesn’t seem like you’re King!”
You walk into Target, and right at the entrance are all these shirts with different pronouns on the front. Have you noticed that? Right at the entrance. You choose your pronoun, right? When we lived in Minnesota, our governor said that people who say that God determines gender at birth are on the “wrong side of morality” and hold an “extreme” position. You got that? To believe that God decides if a person is a man or a woman is “immoral” and “extreme.” That’s you!
It’s getting to be too much, isn’t it? The insults ring in our ears. “Are you really so old-fashioned to think that marriage is just between one man and one woman?” Get ready: Pride month starts on Wednesday. Our culture is going to parade its sins around in the streets. “Are you really going to say that a woman can’t choose to do whatever she wants with her body? Are you really going to base your life on some pipe dream that there’s this fantasy world called ‘heaven’ waiting for you?” We could go on and on, couldn’t we? It’s hard. If you believe what God says in his Word, you’re old-fashioned. Intolerant. Immoral. Wrong. That’s hard to take, isn’t it? Then we hear, “Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords.” Huh? God’s the King? What’s he doing?
As if all that weren’t enough, there are the struggles in your own personal life too. There are places in your life where it sure doesn’t seem like Jesus has been in control lately. Finances are a constant worry. Relationships cause great pain. You try not to think about the worry, because it only makes you more worried. The easiest thing to say is, “Don’t worry, Jesus is in control of your life.” The hardest thing to believe is, “Don’t worry, Jesus is in control of your life.” We say that Jesus is in control. But how often don’t we live each day stressed out and worried, because we doubt Jesus’ control and feel like we have to face life on our own?
If that’s how you feel today, God has the perfect message for you. God lets us look into heaven, not to see what heaven is like, but to see what Jesus is like. You might be surprised. John writes, “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True… His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns… He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood.” Every time your heart is troubled or worried, this is the picture of Jesus that God wants you to remember: Jesus your King on his white horse in heaven.
The world tries to convince us that Jesus is old-fashioned and irrelevant and weak. They couldn’t be further from the truth! Here’s what Jesus looks like: He has eyes like blazing fire. There are some people who when you look into their eyes fill you with confidence—that’s Jesus. Eyes like fire. And he’s got many crowns on his head. At first, I wondered how you could have more than one crown on your head. But Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords. How do you get to be King of kings? By defeating all the other kings! Jesus wears all their crowns on his head.
And his robe is dipped in blood. A normal king would have worn an expensive cloak made of fine purple. Jesus wears a robe dipped in blood. We’re used to connecting Jesus with blood. With his blood he died on the cross and saved us from our sins. But this isn’t Jesus’ own blood on his robe. What’s he doing? He’s fighting against his enemies, and he’s winning. His robe is covered with their blood. Now that’s a gruesome picture, but when we see God’s people suffer insults from his enemies, it’s good to know that Jesus will never let his church lose. Is this the picture of Jesus you have in your mind? The eyes. The crowns. The blood. You should! This is our King!
King Jesus has an interesting name: “His name is the Word of God.” John also wrote the Gospel of John. Do you remember how John starts? “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Jesus is God’s Word. Realize what that means. Any attack on God’s Word is an attack on Jesus. When someone denies a part of God’s Word, he is denying Jesus. Jesus is the Word of God! Do you see how that works? You can’t have Jesus without the Word. When someone calls the Bible old-fashioned or irrelevant or wrong, they are calling Jesus himself old-fashioned, irrelevant, and wrong. “His name is the Word of God.”
To emphasize that, check out Jesus’ sword. Of course, King Jesus has a sword! Did you catch where his sword is? He doesn’t hold it in his hand. “Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.” Jesus—the Word of God—has chosen to use one weapon in the world—his Word. That’s Jesus’ sword. God’s Word is what convinces us that everything we know about Jesus is true. God’s Word is also what condemns those who refuse to believe in Jesus. So, at the same time, God saves with his Word, and God wages war with his Word. He gives us beautiful promises about Jesus, and he gives us stern warnings about rejecting him.
Don’t think for a second that there won’t be judgment for the enemies of God. John says that Jesus “treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.” Think about it this way: If we look around the world and are upset at what we see, how do you think God feels? If there is a sin that makes us angry, even with as desensitized to sin as we have become, how do you think God feels? We have a God of perfect love and perfect justice. In his amazing love, he sent Jesus to die as the world’s Savior. In his perfect justice, he will punish all who reject Jesus and choose to make themselves their god. Don’t ever think that an enemy of God will get away unpunished.
Because here’s the name of the God we serve: “king of kings and lord of lords.” Friends, if you have based your life on the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, in the end you will not be disappointed. Don’t ever lose hope because of everything that’s happening. Don’t ever think for a second that God is not in control. Jesus is the “King of kings and Lord of lords.” That’s true! In everything you do, don’t forget the One who is always in front of you. In everything that others do to you, don’t forget the One who is always in front of you. Don’t ever forget who Jesus is!
But is there a part of you that’s scared? If Jesus is really that powerful… If Jesus is really going to punish his enemies… Do you take Jesus seriously? Do you obey his commands? If not, this is whom you are warring against: “The King of kings and Lord of lords.” Perhaps the greatest lie today is that Jesus doesn’t judge. What a lie! Jesus is going to judge the living and the dead. His sword is already in his mouth, and his robe is already covered in the blood of his enemies.
How can we be saved? Only by being covered with the blood of Jesus. That King of kings is the One who shed his own blood to save us from God’s judgment. When you trust in Jesus, Jesus’ blood covers you. Your sins are forgiven. Your sins are already paid for. For those who refuse to believe in Jesus, there will be nothing more terrifying than seeing the King of kings! For those who believe in Jesus, there is nothing more comforting than the King of kings. Our Savior!
Can you see that? Sometimes we Christians place tremendous burdens on ourselves. We see all God’s enemies, and we get stressed out about how to defend Jesus. As if it’s up to us to save God. What a silly thought! A pastor named Charles Spurgeon used to ask, “How do you defend a lion?” What would you say? If I were to have my pet lion up here in front of you in a cage, and if all of you were to sit there and insult and mock my lion, what would be the best way for me to defend my lion? Let him out of his cage! The lion would defend himself better than I ever could!
Do you see his point? We live in a society that loves to attack Jesus. So we try so hard to defend him. We try to think of all the craftiest ways to explain his Word. Here’s a better idea. Let the Lion out of his cage! Jesus can defend himself quite well. If the people around you insult God, the best way to respond is to let the Lion out of his cage—to speak God’s Word. Our job is not to do the fighting. Jesus is going to do the fighting. Jesus is going to do the judging. Our job is to use Jesus’ weapon—the Word of God. You are not holding Jesus up. Jesus is holding you up.
Do you think Jesus is afraid of atheists? Not the King of kings and Lord of lords! Do you think Jesus is afraid of evolution? Not the King of kings and Lord of lords! It doesn’t matter what some pastor says or how the stock market finishes or what falls apart next. Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords! This is what makes Ascension Day such a special day. We get used to seeing Jesus die on the cross. That’s how he took our sins away. Right now, though, Jesus is not dying on the cross. He’s done dying. Now he is reigning! Jesus lived for you. Jesus died for you. Jesus rose for you. But Jesus isn’t done with you. Now Jesus reigns for you in heaven.
That is what gives us peace each day: Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords. Someone once asked me, “Is it a sin to worry?” I wanted to say, “No, of course not.” Because I worry all the time. I worry about what could happen to my kids. I worry about whether we’re strong enough to face the persecution that will come because of our beliefs. I worry… How could we not worry? But then you look at Jesus on his white horse, with eyes like blazing fire, with many crowns on his head, with the blood of his enemies on his robe, with this name written on his robe, “king of kings and lord of lords.” How can I worry? Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords!
Comments