“A Different Kind of King” By Jesse Rairdon March 25th, 2018 Please remain standing as brother Joe Ramirez would open us with a word of Prayer.
Joe: Let's bow our heads before God. Heavenly Father, we call upon Your name, that great Name that You've given us to know You by. A name that's above every name and a name that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that You are Lord, whether it's in this life, or before You, when we stand before You and give account for this life that we lived, here on this Earth, for every word, for every action, for every reaction, for everything that we've done. Father, help us to realize that You mean what You say in Your Word. It is true, it is powerful, and it convicts. May You bless Brother Jesse, as I know that he has prepared all week. And, I know he is excited to share what You’ve given him. And, I know that You’re going to speak to him and through him. Father, may the hearts that receive this, Lord God, may they have prepared themselves to hear from You. And what they hear, Heavenly Father, because You told us to take heed how we hear. May we not allow the enemy to take away that what You want to plant in the hearts of Your people, today. Father, move, Holy Spirit, move, with Your presence, move with judgement and conviction. Move, Heavenly Father, and let us not allow Your spirit to be drawn away because of our rebellion, or whatever it may be. Move, Heavenly Father, in Your way. Bless Brother Jesse, anoint his lips. Heavenly Father, bring Your Word to life, because You said Your words, they are life, and they are Spirit. We ask You to move in Your way because that's the best way. In Jesus name we pray, and ask these things with thanksgiving in our hearts for all Your blessings. Amen.
Amen. Thanks, Joe. You may be seated. Our theme this month has been examples of our Lord Jesus. In John, chapter thirteen, starting at verse thirteen:
John 13:13-15 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
So, that's what we're talking about this month: the examples of Jesus. What is His purpose here? What are we to learn from Him while He was here? We think about Palm Sunday, as Andy was mentioning it earlier, we think about the triumphal entry, the people shouting Hosanna to the highest, laying down the palm branches in his path, and their coats, by the mule. But the Jews, this was also a time of the Passover. And, it had a different meaning for them as well. This was the time that they go to remember the deliverance from Egypt, when they were in bondage and God delivered them. So God told them to remember, and to keep this Feast throughout their generations, the Passover. They were waiting for the Messiah to come and deliver them again. From these oppressors, the Rhomaios, the Romans. So, there also was a group of people who were not, as Andy had mentioned, they did not welcome Jesus with open arms, they did not receive him, they were not rejoicing. They were not the leaders that God chose. They were self-imposed religious people, oppressing the people. The message title today is going to be, “A Different Kind of King.” The points we’re going to cover is: One: He is just. We'll talk a little bit about judgment. He is just. Second point is: He brings Salvation. And the third point is leadership through service. Servitude.
We're going to go to our first scripture in Zachariah, chapter nine, starting at verse eight. Now, Chris Ulrich is going to come up and read that for us. So this wasn't a shock to God what was happening; this was well planned in advance. God even knew that the Romans were there. Long before the Romans even existed.
Zechariah 9:8-11 And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having Salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.
Thanks, Chris. So, God knew about this long before this day had come. Long before the people got all excited that He was coming, long before. Many of them didn't even know the purpose He was coming, they were just caught up in the crowd, because later on that week we find that many of them were shouting—the same people were shouting, “Crucify Him.” Isn’t that like us? We get caught up in the crowd sometimes, get caught up in our emotions, see something on the news, and all of the sudden we're just with that wave of thought, and we’re angry at that person, because we got caught up in that emotion. There's a lot of emotions going on. That same day Jesus was entering, another parade took place in another part of Jerusalem, Roman history reports Pontius Pilate also entered the city that day with all the pomp and the glory of the Roman Empire. Drummers played the king some march, because this was not an ordinary entrance into Jerusalem. Pilate was the governor of the region, which included not only Judaea, Samaria, and Idumæa. Rome had a standard practice for the Roman governor of a foreign territory would be in its capital on the day of its celebrations, especially a religious celebration. And, this was the beginning of the Passover, a strange Jewish festival that the Romans had allowed. However, the Romans must have been aware that this festival celebrated the deliverance from another occupier, the Egyptians. So Pilate had to be in Jerusalem. Since the Romans had occupied this land by defeating the Jews and deposing their king about eighty years earlier, uprisings were always in the air. The last major uprising, long before Pontius Pilate's time, had been after the death of Herod the Great, around four BC. The uprising started in Saphoris, about five miles from Jesus's boyhood home of Nazareth. Before it was over, the city of Saphoris, and capital of Galilee, and the nearby town of Emmaus had been destroyed by the Roman Army. After putting down the rebellion there, the Romans marched into Jerusalem. After they pacified the city, the crucified 2000 Jews who were accused of being part of the Rebellion. The Romans made their intolerance for rebellion well-known. So, on this occasion, Pilate had traveled with a contingent of Romans finest from the headquarters in Caesarea by the sea to this stuffy, crowded provincial capital of the Jews, Jerusalem. So, when the people were calling out to Jesus, “Hosanna, Hosanna!” there was also this other procession, this other show of force. These other people, these other oppressors. So, you can imagine, kind of at the same time that this was going on, a lot of the people were just getting caught up, saying, “Here is our deliverer. He's here. He's going to take these Romans away, wipe them all out, and we'll be done with the Romans.” But, Jesus was a different kind of King.
Point Number 1: He Is Just.
In the beginning of Matthew, chapter twenty-one, verse one:
Matthew 21:1-9 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches [that's the palm branches] from the trees, and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
Can you just imagine just shouting this? Another part of the Scriptures, even though the Pharisees tried to quiet them, “Can You tell them to be quiet? Can you tell them, ‘Stop shouting this?’” And, Jesus even said if they would be quiet the rocks would even cry out (Luke 19:39-40). This was a time to be excited, for the people who loved Jesus.
Matthew 21:10-11 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
They didn't even really understand that He was the Son of God, many of them, except His close friends, the disciples.
Matthew 21:12-13 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
“Wait a minute, wasn't He come here to kick out the Romans, to defeat this Roman army, and deliver us from the Romans? But here He is in the temple, turning over tables, and disrupting what we're doing here?” See, He wasn't coming to drive out the Romans; He was just coming to set His house straight. He was coming to set His house in order. They had taken what God had taken, this place, Jerusalem, that the whole world had seen for a house of prayer, and made it the wrong thing. They made it for their own purposes. So, deliverance doesn't always come from external things; as, more often, when God is dealing with us, it’s from internal things. The things that come from the inside. The things that we need to be cleaned up in our lives. When God comes to us and says, “This is wrong, son, this is wrong, My daughter. You need to get this right.” So, He's coming to judge the house of God. We’re the Temple of the Living God. Are you going to allow God to come in and clean up some things in your life today? First Peter, chapter four, verses fourteen to nineteen, Brother Ed Kretzer is going to come to read those. Judgment must begin at the House of God.
1 Peter 4:14-19 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
Amen. Thanks, Ed. Sometimes we’ve just got to allow God to take all our problems away. Take away those evil thoughts that keep yelling at me and telling me to do things that I'm not supposed to do on my job. Take away that co-worker that's always seems to be trying to undercut me and make me look bad in front of everybody else. Take away my family who just doesn't seem to get it. Or, we're there to make this happen. We're there to take the suffering. And be the Christian that God has called us to be. Because, not only is He a different kind of King, but we're a different kind of people. Judgment must begin at the House of God. Which brings us to our next point.
Point 2: He Brings Salvation.
Salvation can't come until judgment gets things set in order first. You can't realize that you need Salvation unless you realize that you're wrong. Someone's got to tell you that you're wrong. You're going the wrong way, a sign might tell you, when you're going the wrong way, you might get hit by another car. But if we don't listen to that warning sign, if we don't listen to that Judgment of God, we're not going to receive His Salvation. Zechariah, nine, eleven says, back to the first Scriptures we read.
Zechariah 9:11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.
So, we're talking about the Covenant, and talking about the water; we're talking about Salvation. Jennifer is going to come and read Matthew, chapter twenty-one, verses twenty-three through twenty-seven. Jesus is coming to town; will you listen? He's visiting us today.
Matthew 21:23-27 And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet. And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.
If they would have listened to John the whole time, they would not have needed to ask Him, “What Authority do you do these things by?” because John prepared the way, John talked to them about these things. I kind of wondered, when I was preparing this message, why did He ask them that question? Why would He ask them by what Authority, about the baptism of John, specifically, at this time? He could have given them any number of Scriptures, He could have told them about his lineage from David to prove Himself, but He said this question is the reason. So, let's examine John's baptism, and John's purpose, a little bit, as it relates to the Covenant that Jesus brought for Salvation. Luke chapter one, verses seventy-six and seventy-seven. This is a prophecy over John, and it says:
Luke 1:76-77 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his way; To give knowledge of Salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,
To give knowledge of Salvation unto His people by the remission of sins. So, John's purpose, his prophecy was to give knowledge of Salvation through the remission of sins. If they would have just listened to John when he was out there preaching and baptizing folks, they would have got it. They would have gladly been out there laying down the palms and the reeds and their coats and been just as excited as everybody else. But they had position, and they trusted in their position and their so-called authority, their self-righteousness instead of the king who would arrive. Luke, chapter three, verses one through six, and brother Todd Bostwick is going to read that for us. And let's take a little time to lay this foundation out, here, it's very important that we not overlook the importance of baptism and remission of sins. The whole reason why He was coming there this day.
Luke 3:1-6 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the Salvation of God.
So, we see this talking about when John started his mission, he received word from the Lord, he said, “Go prepare the way for the Salvation of God, and make his paths straight, and he began to baptize. Preaching baptism of repentance and the remission of sins. This was all prophesied long before John even arrived, in Isaiah (Isaiah 40:3-5), it quotes that Scripture here. Preparing the way of the Lord preparing the way of the King, preparing the way of Salvation, bring Salvation to his people. See, Salvation had to come first to the Jews through Jesus. He had to bring it to them first. But, they rejected Him. Jesus, on the night that He was betrayed said this, in Matthew, twenty-six, twenty-eight:
Matthew 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Without the shed blood of Jesus, there would be no remission of sins. Because, if you really study, and look into the Law, all the things that were done, the sacrifices were made, and the purging for the remission of sins, for atonement for the people of God. But, what that couldn't do was bring Salvation. Yeah, we could say we're sorry for ourselves, and Jews could keep saying they're sorry for themselves, but they couldn't bring the atonement like Jesus did, couldn't bring the Salvation. And Luke, chapter twenty-four, Rob Severance is going to come read verses forty-four to forty-eight.
Luke 24:44-48 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.
Amen. This was after He rose, He’s talking to his disciples, and He opened their understanding. You ever been taught something all your life, and all of the sudden the light bulb comes on? That's understanding. This is that understanding point. They've been with Him all this time. Three years, probably even more than that because God was dealing with them through John. There's things that they didn't understand until He opened their understanding. He said, “This is the whole reason why I suffered. This is the whole reason why I came. This is the whole reason why I rose,” That repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations beginning at Jerusalem. Acts chapter two—Hector is going to come read this—verses thirty-eight through forty-one. Now, many of you have heard this before, and have received this message, but we also have to continually go over these things and share with others.
Acts 2:38-41 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
So, starting at verse thirty-eight, and Peter said— they had just realized, this was after Jesus had rose, and they weren't doing what Jesus said told them, after He opened their understanding, they were here in Jerusalem, Peter was preaching the message, and they just realized they crucified the Lord. In verse thirty-eight, Peter said,
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
You shall receive the Salvation. Peter didn't get up and preach any other message, he preached exactly what Jesus had told him to earlier in Luke, that repentance and remission of sins would be preached in His name. Like Joe was sharing in his prayer, that there is no other name above the name of Jesus. You see, Jesus was a different kind of King. He's coming to save their souls. He didn't come to save you from the world, He came to save you so that you can be a witness and a testimony in the world. He's not going to take all your problems away. Yes, He heals you, and He gives you Deliverance, and He keeps you safe. But, there's times he's going to allow you to go through some things, some things that are even going to get you to question, at times, even your Salvation, and, just go back to him. Go back to the source. Say, “God, I need you. What do you have in this for me? This time in my life, why am I going through this? Why the sadness? Why this depression? Why this sorrow, right now, God? I want to be delivered. God, save me one more time. I need you to be a light in the darkness so that people can be saved.”
Point 3: Leadership Through Service; Servitude.
As I drive—right now I drive Lyft—and, Friday night, I'm picking up a gentleman and his sister, she graduated from boot camp, the Navy boot camp. Thank you all the military for serving, by the way. Put your hands up, give a little quick wave. Thank you for serving. We have two Army guys and four or five Navy people. God bless you. Now, don't get into an argument as to which is better the Army or the Navy. We all serve together. So, is I'm giving a ride to this gentleman and his sister, I first dropped her back off at the base, because she had to get a flight at two A.M. to get to her next school the very next day, so they didn't have a lot of time together, I dropped her off and then we had some time alone, me and the gentleman, because I was taking him back over by Midway. Quite a ride, you know, it's a little over an hour. Back over by Midway, the hotel over there. He started talking a little bit, “So, what you doing this weekend?” “Other than driving Lyft, and preparing a message for the church.” He said, “Oh. Share with me about it: we've got time. I'd like to hear about the message” so, I started to share with him a little bit about the theme of the month, how Jesus came and He washed His disciples’ feet, and He was giving an example of service, and how we have to live a life of service. And he said, “You know what? That's what I shared at my father's funeral. I said to the people that were in attendance that we have to live a life of service.” So, I shared more with him. I'd like to say that he had me pull over and he said, “Here's water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?” It didn't happen that way, but I had a moment of time just to kind of share with him, so he got the message before you guys did. Who knows where God is going to take that, to plant that seed, the seed was planted, the heart was ready for it? It's not up to me whether or not he decides to receive the Gospel of God. It's my job just to show the seed. Just to go back out—and the same as with your job. Wherever you go, whatever you're doing. giving someone a ride, helping a neighbor out, sometimes we forget that we have neighbors around us, don't we? Kind of close ourselves in our little houses, kind of like to be in our own little world where we're safe, but just across the street there might be someone hurting. Might be crying. Might be thinking about committing suicide. You're the light that's in the world. What are you doing in your soul? Are you going out of your way, your convenience, shutting off your TV? If nothing else, are you even praying for him or her? We are the light of the world. We are a different kind of people. He's a different kind of King. Do you think the King would just come and hang out with all young leaders or kings? No, He came as the lowliest of the lowly, sinners, like me and you, to see us saved. John, chapter twelve, no, chapter thirteen, verse number twelve:
John 13:12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?
Do you know what the Lord has done to you? Do you know what He's done to you?
John 13:13-17 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
So, don't just know them, you're going to be happy if you do them. When you think about servitude, I looked up the definition. The biblical definition means to be a slave, literally, a slave. So, when Jesus took that position of washing His disciples’ feet, He took the lowest position of the house. Not even the children, not even the house guest, would take that position, but He took the position of a servant, of a slave and washed the feet. That's how we should treat one another. No, don't be a doormat for somebody. But, if somebody calls and needs a ride somewhere, somebody calls and needs a prayer somewhere, if we find out somebody lost a loved one, are we going to set aside our lives for a little bit of time and go pray for our brothers and sisters? Are we going to serve like He did? Are we going to love? That's how you really show the love of God, is serving. Action. Can you just kind of imagine Him, getting up from the table, taking what He had girded around Himself, and washing his disciples’ feet? Can you imagine yourself in that room there, just kind of having it happen? I can kind of see how Peter reacted, that “Lord, I'm not going to let you do that to me. You're the Lord. If anything, I should be doing it to you.” But He said. “Then you have no part with Me. If you don't get this part right, if you don't get the serving part right, you have nothing to do with Me. We're done right here.” He said, “Not only my feet but my hands in my head also.” But, what was the Lord's reply to that? “Well, you're clean, but not every whit. There's something you've got to take care of.” Let's go to our closing Scripture, as Andy prepares to close us in a few minutes. Revelation. So, if you struggle with serving now, you're going to struggle with serving later, too. Back to that point, where Jesus—He's going to come back on a different kind of horse, that's in Revelation, too, and conquer folks and stuff. That's going to happen later, we haven't forgot that's in there. But right now, He's coming to save. And while we're here, He's coming to save us. Revelation chapter seven, verse nine.
Revelation 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Those palms in their hands, interesting, huh?
Revelation 7:10-12 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
If you ever want to know what to say to God, this is some good stuff to say to God. If you ever want to know how to really glorify God, this is good stuff right here.
Revelation 7:13-14 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? [and where did they come from, or] and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
They took on that baptism for the remission of sins. They obeyed the gospel. These are them that went through the tribulation, the tribulation wasn't taken away from them, they stayed where God wanted them to be.
Revelation 7:15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
So, yeah, service is going to be something that continues Beyond this life. Get used to serving now. That's a good point.
Revelation 7:16-17 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters [Plenty of water there]: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
Amen. God bless you, church.
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