I Serve a Risen King

This message was delivered by Sheila Schuller Coleman from the pulpit of the Crystal Cathedral. It was aired during the Hour of Power program on Hong Kong's ATV World Channel on 5 February 2012.

We’re continuing today in our message series, “The King and I.” I’ve had such a wonderful time getting to understand and to learn more about what it means to serve a king.

I, like many of you, was raised in a democracy, I don’t really understand what it means to be a kingdom resident. I don’t know what it means to be raised in a colony. I don’t know what it means to serve a king. Yet, the Bible repeatedly talks about the kingdom, the kingdom of God, that God is our King.

Therefore, we need to understand this concept. It’s central to the Bible, and to our faith, and to us as we live today. If we don’t understand this concept, we’ve missed the boat - we’ve missed everything about God and about Jesus Christ.

The Kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom here on earth. God designed it to be a divine, benevolent monarchy. We have a God who is a King, our King. Let us understand what that means. God is King, not because I, Sheila, say He is. God is King, not because we have all gotten together and voted Him in as King. Presidents are voted in and voted out. Same with prime ministers. They’re voted in, and they’re voted out. When was the last time you knew a king who was voted in? Doesn’t happen. King’s are born to be a king. They are born with a royal bloodline and they are the king whether you like it or not.

I’m thrilled that God is King because He’s a benevolent monarch. He’s a good King. He’s a loving, providential King. He provides everything we need. And you cannot be a king unless you own the land. Did you know that? Do you know any prime minister who owns the land? Do you know any president who owns the country? No. They rule, they have influence, but they have no ownership of the entire country.
A king owns the land. The king owns the kingdom and God, as King, owns this world. God, as King, owns this universe. He created it. It belongs to Him. And there ain’t nobody going to ever take it away from Him. You can’t take it away from Him, I can’t take it away from Him, we’re not going to vote Him out. God is on the thrown as the King and He stays on the throne. He has been there for eternity. He will stay there for eternity.

God owns everything, so what do we have to fear? Isn’t that a blessed reassurance that God is alive? He is the King, He is on the thrown, and He owns this land.

Our King knew we needed Him, and He knew we needed to see Him so that we could better understand Him and have a stronger, more intimate relationship with Him. God said, as He foretold through His prophets, said that the King is coming. The King is coming. The King’s coming to earth! Wow. What a huge thing for Him to say. And it’s in the Bible. God told the prophets to tell the people to expect Him. To tell the people to expect the coming of the King. The prophet Zachariah encouraged us to rejoice, be happy, throw a party because your King is coming to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. God spoke through the prophet Isaiah. He said to tell the people this: “A child will be born. A child will be given and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And of the increase of His government and peace, there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over His kingdom.” The King is coming, God said through the prophets. The King is coming.

For a long, long time, for thousands of years, the people looked and waited. The King’s coming. Is He coming today? Is He coming tomorrow? The King’s coming. When will the king come? We can’t wait for the King to come because we’re feeling oppressed, we’re feeling discouraged, we need to be saved, we need to be delivered. We need the King to come and rescue us. Why?

Historically, what did a king do? Not only did the king own land, but the king’s job was to protect the people. A king would fight for his kingdom. A king was usually a warrior king who would ride into battle and would fight to the death for his people. When a king would ride into battle on a warhorse, or ride into a battle in a chariot, the king would either die in battle or reign victorious. That’s what the people expected of a king and they longed to be delivered by this King who was foretold by Isaiah.

For some of these years as the Hebrew people waited for their King, they were in captivity, in exile in Babylon, in Persia. While there, they would talk and they would read about the King who is coming. The King is coming and we will know the King, we will recognize the King. It was no secret that they were anticipating the arrival of the promised King.

Eventually the Magi of Babylon and Persia heard. They, too, had read the sacred writings, these prophecies, and they were very much aware that the Hebrew people were waiting and praying for their King to come and deliver them. They knew that it said in the Scriptures, in Numbers 24:17, “A Star shall come out of Jacob, and a Scepter…,” a sign of royalty, “…shall rise out of Israel.” The Magi also knew this prophecy, in Micah 5:2: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel…"

The Magi knew these prophecies.

What was a Magi? They were considered experts in analyzing the stars, interpreting dreams, and studying sacred writings and even magic. Does the word “magic” come from the word Magi? Probably. Nevertheless, they knew these prophecies, so when they saw the star, they knew the time had come. The King, the long-awaited, long-expected King was born.

So we read in Matthew 2 about this event: “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star when it rose and we have come to worship Him.’” When King Herod heard this, of course he was not pleased. He assumed this new king would come, ride into battle as a warrior king, and take his throne away from him. This is what the Hebrew people expected, as well.

How do we know that Jesus was the King? How do we know that? There’s so much evidence.

First, there’s the royal bloodline - Jesus came from a royal bloodline. In Matthew 1, it gives the whole genealogy of Jesus. It was prophesied that the Messiah would be a descendant of David, of David’s throne. The entire first chapter of Matthew presents the genealogy, the family tree of Jesus, and there it is revealed that Jesus was a descendant of David, in the royal bloodline. Jesus comes from a royal lineage because kings always do.

Secondly, we have the Magi as witnesses. In a court hearing, a lot of weight is put on the testimony of outside, independent, expert witnesses, and that’s what the Magi were.

In addition, we know that star it was no ordinary star or the Magi wouldn’t have traveled as far as they did. We know, from history, that frequently it was a change in the stars that heralded a change in the throne, a change in who was going to be king. That’s another reason why Herod was so concerned. He though that, oh my goodness gracious, here it comes; I’ve lost my throne.

That’s how we know that Jesus was the prophesized King. He was the culmination of God’s promise. Jesus was born a King. We do not make Him a king, you and I. He was born a King. All we get to do is respond to His kingship, to acknowledge Him, to do as the Magi did and fall before Him, worship Him, adore Him, follow Him, and serve Him.

However, this King and his kingdom were misunderstood completely. The Hebrew people where expecting Him to be a warrior king. They were expecting someone to lead them in their revenge against an unjust government. They expected him to take “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But Jesus came and He said, “No, no, no. Turn the other cheek. Love others. In fact, don’t just love your neighbor; don’t just love the ones that you get along with. Love your enemies.” Wow. Jesus came and gave a completely different message than what they were expecting. He talked about an entirely different kingdom than what they had believed would come. He came to bring a totally different type of deliverance and salvation. He did not come as a warlord or warrior king. He came as a Prince of Peace.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the people thought, oh wow, the champion’s riding into the city to deliver us. Hosanna! The revolution has begun. Hosanna! The deliverer, the Savior is on the march and going to lead us to victory. Hosanna! They were expecting a warrior messiah. Though Jesus did come to fight a battle, He came to fight the ultimate battle as the ultimate warrior. He didn’t come to fight a battle with flesh and blood. He came and fought the battle against the principalities of darkness, and He fought to the death for you and for me.
How did Jesus fight?

I have a real aversion to fighting, so when raising our four sons, I taught my boys, saying, “You’re not to fight back.”

“Mom, what are you talking about? What do you mean don’t fight back?”

“I said you’re not to fight back.”

“But what are we supposed to do? We don’t want to be wimps.” They wanted to be manly men.

I said, “You know what, the manliest man I know who ever walked this earth was Jesus Christ. Nobody was more courageous then Jesus Christ. And He turned the other cheek. He walked away. He laid down His life.”

It reminded me of when Jim, the boys, and I were in Amsterdam visiting. We were sitting in a coffee shop and our server asked us, “Are you from America?” When we said that we were, she continued, “I have to say, we in the Netherlands and in Europe are still so grateful to the Americans who came to fight on that beach in Normandy to save us from the Nazi oppression.” Imagine what it must have been like for them in Europe under this Nazi rule that was killing people. Then to hear the news that the rescuers had come onto the beach and they’d been rescued; they’d been delivered. On those beaches of Normandy, wave after wave after wave of men, actually boys, laid down their lives for the freedom of Europe.

Jesus did the same thing. He was the ultimate warrior. He was the Prince of Peace. It takes more courage to lay down your life than it does to take another’s life. And so Jesus the King was killed. In fact, when Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate, the ruler asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

And Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest. But know my kingdom is from another place.”

“Oh, so You’re a king then,” said Pilate.

Jesus said, “You are right in saying I am a King, for it was for this reason I was born.” Jesus came to lay down His life for you and for me.
People have said to me, “Sheila, I admire how you have fought for this ministry.” And I scratch my head because I’m not a fighter. I don’t have a clue what they mean when they say that. And then as I studied for this message, I realized it’s because I’ve been willing to sacrifice and lay my life down for this ministry. That’s how I have fought for this ministry. I will continue to lay down my life for this ministry. I will continue to lay down my life for my Lord and Savior, no matter the cost, because I serve a risen King. I serve a King. I serve a King who laid down His life, but He did it knowing, knowing, knowing that there was resurrection Sunday coming.

He is a risen King and I believe that He has the same resurrection power for you. You may think that your life has come to an end. You may think that your marriage has come to an end. You may think that you’ve faced a dead-end in your life. But it’s never over. It is never over. God reigns, Jesus reigns, Jesus lives, and we serve, we serve, we serve a risen, a risen, a risen King.

Lord God Almighty, thank You, the ultimate warrior, the ultimate fighter, the Prince of Peace. Oh God, we pray that You will lift us up so that the resurrection power will manifest in our lives. We pray that You will pick us up and put us on our feet, even as we lay down our lives for You. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.