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[0:00] Psalm 110. The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.

[0:14] ! The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion. You will rule in the midst of your enemies. Your troops will be willing on your day of battle, arrayed in holy majesty, from the womb of the dawn you will receive the dew of your youth.

[0:33] The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. The Lord is at your right hand.

[0:44] He will crush kings on the day of his wrath. He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. He will drink from a brook beside the way.

[0:57] Therefore, he will lift up his head. Well, all week long, the Lord Jesus has been reigning on the throne of God.

[1:10] Have you been dealing with him as your king? Giving him the worship, the trust, the praise, the prayers that a king like him deserves.

[1:23] This world didn't take kindly to the Lord Jesus, did they? The promised king of David didn't fit their expectations. He wasn't the kind of king, nor was his kingdom the kind of kingdom that they wanted.

[1:40] And so they rejected him and crucified him, but God raised him from the dead, exalted him to the highest place in the universe, the very throne of God himself.

[1:51] Remember, he ascended through the clouds into the highest heaven. And there God seated him on coronation day, ascension day.

[2:05] He seated him there at his right hand. He said to his son, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.

[2:16] And Jesus, the obedient son, did just what his father said. He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. He was seated on the throne of God.

[2:28] That means he was formally installed in his office as king. And that by God the Father. That means right now he is reigning as king.

[2:42] So we want to consider today the present reign of our king. Open to Psalm 110 if you're not there. There's no passage in the Old Testament that is quoted more in the New Testament than Psalm 110.

[3:00] God wants to show us just how great this king is. Even as our Lord himself quotes this passage and points out in the Gospels that this promised king is greater even than King David.

[3:21] Because Jesus says here in Psalm 110, David calls him my lord. So I am David's son and yet David's lord.

[3:33] You see he quotes from Psalm 110 to show the greatness of himself. He is God, David's son as to the flesh, but David's lord as to his deity.

[3:44] He's even greater than the angels. For Hebrews 1.13 asks the question, To which of the angels did God ever say, Sit at my right hand until I make all your enemies a footstool for your feet?

[3:57] Quoting again from this psalm. He's even greater than the angels. Now some today would teach that because the Jews rejected Jesus as their king, He's not reigning yet.

[4:11] He went to heaven and He's just waiting now. Waiting to return to earth. Waiting to reign when He comes back to the earth.

[4:22] And finally the Jews will vote for Him and receive Him as their king. And then for a thousand years, Jesus will reign on a throne, A physical throne over in Jerusalem and Palestine.

[4:33] But that's not what the Bible teaches us. We saw last week from Acts chapter 2, That God has already made Jesus king at His ascension into heaven.

[4:45] He has seated Him in office saying, Sit at my right hand. And though it's true that the Jews rejected Him, Yet the Lord Jesus does not need the vote of the Jews or any other people to be made king.

[5:03] They did say, We don't want Him to be our king. He was made king, however. Remember we saw in Luke 19? That means He's on His throne right now.

[5:15] He reigns. His kingdom has already begun. And He begins His reign with His Father's promise Of subduing all of His enemies under His feet.

[5:28] Now we saw that last week. He's reigning with the promise that one day all of His enemies will be subdued under His feet.

[5:40] Now, though that's true, we must admit that His present reign is a bit strange. A bit mysterious. Walt Chantry in his book, Praises for the King of Kings, Is very helpful in pointing this out.

[5:53] He says, As you look at the world today, It can be hard to believe that Jesus Christ is reigning over all. Evil is rampant.

[6:04] And His enemies seem to be getting on quite well, Even thriving while His people are the ones who are afflicted and persecuted. Atheistic humanism dominates the conversation at our institutes of higher learning.

[6:17] There is no room for God in all their thoughts. False religions continue to spread their soul-damning lies. All around the world. Materialistic idolatry has its millions, Worshiping at the shrine of money and material things that it buys.

[6:36] Relativistic morality has many just doing what is right in their own eyes. Our King's name is taken in vain. His truth is scorned. His laws are trampled.

[6:48] His authority is dismissed. And His citizens are hated, maligned, and persecuted. And yet we're to believe that King Jesus is on His throne and reigning right now?

[7:00] Well, yes, the Bible verses are too many to dismiss. And if you find it hard to believe, you're not alone.

[7:12] You remember that a man of the caliber of John the Baptist, of whom Jesus says there's none greater than Him, had trouble believing that Jesus is really reigning as King, even as He was rotting in prison and the Romans were still in power.

[7:31] Are you the one Messiah King that was to come? Or are we to look for another? The disciples themselves had problems with that. Seeing the way things were happening, can Jesus really be King and be reigning?

[7:46] And you remember how Pilate looked Him over and interrogated Him and asked, Are you a King? There was nothing kingly about Him.

[7:57] There was no visible army. There was no palace, no throne, no outward splendor and wealth. There were no walled cities or territories with boundaries and borders.

[8:15] His kingdom, His reign, clearly does not fit the pattern of the kingdoms of this world. And our Lord told Pilate as much, didn't He? My kingdom is not of this world.

[8:27] And that's why you're having trouble, Pilate. You're thinking that my kingdom is like yours and other earthly kingdoms. So here's the important truth we need to grasp about Jesus' present reign as King.

[8:41] His present reign as King is primarily spiritual. I say primarily, not entirely, but primarily spiritual. And is carried out in the midst of His enemies.

[8:54] Look at verse 2 of our psalm, Psalm 110. Verse 2 is addressed to Jesus Christ, this enthroned King who's sitting at Jehovah's right hand.

[9:05] And it's the Lord, the same Lord who told Him to sit, that is referred to. The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion. You will rule in the midst of your enemies.

[9:20] Now, if that's what it seems like today, that's because that is the way it is. He rules in the midst of His enemies. A strange kingdom, isn't it?

[9:33] Earthly kings establish their kingdoms by staking a claim upon some land, and then setting up their borders and keeping the enemies out. But this king sets up His reign within the hearts of His people everywhere.

[9:48] From all nations. And so there's no territory with boundaries. Rather, His people on earth are surrounded by fierce and cruel enemies.

[10:05] And verse 2 tells us to expect this. That's exactly what we were to expect. He rules in the midst of His enemies. Notice His mighty scepter.

[10:16] That's a symbol of His powerful rule. That mighty scepter is extended from Zion. Now, in the New Testament, Zion is a name that's used for the church.

[10:29] The true Israel of God. These are the people of the king in whose heart the Lord Jesus reigns as king. They have acknowledged Him as king.

[10:40] They confess Him as Lord. They love and trust and obey Him. They submit to His laws. They worship and serve Him. And He who sits enthroned on high extends His rule on earth from Zion.

[10:54] From His church. And so the church on earth is an outpost of the kingdom of heaven. It's here on earth. And the outpost of the kingdom of heaven finds herself smack dab in enemy territory.

[11:12] Where Satan rules. Yes, because King Jesus was said, it was said of Him, He will rule in the midst of His enemies.

[11:25] They are not yet crushed under His feet. A day is coming when they'll be crushed and be no more. But for now, this is the present reality of His reign. He rules in the midst of His enemies.

[11:36] Now, who are these enemies? That's important if we're even to understand chapter 110 of Psalms. They're mentioned in verse 1 that He's going to put all of them under Jesus' feet one day.

[11:47] They're mentioned in verse 2 that right now He's ruling in the midst of them. And at the end of the Psalm, you see in the day of wrath, He does indeed crush them. So who are the enemies of our king?

[11:59] Let's first look at the Old Testament types. And then the New Testament reality. We saw it in Sunday school that Joseph is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ in the way that he was mistreated and he suffered.

[12:15] And yet it was through that, the mistreatment of his own brethren, that salvation came to them. That's a picture, a type, a symbol of the coming Savior Jesus and how He would save His people.

[12:26] Well, the Old Testament is full of that sort of thing. And it's true here when we ask the question, who are these enemies? In the Old Testament, the nation of Israel, Zion, was the symbolic kingdom of God.

[12:42] That's the kingdom of God symbolized. It's typified in Israel of old. There she was in the midst of the enemy warring nations.

[12:53] So there's Egypt and Babylon and Assyria and the Moabites and the Philistines and then Rome. And these are the enemies of Israel, the people of God.

[13:09] So these nations, the nations of the Gentiles, they are the typical, the symbolic enemies of God and His people in the Old Testament.

[13:20] And you see that throughout the prophets. And there were many promises then about the coming Messiah, the coming King. And when He comes, He will deliver us from our enemies.

[13:32] And at the coming of Christ, we find Israel looking for this deliverer and looking for deliverance from their enemies. Remember, John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus.

[13:46] His father, Zechariah, could not speak because of his unbelief of the prophecy. And then when John was born, he could speak. And what he said when he had his speech returned was under the power of the Spirit, a prophecy.

[14:01] And he breaks forth in these words of praise. Praise be to the Lord, Luke 1, the God of Israel. Because He has come and has redeemed His people.

[14:15] He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant, David. As He said through His holy prophets of long ago, salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath He swore to our father Abraham, to rescue us from the hand of our enemies and to enable us to serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.

[14:45] They were looking for the King, Savior, Messiah to come and save them from their enemies. But the types and shadows of God's kingdom were being fulfilled and replaced by the realities.

[15:01] The shadows were over. The realities were coming. And so Jesus Christ is now the real King. Now He brings the real kingdom of God to earth because He's not just a type like all the other kings of David were types and shadows pointing forward to the coming King.

[15:22] Now He's here, the son of David who is David's Lord. This is the real King. This is the real kingdom of God. It has come in the King. And so who is the kingdom?

[15:35] Who are the citizens of this kingdom? Well, it's the church, the redeemed of Jesus Christ. And in the same way, who are the enemies, the real enemies of God's kingdom?

[15:50] Well, they're no longer just the typified enemies of the nations surrounding Israel. Every one of these transitions from shadow to reality was largely missed by the Jews of Jesus' day.

[16:04] So during Jesus' ministry, most people thought that the enemies they were to be saved from were what? The Romans. After all, they were the occupying Gentile nation holding them into subservience just like Egypt and Babylon and Assyria and a host of others had done to Old Testament Israel.

[16:24] And so they assumed, well, our enemies are these Romans and we're looking for a Messiah to save us from them. And that's why they missed the true King because he didn't come to save them from the Romans.

[16:38] And so they rejected and crucified him. And they missed the real citizens. Who are the citizens of God's kingdom? They said, well, if you're born with Jewish blood in your veins, you're in.

[16:49] And Jesus says, no, unless you are born again, you can never enter the kingdom of God. Jewish blood might have got you into the typical kingdom of the Old Testament, but it will not get you into the spiritual, real kingdom of God.

[17:04] You've got to be born again. And they missed the real enemies of God's kingdom, focusing on the political nation of the Romans. When you remember, the reason our king came was to save his people from their sins, not the Romans.

[17:22] The reason the king came was to destroy the works of the devil. Now, the enemies our king came to save us from then, at present, are primarily spiritual enemies.

[17:36] The world, the sinful flesh, the devil, death. And would you not say that these enemies are far more dangerous than any Romans could ever be?

[17:47] These enemies condemn our souls and bodies to hell forever. The worst the Romans could do was to take the Christian's life. But these enemies are ferocious and aim at our eternal damnation.

[18:03] These are the enemies. These spiritual enemies are the ones that are to be put under the foot of Jesus. Jesus, at the end, completely destroyed. And they are the enemies in the midst of which he now reigns, and from which he defends his people.

[18:21] So, Christian, consider your real enemies. And what are the real enemies of Christ and his kingdom today? Well, there's the flesh. We looked at this when we studied the threefold enemies of the Christian, the living, indwelling, powerful principle of sin, that traitor on the inside that is lying to us and deceiving us, that spiritual force of gravity that is pulling us down and away from God.

[18:51] It's always there. That when I would do good, evil is present here with me. That's your enemy. There's the world, which is corporate flesh. It's the unified combination of all unbelievers and all flesh people joined together in an anti-God coalition.

[19:11] It's a whole, they have the whole mindset, don't they? And a whole way of thinking, its own philosophy, the philosophy and wisdom of the world with its own values and priorities and ways of doing life without God.

[19:23] And that always is luring us in, isn't it? With the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. That's what's in the world. And it's applying pressures on us and ever trying to squeeze us into its mold and to make us conformed to it.

[19:41] Yes, the world. Oh, sometimes the world may take the form of governments like Babylon and Egypt and ISIS and the USA.

[19:53] Yes, that world system does include nations. But we're reminded, aren't we, that behind them all is the devil himself, that fallen angelic spirit, the mastermind who's orchestrating all hostile forces against the children of the king.

[20:14] And so he coordinates the temptations. And he stirs up the world to attack and to persecute the Christian or to allure them. So that the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 6, 12, we are to take our stand against the devil's schemes, against his schemes, knowing that our struggle, our warfare is not against flesh and blood.

[20:36] How often do we think it is? We don't see anything beyond just that man, that woman, that government that's doing this evil. And Paul says, oh, you've missed the real enemy.

[20:47] You're not struggling with flesh and blood. No, you are struggling against rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

[21:06] These are superhuman powers. These are fallen angelic powers. These are demonic powers. And that's the real spiritual enemies of God's kingdom.

[21:18] Don't miss them, Paul's saying. Revelation 12 pictures Satan as that enraged dragon who's pursuing and making war against those who obey God's commands and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

[21:31] Jesus, yes, the flesh, the world, and the devil. These are the enemies that surround us and wage war against us.

[21:44] And we're no match for these enemies. But we have a king at God's right hand who is mighty to save. And one day all these enemies will be put under his feet.

[21:56] And in the meanwhile, he rules over us and defends us in the midst of such enemies. Catechism questions, you see it at the top of the handout.

[22:07] How is Christ a king? He rules over us and defends us. Isn't it good to know that he defends us from these enemies? It's not just the Romans or this nation or that.

[22:19] It's all of these spiritual enemies. Yes, that they take on flesh and blood. But we see the real enemies of Christ in his kingdom.

[22:31] And he defends us from them, though we are right in the midst of them. David knew something of that reality in the 23rd Psalm when he sings about his shepherd king, that you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

[22:50] It's where we live. It's where we glorify God. So, your king reigns for you. Are you making use of him as your king against these enemies?

[23:06] I want to apply that in this way. King Jesus reigns to help you in your battle against sin. That's the whole point of him ruling over you and defending you against your enemies.

[23:19] So make use of him in your battle against sin. Maybe you have some sinful desire that's rebelling against his rule and his reign in your heart.

[23:31] Maybe it's pride or self-centeredness. You just can't get your eyes off yourself. Or maybe it's anger or lust or revenge or bitterness, an unforgiving spirit.

[23:43] But worldliness. Addiction. And these sins and these inward desires are too strong for us.

[23:54] We're weak and helpless, we confess. But not for Christ the king. John Owen says, bring your sins to Christ for the killing of them. And that's what we're talking about.

[24:04] But we have a king whose job, his office, is to defend us from these enemies of sin. And so go to him and say, King Jesus, here is a rebel and traitor that resists your reign in me.

[24:21] It seeks my life. Don't let it live. Come and execute your kingly office in me. Subdue that lust. Overcome that sinful desire.

[24:32] And grant me your Holy Spirit that I, by the Spirit, might put to death the misdeeds of the body. Is that not how we're taught to pray? In the Lord's Prayer. Your kingdom come.

[24:44] Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven. Lord Jesus, bring your kingdom here to earth, to my heart. Here, set up your heart with greater power.

[24:57] Your kingdom and rule in my heart with great power. Own it all and reign supreme. Conquer every rebel power. We're talking to our king. Come and conquer every rebel power.

[25:09] Let no vice of sin remain that resists your holy war. Keep my heart and guard my soul from the evils that I face. So are you bombarded by temptations?

[25:23] And are you losing at times? Tell it to your king. He reigns for you. He's there for you.

[25:35] And he rules over sin and Satan and temptation. So make use of him every day in your battles with temptation. Lead us not into temptation.

[25:47] But deliver us from the evil one. So he ever lives as king to rule over us, defend us, to make war with our enemies. And he must reign until all of them are under his feet.

[26:01] What a glorious prospect. And it's in the hope of that that we go on purifying ourselves. Because we know one day they'll all be under the feet of Christ and his church.

[26:13] So make use of your king in your battle against sin. Call him in for help. The second thing I want you to see is that the throne of grace that we address in prayer is the throne where our king sits.

[26:25] We talk about coming to the throne of grace with our prayers. It's okay to use that language as long as we realize who's sitting on that throne.

[26:42] What's our king? He sits upon the throne that rules the universe. And he's our priest. If you're on Psalm 110, you notice in verse 4, The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind.

[26:57] You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek, he says to his son, who he seats as king upon his throne. And now he says, you're a priest. And so what we have is this unique concept of two offices of priest and king coming together in the same person, Jesus Christ.

[27:15] When you turn to Hebrews chapter 4, you find that this great high priest has gone through the heavens, through the heavens where the birds fly and where the stars shine.

[27:31] And he's gone right through the heavens, right to the throne of God. And he's there. Jesus, the Son of God. That's his ascension, his coronation at the Father's right hand.

[27:44] And so let us hold firmly to the faith we confess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin.

[27:58] Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. We go to the throne of grace.

[28:13] And who do we meet there? We meet our prophet, yes. We meet our priest who died for our sins and represents us to God. We meet our king. And he's such a sympathetic priest.

[28:28] And he's been here and he knows what it's like to be tempted. And he knows exactly the kind of help that we need. And he's such an omnipotent king. And he has grace to help us in our time of need.

[28:42] When you come to the throne of grace in prayer, do you think of it that way? Do you think of coming to your king? The king of grace who's seated on a throne of grace, who has mercy and grace to give you in your time of need.

[28:57] He's full of grace. He's full of everything that you need. So what do you need in fighting against sin and all the enemies that surround you?

[29:08] Do you need grace to persevere? To go on believing his promises when all the circumstances seem to deny the promise?

[29:21] Do you need to go on rejoicing always in the midst of your trials? Do you need to go on resisting temptation? Because it just keeps coming back and back.

[29:33] Do you need to go on loving someone? Forgiving someone? Being patient? Not worrying? You'll find all that you need at this throne of grace. From this king of grace who is full of grace.

[29:47] And he's full of grace for you. So make use of your king. And go to him. Remember, he's reigning at the throne that rules the universe. There's nothing that you can bring to him that he doesn't have control of.

[30:02] So bring it to him with confidence. He's able to answer every prayer because he reigns over all things. So ask those greater things from him.

[30:14] Thou art coming to a king. Large petitions with thee bring. For his grace and power are such that none could ever ask too much. That's the grace of our king.

[30:26] You treat him like a king in your asking. And he'll treat you like a king in his giving. Someone has said. And then as we look at Psalm 110 once more, notice in verse 3 that we meet the army of this king.

[30:43] There he is ruling with God. There he is reigning on the earth, extending his reign through his church in the midst of his people.

[30:55] And in verse 3 we meet the army of this king. And we see that this king has a people. He has troops that serve him. Psalm 110.3. Your troops will be willing on your day of power.

[31:07] So this king does have an army after all. But it's nothing like the armies that we see today, is it? Or that Pilate would have been looking for in his day.

[31:18] Now where does the king get his army? Every last one of them was once his enemy. He gets them all out of his enemy, the enemy kingdom.

[31:28] He transplants every single one of them from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear son. And notice the thing that marks them in verse 3.

[31:42] It's their willingness. It's their willingness. You see that? Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Or as most translations say, your troops will be willing, or your people will be willing, on the day of your power.

[31:58] Day as you exert power. Now we were all born rebels against this king. We were all unwilling to submit to his laws. Our mind, our affections, our desires, our will were all set against him.

[32:13] We want it our way, not the king's way. And so it does take power to make people willing to serve him. It takes almighty power being put forth upon our hearts to make us willing soldiers of this king.

[32:28] It's an all-volunteer army. That means that none are forced against their will to serve this king. There's no mandatory draft.

[32:39] No reluctant troops. Rather, a spiritual influence, a power is put forth that goes right to the heart and removes all the reluctance, all the enmity against this king, all the rebellion, and instead makes the heart willing to come to him.

[33:00] So that they voluntarily offer themselves up in his service. Yes, he works in them both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

[33:10] Consider the apostle Paul as an example of a soldier in the army of the king. No one worked harder, no one worked more willingly for King Jesus than the apostle Paul.

[33:23] But he wasn't always a willing soldier of Jesus, was he? He was once the opposite. Saul of Tarsus was an avowed enemy of Christ in his kingdom.

[33:35] He hated Jesus Christ. He hated his name. He regarded him as an imposter, a deceiver, as a false messiah. And he did all that he could to wipe out his memory from the earth.

[33:47] He raged against the king. And he breathed out slaughter against his church. That is until the sovereign king met him on the road to Damascus.

[33:57] And the king put forth his saving power, didn't he? He subdued Saul's rebellion. He gave him a new heart to repent and believe.

[34:09] Down he went before the king in submission to him. The same man who once said, I will not have this man to rule over me now says, Lord, what would you have me to do?

[34:21] What a transformation. And that's what happens to everyone that comes and serves in the king's army.

[34:32] They're made willing. And that's why Jesus says, you must be born again to enter the kingdom. You see, it's not just a little makeover that we'll do. It's not just trying a little harder.

[34:42] It's not even getting a second chance. Because if you're insides, your heart is unchanged. A second chance, putting you back at the starting line. You'll keep going away from the king, won't you?

[34:54] If you had three chances to live, four chances to live, as long as the heart remains unchanged, you'll every time seek your own way rather than his way. No, it's not a second chance that you need.

[35:05] It's a new heart. And that's the power that makes troops willing. That's the power that takes away all the animosity against Jesus Christ and brings us to willingly offer ourselves as lifers in his service.

[35:24] How is it that you, dear Christian friend, are on the king's side this morning? We're going to sing it in a minute. By thy call of mercy, by thy grace divine, we are on the Lord's side.

[35:37] By thy love constraining, by thy grand redemption, thou hast made us willing, thou hast made us free, joyfully enlisting.

[35:51] By thy grace divine, we are on the Lord's side. Savior, we are thine. That's what David is telling us 3,000 years ago. This king is going to be seated upon his throne.

[36:01] He's going to reign over his people and extend his kingdom on earth through his Zion, his church. And they will be right in the midst of their enemies. And he will make them willing in the day of his power.

[36:19] You know that's happening right here among us, if you have eyes to see it. Old men who live their whole lives refusing to serve Jesus Christ are serving him gladly today.

[36:34] Young men, young women, boys and girls, children, who were born rebels going their own way away from Jesus with their backs toward him, are now willingly serving him.

[36:47] Come tonight, down at the other end of the building, and listen to the five testimonies. See if you can't see something of Psalm 110. And the Lord who overcame their rebellion, how does he do it?

[37:03] Oh, he melts us, doesn't he? Such power going forth, but yet so sweetly. Wooing us to heaven. His love that laid down his own life for us on Calvary's cross, dying in the place of sinners.

[37:17] And oh, under the power of the Spirit, we're melted. Under the power of the Spirit, we have a new heart given, and now we say, here am I.

[37:29] Send me. Use me. These are the greater works of our King from the throne of heaven, and they far surpass any healing miracles that he did upon the bodies of men and women, boys and girls, when he was here, because he's healing our waywardness and loving us freely.

[37:49] He's healing our inside, our hearts, and making them good. And so we've joined the volunteer army in the fight against the enemy of the king, but it's a spiritual warfare, and so it's fought with spiritual weapons.

[38:10] You won't find swords. You won't find ISIS threat, convert, or the sword, not with swords loud clashing, nor with stir of beating drums, but with deeds of love and kindness the heavenly kingdom comes.

[38:25] As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10, for though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. Isn't that something?

[38:36] It's not the kingdom. The kingdom isn't like the world. The citizens aren't like the world. And the weapons that we fight with are not like the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

[38:49] And so we demolish arguments. We demolish every pretension. That's just every proud, high thought that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to the obedience of Christ.

[39:03] How do we do that? With these weapons that have divine power. What are they? Well, the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, and with this tool, we're able to bring down every proud thought that sets itself up against the true knowledge of God.

[39:21] Think of some of the proud thoughts in the hearts of the king's enemies. The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. Can you see the pride in such a statement?

[39:33] Is that not a high, pretentious, proud thought against God? Even as he's breathing the air that God gives him and eating the food that God gives him, he's saying there is no God.

[39:45] What pride. I'm not that bad. God should accept me at the day of judgment. After all, I'm trying my best. What pride.

[39:56] What a proud view of self to say that there's something that we could do as fallen sinners, bent on ourselves, that would satisfy the holy requirements of a holy God.

[40:09] What a proud statement. But the Word of God says, no, your righteousness is like filthy rags. Give it up, man. Give it up, woman.

[40:20] Claiming to be righteous enough for God on your own. Somebody else says, well, I intend to get saved. I know the gospel and I intend to get saved, but just not now.

[40:34] Maybe next year. What a proud thought. As if you hold your own destiny in your hands, whereas the scriptures say, you don't even know what tomorrow will bring.

[40:49] You see the proud thoughts of the king's enemies with which they resist the onslaught of this king and his army as they come proclaiming the gospel, the Word of God. What is it?

[40:59] It is the power of God unto salvation. But what a strange power. Upon first hearing it, the sinner says it's foolishness. The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.

[41:12] But to us who believe and are being saved, it is the power of God. And that's the weapon that has divine power to pull down these proud thoughts.

[41:26] Every one of us in the king's army once had proud thoughts, didn't we? And oh, how he dismantled them. With his word, his providence, his spirit, and he brought us low to where we came and willingly offered ourselves up.

[41:41] Yes, the word is that weapon, and then the weapon of all prayer. See the troops of King Jesus bombarding the throne of grace with their prayers.

[41:54] Because it's prayer that lays hold of this almighty king, calling forth his mighty power that is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or even imagine.

[42:05] So read through the book of Acts, and what do you see? Every time the church is up against something, you see, and she's in the midst of her enemies, and the devil's cooking up something against her.

[42:17] They get together and they pray, Oh, sovereign Lord, give us boldness to go on proclaiming your saving gospel.

[42:30] And the power falls upon them. They're bold in their witness, and many more are saved. It's the word of God, the sword of the spirit. It's prayer that calls forth this power to bring sinners to repentance and faith, to bring them from enemies to being willing servants of King Jesus.

[42:53] These are the spiritual weapons of Jesus' army. These are the willing volunteers who serve their king, made willing by a powerful new birth. And this is the present reign of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[43:06] He reigns right now in the hearts of His people, in the midst of His enemies. You know that's where He wants you, Christian? In the midst of His enemies. Why?

[43:17] Because He's got in mind to bring some of those enemies over onto His side. That's why He wants you rubbing shoulders with them. That's why He doesn't want you isolated and quarantined from non-believers.

[43:30] He's just that gracious that through you, He's extending His scepter, extending His reign. How? Through Zion as she moves out with the proclamation of the gospel and on her knees in prayer.

[43:45] And in that way, the king's kingdom is spreading. He's gathering together more and more soldiers of the cross. And one day, when the last one has been brought in, He will return.

[44:06] And He's coming to destroy His enemies. The end of Psalm 110 speaks of it.

[44:16] It's a day of wrath coming. This king has a day of wrath. But today is the day of grace. A day of the king's grace when His arms are open and He's saying, Come in.

[44:27] And there's an urgency because He is coming back to destroy all who refuse to come. Come to Him now. Have you come and surrendered in faith to this king?

[44:39] If not, do so at once. Do so today. And He will save you. He's just that gracious. He will forgive all your sins. He will take them all upon Himself. And have them paid for by His blood and His obedience.

[44:55] And He will give you all of His righteousness. And you'll go home saved. Your sins that were like scarlet, now covered whiter than snow, like the blanket of snow the Lord is giving us.

[45:09] And if you have been gathered to Christ, are you gathering others? It's in this way that our king's scepter is extended in the world today.

[45:23] Savior, we do count it a privilege to be on Your side. We never would have been on Your side had You not left Your throne in heaven and come and humbled Yourself and taken on our sins and borne them to the cross and damned for us there that we might be forgiven.

[45:43] And sent Your Spirit to our hearts to open up our blinded eyes to change our hateful will and mind and to woo us with love. We thank You for Your mighty power that's made us willing, that's made us free.

[45:58] Help us then as the freed ones, as the redeemed ones to go into this world of enemies just like we were and to tell them of our friend and our Savior and our King.

[46:12] Bring some even here to bow and offer themselves up. And we who are Yours would once again, Lord Jesus, say, here we are. Take us and use us.

[46:24] In light of all of Your mercies, we present our bodies to You as living sacrifices and count it our reasonable service. Thank You for Your Word.

[46:36] Thank You, Father, for sending Him. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for anointing Him and shedding Your light upon Him in Your Word. And we praise You in Jesus' name.

[46:47]  Amen. Amen.