THIS IS OUR KING!

That's MY KING! Dr. Lockridge says this far better than I ever could! Have a listen, read and be inspired!
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DO YOU KNOW HIM? THAT'S MY KING!



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"My King was born King.

The Bible says He is the seven-way King.

He is the King of the Jews. That’s a racial King!

He is King of Israel. That’s a national King!

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He’s a King of righteousness.

He’s a King of the ages.

He’s the King of heaven.

He is the King of glory!

He’s the King of kings and Lord of lords.

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Now that’s my King!


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Well, I wonder if you know Him. Do you know Him?

Don’t try to mislead me. Do you know my King?

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David said, “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth His handiwork.”


No far-seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shoreless supply. No barriers can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing!

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He’s enduringly strong, He’s entirely sincere,

He’s eternally steadfast. He’s immortally graceful.

He’s imperially powerful. He’s impartially merciful.

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THAT'S MY KING!

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He’s God’s Son. He’s a sinner’s Savior.

He’s the centerpiece of civilization.

He stands alone in Himself.

He’s august! He’s unique!

He’s unparalleled! He’s unprecedented!

He’s supreme! He’s preeminent!

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He’s the loftiest idea in literature!

He’s the highest idea in philosophy!

He’s the fundamental truth in theology!

He’s the cardinal necessity of spiritual religion!

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THAT'S MY KING!!

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He’s the miracle of the ages!

He’s the only one able to supply all of our needs simultaneously!

He supplies strength for the weak!

He’s available for the tempted and the tried!

He sympathizes and He saves!



He guards and He guides!

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He heals the sick, He cleans the lepers!

He forgives sinners, He discharges debtors,

He delivers captives, He defends the feeble,

He blesses the young, He serves the unfortunate,

He regards the aged, He rewards the diligent,

He beautifies the meek!!

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DO YOU KNOW HIM?

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Well, my King is the King of knowledge,

He’s the Well-spring of wisdom,

He’s the Doorway of Deliverance,

He’s the Pathway of Peace,

He’s the Roadway of Righteousness,

He’s the Highway of Holiness,

He’s the Gateway of Glory,

He’s the Master of the Mighty,

He’s the Captain of the Conquerors,

He’s the Head of the Heroes,

He’s the Leader of the Legislators,

He’s the Overseer of the Overcomers,

He’s the Governor of governors,

He’s the Prince of princes,

He’s the KING of Kings and the LORD of Lords.

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THAT'S MY KING! YEAH, THAT'S MY KING!!!

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His life is matchless, His goodness is limitless!

His mercy is everlasting His love never changes!

HIS WORD IS ENOUGH!!!

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His grace is sufficient, His reign is righteous!

His yoke is easy and His burden is light!

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Well. I wish I could describe Him to you!!

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But He’s indescribable. He’s indescribable!

Yes, He’s incomprehensible!

He’s invincible, He’s irresistible!


I’m trying to tell you, the Heavens cannot contain Him,

let alone a man explain Him!

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You can’t get Him out of your mind!

You can’t get Him off of your hands!

You can’t outlive Him, and

you can’t live without Him!!


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Well, The Pharisees couldn’t stand Him,

but they found out THEY COULDN'T STOP HIM!!


Pilate couldn’t find ANY FAULT IN HIM!!


The witnesses [at his trial] couldn’t get their testimonies to agree.

Herod COULDN'T KILL HIM!!


DEATH COULDN'T HANDLE HIM and

THE GRAVE COULDN'T HOLD HIM!!

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THAT'S MY KING!!!! YEAH!!


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He always has been, and He always will be!

I’m talking about He [who] had NO predecessor,

and He [who] has NO successor!!

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There was nobody before Him and there will be nobody after Him.


You can’t impeach Him, and HE's NOT GOING TO RESIGN!!!

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Praise the Lord! THAT'S MY KING!!!!!


THINE is the KINGDOM and the POWER and the GLORY!!!!


Well. All the power belongs to my King!

We around here talk about black power and white power and green power, but it’s GOD'S POWER!!!



Thine is the power. Yeah! And the glory!

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We try to get prestige and honor and glory to ourselves,

but the glory is all His. Thine is the kingdom

and the power,

and the glory,

forever, and ever, and ever, and ever.

How long is that?


And ever, and ever, and ever, and ever,

and when you get through with all of the forevers, then AMEN!!!”


Dr. S. M. Lockridge, Dallas, Texas, quoted by Max Anders in Jesus, Knowing Our Savior, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publ., 1995), pp. 33-35

The NEW BORN MESSIAH-KING WHO REIGNS!

The NEW BORN MESSIAH-KING WHO REIGNS!

A Babe born, wholly Divine;

God and man, intertwined,

Holy Vessel of Love and Grace,

Tenderly held in mother's embrace.

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Warrior angels guarding Him true,

Watching close as God's Son grew.

The LORD of hosts in flesh and blood;

Captain of the Armies of God.

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The War Call proclaimed before,

to trodden the serpent's head.

Commenced by the Lamb, Who for,

the glory set, endured the dread,

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ of Calvary's cross,

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ for the sake of the lost.

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Victory won with nail pierced hands,

a bloody thorn-crown on Holy brow;

Victory at the Son's command,

Won Life Eternal, then and now!

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Author of pure Life, slain by sin:

by gift of grace, we enter in,

To the Holy of Holies, high above,

Seal'd with Promise by the Spirit dove.

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That manger born babe, to rule rightly,

From David's throne upon the Earth.

Soon He returns to reign mightily,

slay darkness in deadly dearth:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ and rule righteously!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ and reign gloriously!

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Maranatha LORD Jesus Christ! Hallelujah and Amen!
HANDELS's MESSIAH

   

ISAIAH 7:14 

Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. 

ISAIAH 9:6 

For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 

MICAH 5:2 

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be Ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. 

LUKE 2:11 

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

JOHN 10:14-17

14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. 17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

JOHN 12:27-28

27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. 28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

PSALM 22:1,6-8,14,18,31 

My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken Me? why art thou so far from helping Me, and from the words of My roaring. But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see Me laugh Me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the LORD that He would deliver him: let Him deliver Him, seeing he delighted in Him. I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint: My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of My bowels. They part My garments among them, and cast lots upon My vesture. They shall come, and shall declare His righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that He hath done this.

ISAIAH 53:3-6,9-11 

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. And He made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death; because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall My Righteous Servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities. 

PHILIPPIANS 2:9-11

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

PSALM 2:4-9 

He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure. Yet have I set My King upon My holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto Me, Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. 

ISAIAH 63:1-4,6 

Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in His apparel, travelling in the greatness of His strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art Thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with Me: for I will tread them in Mine anger, and trample them in My fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon My garments, and I will stain all My raiment. For the day of vengeance is in Mine heart, and the year of My redeemed is come. And I will tread down the people in Mine anger, and make them drunk in My fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth. 

REVELATION 11:15 

And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. 

REVELATION 17:14 

These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful. 

REVELATION 19:16 

And He hath on his vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 

REVELATION 22:6-7,13, 20 

And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to shew unto His servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Another SMOKE SIGNAL: Playing HOLY SPIRIT?...

Playing Holy Spirit or Allowing Him to Work through You?

In our lives as believers we understand that we are one body, and members one of another (Rom 12:5); that there is an interaction and a vitality that operates in and through us, for the mutual edification of us all.

We often have need to encourage, to exhort, even to reprove and rebuke one another, but meekly and with the sole motivation of love (1 Cor 12:25; 2 Tim 4:2; Eph 4:16 and Gal 6:1).

At times, either because the person who endeavors to correct is doing so without the proper motivation or in the wrong manner, is not received; but its also possible that the person being reproved is uncomfortable in giving up their sin or facing their compromise. In their own defense they say, "Stop playing the Holy Ghost!"

However the Holy Spirit operating by the prophets of the Old Testament, or working through the church of Jesus Christ has always sought to lead, instruct, encourage, correct the saints of God, as well as bring back those who have gone wayward.


Not only so, but the Holy Spirit is active in the world as well, pointing them to Jesus, to His grace and love, to His rightful claim as both LORD and CHRIST; He convicts and convinces of sin. He does so through the reading of the Word of God, the Law of the LORD, and He does so also through the body of Christ and its individual members:

JOHN 16:7-11
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
Of sin, because they believe not on me;
Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.


The Word also speaks of the Light, which is God Himself and the Revelation of His Word, that dispels darkness and reproves those that love darkness -

JOHN 3:19-20
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

People who are prone to accuse others of 'playing Holy Ghost' or being the 'Gospel Gestapo' are also inclined to use the scriptural admonition to "judge not lest ye be judged".

However if you look at MATTHEW 7 in its entirety, and the first few verses particularly in regards to this point, the admonition is "not to judge" as a warning about how we judge, for it goes on to say:

MATT 7:2
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

If we judge harshly or with undue criticism, then we will be judged accordingly by God. We are not to be hypocritical in our judgment either for in vs. 3-5 it speaks of "beams" and "motes".

And if we are not to judge (Greek word used here is krino, meaning, "to distinguish, to decide judiciously, call into question, decree, to sentence"), then how would we know who "swine" or "dogs" are as opposed to "sheep and lambs" (MATT. 7:6), or "false prophets" from true (MATT. 7:15), or "good fruit" from "bad fruit" (MATT. 7:16-20)?

Having said that, its vitally important to point out that we must not judge people's hearts or their motives, for no one truly knows of these things except for the LORD Himself:

JER 17:10
I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

ROM 14:4
Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

We can never judge the hearts of people or their motivations, however we are to discern people's actions and whether such actions are approved of God by examining the Word, as well as the words they speak, and or teachings they may give.

As for how the Holy Spirit uses the prophets of God, and the Apostles and the body of Christ in general in bringing conviction to a sinful world (and a wayward Israel), such examples are replete throughout the Word.

Examine Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, and the book of Jonah, and you will find that these men of God brought messages which spoke against their sin that so angered people that they (in most cases) slew these messengers of the LORD.

ISAIAH 1:4-6
Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

Likewise review JEREMIAH 38 who stood against the sinful government of his time, and was threatened with death because of what was seen as 'unpatriotic' yet truthful in its judgment against the transgressions of Israel. As well as this, consider the first three chapters in the book of AMOS!

In the New Testament canon we have the likes of John the Baptist, Peter and Paul who delivered scathing rebukes towards those who were yet in their sins, unrepentant and in need of salvation:

MATT 3:7
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

ACTS 2:22-23
Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

Bear in mind that Peter himself, along with the other apostles on that day of Pentecost were filled with the Holy Spirit, and thus with such holy unction, proclaimed the truth of the Gospel, and rightly judged the people of their sin in rejecting their Messiah and allowing Him to be crucified.

This preaching brought about the desired effect; the people were convicted of their sin:

ACTS 2:37
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

Such conviction was as a result of Peter's preaching, yet it wasn't Peter doing the convicting, but the Holy Spirit through him that did this work.

Likewise Paul, in dealing with the Gentiles at Mars Hill, confronted them on their ignorance and declared that God requires all men to repent of their sins:

ACTS 17:22, 30-31
Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.

And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

And as the church, we likewise shine the light of the LORD and expose the perversion and darkness that is ever-present and growing ever more in this rebellious world:

PHIL 2:15
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

EPH 5:11
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

Does this mean that we are to go around, putting people under a magnifying glass and become hyper-critical of everything they say and do? Do we attempt to convict and convince people to turn from their own way of thinking and adopt our own?

No, by no means; we are to follow Jesus' example who demonstrated the Grace of God, but not at the expense of hiding the Truth of God and exposing the sin in people's lives so that they would understand their need for salvation.

If we are to judge (discern) others then we must do so righteously, just as our LORD admonished us to . . .

JOHN 7:24
Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

Here is an example of righteous judgment:

MATT 23:1-9 (read the entire chapter)

That is to discern after the power of the Holy Spirit of God Who alone is righteous and is Himself the Truth, and discerning by use of the Word of God (see also: 1 COR 12:10; 14:24-25; HEB 4:12; 5:13-14).
Again whether its in the restoration of a brother, the correction of a fellow saint, the proclamation of the Gospel (which requires conviction of sin on the part of the unregenerate), or in any discernment of good versus bad . . .

1 COR 16:14 
Let all your things be done with charity.

May the LORD God grant us the boldness to speak the truth in love; may He empower us to be confrontational in Christ Jesus with meekness and a heart intent on seeking reconciliation and restoration upon those in need who are rebels against God or gone wayward from the Way of Righteousness.
May we guard our own hearts, and be ready and able to receive correction from others as well. May we allow the Holy Spirit to do His work in the body of Christ, and through the body towards the "crooked and perverse" nation we find ourselves in today. Amen.

agape, grace & peace,

brother James J. Fire