WHO IS YOUR KING?The Holy Spirit has been reteaching me about the first
Kings of Israel Saul, David, and Solomon and how they
came to be the first human Kings of the Jews.
Remember when the Jews rejected the voice of God?
“And they said to Moses, You speak to us, and we will listen, but let not God speak to us, lest we die.”
(Exodus 20:19)
It happened after God did ten astonishing miracles to free them from the bondage of the Egyptians. Including the parting of the red sea.From that moment on, God never spoke directly to them again until He entered the earth as Jesus. He spoke to them through prophets beginning with Moses. One of them was Samuel, a devout man full of God, appointed to be the prophet of IsraelAt first, God was the King of the Jews.
His will was to talk to them and lead them directly into a world of grace and mercy and a life of love and joy and health and prosperity and gladness perfected and overflowing. He wanted them to be an example to all of the earth’s inhabitants of the fabulous life of a people ruled by the One True God.
He wants the same for us. He wanted them and us to be a shining light reflecting the glory and majesty of His vast and loving heart.
Still, they rejected God as their King in favor of an earthly King, and they refused to listen to Him, fearing that if they did, they would die. So God gave them the desire of their hearts created by their unimaginable lack of gratitude.
“When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba.
His sons did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. All the elders of Israel assembled and came to Samuel at Ramah, And said to him, Behold, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint us a king to rule over us like all the other nations.
But it displeased Samuel when they said, Give us a king to govern us. And Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken to the voice of the people in all they say to you; for they have not rejected you,
BUT THEY HAVE REJECTED ME THAT I WOULD BE KING OVER THEM.
Are you astonished at the idea of the Jews rejecting God as their King? God in the person of Jesus died the most violent and horrible death anyone possibly could or ever will to give us the power to make Him our King, yet we constantly reject Him as our King.
Let me be clear. Once we accept Jesus as our Savior sincerely, we have received everything from Him including, salvation. Even though we are saved, we can and frequently do reject Him as our King.
Continuing the conversation between God and Samuel:
According to all the works they have done since I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking Me and serving other gods, they also do to you. So listen now to their voice; only solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.
Here are a few other gods: social media, television, sports, politics, money, fear, worry, anxiety, doubt, unbelief.
So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked of him a king. And he said, These will be the ways of the king who shall reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots.
He will appoint them for himself to be commanders over thousands and over fifties, and some to plow his ground and reap his harvest and make his implements of war and equipment for his chariots.
He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. He will take your fields, vineyards, olive orchards, and even the best of them and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants.
He will take your men and women servants and the best of your cattle and your donkeys and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves shall be his slaves.
In that day, you will cry out because of your king you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not hear you then.”
Pay attention to this part! Even though God through Samuel told them the exact cost of rejecting Him as their King, they paid no attention and still demanded a human king.
Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, No! We will have a king over us, That we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.
Samuel heard all the people’s words and repeated them in the Lord’s ears. And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken to their voice and appoint them a king. And Samuel said to the men of Israel, Go every man to his city.
(1 Samuel 8)
What was the reason for rejecting God? To be just like everyone else. The pride of life and the cares of this world. The fear of what others will think. The fear of being different. Sound familiar?
So it was. So it is.
Imagine, if you will, a world without governments.
Imagine if all of the peoples of the world submitted themselves instead to the leadership of their Creator,
Jesus, Yeshua, Emmanuel, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords of whose reign there shall be no end.
Imagine a world governed by the love of and for God.
Doesn’t seem doable? Probably not considering the evolution of modern people.
WHO RULES THE WORLD IS FAR LESS IMPORTANT THAN WHO OR WHAT RULES OUR HEARTS.
This life is a very brief wisp of smoke. In it, rulers come and go. They all die. Nations and empires live and die.
Some commit suicide. Citizens have very little control over their governments. They do, however, have complete control over who rules their hearts.
Consider these words of wisdom written by Solomon under the direction of the Holy Spirit:
“Guard your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.”
(Proverbs 4:23)
Think about these WORDS OF JESUS.
So Pilate went into the Praetorium again and called Jesus and asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own people and their chief priests have handed You over to me. What have You done that is worthy of death?” Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not of this world.”
“If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting [hard] to keep Me from being handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this world.” So Pilate said to Him, “Then You are a King?” Jesus answered, “You say [correctly] that I am a King.”
This is why I was born, and for this, I have come into the world to testify to the Truth. Everyone who is of the Truth who is a friend of the Truth and belongs to the Truth hears, and listens carefully to My voice.”
(John 18:33-37)
There is a profound statement from King Jesus! Jesus said: “I AM THE WAY AND THE TRUTH. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER BUT BY ME!” He also said that He knows His sheep, and He calls them by their name and they come to Him.”
(John 14:6, John 10)
Here, Jesus proclaims that if we are His friend and belong to Him, we listen carefully to His voice!
The question is, whose voice is the loudest in our ears and feeds the thoughts of our hearts. How much time do we invest in listening carefully to Jesus?
Jesus told us that His Kingdom is not of this world. So, where is Jesus’s Kingdom? Where He lives. Where does Jesus live? In Heaven and, in His believers and, in His Words. The answer is a novel. This is the postage stamp version.
“Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will believe and obey my teachings. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”
(John 14:23)
WHO IS THE KING OF YOUR HEART?
Certainly, all who identify as “believers” or Christians
will reply: “Jesus.” Let’s take a closer look at who really
rules our hearts.
Here is a declaration from Jesus the creator and maintainer of all things that exist:
“For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good, and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks!”
(Luke 6:45)
When Jesus is the King of our hearts, His Words are in our heart and they come out of our mouths and produce good things.
Jesus also taught us that we will have whatever we say as long as we do not doubt that what we say will come to pass, positive or negative.
(Mark 11:22-24)
Think about the sludge that proceeds from our mouths when our hearts are not ruled by Jesus but by our flesh.
For me that is a big; YIKES!!
According to Jesus, the evidence of the King of our Hearts is in the overflow of our hearts and mouths.
That one finds all of us guilty. Thank Jesus for forgiving all of our sins past, present, and future on the cross.
Here is a statement that hits home from Jesus:
“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Another measure of the rulership of our hearts is how much of our treasure is invested in Jesus. (Matthew 6:21)
Not giving Jesus rulership of our heart does not condemn us; it diminishes the quality of our lives, and as the great teacher Ron Reeser is apt to point out, it reduces our power to live limitless lives.
We can be saved and going to Heaven and live poorly in this life. I am not referring to finances, although they are also impacted, but our ability to receive by faith the vastness of all of the great and precious promises that Jesus bought for us at the highest price ever paid.
The greatest of which is a personal relationship with Him.
Walking through life with Jesus is so excellent a thing that few can describe the joy and gladness that comes from it.
What impedes the surrender of our hearts to Emmanuel, God With Us of whose reign there shall be no end?
Jesus told us while He walked the earth in the flesh suit of a human: “but the worries and cares of the world [the distractions of this age with its worldly pleasures], and the deceitfulness [and the false security or glamour] of wealth [or fame], and the passionate desires for all the other things creep in and choke out the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
The cares of this world: Item number one, what other people think! For example, though nearly half the population of America has been immunized from Covid,
dare to walk into your neighborhood grocery store without a mask.
The pride of life: Meaning: “there is no God. I am God. God is a fairy tale. There is only science. I don’t need God; I’ve got this. Filling your hearts and minds with current events, politics, and the millions of sources of negativity and sinful garbage that we are bombarded with every minute of every day. Suggestion: ask yourself how much time of your life you surrender to these things
as opposed to the time you invest in Jesus and His Words.
The lust for other things: Meaning: The inordinate desire for something other than Jesus and His words. Some examples might be money, popularity, being well thought of, sex, fitness, alcohol and drugs, promotions, or politics. You get the idea.
The deceitfulness of riches: Meaning: Making money your god. Think about how much time we spend trying to make more money in the belief that money will bring us complete comfort. Understand this statement from Jesus. Jesus was the first prosperity preacher. He stated that He came so that we would have life and have it in abundance, and He showed us how to gain wealth in
(Luke 6:38). The sin is making money more important than God. It happens with the fear of financial insecurity as well as the lack of contentment with enough.
Here are some essential directions from the Holy Spirit:
“But, seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then all of the things you seek will
be given you as well.”
When we intentionally seek Jesus with all of our hearts and invite Him to live in our hearts and rule our lives, we change. We become like Jesus. We receive by the free gift of His faith all of the great and precious promises that He bought for us with His blood.
When we surrender our thoughts and minds and hearts and behaviors to Jesus, we become new creations in Jesus. We follow the instruction of the Holy Spirit to take off the old un-regenerated selves. We put on our new lives directed by Jesus and not our flesh. We behave differently as a free will choice. We catch ourselves about to do or say something that is not of Jesus but our old selves, and we make a conscious decision to do what Jesus, not our old self, would do. And all of the stuff that we fret about has been given us as well.
The result is that we know and enjoy the fullness of the love and joy and gladness of Jesus overflowing in our hearts which was the purpose of His life and death.
(John 17:13)
How do we make Jesus the King of our Hearts? We stop listening to other voices and make a conscious decision to surrender our will and our lives to Him unconditionally.
ONE MOMENT AT A TIME!
A great start is to turn off the white noise of television, social media, and other distractions. The results are fantastic!
A CHALLENGE.
Turn off your electronic devices for three days. Spend the time that you usually invest in them, studying the teachings of Jesus starting in the book of John.
If you do not feel peace and rest and love and acceptance after those three days, go back and listen to the perpetual bombardment of valueless negativity, compare the two states. The first is the state of giving the Kingship of your heart to Jesus, the second is giving the kingship of your heart to your flesh.
Remember, as they say in AA, “We seek progress, not perfection.” This message is not about judgment or condemnation. It is about the opposite. It is about how to live a better, happier, healthier, more peaceful life.
You can join us in our newly empowered mission to teach as many people as possible the unedited, unqualified, “GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY,” WHICH SHALL BE TO ALL PEOPLE.
Please help us continue these teachings.
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Thank you,
Pastor Allen Fleming
