Day 42, Saturday (April 20) - Living into His Name

Posted on: April 20, 2019
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

THE COMING KING

King of Kings and Lord of Lords
Day 42 Saturday

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EXPLORE THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST

For us there is one God, the Father,
from whom are all things and for whom we exist,
and one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom are all things and through whom we exist (1 Corinthians 8: 6).

REVELATION 19: 16, 11: 15

On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.

CONSIDER

Every day this Lent we have prayed that for us there is but “one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” I hope we each know much more about what it means to declare Jesus to be Lord. We have seen that he is our Creator and he is our goal. And he is the means to that goal: we live through his life. The vision in Revelation 19 is of a conquering king who comes to bring the world into alignment with his gracious reign. Christ the King makes all other claims to authority pale by comparison. Every pompous leader, every bold proclaimer of which way history is going, every strident assertion of self, every quiet rebel, every narcissistic blow hard must all yield to the one true King, to the world’s true destiny, to the Sovereign.

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PRAY THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

Begin with the Jesus Prayer. Pray it reflectively several times, for yourself or on behalf of another.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Then pray the day’s prayer slowly and repeatedly for at least a minute (that’s about seven times). Allow the prayer to take you into the meaning of the day’s facet of Jesus’ name. Pray it for yourself and/or on behalf of another. Take your time and trust this process!

Lord Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords, cause the kingdom of this world ever more to become the kingdom of our God and of his Christ, who will reign forever and ever. Amen.

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LIVE INTO THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

He has granted to us his precious and very great promises,
so that through them you might become partakers of his divine
nature . . . For this very reason, supplement your faith with
virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness,
brotherly affection and love (2 Peter 1: 4-7).

1 TIMOTHY 6: 11-16

But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

CONSIDER

Acknowledging the reality that Jesus is King of kings has direct implications for daily life. Based on Christ’s sovereignty, Paul is bold to ask Timothy to fight the bloodless fight of proclaiming the gospel: right under the nose of the mightiest empire the world had yet seen!

He charges us to live in a way befitting servants of the high King. To live with the joy of eternal life to come the faithfulness required of us right now. To live knowing our King will return to claim his world.

Based on our destiny in the one who called us, we live in hot pursuit: questing after a life marked by godliness, steadfastness, gentleness, rightness, faith and love.

The more we know who Jesus is, the more motivated and empowered we are to live according to the character of the called and claimed.

Take time today to acknowledge the sovereignty of your great Lord, the one King of kings. Singing these verses from the hymn can help you ride toward the throne in praise:

At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow,

Every tongue confess him King of glory now;

Tis the Father’s pleasure we should call him Lord,

Who from the beginning was the mighty Word.

At his voice creation sprang at once to sight,

All the angel faces, all the hosts of light,

Thrones and dominations, stars upon their way,

All the heavenly orders in their great array.

In your hearts enthrone him; there let him subdue

All that is not holy, all that is not true:

Crown him as your Captain in temptation’s hour;

Let his will enfold you in its light and power.