TOPIC:"Born to Be King"
by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap
TEXT:Matthew 2:1-6
"Where is He that is born King" (Matthew 2:2)
Vernon C. Grounds, one of the writers for Our Daily Bread, tells the following story in one of his devotionals. When Britain's Queen Elizabeth was a child, her parents held a garden party at Buckingham Palace. A rainstorm forced the party to move indoors. Young Elizabeth and her younger sister wandered into the room where the guests had gathered and were politely bombarded by questions. Dr. Grounds then writes: "During a pause in the conversations, Elizabeth pointed toward a nearby wall and a painting of Jesus on the cross. She remarked: 'That's the man my papa says is really king.' " Truer words were never spoken!
While Luke in his account of the nativity of Jesus tells us about the birth of "a Savior" (Luke 2:11), it is in Matthew's account of the birth of Jesus that we read this very beautiful and important phrase: "born King." That is a very amazing statement by Matthew. When the queen of a royal family gives birth to a male child he is born a prince. But this was not so of our precious Lord!
Get this truth down. Jesus was born a King. King of the Jews as set forth by Matthew to be sure. But He is more than that! According to the Apostle John in Revelation chapter 17 verse 14 Jesus is called "Lord of lords and King of kings." Jesus is the ultimate Ruler of the universe. Though the world has not recognized this as yet, I can assure you one day it will. Listen to these words of the Apostle Paul: "Wherefore, God also has highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name, That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God, the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11).
Now that only happens to Kings! And the time is coming when the extent of the sovereign reign of Jesus as King will extend throughout the entire universe. No intelligent being - whether angels and saints in Heaven, people living on earth, Satan, demons and the unsaved in Hell - will escape bowing to the Kingship of Jesus Christ. But you and I don't have to wait until then to make Christ King of our lives. We can do that today.
Let us now look at this Christ who was born King, died as King, resurrected as King, and will one day return as King. The question I ask in this message is this: King of what? Let's trace out the answer together.
I.
To begin with, Jesus RULES as the King of CREATION . . .