Laying Our Crowns At His Feet

Well, like a number of you, I watched the recent funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and bits and pieces of the period of national mourning that led up to her being interred at St. George's Chapel with interest. It was a historic event. I mean, really, if you consider it, it was a very historic event. Queen Elizabeth was the longest-serving monarch in British history at 70 years on the throne. She was the second-longest-reigning monarch in recorded history behind Louis XIV. And because of such a long reign, if you were born—actually, real quick, show of hands—if you were born after 1953, okay, so the vast majority of the people in this room, you have never known another sovereign on the throne of England. She has been the only queen or king that you have ever experienced on the English throne. For those of you that raised your hand as well, you've never known the British anthem to be anything but God Save the Queen. It is now God Save the King. It's been shifted and changed. Some of you that were born before 1953 might remember the reign of her father, King George VI, or perhaps even his brother. If you're old enough, you might remember King Edward VIII before he abdicated to marry Wallace Simpson. But I imagine there's only a small handful in this room that would remember that at this point in time. For the vast majority of the audience, as we saw by the show of hands, we've known no other than Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. So the nation, the British nation and the world mourned her death for a period of 10 days with a series of events throughout Great Britain, and each of these events held a great deal of symbolism and a great deal of pomp and circumstance and really allowed the nation to pay their respects to a beloved leader that gained the respect of even the staunchest anti-monarchists. They appreciated her principles. They may not have agreed with her principles, but that she stuck to. Each of these events that took place over this period of time held a great deal of symbolism, and when it came to the funeral itself, that was no different. The funeral was held just a week ago now on September 19th. Paul Bearers gathered to bring her casket into the hall at St. George's Chapel. Her coffin was adorned with the pageantry of a nation.

On it was the Imperial State Crown, the Sovereign Scepter and the Sovereign Orb that were placed with care on top of the casket. All three of these things, which symbolize the authority and the power of the Queen, and especially the Scepter and the Orb, serve as a reminder from where that authority and power comes. As the funeral progressed at one point before they lowered her casket down into the crypts at St. George's Chapel, the regalia were removed from the casket. They came in and they removed the crown, they removed the Scepter, they removed the orb, and they set it very purposefully on pillows behind the person who was conducting the ceremony. And that symbolized the authority of the sovereign passing from Queen Elizabeth II to her son, Charles III. Now he'll be coronated sometime in 2023, which shows the transition of authority and power from one monarch to the next. Now, monarchy as a form of government, or in the case of Great Britain, a constitutional monarchy, is a human invention. It is a human invention. It was not God's intention for his people, but as you recall, they demanded it. Let's turn over to 1 Samuel 8. We'll see the discussion that God and Samuel have here. 1 Samuel 8.

And we'll go ahead and begin in verse 1. You know, we see this particular conversation takes place essentially at the close of what we would consider to be the era of the judges in Israel. Kind of that multi-century type cycle of ups and downs that took place as Israel inhabited and ultimately settled the promised land. 1 Samuel 8 in verse 1 says, Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second, Abijah, and they were judges in Brashiba. But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain. They took bribes and they perverted justice. 2 And then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. And they said to him, Look, you're old. Your sons don't walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. 3 Verse 6, But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, Give us a king to judge us. So Samuel, rightly so, went to the Lord. 4 The Lord said to Samuel, Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day with which they have forsaken me and served other gods, so they are doing to you also. Verse 9, Now therefore heed their voice. However, God says, there's a caveat. He says, However, you shall solemnly forewarn them and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them. So we see that God essentially allows Israel their demands. He gave Israel what they wanted, but notice his words. They weren't rejecting Samuel. They were rejecting him, their own God, that he should not reign over them as king. And so God allows it, but he tells Samuel, don't let him make the decision without a proper warning. Verse 10, we see Samuel provide that warning as God gives him the things that would take place. Verse 10, it says, Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king, and he said, This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you. He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. He'll appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties. He'll set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will appoint captains—I already said that—he will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He'll take a tenth of your grain and your vintage and give it to his officers and servants. He'll take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep, and you will be his servants, and you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day. So God very accurately describes the conditions of a monarchy, especially human monarchy, as you've gone down through time and seen the various things that have taken place. But despite all of the warnings that God provided, the Israelites were undeterred. Verse 19, Nevertheless, the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel, and they said, No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.

So the concept of a human king was a foreign concept to Israel initially, was something that was brought in from the nations around them, something that they wished to install into their own nation, was not something that God had initially put into place for Israel, but when they demanded it, he allowed it. In fact, God's original government for Israel was what we might term a theocracy. It's a nation of people that are ruled directly by a deity. Now, even a theocracy is a human attempt to explain what God had put in place. You know, a theocracy is a very human intent of government as well. But as we go on in Samuel, we see that Saul becomes the first king of the nation of Israel. David is ultimately anointed king once Saul disqualifies himself. And then David, despite his faults, as a man after God's own heart, God entered into a special relationship and covenant with David. In 2 Samuel 7, let me turn forward just a second here, 2 Samuel 7, we'll see this covenant.

2 Samuel 7 and verse 12, we'll go ahead and pick it up.

God through the prophet Nathan essentially establishes the terms of this covenant with David. And it's a covenant that is unconditional, meaning that there was absolutely nothing required of David or his descendants throughout history in exchange for the fulfillment of this promise that God had given him. It was a completely unconditional covenant in the sense that God said, I will do this and it is not predicated upon David's promise. God said, I will do this and it is not predicated upon anything that you do in response. I will fulfill my promise.

2 Samuel 7 and verse 12 says, when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you who will come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, he shall be my son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the son of men. But, verse 15, my mercy shall not depart from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.

He has with a number of things that God does. It's a covenant that has dual fulfillment.

Spiritually, the throne of Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords, ruling for eternity in the kingdom of God, would be a descendant of David. But not only that, there would be a physical fulfillment in that there would be a ruler on the physical throne of Israel, a descendant of David over the people of God until the return of Messiah. This promise of God, we'll just reference this passage. You can jot it in your notes if you'd like. It is also outlined in Psalm 89. Psalm 89, verses 36 to 37, God says his seed, referring here to David, shall endure forever. And as his throne, or and his throne as the sun before me, it shall be established forever like the moon, even like the faithful witness in the sky.

Earlier in Psalm 89, verse 3, he says your seed I will establish forever and build up your throne to all generations, to all generations. This helps us realize this promise that God gave to David is in force today in all generations as a monarch rules over the people of God. Once again, not God's intent initially, but when Israel demanded it, he allowed it. Now there's biblical and historical evidence, and I won't belabor a lot of this, that traces the throne through history and through the prophet Jeremiah, the daughters of Zedekiah, to the Irish and the Scottish kings, ultimately down to Queen Elizabeth II herself, which shows 3,000 years of God's faithfulness in covenant with David. We actually have a booklet that you can look, if you'd like, more interested on the topic, called The Throne of Britain. It's an e-booklet online. It's about 80 pages. It's got a lot of this information in it. But after some tumultuous times, David's son Solomon ascended to the throne after David's death, ruling over Israel during its golden years as a kingdom. And then after Solomon's death, the nation split into a northern kingdom and a southern kingdom, Israel and Judah respectively. Again, we know the history here. That northern kingdom of Israel, starting in 745 BC, began to be known by a different name. It began to be referred to at that time as the kingdom of Ephraim, the kingdom of Ephraim, which reflected the importance of the tribe of Ephraim in the rulership of the northern kingdom and its peoples and the receipt of the birthright blessings of Jacob. There's a new monarch that now fills that seat, the firstborn son of Elizabeth II, continuing a line of rulership promised by God to David in covenant, and a line that's going to continue until the establishment of the ultimate fulfillment of that covenant, the return of Jesus Christ. Recently, there was a quote that made the rounds. Some of you might have seen it on Facebook that was attributed to Queen Elizabeth II, but in doing some digging, it was falsely attributed to her, though I suppose there's a chance she might have said it herself. The original record of the quote is actually attributed to her great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, and it comes from a book by Algernon Pollock called The Journey and its End. As the story goes, Queen Victoria was sitting in church as one of the chaplains preached a sermon on the second coming of Jesus Christ, a very event that we're here to commemorate today. After the service in conversation with the preacher, Queen Victoria exclaimed, Oh, how I wish that the Lord would come in my lifetime! And the chaplain asked her why she felt such an earnest desire, and her response, which became the attributed quote, was for I should so love to lay my crown at his feet. The title of the sermon this morning is Laying Our Crowns at His Feet. The Feast of Trumpets is a multifaceted festival. We've mentioned that. There's a lot of things that go on today. There's a lot of symbolism and a lot of meaning, and we've heard about and we'll hear about many of these facets as we go through the messages today and as we have conversations with one another about God's plan. But one of the facets of this day that has always been a critical transition point of God's plan is described in Revelation 11 and verse 15. Let's go ahead and turn there. Revelation 11 and verse 15.

Revelation 11 and verse 15.

You know, we see the events of the Great Tribulation taking place. We see the recordings here throughout Revelation 8, 9, 10. We come into Revelation 11. We get the two witnesses. We get the witnesses killed. We see this Great Tribulation building to this crescendo. It's getting more frequent and more intense as we spoke of Sabbath. Things are building and building and building. And then we have the seventh trump. It says verse 15. Verse 15 of Revelation 11.

It says, Then the seventh angel sounded. There were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. When that seventh trumpet is sounded, there is a cascade of events that begin to take place. You know, it's like it's now come to the point where the birth is here. You know, it's like it's all happening very quickly now. What's interesting is the kingdoms of this world, as we see this statement, the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Christ. You'll note a couple of things. Take a look at that passage in your Bible. You'll notice one thing that the word the kingdoms is in italics, which means that's been added to the manuscript. Okay, so that was not in the original manuscript. You'll also note, if you look up the word kingdom that is there in verse 15, that it's not a plural. It's actually a singular Greek word. It's a singular Greek word, and it is the Greek word bicileia. B-I-S-I-L-E-I-A. Bicileia. And while that word is translated as kingdom or royal power, kingship, dominion, or rule, and according to NAS's New Testament Greek lexicon, it is less to be understood as a physical kingdom and more as the right or the authority to rule over a kingdom. It is that which gives someone the right to have a kingdom as bicileia. So when we look at the events of Revelation 11 verse 15, when the seventh trumpet sounds, the right and the authority to rule that currently exists on this earth becomes Jesus Christ's. So those who hold that authority today will no longer possess the right to rule. It is no longer theirs to be had. Their authority, which at this time is given by God, God puts kings up, He takes kings down. We see that throughout Scripture. That authority will be properly transitioned to His Son when the seventh trumpet sounds. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 20 helps give us a little bit of extra context. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 20 helps to kind of fill in the story a little bit when you put precept on precept. 1 Corinthians 15 and we'll pick it up in verse 20. Apostle Paul here writing about the resurrection and of the timing and the order of these end time events. And in doing so, Paul gives us a corroborating witness to the time period of the seventh trumpet. Verse 20 of 1 Corinthians 15, Paul writes, But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But verse 23 it says, Each one in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, or Christ firstfruits here, afterward those who are Christ at his coming. Verse 24, Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom of God to the Father, when he puts an end to all rule, all authority and power. Verse 25, For he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet. So Paul explains the resurrection of the dead has a very specific order. Firstfruits of Christ after that, those that are Christ it is coming. Then comes the end. When he will deliver the kingdom, the basillea, the right of rule and authority that is currently in the possession of the rulers of this earth to the Father, who enables then Christ to rule.

Verse Thessalonians 4 verses 15 to 17 tells us that this event that's described here in the letter to Corinth takes place with a shout, takes place with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. The symbolism of this day is a memorial of the blowing of trumpets. It's a looking forward to the coming time when all of these events are fulfilled.

What's interesting, though, in 1 Corinthians 15 is that it goes on to explain that he must reign, which is a verb form of basillea, that he must reign, he must possess the authority and the right of rulership until all enemies are under his feet. The final enemy, of course, being death itself. Now, a huge component of this removal of the authority that's currently possessed in this earth is the removal of the authority that has been temporarily granted to Satan the devil. And we recognize Satan the devil is the god of this world as it's referenced, or as Christ has referenced Satan numerous times the ruler of this world. The right to rule, the authority to rule that has been temporarily granted to Satan, will be revoked and it will be returned to its rightful owner when the events of this day, by and large, have taken place. But, you know, when we read those things and when we take a look at those passages, I don't know about you, I've always kind of considered like, oh man, those kings and queens are going to get it. You know, I've always looked at it as those guns that have the current authority and the power, those that are in positions of authority now, those who exercise that authority and that power over others. But what I think we don't necessarily often consider is the aspect of this in relation to those that are not in positions of rule at this time. This transition of authority and power to God from its place of power and rule and authority on this earth today is going to be a critical moment for the people of this world today. They're going to have a choice to make as the millennium begins. What's the opposite of monarchism? What's the opposite of monarchism?

Self-autonomy. That's the opposite of monarchism. You might recall the United States colonies fought a war against the crown for this very right. Whether it takes the form of a republic or a representative democracy, the foundations of this form of rule that is opposite to monarchism is essentially self-autonomy. Or we might say for sake of what we're talking about today, self-rule. The ability to make your own decisions. The ability to decide for yourself what is right, what is wrong. So the people of this world, regardless of their country of origin, are going to have a choice to make when Jesus Christ returns. They'll have an opportunity to they'll have an opportunity to yield the authority which they currently possess over their own life, the rulership that we might say over their own life to the King of Kings.

They will, as Queen Victoria so sought and so desired, have the opportunity to lay their crown at his feet and to acknowledge him as their King. We see this action actually taken in the vision of the throne room that God gave John in Revelation 4. Let's turn over to Revelation 4.

Revelation 4, and we'll go ahead and we'll pick it up here with the vision that John has provided.

Revelation 4, he finds himself envisioned in the throne room of God before the throne of God. In that room there were 24 elders seated in white robes with crowns of gold on their heads. Before the throne was a sea of glass. In the midst of the throne and around the throne were four living creatures with six wings full of eyes and surrounded by eyes within and without. These creatures he describes resembling existing animals that John was at least capable of describing. I wonder sometimes poor John is seeing some of these things like, okay, how do I describe that? What does that kind of look like to me at this time? You know, because he's seeing things that are just beyond what the human mind can necessarily fathom. But he describes these things with some notable differences. And John also records these creatures do not rest, that they proclaim the glory and the honor of God day and night. So again, you put yourself in John's shoes. You know, this must have been quite the sight. This must have been quite the sight to have to experience and to see. You know, you look at some of God's prophets throughout the years that have been provided vision, like Ezekiel, you know, trying to describe the wheel within a wheel. And I've got eyes here and there and those things here, trying to figure out how best to describe some of these things that he experienced. But John faithfully recorded what he saw in the pages of our Bible for us throughout history. Revelation 4 and verse 9, we see what he wrote here after he describes this throne room. It says, Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor, and thanks to him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and they worship him who lives forever and ever, and they cast their crowns before the throne, saying, You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they exist, and they were created. You know, all of these living creatures, they give glory and they give thanks to God. And the twenty-four elders, when that happens, they prostrate themselves before God. They worship the eternal. They cast their crowns before the throne, exclaiming the worthiness of God, that he is worthy to receive glory and honor and power, for he created all things, and by his will they exist and were created. This act symbolizes the yielding of their authority to their king as they serve, and it serves as an example for us in our worship of God. You know, as the people of God, we've committed ourselves in covenant to him through baptism. You know, we have, as we kind of walk our way through the holy days and we think about the symbolism that's contained within, we've experienced the Passover sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. We've experienced the shedding of his blood for our redemption and our life. We have worked to put away sin in our life through the power of Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit that we've received. You know, we have received that Holy Spirit, and we're now at a point where we are awaiting the return of our Savior so that the remainder of God's plan can take place. In essence, in that sense, then, we as God's people have laid our crowns at his feet already. That we have surrendered our life already. But, brethren, when it comes to our daily lives, when it comes to the ins and outs of this modern existence, have we really? Have we really?

Have we, in our heart of hearts, truly bent the knee? Have we truly bent the knee to our King? Let's go to Jonah. Jonah 1. Jonah 1. I was trying to think yesterday what's a good example of someone that maybe didn't acquiesce to God's will. Poor Jonah. It gets a little picked on sometimes. But it's a good example. It's a good example. You know, Jonah was a servant of God. He was a prophet. The only record we really have of his life outside of this particular account is recorded for us in 2 Kings, which kind of helps us to place him contemporary to Jeroboam II of Israel.

So roughly 790 to 760 BC. Roughly. We'll say roughly. He was the son of Amatai and he was from a location known as Gath Heifer. And in Jonah 1, verse 1, we see that God gives Jonah instruction here. It says, The word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amatai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.

You know, the wickedness of the people of Assyria had come up before God. He chose here to send Jonah, one of his prophets, to Assyria, to the capital, to Nineveh, to warn them of their sins. Now, Syria, at this point in time in history, roughly the mid-700s BC, was at a point where the first campaigns against Israel had begun. They wouldn't conquer, though, and dispossess the northern kingdom for another hundred or so years. So the big event, you know, the crushing of the northern kingdom that would take place, was a hundred, hundred and twenty years away.

So that had not taken place yet. Jonah didn't know about that as far as we know. But the harassment of Israel, the strengthening of that nation of Assyria, though, had begun. And so Jonah's response to God's instruction was to exercise his own will and run. Jonah went the other way, and he went the other way as fast as he possibly could. And we've mentioned this before, that the direction that Jonah fled to escape the presence of the Lord was almost as far in the other direction from Assyria as one could possibly go.

Really, truly. You know, some of the scholars think that the Tarshish that is being referenced is near modern-day Spain on the Iberian Peninsula. So he left from Joppa, which is on the west coast of Israel. And if that's the case, if that's the Tarshish that he was headed to, Jonah was attempting to put the entire Mediterranean Sea between him and Assyria, and between him and his God. And so we see Jonah. He runs, he exercises his own will, his own self-rule, and he makes a decision in opposition to the will of God, who instructed him to do opposite.

We see God working with Jonah, sending a great wind. The ship was ultimately broken up on the resulting storm, and the merchants began calling out to their various gods, and they started throwing cargo overboard to try to increase the draft of the ship, try to get the sides of the ship a little higher so they don't get swamped. In the meantime, Jonah's asleep in the hull. Jonah's asleep down in the depths of the ship. Verse 7, they said to one another, Come, let us cast lots that we may know, for whose cause this trouble has come upon us. And so God influenced the lots, says they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.

And so they come down, they wake him up, wake him up, wake up, sleeper. They said to him, please tell us for whose cause is this trouble upon us? What's your occupation? Where do you come from? What's your country? And of what people are you? And so he said to them, I'm a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.

Now we can see this greatly concerned the men, and they became exceedingly afraid. Why? Well, verse 10, verse 10 of Jonah 1. Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, Why have you done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord because he told them. When Jonah got on that boat, he was forthright with the crew as to why he was leaving Israel in a hurry. I am running from my God.

Now what he neglected to tell them is who his God was, and that's why they were now deathly afraid, because the God of Israel was known to be a God that extended just beyond national boundaries. He had influence in anywhere he wanted to have influence, and these guys were scared.

But Jonah made no bones about it. He was in direct opposition, direct rebellion against God doing the exact opposite of what he was told to do. Yet he was a prophet. He was a servant of God. You know, we don't really know much else of what God did through Jonah. We do know there's one little hint that God through Jonah told Jeroboam the second to restore some territory of Israel from Hamath to the Sea of Arava. It's all the rest we know about Jonah. We don't have a record of any of the amazingly wonderful things that Jonah did in his life. We have this one event, this one thing.

What we do know is that Jonah, in this instance, used the authority that he had over his life to make a decision that was in opposition to God's instructions, something that was in accordance with his own will, what his own wants and his own desires were, and we ultimately know how the rest of the story goes and how God continued to work with Jonah to ultimately understand, but Jonah did not submit himself to God and follow God's instructions initially.

And why? Because he knew God was merciful, he knew he was gracious, he was slow to anger and abundant and loving kindness, he was one who relents from doing harm, and at the end of the day, Jonah didn't want Assyria to repent, and so he made a choice to remove himself from the equation. He exercised his own will, not the will of God. We might say that Jonah chose to govern himself. He chose to rule himself. And I think, brethren, if we're honest with ourselves, there's times in our own lives where we can be guilty of doing the same as followers of God today. You know, times in which God's Spirit might prompt us, perhaps to prayer or to study, to Sabbath services, to an act of love towards someone else. Times when maybe we don't always respond appropriately in accordance with God's instructions. Times where we, like Jonah, run, or we withdraw, or we fight against God, we struggle against him, to try to justify the reasons why we shouldn't have to do these things that God's given us. In those moments, are we laying our crown at his feet? Or are we taking that crown on our head and pushing it down a little bit tighter, holding on to it with everything that we've got because we refuse to let go of control of our own life? You know, if we're honest, it's probably a mixed bag. I'd imagine there's times we do better at this, times that we don't do as well at this, some days that we maybe struggle just a little bit more. But I think the concept, when we consider this day and what it really means to do away with all right to rule, what that really means, because it's not just the kings and the queens that end up losing that authority.

This concept, I think, is important for us to consider when we think about the meaning of this day. During the Middle Ages, when knights and lords would pledge their allegiance to the king, they took what was known as an oath of fealty. Some of you might be familiar with feudalism, but fealty comes from the word fidelidus, which is Latin for faithfulness. And essentially, what that oath signified was a surrender to the king, a pledging of their faithfulness. And in return, the lord or the king offered protection and providence for the vassal that made that commitment. That may have included lands, they may have had some monetary compensation, or military protection should it be necessary. But as a part of that contract, the vassal pledged their allegiance, their duty, and their sword to their king. So if that king was under attack and he called up his vassals, they were bound by duty to respond. They were bound by duty to respond. When that king called them to assemble in that way, they were bound by duty. A breach of this duty at that time was known as a felony. Might be familiar with that word. That's a word that's carried on down through history, actually, from the Middle Ages, all the way to today, to signify a serious crime. Something that is a severity, a certain level of severity. We call it a felony.

When we took our baptismal vows, we entered into covenant with God. We pledged our life to our God. We surrendered our life to Him. We acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Savior, as our Lord and Master, our high priest, and as our soon coming King. But a King that is a King today, it's just He's not here yet. As a part of that covenant, God forgave our sins and He gave us His Spirit. But we committed to live in accordance with that Spirit. We committed to let God live in us, to yield ourselves to Him, to surrender our will, and to seek His, to willingly yield our right to self-rule, to willingly yield it, to hand it over. Matthew 6. We see the model prayer as Christ instructs His disciples. Matthew 6. We see Christ instruct His disciples in the manner in which they should pray. The manner in which they should pray. Now, we realize this isn't, you know, rote like some traditions have today, where they, in fact, it happened during the Queen's funeral, actually. The whole chapel started. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Your name. You know, the full rote, everything. That's not what Christ was instructing His disciples to do here, but that's the way that it's been taken by some. What it was intended to be was the concepts and the themes that we should consider as we pray to God. As we approach our Father, the types of things that we consider and that we pray. Matthew 6 and verse 9, what we see here is Christ telling His disciples. Matthew 6 verse 9, in this manner, therefore, pray. Our Father in heaven hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Do not lead us into temptation and deliver us from the evil one, for Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Hallowed be Your name. That God's name might be revered, that it might be honored with the proper respect. Your kingdom, basilia, come. Your right and authority to rule come. Your will be done. For Yours is the kingdom. Again, the basilia. Yours is the right to rule. And the power and the glory forever. Amen.

When we pray to God, we're instructed to acknowledge His right of rulership. That He is King. We're instructed to seek His will. We're instructed to honor and to revere Him.

Matthew 12, verse 50, we won't turn over there, but Matthew 12, verse 50, Jesus identified those who were a part of His family, those who were His brother and His sister and His mother, as those who did the will of His Father in heaven. Matthew 7, verse 21, Christ states that those who will enter the kingdom are those who will do the will of His Father. We see our elder brother, Jesus Christ, set an incredible example and a powerful example as He interacted with the Father during His ministry here on earth. If you turn over to John 5, we will turn there. John 5, we see Christ described to the Jews who became incredibly upset at the man who was healed at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath. But Christ is explaining to them the authority that He has been provided by the Father, the righteous judgment which He has been provided and been given the authority to make as the Son of Man. John 5, verse 30, Christ says, I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is righteous because I do not seek my own will but the will of the Father who sent me.

We know Jesus Christ and the Father were one. They were united in a way that we struggle fully to understand. But we do know Jesus Christ didn't operate on His own accord. He didn't go rogue. He didn't exercise His own will or authority, you know, in His ministry as it took place on earth. And in every circumstance, He yielded Himself to His Father's will, willingly yielding His right to self-rule. That doesn't mean He didn't have free will. That does not mean that He couldn't have made a different choice. He absolutely could have. What it means is that Jesus Christ, instead of exercising His own personal will, chose to align His personal will with the will of His Father. That He made the choice to yield to His Father. You know, sometimes people ask all kinds of philosophical questions about Christ. You know, could Christ have sinned? Could He have chosen to act in opposition? Of course He could have. Of course He could have. He had free will, just like we do. Scripture says He was tempted in all things as we are yet without sin. And that is because He chose to align His will with the will of the Father. Luke 22. Christ sets a wonderful example for us on the evening in which He was betrayed. Luke 22.

We see Christ set this incredible example in His prayer to the Father as He knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane. Luke 22. And we'll pick it up in verse 4 here as He's in the process toward the point where He would be arrested and then ultimately tried and crucified. Luke 22 and verse 4.

And so He went His way. Oh, I don't want 4. Sorry. 41. I want 41. I left a one off in my notes. Luke 22 verse 41.

And He was withdrawn from them, about a stone's throw. So He knelt down and He prayed, and He said, Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me, referring to what was to come. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done. Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him, and being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.

Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. We see this incredible prayer. Matthew 26 shows that He prayed it three separate times, asking if this cup that He was about to partake in could pass from Him, and that if He could do so without having this cup take place.

But each time, He said, Regardless of Your answer, not as I will, but as You will. Not My will, but Yours be done. So it begs the question, what is God's will for us? What is God's will for us? What does He desire for us? You know, there's numerous places in Scripture that you can find what God wants. I'm going to give you a quick pop-pop-pop-pop-pop of different Scriptures. Write them down in your notes if you'd like.

But I want to walk through what we know specifically that has been labeled as God's will for us. 1 Thessalonians 4, verses 3 through 7 says that God's will for us is our sanctification, our setting-apartedness, we might say, our holiness. He says that we should abstain from sexual immorality, that we should possess our own vessel, our own body, in sanctification, in holiness, and in honor.

For God did not call us to uncleanness, but He called us to holiness. Hebrews 13, 20 to 21, says that God makes us complete in every good work to do His will, working in us what is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ. God's given us all the tools that we need. He's made us complete in every good work to do His will.

Verse 2, verse 15, for this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Ephesians 5, verse 17 to 19, understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not be drunk with wine and witches' dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit speaking to one another in Psalms and in hymns and in spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.

Verse Thessalonians 5, 18 to 22, says, Rejoice always, pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Don't quench the Spirit. Don't despise prophecies. Test all things, hold fast to what is good, and abstain from every form of evil. Verse 1-4, therefore I exhort first that all supplications and prayers and intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires, who wants, who wishes, who wills all men to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth. Hebrews 10 verse 36, For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God you may receive the promise.

Now these are just a few examples of what God wills for us as his people, the thing that God's wants for us, so that he wishes or desires for those whom he has called. But in short, God's will for us is that we should yield ourself to him, to his law, to his spirit, that we should do good, that we should maintain our holiness, that we should be thankful, we should rejoice always and pray without ceasing, that we should abstain from evil.

He goes as far as saying he's given us the tools necessary to complete it and prepared us to be able to do these good works. In our life, do we exercise our own will and not that of God?

Do we rebel against the will that he has set out for us to do? Do we make compromises when it comes to our sanctification? Maybe we push the envelope a little bit or we make our own definitions of what God means when he states these things?

Do we justify our actions? Do we make excuses when it comes to what God expects of us?

Do we set our standard based upon the world around us, not on the standard of God?

The expectations of society, not the expectation of scripture, trying to fit in and blend in and look and act like everyone else. Brethren, in these moments, in those times of our life, we continue to wear the crown. We continue to insist upon ruling ourselves. We haven't laid that crown at the feet of whom it truly belongs. And brethren, the problem with this spiritually is while we're still wearing that crown, that symbol of our own power and that right to rule ourselves, there is no room on our head for the imperishable crown that God wants to give us.

The one that he is rooting for us to obtain at the end of our race. The crown of life that he promises those who submit themselves to him and who seek his will above their own. In order to receive the crown of life, we must first take off the crown and lay it at his feet.

The British people have a new king, Charles III. Long may he reign, as they say, right?

He's a descendant from the physical line of David, who now sits upon the physical throne of David. Sometime during 2023, due to a rule where they have to wait one year after the death of the previous, sometime during 2023, Charles will be anointed. He will be anointed with oil. He will be crowned king atop a coronation chair that was specially built to house the stone of scone, or the stone of destiny, which is the stone upon which the Israelites kings have been crowned for centuries. It will be underneath the chair that he is crowned on. On his head will be St. Edward's crown, which is a symbol of his power and his authority as the king of Great Britain, and in his hands will be the same sovereign scepter and sovereign orb that formerly lay atop his mother's casket, which remind him from where that power that he wields came. That authority and that power derived from God that was passed from his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, to him has now given him the right of rulership. He now holds that. But there is going to come a time in the future, at the sound of the seventh trumpet, when the right of power and authority, the right of rulership on this earth, will come to an end. It will be transferred to the King of Kings, Jesus the Christ. And we're here today on this day of trumpets, in part to commemorate this transition of power back to its rightful owner, and to celebrate the time when our king comes. To this earth. At that time, the kings and the queens of this world will no longer have the right to rule. It's no longer theirs. They do not obtain it any longer. That right belongs solely to Messiah at the Father's behest. All crowns will be laid at his feet, and every knee shall bow.

Brethren, let us rejoice in the incredible promises and the meaning of this day, and personally strive to lay our crown at his feet each and every day, so that we can fulfill his will for us as the chosen people of God.