Game of Thrones
Pt. 1 - Pulling the Chair
Introduction It has taken from August of last year to get here. We have been actively trying to destroy and uproot 5 principalities that I identified as our primary targets. I have shown you how these powers work hand in hand to layer their control and domination in our lives to produce the greatest level of destruction. We began by attacking isolation. Isolation leads to poverty mentality which then births hopelessness. Hopelessness germinates and produces apathy towards people and towards God. Finally it all works together to spawn compartmentalism.
Compartmentalism is pervasive in our society and apparent in the church. Our apathy about others and God leads us to believe that we can cut our lives up into carefully controlled slices and that those slices can stay in their respective areas with no bleed over. In other words, we can come to church each and every Sunday, read our Bible and listen to praise and worship music but that part of our life has no bearing on our attitude when someone does us wrong. Our spiritual slice has no bearing on our social slice so we can do things socially that contradict the standards that we embrace in our spiritual life with no guilt or any understanding of the hypocrisy this presents to those around us. We can lie when it is convenient. Cheat when it benefits us. The spiritual is a segmented slice that has no impact on business practices, entertainment choices, dating, or vice versa. Our spirit man is confined to spiritual matters and we will not allow the Spirit to have any rule or reign over any other area of life. We are literally playing a game of thrones.
Because we are part of a democracy rather than a monarchy I don't think we really understand the concept of thrones. We talk about the throne of God but because we are not accustomed to honoring a king, serving a king, or answering to a king in our society then we struggle to appreciate the importance of enthroning someone as king. However, if we are going to combat compartmentalism, we must once again come to grips with the revelation that we are citizens first in a different KINGDOM and there is a King to whom we answer. See no one voted Him in. No one selected Him. He selected us. No one can unseat Him. No one can stand up to His power. No one can overthrow Him. He is more than a king He is THE King. Since we answer to the King we must also understand the implications of the throne.
I bring this to your attention because I am afraid that at times Jesus feels like we are playing a game we used to play as children. You remember the old game don't you? You were either playing the game or you were the victim of the game. We would wait until the moment a person was about to sit down and then we would quickly and quietly pull the chair out from under them and laugh as people would fall backwards. I think we come to church and talk, sing, and even pray using the language of the Kingdom . . . Words like Lord, King, sovereign, and Jesus positions Himself to sit down on the throne of not just our church life but rather our entire life and then when He tries to rule over those areas we pull the chair our from under Him. We play a game of thrones. We only allow Him to sit on the throne in areas we choose based on whether we like the blessing and protection that comes from allowing Him to reign. If He tries to offer correction we pull the chair.
Before we talk about some of the areas we tend to separate from God I think we first must revisit the idea of enthroning God.
Text: Isaiah 6:1-4
In the same year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a grand throne way up high with a flowing cape that filled the whole temple. Bright flaming creatures waited on Him. Each had six wings: two covering its face, two covering its feet, and two for flying. Like some fiery choir, they would call back and forth continually. Flaming Creatures: Holy, holy, holy is the Eternal, the Commander of heavenly armies! The earth is filled with His glorious presence! They were so loud that the doorframes shook, and the holy house kept filling with smoke.
In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the sovereign master seated on a high, elevated throne.
Many of you are familiar with this passage. It is the call of Isaiah to become a prophet to the nation. His call comes via a vision of God. I want to draw your attention to what He sees. He sees God this way . . . High and lifted up, on a grand throne way up high, on a high, elevated throne.
We need to know that the Hebrew word for throne carries with it the idea of elevation. That's why in Solomon's temple Solomon's throne was elevated so that you had to go up 6 steps to get to it.
(Slide 10a&b) To enthrone Him we must elevate Him.
So, if we have enthroned Him, then it means that we have elevated Him in esteem (not common), elevated Him in dominion, elevated Him in authority!
If our submission is not complete, then our surrender is not complete. Lord of all or not Lord at all. If we are going to quit pulling the chair, then we must reevaluate who He is so that we reelevate Him to the throne of our entire life. We must see Him high, lifted up, elevated.
I think our struggle with surrender finds its origin in our deelevation of Jesus which then leads to devaluing Him. We unseat Him because we are no longer committed to the idea that He has the ability, knowledge, or authority to address any other area of our life other than our church life. His opinion matters at church but isn't elevated anywhere else. He is no longer relevant to our business life. We value or elevate Warren Buffets opinion over Jesus' ruling. He is no longer relevant to our dating life. We value Dear Abby or Aunt Suzie's opinion and advice more than Jesus'. So if He says don't be yoked to unbelievers but our best friend says, "did you see how cute he is" we go on what the friend says and ignore Jesus' ruling. He no longer has influence over our entertainment choices. We take our friend's review or Sikel and Ebert's evaluation about what is acceptable art, viewing material, listening material. Their two thumbs up carries more weight and gives us permission and we never elevate Jesus' opinion to be what we line up to and submit to. All because we have not elevated Him!
We say He is on the throne but we treat Him as if He is just one voice rather than The Voice! We must elevate Him. His Word must be taken as the Word of the King. His will must be received as the will of the King. His opinion must trump any other opinion. His command must overrule and override our feelings or preferences. His Word on a matter means more than any majority.
I would submit to you that the reason divorce is rampant in the church is cause citizens of the Kingdom have tried to take the throne.
Worry and fear is at epidemic levels and we refuse to mobilize because we have stepped up to the throne.
Anger and bitterness have become our calling card because we have sat down on the throne.
Overcoming is a mere fantasy or fairytale because we have taken the throne!
We have unseated Him by deelevation and by elevating our own wisdom, our feelings, our choices, our rights, and our own strength the result is our King is in exile and we are living in the results of our own reign!
If you want to see relationships restored, fear frightened, worry worried, anger overcome by joy, bitterness broken, and overcoming a reality, then elevate Him as King in every area of your life again!
Lordship requires removal of all limits.
If we really understood the difference between democracy and monarchy, then we would know that where a democracy limits the reach of government a monarch knows no limits. A monarch owns it all. You only have what you have at the decree or allowance of the King. We know that in theory . . . Every good and perfect gift comes from where?
When you talk about a king on a throne you must embrace the idea that the king owns it all. There are no areas of the kingdom that don't belong to the king. The land you live on isn't yours it is the kings. The cows you "own" aren't really yours they are the kings.
As American we want limits on the reach of government, however as citizens of a monarchy those limits are lost.
We get in trouble and become comfortable with compartmentalization because we think His kingdom operates like our kingdom. However, true surrender means allowing the Lord to establish Lordship and Lordship requires removal of all limits. This means there is no corner in the Kingdom where His Word isn't law.
There is no part of my life that He not only doesn't have access to but there is no area of my life that He doesn't have veto rights over my desire, my will, my feelings, and my choices.
As Lord His standards are the standards that I abide by even if the standards of the society around me are more comfortable.
We have a whole generation that have made their own feelings Lord. I can throw the written Word of God away if I feel like God would understand.
Listen . . . Is He Lord or our we lord? I realize that if we allow Him to be Lord, then that also means that we may have to go against what we feel, what we like, what we want but if He is on the throne then He has the right to every area of our life! We cannot claim Him as Lord if we don't allow Him to have rule over every aspect of our life!
God will share your love. He wants you to love your spouse, kids, and friends. He will share your time. He wants you to spend time with your family, your kids, your hobby, your church. However, He will not share the throne! He is a King and the King demands a throne!
I want to show you something. Go ahead and fight God. Fight God. Resist God. Wrestle with God. Plan a coup. However, see this . . .
Revelation 5:13
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”
So notice that in the last book, at the end, the final scene shows that He winds up on the throne whether anyone likes it or not. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. So my point is that since He owns the throne why don't you go ahead right now and let the One who owns the throne sit on the throne?
Is there one area of your life in which you act like King? Is there one area of your life in which you have unseated Him? It is time to elevate Him again. Things will go better when the King is on His throne! Elevate Him again!
