The Forever King

The Forever King
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
by Dr. Paul Chappell

“And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.”

2 Samuel 7:12–13

When Louis XIV, known as the Sun King, was just five years old he was crowned the king of France. For the next seventy-two years, though he did not exercise power on his own until he came of age, he was the ruler of the people. For decades, no one in France knew any other ruler. It must have seemed to some like Louis XIV would reign forever. But like all men, he did eventually die and the crown passed to his son.

Jesus is the literal fulfillment of the promise God made to David that one of his descendants would rule forever. Many of David’s descendants ruled in Jerusalem, some poorly and some well. But none of them had a lasting reign. Eventually the kingdom itself was destroyed, but God’s promise remained. He does not work on our time frame or according to our understanding, but He always does exactly what He says He will do.

Jesus will never grow old or feeble and need to be replaced. He will never be overthrown in a revolution. He is the king forever, and we know how the story ends. “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).

Today's Growth Principle:
Since Jesus never changes and His rule will never end, we have complete confidence in the future.

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And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. --Luke 2:8-9 The shepherds were out in the fields tending to their flocks. These humble, lowly men had jobs that kept them away from their families – nomads who followed their flocks day and night. It was a poor, lonely life – a humble audience for the very first Christmas carol ever sung. But when Jesus was born, the heavens opened wide and the sky was filled with angels singing with voices beyond imagination. These lonely men were the audience for this most beautiful of songs, accompanied by the sight of angels filling the sky. As we look in the Bible at places where God touches Earth – where heavenly beings come into contact with people – we find that it very often happens in extremely humble circumstances. This becomes even clearer as we look at the story of Christmas. This announcement wasn’t made at Caesar’s palace in Rome. It wasn’t at the high, holy Temple in Jerusalem. The first announcement was the small cry of the child in a stable, and the second announcement was by angels above a humble pasture with an audience of lowly shepherds. No matter where you are in life, how you live, or what you have, God can meet you right there. Don’t think you have to clean yourself up first to connect with God. He’s available to you right now. Don’t wait to meet Him!