His Presentation as a King

I want to read two portions of the Word of God we've been considering in these evening services, the milestones of the Master, those key events in his earthly life that we need to understand. We've had his birth and his baptism and his temptation, his transfiguration, and now tonight his triumphal entry. Next Sunday evening, the Lord willing, we shall consider his death.

Then, of course, his resurrection and his ascension and what they mean to us. The two passages are Matthew chapter 21, verses 1 through 11, and then Luke chapter 19, beginning at verse 28 and reading through verse 44. Matthew 21, 1, And when they drew near unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the Mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, saying unto them, Go into the village opposite you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied in a colt with her.

Loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say anything unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them, and straightway he will send them. All this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet, saying, and here he quotes from Zechariah chapter 9, verse 9, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy king cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass and a colt, the foal of an ass.

And the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them, and brought the ass and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way. Others cut down branches from the trees, and spread them in the way.

And the multitudes that went before and that followed cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. Luke chapter 9, I'm going to begin at verse 37, if I may. The previous part is pretty much like Matthew's record.

And when he was come near, even at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, Blessed be the king who cometh in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest! Some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. And when he was come near, he beheld the city and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace, but now they are hidden from thine eyes.

For the day shall come upon thee that thine enemy shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round about, and keep thee on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground and thy children within thee. And they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another, because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. We call this event the triumphal entry, meaning, of course, his entry into the city of Jerusalem.

But when you look at this event closely, it is difficult to find triumph. Here you have a group of ordinary peasants, just poor people. The high priests weren't there, the Sanhedrin wasn't there, the important people of the city weren't there, just a group of peasants on their way to the feast.

And they take their old clothes and put them on the animals and put them on the ground. They cut down palm leaves, which are a picture of peace, and they cry out from the Old Testament psalm, Hosanna, which means save now. You don't have the Lord Jesus in a chariot or on a horse.

You have him on a meek, lowly donkey, surrounded by peasants, honored by branches of trees and old clothes, and we call this the triumphal entry. Now the Roman soldiers who were there must have laughed, because the Roman people had their version of our ticker tape parade called the Roman triumph. Whenever a Roman general on foreign soil won a complete victory over the enemy, he killed at least 5,000 of the enemy, and he gained new territory, when he came back to Rome, they gave him a triumphal entry.

They had a golden chariot for him. They had armies that marched before and behind. They had people bearing incense.

The priests were there to give honor to the gods. Sacrifices were led down to the temples. A great parade route was ascertained in Rome as the great conqueror was hailed by the people.

Of course, in this triumphal procession were always some of the captives who were going to be slain down at the arena. The Roman soldiers looked at each other and said, what is this? Well, it's a triumphal entry. You ought to come to Rome if you want to see a real triumph.

But you see, we as Christians do not walk by sight, we walk by faith. And no matter how this may look in comparison to what the world would do, this was a triumphal entry. It was a triumph for the Lord Jesus Christ.

You see, we as Christians look at this event and we look deeper and we look farther. The trouble with many people today is they don't look deeply enough and they don't look far enough. And what looks like a great victory today turns out to be a defeat next week.

Not so with our Lord Jesus Christ. It was a victory for him because ultimately the temple was destroyed. Ultimately the city was destroyed.

Ultimately, Jesus Christ brought together Jew and Gentile in a miraculous new thing, the church. He broke down the middle wall of partition that was in the temple. He tore the veil that was in the temple.

He restored to us that oneness with God. He made it possible for men to be reconciled to God and for men to be reconciled to each other. And so it was a victory.

It wasn't just a victory for the Jews. It was a victory for the whole world. Now, you and I need to share in this triumph of our Lord Jesus Christ.

There isn't a person here tonight who doesn't need more victory. There's some area in each of our lives where God needs to come in and bring peace. And if you and I understand the meanings involved in this triumphal entry, I think it will help us to share in the victory of Christ.

I want us to look at three different meanings tonight. First what it meant to Jesus Christ, secondly what it meant to Israel, and thirdly what it means to believers today. Three words will summarize these.

What does it mean to Jesus Christ? One word, obedience. What did it mean to Israel? One word, opportunity. What does it mean to us tonight as Christians? One word, obligation.

Word number one, obedience. What did this event mean to the Lord Jesus Christ? It meant that he was going to obey and fulfill the word of God. You say, but Pastor, that sounds so obvious.

Didn't Jesus always obey and fulfill the word of God? Yes. Yes, he did. In fact, the Gospel of Matthew is filled with this.

Some months ago, I had the privilege of teaching the Gospel of Matthew at a Bible conference. We didn't get to finish it. You can't teach the whole Gospel in one week.

But I was utterly amazed to find over and over again one word repeated by Matthew fulfilled. Matthew chapter 1 and verse 22. Now all of this was done that it might be fulfilled.

Behold, the virgin shall be with child. He was born in obedience to the word of God. Over in chapter 2 and verse 15, when they left to go down to Egypt and they were there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Lord through the prophets saying, out of Egypt have I called my son.

He went to Egypt in obedience to the word. Down in chapter 2 of Matthew and verse 23, he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophets. He should be called a Nazarene.

Where he went to live was in obedience to the word of God. I wonder how many people today choose their address in obedience to the will of God. Over in chapter 4, verse 14, he left Nazareth.

He went to Capernaum. Why? That it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet. Over in chapter 8 of the gospel of Matthew and in verse 17, he was casting out demons and healing people that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet.

Over in chapter 12 and verse 17, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet. Behold my servant whom I have chosen. Now we could go on and on and on through the gospel of Matthew to underscore one tremendous fact.

Wherever Jesus went and whatever Jesus did, it was in obedience to the word of God. When the Lord Jesus mounted this colt and went into Jerusalem, he was obeying three particular scriptures. One of them said that he would come.

The other one said how he would come. The third one said when he would come. Let's look at them.

Back in Psalm 118, this is the psalm that the multitudes were quoting when they shouted Hosanna in the highest. This psalm has to do with our Lord Jesus Christ. It's a Messianic psalm.

Verse 25, save now I beseech thee, O Lord, O Lord I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.

This particular psalm, written centuries before, said that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is going to come. He's going to come in the name of the Lord and the multitudes are going to say Hosanna, which means save now. My own conviction is that most of those people weren't talking about spiritual salvation.

They thought that Jesus Christ was going to come, establish an earthly kingdom, defeat Rome, throw Caesar out, reestablish the great kingdom of Israel. That's what they were saying. Save now, deliver us from Roman taxes, deliver us from Roman soldiers.

That's not what Psalm 118, verse 25 has to do. It says, save now I beseech thee, O Lord, O Lord I beseech thee, send now prosperity. What kind of prosperity? Spiritual prosperity.

If they had only stopped and gone back just a few verses to verse 22, the stone which the builders refused has become the head of the corner. Do you know what it meant for Jesus Christ to obey God's word and go into Jerusalem? It meant being rejected. Nobody wants to be rejected.

When our Savior obeyed Psalm 118, verse 26, and he came in the name of the Lord, he was walking right up to Calvary. I wonder how many of us are willing to obey when it means suffering and death. That's one thing to obey when it means a promotion, blessing.

How many of us are willing to obey when it means suffering and death? The second scripture that our Lord obeyed was over in Daniel, chapter 9 and verse 27. I will not go into this prophecy in detail because it is too complex for this kind of a message. If you've got a Scofield Bible, the note there is just about as clear as you'll find any place.

But in Daniel, chapter 9, beginning at verse 24, Gabriel says to Daniel, God has a program worked out for Israel. 490 years are determined upon thy people, that's the Jews, upon thy holy city, that's Jerusalem, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up the vision and prophecy, and anoint the most holy. Now, he goes into detail as to the sequence of these years.

If you want to read a remarkable book, there is a book called The Silence of God by Sir Robert Anderson. Do you know who Sir Robert Anderson was? He was the founder of Scotland Yard in Great Britain. Sir Robert Anderson was the main police commissioner over in London and a man of God and a brilliant student of the word.

Now, he did something I wouldn't have the patience to do. He sat down with this prophetic calendar and he worked it out with the royal astronomer of Britain and came to the conclusion that on the very day that Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem, this prophecy was fulfilled. To the very day.

Now, I just challenge you to read Sir Robert Anderson's book, because the explanation is far too complex for a pulpit presentation. So our Lord, when he entered Jerusalem, was obeying Psalm 118. He's coming in the name of the Lord.

He was obeying Daniel chapter 9, which tells us when he would come. And then you turn to Zechariah chapter 9, which tells us how he's going to come. The book of Zechariah is saturated with messianic prophecy.

I hope that the Jewish people in Jerusalem are studying Zechariah, because no book in the Old Testament says more about Jerusalem than does Zechariah. Chapter 9, verse 9, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem, behold, thy king cometh unto thee. He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding upon an ass and upon a colt, the foal of an ass.

This tells us how he would come. Interestingly enough, the first eight verses of Zechariah 9 are a prophecy of Alexander the Great. Here is a Gentile ruler who swept across the known world, and if you know your history, and many of you do, when he got to Jerusalem, he didn't do what he intended to do.

He kept the city intact. God protected the city. But in chapter 9, verse 9, you have not a Gentile king coming to devastate.

You have a Jewish king coming to deliver and to bring peace. And so when our Lord Jesus entered into Jerusalem, he was obeying Zechariah 9, verse 9, in every detail of his entry. Now what did this mean for him? Think with me.

Our Lord had never done anything like this before. Our Lord Jesus Christ, in his earthly ministry, deliberately avoided public displays. Our Lord Jesus was not the kind of a person in his earthly ministry who paraded himself.

In fact, one of the prophecies is, he shall not lift his voice in the street, he shall not cry aloud and get attention to himself. He'd heal somebody and say, don't tell anybody. When he saw the crowds were getting too big, he went off to some quiet place by himself.

He deliberately avoided the crowds. And yet on this day, he deliberately created a demonstration. Do you know what he was doing when he did this? He was sealing his own death warrant.

Let me tell you why. The Sanhedrin, the Jewish council, had already determined that he was going to die. And their plan was, not during the feast, lest we create a commotion, remember that? But he had to die during the feast.

He had to die on the Passover day. The Old Testament scriptures had said, he's the Lamb of God, slain for our sins. John the Baptist had said, behold the Lamb of God.

And so Jesus Christ had to be slain on that Passover day. Now, God doesn't make people do things against their will. He just makes them willing to do it.

And that's what our Lord did. When our Lord entered into Jerusalem and the scribes and chief priests saw the multitude coming out from Jerusalem to meet him, the multitude from Galilee marching in with him, and the crowd shouting, the King of Israel, Hosanna. You know what they said? John 12 tells us what they said.

Behold, the whole world is gone after him. And they covenanted together to get rid of him as soon as they could. So our Lord Jesus, in fulfilling Zechariah 9.9, Psalm 118.26, and Daniel 9.24 and on, in fulfilling those three scriptures, was sealing his own death warrant.

I wonder if you and I would ever obey the scriptures to the point of death. He did. Now, on the other side of that death was resurrection.

And on the other side of resurrection was ascension. And at the end of ascension was authority and glory on the throne. But it's always that way.

Somebody here tonight is wrestling with a problem of obedience. You're saying, Pastor, if I obey what the Word of God says, it may cost me my job. If I obey what the Word of God says, it may cost me my friend or my family.

Jesus obeyed the Word of God in spite of what it cost him. And the blessing on the other side was worth it. You see, you and I don't look far enough.

We don't see far enough. We say, if I obey the Word of God, I'll lose my job. Oh, Lord, then what? And God says, I have planned for you the kind of blessings I give to those who obey my word.

Yes, there may be death. There may be mockery. They mocked his kingship.

Remember how they did it? They stripped him of his robe and they put an old faded robe on him and a reed in his hand and a crown of thorns on his head. And mockingly, the soldiers fell before him and said, Hail King of the Jews. They mocked him.

But our Lord experienced the kind of victory and glory that God gives to those who obey him. Now, he may not give it to you on this side of heaven. There may be some here tonight who have been mistreated.

You've obeyed the word of God and it's been rough. You say, God hasn't honored me yet. Just be patient.

He will. Them that honor me, says the Lord, I will honor. What did it mean to Jesus Christ? It meant obedience.

Obedience to the point of death. There are very few of us here tonight who have ever faced that kind of a decision. We complain because if we obey, we might lose a friend or if we obey, we might lose this or that.

Do any of us here tonight face the decision, if I obey, I might lose my life? Our Lord did. What did this event mean to Israel? One word, opportunity. Would you look at Deuteronomy chapter 20? There is an interesting law that God gave to his people when they were conquering the Holy Land.

Deuteronomy chapter 20. Many people don't know about this law. A man stopped me one day and he said, you know, I don't like what God did to those cities in Canaan.

I said, what do you mean? Why? He said he had the Jews go in there and just ruthlessly wipe them. I said, wait just a minute. Hold on.

Do you ever notice that people who criticize God don't read the Bible? I said in the first place, God had given those people hundreds of years to repent. In the second place, they heard all that God had done in the wilderness for 40 years. They'd heard all about it and they had a chance to repent.

And anybody who repented would have been saved. I said in the third place, did you ever read Deuteronomy 20 where God gives the law of warfare? And he says to his armies, before you declare war, declare peace. Deuteronomy 20, when thou goest out to battle against thine enemies and see us horses and chariots and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them.

For the Lord thy God is with thee who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. So he said, you go out and fight by faith. Now, verse 10, when thou comest near unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.

Don't declare war, declare peace. And it shall be, if it make thee an answer of peace and open unto thee, then it shall be that all the people who are found therein shall be bondservants unto thee, and they shall serve thee. And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it.

You see, God is a gracious God. And here is the Lord Jesus who could have declared war on Jerusalem. He could have said the temple is being used for wickedness.

He could have said the high priest is an unbelieving hypocrite. He could have unearthed all of the godlessness of their religion. He could have declared war on the city, but instead he came and declared peace.

Jerusalem means city of peace or foundation of peace. And yet no city has been the center of more war down through history than has Jerusalem. Our Lord Jesus gave to them an opportunity of peace.

Now we turn to Luke chapter 19 and read once again what it has to say. Our Lord Jesus weeps over the city. If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, what day is that? The day that the Lord had made for them.

Psalm 118 says, this is the day which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. God gave them a day of salvation.

If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace. They thought they were going to have peace by killing Jesus. Well, his death on the cross did purchase peace, peace with God, peace between Jew and Gentile in the church, having made peace by the blood of his cross.

But for the city and for the nation, it meant war. Jesus came and declared peace, and they declared war. There's a familiar statement back in Luke chapter 2 that everybody quotes at Christmas time.

In Luke chapter 2, when the angels came to announce the birth of the Lord Jesus, do you remember how they said, glory to God in the highest, Luke 2.14. And on earth, peace, goodwill toward men. In other words, here comes the Messiah. He's being born.

And as a result, peace on earth. Well, turn to Luke chapter 12. What happens to this peace on earth? Luke chapter 12 and verse 51.

Our Lord says to his disciples, suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth. I tell you no, but rather division. From henceforth, there should be five in one house divided three against two and two against three.

And he spells it out in verse 53. Why? Because they did not know the time. Look at verse 56, speaking to the religious leaders, you hypocrites, you can discern the face of the sky and of the earth.

But how is it that you do not discern this time? They didn't know it was the time of their visitation. They didn't realize it was the time when God was declaring peace, peace on earth. Do you think I've come to bring peace on earth? No, they don't want peace.

Where is their peace? Turn back to Luke chapter 19. Is there peace any place? Look at verse 38. Blessed be the king who cometh in the name of the Lord.

Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. There's only one place where there's really peace today in this universe, and that's in heaven. You know why? The lamb died.

God is not at war with this world. Jesus Christ, in dying, has reconciled God to man. God doesn't have to be reconciled to us.

He already has been reconciled. God hasn't turned his back on the world, and God isn't lifting his fist against the world. God's arms are reached out in love and peace to the world.

But what's the world doing? It's the world that has to be reconciled. That's why our message is, be ye reconciled to God. For Israel, this meant opportunity, and they lost it, and the result was judgment.

This happens every day. Every day, somewhere in the city of Chicago, the Lord Jesus comes in meekness with salvation. He doesn't come barging in like a great soldier.

He comes meekly with salvation. And someone says, I don't want it. Don't bother me.

I don't want it. The next time Israel sees the Lord Jesus, he will not be riding a lowly ass. And I saw heaven open, and I saw Jesus Christ coming on a great white horse, and on his head many crowns, not a crown of thorn, and out of his mouth a sharp sword by which he will judge his enemies.

The next time Israel sees Jesus Christ, he'll not meekly be riding into Jerusalem on the humble animal. He will come as a conqueror, and he will come conquering. And they shall look upon him whom they have pierced, and he will ride forth in judgment, and that great battle of Armageddon is going to be fought.

And the word of God tells us the blood will be up to the horse's bridles, and there will be a great feast spread for the vultures and the carrion-eating birds when Jesus Christ comes as King of kings and Lord of lords. For Israel had met opportunity, opportunity for peace, and they rejected it. Now, what does it mean to us today? We call ourselves Christians.

We're able to sing songs like, King of my life, I crown thee now. Rejoice, the Lord is King. Crown him with many crowns, the Lamb upon the throne.

When a choir sings the Hallelujah Chorus, tradition calls for people to stand, and our hearts are stirred as the choir sings, King of kings and Lord of lords. That's fine. But what about our everyday lives? The one word that comes to us is obligation.

Obligation to do what? Make him king. Now, he is the King of Israel. He's not on David's throne yet.

He will be. But he is the King of Israel, and he is the King of the Son of Man. He is the King of Israel, and he is the King of the saints.

He's the head of the church, but he's the King of all who bow before him. Jesus Christ tonight is seated on a throne. He's not hanging on a cross.

He's not lying in a tomb. He is seated on a throne, far above all principality and power. And every name that is named, either in this age or in the age to come, and he reigns supremely.

He has put all things under his feet. That means he's king. Now, it doesn't look like he's king.

You go back 2,000 years as he rides into Jerusalem, didn't look like he was king. Lots of singing, lots of noise, lots of commotion, but didn't look like he was king. He had no scepter.

He had no army. He had no wealth. He was the poorest of the poor.

But he was king. God said so. Today, it doesn't look like he's king.

It looks like Satan is king. Evil is rampant. Innocent children are being kidnapped and murdered and buried in shallow little graves.

Crooked politicians are milking the public. There's war. There's death.

There's sin. There's crime. There's ignorance.

He's king. King of what? He is king wherever he's allowed to be king. You see, our Lord, when he came into Jerusalem, came a new kind of king.

You know, when Solomon became king, he abandoned asses and brought in horses. The very thing Moses said should not be done. Don't go down to Egypt and multiply horses.

And Solomon did it. And from that time on, the horse became the great symbol of kingship. And from Solomon's time on in the Bible, you don't find a king riding around on a donkey.

A donkey became a beast of burden. Our Lord Jesus could just as well have ridden into Jerusalem on a horse. Why, he could have had a chariot run by angels.

He chose not to. You know why? He was saying to that city, as he says to us tonight, my kingship is not of this world. I don't need horses and swords.

If my kingdom were of this world, he said to Pilate, then my servants would be out there fighting. But my kingdom's not of this world. Our weapons are different from the weapons of other kings.

And our Lord Jesus is saying, I'm a different kind of a king. I rule through love. I rule through meekness.

Meekness is not weakness. I am meek and lowly in heart. I rule through the power of my word.

And so it says to me and to you that if he is our king, and we are reigning in life the way Romans 5, 17 says we should, he is ruling over us through his word. This book, the Bible, is the scepter of his rule. And when you and I come to this book the way he came to this book and say, Father, what is it you want me to do? That's how he rules.

There's no sense in our talking about king of my life, I crown thee now on Sunday morning at communion service. There's no sense in our singing crown him with many crowns at the opening song of a worship service if day by day we don't come to this book the way he did. The whole gospel of Matthew is filled with this one little word fulfilled.

Why were you born? To fulfill the word. Why did you go to Egypt? To obey the word. Why did you move to Nazareth? To obey the word.

Why did you leave Nazareth for Capernaum? To obey the word. Why did you ride into Jerusalem and walk straight into the hands of arrest and crucifixion? To obey the word. You mean your kingship is a kingship of obedience, yes.

How do you rule over my life? Through the word. Then as I obey the word, you're my king, yes. It's simple, isn't it? We make it so complicated, but it's so very simple.

As we read the word of God, we reign with him as we obey it. And so we honestly can sing, king of my life, I crown thee now, thine shall the glory be. You see, when a Christian disobeys the word of God, Jesus Christ ceases to be king in his life.

And when Jesus Christ ceases to be king, there's no peace. Because his kingdom is a kingdom of peace. When Jesus Christ ceases to be king, there's no joy.

For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and joy and peace through the Holy Ghost. But when Jesus Christ is king, there's peace. When Jesus Christ is king, there's joy.

When Jesus Christ is king, there's fulfillment. And it's the most beautiful thing in the world. You may be walking right into something you don't understand, but you're doing it because God told you to do it.

It looks like it's failure, like it looked that his was failure, but it isn't. Never be afraid of obeying the word of God. This word is the word of the king.

The tragedy is most of the world is saying, we will not have this man to reign over us. Behold, your king. We have no king but Caesar.

I'm sure there's somebody here tonight who's never bowed to Jesus Christ and acknowledged him as God and Savior. You ought to do that tonight. And there may be some Christians here tonight who have to confess in their hearts.

My king does not rule in my life. I don't even listen to his word. His scepter doesn't rule over me because I don't even know what his word says.

That's too bad. What a beautiful thing it is just to be submitted to him. What a beautiful thing it is just to let him reign in your life through the word and let him be king.

You see, he's king over all the universe. He keeps it going pretty well. If he were king over your life, don't you think he'd keep it going the way it ought to? Our Lord's entry into Jerusalem meant obedience that it might be fulfilled.

It meant opportunity, God's offer of peace. And to us, it means obligation, bowing before him and saying, Thou art my king. King.

Gracious Father, the hardest thing for us to do is to surrender our wills. We're glad to have our minds filled with your truth. We're glad to have our hearts filled with your love.

But it's so hard for us to surrender our wills that you might control all of us. We don't want to be rebels. We want to be submissive citizens of the kingdom of heaven.

We're not afraid of your kingship, for you reign in righteousness and love, and your throne is a throne of glory. It may be, O Father, that you call upon us to do some hard thing. Help us to do it.

Help us also to be willing to do the easy things. I pray, Father, for any here tonight who need to be saved, who have really never trusted Christ in their hearts, that tonight they might do so. I pray for that believer who's struggling and fighting and wrestling.

Lord, may he surrender tonight and just say, Lord, have your way. Be king in our lives. Rule supremely, preeminently.

I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.