Rev 17:14, "These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful." 
	As we continue with our reading and consideration of this Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, it is important to reflect upon that which we have come to see. We have considered the manner in which the Church is to manifest her utter reliance upon God in prayer and in worship. We have seen the reality of Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God and as the Triumphant Victor. We have looked at the perseverance of the saints, standing in the unwavering truth of Jesus Christ as our everything, no matter what the earthly appearances may be. We have dealt with the intimate relationship that we have with the Son as His Bride. These are just the highlights of where the Holy Spirit has taken us in the course of our deliberations. 
In today’s reading, let us concentrate on the reality of the victory of Jesus Christ from the vantage point of His sovereignty over the princes and rulers of this age. That is a view that is often left as an assumption and just accepted without a defined and explicit course of understanding. We dare not just make suppositions and conjectures as we deal with eternal truth, especially in the light of the glory of God inherent in our Lord Jesus Christ. He must never become just a matter of fact conception to us. We dare never to allow ourselves to denigrate Him to just being there in some casual sense, in the same manner as we often regard the governmental system of this realm.
Many of us live in this country and just accept its structure of laws and codes of conduct without any thoughtful consideration of what it truly does to order our lives and our behavior. The Lord tells us to pray for those who rule over us in this realm. 1 Tim 2:1-4, First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. We are to consciously be aware of and pray for those to whom God has entrusted the governmental power over us. This is in order that they would rule with the awareness that they are God’s appointed servants, that they are answerable to Him in the manner in which they govern on this earth. Sadly, many of us fail to so prayerfully hold our government officials before the throne of God’s authority in this manner. We just live day to day with no thought of the responsibility that we are to exercise on their behalf.    
At an even more devastating level, we are guilty of a much more sinister oversight with regard to the Lord Jesus Christ. As Christians, many of us are absolutely remiss and practicing an even graver defilement of the Lordship of Jesus. We disregard Him and make Him commonplace when we just live our lives with no daily, moment-by-moment regard for the immediate and constant guidance and recognition of the life that we have in Him. Our hearts must be in continual and instantaneous reflection of the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We should always remember the sacrifice that God endured in order to bring us into our intimate and living relationship with Himself under His governing hand of operation. We can not just assume that He is Lord of our lives. He is to be our constant consideration of why and how we do anything and everything each instant of our walk on this earth! We need to continually conduct ourselves with the conscious reverence for Him as our Sovereign Lord and Master. 
At the very beginning of this Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, we read the following in Rev 1:4-6. John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne; and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us, and released us from our sins by His blood, and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father; to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 
We see that there has been a tremendous change in our understanding of the fundamental ruling order of this earth. Up to the advent of Jesus Christ, God’s people, the Jews, were looking for a physical kingdom of God to be established on this earth. 
We see this as recorded in Mark 11:8-10 as Jesus was entering Jerusalem. The people were gathered along the road and cheering and expecting that Jesus was going to overthrow the Roman domination of their city. And many spread their garments in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. And those who went before, and those who followed after, were crying out, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!" 
	Even the disciples, when Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God, thought that He was referring to a kingdom in which they would rule on this earth. Luke 19:11, And while they were listening to these things, He went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. 
We also see this expectation on their part after Christ’s resurrection. Acts 1:3-6, To these He also presented Himself alive, after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days, and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. And gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." And so when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" 
	However, by the time of John’s writing of this book, under the direct influence and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, there was a recognition within the Church that God’s Kingdom was already in place with Jesus Christ as the Lord of all. He is …the ruler of the kings of the earth. All the kingdoms of this earth owe their allegiance and their power to the Lord of lords and the King of kings. 
	As we read later in Rev 19:11-16, And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself. And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." This is the revelation of Jesus Christ in His rightful place of ultimate authority over all the powers of creation. 
There will be the universal recognition that He is the Sovereign Lord God Almighty, and all will bow before Him, as recorded in Phil 2:9-11. Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 
This will be the culmination of the honor that is due to God, in His Son, as foretold by the Prophet Isaiah. Isa 45:22-25, "Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other." I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. "They will say of Me, 'Only in the Lord are righteousness and strength.' Men will come to Him, And all who were angry at Him shall be put to shame. "In the Lord all the offspring of Israel Will be justified, and will glory." 
	Not only will the entire creation consider Jesus in terms as the Lord of lords and the King of kings, but God’s kingdom will be universally acknowledged as being the ruling order from the very beginning of eternity unto all the eternal ages. Every ruler from every tribe and tongue and nation will utter the declaration voiced in Dan 4:34+35. "But at the end of that period I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation. "And all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, 'What hast Thou done?' 
	As well, we, His people, will be given homage according to the truth that we belong to Him. It will not be because we are great and mighty and powerful in our own accord. It will all be because we are part of His kingdom, servants of the most high. Again, we see this as demonstrated by King Nebuchadnezzar, as he bowed before Daniel. Dan 2:46+47, Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did homage to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him an offering and fragrant incense. The king answered Daniel and said, "Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery." 
	God relates the truth of our placement as servants into His Kingdom in Isa 54:14-17. "In righteousness you will be established; You will be far from oppression, for you will not fear; And from terror, for it will not come near you. "If anyone fiercely assails you it will not be from Me. Whoever assails you will fall because of you. "Behold, I Myself have created the smith who blows the fire of coals, And brings out a weapon for its work; And I have created the destroyer to ruin. "No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their vindication is from Me," declares the Lord. 
	Therefore, we must see that we live our daily lives on this earth in terms of the fact that we already live in the Kingdom of God in Jesus Christ! Our hearts must be joined together in the living reality of heart and worship as recorded in Deut 10:14-20. "Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. Yet on your fathers did the Lord set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day. Circumcise then your heart, and stiffen your neck no more. For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality, nor take a bribe. He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. 
	The Psalmist knew this heart of pure worship and adoration in consideration of the majesty and the honor due to God every moment of every day as he sang the song of God’s authority and power and dominion. Ps 136:1-3, Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Give thanks to the God of gods, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. 
 	Finally, this morning, we look to the responsibility given to us by the Lord in 1 Tim 6:11-16, But flee from these things, you man of God; and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time —  He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords; who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen. 
	We are to … pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness… in the manner in which we live our lives on this earth. That is only possible as we identify ourselves as being in the Kingdom of God. We are to willingly submit ourselves to the authority of God in Jesus Christ every moment of every day of every year of our lives! Let us so honor Him Who is the Sovereign Lord of all! So be it!
These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful. Amen.

								
This morning’s benediction is John 5:26+27. "For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Amen.