Jesus is King
Taking Over the World: God's Upside-Down Kingdom
Remember the classic 1990s cartoon about two lab rats? One was a genius with grand schemes, the other a lovable fool. Every night, the genius devised elaborate plans for world domination—radioactive dentures, hypnotic waves, robot armies. And every episode ended the same way: in mayhem and destruction.
It's funny because it hits close to home. We all have a little of that genius rat in us, don't we? We all want to take over our world—whatever size that world might be. Maybe it's not global conquest, but perhaps it's controlling our household, our relationships, our children's choices, or just our own circumstances. We try through strength, through money, through influence. We fight culture wars and power struggles, from playground disputes to international conflicts.
This desire runs deep. It echoes the original temptation in the garden: "You will be like God." But here's the thing—God had already made humanity in His image. The temptation wasn't to be like God, but to actually BE God. To determine right and wrong ourselves. To be in charge. To control.
And every attempt ends like that cartoon—in mayhem and destruction.
There Is Only One God
The most basic claim of Christianity starts with the opening words of Scripture: "In the beginning, God." Not us. God. There is only one God, and you are not Him. Neither am I.
Isaiah 45:5-7 declares this powerfully: "I am the Lord, and there is no other. Apart from me there is no God...I form the light and create darkness. I bring prosperity and create disaster. I, the Lord, do all these things."
He alone has absolute authority and power over this world and everything in it. We forget this constantly. We go around thinking we have power to manipulate, to control, to take over our little kingdoms. But there is only one Lord God with absolute authority.
The good news? This God is bringing His kingdom to the world. But not in the way we'd expect.
The King Has Come
From the very beginning, even as the world fell into rebellion, God whispered a promise. In Genesis 3:15, while pronouncing judgment on the serpent, God promised that the offspring of the woman would crush the enemy's head. A Rescuer. A Redeemer. A King.
Isaiah 9:6-7 fleshes out this promise: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders...Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever."
We know who this King is: Jesus Christ. But He didn't come like earthly kings come. No military might. No economic dominance. No cultural conquest. He came in humility—born in Bethlehem, laid in a manger, visited by shepherds. He came in poverty, from obscure Nazareth. He came to experience our suffering.
If you were devising a plan to take over the world, you wouldn't choose this one. Born under the law, living in perfect obedience, perfect love, perfect righteousness—the life Adam and Eve didn't live, the life you and I don't live. Jesus lived it to become our substitute.
The King came as a servant. A shepherd. A suffering leader who washed His followers' feet. A King who became a sacrificial lamb, going to a Roman cross to die for the sins of all who believe in Him, making peace with God that lasts forever.
What's the requirement to enter this kingdom? Believe. Trust in Him. That's it. No catch. No hidden cost. Just grace.
"You don't know what I've done, Lord."
"Come freely. Come without price."
This is not how the kingdoms of this world operate. There's always a catch, always a cost. But Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, offers a free gift—reconciliation with God, forgiveness, eternal life. Just receive it. Open your hands and take it.
The invitation is simple: stop trying to take over the world. Stop trying to be king of your little life. Let Jesus actually be your King.
The King's Commission
After Jesus rose from the dead—and He did rise, bodily, appearing to hundreds of eyewitnesses—He gave His followers a commission found in Matthew 28:18-20: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."
How does Jesus take over the world? Not with armies. Not with force. But by commissioning ordinary people to make disciples, form communities called churches, and spread from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.
It doesn't seem like a great strategy. We'd try to take over media, recruit celebrities, grab cultural influence. But Jesus' strategy? Go to ordinary people, share the gospel, call them to faith and repentance, and set up little organized churches around the world.
The New Testament is essentially a collection of letters to these churches—interconnected communities led by shepherds and servants, not military commanders. When the world appoints officers, we think of generals. But church officers are shepherds who lay down their lives for the sheep. Servants, not rulers.
A Worldwide Web of Light
Picture Jesus on His throne. Below, a dark world. But scattered throughout are spots of light—churches—interconnected by streams. God is planting communities of ordinary people to take over the world not through might or force, but through sacrifice, service, and love.
This is the upside-down kingdom. The last are first. The greatest are servants. Leaders wash feet. Kings die for their subjects. And somehow, through this foolish-looking strategy, the kingdom advances.
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
The kingdom comes because the King has come. And the King invites you to stop fighting for control and instead receive the gift He offers: peace with God, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life in His upside-down kingdom where love conquers all.
The question isn't whether you can take over the world. The question is: will you let the true King take over your heart?
It's funny because it hits close to home. We all have a little of that genius rat in us, don't we? We all want to take over our world—whatever size that world might be. Maybe it's not global conquest, but perhaps it's controlling our household, our relationships, our children's choices, or just our own circumstances. We try through strength, through money, through influence. We fight culture wars and power struggles, from playground disputes to international conflicts.
This desire runs deep. It echoes the original temptation in the garden: "You will be like God." But here's the thing—God had already made humanity in His image. The temptation wasn't to be like God, but to actually BE God. To determine right and wrong ourselves. To be in charge. To control.
And every attempt ends like that cartoon—in mayhem and destruction.
There Is Only One God
The most basic claim of Christianity starts with the opening words of Scripture: "In the beginning, God." Not us. God. There is only one God, and you are not Him. Neither am I.
Isaiah 45:5-7 declares this powerfully: "I am the Lord, and there is no other. Apart from me there is no God...I form the light and create darkness. I bring prosperity and create disaster. I, the Lord, do all these things."
He alone has absolute authority and power over this world and everything in it. We forget this constantly. We go around thinking we have power to manipulate, to control, to take over our little kingdoms. But there is only one Lord God with absolute authority.
The good news? This God is bringing His kingdom to the world. But not in the way we'd expect.
The King Has Come
From the very beginning, even as the world fell into rebellion, God whispered a promise. In Genesis 3:15, while pronouncing judgment on the serpent, God promised that the offspring of the woman would crush the enemy's head. A Rescuer. A Redeemer. A King.
Isaiah 9:6-7 fleshes out this promise: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders...Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever."
We know who this King is: Jesus Christ. But He didn't come like earthly kings come. No military might. No economic dominance. No cultural conquest. He came in humility—born in Bethlehem, laid in a manger, visited by shepherds. He came in poverty, from obscure Nazareth. He came to experience our suffering.
If you were devising a plan to take over the world, you wouldn't choose this one. Born under the law, living in perfect obedience, perfect love, perfect righteousness—the life Adam and Eve didn't live, the life you and I don't live. Jesus lived it to become our substitute.
The King came as a servant. A shepherd. A suffering leader who washed His followers' feet. A King who became a sacrificial lamb, going to a Roman cross to die for the sins of all who believe in Him, making peace with God that lasts forever.
What's the requirement to enter this kingdom? Believe. Trust in Him. That's it. No catch. No hidden cost. Just grace.
"You don't know what I've done, Lord."
"Come freely. Come without price."
This is not how the kingdoms of this world operate. There's always a catch, always a cost. But Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, offers a free gift—reconciliation with God, forgiveness, eternal life. Just receive it. Open your hands and take it.
The invitation is simple: stop trying to take over the world. Stop trying to be king of your little life. Let Jesus actually be your King.
The King's Commission
After Jesus rose from the dead—and He did rise, bodily, appearing to hundreds of eyewitnesses—He gave His followers a commission found in Matthew 28:18-20: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."
How does Jesus take over the world? Not with armies. Not with force. But by commissioning ordinary people to make disciples, form communities called churches, and spread from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.
It doesn't seem like a great strategy. We'd try to take over media, recruit celebrities, grab cultural influence. But Jesus' strategy? Go to ordinary people, share the gospel, call them to faith and repentance, and set up little organized churches around the world.
The New Testament is essentially a collection of letters to these churches—interconnected communities led by shepherds and servants, not military commanders. When the world appoints officers, we think of generals. But church officers are shepherds who lay down their lives for the sheep. Servants, not rulers.
A Worldwide Web of Light
Picture Jesus on His throne. Below, a dark world. But scattered throughout are spots of light—churches—interconnected by streams. God is planting communities of ordinary people to take over the world not through might or force, but through sacrifice, service, and love.
This is the upside-down kingdom. The last are first. The greatest are servants. Leaders wash feet. Kings die for their subjects. And somehow, through this foolish-looking strategy, the kingdom advances.
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
The kingdom comes because the King has come. And the King invites you to stop fighting for control and instead receive the gift He offers: peace with God, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life in His upside-down kingdom where love conquers all.
The question isn't whether you can take over the world. The question is: will you let the true King take over your heart?
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