The Government Will be on His Shoulders

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder.

* Shingles

Atlas - weight of the world…

To have something on your shoulder speaks of a burden of responsibility.

The weight of the government will be on His shoulder. Not religion or philosophy, but government.

Government: The exercise of political authority over the actions, affairs, etc., of a political unit, people, etc., as well as the performance of certain functions for this unit or body

Government (Hebrew – Misra): rule, dominion, empire.

Dominion: Sovereignty or control.
Domain: an area of territory owned or controlled by a ruler or government.

Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is creator and King. He is the Law-giver and the One Who shapes and enforces the standards for life. The government of life is on His shoulder, and as such, He is the Governor. He governs over all time, space, creation, and humanity.

It is the job of the governor to establish laws and ordinances.

Ordinance: What is expected to be ordinary for those that are governed.

They set the culture and standards of a people.

Jesus is King and Governor of the Kingdom of Heaven. His word is full of the revelation. Of who He is, who we are, and what ordinary life in the Kingdom should look like.

What is His kingdom?

John 18:36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”

John 4:24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

His is a spiritual Kingdom. Not one of land or borders. It is a government of atmospheres, relationships, souls, culture.

The Kingdom of Heaven: The revelation and manifestation of the person and policies of God.

God is not only a King, He is also a Father.

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…

He created Adam and Eve as sons and daughters, but also as regents, under-governors.

Psalm 115:16 The heavens, are the LORD’s; but the earth He has given to the children of men.

God is Creator and Originator of all, so everything belongs to Him in an ultimate sense. But He chose to give the earth to humans in a very real way.

Genesis 1:26 …Let them have dominion

We became the governors of the earth. God set the earth as our domain and gave us dominion.

Matthew 18:18 Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

You could say that all of human history is a story about a Royal family, and the Bible is all about the ordinances of that family, and the consequences that result from violating those ordinances.

1 Peter 2:9 You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light

We had dominion in the garden, and then we sinned and gave our authority over to the enemy. Instead of having dominion over the world, the world had dominion over us.

This is what Jesus came to restore: relationship with our Father, and kingdom dominion in our lives.

Matthew 3:2 (John the Baptist) “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
Matthew 4:17 (Jesus) “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

It was a preparation for the re-establishment of the Kingdom of God.
Repentance is not an accepting of God, it is an alignment to His government.

Matthew 3:11 He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

This is what Joel 2 prophesied about, and what happened in Acts 2.

Romans 14:17 The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Righteousness means to be in right-standing and alignment with the Governor of the Kingdom.
Alignment with the King will bring the Kingdom which will result in order and peace in your life.

The Holy Spirit is the administrator of the Kingdom here on earth. He produces the kingdom on the inside of us. Paul tells us what the kingdom of God looks like in our lives.

Galatians 5:22 The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

It’s not about conformity of behavior on the outside, but a transformation of heart and mind on the inside.

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

The Holy Spirit reveals the Kingdom to us, then manifests it in us, the manifests it through us.

Holy Spirit leads, guides, directs, and convicts from within

John 16:8 [The Holy Spirit] will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

To us – He reveals the will of God to us. He gives us wisdom so we can act and feel as He does. He shows us what does not please Him or line up with His ordinances. His light pushes out the darkness in our soul.

In us – He transforms our hearts and mind. He will change our “want to” and give us the power to choose what’s right even when we still want to do what’s wrong.

Romans 7:19-24 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice… O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Through us – We then become regents of God, bringing His Kingdom on earth through prayer, through preaching, relationships, acts of love and mercy. We become ambassadors of the Kingdom to our sphere of influence.

John 4:17 As He is, so are we in this world.

2 Corinthians 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

God's government is not Rome it's not America it's not a democracy.
The will of the Father is not the American dream.
Jesus is not a white middle class republican, nor is He a Democrat.

The Kingdom is not a democracy or a republic. It’s a kingdom with a sovereign King.
The problem is, is that instead of reflecting the image of God, we want God to look like us or to be a God that we create that does what we want when we want and caters to our preferences. Better yet, we want there to be no God at all.

Humanity has always rebelled against God’s authority and kingdom. We want a homocrasy – a system of government that starts and ends with us, where our desires become rule of law.

Paul writes of what religion apart from God’s government and Spirit looks like.

2 Timothy 3:2-5 men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.

You didn’t vote Him in, and you can’t vote Him out, yest through Jesus He now allows us as royal sons and daughters to come boldly to the throne of grace, to cry out Abba Father, and to find help in our time of need.

Jesus shows us what it should look like when our humanity is in conflict with God’s sovereignty.

Matthew 26:39 O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.

The Greek word for God is Theo. Theology is the study of God. The kingdom is a Theocracy and you’re not Theo. It was setup, is run, and is judged by God alone. It is ok to be poetical and passionate as long as your passions and politics take a knee and submit to the sovereignty of Father God, who is the Judge of all flesh. He loves you, but He don’t play.

Matthew 7:21-23 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

So many of us are carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders. We are weary, tired, beaten down, depressed, and weak. Many times this is because we have attempted living by our own government.

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

It is a transference of kingdoms and responsibility. When we are the gods of our lives, we must shoulder the responsibility. The weight of our sin is crushing and damning.

Matthew 10:28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

When we repent of our sin and self-government, Jesus establishes His kingdom on the inside of us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 4:7-12 We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you.
Jesus is inviting you tonight to repent of your sin, to lay your burdens down at his feet and to submit to and receive His kingdom, forgiveness, love, joy, peace, and order. Give up your “right” to self-rulership and allow His kingdom to come and will to be done in your life and through your life, by the power of the Holy Spirit.