The Only Potentate, is Lord Jesus Christ.

 The Only Potentate

Let's turn and read the Bible in  1 Timothy, chapter 6, verse 15.

There is a song entitled, "In Christ Alone", you know the singularity of that. In Christ Alone, no one else can. 

No one else can heal the wounded like he can. No one else. Exclusive. You see that. 

Another song title, You Are The Greatest Thing To Me. See that superlative. Singularity. I was listening to all that, rummaging on that, thinking all that things, meditating on that, open the Scriptures, I sat down with the Bible, I say, where is it, Lord? What is the text.

That's why I asked the Lord  to help us to bring out from the text. We need to see verse 14, to get some context on the text of verse 15. Let's read verse 14 , “¹⁴That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:” “¹⁵Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;”“¹⁶Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.”

Notice, in verse 16,  who only hath immortality, and in verse 15, the title, the text,  the only Potentate. You see it?

The blessed and only Potentate. Potentate, that's a word that's not commonly used today. But it is an excellent word. In case you don't know exactly what that is, it is describing the Lord Jesus Christ , let me tell you. 

Potentate is one who posseses great power. As a sovereign, or a monarch. Or a ruler. A sovereign is one possessing supreme political power and authority. And a monarch is a person who reigns over a kingdom. One who holds preeminent position and power

So, let's listen to that again. So I run through the definition. Because definition just a tendency to be, just a little bit , you know, sterile, if you will because you just see more words just describing another word, that's been used. 

Because it says here, " one who posseses great power. " 

So, in that word Potentate , we see the great power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But He possesses great power as a sovereign. A monarch. A ruler. 

Sovereign is a word we often use, so that is one possessing supreme , the highest political power, authority over some thing he's governing. But in addition, he has the authority. 

The definition for Potentate says, he possesses power as a monach, you probably know what a monarch is, a monarch is a royalty, a king, or a queen. A person who reigns. The one who holds preeminent power and position . 

Power, authority, rule, those are words connected to  this word, Potentate. 

And notice, when the Bible describe him, it didn't say a Portentate. Did it? The only , the only Potentate. Just like no one else can. 

Just like the greatest thing ever happened to me. Like , In Christ Alone. There's something very exclusive , that Timothy has received from Paul in his writing, is now been given us as scripture. There is only One of these in the entire universe. And Jesus Christ is that One. Therefore, capital letter P , Potentate. The Only Potentate. 

And so, by looking at the things that define the word, Potentate, we can then, talk more specifically about why it is so important to us that Jesus Christ is this Potentate . Why is he the only one? 

And I will say this to you. Many of you, most of you here today, are already saved. So ,this should encourage you in your relationship with Jesus Christ. 

 Well, there might be very well somebody here today who is not saved. That is, you never personally trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour. You want to pay careful attention to what you're hearing today.  Because God can use this in your life , like God is using my preaching in my life, to bring you to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.  And if you get saved here today, after coming here lost, you'll never look back this day with regret. 

We sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY song to me yesterday, that's my biological birthday, yesterday. This, today could be your spiritual birthday. You don't want to miss your party. You know. 

So,  here is the only Potentate . And what is that? 

First of all, in that word, we see here is preeminence.

His preeminence. Higher. That's higher. Higher than anything and over everything. 

Jesus Christ is before all things and above all things.

 When Jesus was talking with the Pharisees, and the Pharisees got all upset with Jesus Christ, because here he is , an upstart in their mind. A young man, in his ministry , doing miracles, compering with their established rule and way of doing things. And in one of the conversations , they said, "we're children of Abraham." To identify themselves in pride as this unique race of people that come from a man God blessed, because of his faith. "Abraham! Abraham! is our father ! "  they said. And Jesus said to them, " Before Abraham was, I Am ." That's true. "You're not even fifty years old, how can you say that you were here before Abraham?" He could say that because He was. He is before all things. You understand? Jesus Christ is God manifested in the flesh. That's who He is. 

And He has always been, and he's always will be . And he was before all things, but he's also above all things. You can't get higher than that.

 When you are God , you highest as you can be. 

And when I think about what tales place in the world , I think about what takes place in religion. It's interesting to me that men would elevate themselves in order to establish their preeminent. You know one of the things that Jesus described, says about the Pharisees, before his crucifixion, is " you love the uppermost seats , that's what you like. (Matthew 23:6)  "And you like those titles that those people call you. That puff you up, that make you feel and think you are 'somebody'. And the person telling them that is the person who created it. It's like you think you are something. You love those titles, those callings to your name. But the Pharisees were no different from the ordinary people. All people have the tendency to hung up on those things. 

They had the coronation of a king  in England, on Saturday, 6 May 2023 at Westminster Abbey. And that make news. You couldn't even check headlines without seeing all of that, regal and attires and everything. And the pompous circumstances for one man who because of his birth. Has now, ascended to the throne. And now, is what King Charles the Third (lll). Not to take anything away from him, but you know what, he has to put his pants on this morning just as I did. That didn't make me anything, but that makes him less than anybody else considered to be big. And you know what, when we put ourselves in the company of the Lord Jesus Christ , and compare ourselves with him, we are n o t h i n g. 

"Vanity of vanities," Solomon said, "all is vanity." when compared to Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't it something , that in religion, there are so many  people who are going to church today and in the hierarchy of people in that religion there is a pope. The Pontius. The supreme religious figure of a billion people worldwide. And compared to the Lord Jesus Christ, n o t h i n g. Because Jesus Christ is preeminent. By so much more, than everybody else in the world, we really have no business making ourselves to be one above another.

We're living , according to the Bible, being the prophecy in the book of Revelation chapter 3, in what is called the Laodicea age. That's the seventh letter written to the churches. 

You know, in the Laodicea age, there is the people, the laity. You have the clergy and the laity. That gives you two distinctions. Those who are ministering, are above those who they are ministering to. The clergy and the laity. You know what the Lord said, " You want to be great, you be the servant of all of them."  That's what you do. You be the minister. 'Because I came to give my life for random for all.' Basically, don't do what the gentiles are doing in their religions, in their politics, and elevate your self. " You're not to be elevated. I Am elevated. " 

"Don't let anybody call you 'Father' , Jesus Christ says , There is one Father, You have that Father, He is in heaven. Then the rest of us, level ground. And that level groyis pretty low.  Amen. 

So, can you imagine there's another group of people following their prophet Muhammad.