The Warrior King: Faith, Cancer, and the Second Coming

James Brown

Welcome to the show EVERYBODY! I'm James Brown. I want to start today by asking you to picture the most common image we have of Jesus. Usually, it's a baby in a manger, right? Or maybe the suffering servant on the cross. Humility. Sacrifice. But in Revelation chapter 19, verse 11, the Apostle John sees something... TOTALLY different.

James Brown

He writes: "I saw heaven opened, and BEHOLD, a white horse. And he who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war."

James Brown

We don't often talk about the Warrior King. But the theologian Matthew Henry, in his commentary on this passage, points out that this Commander isn't just powerful -- He has a penetrating insight into ALL the stratagems of His enemies. And He wears MANY crowns. Those crowns represent absolute authority over heaven, earth, and hell. But it's not just raw power. It's righteous equity.

James Brown

And it's that name He's called -- "Faithful and True" -- that really gets me. Because, let's be honest, how many times do we depend on God, get an answer to our prayers, and then... only a SHORT time later, begin to wonder if He's still listening? We can be pretty needy. We cry for help, we get what we want, and the minute the next issue pops up, we're crying again, doubting if He's there.

James Brown

I've had to test that "Faithful and True" name a few times in my life. I got lung cancer when I was 19 years old. Barely out of high school. Survived that, and then at 21, I was hit with abdominal cancer. Fast forward a couple decades, I'm in my late 40s, raising a family, working full time, and right in the middle of the COVID outbreak... the abdominal cancer came back.

James Brown

When you're lying in a hospital bed, especially during COVID when visitors weren't allowed... the room is LONELY. The quiet is agonizing. And you ask yourself, "Why does God allow this?" He is the Almighty. He has no requirement to care about me. But He DOES. Even when He doesn't give us the answer we want, or the result we think we need... we know He is waiting, and listening, and THERE. That penetrating insight Matthew Henry talks about? It means He sees the WHOLE board, even when we can only see our own pain.

James Brown

And that brings us to the crowns. Christ wears those crowns of victory because He conquered sin and death. But on a VERY personal level, He also conquers the wrong directions in our own lives. Looking back, God protected me against the wrong paths, the wrong choices... things that could have destroyed me LONG before the cancer tried to.

James Brown

I look at my life now. Two grown children. Grandchildren on the way. A home. A car. I spent 12 years volunteering in Search and Rescue, 10 years driving a church bus, and now I get to teach youth about amateur radio and photography. I am BLESSED beyond measure.

James Brown

People sometimes ask what makes us, as Christians, any more worthy than non-Christians. And the answer is... ABSOLUTELY nothing. We are both sinners. We're all in the same boat. Life here is temporary. A hundred and twenty years, maximum, if you're incredibly lucky. Trials are going to come, and we are all going to die -- except Jesus, who arose after three days. He has power over DEATH.

James Brown

And because of that, every trial we survive, every blessing we enjoy, becomes a crown of thanksgiving that we ultimately just cast right back at His feet. We have to learn to let go... and let God.

James Brown

But there's a tension here, and I want you to stick with me on this, because it's IMPORTANT. The return of this Warrior King isn't going to be experienced the same way by everybody.

James Brown

Think about Exodus 16. The Israelites are being led by a pillar of fire. To them, it provided brilliant light and guidance. But that EXACT same pillar produced thick, impenetrable darkness for the Egyptian army pursuing them. It's like a playground seesaw -- as one child rises, the other descends. Or a sunset. When the sun sinks into the horizon of one continent, it's rising above the mountains of another. A victory for one army means DEFEAT for another.

James Brown

That's how it will be when Christ returns. Revelation 19 opens with the delight of the angels, and it concludes with the ABSOLUTE doom of the beast and the false prophets. The second coming will reward those who know the Lord Jesus, while at the very same time, taking vengeance on those who don't.

James Brown

Just as the sun setting on the horizon indicates the closing hours of another day, it serves as a reminder that we are ONE day closer to the return of Jesus Christ. And it is as certain as the sun rising tomorrow. He WILL return.

James Brown

So I'll leave you with this question to chew on today. When you think about that white horse, and the Commander who is Faithful and True... does your heart jump up with rapture, knowing He's coming? Or... do thoughts of His appearing fill your heart with Terror?

James Brown

Whatever you're facing right now... continue your walk. Never give up. Let go, and let God. Thanks for listening.