Who Is This King of Glory
There was a young man who joined our Karis mission field back in 2011. His name was Steve.* He had done his internship for Bethany Bible College (now Kingswood) in 2003 on the Karis field. That was the same semester I did my internship for IWU on the Karis field. He was highly intelligent but also a quirky guy and what was required of those on that Karis field was to get out there and meet people, and that was not his greatest strength. But he loved Jesus, and he wanted people to know the truth. So he went back to Canada, finished school, went to seminary and eventually applied as a missionary with Global Partners. He arrived at the Karis field again to join our team at the end of December of 2011. It’s sad for me to share that he passed away of carbon monoxide poisoning on February 2, 2012, in his apartment. He had barely been there for a month. It was a tragedy. It wasn’t glamorous, it wasn’t the death of a martyr. But it was the life of someone who had given everything to seek God’s face and call others into that same journey. His Dad later responded about the dangers his son might face when talking to a newspaper reporter, saying, “We talked about that before he left. I said, ‘What if you never come home?’ He said, ‘That’s always a possibility but I’m not worried about that, and you shouldn’t be either.'”
He only had time to send one newsletter back to Canada during his short time on the Karis field. But in it, is the description of someone who had the posture of humility, holy hunger and a desire to respond to God’s call to action on his life, no matter what it cost him.
“Today I decided to take a prayer trip around the city. I hopped on a bus – I didn’t know where it would lead – and as I rode on the bus I began to pray for the people here. It became apparent to me that I was witnessing a group of people as they headed out of the city after a day of work, and as teenagers got on the bus I couldn’t help but be reminded of the young men I’ve had the privilege of ministering to back in Canada.
I asked the Lord to give me love for the people of this city, and I prayed He would make room in my heart for young men like these.
I realized I had travelled a good distance, and I found myself praying instead that God would help me find my way home!
I hopped off the bus and found myself in the middle of a giant highway interchange, close to the airport (I’m trusting this isn’t a sign that I was supposed to hop on a plane!). I managed to find a metro station and another man helped me get my fare card working. A couple of stations and another bus trip later, I arrived at my apartment, exhausted and exhilarated.
I’ve told many of you that my greatest fear in coming here is that I will shrink away from the opportunities God has in store for us. Today I think He was giving me a gentle shove to tell me, ‘Come on in, the water’s fine!’
I think I’m willing to take the plunge.”
What does a hard but beautiful story like this tell us about what we’re willing to give up for the King of Glory?
This year, I had the joy of worshipping with about 400 people from 50 countries at the International Conference of the Wesleyan Church in South Africa. Looking across the room at leaders from around the world—united in our shared faith and mission—I was deeply encouraged. It felt like a glimpse of that day to come when, “After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb…” Rev. 7:9
As we lifted our voices together, what struck me was how the songs focused not on us, but on God—His holiness, His worthiness, and how all nations will bow before Him. Repeatedly, a phrase echoed in my heart: “Who is this King of Glory? The Lord is strong and mighty. The Lord mighty in battle.”
I’ve never been one to choose a “word of the year,” but during ICWC, that phrase stayed with me—and hasn’t left since. It feels as though God chose it for me: The King of Glory. I’ve been meditating on it, drawn to its power and promise. It comes from Psalm 24.
This psalm, likely used in a procession when David brought the ark back to Jerusalem, carries three movements: God as Creator, the posture of our hearts, and a call to action.
God as creator of the universe (v1-2)
We see here that God has taken the chaos of the seas and has brought order to this world. He is sovereign over all things. He is the one who created it and sustained it. Everything and everyone belongs to him.
The posture of our hearts. (v3-6)
In light of God’s all-powerful sovereignty, who can enter His presence? As pilgrims marched toward Jerusalem, they must have asked, “How can we, a sinful people, climb Mt. Zion—the place where He dwells?”
It’s a question filled with longing, and it should lead us to humility. On our own, we’re unworthy. We are people of unclean lips, easily distracted by the world and entangled by sin. So who is worthy?
Psalm 24:4 gives the answer: “The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.”
But we know this isn’t something we can produce on our own. Jesus takes our sins and sets us free. Still, in the daily grind, we often turn back to idols—placing our trust in things the world says will satisfy. That’s why we need to regularly reorient our hearts and ask: Are we walking toward the mountain of the Lord with clean hands and a pure heart? Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
A couple weekends ago, I was in New York City at my sister’s church. A pastor there, Samuel Whitfield, preached a powerful sermon on fasting and the gift of a holy hunger. Fasting creates physical hunger, but more than that, it awakens a deeper ache—a yearning for Christ. We often numb that ache with food or distractions, but fasting agitates the ache, stirring up longing for God.
Sam puts it this way: “Fasting is about awakening our first love… returning to the place where our greatest longing is not for comfort, success, or security, but for the presence of Jesus.”
We long to see revival in our churches—but revival won’t come without hunger. Let us be the generation that seeks His face.
A call to action (v7-10)
The final verses of Psalm 24 speak of the “King of Glory”: “Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.” The NLT puts it this way: “Open up, ancient gates! Open up, ancient doors, and let the King of glory enter.”
These words call for the gates of the temple to open wide—for the King of Glory to enter. The question is asked: “Who is this King of Glory?” And the answer rings out: “The Lord, strong and mighty. The Lord, mighty in battle.”
We seek God’s presence with pure hearts, and we respond in joyful celebration: the King of Glory has come! He has conquered sin, death, and the grave. He has healed the sick, opened blind eyes, cast out demons, and made the lame walk. He is the Lord Almighty, the one who fights for us—and gives us victory.
He did this through the cross and the resurrection. He is making all things new, and one day He will return to finish what He started, establishing His Kingdom forever.
Recently, I was putting my 6-year-old to bed and we started talking about the new heavens and new earth. I told him that one day, there would be no crying, no sadness, no sickness—no more throwing up (we’d had a lot of that lately). His eyes lit up and he gasped, “Really? No tornadoes?” I said, “Yep, no tornadoes.” (They’d been doing drills at school.) He slept really well that night.
That’s the glory we’re looking forward to—eternity in the presence of the King of Glory, where there will be no more war, pain, or sorrow.
Psalm 24 calls us to prepare our hearts and live in a way that reflects our longing for His presence. Open the gates of your heart—fling them wide.
Everything Sad is Untrue
I recently read the book “Everything Sad is Untrue.” It’s the memoir of an Iranian boy who had to flee Iran with his mom and sister because, first his sister became a believer in Jesus and then his mom did. They settled as refugees in Oklahoma. He shares an amazing story of how his mom gave up everything to open wide the gates of her heart for the King of Glory:
“My mom was a sayyed from the bloodline of the Prophet (which you know about now). In Iran, if you convert from Islam to Christianity or Judaism, it’s a capital crime. That means if they find you guilty in religious court, they kill you.
When my sister walked out of her room and said she’d met Jesus, my mom knew all that.
Sima, my mom, read about him and became a Christian too. Not just a regular one, who keeps it in their pocket. She fell in love. She wanted everybody to have what she had—to be free.
And she believed.
When I tell the story in Oklahoma, this is the part where the grown-ups always interrupt me. They say, “Okay, but why did she convert?”
Cause up to that point, I’ve told them about the house with the birds in the walls, all the villages my grandfather owned, all the gold, my mom’s own medical practice—all the amazing things she had that we don’t have anymore because she became a Christian.
How can you explain why you believe anything? So I just say what my mom says when people ask her. She looks them in the eye… and she says, “Because it’s true.”
It’s true and it’s more valuable than seven million dollars in gold coins, and thousands of acres of Persian countryside, and ten years of education to get a medical degree, and all your family, and a home.
If you believe it’s true… then it has to take over your life.
That or Sima is insane.
There’s no middle.
Jesus is better. It’s true…. Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. This whole story hinges on it.” ― Daniel Nayeri, **Everything Sad Is Untrue** (This excerpt has been cut down to this length with original language kept intact.)
Who is this King of Glory? He is the Lord strong and mighty in the battle! He has conquered and he is making all things new. Sima understood the truth of it and opened her heart. She gave it all up, and it’s worth it. Jesus is better.
And one day we will be worshipping the King of glory together with Steve, with Sima and so many others around his throne…not just 50 nations then…all the nations…every tribe, tongue, people and nation.
And this is our call to action. With a posture of humility, we remember our sins, we agitate the holy hunger in our hearts and seek his face and open up the gates of our hearts to let King of Glory in, no matter what it costs us.
Maybe God is inviting you to fast in a new way or to give something up to truly seek his face. Maybe God is inviting you to reach out to a neighbor who needs to know that the King of Glory has come and fought our battles for us. Maybe you need to confess a sin. Or maybe there is something else God has whispered to you that he is inviting you to take a step of faith in today. Step into it!
*Names have been altered.