Imaginary Kingdoms

Eastford Baptist Church
February 9, 2007

“The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD, indeed they came from every town in Judah to seek Him. Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the LORD in the front of the new courtyard and said: O LORD, God of our fathers, are You not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in Your hand, and no one can withstand You.” (2 Chronicles 20:4-6)

Under the category of “strange-but-true” you might want to file the name of Joshua Norton. His name might not be all that familiar to you, but he actually holds a rather unique position in the history of our country. Perhaps the name Norton The First, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, rings a bell? No? Come on now - surely you can recall the only Monarch ever to govern the United States of America? “No such person exists in history,” you say? Well, actually he does. It’s just that not many people remember him because he was a self-proclaimed King of the U.S.
Norton was wealthy South African immigrant who migrated to the western United States during the first half of the 19th century. He settled in California but lost all of his wealth through some unfortunate investments in the rice market. As a result, he ended up living destitute as a pauper on the streets of San Francisco. Totally disgruntled with the way his life was unwinding and becoming somewhat eccentric, he proclaimed himself to be Emperor of the United States on September 17, 1859. He then sent a Royal Decree to the local papers to inform the general public of his grand appointment. From that moment on, for the entirety of his life, he simply played the part of the Imperial Sovereign of the United States. (He added Mexico to his expanding kingdom after claiming they had written him asking him to rule over their country as well.) As you can imagine being sovereign over a good portion of the western hemisphere kept him fairly busy. He would issue periodic decrees from his royal throne (actually a cheap room at the Metropolitan Hotel) which the local newspapers loved to publish. He established his own form of currency - basically I.O.U. notes - which were ironically accepted as payment by some businesses in the city. He dressed the part of a sovereign, in a faded blue military style uniform and a dented sword hanging at his side. He could be seen daily with his regal entourage (2 royal mongrels) walking the streets of his kingdom looking for a free meal. Because of his iconic popularity, several fine restaurants reserved a place for him and even placed a brass plague on their entrances stating that he dined there. He became such a celebrity in the city that when a policeman arrested him because of obvious mental instability, the citizens of San Francisco protested to such a degree that he was promptly released – with a formal apology. From that point on whenever he passed a police officer on the street, they were required to salute him. When Norton died suddenly in January of 1880, it is reported that over 30,000 people turned out to say goodbye to the only monarch the United States has ever known. His tombstone in Colma, California reads, Joshua Norton 1819 -1880, Norton the First - Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico.
Norton occupies a rather unique place in American history. Even though he was accepted by San Franciscans as a pseudo-ruler, he was in reality just a rather quirky, whimsical amusement. His 21 year reign over America existed only in his own mind. Pay attention class: Just because you think of yourself as a King - that doesn’t really make you one.
In the verse from 2 Chronicles above, God’s people are facing a great enemy. In fact they are facing three enemies, three nations who have come against them to wage war. They were out-numbered, out-gunned and out of hope. Knowing they have no where else to turn, the Bible says they determined to do two very important things: Seek the Lord & Pray.
Now note this – when a major problem came his way, the reigning king of Judah was wise enough to know that if they were going to be delivered from their enemies, it had to start with seeking God. The path, which leads to victory, always starts with seeking God’s Face. Did you catch that? Great victories don’t start with a problem – they start with God. It would have been easy for the king to start commiserating over his troubles and complaining about how bad things were. But that never leads to victory. It only makes the problems seem worse. If you’ve got a big problem – focus on God, not your troubles.
The second thing the king does is pray, but note what he says in his prayer – He recognizes God’s singular sovereignty. He says, “Are You not the God who is heaven?” “Are you not the one who watches and rules over all the kingdoms of nations?” “Are not power and might in Your hand?” “Is it not true that no one can withstand you?” The emphasis of his prayer is that God alone is sovereign. He knew he would never find a victory while denying the reality of God’s reign. God alone is the One who reigns. No one else is sovereign over the nations.
As you read the rest of the story in the Bible you will discover that God heard and answered their prayer. In fact, the enemies who had come against Judah turned against each other and destroyed their own armies. Judah didn’t even have to participate in the battle! God won it for them – because they sought Him and acknowledged His sovereign rule. Deny God’s reign & you fight your battles on your own. Accept God’s sovereignty – He’ll fight your battles for you!
Emperor Joshua Norton might seem like an oddity in history, but in reality we are at times not much different. If we deny the Lord’s right to rule over our lives, we are simply pretending we are sovereigns over our own imaginary kingdoms. Like Norton, many people foolishly live the entirety of their lives in their imaginary kingdom, celebrating their own imaginary sovereignty and power, and they end up living their life as a defeated pretender. Wouldn’t it be wiser to just quit pretending and celebrate the true King’s right to rule? “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” May His reign be complete in your life today. May you enjoy His wonderful presence. May He unleash His power for the battles you are facing.

In service to the Reigning King Jesus,
PT