His Message
The Kingdom Is Here
Back To Christmas (5)
IN – the beginning God created everything! AND – everything was good! HE - created the heavens and the earth and it was good. HE - created man and woman and they were good. YES – things were good… Times were good. People were good. AND – everything was as God wanted and desired. BUT THEN – Adam & Eve messed up. THEY – were tempted & deceived by satan. THEY – ate the forbidden fruit. THEY – were kicked out of the garden… AND – things were no longer good…
BUT – as we have seen the last 2 weeks as we have talked about His Death and His Resurrection…. God had a plan even before creation to set things right, and that plan was Jesus. AND – from Genesis to the Gospels… from the shade of the garden to the desert sands of 1st of Judea we see that incredible plan of God unfolding chapter by chapter. A plan that would ONE day return all things and all people to good… A plan that would return everything as God wants and desires. ABOUT - 4,000 years ago. God called a guy named Abraham and asked him to help work this plan…
Then the LORD told Abram, "Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. I will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others… All the families of the earth will be blessed through you." - Genesis 12:1-3 (NLT)
AND – 1,000 years later God reminded a shepherd-tending, giant-slaying, psalm-writing king.. WHO – was very old and about to die, of that plan…
…when you die, I will raise up one of your descendants, and I will make his kingdom strong. 13He is the one who will build a house--a temple--for my name. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
– 2 Samuel 7:12,13
AND – about 400 years after that… GOD – gave a vision of that plan to a beaten-up, tired & defeated people who were living in exile in Babylon through a prophet named Daniel;
As my vision continued that night, I saw someone who looked like a man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. 14He was given authority, honor, and royal power over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal--it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed. – Daniel 7:13,14
AND THEN – 2,000 years ago God’s plan to set things right put on flesh… AND – walked the dusty streets of first century Palestine, AS – the camel skin wearing, locust eating prophet of God (John the Baptist) cried out in the wilderness…
"At last the time has come! The Kingdom of God is near! Turn from your sins and believe this Good News!" – Mark 1:15
THIS MORNING – as we continue in our message series, ‘Back To Christmas’ the event in the life of Christ that we are going to talk about is His Message, “The Kingdom Is Here!”
NOW – let me say upfront that the subject of ‘The Kingdom’ is huge. IT’S – massive. AND THERE – is no way that I will even be able to scratch the surface in just one message. I THINK – sometime in 2008 we will do an entire series on it. SO – my goal this morning is simply to wet your appetite and create a hunger in each of us to live in the kingdom now. AND IF – you leave here today; curious, pumped up and jazzed about the kingdom and excited about not only learning more about it, but living in it… Our time would have been well spent. IN – our time remaining we will answer 4 questions that will help us begin our journey to be a kingdom people. The Kingdom: what it is, what it looks like, where it is and what it’s worth.
PLEASE – join me in the Lord’s prayer…
What It Is The Kingdom?
NOW - we don’t use the word "kingdom" very much these days, and when we do, we’re usually talking about a place… LIKE - the United Kingdom or the Magic Kingdom. AND - in each of these cases, a kingdom is a specific geographical place defined by its borders. SO – in English a kingdom primarily refers to a place.
BUT - the emphasis of the Greek word for "kingdom" IS NOT on a place but rather on, the rule or reign of a king. IN FACT - some Bible translations actually translate the Greek phrase "kingdom of God" - as the "reign of God" or the "rule of God."
AND – those 14 words they we all just prayed… really drive home this point… I’m going to say them again… BUT BEFORE – I do let me tell you a little bit about Hebrew poetry. IN - Hebrew poetry many times the second line, repeats the truth of the first line, but in a slightly different way. For example;
“The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.” Pr 10:9
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall…” Pr 16:18
“A perverse man stirs up dissension and a gossip separates close friends.”
- Pr 6 16:28
“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…” – Mt 6:20
OKAY – keeping in mind how Hebrew poetry works what is Jesus teaching us about the kingdom of God in the model prayer? THAT – ‘the kingdom’ is the place where God’s will is done? Done how? AS it is done in heaven… QUESTION – How is God’s will done in heaven? IN - heaven God’s will is; always done, instantly done, constantly done, completely done, humbly done and joyfully done… IN FACT – there’s only been one being in heaven who didn’t do God’s will, and he got kicked out…
QUESTION #1 - what is the kingdom? ANSWER – the rule or reign of God.
What Does The Kingdom Look Like?
What would this earth look like, if God’s will, if God’s rule was supreme…? GUYS - we can barely imagine it… I MEAN – it boggles the mind… BUT – I would like to try to give you a glimpse of the beauty of the Kingdom, by having you join me in a little story.
IMAGINE – that you live in a country ruled by a cruel dictator. I MEAN - he controls the army. He controls the government. He controls the media. He controls the economy. And it’s a very subtle yet a very real kind of control. Everything is done in this country to keep you domesticated and compliant. But somehow inside you know that you are not free. AND – this cruel dictator uses his media to tell you things like…
• If your overweight you’re not thin enough
• If your thin your not muscular enough
• If your muscular you’re not smart enough
• If your conservative you’re not liberal enough
• If your liberal you’re not conservative enough
• If your poor you’re not rich enough
• If your rich you’re not rich enough
• (He uses his media to tell you that…) You don’t wear the right clothes
• You don’t drive the right car, live in the right neighborhood
• You don’t wear the right underarm deodorant.
• You don’t have the right skin
• You don’t have the right hair style (if you have hair at all).. He tells you that
You need more money… and to get more money you need a better economy. To get a better economy your need different political parties. To get better political parties you need better opinions. And to get better opinions you need to listen to the media more. And if you listen to the media more… You’ll hear lots of adds that keep reminding you that your not thin, muscular, smart, knowledgeable, popular, rich or cool enough. AND – he keeps you in this little rat race of domestication simply by keeping you busy.
But you’re starting to get tired of this. AND - you wonder if there is a better way of living. You wonder if there is another place to live. And every once in awhile you meet these visitors from another country. Who seem to be really happy. I MEAN – it’s a real happiness and not the plastic, painted on kind that you are used to. AND - you wonder why they would ever want to come to your country for vacation since your country is so depressing and they seem so happy.
And you notice that when ever these vacationers come they tell you about their country. You never really paid attention before… BUT NOW – you start to listen.. LIFE – in their country sounds incredible almost too good to be true…. SO - you decide to sneak over there for a visit to check things out for yourself…
AND SINCE - your borders are tightly controlled… YOU - have to go through the mountains and on foot. YOU – sleep during the day and travel at night… IT – days several days… BUT – eventually you get there.
AND – you visit this other country… YOU – walk the streets, grab a coffee and a sidewalk café’ , you sit on park benches… You watch, you observe and you listen… AND – you are amazed by what you see; It’s so different from your country… IN – this country;
• People don’t compete they serve
• They don’t hate they love
• They don’t look out for #1 they look out for each other
• They don’t use their tongue to put people down they speak words that others up
• They don’t hold grudges they forgive
• AND - they don’t tell you that you are NOT (smart enough, rich enough, pretty enough, talented enough or good enough) INSTEAD - they tell you that you are loved and accepted, precious and wonderful just as you are
AND - there is a sense of reverence in the air in this country. I MEAN – you can feel it… AND – it feels so much better than that sense of; haste and rush and hurry and competition and cheapness that you are used to….
AND - you notice that in this other country. That the people who are last in your country; the handicapped, the minorities, the uneducated, the sick, the elderly, the young, the old the teenagers, the orphans, the less fortunate are NOT ONLY, not treated bad… BUT – they are treated with unusual respect & honor. IN FACT – they are treated like the most important people of all.
And as you travel secretly through this country…you feel a sense of excitement… AND – you begin to powerful and compelling visions of another way to live… NOW - you realize that there is a lot that you don’t understand… but you also realize that you feel more at home here than you ever felt in your own country. I MEAN – you feel like you have found a priceless treasure hidden in a field… You are so excited that you begin to feel LIKE you would be willing to sell all you have just to live there.
AND - so you decide that you are going to immigrate to this new country and live their… YOU - go back to your home, to your country and you get your affairs in order. AND – in a few days you walk out of the door of your old way of life for the last time…. Wondering what you will have to do to live in this new country. AND – feeling for the first time in years, hopeful about the days ahead.
THAT’S - what it would look like if God’s kingdom were to come to earth. That’s what it would be like for God’s will to rule in the hearts of men….
NOW - if you’re like me, a part of you wonders, "Can this really be? Is it possible that this earth can be redeemed? Will that day ever really come when God’s will is done fully? Is this real or is it just wishful thinking?" Which leads us to the next question;
Where Is The Kingdom?
ANSWER - The kingdom is coming and the kingdom is already here…!
NOW – we know that the kingdom, that the perfect rule of God is coming… We know that one day the trumpet will sound, the archangel will shout – the sky will split open and Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords will descend from heaven with a loud shout… and make everything new…15Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: "The whole world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever." - Rev 11:15
GUYS – ‘The Kingdom’ is coming. IT’S - going to be SO awesome to one day live in a world where God’s rule in the hearts of men is experienced in all it’s fullness…
BUT LISTEN – in a very real way the kingdom God is already here – right now… YES – hold on to your hat and put down your suitcase. BECAUSE – 2000 years ago Jesus came to establish the Kingdom. The kingdom that He told a dying King David He would establish forever. The Kingdom that He showed Daniel in a vision would be: eternal, never ending and be full of people of every race, tribe, and language.
The kingdom was the central focus of Jesus’ ministry. He taught about the kingdom, told parables to describe the kingdom and he came to establish the kingdom… TRUTH BE TOLD - he could not stop talking about it…. He used the word over 100 times in the Gospels. JESUS – talked about prayer more times than He talked about faith, love and prayed… added together! The kingdom was always on his mind and lips from the beginning to the end of His ministry. AFTER - 40 days of fasting, praying and battling the evil one in the wilderness… Jesus returned to Galilee ready to do what he came to do… AND - we read in Matthew 4:17; From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (The Greek verb means – it’s here and it’s been here). And just a few verses later in Matthew 4:23 we read;
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
AND – in Luke 4:43, Jesus couldn’t have made the importance of The Kingdom any clearer… “I must preach the good news of the kingdom to other towns also, because that is why I was sent…” (Luke 4:43)
AND – in that final week in Jerusalem… We see Jesus still talking about…the kingdom…
• At the temple with the people and the Jewish leaders
• With the 12 in the upper room
• When He stood beaten & bound before Pilate & the Jewish leaders
AND [Tim…] - what do you think Jesus’ favorite topic was during those 40 days after the resurrection? LUKE - answers that one for you… IN – Acts 1:3; After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. – Acts 1:3
YES – the kingdom was without a doubt the central theme in the ministry of Jesus… AND – when Jesus arrived on this earth… His people, the Jews – were waiting for the kingdom… IN FACT – they had been waiting for a couple 1,000 years. AND – for the last 600 years they had been waiting as a: defeated, exiled and occupied people. UNDERSTAND – when the Son of God put on flesh all of Israel was waiting for the Kingdom. Though they all waited differently.
• Some waited as Zealots… who said, “The reason we are oppressed is because we’re too passive. If we would only have the courage to rise up and rebel, slit a few Roman throats, God would give us victory.”
• Some waited as Essenes… who said, “the only way to please God is to isolate ourselves from the ‘sinful’ world around us. Create an alternate society out in the desert. Build our fortress, erect our walls, establish our safe haven and stay inside them.
• Some waited as Herodians (named for being supporters of the puppet ruler, Herod)… who said, “To rebel is suicide. Resistance is futile, we’d be crushed. No, we should make the best of our situation, cooperate, play the game. They were compromisers who choose to make friends with the world around them.
• And others waited as Pharisees… who said, “the Lord would send the Messiah to deliver us if we were purer. If would follow the rules better. There’s too much sin. If there were more people like us and less prostitutes, drunks, tax collectors and sinners God would bring our oppression to an end. It’s the sinners fault that God is not bringing his kingdom. Let’s create tougher rules and condemn the world as sinners.
BUT UNDERSTAND REGARDLESS – of how they were waiting for the Kingdom they all pretty much wanted the same thing.
• Their enemies defeated
• Return from exile
• And to once again, be the people God meant for them to be.
YOU SEE – they knew 3 things:
• That God had a plan to put things once again under His rule and reign…
• That this plan involved them…
• And, that it would one day come to a powerful climax when the promised king when the Messiah came…
THEN ONE DAY – Jesus (a 30 year old blue collar carpenter from a hick town) came and said, “Hey guys the kingdom is here… Yeah, I know it is not what you expected… AND NO – I am not going to overthrow Rome in fact I am going to let them kill me… BUT – it’s here! The kingdom you have been waiting for has arrived!!
WHERE – is the kingdom… YES – one day it will be fully realized… BUT – we need to understand that it in a very real way it’s already here!!! AND –has been for 2000 years. AGAIN – Jesus begins his ministry with these words…
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 4:17 (ESV)
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves… Col 1:13
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen - Rev 1:6
LISTEN - the arrival of Jesus has made it possible for the reign of God to become a living reality in the lives of the people of God like never before… UNDERSTAND – through His Indwelling SPIRIT - Christ has unleashed a new age full of new and incredible possibilities for God’s people.
YES – Jesus, our king came to establish the kingdom… HE - came to get back what was lost in the garden of Eden. YOU SEE – ever since the garden the earth has been the main battlefield of 2 opposing kingdoms.
BUT – that’s not the whole story. FOR YOU SEE - once the world fell into enemy hands, God determined to win it back at all costs. THAT MEANT - sending his message through kings, prophets, priests and poets. THAT MEANT - rising up an entire nation through who he would bless the earth. THAT MEANT – rescuing from bondage, parting waters, crumbling walls, defeating enemies, conquering nations… AND - ultimately THAT MEANT, that he himself had to enter the conflict, in order to reclaim the world from satan.
I love how CS Lewis describes this world in his book Mere Christianity. Lewis says that the earth is enemy occupied territory. AND - he goes on to say that Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed in disguise and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.
LISTEN – when Jesus says the kingdom of God is near, he’s not saying it’s just getting kind of close. He’s saying it’s now available. UNDERSTAND - in human history, one life has already been lived on this earth where God’s will had unhindered sway, where God’s will was always, instantly, constantly, completely, humbly and joyfully done. Whose life was it? Jesus.
AND HERE – is the awesome part… Jesus says to the church, He says to the Christian – He says to you and he says to me… That it is now possible for His kingdom to come into the lives of His people.
THE - kingdom of God is here. Is at hand. Is available to live in right NOW! AND - just as supernatural power was at hand for Jesus to: heal the lame, cleanse the leper, open blinds eyes and raise the dead… THE POWER - for radical transformation and authentic kingdom living is at hand… Is available to every person in this room. AND – it has been available for nearly 2,000 years. AND [Tim, Laurie] – the only thing keeping this incredible and supernatural power from lighting up your world, transforming you into who you are to become, and causing rivers of living water o well up inside of you is your own decision whether or not to tap into it…
(Imagine a farmer – living back in the day when the use of electicity started to spread across the landscape. The poles have been set, the wires ran on the road outside his property. All he has to do in order to radically change his life is tap into that power)
YES – the kingdom of God is here! IT’S – awesome, it’s powerful, it’s unshakable, it’s unstoppable… AND – it’s a reflection of the heart of God, that is why in the kingdom the people who are usually last in our world; the handicapped, the minorities, the uneducated, the sick, the elderly, the young, the old, the poor, the less fortunate are NOT ONLY, not ignored or treated bad… BUT – are treated as if they are the most important people of all.
Rejoice greatly people of God
Shout for joy body of Christ
Your king has come
His kingdom is here!!!
AND - if you want it more than anything else—which any sane person would—then Jesus says, "Follow me and learn from me how to live in my Father’s kingdom."
HEY – do you know what I think it might be time for? LISTEN – today, December 9, 2007 might just be the time for you and I to stop being Christians… YES – I think it is time for us… to put aside, to lay down, to turn away from all of the man-made thoughts, concepts, images and tenets of the Christian religion… AND - get back to the most basic roots of this revolution… following Christ.
To really understand ‘Christianity’ we have to go back to the beginning, to put first things first
For starters, Jesus was not a Christian.
He never asked anyone to become a Christian…
He simply called people to follow Him.
That’s it. That, despite its simplicity is it.
He called people to follow Him.
Before hurrying on with words, and centuries of theology, we must pause at the cradle of what we call Christianity. It is never more than Jesus’ call: ‘follow me’ and a response: dropping familiar nets and following in faith the sandaled Jewish man.
It’s never more than that. 2,000 years of words can do nothing to the simple basic reality of Christianity… Jesus said, ‘follow me,’ “and we did”
That is where this thing called ‘Christianity’ begins, and where our understanding of it must end. – Don Everts
LISTEN - you don’t need me or anyone else to tell you what a Christian is supposed (to be OR do). YOU – just need to follow Jesus. BE - like Him… DO - the kind of things that he did when he walked this earth. BRING - the kingdom of God into your world just like Jesus brought it into his..
REMEMBER - there is a kingdom of darkness that is stealing the hopes, the dreams and the lives of so many in this world…. AND GOD – has not called us to:
• build our ‘Christian fortresses’ and isolate from this world,
• or compromise and become like this world
• or sharpen our swords and attack this world…
• or sit in our glass houses of self-righteousness and point our fingers at the ‘sinful’ world.
INSTEAD – God has called us and empowered us (through His Spirit) to invade the kingdom of darkness with the light of Christ!!! WE ARE – the light of the world. WE ARE – messengers of the Kingdom.
LISTEN – the holy spirit has come upon us too, and whatever Jesus was to His world whatever he was to Israel God calls and empowers us to be to our world… GUYS – you and I are in a very real way… the 2nd incarnation!!! I MEAN – either the Spirit of the all-powerful God lives in us or it doesn’t.
I’m currently reading a book by Brian McLaren called ‘The Secret Message Of Jesus.’ IT – is an awesome book about the Kingdom. I want to share with you some of what he wrote in a chapter called, ‘Secrets Agents of the Secret Kingdom.’
In this chapter McLaren talks about how the real difference in the world is made by those who live out the message of the kingdom in their daily lives. AND HE – says that “when Christianity sees itself more as a belief system or a set of rituals for the select few and less as a way of daily life available to all, it losses it’s kingdom magic… “ AND THEN HE – talks about being in some of the great cathedrals in England wondering what happened? Wondering why during the average week they attract 10 times as many tourists then worshippers.
What went wrong in those cathedrals? And what is going wrong in much of the stagnant, tense, or hyped up religiosity of churches in my own country… One of my main hunches is that the Christian religion continues to sing and preach and teach about Jesus, BUT in too many places (not all!) it has largely forgotten, misunderstood or become distracted from Jesus’ kingdom message.
When we drifted from understanding and living out his essential message of the Kingdom, we became like flavorless salt or a blown out light bulb – so boring that people just walked away.
We may have talked about going to heaven after we die, BUT NOT ABOUT God’s will being done on earth before we die.
We may have pressured people to be moral and good or correct and orthodox to avoid hell after death, BUT WE DIDN’T inspire them with the possibility of becoming beautiful and fruitful to heal the earth in this life.
We may have instructed them about how to be a good Baptist, Presbyterian, Catholic or Methodist on Sunday, BUT WE DIDN’T train, challenge and inspire them to live out the kingdom of God in their jobs, neighborhoods, families, schools and societies between Sundays.
We have tried to make people ‘nice’ – quiet citizens of their earthly kingdoms and energetic consumers in their earthy economies – but we didn’t fire them up and inspire them to invest and sacrifice their time, intelligence, money and energy in the revolutionary cause of the kingdom.
GUYS – the kingdom is here!
The kingdom is available now!
You & I can live kingdom lives! Radical lives! Revolutionary lives!
I want to fire you up…
NOW – for the final question…
What Is The Kingdom Worth?
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. – Matthew 13:45,46
WHAT – is the kingdom worth? It’s worth EVERYTHING! It’s worth all we are and all we Have…
AND LISTEN – during the last 2,000 years… when men and women heard about the kingdom and understood it, they devoted their hearts to it, they sacrificed their possessions for it, they sacrificed their careers for it, they sacrificed their homes for it, they lived for it, and they died for it. And they did it with joy. They did it laughing, weeping and dancing, unable to believe their good fortune—that the kingdom of God was open to them.
YES - one day it will come in all its fullness - one day there will be no other kingdoms. One day all the other kingdoms WILL FALL…. AND - there will only be one kingdom—God’s kingdom. AND - we’ll experience it in all its fullness. ONE DAY - the 7th angel will blow his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: “The whole world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever."
Think about it… All the things the writers of Scripture, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, dreamed about and wrote about as best and as compellingly as they could, will be complete & total reality… YES - that day is coming…
BUT FOR NOW – (as one writer puts it) Jesus our King, has established little outposts of the kingdom, little pinpoints of light, that hold out the promise of better things to come…little pinpoints of light where His people show this world a different and better way to live…
AND LISTEN – as you and I let the King reign over our hearts & lives;
As we when we surrender our wills
give up control
we deny ourselves
we live in the world but are not of it
display the beauty of the Christ
as we follow Jesus
We help to establish another outpost of the kingdom…
We help to sabotage the plans of satan…
(pretty awesome isn’t it….)
A beautiful game plan. IF indeed we lived a life in imitation of his, our witness would be irresistible. IF we dared to live beyond our self-concern; IF we refused to shrink from being vulnerable; IF we took nothing but a compassionate attitude toward the world; IF we were a counterculture to our nation’s lunatic lust for pride of place, power, and possessions; IF we preferred to be faithful rather than successful, the walls of indifference to Jesus Christ would crumble.
A handful of us could be ignored by society; but hundreds, thousands, millions of such servants would overwhelm the world. Christians filled with the authenticity, commitment, and generosity of Jesus would be the most spectacular sign in the history of the human race.
The call of Jesus is revolutionary. IF we implemented it, we would change the world in a few months.
