A UNIQUE KINGDOM II
Text: II Corinthians 6:16-18
INTRODUCTION
1. Last week we discussed how the church is a unique kingdom
a. It has a unique emperor who was willing to give up everything in order to give his subjects what they needed
b. And it has a unique edifice, built not with hands but by the power and will of God, no fences to contain it and no guard to keep others out
c. But also an edifice of choice, one that can be accepted or rejected by potential subjects
d. Ours is truly a unique kingdom
2. There are other things that make it a unique kingdom in addition to the emperor and edifice
3. It also has:
a. Unique exercises
b. Unique entry
4. This kingdom is unique, and deserves a unique people as its inhabitants
TRANSITION: Beyond having a unique emperor and having a unique edifice, the Lord’s church also has some:
I. Unique exercises
A. In its uniqueness, God expects some unique activities to occur
1. They are similar in meaning to other kingdoms
a. They are for the purpose of glorifying the king
b. They are to be performed as the king commands
2. But they are different from most any other earthly king would command
B. The singing
1. Many kings would like to have songs dedicated in his honor
2. They would also like to have music and dancing and merriment
a. Our king wants the music, but he wants the merriment to occur in the heart of the singer
b. He does not want us to go on with instruments, drowning out the music made in our hearts
c. He wants to hear the beauty that occurs when we mean the praises we sing
3. He commands us to sing and make melody in our hearts, Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:18
a. He eliminates all other alternatives
b. The only instruments to be used in singing are the heart and mouth
4. This is unique in that it is not as entertaining as others would like
5. But it is what God wants and it pleases him
6. Therefore it is what he requires
C. It involves prayer
1. Not just bowing down before the sovereign king
2. In fact, prayer is not about posture at all
a. Jesus prayed with his eyes upward
b. The publican prayed with his eyes to the floor
c. In the ‘50’s there was a move by men to kneel in the aisle when someone prayed
i. Papa behind podium w/ soft-spoken prayer leader
ii. Peeked out to see if prayer was over and all looking at him
d. It is not posture, prayer can happen with eyes open or closed, head bowed or lifted, on a knee, sitting, or standing
e. It is about the posture of the heart, the direction of the prayer
f. Going from heart to heaven, is acceptable
D. The Lord’s supper
1. A time to remember the great things that were done by our king
2. Not a great battle over attacking forces
3. Not a great act of noble valiance that catapulted him to the top
4. But an act of lowliness that catapulted us to the top
5. The giving of his body and blood on a cross of shame
6. He set up a reminder of this act for us to remember his love for us, not to rub our nose in his glory, but to remind us of his love
E. Collection
1. Not taking of taxes as some kings would have
2. They often need more money to finance their own personal desires so they tax the public more to gain that money from the hard-working classes
3. But the collection of money so that the body can continue to take care of its own needs
4. And have the means to help others with their needs
5. The money collected is not to line the pockets of the one who already owns everything anyway
6. It is for the bettering of his subjects and the furthering of their goal to be with him for eternity
F. Preaching
1. Not propaganda
a. Most world rulers of the day will not ask others to speak for them unless they know what they are going to say
b. And they want to control that as tightly as possible
c. They only want a good spin put on things to make them look good
2. God gave us his word and asked us to tell it to others
a. Not to make God look good
b. But to help others become better
c. How can they call on him whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe unless they hear? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
d. Paul preached until midnight in Acts 20 (Poor Eutychus)
e. While we have no intention of going until midnight, we do intend to preach God’s message
3. Yet we teach it with no spin
a. It teaches that there will be hard times (Matthew 5:45; James 1:2-4)
b. He told us of the doubts of Elijah and Moses, his chosen men
c. He let us know that Peter would slip
d. He gave us the men of the bible, warts and all and told us that there would be challenges for us to overcome
e. No spin, but still hope, because if we stay true to him we will overcome and be conquerors
TRANSITION: His unique kingdom has a:
II. Unique Entry
A. As with any kingdom, you cannot just walk past the gates
1. You need certain paperwork to be legal in the United States if you were not born here
2. You need passports and visas to visit other countries if you travel to them
3. Becoming a citizen of another country takes special efforts and can be difficult at times
B. Entrance to the kingdom is similar to this, but it is not a matter of paperwork
1. There is a special way in which one can become a member of this kingdom
a. First of all it cannot be joined
b. You cannot “join” the kingdom of God
c. You are added, Acts 2:47, “And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved
d. The Lord is the only one who can add you
2. This only happens when certain criteria are met (Romans 10:9ff)
a. First the potential member must hear, (V. 17, “So then faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of Christ”)
b. Next is believing, (V. 9, “If you believe with your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”)
i. Those being saved were the ones added
ii. So you must believe that God raised him from the dead you are on your way
c. Then we must repent of our sins (V. 21, “But as for Israel he says, ‘All the day long I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people’”
i. They did not change, instead they remained stubborn and disobedient
ii. They would not repent and that displeased God
d. Then a confession must be made (V. 10, “…and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation”)
i. “Resulting in” here is an unfortunate translation of the Greek construction
ii. It is the same construction as used in Acts 2:38 in dealing with baptism and the remission of sins
iii. It is used here in the since more of leading to or progress toward a goal and not necessarily the end
e. And we must be baptized if we are to be added to the kingdom (V. 13, “For whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved”)
i. This is not a prayer, in fact you will not find an example of a prayer that saved anyone in the entire bible
ii. Cornelius prayed to God continually (Acts 10:1ff)
iii. His prayers went up as a memorial to God
iv. But he still needed something else
v. Ananias teaches us how to call upon the name of the Lord in Acts 22:16, “Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.”
vi. Calling on his name, invoking his authority to be added to the kingdom, happens at the pinnacle of obedience and faith when one submits to the wishes of God and has his sins washed away in baptism for the remission of his sins
f. Then he must live faithfully until his death and the crown of life will be his (Revelation 2:10)
C. Entrance into the kingdom is not based on acts of man, but the choice of God and his mercy and grace
D. But that choice, mercy, and grace are not offered to anyone who will not obey to the point of death to sins in the grave of baptism
E. And it will not be withheld from anyone who would come to him in just that way
