20090125 Web Site
Title: Where is your story taking you?
Text: Mark 1:14-20 (14-15)
The Big Idea: Jesus invites us to aspire to be Kingdom people.
Introduction:
I am reading The Power of Story by Jim Loehr. He defines story as, “the tales we create and tell ourselves and others… [however] our stories may or may not conform to the real world.” In other words, the story we tell ourselves and others may in fact be largely fiction.
According to Loehr, we may say that ours is a story of Christendom; a story in which Christ is our Savior and Lord; a story in which we are part of the Kingdom of God and live as Kingdom of God people; a story in which we are devout followers of Jesus Christ, but is the story we wish to be writing true to the story we are actually living?
I am a fan of the BBC comedy sitcom, Keeping Up Appearances. It is largely about a middle class couple living in England… Richard and Hyacinth Bucket. The title is very appropriate to the story line, in which Hyacinth is obsessed with how they are perceived, i.e., her life is about keeping up appearances. Unfortunately her desire to be seen as a person of high social standing results in some very entertaining and amusing stories.
On one occasion she purchased a ski rack and set of skies and had them mounted on the top of their car. They never go skiing but she wanted the neighbors to think they were skiers.
Hyacinth is always telling a story she wishes were true but in fact is largely fiction. The story she tells does not jibe with how her life really is.
In our text today, Jesus says, “At last the time has come! The Kingdom of God is near! Turn from your sins and believe this Good news!” Another way of putting it would be to say, “The Kingdom of God is at hand or has arrived.”
If the beginning of Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry is marked by the proclaiming of the arrival of the Kingdom of God, then we who are followers of Christ are Kingdom people. And those who acknowledge Jesus Christ as the sovereign of their lives, then live under the guiding influence of the Spirit of God.
If this is so, the relevant question is this: “Is the Kingdom of God a thread woven throughout the story that is and is yet to come, the story of your life?”The first concept regarding the Kingdom of God in our respective stories is spatial in nature. (Not special… spatial.)
A. In your story, is the Kingdom of God everywhere?
In our culture the whole concept of a kingdom is pretty foreign to our understanding, particularly as people who resist the idea of anyone being an absolute sovereign over us. We like the idea of democracy wherein we even control the government that guides our society. But we do understand the principle of absolute sovereignty. We understand that the Caesar was the emperor of the Roman Empire. There may have been some kings, governors, and other lesser authorities over regions of the Roman Empire, but the Emperor was the supreme ruler over all.
The same could be said of the Kings of Europe, the Dynasties of China and the Czars of Russia. And scattered around the world today are those who hold title of king or hold power as autocrats or dictators.
In most cases an autocrat rules over a bordered realm. But in the Kingdom of God the rule or reign of God has no borders. The domain of his sovereignty encompasses the entire universe as we know it… including what we do not know. And most importantly, we understand the rule of God to be a rule of the heart or of our lives… Specifically, we believe Christ to be the highest authority in the life of a Christian.
But to get us started in our thinking we begin with a basic question.
1. In your story, are you in the kingdom of darkness or the Kingdom of Christ?
He has rescued us from the one who rules the kingdom of darkness, and he has brought us into the Kingdom of his dear Son. Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation. Colossians 1:13
Every Christian who wishes to experience the rule of God in all of life understands that he or she is no longer a subject of the ruler of the darkness of this world. Every Christian lives in the Kingdom of Christ and is subject to Christ.
We also understand that the rule of God extends throughout the universe and encompasses everything and everyone.
2. In your story, is Christ the Creator of everything everywhere?
Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see… kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities. Everything has been created through him and for him. Colossians 1:15-16
There is no corner of the universe that is beyond the reach and realm of God.
3. In your story, is Christ the sustainer or the one who holds everything everywhere together?
He existed before everything else began and he holds all creation together. Colossians 1:17
This is a large understanding of the reach and realm of God. His Kingdom extends over a universe he created and sustains, which includes the human heart.
One summer when we lived in eastern Kansas, our family took a camping vacation to Colorado. We borrowed a big old canvas tent, packed our sleeping bags, a new Coleman cooking stove, rented a spot at a KOA Campground near Woodland Park and did day trips from there. Pike’s Peak was one of our destinations.
As you know Pike’s Peak is named after Zebulon Pike who led an expedition into southern Colorado in 1806. He attempted to climb the mountain but failed in that it was winter with temperatures in the single digits and wading through chest high snow made it tough going. Plus it is one of Colorado’s 54 fourteeners... it’s tall and climbing a fourteener under the best of conditions is sufficient as a human feat.
We drove our Volkswagan Vanagon to the top for a look around. My most vivid memory of Pike’s Peak is of standing on the overlook of the backside of the mountain… Looking down over a spectacular panoramic landscape I saw a mountain lake in the valley below and then noticed specks, which I assume were antelope, moving through a meadow. From my vantage point everything looked very, very small…
I love the imagery of Isaiah 40 where God is described as a God who sits above the circle of the earth. He imagines that when God looks down from his lofty vantage point, we must look like a bunch of grasshoppers.
In your story, is the Kingdom of God spatial? Is your God high and lifted up? Is your God sovereign over the universe and all that is therein?
We can sometimes get so caught up in the largeness of God’s Kingdom as encompassing both time and space that we lose sight of the fact that the rule of God is here and now as well.
B. In your story, is the Kingdom of God here and now?
Those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. Romans 8:8-9
It may be that your concept of the Kingdom rule of God is one that is yet to come. Your concept of the Kingdom rule of Christ may be eschatological, so when you think Kingdom, you are thinking of the one thousand year millennial reign of Christ at the end of the age.
The Kingdom of God may, in part be about then and there, but it is about following Christ and living like Christ and obeying Christ here and now.
Living like Kingdom people here and now is about living the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 and Luke 6. It is about loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and your neighbor as yourself in Matthew 22. It is about living out, by the grace of God, the teachings of scripture and walking in submission to the Spirit of God.
Some of you may be familiar with Taylor University, a Christian college in Indiana. Years ago, before it became commonplace for international students to study in the states, the registrar admitted a bright young man with great promise from Africa. When the young man visited the campus, the President of the university gave him a personal tour of the school. When the tour was over he said to the young student, “We are delighted that you are here and hope that you like what you see of our campus.” Then he asked, “Where would you like to live?”
The young man replied, “If there is a room no one wants, give that room to me.” That was the first time in all of his years of campus oversight he had ever heard a student ask for “the room no one else wants.” (“What Meekness Looks Like,” PreachingToday.com)
Living a Kingdom life now is neither a God imposed nor self imposed plunge into abysmal living. But Kingdom living is about character, Christ likeness, gentleness, humility, and sometimes personal sacrifice.
In the here and now we sometimes do the job no one else wants to do; we sit with the person no one else wants to sit with; we park in a more distant spot in the parking lot so someone else may have the closer walk; we sacrifice when someone needs to sacrifice.
Jesus said, “I did not come to be served, but to serve and to give my life as a ransom for many.” Following Christ means following Christ here and now.
However, the Kingdom of God is both here and now and not yet.
C. In your story, is the Kingdom of God not yet?
We wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children, including the new bodies he has promised us. Now that we are saved, we eagerly look forward to this new freedom… Romans 8:23-24
In the book of Revelation we are told to give to Him everlasting glory because he rules forever and ever! And we are reminded to look up because one day Christ will come with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him, even those who pierced him. And all the nations of the earth will weep because of him.
Jesus said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come, the Almighty One.” Revelation1:7-8
In your yet untold story, is Jesus King of Kings and Lord of Lords who will rule forever and ever? In your yet untold story are you among those who will hear the commanding shout, the call of the archangel, the trumpet call of God, be among those who rise to meet him in the air, and remain with him forever? (I Thessalonians 5:16-17)
Yesterday I read in the weekend edition of the Rocky Mountain News/Denver Post, the story of a trucker, eastbound on I-70 near Evergreen, who hit a herd of elk crossing the interstate on Friday night. Sixteen elk were killed in that accident. That story prompted my memory of another story.
The well-known United Methodist preacher and Bishop told of a time early on in his ministry. He was the pastor of a small rural church in Georgia at the time and attended a funeral in another country church of another denomination. He had never attended a funeral like this one… the casket was open and the preacher stood over the open casket and declared, “It’s too late for Joe. He might have wanted to get his life together. He might have wanted to spend more time with his family. He might have wanted to do a lot of things, but it’s too late for Joe. Joe’s dead. But it’s not too late for you. You are still alive and you can decide to follow Jesus before it’s too late.
The preacher pounded the pulpit and went on to tell the gathered mourners about how a Greyhound Bus had once run into funeral procession on the way to the cemetery and that it could happen again that day, admonishing the listeners to decide to follow Christ before they dare step foot outside the church.
Willimon was angry. On the way home he told his wife that he had never seen or heard such a despicable and manipulative play on the emotions of a grieving family. His wife was quiet for a moment and then she said, “I’ve never heard anything so despicable and manipulative. It was disgusting and insensitive. And worst of all, it was also true.” (William Willimon, “The Writing on the Wall,” PreachingToday.com)
Our stories are about following Christ here and now and living a Christian lifestyle here and now. And our stories are about being prepared for the not yet when that time comes.
Conclusion
In his book, The Lost Art of Walking, Geoff Nickolson says, “Walking away is one of life’s greatest pleasures.” Walking away is a metaphor for changing directions…” Changing directions is what Jesus was talking about when he said, “At last the time has come! The Kingdom of God is near! Turn from your sins and believe this Good news!”
If the story of your life is not taking your where you wish to go, the obvious solution is to change directions so that the story you are telling is not a piece of fiction but a true story of what you believe, how you live, and where you hope to arrive in the end.
