January 3, 2009
Morning Worship
Text: Matthew 4:12-25
Subject: The Kingdom of God
Title: It Just Seems Right
Have you made a New Year’s resolution that you are determined to keep this year? Have you broken it yet? I don’t know why but it seems as though we are prone to fail in some of those things that we say we are going to do or not to do. Maybe it is because we know in our hearts that we need to make changes, so we consent to saying we will without having the resolve to hold the line. Maybe we know that we need to make changes but really have no desire to pursue those changes. Maybe we just say things but have no intention of changing.
I’ve made a resolution. Actually, I’ve made several of them.
1. I resolve to get as close to God as I can possibly get this year, without going to heaven yet.
2. I resolve to studying and learning as much from the word as I can possibly learn this year.
3. I resolve to be the best that I can be as your pastor in this year.
4. I resolve to commit myself to teach you, lead you, council you, and love you all more in this year than I ever have.
5. I resolve to make this the year of drastic turnaround in this church, this community, this area, and in this believer.
Now, one thing that I want you to notice here is that the first four resolutions that I have made involve me – no one else – just me. But the last one I cannot attain by myself. It involves you. If I do the first four, I hope that you will partner with me in seeing the fifth come to pass.
The thing that I believe will take us to that place is a renewed understanding of what the kingdom of God/heaven is really about. In order for me to do that, I want to take a step away from teaching for just a moment. Just for the next few minutes I don’t want to teach about the kingdom. Instead I want to introduce you to the King. I want you to experience the Kingdom instead of just hearing me teach about it.
Open your hearts to what God wants you to hear and see today.
It just seems right to me that this is the year for kingdom power to explode in this church. I want to do everything that I can to help you get into a position to receive all the promises of the kingdom now.
I. THE RIGHT TIME FOR THE KINGDOM. After Jesus had spent forty days in the desert with the devil tempting Him, He came away fully prepared for His earthly ministry. Luke 4:16 tells us, And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. Why did Jesus go into Galilee? Why didn’t HE stay down in Jerusalem where He could impact the religious leaders and begin change at the source of the problem? Because the time was not right for Him to do so. 12Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee… It wasn’t time for Him in Jerusalem yet, at least not a full time ministry there. He went to Nazareth because John had been put in prison in Jerusalem. Jesus knew HE was going to die at the hands of the religious rulers and the Romans, but now wasn’t the time. It was time, however, for Him to go into Galilee – so that prophecy could be fulfilled. 13Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali—14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: 15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” And finally it was the right time to preach the kingdom message. 17From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” From that time…There are two words in the Greek that are translated “time”… One is kronos, which means the time of day or a period of time. That’s not the word used here. It wasn’t the right time of the year or the right month or the right day for Jesus to begin to preach. The word used here is kairos and it refers to a specific or a strategic time – like the right time to go into a battle or the right time to share the gospel with a particular person. It is the time that the Heavenly Father has ordained for a particular purpose and this was Jesus’ time to begin to preach the kingdom message. Here is the Kingdom message: Repent – Change your mind, change the way you think - for the kingdom of heaven is near… Listen, I want you to understand this. When Jesus came to earth everything changed, not because He came to earth as God, but because He came to earth as a man. So now He is preaching – the word “preach” means to proclaim – He is preaching a message that the Kingdom of heaven is near. Philippians 2:7-8 says that Jesus … made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself… So if Jesus was proclaiming that things on earth are supposed to be like they are in heaven, but He is just a man like we are, then how could it be? Because of what happened at His baptism and what He would later do on the cross, and what He would do subsequent to that from heaven. 1) He ministered in the power of the Holy Spirit. 2) He died on a cross for our sin and rose from the death for eternal life. 3) He promised to baptize us in the Holy Spirit so we could continue in the same power that He had on earth. That is the kingdom dynamic that He is preaching.
II. THE RIGHT PERSON IN THE KINGDOM. 17From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Before it had been John the Baptist who had been preaching of the coming of Christ. When John spoke it was a prophetic voice. Now Jesus is speaking and it is the voice of God under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. This is the same voice that speaks through the church today. You have the anointing of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the gospel – the good news of the kingdom – to the world. You have that same voice as the body of Christ. You have that same voice as Christ’s ambassadors. He has established you as the ones who will continue to carry out His work on earth – the work of the kingdom. The right person was preaching and is still preaching today. Next Jesus begins calling disciples.18As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” 20At once they left their nets and followed him. 21Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. It’s the same message that people hear today from the Holy Spirit’s convicting power in their hearts. Set aside your earthly desires and all the false promises the world has to offer, and “follow Me.” This is not the first encounter that these had with Jesus. They had met Him earlier. This is a testimony to John the Baptist’s ministry. First he proclaimed the kingdom was near. Then he introduced people to Jesus. John 1:35-40, 35The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 37When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour. 40Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42And he brought him to Jesus. Then they only stayed with Jesus for a short time. It wasn’t the right time yet, but now the right person is calling them at the right time and they are obedient. They were willing to commit themselves totally to the kingdom because they had an experience with the king.
III. THE RIGHT MESSAGE FROM THE KINGDOM This is where I really wanted to get to today. It is the kingdom message in action. 23Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. Notice three things that Jesus was doing – the same things that were the pattern of His ministry. First, 23Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues… teaching involves the mind and is necessary for our understanding of God’s word. We need teaching because faith comes by hearing… Second 23Jesus went throughout Galilee … preaching the good news of the kingdom… What is the good news of the kingdom? It’s the proclamation of all the God has done for His people. It is speaking the word boldly and letting it stand for itself. It is sharing the truth of the word of God and allowing the Holy Spirit to minister to the heart of a sinner. It is the message of the servant/King and the Son of God/Son of Man. It is the message that the Kingdom of heaven has come to earth. It is the message that says it is time to think differently than you have ever thought before about the word of God, the way of God and the will of God. Third Jesus not only went around teaching and preaching - 23Jesus went throughout Galilee… healing every disease and sickness among the people. Jesus brought the attributes of God’s heaven to earth with Him. He brought God’s holiness. He brought God’s power. He brought God’s plan for salvation. He brought God’s will for victory over sickness and disease. He didn’t just preach it and teach it – He did it. It was the right message for then. It’s the right message for now. 24News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. 25Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him. The kingdom of heaven was near and the people were taking advantage of it. So does that prove that the kingdom of heaven is near? Turn over to Isaiah 61.
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’S favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.
Now, in Luke 4 Jesus confirms that the prophecy of Isaiah had been fulfilled.
16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Finally, in Matthew 11:1-6. 1After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.
2When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”
4Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.
I think that we can all agree that the kingdom of heaven was brought to earth with the coming of Jesus. But when Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven did He take the kingdom back with Him? He did not; the kingdom is still here and you can be a part of it. For you to be able to experience the kingdom in the way Jesus intended the first thing that has to happen is that you need to be introduced to Jesus. You need to experience Him first hand. Many have made a confession with their mouths but have not had a true “repentance” (changing the way you think) experience with Jesus. Even those who have been in the church are not receiving the promises because they lack a legitimate experience that would confirm healing, provision, blessing, wisdom and power in their lives.
Now is the right time for the kingdom.
Jesus is the right person in the kingdom.
And this is the right message of the kingdom.
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.
