Today, we’re starting of series on kingdom living. Our goal is to stimulate a kingdom vision that will enable us, as a church, to dream, think, and move beyond the church-box paradigm. Christ calls us to be more than good church-goers; He calls us to be kingdom disciples.
In the four Gospels, we find that while Jesus mentions the church three times, He mentions the kingdom over 80 times. The church and the kingdom are connected, but there’s a difference between the two. And it’s important for us to understand how the church and the kingdom are related. The relationship, simply stated, is this: The Kingdom refers to God’s rule and reign; and the church exists to demonstrate what life is like lived under that rule and reign.
Too many believers practice “churchianity” rather than Christianity. While Christ calls us to be committed to His church, the reason for this is so that we might become a kingdom people, not just a church people!
Church people – can’t see past church-bound categories for ministry (i.e., usher, greeter, children’s worker, inviter-of-lost-friends, etc.).
Kingdom people – have Kingdom vision to think/dream/act/serve in the neighborhood, workplace, and community.
Church people – see the Gospel in terms of good news about the afterlife (you can know you’re going to heaven after you die).
Kingdom people – see the Gospel in terms of good news about Kingdom life (it’s about life with God, both now and forever).
Church people – understand discipleship as growing in personal knowledge of God’s Word.
Kingdom people – understand discipleship as growing in personal knowledge of God through His Word.
According to our passage, Jesus calls us to kingdom discipleship - not to be a church people, but a kingdom people.
“‘Have you understood all these things [in the lessons of the parables]?’ They said to Jesus, ‘Yes.’ He said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things that are new and fresh and things that are old and familiar.’” - Matthew 13:51-52 (Amplified)
What is kingdom discipleship? A kingdom disciple . . .
1. Understands the nature of the Kingdom.
Jesus had just shared a set of parables we call the “kingdom parables,” because they illustrate principles related to the kingdom. Afterwards, He asked His disciples “Have you understood all these things?” and they answered, “Yes.” Ray Steadman, says that Jesus then basically tells His disciples: “You are scribes who have been trained for the kingdom of heaven.” He explains the meaning for us today this way:
It’s the business of Christians to understand life. That’s what Jesus is saying. Scribes being trained for the kingdom of heaven, are being trained to see what God is doing. The kingdom of heaven is God at work in the affairs of men, and they’re being told how to perceive what He’s doing and understand it. It’s the business of Christians to learn how to live, and handle life rightly. We’re here to learn to live realistically and with increasing success, to learn how to cope with life and handle its problems. In doing so, we are to understand the process by which this takes place.
I find so many people who think becoming a Christian is just a way to get to heaven. Thank God, it does include that. That’s a fringe benefit you receive as a Christian, and there’s a great future ahead. But that is not why God has called you now to be a Christian. Or, if it is, that is not why he has left you here. He’s left you to learn how to live, to learn how to be healed, to have the same struggles and the same problems as men and women who are not Christians but to learn how to solve them. When non-Christians look at our lives, they ought to see healing taking place. They ought to see the problems being solved. That’s what gives them confidence to believe the message we preach is a genuine message, a message of reality and truth.
A kingdom disciple, by the leading of God’s Spirit and application of God’s Word, is learning how to walk with God in the reality of daily life, growing in wisdom as to how God guides and works and provides.
2. Seeks to represent the Kingdom.
Jesus tells us that a kingdom disciple is one who is able to bring forth new treasures along with the old. What does this mean?
“The special revelation of Jesus allows His people to see kingdom truths that have been there since the foundation of the world, but which have largely gone unnoticed (vs. 34–35).” - R. C. Sproul
“Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: ‘I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.’” - Matthew 13:34-35 (NIV)
With the coming of Jesus, many old truths are still in force, while some old ways are not. Those old ways have been replaced with superior ways. Such is the nature of the coming of the kingdom on earth.
Jesus taught us to pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is done in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Ever since God’s authority was usurped through sin entering this world, God’s been working to bring about the answer to that prayer. In the Old Testament, God’s people
demonstrated the kingdom by obeying guidance that was primarily external, given by revelation through individuals, prophets, priests, and the law. Now, in the New Testament, God’s people demonstrate the kingdom by obeying guidance that is primarily internal, given by His Spirit and through the Scriptures.
In an article entitled, “Are Old Testament laws still binding on Christians?” Joseph Tkach explains:
The application of the law has been transformed by the coming of Jesus Christ. If our hearts are circumcised, it does not matter whether we have been circumcised in the flesh. If we are offering spiritual sacrifices, we do not need to offer animals. If we are always forgiving debts and liberating people from bondage, we do not have to do anything different on sabbatical years. If we live by the spirit, the letter of these laws is not required. If we examine our hearts for corruption and are being cleansed by Jesus Christ, then we do not have destroy houses that have mildew. If our thoughts are pure, we don’t have to worry about our fabrics. If we are always thinking of God and his laws, we don’t have to wear phylacteries. The laws are valid, but the way in which we obey them has been transformed by the coming of Jesus Christ.
The progression of God’s kingdom according to the Bible, goes:
A. From External - In the Old Testament, God’s kingdom was revealed as His people obeyed commands given to them.
B. To Internal - In the New Testament, God’s kingdom is revealed as His people obey the truths of God’s Word as directed by the Spirit, who indwells every believer.
C. To Eternal - One day, Jesus will return and make all things new, and God’s kingdom will be revealed as we obey the Lord perfectly in every way.
Until then, we’re to seek to live by the truths of God’s Word and the guidance of the Spirit and represent the way of the kingdom to others.
“We must make the invisible kingdom visible in our midst.” - John Calvin
“God’s kingdom isn’t a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness’ sake. It’s what God does with your life as he sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy. Your task is to single-mindedly serve Christ. Do that and you’ll kill two birds with one stone: pleasing the God above you and proving your worth to the people around you.” - Romans 14:17-18 (The Message)
3. Endeavors to introduce others to the Kingdom.
In order for God’s kingdom to come; people must first come into the kingdom. For that reason, the focus of a kingdom disciple is on
persuading others to recognize Jesus as their King and Lord.
“As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’” - Matthew 10:7 (NIV)
“The tenor of Jesus’ message and mission concerning the Kingdom emphasized its immediacy, availability, and accessibility.” - Reggie McNeal (Kingdom Come)
A kingdom disciple wants others to know they can come into God’s kingdom immediately, that the opportunity to do so is available, and they can access God’s life-changing grace today.
Conclusion: When Jesus asked His disciples if they understood all these things, He was referring to the parables he had shared with them. One of which was the parable of the hidden treasure (Matthew 13:44).
“The kingdom of heaven is worth infinitely more than the cost of discipleship, and those who know where the treasure lies joyfully abandon everything else to secure it.” - D. A. Carson
