ME:
Welcome
Series Review
Week 1: The nation is more divided than ever. Those who want power and money have been using fear to keep us divided. (If you do/don't vote for ____ you will lose your right to ____)
That's nothing new. But the church has joined the fight and is using the world's tactics which causes DISUNITY. But DISUNITY WILL ALWAYS DISRUPT THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
Last Week: We looked at one of the best remedies for disunity. SERVICE. Too often the church is looking to political parties and political leaders to give us what we want (our rights, etc.). But that feeds DISUNITY because what we want/need isn't always the same. But when we serve… everything changes. SERVING TOGETHER BRINGS US TOGETHER
Today, we are going to look at the conflict between the Kingdom of Jesus and the kingdoms of this world.
WE:
How many of you would agree that there is a clear sense of difference… even conflict… between the church and culture of our nation? It's really not deniable. The values and the vision of the culture are not the same as the values and the vision of the church. And they aren't supposed to be.
The values of the kingdoms of the world are largely…
• Self-centered.
• Pleasure focused.
• Power driven.
• Aimed a keeping the 'other guy' down so I can get ahead.
• Lacking any sense of accountability or personal responsibility.
• Anything goes.
• If it feels good… if it feels right… if I like it or want it, you can't tell me I'm wrong.
• If it makes me feel good - it can't be wrong.
I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea.
And the values of the Kingdom of Jesus are…
• Self-sacrificing
• Others focused
• Loving
• Compassionate
• Generous
• Holiness
• Obedience
• Surrender
Again, I could go on, but I think that paints a clear enough picture for us to see that the kingdoms of the world and the Kingdom of Jesus are KINGDOMS IN CONFLICT.
• I do not deny that, as followers of Jesus, our values and our mission are at odds with the world around us.
• And I do not deny that, as followers of Jesus, we are called to advance the mission and the Kingdom of Jesus.
• I don’t deny that our mission will bring us into conflict with the kingdoms of the world.
But too often we assume we are in a war for the soul of our nation. (After all, that's what the leaders of our political parties tell us. That's what the media tells us. That's what some of our pastors have told us.)
Too often we act as if we are going to WAR against the "Godless Left" or the "Heartless Right" in an effort to save our nation. But what if that focus is wrong? What if that is a human way of looking at a spiritual issue?
What if, in our efforts to save our nation, we have become side-tracked and are spending our time and our energy on merely human concerns?
What if our view of the battle is far too small?
What if, as followers of Jesus, that is not even the battle we are called to fight?
What if the war we are fighting is causing more division, not less?
What if, as followers of Jesus, we've been using the wrong methods and as a result we've been fighting the wrong war?
HOW WE FIGHT THE BATTLE WILL DETERMINE WHAT WAR WE WIN.
HOW WE FIGHT THE BATTLE WILL DETERMINE WHAT WAR WE WIN.
Open Bibles to Matthew 16:21. Pg. 669.
While you're finding Matthew 16:21, let me ask a question.
Did you ever think you had something figured out? You knew exactly what needed to be done and you didn't need any help. And you stepped up and showed/told everyone else how to do it… only to be humiliated because you had it all wrong?
[Psychology Class: Toby - Freud -- that is FREUD - F. R. E. U. D.]
That's kind of the situation one of Jesus' followers finds himself in here in Matthew 16.
GOD:
SET UP…
• Jesus has just asked his disciples what people are saying about him. (Some say you're a prophet - Elijah, Jeremiah, etc., some say John the Baptist)
• Jesus asks them 'Who do you say I am?'
• Peter replies, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
• Jesus acknowledges that Peter is right.
• Peter is right because GOD revealed it to him, not because Peter figured it out.
• On this 'rock' I will build my church
• The gates of hell will not stand against it
--On this declaration that HE is the MESSIAH, the Son of God, Jesus is going to build a community (Ekklesia) that will overcome Hell itself.
This is a significant moment in the ministry of Jesus and in his relationship with his disciples… They're starting to get it just a little bit.
And then this happens…
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Matthew 16:21-23
Jesus begins to unveil God's plans. He begins to explain what God is up to and what his role in the whole thing is. The problem is, God's plan doesn't look anything like what Peter and the guys thought the new kingdom would look like.
• In the new kingdom, their king would be a conqueror… a WINNER. (and so would they)
• In the new kingdom, they would get to defeat their enemies.
• In the new kingdom, they would save the soul of their nation.
• In the new kingdom, they would be victorious.
And here was their leader talking about being arrested by the enemy… being EXECUTED by their enemies… (and rising again? Well that just doesn't make sense, so we'll ignore that.)
Clearly, Jesus didn't understand how you save a nation and transform a culture.
Clearly, Jesus didn't understand that they are at war for the very heart of their country.
So, Peter, the bold one who knew how to get things done, takes it upon himself to correct Jesus.
“Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
And Jesus' response? “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Peter wants to straighten Jesus out by helping him understand just HOW we are supposed to wage war against our moral enemies.
• In the new kingdom, Jesus, you will be a conqueror… a WINNER.
• In the new kingdom, you get to defeat their enemies.
• In the new kingdom, you save the soul of their nation.
• In the new kingdom, you are victorious.
And Jesus doesn't mince words. He makes sure Peter understands that the war we fight is not the kind of war we are used to fighting. It's not the kind of war we like fighting. We are not here to vanquish anyone. Our job is not to fight for the 'soul of our nation.'
Peter is ready to go to war for Jesus. But Peter's idea of going to war… his idea of Kingdoms in Conflict is to WIN… take power… hold power… Overcome the enemy.
The war Peter wants to win isn't even the war Jesus is fighting.
HOW WE FIGHT THE BATTLE WILL DETERMINE WHAT WAR WE WIN.
Jesus says, "Peter, that's the way MAN does things…" (incidentally, that's why things are the way things are.)
He says that way of approaching the issue is MERELY HUMAN. Peter, get behind me. Peter, stop being a temptation to me. Peter, stop being SATAN. Peter, stop having in mind "merely human concerns."
Church, sometimes I think we're just like Peter. Sometimes I think we have in mind "merely human" concerns.
• We are more concerned about whether the government has the right to make us wear a mask or get a vaccination than we are about comforting the scared and bringing aid to the sick.
• We are more concerned about who is in the Whitehouse than we are about letting God rule in our own house.
• We are more concerned about defeating the left/right than we are about surrendering to Jesus.
• We are more concerned with the outcome of elections than we are with lives being transformed and souls being saved.
• We are more concerned that our party populate congress than we are that the people we work with, worship with, live with, etc. populate Heaven.
We keep getting caught up in things that are 'merely human' concerns. We want to fight the culture war. We want win on the battlefield of public opinion, public policy, public influence… But that's not the war Jesus is fighting.
We are not called to fight the way most of us think. This war isn't to be fought the way we want to fight, and it isn't a conflict against those we have declared to be our enemies.
Jesus had a different plan to usher in his kingdom and a different plan for us to advance it.
• A way that drew people to him.
• A way that did not turn political opponents in to enemies.
• A way that lifted Jesus up.
• A way that required sacrificial loyalty to him… sometimes at the cost of loyalty to a system or nation.
Jesus calls us to move his kingdom forward by spiritual means and not focus on merely human concerns.
Our tendency is to see things from a human perspective and to do things from a human perspective.
So how do we not fight the wrong war? How do we advance His kingdom His way? How do we avoid focusing on a "merely human" agenda?
And I think, to do that, we must recognize some important truths.
RECOGNIZE THAT JESUS IS KING.
One of the overarching themes of scripture is that Jesus is the KING.
Kings are not prime ministers.
Kings are not presidents.
Kings are not elected.
Kings - until recently - help absolute authority in their kingdoms.
If we are going to be a part of the Kingdom of Jesus then we must accept that Jesus is our king.
RECOGNIZE OUR ALLEGIENCE IS ONLY TO KING JESUS
Knowing or acknowledging that Jesus is King is great. But it does little good if I do not recognize that my Allegiance is to JESUS ALLONE
In his letter to the church at Philippi (Remember our diverse group of friends that started the church?). Paul says this…
God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:9-11
Our allegiance is to be given to Jesus before it is given to a philosophy, a political party or even a nation. Some of us need to ask ourselves if there is a conflict between loyalty to our nation or our political party and our loyalty to Jesus, who would really win?
Some of us filter our obedience to Jesus through the lens of our political and national identity and it needs to be the other way around.
Our FAITH should inform our politics. Our Politics should not inform our faith.
RECOGNIZE THAT JESUS' KINGDOM IS NOT AN EARTHLY KINGDOM.
When Jesus was arrested and stood on trial before Pilate there was this exachange between them.
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
34 “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
John 18:33-36
Jesus says, “Yes, I am a king. But it’s not a kingdom you recognize. We do things a little differently.”
If our allegiance is to Jesus only… and if Jesus says his kingdom isn't of this world and will not operate like this world, then we need to be willing to operate the way Jesus operated.
RECOGNIZE WE ARE NOT AT WAR WITH OUR WORLD WE ARE AT WAR FOR OUR WORLD.
Too often we have turned OTHER PEOPLE into our enemies. But before we see the people we disagree with as enemies, we need to see them for what they are. Deceived captives that need to be set free.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,
Ephesians 6:12
Stop using war language in terms of opposing other people
Start using terms that speak of rescue and freedom
I'm not saying that the moral heart of our nation doesn't matter. But I believe that if we focus on advancing the kingdom of Jesus, the nation's moral core will change because the people will change.
We are in a war. We do need to work on the issues that are present in our society. We just need to remember who the enemy is. It is NOT the people on the other side of the issue.
When we focus on the things of GOD, God will bring the needed change (not what we think it needs) to our nation.
RECOGNIZE OUR FIGHT IS A SPIRITUAL BATTLE.
…but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 6:12
Our war is not to be waged by
…demonizing our detractors or villainizing the 'other side.'
…Scheming for political victories.
…crushing our political or cultural opponents under the weight of our amazing words.
…by turning to physical violence.
Our battle is a spiritual battle and must be fought on spiritual terms.
Prayer and fasting
Humble submission to Jesus
Loving and serving our enemies.
SO WHAT?
YOU:
So, what’s the takeaway this week? What do we do with this?
[Have the band come to the stage]
If you consider yourself to be a follower of Jesus, there is no question that we find ourselves in the middle of a conflict. There are, without question, kingdoms in conflict. However, I think we need to stop and re-evaluate how we engage in that conflict.
Remember, HOW WE FIGHT THE BATTLE WILL DETERMINE WHAT WAR WE WIN.
• If you are fighting AGAINST those who don’t vote like you voted…
• If you are fighting AGAINST those who have a different political view than you…
• If you are fighting AGAINST those who are on the ‘other side’ of the culture war…
You are fighting the wrong war.
Jesus fought FOR those who were his enemies… And he has called us to do the same.
WE ARE NOT CALLED TO WIN THE CULTURE WAR. WE ARE CALLED TO WIN THE SOULS OF PEOPLE FAR FROM JESUS.
We are called to LOVE… to SERVE… to PRAY FOR… to WASH THE FEET OF… those who would line up on the other side of the aisle from us (culturally, socially, politically, etc.)
When we engage the conflict the way Jesus did…. Loving, serving, praying, etc…. We begin to draw our ‘enemies’ closer to Jesus. And when that happens, a funny thing takes place.
The changed lives and transformed hearts will win the culture war from the inside out. When more and more people live like Jesus, the culture will change.
So, instead of going to war against ‘the other side’ this week, fight FOR those who are your enemies… Serve them. Lift them up in prayer. Show them kindness and compassion. Give them love that doesn’t make sense…
And watch what happens.
WE:
Close with prayer and communion
