How Did We Miss It?
I Am Jesus – part fifteen
13That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles out of Jerusalem. 14As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. 15Suddenly, Jesus himself came along and joined them and began walking beside them. 16But they didn’t know who he was, because God kept them from recognizing him.
17"You seem to be in a deep discussion about something," he said. "What are you so concerned about?" They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. 18Then one of them, Cleopas, (His wife Mary was at the cross, John 19:25) replied, "You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days." 19"What things?" Jesus asked.
"The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth," they said. "He was a prophet who did wonderful miracles. He was a mighty teacher, highly regarded by both God and all the people. 20But our leading priests and other religious leaders arrested him and handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. 21We had thought he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. That all happened three days ago. 22Then some women from our group of his followers were at his tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report. 23They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive! 24Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, Jesus’ body was gone, just as the women had said."
25Then Jesus said to them, "You are such foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. 26Wasn’t it clearly predicted by the prophets that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his time of glory?" 27Then Jesus quoted passages from the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining what all the Scriptures said about himself.
28By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus would have gone on, 29but they begged him to stay the night with them, since it was getting late. So he went home with them. 30As they sat down to eat, he took a small loaf of bread, asked God’s blessing on it, broke it, then gave it to them. 31Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!
32They said to each other, "Didn’t our hearts feel strangely warm as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?" 33And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem, where the eleven disciples and the other followers of Jesus were gathered. When they arrived, they were greeted with the report, 34"The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter!"
35Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread. – Luke 24:13-35 (NLT)
Prayer…
QUESTION – have you ever missed something that when you look back on it seems to be pretty obvious? AND – you think, “man how in the world did I not see that one coming.”
• Some odd behavior at work. Top management starts to have a lot of closed door meetings. AND – suddenly you get laid off or you company goes through the fun and games of a merger.
• Your teenage son or daughter starts talking about and talking to some guy or girl on the phone almost every night… BUT – you hardly notice and the next thing you know you’ve entered the dating zone…
• Your best friend doesn’t return your calls… Never seems to be able to get together. You see them once or twice with some people who don’t really like you… You don’t really give it much thought… AND – before you know it you get betrayed.
• You are at an all you can eat buffet… The food is great & plentiful. You should have stopped eating a steak, 2 pieces of fired chicken, 3 rolls, a piece of chocolate cake and a very deep belch earlier… BUT – you keep on going… BECAUSE – you’ve got to make good on that $7.99… AND – later that night, you seemed surprised that you are spending it hugging what many affectionately call the porcelain god. “Oh man I come I didn’t see this coming…”
NOW – my wife Laurie is a very sharp lady. BUT – for some reason over 8 years ago I don’t think she saw it coming. Later when she looked back on it she had to wonder, “Okay how in the world did I miss this one…” We started dating in September of 1997… I started picking Leila up from kindergarten every day, cooked Laurie dinner most nights because she worked so late, met her for lunch several times a week, sent her cards, letters, and flowers… Asked her one night if she was able to move out of state… I remember her telling that when her friends at work heard about all that they said, This guy is serious he is going to ask you to marry Him… I think she told them, “no I don’t think Steve is thinking that…” We were married 3 months later.
The couple in Luke 24 (at least to us 2,000 years later) seemed to have missed something that appears pretty obvious… (Jesus’ death & resurrection as the Messiah) I MEAN…
• Moses and the prophets talked about it…. And Clopas and Mary had no doubt read those very scriptures since their youth.
• And Jesus told His followers (more than once) that He was going to die a cruel death at the hands of His enemies , but that He would rise from the grave 3 days later.
• And Clopas’ wife Mary (as I said earlier) had been at the cross when Jesus died… She heard what he said as hung there, she saw how he died, she saw the sky grow black felt the earth tremble… she heard the centurion say, “surely this man was the Son of God”
• And they had heard the reports of the missing body, the empty tomb, and of the angels announcing that Jesus is alive!
BUT – they missed it… AND THEN – Jesus shows up, and explains it to them… NOW – Luke doesn’t record their conversation on the way back to Jerusalem… BUT – I guarantee that more then once they said, “Man, this is so awesome, it’s an incredible, it makes so much sense - how in the world did we miss it…”
WE – are in our 15th week in our year long message series, ‘I Am Jesus…’ A message series where we are on a quest, a journey to KNOW BETTER the one we claim to FOLLOW.
So far in this series we have talked about Jesus, His Person (where we unpacked various names and titles of Jesus) and Jesus, His purpose where we looked at some of the reasons WHY – God the Son emptied himself, put on human flesh and walked this earth…
THIS MORNING – when the 3rd section of messages in the ‘I Am Jesus’ series. Jesus, HIS KINGDOM… Let me share an e-mail I sent out this week…
On April the 17th we are adjusting our course (in this quest to know better, the one we claim to follow) to a heading that for most of us is remote and unexplored territory, The Kingdom Of God. Question, when you hear the words kingdom of God, what do you think of? The future, heaven, when Jesus returns… (Is that all there ‘really’ is to the kingdom of God?)
Hey, if you are ready for a great adventure join us as we discover the awesome and life transforming truth that The Kingdom Of God, is not just an abstract concept about something that is in the future, (about heaven)… but rather a dynamic reality that we are invited to live in right now, today!
April 17 – “How Did We Miss It?”
April 24 – “How Do We…Get It And Get IN On It?”
May 1 - “What Do We Do With It?”
The rest of the messages I haven’t figured out yet… But I will.
Seeking The Unseen
Steve
OKAY – let’s get to it… Today’s message is called, “How Did We Miss It?” THE – first question in your notes is;
What Have We Missed?
ANSWER - the greatest invitation of all time! IN – his book, ‘The Divine Conspiracy’ writes;
We have received an invitation. We are invited to make a pilgrimage into the heart of God. The invitation has long been on public record. You can hardly look anywhere across the human scene and not encounter it. It is literally ‘ blowing in the wind.’ A door of welcome seems open to everyone without exception. No person or circumstance other than our own decision can keep us away. “Whosoever will may come.”
The major problem with the invitation now is precisely over familiarity. Familiarity breeds unfamiliarity – unsuspected unfamiliarity, and then contempt People think they have heard the invitation. They think they have accepted it – or rejected it. But they have not. The difficulty today is to hear it at all. Genius it is said is the ability to scrutinize the obvious. Written everywhere, we may think, how could the invitation be subtle or deep? It looks like the other graffiti and even shows up in the same places. But that is part of the divine conspiracy.
God’s desire for us is that we should live in Him. He sends us the Way to himself. That shows what, in His heart of hearts, God is really like – indeed what reality is really like. In it’s deepest nature and meaning our universe is a community of boundless and totally competent love. God makes himself and His kingdom available.
UNDERSTAND – we (you & I)… EVERYONE – in this room has been given an invitation.
An Invitation…
• To make a pilgrimage, to make a journey into the heart of God.
• To live in Him
• To experience God’s boundless and totally competent love
• To live NOW, in His kingdom
AND LISATEN - no person or circumstance other than our own decision can keep us away. “Whosoever will may come.” AND YET – for the most part we’ve missed, we’ve missed the invitation, we’ve missed the kingdom…
NOW – my goal… What have been praying that God will allow me to accomplish in the next few weeks is for you & I to have a conversation much like the one that Clopas and Mary had with Jesus on the way to their home in Emmaus. AND – I hope that at the end of our conversation, we will with renewed strength, vision, hope and passion say; “man, this is some awesome stuff… HOW – in the world could we have missed it.”
AS – I said 2 weeks ago the kingdom was without any doubt the central theme of the ministry of Jesus… I MEAN – Jesus talked about the kingdom over 100 times…
CHECK THIS OUT – Jesus talked about the kingdom more than He talked about; faith, love and about prayer… IN FACT – he talked more about the kingdom then He talked about love, faith & prayer added together…. That’s crazy!
AGAIN – after 40 days in the wilderness… after 40 days of fasting, praying and battling the evil one… Jesus returned to Galilee ready to do what he came to do… AND - we read in Matthew 4:17;
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
And just a few verses later in Matthew 4:23 we read;
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
AND – because of that preaching and those healing people were lining up at His door from sun up to sundown. Luke tells us that the next day Jesus got up early and went out to hang out with His Father. (Now, I believe that Jesus did this to get some perspective, to stay focused, to keep Himself on track – and to keep himself from getting caught up in the crowds and His growing popularity…
Later on in the day as the crowds came back to the house… Jesus disciples went looking for Him, and when they found they told Him that everyone was looking for Him… (in other words, “Jesus what are you doing out here all by yourself, this thing is about to really take off come on let’s go back to town, a huge crowd is waiting…”)… AND - Jesus replied “I must preach the good news of the kingdom to other towns also, because that is why I was sent…” (Luke 4:43)
AND – in Luke 9 we see Jesus calling the 12 together… YOU SEE – He is about to send them out to do some serious stuff,,, SO - He gives them power and authority; to drive out demons, to cure diseases and to preach (that’s right you’ve guessed it) the Kingdom of God. AND – in that final week in Jerusalem… We see Jesus still talking about…the kingdom… HE – talked about the kingdom…
• At the temple with the people and the Jewish leaders
• With His guys as He walked through the holy city
• With the teacher of the law who asked Him, what the greatest commandment was.
• With the 12 in the upper room
• When He stood beaten & bound before Pilate & the Jewish leaders
• And on the cross the thief asked Him to let Him into the kingdom
AND [Tim…] - what do you think Jesus’ favorite topic was during those 40 days after the resurrection when he hung out with His guys? LUKE - answers that one for you… IN – Acts 1:3; After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. – Acts 1:3
NOW - I don’t know about you… BUT – it seems to me that the kingdom was an extremely BIG DEAL to Jesus… HOW – in the world did I let that one slip by me all these years. “I must preach the good news of the kingdom… because that is why I was sent…”
QUESTION – what do you think we find His followers talking about in the rest of the N.T.? YEAH – that’s right the kingdom of God…
In Acts 8; we find a guy named Philip in Samaria and guess what he’s doing… preaching the kingdom of God. (8:12)
In Acts 14 Paul & Barnabas are cruising back through some of the towns where they had started churches… encouraging them and building their faith… and how did they do that by talking about the kingdom of God (14:22)
AND – In Acts 19 Paul arrives in a place called Ephesus… He goes immediately to the synagogue ad for the next three months he argued, persuasively about the kingdom of God. – Acts 19:8
AND GUYS – as the book of Acts wraps up we find Paul in a Roman prison… Guards were always with him and people often came to visit him… And what do you think Paul talked about (last night game at the Coliseum, the latest scandal in the Roman Senate, the rising price of camel fuel or the weather…) From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. – Acts 28:23
AND GUYS – check out the very last verse in the book of Acts, it’s sooo awesome; Boldly and without hindrance he (Paul) preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. – Acts 28:31
AND LISTEN – throughout the letters to the churches; we see men inspired by the Holy Spirit reminding the people of God (then & now) that the kingdom is BOTH - here and available!
Paul - For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves… - Col 1:13
Peter – you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God’s holy nation, his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. – 1 Peter 2:9
The writer of the book of Hebrews - We should be grateful that we were given a kingdom that cannot be shaken. And in this kingdom we please God by worshiping him and by showing him great honor and respect. - Hebrews 12:28
James - Listen, dear friends. Isn’t it clear by now that God operates quite differently? He chose the world’s down-and-out as the kingdom’s first citizens, with full rights and privileges. This kingdom is promised to anyone who loves God.
– James 2:5 (Msg)
John - To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father–to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. – Rev 1:6
What have we missed? (It seems kind of obvious now, doesn’t it?)… WE’VE – missed the greatest invitation of all time to be a part of the kingdom of God…. AND – to be a part of it NOW!!!!
UNDERSTAND – The Kingdom Of God, is not just an abstract concept about something that is in the future, (about heaven)… but rather the kingdom is a dynamic reality that we are invited to live in right now, today (April 17, 2005)!
OKAY – now for the second question in your notes…
How Do I Know We Missed It?
WELL – for one reason we don’t talk about the kingdom and living in NOW all that much…
I MEAN - before I talked about Jesus coming to establish the kingdom 2 weeks ago the only other time a preached an entire message on the kingdom was back in the Summer of 2002 when I did a message series on the Lord’s prayer. Other than that I have never preached or heard a message about the kingdom (in church) during my 26 years of being a Christian…
AND – whenever the kingdom of God has been mentioned briefly in passing… It has almost always been in reference to a time of future glory when Jesus returns.
AND – the second reason I know that we have missed it;
Is because very few people are actually living Kingdom lives…
BACK – in the fall of 1997 Laurie & I came up to Georgia from Florida to interview for the preaching ministry at Central. AFTER – the interview… We drove back done to the airport in Atlanta, to go back home. WE – were making pretty good time and we got off on 85 south of the city… AND - I missed the obvious… I missed the exit for the airport NOT once… BUT – three times…
QUESTION – How did I know I missed it? BECAUSE – the road I found myself on was not taking me to where I needed to go…
LISTEN [Tim, Laurie…] – the road of the kingdom is a road that is supposed to take you and I, to the place of transformation. A road that Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:18 transforms us into the likeness of Christ.
OKAY – if the kingdom is available now… TO – everyone (whosoever will may come). AND – if the kingdom is place of transformation… HOW – much transformation into the likeness of Christ do we see taking place – in His church?
I’d like to introduce you to 2 ‘fictional’ guys, Carl & Mike…
Karl has attended the same church for more than 4 decades. NOW - he was by all accounts a crabby little kid. Who grew into a crabby young man. And after his conversion Karl joined the church and became a crabby Christian.
AND UNDERSTAND – Karl is not at all uncertain of his faith. I MEAN - he believes the bible from cover to cover. But there just doesn’t seem to be any record over the years of Karl changing; his disposition, his attitude, the way he talks to and about people, the way he treats his wife and kids… OR – his habits, his mind his expression, or his pew. I MEAN – Karl is pretty much the same crabby kid… with just a few more years, inches and pounds added…
ONE – day Karl complained to his pastor about the lack of commitment among young people in the church… FOLLOWED BY – a passionate description of his own daily devotional habits. AND - his pastor thought to himself…(probably should have said it out loud) “But Karl, you’re still crabby. AND – somehow you have managed to crab your way through 14,200 quiet times without changing. KARL - what’s the point of spending all of that time, reading all of those passages, teaching all of those classes, showing up for all those work days, believing all of that ‘stuff’… IF – it has little or no impact on your life…
NOW MIKE – (on the other hand) had the kind of experience that people write about in books. I MEAN – his marriage was a mess, he had a problem with drugs and alcohol, all he cared about was making money & climbing the corporate ladder… AND – he would do and had already done almost anything to make it up another rung)…
BUT – one day things really went south for Mike… HE - nailed for a D.U.I, was laid off unexpectantly from work and His wife took the kids and went to stay with her parents. MIKE – hit bottom, he was in serious pain… AND – that pain finally drove him to church.
AND - the first week there, Mike sat in the back row because for some reason, the cross in the front bothered him. BUT - he returned the next Sunday and he brought a bible. AND – before long Mike started getting up at 4 am to read the bible. AND – after a few months he surrendered his life to Christ and was baptized… HE - joined a small group and got involved in ministry. Mike’s life changed so fast and so abruptly, that his pastor wondered if it would stick. BUT NOW - several years latter according to his wife, his children, his friends and Mike himself, he is a new man. I MEAN – the way he talks, acts, lives, serves, gives and loves is fresh and new. Mike has completely changed… He is being transformed into the image of Christ…
QUESTION – as I told you about Karl & Mike… DID – any images pass in your mind? I MEAN - do these examples ring true to you…
ANOTHER QUESTION [Tim, Laurie) - in the church, in your church experience what have you found to be the norm? I MEAN - who do we find more of in the church… Karls or Mikes.? I think we all know the answer… There are more Karls…
YES – (though sad it is true)… THERE - are more people who show little if any signs of transformation in likeness of Christ then there are that do… GUYS – the reality of non-transformation is hard to deny…
25% of Americans claim to have had a Christian experience. Which has lead some to say, ‘surely a pound of meat would be effected by a ¼ pound of salt…
AND – the question we have to ask is why? WHY – do so many who claim Christ not experience radical transformation and change?
IF – this is real Christianity than where is the effect that Jesus spoke of… IN – a recent interview George Gallup said that only a small minority of those within the church have experienced what he called a deeply transforming faith. He said that a part from this small minority one reason Christianity hasn’t grown as it should is that people don’t see Christians as being any different from the rest of the population.
Ryckie had this quote from Dallas Willard in his message last week;
The most telling thing about the contemporary Christian is that or she simply has no compelling sense that understanding of and conformity with the clear teachings of Christ is of any vital importance to his or her life, and certainly not that it is in any way essential.
UNFORTUNATELY – I think both of these guys are right on target… AND – the question we have to ask is why? WHY – do so few believers experience transformation and change.
UNDERSTAND – there are really only 2 things that cause people to change.
1) When the pain or discomfort of certain situation in their life propels them to change. Forces them to change. That’s the kind of thing that got Mike to go to church in the first place. (BUT – that is not what produced the transformation that was still taking place so many years later…
2) Reason #2; people change when they are given a powerful and compelling vision of a NEW and BETTER way to live…. A VISION – of a new and better reality of life. A VISION – for their life; that pumps them up, stokes, their fire and ignites their hope… A VISION - that propels them to change.
AND LISTEN – I am convinced that this ‘New Vision’ motivation for change is exactly what Jesus intends the reality of the kingdom of God to do in each of our lives as believers… UNDERSTAND – Jesus wants to give you a new vision for a different future.
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field--and to get the treasure, too! "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a pearl merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!
- Matthew 13:44-46 (NLT)
QUESTION – do you see what Jesus is saying here…? HE – is saying that the kingdom of God is so awesome that once we catch a vision we will WITH great excitement do anything to live in it.
BUT AGAIN – we missed it… The vision of the kingdom and way of life has become cloudy… AND – how do we know? BECAUSE – the road we are on is not really taking us to where Jesus wants us to go… TO – a place where His likeness is seen in us and lived through us…
OKAY – now for the final question for today.
Why Have We Missed It?
LISTEN - part of the reason why we have missed the awesome reality of living in the kingdom of God (now)… IS - because (are you ready) we have preached, taught and embraced a faulty or deformed Gospel… An incomplete Gospel…
NOW – the word gospel comes from the a Greek word that means ‘good news.’ The good news about what…? QUESTION - what good news did Jesus preach…? LET – me read a few passages and see if you can see it…
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom… - Mt 4:23
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom… - Mt 9:35
He said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” - Luke 4:43
After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. – Luke 8:1
Until John the Baptist began to preach, the laws of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But now the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and eager multitudes are forcing their way in. – Luke 16:16
UNDERSTAND – the ‘good news’ the gospel according to Jesus was that the kingdom was here! WAS - that it was now possible for us;
• to live as kingdom people…
• to be a new creation
• to live a life of becoming more & more like Jesus
(AND – in the coming weeks we dive into to depths of this true gospel…)
OKAY – if that is the true gospel… WHAT - is the faulty or deformed Gospel? AND – what has it done to the good news Jesus came to preach. UNDERSTAND - what the faulty gospel has done… IS - reduce the good news of the kingdom… TO - basically the forgiveness of sins and of going to heaven… YOU SEE – the primary message of the faulty gospel is that Jesus came and He died on a cross SO THAT – our sins can be forgiven and we can go to heaven when we die… It is finished… end of story.
UNDERSTAND – if all we need to do is to come to Jesus and have our sins forgiven… what else is there left to do… “Hey I’m forgiven and I’m going to heaven… what more do I need to do… I guess I’ll just hang around and wait… AND - try to do enough good and not to much bad that so I don’t mess up this awesome deal God gave me…
AND LISTEN – this faulty gospel is not a powerful motivation for real & lasting change. IN FACT – it usually results is 3 very uninspiring things (apathy, passivity, and no sense of mission)…
How does the grand invitation to life sound today? The bumper sticker gently imposes its little message: “Christians Aren’t Perfect, Just Forgiven…” Just forgiven? And is that really all there is to being a Christian. The gift of eternal life comes down to that? Quite a retreat from living an eternal kind of life now!...
Well, it certainly needs to be said that Christians are forgiven. And it needs to be said that forgiveness does not depend on being perfect. But is that really what the slogan communicates? Unfortunately it is not. What the slogan really conveys is that forgiveness alone is what Christianity is all about, what is generally essential to it.
It says that you can faith in Christ that brings forgiveness, while in every respect your life is no different from that of others who have no faith in Christ at all…
- Dallas Willard
Willard calls this bar code faith…
QUESTION…
Can we seriously believe that God would establish a plan for us that essentially by passes the awesome needs of present human life and leaves character untouched?
Can we believe that the essence of Christian faith and salvation covers nothing but death and after?
Can we believe that being saved really has nothing whatever to do with the kind of persons we are?
LISTEN – is time for us to put down the faulty Gospel and embrace the good news of the kingdom of God – NOW!
AND – let me offer a word of warning here… We must be careful in rejecting the faulty gospel that we do not in a knee jerk reaction created yet another gospel… A Gospel of; rules, practices, check lists, measuring up and expectations… BECAUSE – that Gospel will not bring the kingdom into our lives either…
OKAY – we have missed the kingdom because of the faulty gospel…
AND – another reason why we miss the kingdom is because it is not obvious… YOU SEE we have to be looking for it… AND - Jesus makes this truth perfectly clear in Matthew 13… UNDERSTAND – in this chapter we find Jesus talking about the kingdom more than he does in any other chapter in the Gospels…
Jesus starts off by telling a story about how the kingdom is like a farmer sowing seed. AFTER – he tells the story the disciples come to him and say, “Hey Jesus we don’t get what does this story mean.” AND – Jesus basically says… “I am so glad you asked me… because the kingdom is only found by those who are willing to look for it…”
THEN – Jesus tells them what the story means… AND – he tells other parable about the kingdom… The kingdom is like;
• A man sowing seed in a good field
• A mustard see
• A man letting a net in a lake
• A pearl worth searching for
• A treasure hidden in the field
AND – the bottom line is that the kingdom is not obvious… The treasure is hidden, the seed is hidden, the fish are hidden. UNDERSTAND – the kingdom is not obvious… It is found by people willing to look for it… AND – in a sense it will always be kind of hard to precisely define or make clear… That is why Jesus uses so many pictures… Jesus said it’s like a set, a net… it’s like…..AND - you begin to get a feel for it.
20Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” – Luke 17:20,21
Suppose someone who was deaf and they now can hear and they ask you what is music? AND – you say, “a pleasing arrangement of notes…” QUESTION – how helpful would that be? BUT – suppose you were to take out your CD player and you play some… Bach, The Beatles… That get little flashes and they get a feel for it… The important thing is they have experienced what it is even if the can’t precisely define it…
QUESTION – who here is ready… to put down the faulty gospel… embrace the true gospel and go searching for the kingdom of God…
I want to close off our time today with story that I will begin but not finish today… It is a story about a journey… It is based on something I heard a guy named Brain McLaren share one time… The main character in the story if you will allow it to be… is you…
IMAGINE – that you live in a country ruled by a cruel dictator. I MEAN - he controls the army. He controls the government. He controls the media. He controls the economy. And it’s a very subtle yet a very real kind of control. Everything is done in this country to keep you domesticated and compliant. But somehow inside you know that you are not free. AND – this cruel dictator uses his media to tell you things like…
• If your overweight you’re not thin enough
• If your thin your not muscular enough
• If your muscular you’re not smart enough
• If your conservative you’re not liberal enough
• If your liberal you’re not conservative enough
• If your poor you’re not rich enough
• If your rich you’re not rich enough
• (He uses his media to tell you that…) You don’t wear the right slacks
• You don’t wear the right shirts.
• You don’t wear the right underarm deodorant.
• You don’t have the right skin
• You don’t have the right hair style (if you have hair at all)
You need more money… and to get more money you need a better economy. To get a better economy your need different political parties. To get better political parties you need better opinions. And to get better opinions you need to listen to the media more. And if you listen to the media more… You’ll hear lots of adds that keep reminding you that your not thin, muscular, smart, knowledgeable, popular, rich or cool enough. AND – he keeps you in this little rat race of domestication simply by keeping you busy.
But you’re starting to get tired of this. AND - you wonder if there is a better way of living. You wonder if there is another place to live. And every once in awhile you meet this visitors from another country. Who seem to be really happy. You wonder why they would ever want to come to your country for vacation since your country is so depressing and they seem so happy.
And you notice that when ever these vacationers come they tell you about their country. You never really paid attention before… BUT NOW – you start to listen.. LIFE – in their country sounds incredible almost too good to be true…. SO - you decide to sneak over there for a visit to check things out for yourself…
AND SINCE - your borders are tightly controlled… YOU - have to go through the mountains and on foot. YOU – sleep during the day and travel at night… IT – days several days… BUT – eventually you get there.
AND – you visit this other country… YOU – walk the streets, grab a coffee and a sidewalk café’ , you sit on park benches… You watch, you observe and you listen… AND – you are amazed by what you see; It’s so different from your country… IN – this country;
• People don’t compete they serve
• They don’t hate they love
• They don’t look out for #1 they look out for each other
• They don’t use their tongue to put people down they speak words that others up
• They don’t hold grudges they forgive
• AND - they don’t tell you that you are NOT (smart enough, rich enough, pretty enough, talented enough or good enough) INSTEAD - they tell you that you are loved and accepted, precious and wonderful just as you are
AND - there is a sense of reverence in the air in this country. I MEAN – you can feel it… AND – it feels so much better than that sense of; haste and rush and hurry and competition and cheapness that you are used to…. AND - you notice that in this other country. That the people who are last in your country; the handicapped, the minorities, the uneducated, the sick, the elderly, the young, the old the teenagers, the less fortunate are NOT ONLY, not treated bad… BUT – they are treated with unusual respect & honor. IN FACT – they are treated like the most important people of all.
And as you travel secretly through this country…you feel a sense of excitement… AND – you begin to powerful and compelling visions of another way to live… NOW - you realize that there is a lot that you don’t understand… but you also realize that you feel more at home here than you ever felt in your own country. I MEAN – you feel like you have found a priceless treasure hidden in a field… AND - you decide that you are going to immigrate to this new country and live their… SO - you go back to your home, to your country and you get your affairs in order. AND – in a few days you walk out of the door of your old way of life for the last time….
The kingdom of God is HERE!
Who here is ready to live there?
Next week we will talk about how to Get it and How to get in on it…
