14 June 2020
Notes
Transcript
Do any of you watch the news from one of the national news organizations?
CNN, Fox, ABC, NBC, or CBS?
My family accuses me of watching to much news. You really do not need to watch the news. You can have news apps on your smart phone and read news and get alerts. It seems like you can get overwhelmed with news.
The news we see on TV seems like it dwells on the negative.
For the past several months all we heard about was COVID-19. Every newscast was saturated with news about the virus. Yes, we needed to know about it, but come on. We didn’t need hour after hour stories or speculation about it.
Recently the incident of with George Floyd happened and the news is suddenly all about racism in our nation. It is not like racism is anything new, but this incident brought it to the forefront of the news and now that is all we hear about. Statues are being defaced or torn down. Laws are being changed. Protests are happening.
What happened to COVID-19? It has been pushed to the background now.
The stories on racism will continue until something new happens and then the news channels with switch gears once again.
Bad news, it seems like all we hear about is the bad stuff. There is lots of bad stuff out there to talk about, but I do not like to dwell on the bad news, I want to hear some good news.
I googled the phrase “good news” and came up with over 9.1 billion web pages that contain that phrase.
That is a lot of reference to good news. I thought I should check on the phrase “bad news.” I thought that there would be lots more pages about bad news.
I googled the phrase “bad news” and came up with only 2.8 billion web pages with that phrase.
It seems that according to Google, the good news out weighs bad news by over 6 billion pages.
Our Scripture text this morning is all about Good News. It is not only about Good News, but it is about the Greatest News ever delivered. Jesus references it there in verse 35 where Matthew records Jesus was “announcing the good news of the kingdom.”
We are people of the kingdom, the Kingdom of God. I have a Facebook friend who shared videos from a church he attends. I was mildly disturbed by the setup of their sanctuary because I could not tell if it was a church or a civic organization. Right above the pulpit the ceiling is lower as it goes back to the back wall. Right there where the ceiling transitions above the pulpit was the American Flag hanging. There was not cross, no banners, no nothing to indicate that this was a Christian church.
Yes, we are United States citizens by birth, but by being born again, we are not citizens of a much greater kingdom and that is the Kingdom of God. The implication of this message of the good news that Jesus announced about the kingdom impacts us today.
The first is this:
The kingdom happens where ever Jesus is ruling
The kingdom happens where ever Jesus is ruling
John the Baptist began his ministry announcing the kingdom. He said:
2 “Change your hearts and lives! Here comes the kingdom of heaven!”
This is how we enter into the kingdom. We enter by repentance, changing our heart and lives. It was not just John the Baptist who made that claim, but Jesus himself stated that when he said:
3 Jesus answered, “I assure you, unless someone is born anew, it’s not possible to see God’s kingdom.”
And then in verse 5 he said:
5 Jesus answered, “I assure you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, it’s not possible to enter God’s kingdom.
That is how we enter into the kingdom of God. Jesus came bring the kingdom of God with him. When we say that the kingdom happens where ever Jesus is ruling we are talking about our lives. We are in the kingdom and the kingdom is within us.
Where Jesus is, the kingdom is happening. If you are a Christian, then the kingdom is here with you.
We do have to remember that there are some entrance requirements to the kingdom. We enter the kingdom through the blood of Jesus Christ. We enter through repentance and turning from sin and turning to God.
That gets us in the door, but then comes the life of obedience. This is the part that many Christians struggle with. We cannot just get in the door and then do what we want.
That is not what being a Christian is all about, and in fact that is not even living the Christian life. The person who attempts that is no Christian at all.
Jesus spoke about this when he said:
21 “Not everybody who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will get into the kingdom of heaven. Only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 On the Judgment Day, many people will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name and expel demons in your name and do lots of miracles in your name?’ 23 Then I’ll tell them, ‘I’ve never known you. Get away from me, you people who do wrong.’
There are lots of people who say they are a Christian because they go to church or they give money to church, or they help the poor. But what did Jesus say about that?
“Only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter.”
We do not get to do our own thing and hope that we will make it to heaven some day. It is only through a life of obedience to the will of the Father.
But, I want to live my life by my plan. Well, good luck with that because you will not make heaven living that way.
Jesus in the prayer that he taught the disciples prayed
10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
The translation that I use put it this way
10 Bring in your kingdom so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven.
I really like this translation because it shows the two-fold action that is to happen.
Bring in your kingdom - that is God’s work. Remember, the implication for us is that wherever Jesus is ruling there is the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God came with Jesus. He goes on to say “so that your will is done.”
Through that entrance into the kingdom by repentance we are to do the will of God here on earth.
The kingdom of God is here and now. There are some called dispensationalist who see the kingdom of God, the kingdom of Heaven as something in the future. No, it is here and now and in the future because of Jesus.
We are living in the kingdom is here now but also the not yet.
Paul writes very powerfully regarding the kingdom and the rule of Christ.
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead. He’s the first crop of the harvest of those who have died. 21 Since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came through one too. 22 In the same way that everyone dies in Adam, so also everyone will be given life in Christ. 23 Each event will happen in the right order: Christ, the first crop of the harvest, then those who belong to Christ at his coming, 24 and then the end, when Christ hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he brings every form of rule, every authority and power to an end. 25 It is necessary for him to rule until he puts all enemies under his feet.26 Death is the last enemy to be brought to an end, 27 since he has brought everything under control under his feet. When it says that everything has been brought under his control, this clearly means everything except for the one who placed everything under his control. 28 But when all things have been brought under his control, then the Son himself will also be under the control of the one who gave him control over everything so that God may be all in all.
Listen again to verse 24
24 and then the end, when Christ hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he brings every form of rule, every authority and power to an end.
Jesus will hand over the kingdom to God the Father at the end. That means the kingdom of God exists and is here now, today. The kingdom of God is everywhere that Jesus is ruling.
If Jesus is not ruling in your life then the kingdom of God is not in your life.
Jesus praying in the Lord’s prayer for God the Father to bring his kingdom now so that His will would be done now just like it is being done in heaven.
God the Father’s will can only be done through a life that is lived in obedience to God. There simply is no other way. We can not just give lip-service to God and expect Him to reward us with eternal life.
This kingdom life, eternal life is entered by repentance by the blood of Jesus and then lived out daily by obedience to the will of God through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul was dealing with all sorts of problems in the Corinthian church. There must have been people who were just giving lip-service to God because he wrote:
20 God’s kingdom isn’t about words but about power.
We sing that song, there is “Power in the Blood.” The first verse has these words:
Would you be free from your burden of sin?
There's power in the blood, power in the blood
Would you o'er evil the victory win?
There's wonderful power in the blood
There is power in the blood of Jesus. Out in the Narthex there is a tapestry that has the words “There is power in the name of Jesus To break every chain” from the song by the same name.
God’s kingdom isn’t about words, but power.
Getting back to our text, look at verse 37 and 38
37 Then he said to his disciples, “The size of the harvest is bigger than you can imagine, but there are few workers. 38 Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers for his harvest.”
The size of the harvest is bigger than we can imagine. If it is that big, then we need to the power of God, we need to plead to God the Father to send out workers for HIS harvest.
Please hear this, that is not just over there, but it is right here. It is right here at our doorsteps. We have to take the kingdom outside the walls of this building. If Jesus is ruling in our lives, then the kingdom is here and active.
If we believe that there is power in the blood of Jesus then we should believe that there is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain. To break every chain of bondage that people find themselves in.
I am doing an internship at Twin Lakes Center and I have heard things that I never would have imagined and realized the depth of bondage that people find themselves in. As I listened to the stories I prayed that God would break the power of sin in their lives and that they would find true freedom in Christ.
Have we lost the belief that God is greater than the world. Have we become so isolated so that we do not see the depth of sin around us?
In chapter 10 verse 1 Jesus called his twelve disciples. What a motley crew they were and until the day of Pentecost they were hung up on false ideas and misconceptions. But look at what Jesus did with them.
1 He called his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to throw them out and to heal every disease and every sickness.
Jesus gave them authority. With that authority, he gave them power through the Holy Spirit. Just prior to his return to heaven he said:
18 Jesus came near and spoke to them, “I’ve received all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.”
He said “Therefore, go and make disciples.” Therefore, because Jesus “received all authority in heaven and on earth” they were to go and make disciples.
Before they were to go, Jesus told them to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the promised gift of the Father. It was only after the day of Pentecost that they had the power to Go.
The kingdom happens wherever Jesus is ruling!
The second impact of the kingdom of God for us is this.
The kingdom creates an impact on society
The kingdom creates an impact on society
We are living almost with dual citizenship. We live in this world, but we are no longer citizens. Our citizenship now is in the kingdom of God.
How often do we live like our citizenship is here in this world and that the kingdom of Heaven is sometime in the future. There is an old saying about people who view heaven as “pie in the sky when we die bye and bye.”
We live as resident aliens when we enter the kingdom. Yes, we render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, but our first allegiance is to God.
When we come to faith in Christ our entire life is reoriented. Remember Paul’s words to the Romans?
1 So, brothers and sisters, because of God’s mercies, I encourage you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God. This is your appropriate priestly service. 2 Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature.
The Message put it this way
1 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. 2 Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
That whole presenting your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God cannot be done while you are still clinging to the word. It simply cannot be done. It is all or nothing. A lamb that was brought to be sacrificed was entirely sacrificed. They didn’t just sacrifice the hind quarter with the front half not sacrificed. The entire lamb was sacrificed.
If we are going to be a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God it means that our entire being is sacrificed to God.
We will still live in this world, this culture but this world, this culture will not dictate how we live.
We are to live in obedience to the will of the Father and we are to live in such a way that the world and our culture takes notice.
Jesus spoke about this in his Sermon on the Mount. He said:
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how will it become salty again? It’s good for nothing except to be thrown away and trampled under people’s feet. 14 You are the light of the world. A city on top of a hill can’t be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on top of a lampstand, and it shines on all who are in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven.
Jesus talks about us being salt and light. Why are we to be salt and light?
“so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven.”
Jesus commissioned those first twelve disciples to go and announce that the kingdom of heaven had come near. They were to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with skin diseases, and throw out demons.”
Don’t you think that as they did those things that people would take notice?
Why do people flock to faith healers? They want to see a miracle. Now many of those people are fakes. But God really does use ordinary men and women who are filled with the Holy Spirit to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleans those with skin diseases, and throw out demons.
The point is not to draw attention to themselves, but so that people will raise God the Father.
That will have a positive impact on society because people’s hearts and lives will be turned toward God. We need to see that happening here. After Peter and John were released from jail, they met with the other disciples for a prayer meeting. They prayed:
30 Stretch out your hand to bring healing and enable signs and wonders to be performed through the name of Jesus, your holy servant.
What was the result of their prayer?
31 After they prayed, the place where they were gathered was shaken. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking God’s word with confidence.
Oh that God would shake this place and fill us a new and fresh with the power of the Holy Spirit to give us that boldness. I am tired of a tame religion, I want to live in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The third impact for is about the kingdom is this:
The kingdom calls us to a decision
The kingdom calls us to a decision
We all have a decision to make. It is really quite simple. It is this:
Are we going to be obedient followers of Jesus or are we going to do our own thing.
It really is no more complicated than that. We can make it complicated, but it really boils down to being obedient followers of Jesus, living out the good news of the kingdom of God.
Remember Jesus words I read a little while ago:
21 “Not everybody who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will get into the kingdom of heaven. Only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter.
Doing the will of the Father is being obedient to Jesus and following him.
It is taking up your cross and following Jesus. There simply is no other way.
The Good News of the Kingdom is that you can live a life that is pleasing to the Father. You can live a life that is both salt and light that will point people to Jesus.
As Jesus pointed out:
37 Then he said to his disciples, “The size of the harvest is bigger than you can imagine, but there are few workers.
The size of the harvest is bigger than you can imagine. There is much work to do. It takes all of us working together.
The kingdom is calling for each of us to make a decision. Is Jesus ruling in your life?
If he is not, what is it going to take to help you to realize that you are not truly a part of the kingdom of God and get you to make up your mind to truly follow Jesus as an obedient disciple?
What is it going to take?
The kingdom of God is about the Good News of Jesus.
Won’t you join in that journey!