Last
week we started a series which will run for the Summer break which I've called Back to Basics. Last week we looked at
the truth that God has a unique plan for each of our lives and He reveals that
plan to us through Call. This week we look at
the one thing Jesus spoke about more than any other:
The Kingdom of God.
The
Kingdom of God is central to our understanding of what our salvation is all
about. Jesus spoke more about the Kingdom of God than he did about anything
else. His very first words in his public ministry were:
Matthew 4:17
From that time on Jesus
began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’
Mark 1:14-15
After John was put in
prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ‘The
time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God has come near. Repent
and believe the good news!’
Luke 4:42-44
At daybreak, Jesus went
out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to
where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But
he said, ‘I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other
towns also, because that is why I was sent.’
What is the good news……? the good news is, plain and simply, that the
kingdom of God is near! This was really good news to the
Jewish hearers of Jesus’ preaching, they had waited a 1000 years for God's
kingdom to come…… and now a man stands in their midst and says: the kingdom of
God is near, it’s at hand ... and I’ve come in order to announce that and
inaugurate it through my life, death and resurrection.
I’m sure when you hosted the Olympics it was similar to when SA hosted
the Football World Cup: for years there was the preparation, the waiting, the
expectation ... then suddenly, it was at hand, so near, that you could just
step into a Fifa Worldcup football stadium. The Jewish people had waited so
long for the Kingdom of God ... then Jesus arrives and says “It’s near, it’s at
hand ... one step of faith, and you’re in it.” That was good news, that was
gospel.
The Christian author Trevor Hudson in his book Discovering Our Spiritual
Identity says that the Gospel, the good news, is nothing other than the
availability of the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God is available to you and to me! That is good news!
Friends, the good news is not…. that you have been forgiven your sins
and will go to heaven when you die. No…. the good news is; the Gospel
is…. the prophesied kingdom of God is available to you and to me….
now!
So what is this kingdom that is so near that with one step of faith you
can enter into it? Getting back to Trevor, he says: the kingdom is
where-ever the loving will of the Father effectively reigns.
Another writer on the subject of the kingdom of God, Scot McKnight, says this: “the
kingdom of God is the society in which the will of God is done.”
What this all means is that………
When a father welcomes back a prodigal son instead of chasing him away
and saying “You had your chance” ... God's Kingdom comes and God's will is
done!
When you or I refuse to hate an enemy, but rather to love an enemy ...
God's Kingdom comes and God's will is done!
When you or I stop to help someone beaten up and left for dead on a
dangerous roadside ... God's Kingdom comes and God's will is done!
Jesus said on one occasion, when you feed the hungry, clothe the naked,
give the thirsty something to drink, visit the sick, visit prisoners, welcome
strangers, ... whenever you do these things, God's Kingdom comes and God's will
is done!
The Jewish Christian, David Stern, in his Jewish New Testament Commentary suggests that the
kingdom of God is in fact the presence of the future, ... the
presence of the future.
We know that a time is coming when there will be no hunger, no thirst,
no poverty, no more injustice, no sickness, and so on and so on ... so when we
do something now to alleviate these things, the future becomes the present. The
promises of God become reality for the recipients of God's grace in Christ. In
Christ we can experience the future …. now. For example: Peace ... now, in a
world of unpeace. If I choose to be a peacemaker and beat my sword into a
ploughshare, or if I turn the other cheek to an enemy, I experience the future,
now! The kingdom of God is the presence of the future.
So, Jesus spoke more about the Kingdom of God than anything else and He
taught us to ... seek first the Kingdom of God ... first the Kingdom of God ...
not love or salvation or forgiveness or peace or joy ... No, seek first the
Kingdom of God, then everything else will be added. That’s why so many
Christians miss out on all these things and why so many Christians are
miserable, because they seek all these things rather than seeking the one
thing, the Kingdom of God.
Because the kingdom of God is so
important, Jesus told many parables about it, so that folk could understand it,
count the cost of entering into it and living
the kingdom way, …. it's a costly lifestyle, Jesus warns, …. and then they can
make a choice and say: “I'm in. I am going to live the kingdom way.” And when
they make that choice, they are required to repent, which means turnaround from
the world's way of living, and start living the kingdom way of living. Change
your direction towards God, change your heart towards God ... these are the
essence of repentance.
The readings I’ve chosen for today, have Jesus talking about the Kingdom
of Heaven/God using the following words to introduce a number of parables:
Jesus
told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like…..
A mustard seed ... yeast ... treasure ... a pearl ... a net.
So what do these parables tell us about
ourselves as Kingdom people?
If we skim the surface: the mustard seed and the
yeast speak of small things having a great affect. The treasure, the
pearl and the net speak of …… value.
How does that apply to my life?
How does that apply to my life?
Well …… sometimes we feel small, don’t
we? Sometimes others make us feel small/insignificant, and sometimes
we are quite good at belittling ourselves.
Hear this: You don’t know what God is still going
to do with you. A little mustard seed might say, “What can I ever
become?” God says, “Just you wait and see.”
You may be thinking: “What difference can I make or
am I making?” or “What difference does a little bit of prayer at bedtime with
my child make …… or Bible reading …… or bringing them to Sunday School …… what
difference?” Should I carry on praying for my wayward child … my wayward
spouse?
Jesus says: “These things, your contribution, are
working through the dough which is your home, your workplace, your church, your
city …… when the Kingdom is in you, you are working through the dough” ....and
the kingdom things you are doing are making a difference.
So ……if the Kingdom is in you, ...... please
be encouraged …… but be convicted if the Kingdom is not in
you.
Now, the next three parables; the treasure, the
pearl, the net full of fish …… these speak of value.
They speak to us as mustard seeds and as yeast and
ask of us: Is the Kingdom of God …… precious …… to you? (Please remember:
this is not asking if the church is precious to you. The church
is not the Kingdom of God …… the Church is the gathering of
people who have the Kingdom in them, to worship, teach, disciple and serve
together).
So, I’m not asking whether the church is precious
to you or not, I’m asking whether His Kingdom and His ways are precious to you.
So ... are they?
Are we willing to, and do we, sacrifice,
give up, give away, do without …… for the Kingdom (again, please notice,
not for the church)? And sometimes that question is best answered by
asking another: “What do I hold on to …… What will I not surrender …… What will
I cling to even if it means I lose my soul?”
Video
It’s what we refuse to give up that often shows us
how far we are from God’s Kingdom …… even if we are “pillars of the church.”
So, we are not insignificant, if we’re in the
Kingdom of God, in fact, the least is the greatest in
the Kingdom of God (but that’s another sermon) …… and whether we have the
Kingdom in us or not is reflected by how precious the Kingdom and the Kingdom’s
ways are to us … one of the great kingdom reversals is that in the Kingdom of
God it is more blessed to give than to receive … in fact it is in giving that
we receive.
So, these parables speak of significance, of value
and, finally, these parables talk to us about something we often hate
doing..... WAITING.
In each of these parables, there is an element of waiting:
the
mustard seed – years
the
yeast – hours
selling
all you’ve got – weeks/months
searching
for the finest pearl in the world – years – a lifetime
separating
a huge catch of fish – hours
WAITING … patiently. This is a great kingdom virtue. So …… be patient as you continue being a mustard seed, being yeast, as you continue being a sacrificer for the Kingdom, be patient as you continue searching for the finer pearls in the Kingdom of God … as you commit yourself to searching for, uncovering, exposing … the Kingdom of God.
Take heart, be
encouraged, be patient ... above all and in all things, seek first the Kingdom
of God.
