This is the final part of this four-part series.

10. The kingdom of God is power.  Power = loving relationships.  Love is not talk.  It is not niceness.

11. Urgency of proclaiming and responding to the kingdom of God.  Cost of following Christ. Following Christ involves proclaiming kingdom of God urgently because that is the most loving thing one can do.

12. There will be opposition when you preach the kingdom of God.  When you proclaim the kingdom of God urgently, there will be persecution.

Discussion questions:
1) How do you define spiritual power?
2) Do these passages address a Christian who says that being nice is all that matters?

Passages to read: 1 Cor 4:14-21, Luke 9:57-62, Rev 12:1-17

The kingdom of God is power

1 Cor 4:14-21

How do you define spiritual power?

There are many possible definitions, but Paul gives one clear definition in 1 Cor 4.  1 Cor 4 is a painful letter for Paul to write because the leaders of this church are questioning his apostleship.  Leaders like Apollos are known for their eloquence and people are being led astray.

We don’t know exactly how they were led astray.  It could be that they were moving toward some sort of heresy.  Or they were diverting attention and glory away from Christ and toward themselves.  This letter mentions factions being formed.  I follow this leader.  Or I follow that leader.  One thing is clear — whatever these eloquent speakers were saying, the congregation began to question Paul’s leadership.

And Paul in 1 Cor 4:18-20 retorts back — read. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.

You can talk a big game, but that’s not what the kingdom is all about.  The kingdom is a matter of power.

But what makes Paul so powerful?  He talks, too, doesn’t he?  He is going around preaching so people may accuse him of being a talker as well.

But I believe Paul prefaces this statement of the kingdom of God being about power with verses that demonstrate or validate a life of power.  And the preceding verses reveal that Paul was all about love.

1 Cor 4:14-17 — read.

Paul defines power as being a person who loves. Not someone who can talk about love, or theologize about love.

I can say I love Jackie or my kids, but talk is cheap.

Problem – love for immediate family and that’s where it ends for most people.

Love – cannot love on our own strength

Not about being an eloquent speaker or a good teacher.

Spiritual power defined in terms of being a spiritual father with
concrete love relationships.

People who are willing to follow you

People you’d be willing to follow

Powerful life is a loving life.

A life of love is not the same as being nice.

Jesus and Paul were confrontational people.  Fueled by love.  If I have one shot to preach the gospel, I don’t want to hold back any punches.

Satan’s scheme – let us be content being nice.  You know I am a Christian.  Come to me whenever you have a question.

Entering the kingdom of God forcefully.

Urgent message.  Urgent for us to respond properly.  Urgent for us to share and proclaim the message about the kingdom.

Nice people blend in.

Loving people stick out.  Opposition.

Urgency of preaching the gospel

Luke 9:57-62 – urgency to proclaim/The Cost of Following Jesus

Luke 10:8-15 – urgency

Luke 9:57 and 9:58 seem to be a non-sequitur.  Jesus knows our hearts so not a random phrase.

Mentality of this first person: I’ll follow but I expect to have my physical living needs taken care of.

Mentality of second and third person – I want to follow but there are some urgent things.  Familial duties.  How about saying good-bye to parents – seems like a reasonable thing.  Jesus knows our hearts.  If
this person followed, he would only do so half-heartedly and always wonder if he made the right choice.

Certainty of opposition when you preach the kingdom of God

Rev 12:1-17 – opposition/The Woman and the Dragon

Intro: Summarize first 6 observations.

Title: All I Really Need to Know About Kingdom Living I Learned in Kindergarten

Read Title and Kindergartner piece.

Robert Fulghum – writer of “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”  Robert Fulghum was born in 1937, and grew up in Waco, Texas. In his youth he worked as a ditch-digger, newspaper carrier, ranch hand, and singing cowboy. After college and a brief career with IBM, he returned to graduate school to complete a degree in theology. For 22 years he served as a Unitarian parish minister in the Pacific Northwest. During the same period he taught drawing, painting, and philosophy at the Lakeside School in Seattle. Fulghum is an accomplished painter and sculptor. He sings, and plays the guitar and mando-cello and was a founding member of the The Rock-Bottom Remainders–a rock and roll band of author-muscians.

(abbreviated list)

* Share everything.
* Play fair.
* Don’t hit people.
* Put things back where you found them.
* Clean up your own mess.
* Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
* Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.
* Wash your hands before you eat.
* Flush.
* Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
* Take a nap every afternoon.
* When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
* Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup – they all die. So do we.

Discussion Questions based on passages and piece:

Passages: Mark 10:13-16 (children),  12:28-34 (love), Luke 14:15-24 (banquet), John 2:1-11 (wedding)

1) Why do you think kindergarteners have an easier time entering the kingdom of God?

2) From these passages, what are 2 prominent features about the kingdom of God?

Part 3: Feasting, Unity, Joy, Love, Children

3 more observations about the kingdom of God.

First, you need to be childlike to enter the kingdom of God.

Second, the centrality of love in the kingdom of God.

Third, the kingdom of God is a place of feasting and joy.

This sounds so adult-like so I wanted to simplify the language and put it in language that a kindergartner can understand.

I think the first 2 points can be summed up with one principle learned in kindergarten.

Instead of making the observation that You Must Be Childlike to Enter the Kingdom of God + Centrality of Love, lets go with…

(don’t read) Principle 1: My Mommy and Daddy Love Me

Mark 10:13-16 speaks about the kingdom of God belonging to children.

Why is this the case?  Did you ever wonder what about kids qualifies them for entry to the kingdom of God?  Or what special insight about life that kids have that make them good candidates for the kingdom of God?

Children understand love — from the moment an infant is born, his whole posture toward life is LOVE ME.

Elijah.  Totally helpless.  Lips are puckered.  Love me, feed me.  They cry, love me, I am hungry, my diapers are soiled.

This is the first point – children know that my mommy and daddy love me and that’s all that matters in life.  That without the love from my parents, I have no chance.  Love is life.  Life is love.

And if you understand that love is one prominent characteristic about the kingdom of God, then you are well on your way to entering the kingdom of God.

That is what Jesus says in Mark 12:28-34 that if you love God and love your neighbor, then you are not far from the kingdom of God.  In other words, love is central to kingdom living.

Problem: Stop Pursuing Love

But there’s a problem.  We know love is important and we live for love in our early years, but what happens?  We eventually grow out of it.

One of the greatest thrills of being a dad is when I come home and Timothy was about 2 years old.  I come home from work, I open the door and he stops whatever he was going and he comes running toward me, shouting ah-bah!

Now Timothy is 6 years old and I come home and he doesn’t even say hi.  He is playing with his legos or something and I have to threaten him and say come over and give me a hug and kiss or I will deduct a “surprise.”

A few more years later, my boys won’t even let me hold their hands, I bet.

Teenager – zero physical contact.  Teenagers say, I want to be my own man or woman.  No one can tell me what to do.  That’s when I will start practicing taekwondo again and become violent.

And so as adults, instead of love, we begin pursuing other things such as respect.

Why do we do this?  Because we realize from an early age that this world is not a loving place.  The kingdom of this world is all about proving that we are worthy of love.  We are not loved unless we are pretty or athletic or charismatic or smart.

For Caltech students, you cannot be loved unless you can tell math jokes that only other Caltech students would laugh at.  Just kidding.

That is why instead of pursuing the unconditional love of God and love others unconditionally, we end up pursuing cheaper substitutes like respect.

And if we are really honest with ourselves, we would admit that we are not really that respectable.  We seem very civilized and respectable on the outside, but is that really an accurate picture of who we are?

If we could hook up your brain to a contraption that projected all of your unfiltered thoughts onto a big screen and it was showed during freshman orientation, how do you think you would feel?

I don’t think anyone here could show themselves around campus anymore.  You’d probably transfer to another school.

We know we are not respectable and this reality of our true condition forces us to wear masks and people look at these masks and are fooled – wow, that person really is great, isn’t he?

(Testimony.)

The Bible says that we are sinners.  That is why no one can say they are respectable.  And that is why pursuing a life of respect is simply a false life.  The only solution to our problem of our true condition is unconditional love and that is found in the cross of Christ when we admit, Lord, this is who I am, you know how messed up I am, I need you.

And in that moment of clarity, we realize that God’s unconditional love is all I need, just like an infant to his parents.

Practical Application

Practically, take a look at your life.  Is love (loving God and loving others) the main pursuit of your life?  Don’t pursue a false life of respect.

Second observation about the kingdom of God — instead of saying that the Kingdom is a Banquet Feast or a Wedding Banquet, lets go with…

Principle 2: Kids Just Want to Party

The second reason why kindergarteners are well-equipped to enter the kingdom of God is because they instinctively want to have fun.

Kids love going to parties.  If I remind my kids that they have a bday party coming up on the weekend, I can gain at least a week of good behavior by threatening them, if you guys misbehave, I might not let them go to the party.  It really works.

And what is the most prominent feature of parties — joy!

Food and fellowship go hand in hand.  Eating good food w/ friends and family is my favorite time of the day.  Eating, talking, laughing.  That is the highest form of joy on this side of eternity.  And I think the kingdom of God will involve a lot of sitting around a table with a bunch of your loved ones and sharing a meal.

John 2 – wedding – that is supposed to be one of the happiest days of your life.  A
nd
it is no accident that the first miracle of Jesus’ is this kind of wedding celebration.  And the last portrait in Revelations is when Jesus, as THE bridegroom, will return to celebrate his final union with his bride, the church.

What a wonderful metaphor that brings together these two features about kingdom living, love and joy.  Not just a father and son relationship.  But Jesus joyfully taking his bride in a passionate embrace.  Love and joy are 2 very prominent features about the kingdom of God.

We already talked about love so I want to focus on joy.  This theme of joyous partying can be found all throughout the bible.

And I want to pause for a moment to ask, is this your conception of Christian living and what being part of this kingdom means to you?  Is joy a day to day reality for you?  If we are already citizens of this kingdom, then joy should be one dominant reality for all believers.

I often forget this because I tend to be introspective and so I feel like I need to repent all the time.  And sometimes I meet Christians who are always smiling and they are in a perpetual state of peace and in the back of my mind I am thinking, man, they must be shallow or something.  How can they not have a care in the world?  Or maybe they are just ignoring their sinfulness.  Or maybe they are just listening to sermons that only emphasize grace and not our responsibility to ask for forgiveness.

Repenting and forgiveness are just means to an end.  The end is a party.

And I wonder how Christians portray to the world what life in the kingdom is like?  I think the world sees a lot of legalism.  A lot of dos and donts.

One OT prof at my seminary would deliberately curse in class and make comments about southern baptists and their refusal to drink alcohol just to make a point that we care more about these regulations or moral behaviors than real life and death issues.  I think he had a point.  Is Christianity just gloom and doom? Is it just keeping your nose clean and gritting your teeth and bearing it so that you can escape hell?

No, the kingdom is a place of joyous feasting.  Tim Keller makes a point that non-Christians reject Christianity because they think Christianity is no fun and he says that they are rejecting faith on stupid grounds.  Because the promise of the kingdom is that it is going to be party that makes the best worldly party seem like a funeral.  The kingdom is about joy.

Luke 14:15-24 -talks about the kingdom of God as an invitation to a banquet.  But an odd thing happens.  The servant goes out to invite people but people give excuses why they cannot attend.

Not Going to the Banquet/Not Entering the Kingdom: Psychology of Excuses

I want to spend a few minutes exploring the psychology of these excuses.  Last week, we discussed how it is hard for the rich and the religious to enter the kingdom of God.  By looking a bit closer at these excuses, I think we can gain a better understanding why it is hard for some to enter the kingdom of God.

Who wouldn’t want to attend a party by the Creator of everything, including joy?  Yet, people make excuses.

The first excuse is I just bought a field.  You see the financial implication here.  In modern days, this would be a property or a home.  And it says I must go and see it.  Why must go?  Does he mean that if he waited until after the banquet, the house would be burned down?  No, but we are seeing something a bit off here.

The second excuse is I just bought 5 yoke of oxen.  And it says I am on my way to TRY it out.  Oxen doesn’t have a tight analogy in modern times.  But anything that can be tried out.  Maybe a new car, I want to take it on a ride around the block.  Or a new computer – I need to try it out and configure it and see how fast my operating system loads at bootup.

What is going on here?  Does he have to go see the house right now?  Does he have to try the oxen right now?  Is someone going to steal the oxen right now?  Are they like cows and he is afraid they might tip over and die if he doesn’t go try them out right now?

The third excuse is I just got married.  Ah, isn’t that special.  Surely, this is a legitimate excuse, or is it?

What is the psychology of these excuses?

It’s the presence of these ever-present distractions that we think require urgent attention that make it easy for us to not attend the banquet.  The more money you have, the more options you have.  The more options, the more distractions.  Just think about what to eat on the weekend?  There are endless choices of what to eat.

What about if you are shopping for a laptop, forget it.  There are a million manufacturers with a million different specifications.

We live distracted lives.  Just sitting in front of a computer for work all day, I get bombarded by work emails, chats from friends, jackie calling me on the phone just because she wants to hear my voice.

And you got facebook and I have to update my facebook once a year when something significant happens like Obama winning the election or the Phillies winning the world series.  But after I do that, then all my friends respond.  And then I feel guilty for ignoring them so I have to login to facebook again and comment.  It’s endless, the way technology vies for our immediate attention.

Nothing can wait anymore.  Everything is a pressing emergency.  We get emails and texts on our phone so we never have an excuse to delay our response.  We are all dictated by instant everything.

And when everything is urgent, nothing is urgent.  If everything seems important, then the thing that is really important, God, gets lost in the shuffle.

Those are the physical things like oxen and fields.  The last excuse is a spouse.  And if you think things can distract, how much more people can take up our time and energy?

Newlyweds have to spend time together before they can ease into their normal routine.  God understands, right?   For Jackie and I, we had each other as an excuse to put God as second fiddle (can you blame her for being distracted?).

And this lasted during our dating and into the early part of our marriage.  And God didn’t want this excuse to become permanent so he sent us on missions after a few months of marriage.  And if you need a cure for the newledwed excuse, go on missions but that is another message altogether.

New moms – they think, oh my goodness, what have I gotten myself into?  I have a kid.  What if he doesn’t eat enough?  Jackie’s sister was paranoid that her daughter was not eating enough and the doctor took one look at her and saw her chubby cheeks and the fat ripples and without even weighing her, she said, i think your daughter is fine.

What about my boss – I have to perform well and reach my goals so that I can get ahead.

Things distract and people distract infinitely more.

And this parable warns us that we can easily go through life and not even know that we have been making excuses all along not to come to God.  Pushing God to the backburner.

I have to check out my house, I have to test drive my new computer, I have to provide for my family and because of these seemingly harmless excuses, these end up being the very reasons why we don’t go to the banquet.

In every stage in life, you will be faced with many things and people that will make you feel like these require immediate attention.  God can wait.  He is not as real as these things or people or circumstances in my life.

And before you know it, your life has been one excuse after another and God says, I need to fill my house for the banquet feast.  If these people won’t come, invite the poor, the crippled, blind, lame.

Of course, the poor and the crippled and these kinds of people can have other excuses not to go to the banquet.  It could be their bitterness or anger at the world, it could be a victim complex.

But on the whole, I think the Bible seems to indicate that these people have far fewer excuses.  They receive the invitation and without hesitation, they head out toward the banquet and the banquet table is filled with these kinds of people who have little else, either little else to be distracted by, or little else to put their hope in.

Practical Application

What excuses am I making for why I am not joyful right now?  Examine them and see if these reasons we give to God do in fact require immediate attention.  Or is it that these reasons just make us feel like we have to attend to them right away when it is not urgent.

If it is the latter, then we have to learn to identify these reasons as mere excuses that are robbing us of God, his kingdom, feasting, partying characterized by unending love and joy.

Let’s pursue God, like little kindergarteners for Christ.

Intro: Summarize first 3 points

Part I: When did the kingdom of God begin, what is the kingdom of God, how do I enter the kingdom of God?

1. The kingdom of God is near – that’s what Jesus announces during his earthly ministry.  The kingdom is not quite here until the resurrection and then Acts begins with 40 days of Jesus speaking about the kingdom of God prior to his ascension.  The kingdom of God was inaugurated by the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.

2. The final picture of the kingdom of God is described in Rev. 21 as heaven coming down on earth, or a new heaven and a new earth.  The kingdom of God is not a heavenly place in the clouds that our souls go to escape the physical world and our flesh.  The kingdom of God when Jesus returns will be heaven coming down on earth, making a new heaven and a new earth.  We need to advance the kingdom of God on earth.  This means not just saving souls but doing our part to address poverty, social injustice and other “physical” issues.

3. How does one enter the kingdom of God? Through repentance and receiving forgiveness of sins.

Discussion Questions:

Why is it difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom of God?

Why is it difficult for the chief, priests and elders to enter the kingdom of God?

Practical applications?  (preach to me)

Luke 6:20
Mark 10:17-20

Rev 3:17

Mark 9:42-48

Luke 16:16

Part II: Obstacles to entering the kingdom of God and being forceful about entering it

4. It is very difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.

5. Chief priests, Pharisees and elders cannot enter the kingdom of God because they lack repentance, belief and fruit.

6. We need to preach forcefully as well as to be forceful and intentional about entering the kingdom of God (removing all obstacles to entering the kingdom of God).

4)     PART II: (OSTACLES) WEALTH AND THE DIFFICULTY OF ENTERING THE KINGDOM (LACK OF SURRENDER) + BLESSED ARE THE POOR

There are quite a few references in the Bible that say one major obstacle of entering the kingdom of God is wealth.  Mark 10 – the passage about the rich young ruler ends with Jesus saying, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

I want to explore a moment why having wealth makes it hard to enter the kingdom of God.

Luke, the writer of Acts, makes an interesting statement in Luke 6:20, which is a famous verse in the Beatitudes.  He says, Luke 6:20 — Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

In other versions of the Beatitudes, there is the added phrase, blessed are the poor IN SPIRIT.

And I think many people make the mistake of seeing words like poor and we automatically append “IN SPIRIT.”  While I believe there is a close tie between being poor materially speaking and spiritual poverty, by spiritualizing everything, we fall into the trap of glossing over the warning of not entering for those who are rich in a material sense.

If I threw out $2 into the audience, I bet most of you would not think twice about grabbing for it.  I doubt that a fight would break out because $2 is like spare change.

Yet $2 is what 53/100 people in the world make in a day.  $2 is the average daily income of people living in this world.

What if I threw out two $100 bills – then some people would be fighting for it.  That’s the average salary in this country – $200 a day translates to $4,000 a month.

Does it strike you that we make 100 times what the average person on this planet makes?

Or maybe more striking is if you were to ask many people living in America, whether or not they think they are rich, many I believe would say no.  It’s shocking that although we live in such affluence relative to the rest of the world, none of us feels like we are rich.

Rather, it seems most people I know who are working and raising a family, esp. in California, are stressed with finances.

1 Tim 6:10 warns that “For the love of money is the root of all evil.”  There is nothing wrong with money itself.  But the love of money is the ROOT, the SOURCE of evil.  Money does weird things to us that make it very hard to enter the kingdom of God.

Luke 16:13 – “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

Did you ever wonder about this verse?  Somehow, money is elevated to the same level as God himself.

God and money – one observation is that both of these things elicit a similar reaction in us.  The more you taste of God or money, the more you want it.  You taste the eternal, the infinite God, you have a genuine encounter with him and one taste is not enough.  You want more of him.  We call this spiritual hunger.

But money has the same effect on us as God to the believer.  You have some money and instead of being content with what we have, we want more and more.  We call this greed.  And there is no end to human greed – history can attest to this fact.

A brother shared with me recently that the center that he has been volunteering to help low income and homeless people get some practical help with academics so that they can earn a high school degree and make a better future for themselves.  And one of the volunteers made hand-made notebooks for the rest of the volunteers and her students.  And this brother commented that when he got this notebook, he thought, it’s no big deal, he didn’t really need it and he just threw it in the bottom of his bag.  And he watched as one of the students receive the very same notebook and she was so so thankful.  And this brother remarked, there was such a gap between their responses.

And I thought about it and it made me sad how in this example, money clearly damaged this brother’s ability to be properly thankful.  If we get socks for our bday, we would say, ah, it’s no big deal.  But if we get an Ipod or a laptop, now that’s another story, we’d be thankful.

My two oldest boys, Timothy and Jeremiah, are 6 and 3 respectively and I have this routine with them that I reward them for good behavior throughout the week for various “surprises” on the weekend.  And as kids, they are easy to please, I can offer them a mcdonalds breakfast or a smoothie for lunch or I said I’ll take them on a bike ride or play soccer with them.  I want to make the most of the time now because I know I won’t be able to get away with theses kinds of surprises when they get into their teens.  And growing up in this country, I know it will be an uphill battle for my kids not to get spoiled by money.

We are rich and with these material blessings, but how does this translate to us having a hard time entering the kingdom of God?

I think this is related to my second point, not only is it hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God, it is hard for the religious.  I think there is a commonality between these 2 groups – the rich and the religious.

5)     PART II: (OBSTACLES) CHIEF PRIESTS, PHARISEES AND ELDERS AND LACK OF REPENTANCE AND BELIEF + EXPECTATION OF FRUIT BEARING

In Matthew 21, Jesus is addressing the chief priests, pharisees and elders.  In Matthew 21:32, we read, Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you
di
d not repent and believe him.”  Then in Matthew 21:43, it says, “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”

What make it easier for the poor, the tax collectors and the prostitutes to enter the kingdom of God?

Put another way, why is it hard for the rich and the religious to enter the kingdom of God?

To answer this, I want to study one final passage.  A person who was both rich and religious and because of these things, he walked away sad and missed his opportunity to enter the kingdom of God.

Mark 10:17-31 – rich young ruler

17As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18″Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'” 20″Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” 21Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. 23Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” 24The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”  27Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” 28Peter said to him, “We have left everything to follow you!” 29″I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. 31But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

The rich young ruler – I want to underscore the fact that this young man wanted to follow Jesus and enter the kingdom of God.  He ran up to Jesus, not the other way around.  But there are 2 problems.

First, he’s rich.  Second, he’s very religious (v.19-20).

He’s a good kid.  He didn’t commit many overt sins, he kept all the major commandments, probably like many of us here.  We never stole or committed adultery, we listened to our parents growing up, we studied hard, we never went to prison, never intentionally hurt anyone.  And this rich young ruler says, I have kept all the commandments since I was a boy.

But Jesus gives him one final test.  He says, one thing you lack, go sell everything you have and give to the poor, then follow me.  I used to read this in a broad sense – for him, he couldn’t surrender his money but for me, I lack other things, other things I have a hard time surrendering.  So I generalized this one thing to mean anything I cannot surrender.  But these days, I’ve been thinking, this is a direct question, I and the rest of us in America, should be asking ourselves.  One thing you lack, go sell everything you have and give t the poor and you will have treasure in heaven, then come follow me.

This doesn’t mean that all of us have to literally sell everything and live in Africa as a missionary.  But it is a good question to wrestle with, esp as elites in the most prosperous country in the world.

Why?  Because both money and being a moral/religious person, both of these things make us believe that we are in control of our lives.  It’s an issue of control.  Money makes us feel powerful.  It says, when the going gets tough, don’t worry, I have my savings account to fall back on.  The same for religion.  Religion makes us feel like we are in control of our lives.  The Pharisees had life boiled down to regulations that in their own power they could obey and feel powerful.

Both money and religious rule keeping make us feel powerful because we maintain control.  If you are poor, you have zero control.  You can’t even guarantee your next meal.  For a prostitute or tax collector, you know you are hurting people and hurting yourself.  You can’t help it.  You are out of control.

That is why for the rich young ruler, having money and having religion, he was in total control of his life.  And when Jesus said, sell everything, basically Jesus was inviting him to give up the control of his life which was tied up in his money and religion.

And for us who grew up in this country and even grew up in the church, we are at great risk of not entering the kingdom of God.  It’s an issue of control.

Rev 3:17 – 17You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”

This is our true spiritual state.  Whether you grew up in the slums of Calcutta or a mansion in Manhattan, whether you went to church your whole life or you grew up in total immorality, this is our state.  We are wretched, poor, blind and naked.

It is interesting that this verse begins with “I am rich, I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.”  Not needing a thing includes not needing God.

Money and religion masks our true and desperate need for God.  We cover up our spiritual poverty with nice houses and nice smiles on Sundays, but inside we know we are wretched, poor, blind and naked.

How desperate are you for God today?  If not, perhaps your wealth, your upbringing, your socio-economic status, your regular church attendance, perhaps these things are giving you a false sense of security and control over your life.

As I wrap up, I want to share one song and a few verses.
“Somewhere In The Middle” (Casting Crowns)

Somewhere between the hot and the cold
Somewhere between the new and the old
Somewhere between who I am and who I used to be
Somewhere in the middle, You’ll find me

Somewhere between the wrong and the right
Somewhere between the darkness and the light
Somewhere between who I was and who You’re making me
Somewhere in the middle, You’ll find me

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control

Fearless warriors in a picket fence, reckless abandon wrapped in common sense
Deep water faith in the shallow end and we are caught in the middle
With eyes wide open to the differences, the God we want and the God who is
But will we trade our dreams for His or are we caught in the middle
Are we caught in the middle

Somewhere between my heart and my hands
Somewhere between my faith and my plans
Somewhere between the safety of the boat and the crashing waves

Somewhere between a whisper and a roar
Somewhere between the altar and the door
Somewhere between contented peace and always wanting more
Somewhere in the middle You’ll find me

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control

Lord, I feel You in this place and I know You’re by my side
Loving me even on these nights when I’m caught in the middle
(end)
I like the line — Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control
We want God, we confess he is the best thing in our lives, we know

that we ought to surrender everything to God, but we want to walk the fine line, how much can i surrender without losing all control?

6)     PART II: PREACHING FORCEFULLY, BEING  FORCEFUL/INTENTIONAL TO ENTER + REMOVING ALL OBSTACLES TO ENTERING KINGDOM OF GOD

Luke 16:16 – “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.”

Finally, to enter the kingdom of God, we must be forceful and intentional.  Mark 9 follows this same idea.

Mark 9:42-48 – 42″And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. 43If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.[c] 45And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.[d] 47And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48where  ” ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’

Part of being forceful is removing all obstacles.  What are obstacles that make you feel like you are in control?  What are some concrete reasons why you are not desperate for God?

Let’s take an inventory and remove these obstacles that falsely make us believe we don’t really need God.

 

Last week we covered Acts 1.  Verse for today is Acts 1:3 – 3After 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.

Q1: What are some general impressions or misconceptions about the kingdom of God?

Q2: What are some things you notice about the kingdom by reading various passages in the NT?

We will be covering the kingdom of God over the next 4 weeks.  Here are 12 observations related to the kingdom of God.

Part 1: When did the kingdom of God begin, what is the kingdom of God, how do I enter the kingdom of God?

1. The kingdom of God is near but not quite here during Jesus’ public ministry.  The kingdom of God was inaugurated by the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.

2. The final picture of the kingdom of God is described in Rev. 21 as heaven coming down on earth, or a new heaven and a new earth.

3. One can enter the kingdom of God through repentance and receiving forgiveness of sins.

Part 2: Obstacles to entering the kingdom of God and being forceful about entering it

4. It is very difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.

5. Chief priests, Pharisees and elders cannot enter the kingdom of God because they lack repentance, belief and fruit.

6. We need to preach forcefully as well as to be forceful and intentional about entering the kingdom of God (removing all obstacles to entering the kingdom of God).

Part 3: Feasting, Unity, Joy, Love, Children

7. The kingdom of God is a place of feasting, unity and joy.

8. You need to be childlike to enter the kingdom of God.

9. Centrality of love in the kingdom of God.

Part 4: Powerful spreading of kingdom, urgency of spreading it, expect opposition

10. The kingdom of God is power and it grows powerfully.

11. Urgency of proclaiming the kingdom of God and focusing on people who are open to its message.

12. There will be opposition when you preach the kingdom of God.

Today: 3 questions – when did the kingdom of God begin, what is the kingdom of God, how do I enter the kingdom of God?

PART I: KINGDOM IS NEAR, NOT YET HERE (during Jesus’ ministry)

When did kingdom of God begin?

The simplest definition of the kingdom of God is wherever Jesus is king.  But then this would mean that as soon as Jesus arrived, so did the kingdom.  This is not what Jesus said.

Mark 1:14-15 –  14After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15″The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”

During Jesus ministry, we read that the kingdom was not here quite yet, but it was near.  With the start of Jesus’ ministry and calling of the first disciples, the first thing Jesus declares is that the kingdom of God is near.   So kingdom of God is an important theme throughout the gospels.

Word choice used here is proclaiming the good news.  Then a reference to the kingdom of God being near.

Proclaiming the good news = preaching the gospel = preaching the kingdom of God

Acts 1:3 – focus is on kingdom of God.

Rest of Acts, in several places, the focus is the kingdom of God.

In order to have a kingdom, you need a king with actual authority.

Great Commission.  All authority in heaven and on earth.  Creation – humanity had authority over creation.  With the Fall, humanity lost that authority.  Satan became the new authority on earth.  But at the cross, Jesus bound up Satan and reclaimed the authority on earth and gave it back to His church.

Satan is defeated but he is still kicking and screaming.  And so in this life, we will experience this class of 2 kingdoms.  The kingdom of this world or of Satan or the powers and principalities and the kingdom of God.

And the cross event is the decisive moment which inaugurated the kingdom of God.

2) PART I: NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH

What is the kingdom of God?  Or maybe let’s start with where do we get our conceptions regarding the kingdom of God?

For me, it’s hymns and funerals.

Abide with Me – Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away; Heaven’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows fleee

Close to Thee – Lead me through the vale of shadows, bear me over life’s fitful sea, then the gate of life eternal may i enter, Lord, with thee

Day by Day – Help me, Lord when toil and trouble meeting, ever to take, as from a father’s hand, one by one, the days, the moments fleeting, till i reach the promised land

Higher Ground – My heart has no desire to stay where doubts arise and fears dismay; though some may dwell where these abound, my prayer, my aim is higher ground; I want to live above the world, thou satan’s darts at me are hurled; for faith has caught the joyful sound, the song of saints on higher ground.
At funearls, we hear sermons about how the deceased has gone to a better place.  A place where our soul can rest and no longer needs to suffer and struggle and strain.

How many people think, the kingdom of God or heaven or whatever you call it, is a place that our soul goes to when we die?  How many think the kingdom of God is going to be a transformed earth?

I think the answer, provided Jesus doesn’t return before we die, is both.

God’s redemption plan unfolding throughout the dawn of time: OT – God as king of Israel (theocracy), people reject God and want human king (monarchy), whole time God is working with a single nation and interacting with them in human history.  From that point, a Messiah is promised from the line of David.  Davidic king.  Jesus arrives.  He hints at a coming kingdom here and there throughout his ministry.  Then he is crucified on a cross and during the 40 days before he ascends, he concentrates all of his teachings on the kingdom of God.

I wish the Bible were more clear as to what precise message Jesus gave during those 40 days.  Unfortunately, the Bible doesn’t reveal it but whatever it was, it was so clear that God’s church in the first century preached boldly about the kingdom of God.  And from the rest of the NT literature as well as Jesus’ own words in the gospels I think we can piece together a pretty good picture regarding this kingdom of God.  And I think one place we have to start is at the end of the Bible, Rev 21.

Rev 21 – 1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

I think it is important to know that heaven is going to come down on earth.  Why is this important?

Plato – body is a prison of the soul.  What I do in the flesh is irrelevant.  What matters is my soul.  Gnostics – heresy that was prevalent in the time of Acts in the first century – divine souls trapped in a material world.

40 days after the resurrection, Jesus made it a point to appear before his disciples and various crowds of people.  He
ate with them.  He drank with them.  He told Thomas to touch him and so I think we forget that Jesus resurrecting is a spiritual as well as a physical event.

Q: What  is the kingdom of God? A: heaven coming down on earth or new heaven and new earth.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION: CONCRETE OBEDIENCE MATTERS
This is an obvious point, but the way we live in this world matters.  We have the same danger of Gnostic tendency in our society by an overemphasis on faith or belief or doctrine or orthodoxy.  As long as I believe the right thing, I’m okay.  With this model, the focus is the mind.  Correct understanding of Scripture.

And if this physical world doesn’t matter, then I say yes, our soul is all that counts.  If it is only about our souls, then why should I care about society.  Everything in this world is going to fade anyway. Why care about the poor or injustice?  This fallen world will be completely obliterated, right?  It’s so easy to fall ito this mindset.  It is just me and God and feeling devotionally close to God, that’s what I need to take care of.

Being a Christian has nothing to do with my role in society.  It has no say in the actual decisions I make.  It has no bearing on what vocation I choose.  I just go to church on Sundays, I share my faith when I can to people I like, I don’t steal or commit overt sins, I’m okay.

But God says, no, this world that is fallen and messed up, I am going to redeem.  I am going to redeem humanity, and all of creation and in fact my heaven is going to come on earth and I am going to lay a new heaven and new earth.

This has radical implications.  The choices I make in this material word actually matter.  It is not okay as a Christian and I was living in the era of slavery and for me to not say anything about it.  It is not okay for me to discuss the bible with someone and then draw the line and say, for all of your physical needs, you are on your own.

Christian life, in the end, is much larger than me and God.  It is about advancing God’s kingdom on earth.  And this kingdom is going to be about light, and justice, and grace, and peace and forgiveness and worshipping around a throne with people from every nation and tongue.  The kingdom of God that is clashing and breaking into this kingdom of the world tears down all barriers of racism, and social stratification and economics and culture.

Jesus says in Rev 21 that he is going to make everything new.  New heaven and new earth.

3) PART I: CONTENT OF PREACHING: HOW TO ENTER THIS KINGDOM THROUGH REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS OF SINS/BORN AGAIN

How do I enter the kingdom of God?

Luke 24:45-49 – 45Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

We enter the kingdom of God through repentance and the forgiveness of sins.

This highlights humanity’s chief problem.  We are sinners.  And sin is not mainly a moral failing.  Sin is a relational problem.  It speaks about breaking our relationship and rebelling against God our Heavenly Father.

John 3:3
In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

Q: How do I enter the kingdom of God?  A: Through repentance and receiving the forgiveness of our sins. Keep that in mind as we read the next set of verses.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION: ENTERING KINGDOM OF GOD – LIFELONG JOURNEY – TOO MUCH STRESS ON SINGULAR MOMENT OF DECISION

1 Corinthians 6
9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders
10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

How do we reconcile gaining entry into the kingdom of God through repentance and forgiveness of sins with those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Similar language is used in Rev 21

Rev 21
6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Rev 21
22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Problem is that there is a disconnect between what we profess – I am a sinner – and the way we live.

You have entry but later on based on how you live, you can lose your inheritance.

As sinners, we fall short – repentance and receiving God’s forgiveness is a daily process.

So much emphasis is placed on a moment of salvation, that salvation decision.  Esp among Baptists who come from a tradition where you have to be at an age where you can willfully decide to become a believer and be baptized rather than being baptized as an infant.

What we can learn is that salvation is a lifelong journey more than it is a singular decision.

God is the judge – only God knows whether someone is saved or not.  These actions or adultery or greed are indications then that their decision for Christ was not genuine to begin with.

You can’t look at your life or judge another person by seeing a singular point in time.  But over the course of your life, is there a validation of our decision for Christ through our actions and deeds?  Some call this sanctification.  Others call this fruit.

Galatians 5:16-26

Ephesians 5:5

He who lovercomes, holds onto the basics.  The impure cannot enter the kingdom of God but every time we repent we are covered by the blood of Jesus and we are made pure.
And out of that forgiveness and grace and gratitude, fruit flows out as a natural consequence.  And this fruit – validates authenticity of your decision for Christ

In Phil 2:12, it says to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

Don’t be smug or be overly confident about a decision you made 5-10 years ago.  The important thing is today, have you repented and asked God for forgiveness?  Do your actions demonstrate a growing love for holiness and righteousness and do you have increasing love and burden for others.  Has the lustful things of this world still gripped you or do you notice a weakening grip of all that glistens and allures us in the world?  Has your tastes been elevated to desire the things of God?

It is hard to tell because maybe you had a bad day or a bad week or a bad year.  But over the course of a period of time, is there an increasing trajectory in your life toward fruit bearing?
Are you different in terms of your character or your love or your heart of serving or overcoming sins now more than you were 6 months ago?  Are we more selfless this year than last year?  If so, can we point to concrete ways?  I think we need to start asking ourselves these types of tough questions.