C. BOSTIAN
MEET YOU AT THE BOTTOM PT.3 5/4/03
DEVELOPING A KINGDOM
PHILOSOPHY
Luke 17:20-21
20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when
the kingdom of God should come, he answered them
and
said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there!
for,
behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
I
BEGAN THIS SERIES ON THE KINGDOM OF GOD A FEW WEEKS AGO WITH THE EMPHASIS THAT
GOD AND HIS KINGDOM IS NOT
LIMITED
TO A GEOGRAPHICAL PLACE THAT WE WILL GO TO ONE DAY IN THE NEAR FUTURE. WE HAVE
BECOME OBSESSED WITH ESCAPING FROM OUR EARTHLY PROBLEMS AND ENTERING INTO THE
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN FREE FROM SICKNESS, PAIN AND SUFFERING. THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT THE KINGDOM
OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU AND THAT YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE THE ATMOSPHERE AND
ENVIORNMENT AROUND YOU AND BRING THE
KINGDOM OF GOD TO THIS EARTH THROUGH YOUR CALLING AND OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S WILL. WE ARE TO PRAY: THY KINGDOM COME THY WILL BE
DONE. YOU SEE, WHEN THE WILL OF GOD IS
BEING DONE HIS KINGDOM HAS COME INTO THE EARTH. SO, ITS NOT, I’LL MEET YOU AT THE TOP BUT RATHER I’LL MEET YOU AT
THE BOTTOM WHERE HURTING PEOPLE NEED A TOUCH OF GOD’S LOVE AND POWER. GOD WANTS US HERE ON EARTH TO FINISH THE
WORK THAT HE HAS CALLED US TO DO AND WHEN THAT IS ACCOMPLISHED HIS KINGDOM HAS
COME AND HIS WILL HAS BEEN DONE ON EARTH EVEN AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
Luke 11:1-2 (KJV)
And it
came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one
of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his
disciples. [2] And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art
in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in
heaven, so in earth.
HOW MANY OF YOU KNOW THAT Life is filled with
paradoxes. Now a paradox is simply a statement or idea that appears to be
contradictory. there are paradoxes in
everyday life. For example: We’ve
learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life, but
not life to years. We’ve done larger things, but not better things. We build
more computers, but we communicate
less. These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, tall people and short character, steep profits but shallow
relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier
houses
but broken homes.
Rom 14:17
17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink;
but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Col 1:12-14
12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made
us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath
delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the
kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even
the forgiveness of sins:
If real life is full of paradoxes, it shouldn’t
surprise us that our spiritual life has certain paradoxes in it as well. SO,
Today we’re going to talk about the paradox of God’s Kingdom. ONE OF THE BASIC
PARADOXES OF GOD’S KINGDOM IS THAT THE KOG IS A FUTURE REALITY BUT IT IS ALSO
AN EXPERIENCE IN THIS PRESENT LIFE. THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS THE RULE OF GOD IN
THE HEARTS AND LIVES OF THOSE WHO YIELD THEMSELVES TO HIS PRESENT CONTROL, BUT
IT IS ALSO A FUTURE HOPE THAT ENCOMPASSES AND EMBRACES ALL PEOPLE.
1 Tim. 6:13-16 (MsgB)
I'm
charging you before the life-giving God and before
Christ, who took his stand before Pontius Pilate
and didn't
give an inch: [14] Keep this command to the letter,
and don't
slack off. Our Master, Jesus Christ, is on his way.
[15] He'll
show up right on time, his arrival guaranteed by
the Blessed
and Undisputed Ruler, High King, High God. [16]
He's the
only one death can't touch, his light so bright no
one can get
close. He's never been seen by human eyes—human eyes
can't take him in! Honor to him, and eternal rule!
Rev. 17:14 (MsgB)
They
will go to war against the Lamb but the Lamb will defeat them, proof that he is
Lord over all lords, King over all kings, and those with him will be the
called, chosen, and faithful."
So let’s define the kog in simple laymans’ terms.
WEBSTER’S DIC. GIVES AS ITS FIRST DEFINITION OF KINGDOM AS THE RANK, QUALITY,
STATE OR ATTRIBUTES OF A KING; ROYAL AUTHORITY; DOMINION, MONARCHY OR
KINGSHIP. THE PRIMARY MEANING OF BOTHE
THE HEBREW MALKUTH AND THE N.T BASILEIA IS THE RANK, SOVERIGNTY
AND AUTHORITY EXERCISED BY A KING. A
BASILEIA MAY INDEED BE A REALM OVER WHICH A SOVERIGN EXERCISES HIS AUTHORITY
AND IT MAY BE THE PEOPLE WHO BELONG TO THAT REALM BUT THESE ARE SECONDARY AND DERVIED
MEANINGS. FIRST OF ALL A KINGDOM IS THE
AUTHORITY TO RULE AND THE SOVERIGTNTY
OF THE KING. WHEN THE WORD OF GOD
REFERS TO THE KOG IT ALWAYS REFERS TO THE REIGN OF GOD, HIS RULE, HIS
SOVERIGNTY AND NOT TO THE REALM IN WHICH IT IS EXERCISED.
1. FIRST OF ALL THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS LIKE A Lamp.
Mark 4:9-11
9 Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear,
let him hear."
10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others
around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, "The secret of
the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside
everything is said in parables
Mark 4:21-23
21 He said to them, "Do you bring in a lamp to
put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on its stand? 22 For
whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant
to be brought out into the open.
23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."
A lamp in biblical time was a lot like the lantern of
today. It was a clay jar with a wick
and oil and it was used to give light to a dark room. So the thought goes that people don’t bring a lamp into a room
and hide it under a bed but put it on a lampstand so that light my fill the
room. Jesus is the light of the world
but when he came into the world the first time that light cAme concealed in a
person, as a baby born in an obscure rural part of the world. Jesus didn’t come
the first time to consummate God’s Kingdom, but he did come to introduce
God’s kingdom into our world IN A COVERT WAY.
HE SPOKE IN PARABLES AND RIDDLES TO THE CROWDS BUT REVEALED HIMSELF TO
THE SMALL GROUP OF HIS CLOSEST FOLLOWERS. that might lead us to think that
God’s Kingdom is intended to be hidden and concealed, that we too should keep
our mouths shut about it. This is the first paradox. EVEN THOUGH GOD’S KINGDOM
CAME TO OUR WORLD CONCEALED, GOD WANTS US TO MAKE IT KNOWN by two things: first
by living the life and by speaking
the word of god with authority and love.
Paul says: so let your light shine in:
Phil 2:14-16
14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons
of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among
whom ye shine as lights in the world;
16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may
Phil 2:14-16
14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons
of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among
whom ye shine as lights in the world;
16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may
2. The next parable that portrays the kog is A Scale
Mark 4:23-25
23 if anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."
24 "Consider carefully what you hear," he
continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you-- and
even more.
25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not
have, even what he has will be taken from him."
Then Jesus compares God’s kingdom to a scale by which
we measure something. In the Greek, v. 24 literally says, "Look at what
you hear." Now think about that: "Look at what you hear." That’s
impossible to do. To tell us to look with our eyes at what we hear is an
oxymoron, its a paradox in itself. That statement is meant to shock us into
examining how we listen. Now the hearing
in this context is listening to Jesus and his kingdom message, especially as it
relates to the parables. How do we hear Jesus’ message? Well with the measure
that we use in our hearing, that determines the measure we receive in
understanding. If we have some understanding of Jesus’ message, we’ll be given
more. But if we have no understanding of his kingdom message, then we’ll get
nothing. You see, This short parable is a challenge to invest ourselves in
listening. So, Here’s the second paradox. EVEN THOUGH GOD’S KINGDOM IS
DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND, WE CAN UNDERSTAND it WHEN WE INVEST OURSELVES INTO the
study of god’s word.
2 Tim 2:15
15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a
workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Jesus began telling these parables at a crucial time in his life. His
popularity was skyrocketing, and crowds of people were flocking to Jesus from
all corners of ancient Israel. But most people came to Jesus with their own
agenda, with their own preconceived opinions about how Jesus should bring God’s
kingdom to the world. They came with their own assumptions and prejudices, they
came with their own vision of God’s kingdom. And so Jesus told parables to sort
out the real seekers from the mere opportunists.
Mark 4:10-13 (MsgB)
When
they were off by themselves, those who were close
to him, along with the Twelve, asked about the
stories.
[11] He told them, "You've been given insight
into God's kingdom—you know how it works. But to those who can't
see it yet, everything comes in stories, creating
readiness,
nudging them toward receptive insight. [12] These
are
people— Whose eyes are open but don't see a thing,
Whose
ears are open but don't understand a word, Who avoid
making an about-face and getting forgiven."
[13] He continued, "Do you see how this story works? All my stories work
this way.
A person who was a genuine seeker would listen to a parable and yearn to
understand more. But someone with their own agenda would grow impatient with
the parables, and they’d walk away without any understanding. The parables were
kind of likeriddles designed to shock people out of their assumptions and
agendas and to help them set aside everything they thought they knew so
they could really listen to Jesus’ message
about the kog.
The parables are like that: A person must invest
himself into the teachings of Jesus to get anything out of them. We must invest
ourselves into our own pursuit of Jesus. we must take the risk to trust him
because We can’t sit on the sidelines forever scrutinizing and analyzing. We
must cast aside our assumptions and agendas, opening ourselves to his WILL AND
PURPOSE and to THE PURSUIT OF HIS kingdom. When we do that, the door will open,
and much more understanding will come IN. But until we do that, we’ll be
frustrated and the door will stay closed.
So even though God’s kingdom is hard to understand, the paradox is that
we will understand it when we invest ourselves into it.
3. THE NEXT PARABLE OF THE KOG IS LIKENED UNTO Growing Seed (Mark
4:26-29)
Mark 4:26-29 (MsgB)
Then
Jesus said, "God's kingdom is like seed thrown on
a field by a man [27] who then goes to bed and
forgets about it. The seed sprouts and grows—he has no idea how it happens.
[28] The earth does it all without his help: first
a green
stem of grass, then a bud, then the ripened grain.
[29] When the grain is fully formed, he
reaps—harvest time!
Next Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a seed.
Since Jesus nowhere interprets this parable for us, people differ on exactly
what this parable is trying to tell us about God’s kingdom. Most people seem to
agree that the key phrase in this story is in v. 28, the phrase "all by
itself." The Greek word behind this phrase is the word automatos. It’s
where we get our English word "automatic" from, and it means
"without visible cause." Even though the farmer plants the seeds and
reaps the harvest, the growth in between is "without visible cause."
the coming of God’s Kingdom to our world through Jesus is like a seed that’s
been planted. A small and insignificant seed, buried in the ground, unseen
after its buried. It’s growth is secret and mysterious. first the stalk, then
the head, then the full kernel.
John 12:24 (MsgB)
"Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried
in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any
more than
a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts
and
reproduces itself many times over.
The harvest is the consummation of the kingdom when Christ comes again. The
harvest is that time when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our
Lord, as the book of Revelation promises. It’s that time when evil is
conquered, when hurts are healed, when victims are vindicated, when the books
of the universe are balanced. And RIGHT NOW we live in the in between time, in
between the coming and consummation of God’s kingdom, in between the first and
second coming of Jesus Christ. And like farmers we are to plant seeds. God
wants us to be faithful to share the kingdom message of his Son, Jesus Christ.
As we share the good news of Christ with all kinds of people, the seed falls on
different kinds of soils. But the seeds grow on their own, automatically,
without
visible cause.
1 Cor. 3:5-9 (MsgB)
Who do
you think Paul is, anyway? Or Apollos, for that matter? Servants, both of
us—servants who waited on you as you gradually learned to entrust your lives to
our mutual Master. We each carried out our servant assignment. [6] I planted the seed, Apollos watered the
plants, but God made you grow. [7] It's
not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this
process but God,
who makes things grow. [8] Planting and watering are
menial servant jobs at minimum wages. [9] What
makes
them worth doing is the God we are serving. You
happen
to be God's field in which we are working.
So here’s the third paradox. EVEN THOUGH GOD CALLS US
TO SHARE THE KINGDOM MESSAGE, GOD’S KINGDOM WILL COME APART FROM HUMAN
EFFORTS. The farmer will always be
nothing more than a planter and a harvester. The farmer will never be a grower,
because seeds grow apart from the farmer’s efforts. The germination, growth,
maturity, and production of a seed is built into the seed and the soil, and it
happens apart from human cause. We can study the process, we can assign technical
scientific names to the process, but we can’t create the process. You see, This
parable is designed to balance us between passivity and action. On the one
hand, God doesn’t want us to be passive as it pertains to God’s Kingdom. He
calls us to plant the seeds, to share the message, to shine the light with our
words, our actions, and our community.
As a church we’re committed to planting seeds to reaching out to hurting people
in our community with the love of god and the good news of jesus christ. We plant seeds through our compassion for
the lost and for the bewildered believer
Matthew 9:36-38 (KJV)
But when
he saw the multitudes, he was moved
with compassion on them, because they fainted, and
were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. [37] Then
saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is
plenteous,
but the labourers are few; [38] Pray ye therefore
the Lord of
the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into
his harvest.
God doesn’t want us to confuse our seed planting with
the ushering in of God’s kingdom. God’s kingdom will come without visible
cause, apart from all human efforts.
This parable warns us against trying to bring about the consummation of
God’s Kingdom with our own efforts. It warns us of thinking that a particular
political party or political platform will usher in God’s rule. It warns us
about thinking that building bigger churches will usher in God’s kingdom. It
warns us about thinking that our missions work will usher in God’s kingdom.
Don’t get me wrong: God wants us to be faithful to plant the seeds of his good
news. God calls us to a life of active discipleship, actively following Jesus
Christ as our King and Lord. But the paradox is that the consummation of God’s
kingdom will come about apart from our human efforts
4. And then finally, the kingdom of god is like
a Mustard seed or like a mustard Plant
Mark 4:30-34
30 Again he said, "What shall we say the
kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is
like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground.
32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the
largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air
can perch in its shade." 33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word
to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them
without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he
explained everything.
Finally Jesus compares God’s Kingdom to a mustard
plant. Now a mustard seed is so small that you almost can’t see it without a
magnifying glass. Now tech-nically, it’s not the smallest seed in the world,
but Jesus isn’t giving a botany lecture here. Jesus knows that when people in
his world were describing someThing really small, they’d say, "It’s as small as a
mustard seed." So he uses the smallest seed in their ex-perience,
something that was a symbol for extreme smallness. AND Yet this almost
microscopic seed grows into a large bush, a bush that often reaches six to ten
feet tall. So what starts out almost unseen grows into a large plant. It’s so big that even birds take shelter
in it.
Now that detail about birds seems insignificant, but really that image of birds
of the air taking shelter in a plant is from the Old Testament. In the book of
Ezekiel in the Old Testament the nation of Israel is pictured as a large plant
and the other nations are described as the birds of the air. Ezekiel looks
forward to a time when the birds of the air take refuge in the branches of Israel,
and this word picture looks forward to that time when Israel lives out its
calling to bring the light of God to all the nations. In other words, the birds
of the air here are telling us that this mustard plant isn’t just Israel
becoming bigger, but that the kingdom of God is going to be a worldwide
kingdom, with people from all the nations
of
the world.
Rev. 7:9-10 (MsgB)
I looked
again. I saw a huge crowd, too huge to count.
Everyone was there—all nations and tribes, all races and languages. And
they were standing, dressed in white robes
and waving palm branches, standing before the
Throne and
the Lamb [10] and heartily singing: Salvation to
our
God on his Throne! Salvation to the Lamb!
So here we find the fourth paradox. EVEN THOUGH GOD’S KINGDOM STARTS SMALL, IT
WILL EVENTUALLY BECOME A WORLD-WIDE REIGN. What starts out as small,
insignificant, almost unseen becomes something huge in both size and scope.
It’s tempting for us to look at the size of the worldwide Christian community
today and equate that with the mustard plant. It’s temping for us to look at
how in the first century Church started in ancient Israel with just 120 people,
but today 33% of the world’s six billion people consider themselves to be
Christians. Look at how the mustard seed has grown, we say. It’s tempting for
us to look at the size of our megachurches and universities, the size of our
buildings and budgets, and to think that this is the mustard plantAND YET WE
ARE TOLD NOT TO DESPISE THE DAY OF SMALL THINGS. EVERYTHING BIG IN GOD BEGINS SMALL
Zech. 4:8-10 (MsgB)
After
that, the Word of God came to me: [9] "Zerubbabel started rebuilding this
Temple and he will complete it. That will be your confirmation that
God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me to you. [10] Does anyone dare despise this day
of small beginnings? They'll change their tune when they see Zerubbabel setting
the last stone in place!"
But the mustard plant in this story isn’t the size of our Christianity, it’s
the consummation of God’s kingdom in our world. It’s that time when evil is
judged and tears are wiped away. It’s that time when there’s a multitude
gathered around the throne of God from every nation, every language, every
people, and together in one voice they lift up their praise to God. And even
though the Christian faith is big in some places, the mustard plant still
hasn’t grow to full maturity. This paradox teaches us to beware of being too
impressed with bigness. We tend to be overly impressed with bigness, especially
we who live in the United States. We
study huge churches to find the secret to their success; we don’t study small
churches. We want thousands to come forward at an outreach event, not just
hundreds. This paradox reminds us to not
despise small beginnings. Often it’s the IN THE small THINGS where God is working the most powerfully.
1 Cor. 1:26-31 (MsgB)
Take a
good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don't see many of "the brightest
and the best" among you, not many
influential, not many from high-society
families. [27] Isn't it obvious that
God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits
and abuses, [28] chose these
"nobodies" to expose the hollow pretensions of the
"somebodies"? [29] That makes
it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. [30] Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh
start—comes from God by way of
Jesus Christ. [31] That's why we have
the saying, "If you're going to
blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God."
Helmut Thielicke was a German theologian when Hitler came
to power before World War 2. Because Thielicke was outspoken in his criticism
of Hitler, he was removed from his university post and sent to a small town
with instructions to stay in that town. So Thielicke began pastoring a small
church in that town, and throughout the war he pastored that church. He says
that when he became a pastor, he decided to have his first midweek Bible study
(The Waiting Father pp. 62-63). He held high hopes for making an impact in the
church, but only three people came to his Bible study: Two elderly ladies and
an elderly man. He says as he sat looking at these three elderly people,
outside the church he could hear the marching of the battalions of Hitler’S
youth who swore their allegiance TO The Third Reich. In that moment he wondered
at the future of the Christian faith, as it seemed that the faith was dying
while the Hitler war machine was growing stronger and stronger every day. Was
it really true that the kingdoms of this world will one day become the kingdom
of our Lord and of his Messiah? Then Pastor Thielicke thought of this story,
the mustard seed that grew into a plant. That gave him encouragement and hope,
and of course when the dust settled, it was Hitler’s kingdom that fell, not
God’s kingdom. SO Don’t despise the little things my friends. It’s often in the
little things where God is working the most in hidden and mysterious ways.
IN Conclusion WE HAVE Four paradoxes of God’s
Kingdom. The kingdom is a concealed light God wants us to make known, it’s hard to understand truth that we can
understand once we invest ourselves into it’ STUDY, it’s a work that we’re
involved in but that we cannot bring about with our own efforts, and it’s an
insignificant start that will
eventually be worldwide.
Matthew 10:38-39 (MsgB)
"If
you don't go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don't deserve me.
[39] If your first concern is to look after yourself, you'll never find
yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you'll find both
yourself and me.
When we become followers of Jesus Christ, we begin to
live under the rule and reign of God. We exchange our earthly lords for the Lordship
of Jesus Christ. We exchange the values of our culture for kingdom values,
values of humility and UNselfISHness, values of faithfulness and compassion. We
exchange priorities like getting as rich as possible or having as much fun as
possible for priorities like honoring Jesus in all we do and making decisions
that reflect our love for HIM. In short, we give up our lives--our pursuit of
success, our passion for pleasure, our addiction to comfort, our quest for
acceptance by other people. We deny ourselves to follow Jesus, to be faithful
to him, wherever he leads, whatever the cost. But the final paradox is that in
giving up our lives for Jesus OUR KING, we find our lives, AND by dying to
ourselves we find ourselves. Under the rule and reign of God we find a sense of
meaning and fulfillment, an acceptance far beyond mere human acceptance, a love
that’s indestructible, and a reason to live that infuses new meaning into our
jobs, our families, our communities.
That’s what happens when Jesus rules and reigns in our lives. SO LET’S
DETERMINE TO RECEIVE HIM AS LORD AND KING
