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The Provocative Church-The Kingdom of God (3 of 6)

By Charlie Vensel | June 14, 2008

NOTE: This Sermon Series is based on Graham Tomlin’s Book, The Provocative Church, and a sermon series done by Rev. John Holland at New Covenant Anglican Church in Oviedo, FL.

This is the third in a six-sermon series on being a provocative church, an evangelistic church. We’ve seen in the previous two sermons that evangelism works best when we create desire and provoke questions among the unreached. We’ve also seen that we do this by being deeply satisfied with God, by living public, holy lives and by listening obedience. When we live in these ways, we are a society of King Jesus, a provocative church.

Blaise Pascal said, “Make the Christian faith attractive, make good men wish it were true, and then show them it is.” That is our task, and when the unreached ask about our community and faith, we have an answer to give. We tell them the story of our king’s victory. We say, “Jesus is Lord,” because evangelism is inviting people to come under his rule, his lordship; it is the call to enter the kingdom of God. It is a call to find oneself in God’s story; his story, history. So today, we’ll take a brief but essential look at the kingdom of God and our mission in it.

Let us pray…

An entire village of English citizens moves into a neighborhood in Iran and goes right on living like Elizabeth rules a constitutional monarchy. Unfazed by their new surroundings, they continue living like the laws and values of the United Kingdom are in effect. No matter how they are treated or what happens, they go about work and family and recreation and all of life as though England ruled the Middle East.

This is what living in the kingdom of God is like. It is how the Lord taught us to live and pray, “…your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10 NIV) What is the kingdom of God? It is that place, those people in whom, Jesus’ Father is loved and obeyed as the king of heaven and earth.

How does the kingdom come? It comes when God’s will is done on earth the way it is done in heaven. When Robin Hood and the Merry Men live in Sherwood Forest like Richard is on the throne in London. When God’s people live in a world of hate and darkness like the Lord of love and light will reign forever. We live in the middle of a fallen world knowing that heaven is on its way down.

The story of the kingdom of God begins in the Bible with creation: the one true God fashioning the world out of chaos, placing his royal images in the garden of delight and charging them to extend his beauty and goodness to the ends of the earth. With the fall of the first humans into rebellion, the lands were covered in darkness, and the kingly, priestly man and woman were bound to sin and death.

But in love, God called Abraham and promised him descendants like the stars in the sky, a land for the people, and kings to rule the nation. All this and more so that God’s blessing might come to every family of the earth, like a gentle rain that breaks the heat of the day and bends flowers to heaven once again.

Several hundred years later, Abraham’s family exited Egypt. With ten plagues culminating on the Passover, the Lord rescued Israel from slavery. After drowning the Egyptian army in the Red Sea, the Israelites shouted, danced and sang praise to the warrior God who saved them. The song ended with the exclamation, “The LORD will reign for ever and ever.” (Exodus 15:18 NIV) Their God and no other ruled heaven and earth.

And they were his beloved and holy people. In what was intended to be a wedding procession, God led Israel to Mount Sinai where she was to become his kingdom of priests. Yes, Israel was to serve the Lord in worship and holiness, but that service would make the nations envious of the goodness of Israel’s ways and make the peoples honor the Lord as God.

After the nation conquered and settled the Promised Land, she languished in disobedience and failure in her vocation, until the coming of King David. The man after God’s own heart brought victory and glory to the nation. God promised David a dynasty not only to rule Israel, but the whole world. And David’s son Solomon built the temple, the earthly palace of Israel’s heavenly king and the home of his presence on earth.

In the Old Testament, this is the height of God’s kingdom, his will being done on earth as it is in heaven. The psalms, many of which were composed during these years for worship at the temple, exemplify the ideals of Israel’s call and God’s promises. In Psalm 47 Israel and the Gentile nations are called to, “Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.” (Psalms 47:6 NIV)

Israel existed to invite the nations back to the worship of the true God. Psalm 47 ends with a promise that one day, “The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham…” (Psalms 47:9 NIV) The kingdom of God will become a universal reality, greater and grander than David dreamed or penned. The whole world will be Sherwood Forest.

Sadly, after this watershed, Israel divided and the rulers of both kingdoms led the people into increasing disloyalty to God. Eventually, both kingdoms were exiled from the Promised Land and the temple was razed. God’s kingdom on earth was in ruins. In these dark years of Israel’s story, prophets such as Isaiah promised that God would again manifest his reign on earth, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” (Isaiah 52:7 NIV)

Israel needed another Exodus from slavery. In fact her plight magnified the state of the world. Israel’s God must demonstrate to the nations of the earth that he is the Great King. The prophet said the day would come when Israel would again dance and sing, “’Your God reigns!’” (Isaiah 52:7 NIV)

Despite such wonderful promises and a couple of attempts to return to their land, the people of God were ruled by successive pagan, foreign powers, right up to the Romans. The exile continued. The kingdom seemed far away. Yet many Jewish sects in the first century not only kept faith that the kingdom would come, but they believed they had a role to play in its coming. For them the kingdom did not mean the end of the world or life after death.

For the Jews of Jesus’ day, the kingdom of God meant Yahweh stepping into human history to vindicate faithful Israel, vanquish the wicked Gentiles and usher in an age in which God and his people ruled a renewed creation. The kingdom was supposed to be shock and awe, a regime change, heaven joining earth.

So when a young rabbi from Galilee said the kingdom of God was just around the corner, his contemporaries heard a political, historical, and earthly claim. But, Jesus had another program. His life, miracles, and parables painted vivid portraits of life under God’s rule. The Son of David had come to claim the throne. The true temple was a man.

But Jesus’ stories of the coming of God’s reign were not filled with plagues, midnight sea crossings, collapsing walls, brandished swords, or fire falling from the sky. He spoke of a sower and four soils, wheat and weeds at the harvest, mustard seeds and yeast. The kingdom would begin small and grow slowly. One day it would be great and the Gentiles would have a place within it. Jesus preached, in word and deed, that Israel had forgotten why she was God’s chosen people: not to hoard the kingdom to herself, but to bear the beauty and mercy of God’s reign to the nations.

When the Jewish leaders refused to repent and accept their divine vocation, Jesus so provoked them in the temple that it got him killed on a Roman cross. But God was up to something beyond imagination. Evil did its worst to Jesus, and he overcame. Love carried the day.

Jesus atoned for the sin of the world. He conquered not only Israel’s enemies but the whole human race’s enemies: sin and death…and to the victor go the spoils. In him the will of heaven was done on earth. In Jesus, and then in his gift of the Spirit, the reign of God had returned to conquer the world with merciful justice, slowly spreading across the globe like yeast though dough; like adoptive love in an orphan’s heart.

And what’s more, the Father has appointed a day, when Jesus will come a second time. He will be revealed from heaven with his powerful angels, taking vengeance with flaming fire on those who do not know God and have not obeyed the gospel. In that day he will be glorified in his saints and be admired by all those who have believed. The day of ultimate justice and peace will come. Every wrong will be put right. All things will be made new. And, as John the Revelator heard the culmination of heaven and earth, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15 NIV)

Therefore, the question before us is, “How shall we then live?” If Jesus has launched God’s reign on earth and will return to complete it, what do we do in these in between times? In three words: faith, hope and love.
We are to be a people of faith, which means of course that we believe this good news but it also means the kingdom is open to anyone who believes. Even more, the King calls us to reach any and all who will believe, no matter their ethnicity, gender, or socio-economic standing. We witness in our neighborhoods to the kind of community Jesus creates in his kingdom across the boundaries of humanity. And it begins on our knees and in friendships with the unreached.

Last week we were reminded that Israel was to be a nation that provoked the other nations around her in sort of a holy jealousy; she would stir the surrounding pagan nations to come into Yahweh’s fold. How was she to do this? “…Obey me fully and keep my covenant,” (Exodus 19:5 NIV) the Lord said. Israel had to pay attention to the word, and she had to faithfully obey it. Listening obedience was required of her. And it is still required of God’s people today. As Moses led Israel from slavery in Egypt to the presence of God at Sinai, so Jesus has led all those who trust in him from the slavery of sin and death to the presence of God by the Holy Spirit.

Christ has rescued us. He is our mother eagle, the Robin Hood to our Maid Marian. And we are his people, his society, his Brits in the middle of Iran. The apostles Peter and John quoted Exodus 19:6 and applied the phrase “a kingdom of priests” to Jewish and Gentile Christians alike. We are God’s treasured possession. We are his royal priesthood, his true Israel, bearing the message, praying for a lost world, and ministering his sacramental presence.

The task of sharing this faith falls to us today as it fell to ancient Israel. And, we like ancient Israel are to proclaim it to more than just those inside the walls of the church. Last week we learned that not everyone would appreciate our evangelism; in fact, in this day and age it is a cultural sin to proselytize. We all have our stories of when we tried to witness to someone who lambasted us for it. In fact, there are probably many more of those stories than there are of people who actually heard us.

I hope over the last couple of weeks that we have learned some of the keys to a more successful witness, but it is a good reminder for us that not all will respond. In fact, most will still not. We must keep this in perspective if we are to keep our heads up in our task.

We must remember that until Christ returns, we will face bitter opposition for our faith; the more obedient we are, the more knowledgeable we are, the greater stand we take for Christ, the greater our suffering will be. We must put away the idea of easy living under God and come to expect suffering for our faith. It is part of counting the cost of bearing the cross; it is part of paying the price. We suffer because Jesus suffered as Paul writes, “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him,” (Philippians 1:29 NIV)

But, we must also remember that we are to present the Gospel in spite of the potential suffering. In fact, we are told by Jesus himself in Matthew 5:11, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” (Matthew 5:11 NIV)
This is a good place for a spiritual checkup…if you are not suffering at all for your faith, your holy living, your satisfaction and desire for God, and your witness, you are not living it or proclaiming it loudly enough. Do not miss your blessing.

Now, I am not suggesting that we become rabid evangelists, arrogant, prideful people who go looking for places to drive division or create persecutions. Those would be sinful motivations and contrary to the very Gospel we proclaim. Nevertheless, we are called to bear witness to Christ, and when the opportunity presents itself to share Christ, we must, in spite of potential suffering.

Since my arrival the first week in October, I have called on all of you to spend time with those that are not already Christians. If you have taken that seriously, you have no doubt had some tough circumstantial decisions to make. You may have been asked to cross some lines that the Lord would not allow you to cross. Here, I say, if there is a line of behavior that we cannot cross, we cannot deny the Lord by taking that step. We cannot compromise. We must be strong and we must not fear our suffering. In standing firm, our motivation is to lift up the Lord, not to drive the wedge, but drive the wedge it may. We are a people who proclaim his lordship in truth and love, not arrogance and pride.

But, know that God uses these opportunities for us to present the Gospel, and our suffering for it, not only to bring new people into his kingdom, but to provide for our sanctification, that long and often painful process by which we are made over into the image of Christ. These are also tests for us to examine our own lives and our own witnesses. In many cases, to not witness for fear of offending others is not just disobedience to the Lord’s command of kingdom expansion, it is to prevent your spiritual maturity.

When opposition comes or is likely to come, do we deny Christ like Peter did? I did once. It was about thee months after my conversion. For years, my friends and I took a trip down to Daytona for the Rolex 24 Hour Race. We camped in the infield. Friends from all over the southeast came as a kind of reunion. There was much fun to be had there, and much trouble in which to partake.

While about twelve us were settling in and moving into the evening, one of the guys pipes up and said, “Charlie, I hear you got all churched-up and found the Lord.” All eyes turned on me in the circle and in spite of the loud roar of the race cars, you could have heard a pin drop, and I heard the cock crow for the third time and replied, “No. I do not know the Lord.” I denied the Lord for two reasons. First, I was a coward and did not want to face the persecution. Second, I wanted to participate in the trouble that was available and I did not want these people calling me a hypocrite.

I came under enormous conviction after that, and it took me a year to get over it and finally feel restored. The Lord used that to strengthen me though and I find it very ironic, and probably divine justice, that at one time I denied Christ, but now I stand in pulpits to proclaim him.

Do we temporarily lay down our faith to blend in, acting like the unbelievers so as not to rock the boat? Do we adhere to the cliché and restrain from speaking of Christ in social situations or at the dinner table? Do we hide our candles to create an easy atmosphere? Do we leave our kingdom of God passports at home to roam through the kingdoms of this world?

To be sure, we all struggle at some level with these things. It is not a matter if you do or not, it is a matter of degree. However, over time, if we are truly his, these awkward situations will embolden us, strengthen us to stand firm, and drive us to our knees in prayer. They will drive us to the Lord; he will use them to teach us and polish us. They are exercises in counting the cost. The more we count, the more we pay, the more we become like our Savior. And, with regard to witnessing, the more people will come into God’s kingdom.

Secondly, we are a people of love, which means of course, that we are kind to each other but it also means the kingdom is different than any other society. We are a people who forgive sins and offenses, who love our enemies, who bless those who curse us, who endure hardships with joy, who tell the truth when it is hard and then spend ourselves to walk with each other into the freedom truth gives.

As C.S. Lewis said, “Love is something more stern and splendid than mere kindness.” Unlike any other empire Jesus’ kingdom is founded and sustained in love. So tell us, who do you love? Your friends or those just like you? Even the pagans do that. Your enemies or those that are different than you? Only God does that.

Those who find themselves inside the kingdom of God expand the kingdom of God through love. It is our love that drives us; love for God, love for his creation, and love for his plan; it is a love to see his will done on earth as it is in heaven.

Few of us will find sufficient motivation to witness to others simply because God said to do so. It should be enough, but I’ve been inside the Faith long enough to know that often it is not enough of a motivating factor for most. If you don’t believe me, how many of you are still sinning? Sure, you are sinning less than before you knew Christ, but there are many things God tells us not to do, or to do, that we have yet to find easy or satisfying. In time that changes, but simply a command is often not enough for us to find that motivation. We remain a rebellious lot, though hopefully we improve.

There is also the motivation of guilt or restitution, in that we feel because God has done so much for us, we are obligated to go do this for him. But, feeling like we owe God our acts of evangelism won’t make it any easier either. We look at our holy scorecards and we check off generosity, serving the poor, prayer, tithing, Scripture reading and tudy, forgiving our offenders, and there is this gaping hole at “evangelism.”

We feel terribly guilty, completely unprepared for the task, and as if we are all alone in this area. We are afraid. These things are most often not the most effective motivators. If anything, they become deterrents for most people. Most would deny their guilt, hide from those things that make them afraid, and avoid being in situations where they felt unprepared. Clearly, guilt and restitution are not where we are going to find our motivation for evangelism.

But, a love for God and a love for his creation are effective. We would all do well to remember the time before our conversions. We were lost in our trespasses and sin, and someone, recognizing us as part of God’s creation, and in love with God’s plan for the kingdom of heaven to be manifest on earth, shared the wonders of this God and his plan of redemption with us.

For most of us, the ones we responded to were not people who were out to check “evangelism” off of their holy scorecard, or were doing so because they were told to or obligated to, but because they loved the Lord with all their hearts, minds, strength, and souls. They were caught up in who God is, were excited about his plan of redemption, and enthralled with God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven. Their witness was a natural expression of a well-cultivated love of God and his kingdom.

If you want to do a better job at evangelism, cultivate the love of God in your hearts, see your place in his kingdom, do the things we have talked about in the previous two sermons, and evangelism will by and large, take place naturally. The love of God, and one who is wrapped up in it and living it out, are the most provocative things in this world.

Do this, and you will no longer be content to huddle in the Christian-only holy huddles, surrounded by people who are just like you. You will see God moving all over the place outside the church. You will no longer think of people in terms of “lost” and “saved”, but people that God has a plan for. Your love for God and being caught up in his kingdom will be that thing that motivates you. Evangelism will no longer be a task, but part of who you are - just being you - wherever you go.

Finally, and all too briefly, we are a people of hope, which of course means we tenaciously hold onto the promise of Jesus’ return, but is also means the kingdom often comes slowly. For sure, there are those times when the kingdom has a growth spurt, when revival and renewal break out. May God give us such a time at ACTS.

But before and after, the kingdom is “a slow train coming up around the bend,” as Bob Dylan sings. As God gives us these times at ACTS may we be faithful. As we grow slowly, as we live God’s reign among us patiently, may we hold on tenaciously to the specific promises he has made to the church. When the fruits of our evangelistic efforts are small, may we remember the Lord’s promise to Abraham for his descendants, which include our contemporaries here in Littleton, “I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.” (Genesis 22:17 NIV) And, when we face opposition, and are in seasons where the kingdom seems entirely too slow for our liking and perhaps when all looks lost, may we remember the Lord’s word to Peter, “on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18 NIV)

In faith, hope and love, may we do his will in Littleton as it is done in heaven. May we sing, dance, and live the simple, but oh so bold proclamation, “The Lord reigns forever and ever!” Amen.

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