Unlikely Kingdom, Unlikely Way

Cinderellas and under dogs

In Fairy Tales

In Sports

In Politics

In the Bible

David & Goliath

In Jesus

Rahab in ancestry

Mom was a virgin girl

unlikely birthplace

in turmoil

unlikely town Nazareth

Unlikely forerunner

unlikely preparation 40 days

Why the unlikely?

God does not need the power or advantage of this world

Shows his power in weakness

2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Uses the foolish to confound the wise

1 Corinthians 1:27 “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;”

The Gospel is foolishness to the perishing and power to those being saved

1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

Upside Down Kingdom

Anabaptist/Mennonite named Donald B. Kraybill

The first are last, and the last are first (Matt. 20:16)

The meek inherit the earth (Matt. 5:5)

The greatest must be a servant (Mark 10:43–45)

Blessed are the poor in spirit, not the self-sufficient (Matt. 5:3)

"Sin turns the world upside down; the gospel announces the true King who comes to turn the world right-side up."

Unlikely Places

Matthew 4:12–17 “Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.””

Make it Big

If you wanted to make it to the big screen? Hollywood

If you want to make it in country music? Nashville

If you want to make Broadway?

Business?

Politics?

If you were Jesus and you wanted to launch your ministry career, you would not go to the country.

It did fulfill a prophecy - Matthew points out FIVE prophecies that were fulfilled. This isn’t a sideshow, but rather God’s plan.

MAP

They bore the brunt of the Assyrian invasion… they were the first to see the light.

Unlikely People

Matthew 4:18–22 “While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”

Ideal Baseball Team

Ideal people to change the world, change history

Billionaire

Intellectual

Celebrity

Politician

Fisherman?

Casting nets and mending nets

God has always used the weak, the foolish

2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”

I’m not

smart, successful, a saint, young, outgoing,

He is.

Mental health

Stuart Smalley trap

"I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!". 

Unlikely Plans

Matthew 4:23–25 “And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.”

Galilee - forgotten places

In Synagogues

Country - anybody want to sing

He taught

Reading was always important, learning was always important, Love God with your mind

He proclaimed

Good news of the Kingdom

Kingdom - centered

Like it or not.

He healed

Care for the forgotten, the broken, the needy.

Charles Spurgeon (not on your list, but central to evangelical and Reformed heritage)

“To me, the greatest privilege in the world would be to minister to the poor of London... There is no reward like that of relieving the poor.”

John Piper

"God is not glorified when we keep for ourselves, no matter how thankfully, what we ought to be using to alleviate the misery of the unevangelized, the uneducated, and the unfed."

William Booth "You cannot warm the hearts of people with God's love if they have an empty stomach and cold feet." ​QuoteFancy"Brought it all on themselves, do you say? Perhaps so, but that does not excuse our assisting them. You don't demand a certificate of virtue before you drag some drowning creature out of the water."

Next Week

John Stott

“The Sermon on the Mount is probably the best-known part of the teaching of Jesus, though arguably it is the least understood, and certainly it is the least obeyed. It is His own description of what He wanted His followers to be and to do… It describes what human life and human community look like when they come under the gracious rule of God.” — The Message of the Sermon on the Mount

G.K. Chesterton

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.” — What’s Wrong with the World