The VIP's Of The Kingdom

Big Idea / Sticky Statement: In the world’s kingdom, status is everything; in God’s kingdom, childlike dependence is the only thing that matters.

1. ENGAGE: The Setup * Illustration: “Imagine you’re trying to get into an exclusive event. There’s a long line, a velvet rope, and a massive bouncer holding a clipboard with the VIP list. The bouncer isn’t looking for good people; he’s looking for important people. A celebrity, a CEO, an influencer—they get waved right through. But the ordinary person, the ‘nobody,’ gets stopped at the rope. The velvet rope is a symbol of the world’s value system: your importance determines your access.”

Transition: That’s the tension. Our entire world is built around a series of velvet ropes. We are constantly trying to get our names on the VIP list, and we instinctively act as bouncers, deciding who is important enough for our time and attention.

2. TENSION: The Problem * We all live our lives by the logic of the velvet rope. * At work, we prioritize the people who can help our career. At school, we gravitate toward the popular kids. We are drawn to the influential and the powerful. * We become gatekeepers for our own lives. We dismiss the needs of the “unimportant”—the inconvenient, the needy, the people who can offer us nothing in return—because we’re too busy trying to get the attention of the “important.” * The result is a life of anxiety, constantly trying to prove our own importance, and a world where the weak and the small are consistently pushed to the side.

Transition: This instinct to honor the important and dismiss the weak is a core part of our human condition. And it’s an attitude that one of the most influential figures in history found absolutely infuriating.

3. TRUTH: The Biblical Solution (Luke 18:15-17) Alright, church, grab your Bibles. Turn to Luke chapter 18.

(Set the Context) Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem, teaching radical things about the kingdom. He is the most important person in the world, the ultimate VIP.

* A. The Disciples as Bouncers (v. 15): (Read Luke 18:15) * People were bringing their babies to Jesus just for Him to touch them. But the disciples “rebuked them.” * They were acting like bouncers at the velvet rope. In their minds, Jesus was too important to be bothered by unimportant people. They were protecting their master’s status, operating completely by the world’s logic.

* B. Jesus Tears Down the Velvet Rope (v. 16): (Read Luke 18:16) * Mark’s gospel tells us that when Jesus saw this, He was “indignant.” He was angry. He doesn’t just disagree; He passionately rebukes His own disciples. * He commands, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

* C. The Kingdom’s VIP List (v. 17): (Read Luke 18:17) * Jesus then drops the bombshell. He looks at His disciples and says, “Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” * This is the great reversal. The very people the disciples saw as a distraction, Jesus holds up as the model citizens. The VIPs of the kingdom are not the strong, the rich, or the important. The only people who get past the velvet rope are those who come with the empty hands and total dependence of a child.

Transition: This is one of the most radical and liberating truths in all of Scripture. So what does it mean for us to “receive the kingdom like a little child,” and how does this connect to everything we’ve been learning?

4. APPLICATION: The Choice * 1. Redefine “Greatness” as Dependence. Worldly greatness is about what you can do. Kingdom greatness is about admitting what you can’t do. It’s about approaching God not with a resume of your accomplishments, but with the empty hands of a child who knows they are completely dependent on their Father. * 2. See the Connection to God’s Heart. Remember two weeks ago, in “The God Who Searches,” we saw God’s heart for the outcast—the very people the Pharisees rejected. Now we see that the only way to be found by that searching God is to become like the people He searches for: humble, dependent, with nothing to offer. The disciples were making the exact same mistake as the Pharisees, acting as gatekeepers. * 3. Practice Receiving. You can’t give what you haven’t received. The best way to learn how to welcome others is to spend time every day marveling at the fact that God welcomed you. A daily time in the Word and prayer reminds us that we didn’t get past the velvet rope because we were VIPs; we got in because the King came out and carried us in.

Transition: When a church truly embraces this, it stops being an exclusive club and starts being a family. 5. INSPIRATION: The Vision * Imagine a church where the velvet rope has been torn down for good. * Imagine a community where the most honored people are not the most successful, but the most dependent on God. * Imagine a church like New Beginnings being a place where the weak, the messy, and the “unimportant” are welcomed, loved, and held up as a picture of what true faith looks like. * That’s not just a different kind of church; that’s a church that looks like the kingdom of God. Transition: That’s the vision. But it starts with a personal decision to leave the VIP line and get in the children’s line. 6. ACTION: Your Assignment for This Week * This week, I want you to practice receiving the kingdom like a child. * 1. Identify: Who is one person or group of people you have been treating like a “distraction” from more “important” things? * 2. Repent: Confess that attitude to God. Ask Him to replace your pride with the humble, dependent heart of a child. * 3. Act: Take one specific step this week to honor and serve one of the “unimportant” people in your life, showing them they are a VIP in God’s kingdom.

* (Forward-Looking Transition) When we realize our only status is that of a dependent, beloved child, it completely changes our relationship with resources. And that raises a crucial question that we’ll tackle next week: How does a dependent child handle their Father’s resources?

Closing Prayer (The Disciple’s Prayer) * Praise: Father, we praise You for a kingdom where the last are first and the humble are the VIPs. * Purpose: May our purpose be to welcome others with the same open arms You have welcomed us. * Provision: Provide for us the humble, dependent heart of a child that we might truly receive Your kingdom. * Pardon: Forgive us for the times we have acted like bouncers at the velvet rope, hindering others from coming to You. * Protection: Protect us from the pride that values worldly status and dismisses the people You cherish. * Praise: For Yours is the Kingdom that belongs to the children, the power in weakness, and the glory forever. Amen.