Who is part of the Kingdom?

Our Theme for 2025 is “Live Like Jesus”

It comes out of a simple desire to follow Jesus - and to learn better what that means.

We are spending the entire year in the Gospel of Matthew.

We have covered just about everything that Matthew tells us about the renewed life and living like Jesus including defining devotion and the reward for service in the Kingdom of God.

So now I have a different question, who is part of this Kingdom of God that Jesus is proclaiming?

I think everyone who is hearing this message right now just assumes that we belong to the kingdom of God; otherwise we wouldn’t be here - would we?

Or am I just making that assumption because I grew up in the church?

There may be people here who feel like an outsider, but you are here anyway hoping to learn something or experience something that will change that.

There may be people watching online who don’t know what the Kingdom of God is, much less if they are a part of it.

Those of us who grew up in the church assume that we are part of the kingdom because we are part of the church; but is that even a fair assumption?

The Jews of Jesus’ day assumed that they would be part of the kingdom because they were God’s chosen people.

I think the same could be said for church people today.

Some people think they are a Christian because they were born and raised in a Christian family.

Some people because they were baptized as an infant or dedicated or because they attended Sunday School.

Some people are quite sure they are in because they said a prayer once, or because they responded to an alter call - they may have even been baptized as a believer.

But is that it? Are you part of the Kingdom of God because you think you are?

So who is part of the Kingdom? - In summary:

Those who receive God’s message.

Those who then participate in the Kingdom.

And thus, they are those who are aligned with God.

Those who receive the message.

Matthew 21:33–39 ESV

33 “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

In this parable, God is depicted as the owner of a vineyard, trying to send a message to His tenant farmers.

In the Roman Empire wealthy land owners would lease their property to tenant farmers while they lived in a different city or a completely different country.

Land owners lived lavish lives of luxury out of touch with their working class tenants who thought them to be a bit naive.

Is that how we see God?

Is God really just some far-off being that has little to do with what happens here on earth?

Is he out there somewhere - out of touch with our lives.

Not really engaged in what is happening with us and around us.

What if God wanted to send a message to us?

Would we even receive it?

Would we be like, “Who do you think you are?”

If you are really the owner of all of this, “Why don’t you improve things around here - then we will consider listening to what you have to say!”

Or maybe it’s even worse than that - we say “Hey, you claim to own this place, but we are the ones who live here. You are a colonizer, an oppressor!”

But have you ever considered that we treat God with such contempt?

He has sent messengers - but very few have received the message.

Why? Because we don’t want to hear it and God is kind enough to allow us to chose not to.

Once you see God’s kindness and recognize that we have so often taken advantage of it - it kinda makes you think...

Romans 2:4 NLT

4 Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

God has been so wonderfully kind to us that He sent us his only Son - just like the owner in the parable.

And of course, we know what they did to Jesus.

And who is to say that we would have done anything different...

Don’t kill the messenger.

Matthew 21:40–43 ESV

40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.

When God sends you a message, try - really try - not to kill the messenger!

I know that nobody likes bad news - and consequently, we usually don’t like the bearer of bad news.

But what if it’s news that we really need to hear?

Like that fact that God is the rightful owner of everything that we otherwise consider to be “ours.”

Does that make you mad; or does it make you grateful? - maybe a little of both at the same time?

1 Thessalonians 5:16–19 CEV

16 Always be joyful 17 and never stop praying. 18 Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do. 19 Don’t turn away God’s Spirit

Have you thought about this - that every time the Holy Spirit is trying to speak to us and we are trying not to hear it- that is killing the messenger.

The Bible warns us against rejecting the Holy Spirit - do you know why?

Because we are doomed if God stops speaking!

You can suppress that inner voice until you no longer hear it.

When you no longer have a conscience, you will not have conviction.

When you have no conviction, you no longer feel guilt.

When you no longer feel guilt, you simply do whatever you want - regardless of what God or anyone else thinks - you no longer care.

And when you no longer care - you are a miserable, pitiful, self-centered person who exhibits anti-social maybe even psychopathic behavior and feels fully justified in doing so.

Sometimes God’s judgement is letting us do what we want to do, so that we get to see where that takes us.

You killed the messenger and now you are all alone with your miserable self.

I believe this is what people refer to as the unpardonable sin.

Mark 3:28–29 NLT

28 “I tell you the truth, all sin and blasphemy can be forgiven, 29 but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This is a sin with eternal consequences.”

I sometimes have people come into my office saying, “Pastor, I think I may have blasphemed the Holy Spirit!”

Maybe they aren’t hearing God the way they used to.

Maybe they lashed out at God in anger and believe that God has left them.

Maybe they purposely ignored the voice of the Holy Spirit to the point where He is no longer talking.

Maybe they have come pretty close to committing the unpardonable sin.

But I can always reassure them - the fact that you are here now means that you are feeling conviction and that is evidence that the Holy Spirit has not left you!

However, take it as a warning - you may not like the message, but don’t kill the messenger.

Invite the Holy Spirit to speak to you by whatever means are necessary for you to hear it.

But receive the message.

Matthew 21:44–46 ESV

44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

How are you at receiving correction?

Ok, so most of us don’t like it, but can you listen?

Do you get defensive.

Do you withdraw and shut down.

Are you willing to hear and admit that you were wrong?

What if you were told that not only were you wrong, but you were wrong all along and it was foretold ahead of time that you would be wrong...

Matthew records Jesus as quoting the Psalms, written hundred of years beforehand.

Psalm 118:22–24 ESV

22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23 This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

It’s like God is saying, “I knew you were going to get it wrong, but hey, cheer up - by getting it wrong, you actually got it right!

I know that sounds like some mental gymnastics - but God is not limited by our failure.

In many ways, our failure just positions us better to depend on Him.

Beating yourself up doesn’t bring you any closer to God - however, brokenness does.

Jesus’ poetic interpretation of the psalm is to “fall on the rock - before the rock falls on you!”

Don’t beat yourself up for not hearing God better.

However, brokenness - true repentance for all of these things is appropriate.

Brokenness isn’t beating yourself up - like wallowing in self-pity.

It’s repentance - turning around and going a different way.

It’ is owning your mistakes in a way that lets you move forward in a different direction.

The difference is not measured by how you feel, its measured by what you do next.

Those who participate.

Matthew 22:1–7 ESV

1 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.” ’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

This parable is similar to the last one in that messengers were sent and ignored and others were abused or even killed for simply delivering a message.

The difference is that this message was a really good one!

In the last parable, they were coming to collect the rent.

In this one they are inviting people to a party.

The point of using two parables is to say that it doesn’t matter if the message is positive or negative, some people still reject God’s message.

One way to describe the Kingdom of God is that God is the rightful ruler of the world, but people have rejected God’s rule - insisting on their own way and preventing God’s justice.

The other way to describe the Kingdom is to say that God has invited us into fellowship with Him (a community like at a wedding).

But instead of recognizing God’s love and God’s goodness,

we have chosen what is familiar,

what suits us because we already know it (like our business)

and simply ignore God’s message.

I think the point we are supposed to take from this parable is just how much our unresponsiveness is an affront to God.

Like not attending someone’s wedding when you are supposed to be friends.

You had better have a pretty good excuse unless you are on the “B” list.

That’s the list of people you start inviting when other people send their regrets.

Speaking of which, God also has a “B” list - and you don’t need to be super special to be on it.

You don’t need to be worthy; you just need to respond.

Matthew 22:8–10 ESV

8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

Do you want to know whom God is most eager to have with Him in heaven?

No it’s not necessarily the “best” people.

Heaven is not one of those “who’s who” events.

God wants to share heaven with the ones who are most grateful to be there!

This party is going to be lively, and the best way to make it lively is to invite the ones who really want to be there!

Singer Billy Joel is famous for not selling front row seats to his concerts. He would instead have his ushers go to the back of the auditorium and find fans who were just grateful to be in the building and move them up to the front row seats. This ensured that some of his biggest fans were in the front row and full of excitement which would help to energize the whole crowd.

That strategy sounds just like this parable - that’s what God does with His Kingdom.

He says the least are really the greatest in His Kingdom.

Romans 5:8 CSB

8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Does hearing that fill you with love and gratitude?

If it does, then you are ready for Kingdom.

If it doesn’t, then you have probably misplaced the invitation.

Jesus wants to make sure that we understand the aspect of responding to God’s invitation so He doubles down on the illustration.

The master in the parable wants people to come to his banquet but...

You must come prepared.

Matthew 22:11–14 ESV

11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

I have heard people say that their only goal is to just get into heaven - just to get inside the door.

If that is your only goal, then I think you have missed the whole point of what heaven is about.

When I was a teenager I received Keith Green’s “Last Days Newsletter.” I was really impacted by an article entitled “Will you be bored in heaven?” In it, Keith asks the question, “If you don’t enjoy worshipping God now, what are you going to do in a place where the greatest thing is just to look at His face?”

That really challenged me not to focus so much on getting to heaven but on worshipping and serving God here and now.

See the message on “What is the Reward for Christian Service?” for a similar idea.

It’s not enough to make it to heaven, you won’t know what to do when you get there.

You have to come prepared!

The parable refers to wedding garments - these could have been special clothes issued to guests - or it could have meant just wearing your best like you would to synagogue.

This person is not being punished for not having the right clothes but for not wearing them.

They were probably one of those who received a last minute invitation

Probably dressed that morning and went out to the roadside looking for manual labor and instead got invited to a wedding feast.

You don’t invite someone to a feast and then turn them away -

there was something that they neglected to do

either wash up and dress appropriately or put on the rented garment that they were given.

Part of our response to the invitation is to do whatever is required.

Yes, eternal life with Christ is a free gift, but terms and conditions still apply.

Responding to the altar call is a great start, but there needs to be some follow-up and follow through.

Yes, you can be saved by simply saying a prayer - but if that’s the last time you prayed, I think you misunderstood what that prayer was for.

You can become a Christian by simply confessing Jesus Christ as Lord.

But think about those words and what they mean… I you really mean it, you can’t stop there.

That leads right into our last point.

Those who are aligned with God.

To be part of the Kingdom of God literally means to come under the rule and authority of God as King.

Let me first of all make clear that I believe that God is the Creator of the world and therefore deserves to rule the world.

I don’t believe that man invented the idea of God but that God created man in His image - meaning that we were created to know Him and to fellowship with Him.

He has delegated authority on earth to mankind who has unwittingly given over at least some of that authority to other forces by submitting to their influence and opposing God.

I believe that Jesus Christ took back that authority by His voluntary death and atoning sacrifice on the cross.

I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord of all the earth whether or not we acknowledge it.

When Jesus preached that the Kingdom of God is here - it wasn’t a suggestion it is a reality.

You can either get with it or be left without it.

Either fall on the rock or the rock will fall on you.

The cornerstone has been set - you either align with it or be removed.

The next two stories are illustrations of how we come into alignment with God.

Give God what belongs to Him.

Matthew 22:15–22 ESV

15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. 16 And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.

This was supposed to be a “gotcha” moment.

Everybody hates paying taxes.

But everybody know we must do it - or go to jail.

So what is Jesus going to say?

Jesus recognizes the dual nature of ownership.

There is the “owner” in terms of delegated authority.

And then there is the ultimate owner, as in Creator and King of the Universe.

Delegated authority is given to man - and at that moment, the man in charge was Cesare- meaning “king.”

His image is on all the coins - thus as currency it belongs to Him.

But mankind as a whole is a different kind of currency.

We are created in God’s image.

The whole concept of image and likeness means that we each possess inherent authority given by God.

Our money is a tool for human exchange of property.

But we ourselves belong to God.

If our sense of value is focused on possessions and this worlds systems then it would seem that we are at the mercy of whomever claims rulership of our part of this world.

But if we see ourselves as transcendent beings, belonging first and foremost to God - well then, the government can take my money, but they can’t have my soul!

I still have a mind to think independently of their control.

I still have a heart to love who and what God loves - the culture does not dictate my affections.

And I have a free will whether or not it is affirmed by law or interpretations of the constitution.

By the way, our constitution does not give us freedom, it only declares it to be “Self-evident”

In other words, it acknowledges and affirms our God-given freedoms.

Those freedoms are going to continue to exist even if our government doesn’t acknowledge them.

our forefathers were not inventing a new form of government, they were responding to what they saw revealed in scripture and through history.

Yield to God’s will and God’s power.

Matthew 22:23–33 ESV

23 The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, 24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. 26 So too the second and third, down to the seventh. 27 After them all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.” 29 But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.

This is also a parable about ownership - except this time the property in question is a woman.

The Sadducees wanted to make an argument against resurrection - meaning that this life is all there is and then you die. (The were sad you see).

So they borrow a story from the Jewish apocryphal book of Tobit, where according to the law of Moses, one woman is legitimately the wife of seven different men.

In their way of thinking, marriage is forever- meaning she is still their wife even after death- eternally divided between seven men.

And this is supposed to prove that it is ridiculous to believe in life after death.

Instead Jesus insists that their whole premise is wrong.

Life is eternal, but marriage is not.

Because they are thinking of marriage in terms of ownership.

Like that woman belongs to each of her seven husbands.

But Jesus argues that she belongs, not to them, but to God.

Today we bristle at the idea of a woman being owned her husband.

But we still treat marriage as if we belong to each other forever.

Jesus says they get it wrong because they don’t know the scripture or the power of God.

Genesis 1:27 ESV

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

The scripture says that God made man in His image and then that man was divide into two, both reflecting - or perhaps together reflecting God’s image.

Models of interpretation which encourage male domination are ignorant of this fact.

And they don’t know the power of God.

Many interpret this as meaning God’s power to raise the dead.

The word used here can also refer to God’s sovereignty

The word dynamis is not so much related to the word dynamite as it is to dynasty.

In other words, God’s rulership supersedes that of man.

God was in charge from the beginning and He will be in the end.

Whatever “pecking order” we humans have established is going to end with this life.

God’s rule is an eternal dynasty!

And then Jesus turns around and says, “Why do you still claim to serve the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob if they are dead?

Wouldn’t their names or their legacy be irrelevant?

The reason they were important is because of the role they played in God’s eternal purpose!

And by the way, that purpose is ongoing and so are they.

When you realize that God’s rule is not dependent on what you think, believe or agree with - you simply yield to it.

I’m not making this up - I’m simply telling it like it is.

And you don’t have to like it or agree with it if you don’t want to.

But that doesn’t change the Kingdom of God from being what it is.

The only question is “will you be part of it?”

Questions for reflection:

Are you receiving God’s message? Are you open to the Holy Spirit’s voice? Can you receive both correction and affirmation? Can you relate to the idea of brokenness as being a good thing?

How do you think you would have responded to the invitation to the wedding feast? Are you generally too busy? Are you responsive to God’s invitation? And are your prepared?

How do you feel about God being in charge of everything? Do you feel like it is something you might allow? Or is God in charge regardless of how you feel? Do you want to be part of what God is doing in the world?