Citizens of Another Kingdom

Bible Passage: Mark 1:1; Jeremiah 29:7; John 6:15; Luke 12:13-15

Introduction

Pam and I visited the Czech Republic while we were on vacation. We had a great guide who took us to see many different parts of the city and taught us about all the historical stuff along the way. At one point he took us into this dead in courtyard to this statue that was kind of funny. It was two nude guys standing in a fountain. Everybody snickered at the fountain and he went on to tell us that when it was first made it moved. Their hips swiveled and other parts moved around too. This of course brought even more laughter. But then he told us to pay attention to the shape of the fountain. It was quickly obvious that it was a map of a country and he told us of course it was the former country of Czechoslovakia. In 1994, the rulers of the two main political bodies decided it would be best to divide the country in to the Czech Republic and Slovakia, two distinct countries. The statue he said portrayed the feelings of those two bodies on the whole idea.

Notice I said 2 men decided … literally it was the two Prime Ministers or whatever there title was. They decided there was enough different about the two populations that they wouldn’t ever be truly united. So without any input from anyone else, two countries were born out of one. They called it the Velvet Revolution. No shots were fired, no war occurred. They just divided their Parliament in half and went their separate ways. Bratislava became the Capital of Slovakia and Prague became the capital of the Czech Republic. They were suddenly two countries instead of just one. As the statue makes clear, it was a confusing time for a lot of people. It took some getting used to, but their never was any major battle, it just happened because two guys thought it should. Some thirty years later everyone appears to be mostly happy with the arrangement. It’s a beautiful place to visit. There’s lots of good food and plenty of paprika. The goulash is yummy and the people are friendly. Imagine being suddenly told you are no longer a citizen of the country you grew up in, because some fellows decided it should just go away and be no more. When you came into a relationship with Jesus, that’s sort of what happened. Not because two guys voted, but because you just immigrated from one kingdom to another. Now your an ambassador or witness for that new nation.

1. The Beginning of the Gospel

Mark 1:1 “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

Starts with a Messenger

Prepares the way

Proclaimed Repentance

Professed need for forgiveness

Proclaimed the Message

Repent and be baptized

Get ready for the coming Messiah

Who Baptizes with the Spirit

Magnified the Need

Lived in the Wilderness

Survived at the hand of Father

Spotlighted the need for forgiveness

Christians tend to shy away from the political arena. Our government insists on it. While I don’t believe it was ever the intent of the forefathers that people of faith have no part in politics, they were escaping the tyranny of a church ruled by the government and try to avoid the repeat of that particular error. So we as a nation don’t sponsor any particular religion or say that one is right and others are wrong. The tension today arises in that Scripture demands that we do make that clear. It never gives us license to be jerks about it. Like John we’re called to point to the one true God. We don’t seek to demand it be the law of the land. As a nation, we give people the freedom to chose whatever religion they desire. As believers we’re call to warn them of the error of that choice. But you know I’ve never once heard somebody give a testimony that started with … Bill from the church over there kept telling me what a wicked person I was and that just called to my heart and brought me into the church. Scripture is clear, they will know we are Christian by the love we have for one another. When you witness someone being kind to a jerk, it speaks to us.

2. The Welfare of the City

Jeremiah 29:7 “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

Seek the Welfare

Engage with people in government

Vote and be part of the solution

Do what you can to meet the needs

Where I have Exiled You

Jesus put you here

You are His ambassador

Get comfortable and be part of the solution

Pray for its welfare

Pray for our political leaders

Pray for peace in our community

Pray for salvation of the lost around us

Do you recognize that you are the solution to the problem of our political system in the United States of America? You are called to enter the political arena as an ambassador for a foreign land. We are expected to be a source of calm and peace in the midst of our community. I’m not announcing my campaign this morning and I’m not suggesting that any of us need to run for office. If God calls you to that ministry to our community, you will find support here, you will be encouraged here. But, we are called to go into all the parts of our life and work diligently to bless our community. So next time you can vote, be sure that you do it. Don’t leave the answer to someone else because you’re so disgruntled with the system and see it as unfixable.

3. Keep Politics in the Right Place

John 6:15 “Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.”

Be aware of your surroundings

Jesus could see what was coming

Avoided being used improperly

Kept the main thing, the main thing

Withdraw when necessary

Get away from the crowd

Seek the presence of the Father

Find your place

Spend time alone in reflection

You need time alone with God

You need to prepare for interaction

You need refreshed for the battle

Do you recognize that we are in the midst of a fierce spiritual battle? It’s being carried out in many areas of our culture. Evil does not like being put in it’s place. Let’s face it no one likes to lose. But quite frankly everyone is losing in the political system where we reside. Everybody wants to be right and no one is willing to compromise any more. For centuries our country thrived in the midst of compromise. Republicans and Democrats worked together to come to an equitable solution to the needs of the day. Now everyone just shouts and nothing gets done. Let me encourage you today to do your part to be a peacemaker. Where God is there is always hope for forgiveness. There is always a path to repentance. There is always an opportunity for compromise and working together. I want to ask you this morning to commit to pray for the part of our political system you find most objectionable. Pray for the leaders in that part, seek their welfare. Let’s be on the lookout for where we can be part of the solution, instead of perpetuating the problem.