The Kingdom of the Poor
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Jesus is looking for his church that is unhindered. The Bible calls her a bride without spot or wrinkle.
Unhindered is the name of our theme for this year and our scripture that started it all is
NKJV
And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
Like Lazarus being called forth from the grave - the dead being called to the living - the church is made of people who were all sinners who are called to be the children of God.
Like the grave clothes that bound Lazarus up, the members of the body of Christ are still dealing with the things of their former lives that have them bound up. But Jesus is calling them and equipping them to be free
I want to be one of those free. I want to be part of a church family that is free
Free to worship Christ
Free to live the way that Christ enabled me to live
Free to live because we are living in the truth.
Free to live, because we are following the Way
Leading others to their freedom of life by being the salt and the light in the places where we do life.
Living Free because we are following the pattern for righteous and whole living that Christ gave us in the Beatitudes which he taught on the Sermon of the Mount
- The progression of the spiritual life.
First we recognize our spiritual impoverishment - Once we admit that we don’t deserve his goodness and are lost without it - we get it
Secondly, we become sorrowful over our spiritual status outside of God - As we repent for our fallen state, we discover joy and forgiveness
This brings about a meek spirit - a spirit that is willing to become everything that God wants it to be, because they are glad to just be wanted
These three things develop a strong hunger in our hearts - We want more
As we receive more, we want to give more so we tend to be people who show the mercy that we’ve been dealt with to all those around us
And this creates within us a pure heart.
Not a perfect heart that thinks or does no wrong. But a heart that even in the midst of the wrong around us, seeks to glorify God
A heart that is daily going through the process of sanctification
A heart that is being changed by God’s Holy Spirit - a regenerated heart
The test of the pure heart: Are my affections set on things above?Are my motives pure?Why do I assemble with the Lord’s peopleAnd for the first time, we begin to see God for who He really is - In all of His gloryAnd all of his glory in our lives.
And this brings about a peace in our lives - a peace that the Bible says, surpasses all situations.
So we see the way that each of these beatitudes lead into each other and how the previous make room for the latter
The first four show the negatives of the human heart - we are not self-sufficient, we are not self -satisfied, we are not self-important or self-righteous
But when we turn those things over to God - we become merciful toward others
we look at our lives according to the glory and power of God
and here we become the instruments of peace in others lives.
Having this progression in our lives, makes us a people who are unhindered and free to live for Christ.
it keeps us free to be soul winners
They have a driving force - they know that people cannot have peace outside of Jesus
And they are known as the children of God, because at this point in the spiritual progression of the Be Attitudes, we start to look like God.
We think like God
We love what God loves
We are about our father’s business.
We have one more to get to today.
Turn with me to
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
Now here is the problem with beginning to take on the nature and character of God.
We are marked by something that the unrighteous (world) does not like.
Persecuted Because We are Too Close to God
Persecuted Because We are Too Close to God
Let me assure you or something today
We could continue to give out food on a monthly basis and have no problems in our community
We can have out community dinners, we can do VBS, and Trunk or Treats and whatever else we do and the community will be very happy.
Being a Christian is good thing for our community
Being a church that believes in doing for and loving on and taking care of great for our community
The problem with our world, the problem with the community and the church is when the church decides to live godly
To speak godly
and to live in a way that reproves the ungodliness of men
Then there is resentment in the community.
Feed them all you want
Love on them, pay their bills, continue to give
But don’t do anything that would point the failures in the way that they are living - for then you will be persecuted.
John the Baptist
At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.”
For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. Because John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.
But when Herod’s birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.
So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, “Give me John the Baptist’s head here on a platter.”
And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her. So he sent and had John beheaded in prison. And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus.
Here is the cousin of the messiah being treated like this.
The one who pointed the way to Christ. But you see his cry for repentance wasn’t always one that was received with excitment.
John and warned the king that what he was doing with his sister in law was wrong.
and so at the request of Herodias, John is thrown into the dungeon.
But it doesn’t stop there. She wanted him dead
Herod has his group of men over for what was essentially a stag party or a bachelor party.
and Herodias sends out her daughter to strut her stuff before the men. And catches their eye
And when Herod is full of lust for his future step daughter, he asks what it will take to please her and Herodias jumps at the chance
John the Baptists head on a silver platter
Herod is stuck, he has made the promise (to do anything she wants) in front of his men and John’s head is removed instantly.
Think about this, because we see it take place in our world every day.
John dies because Herod lusts
The good man is murdered while the bad man smirks
A man of God is killed while a man of wild passions is winking at his niece
Is this how God honors the faithful?
No - this is the price of doing what is right in a world that only wants to know wrong.
This is what we call persecution.
You see brothers and sisters, the addon to Beatitude number 7 is that when you are this close to God, the enemy gets angry. And persecution is coming.
Satan cannot have peace. He moves in turmoil, fear and chaos. And when the children of God become peacemakers, he does whatever he can do to steal or at least disrupt that peace.
Any one ever had their peace disrupted? Have you ever seen the peace disrupted at your work place? At your home? In your marriage? In your family? How about your church?
And Jesus gives a real model that we can look at to understand this a little better. Just look at the prophets before you - they persecuted them for what they said and the way that they lived.
Jesus mentions three types of sufferings or persecutions in verse 11
3 Types of Persecution
3 Types of Persecution
Reviling -
1. Revilings - verbal abuse - cursings, put downs, negative facebook posts, gossip about you behind your back or to your face
2. Persecution - in the greek = to pursue - to harass, to trouble or to molest (physically or verbally)
Probably what the Apostle Paul was doing to the church before God arrested him.
3. saying all manner of evil against you - defamation of character - they will invent all kinds of things to say against you.
But Jesus calls the persecuted saints - BLESSED!
But Jesus calls the persecuted saints - BLESSED!
Let’s look at John the Baptist again
Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.
And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”
Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
This is before he died while he was in Herod’s dungeon
John the baptist is breaking down.
He hears what is going on in the city around him - John is in deep trouble and for Jesus it’s business as usual.
Why isn’t he doing something about me?
Where is God in my situation
Let’s not be hard on John, for any one of us would be in the same place.
And so he sends his disciples to Jesus with a question - Are you the one or have I been following the wrong messiah?
If a fortune 500 company were writing the book, this would have been left out. You can’t let anyone know that someone on the board is having doubts about the CEO or President.
But God let’s us read this because he knows that every one of us who are seeking to follow Him and live for him are going to be in this place of doubt somewhere along the line.
And you and I have heard them and you and I have uttered them:
If God is so good, why do I hurt so bad?
If God is really there, why am I here?
What did I do to deserve this?
Why are the righteous persecuted?
Missionaries are kicked out of foreign countries
Christians lose their jobs or their promotion because of their beliefs
a faithful wife is abused by an unbelieving husband
But Jesus says that they are BLESSED!
HOW?
It’s All About the Kingdom
It’s All About the Kingdom of God
It’s All About the Kingdom of God
Notice Jesus doesn’t get mad at John
He’s okay with the question
And look what he says - Go back and tell John this - The blind receive their sight, the lame are walking, those with leprosy have skin like a new born baby, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the good news (the gospel)
Jesus basically says, tell John that everything is going according to the plan. The Kingdom of Heaven is being established in the hearts of man
The Kingdom where the rejected are received
Jesus told John that a new kingdom was coming - a kingdom where people have value not because of what they do, but because of whose they are.
The kingdom where the dead have life. The kingdom where the grave has no power.
It wasn’t that John was forgotten. It wasn’t that he was blind to John’s captivity and his problems
It was that Jesus was dealing with a greater dungeon than Herods. He was dealing with the dungeon of death.
The Kingdom for the poor.
By grace, we are each given a second chance of life
We are saved by grace. We are each guilty of our sin, but God looks at us as if those sins never mattered
Because of his grace and his sons sacrifice
Christianity is the only religion of the world that offers such a message
All others demand the right performance, or sacrifice, the right chant or ritual or seance
They are all kingdoms of bartering - if you will do this, God will give you that
But there is nothing we can trade. Jesus says, come and let my grace touch your life and you will never be the same.
IT’s a kingdom for the poor. A kingdom where membership is granted, not purchased
A kingdom where you are adopted, not born into it.
Listen to me church, that means everything to us in our situations today.
We like John are listening for the wrong answers.
John wanted an answer to his earthly problem, but Jesus was busy resolving the ones of his heavenly problems.
Let me end this today by reading a small section from Max Lucados book, The Applause of Heaven.
The Applause of Heaven Chapter 17: The Kingdom Worth Dying For
If you’ve asked for a mate, but are still sleeping alone … if you’ve asked for a child, but your womb stays barren … if you’ve asked for healing, but are still hurting … don’t think God isn’t listening. He is. And he is answering requests you are not even making.
Saint Teresa of Avila was insightful enough to pray, “Do not punish me by granting that which I wish or ask.”
The apostle Paul was honest enough to write, “We do not know what we ought to pray for.”
The fact is, John wasn’t asking too much; he was asking too little. He was asking the Father to resolve the temporary, while Jesus was busy resolving the eternal. John was asking for immediate favor, while Jesus was orchestrating the eternal solution.
Does that mean that Jesus has no regard for injustice? No. He cares about persecutions. He cares about inequities and hunger and prejudice. And he knows what it is like to be punished for something he didn’t do. He knows the meaning of the phrase, “It’s just not right.”
For it wasn’t right that people spit into the eyes that had wept for them. It wasn’t right that soldiers ripped chunks of flesh out of the back of their God. It wasn’t right that spikes pierced the hands that formed the earth. And it wasn’t right that the Son of God was forced to hear the silence of God.
It wasn’t right, but it happened.
For while Jesus was on the cross, God did sit on his hands. He did turn his back. He did ignore the screams of the innocent.
He sat in silence while the sins of the world were placed upon his Son. And he did nothing while a cry a million times bloodier than John’s echoed in the black sky: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Was it right? No.
Was it fair? No.
Was it love? Yes.
In a world of injustice, God once and for all tipped the scales in the favor of hope. And he did it by sitting on his hands so that we could know the kingdom of God.
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Let’s Pray