2004_06_12 KingdomOfGod_07

The Life of the Kingdom: Here and Now John 10:10 “In this world you will have … trouble” (John 16:33). Over and over again, I have shown you from scripture that troubles and trials are a natural part of living in this world. There is a war between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Darkness and the battle ground is between our ears. Sometimes we win the battle and some times we lose the battle against sin and Satan. Last Sabbath we examined our future life when the Kingdom of God comes in its fullness. Our eternal destiny is eternal life in fellowship with God, himself. We will enjoy in fullness the reality that God will live with us, be our God, and allow us to be his people without having the burden of mortality and decay. Our future hope is not in rescuing our current bodies but in longing for our immortal, resurrection bodies. Life on earth is a battle with sin and Satan. But, eternal life in the fullness of the Kingdom of God is the bliss of enjoying God forever. So is life in the here and now a marathon of misery? Is life in the here and now an endurance test, full of suffering. No. The Jesus who said, “In this world you will have trouble,” also said, “I have come that they may have life, and may have it abundantly” (John 10:10) The NIV says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Though in this world we can expect trouble, we know that Jesus came to this world so that we can experience, in the present, a full and abundant life. The “good news” of salvation in Christ is not just to accept Jesus and tolerate life until we die or Jesus comes again. Christianity is not just “pie in the sky, by and by.” Jesus also came so that we can experience a full and abundant life in the here and now. 1 Eternal life in the Kingdom of God is a present reality experienced in a personal relationship with God through Jesus. Jesus said in John 3:36, “Whoever believes in the Son, has (present tense) eternal life.” And in John 17:3, Jesus said, 3Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. Jesus defines eternal life in here and now, as knowing God in the present tense. The Biblical concept of knowing involves a personal and intimate relationship with God. Eternal life begins with fellowship with God in the here and now. This knowledge and fellowship with God is partial and incomplete now, but it will be full and complete in heaven. Our knowledge and fellowship with God is partial because we see him dimly through a cloudy glass or distorted mirror. But in heaven we will see him face to face, just as he is. The full and abundant life in the here and now begins with knowing God in an intimate relationship. In our text last Sabbath in 2 Corinthians 5, we were told that at death we abandon our physical bodies, the old “earthly tent.” This is a good thing because we are groaning at the decay of these physical bodies. Then, at death, we put on our eternal heavenly dwellings. We know that in heaven the old order of things has passed away because God will make everything new. Let’s read 2 Corinthians 5:4-5. 4For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. After explaining what happens to us at death, the Apostle Paul then tells us that God has given us the Holy Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing this future eternal life. The King James translates the words deposit, guaranteeing, as earnest. 2 There is only one place I can think of where we use the term earnest and that is in buying property. When a person is buying property, the deal is not reached until the person gives earnest money. Promises don’t count until the non-refundable, earnest money is paid to guarantee the purchase of the property. Until then, either party can back out of the deal. Earnest or a deposit of guarantee is a present, though partial payment, guaranteeing a full possession in the future. Paul is saying that God has given us the person of the Holy Spirit as earnest for the coming fullness of the Kingdom. God has given us a deposit, guaranteeing eternal life in the here and now and eternal life that will come in future fullness. The first aspect of experiencing eternal life in the here and now is in an intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The second aspect of this full and abundant life comes to us through the Holy Spirit. We will not experience the eternal life of the Kingdom of God until we have experienced the coming of the Holy Spirit into our lives. In Acts 1:8 Jesus said, 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Since the Holy Spirit is God, living in human flesh, it is no surprise that we should experience power to become the person God wants us to be. And, where the Holy Spirit lives in people, there is power for holy living, power for understanding God’s word, power for service, and power for witnessing. So, why do so many believers live powerless, defeated, and sinful lives? The issue is surrender. The power for holy living is in us, but we must allow the power to be released in us. We must surrender our wills and lives to God and be transformed into the person God wants us to be. The full and abundant life is living in intimate fellowship with God and living in the power of the Holy Spirit. 3 And the full and abundant life is also living in the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22,23 says - 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. To have the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to have the presence of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The picture is that the Holy Spirit is like a tree that produces fruit. To possess the tree is to possess its fruit. Where the Holy Spirit lives in people, the fruit of the Spirit is present. So, why do so many believers live with hate instead of love, anger instead of joy, frustration instead of peace, impatience instead of patience, meanness instead of kindness, and harshness instead of gentleness? After all, the fruit of the Spirit is present in the life of every believer. But, to experience the fruit of the Spirit requires making room by pushing out the hate, anger, frustration, impatience, meanness, and harshness. There are believers who want to hang on to their hate and anger. They are afraid to live without it. But they need to rid themselves of hate, anger, and frustration in order to make room for love, joy and peace. The fruit of the Spirit can then be released for our enjoyment. Every human being wants love, joy, peace, etc. And God has provided this as a natural fruit of having the Holy Spirit in us. For believers, spiritual fruit is a part of the full and abundant life God has for his children in the here and now. And the good news is that experiencing the fruit of the spirit is not dependent on the circumstances around us because the source of the fruit is the indwelling Holy Spirit. 4 Not only is the fruit of the spirit something for us to enjoy, it is something that those around us can enjoy as well. Who would you rather be with? A person who is always angry, frustrated, impatient, mean, and harsh? Or a person who is loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, and kind? The fruit of the Spirit is for our own enjoyment and the enjoyment of others. The Spirit hangs this spiritual fruit on us so that those in need can pick this fruit when they need it. God has a wonderful future planed for us in heaven. Eternal life in the future Kingdom of God is a promise of new bodies and the eternal enjoyment of a face-to-face relationship with God, himself. But the future hope of eternal life in the Kingdom of God is also a present reality. We experience eternal life now as we enjoy an intimate relationship with God, that is a partial experience of the relationship to come. We have the Holy Spirit in our lives now, as our guarantee of what is to come. The Holy Spirit provides us power for holy living and service. And, the Holy Spirit provides us the spiritual fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Though, “in this world you will have trouble,” in this world we can also experience a full and abundant life in Christ Jesus. To experience the full and abundant life requires surrender of our wills, release of the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and making room for the fruit of the spirit. The full and abundant life in the Kingdom of God is a present reality while we await its future fullness in heaven. 5