Kingdom

John 3:22-36 1/5/2020 “Kingdom” It’s a good exercise to evaluate oneself. To do some introspection; looking inside and trying to determine where we’re at, how we’re doing, what we can improve. It’s a good personal exercise. It’s also healthy for a church to talk about and consider what we are doing and why; “Lord, how are we doing with the tasks you’ve given us? Where are we succeeding and where are we failing? What can we do better? How can we better glorify you?” There have been a lot of conversations about what we could call ‘The State of the Church.’ The elders have spoken at length over the years. The board and individual members of the church have given a significant amount of thought. And then, let’s be honest, some of us, from time to time, don’t give it much or any thought; we just show up or we might neglect to show up. What the church is doing or not doing, what it’s about, might be of some concern to you or it might be of little to no concern to you. It’s so important to think about, because the Church has a bearing on Christians and a mission to reach the lost. Being a Christian is more than being part of a church, but it’s certainly not any less than being part of a church. I’ll state it as plainly as I can: an un-churched Christian is a contradiction in terms. And a church that never prayerfully evaluates its ministry and mission and methods is going to die. On the road home to my Mom’s house, about halfway between Nevada and Wichita, there’s a town with a really nice church building right on the highway. I notice church buildings wherever I go. A couple of years ago as we were driving home, I realized the sign out front had a different look. Turns out, that building was no longer a gathering place for a church. It was now a funeral home. To my knowledge, the church that once met there is no longer. It was. It no longer is. We have to think about what we’re doing individually. Are we committed to a local church body? Are we giving our lives to that which the Lord would have us? And we have to think about what we’re doing collectively? Are we spending proper time and giving proper attention to what the Lord would have us do as a church body? As we enter into this New Year we must think about (or we should be thinking about) where we’re going (or where we want to go), what we’re doing (or what we want to do) and how we are, in the midst of it all, going to praise and glorify the Lord. As we enter into this New Year, this is our goal: To praise the Lord with ever-increasing zeal and to invite as many people as we can to do the same. In keeping with this goal, some things will stay the same. 1 John 3:22-36 • 1/5/2020 “Kingdom” This local church body has a long and storied history of proclaiming the Word of God, proclaiming Christ here and abroad, and that will never change. We will unapologetically preach Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life. We will call all people to repentance, to submission to Christ as Lord and Savior, and then to joyful obedience to Him by the power of the Holy Spirit. We will continue to preach. • We will continue, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to be generous and joyfully so. Our purpose is to bring glory, not to ourselves, but to God. Opportunities to glorify Him abound. Take last month, for instance. Several of you filled stockings with gifts for children in our area in the foster system. Well, it got the attention of the Missouri Department of Social Services and they posted it on ‘the Facebook’. [Show Picture] Generosity preaches. We will continue to be generous and willing to share. • We will continue to work on our spiritual growth. We will have Bible studies, small groups, youth group, Sunday School. We are people of the Word; that will not and cannot change. I have printed out several different Bible reading plans. The one I recommend for us (the one I’m using myself) is a 5-day/week plan, giving you a few days to reflect upon what you’ve read. Some are every day plans. Some are 5-minutes a day. One plan is a 3-year plan. No matter what plan you choose, my prayer is for us (as a church) to be in the Word. If you read the Bible for just 12 minutes each day, you can easily read through the entire Bible in a year. 12 minutes. Do you know how much time you spend on your phone? Watching TV? Attending sporting events? In my case, it’s a lot more than 12 minutes a day, I promise you that. John Piper said, rather prophetically years ago, “One of the great uses of social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat) will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness and lack of Bible reading was not from lack of time.” We will, RHCC, commit to growing spiritually, growing closer to the Lord. • We will continue to be invested in the next generation. As those running the race come up behind us, we will cheer them on, pointing them to Jesus, making sure we all keep our eyes fixed on Him. Some things here at Rich Hill Christian Church will stay the same. Some things here at Rich Hill Christian Church will change. They have to. If nothing changes, ever, well, that’s a sign of decay; moss starts to grow. If nothing changes, it’s likely because fear is ruling the day. 2 John 3:22-36 1/5/2020 “Kingdom” We must hang on to the indispensable. And we must be willing to let go of those things upon which we have placed too much—hopes, dreams, happiness, contentedness, comfort, etc. The other day, Miracle was playing with one the many Lego sets he got for his birthday (December 18) and Christmas (a week later). I came home for lunch and found him sitting on the floor of the living room, looking rather melancholy. I asked him what was up and he replied, “This Lego set isn’t making me happy.” I found this to be a teachable moment and so I said, “Buddy, stuff will never make you happy. And by looking to stuff or believing that stuff or circumstances would or could ever make you happy, you will only, ever, always be disappointed.” Things can’t make you happy or give you what you need; that spot is reserved for Jesus alone. Some stuff will change. These changes might not make you happy. Some stuff won’t change. The changes not made might not make you happy. If your happiness is tied to stuff or circumstance, to things or tradition, to innovation—you’re bound to be disappointed. BUT, if you’re tied to Christ, if you’re happy in Him, then no matter what the circumstance, no matter the changes—if you’re tied to Christ, nothing can take that way, nothing can alter that, nothing can mess with that. If/when you get upset by some change we make or don’t make, ask yourself: “Am I upset because this isn’t what I want or like? Am I upset because this doesn’t fit well in my kingdom that’s honestly more about me than it is about Jesus?” “Or am I upset because this is, in some way, clearly unbiblical and clearly contrary to the Kingdom of God?” It’s okay—it’s good and it’s right—to be upset (even angry) when a church does something unbiblical. However, if what a church does upsets you on the level of personal preference or changing tradition…we might need to check our hearts. We are striving, not to make changes for change sake, but to make changes so that more and more people who don’t know Jesus would come to a saving knowledge of Him. Sometimes it’s good to open the windows and blow out the cobwebs. Doing something new, different, something that *gasp* “hasn’t been done before” communicates that this ship is not sinking. We need to communicate that we are more interested, more concerned, more focused on reaching a lost and dying world than we are interested in keeping everything just as it’s been for the last 50, 60, 80, 138 years. Jared Wilson, an author and speaker, stepped on my toes real hard as I was reading one of his books. He writes: 3 John 3:22-36 1/5/2020 “Kingdom” “There comes a time when every church has to decide whether they’re actually a church or just a place where people go to get their preferences coddled.” Oooof. It’s not about us, our preferences, our traditions, our desires. It’s not about us. It’s about Jesus and His Kingdom. Personal confession time: I don’t like change. Even a little bit. Not one ounce. But I see the need. In order to reach people for Christ, we need to be willing to do something different. Ben Merold, the former pastor of Harvester Christian Church in St. Louis, now in his mid-80s, told a group of pastors and elders a few years ago one of the most incredible, most Christ-like things I’ve ever heard. Ben Merold, an aged-saint, not some young-whippersnapper, said this: “I will be willing to put up with things I do not like in order to reach people who are not like me.” - Ben Merold That’s an incredibly mature perspective—a perspective I don’t possess much of the time. But the Holy Spirit’s working on me. Concern for the Kingdom of God, concern for the glory of Jesus, concern for the supremacy of Christ, concern that Jesus is fully in the spotlight—that’s John the Baptist’s story in a nutshell. If you have your Bible (and I hope you do) please turn with me to the Gospel of John. If you are able and willing, please stand for the reading of God’s Holy Word. John 3, beginning with verse 22: John 3:22–36 NIV 22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. 24 (This was before John was put in prison.) 25 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.” 27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less.” 4 John 3:22-36 1/5/2020 “Kingdom” 31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them. May the Lord add His blessing to the reading of His Holy Word! Here in John 3, the disciple John shifts the focus away from Jesus for a moment. John the Disciple shares now about John the Baptist. John the Baptist was baptizing people with the help of some of his followers. At this point, some of John the Baptist’s disciples had already transferred their loyalty and had started following Jesus. John the Baptist pointed people to Jesus: John 1:29 NIV 29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:36 NIV 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” Upon hearing John the Baptist’s proclamation, two of his disciples left him and went to follow Jesus. One of them was Peter’s brother, Andrew. John 1:40 NIV 40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. This was the natural thing for Andrew to do. He couldn’t not follow Jesus. Yet, here in chapter 3, we see that John the Baptist still had disciples. These were followers who found it impossible to transfer their allegiance to Jesus. They were intensely loyal to John the Baptist, intensely loyal to what they knew. The disciples of John the Baptist were gripped with envy as they saw their ministry and that of John the Baptist’s lose its popularity to another ministry. Seems to be the human condition. We envy. We covet. We want what others have. We want to hang on to what we believe is ours. We have to fight against those tendencies and learn, somehow, to be content with what we have, to be content with what the Lord has given us. John’s disciples aren’t content. They don’t like what’s happening; they don’t like what they see. So they tattle: 5 John 3:22-36 1/5/2020 “Kingdom” John 3:26 NIV 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan— the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.” It sounds a little whiny, doesn’t it? It couched in concern—concern for themselves; they don’t want anything to change. They like things the way they are. “I don’t know who this fellow is. You said something about him down by the river, but we weren’t really paying attention. He’s stepping on our ministry; we’re the baptizers. That’s our thing!” The envy and distress of John’s disciples are not echoed by John. John wasn’t upset. He wasn’t ticked off by the attention being given to Jesus. John wasn’t phased. John was pleased. John was all about it. And John instructed his disciples through why. John tells his students: “A man can receive nothing unless it’s been given to him from heaven.” John had received his God-given vocation and position with joy and and open hand. Precisely because John trusted the Lord’s will and the Lord’s timing, John was delighted—DELIGHTED—to see Jesus’ popularity growing and his own popularity declining. John 3:28 NIV 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ John knew and shared openly the fact that he was the one Isaiah prophesied about, the one who would cry out in the wilderness. John knew he was not the Messiah, rather a herald of the Messiah and the coming Kingdom of God. John was not the king; he was a forerunner of the King. It wasn’t about John. It was about Jesus. John wasn’t the groom. It wasn’t his wedding; he was merely the best-man, the friend of the bridegroom. The people of God were often referred to as the bride. The OT looked forward to this and the NT refers to the Church as Christ’s bride. John was saying, “I’m not the groom. The bride isn’t mine. The bride is His, but I’m the best man, and I get to go to the wedding feast and stand right next to the groom as He enters into the joy of this wedding.” This was, for John, an unspeakable privilege—immeasurable joy, matchless joy. John was not envious of Jesus. John didn’t covet Jesus’ Bride. John was delighted to play his small part in the wedding. He had received a mission from God and it was his great pleasure to fulfill his role and step off stage. His place was never in the spotlight; his place was making sure the spotlight shined fully, brightly, clearly on Jesus. And in one of the most famous statements that ever fell from his lips, John made his place and his purpose clear: 6 John 3:22-36 1/5/2020 “Kingdom” John 3:30 NIV 30 He must become greater; I must become less.” Few greater motto texts for ministry have ever been uttered. I can think of few more clarifying and important reminders for ministry, for a church’s worship and mission than this. In all things, we must become less and less. He must become greater and greater. He’s worthy. John summed-up his teaching in these famous words. It was necessary that Jesus would take precedence over him. He MUST become greater... Jesus’ becoming greater, John becoming less—this is a divine necessity. This is our verse for 2020. More than that, it’s a good, lifelong reminder for each of us. I know of someone who has this as their computer password. In order to log-in, they have to type “hemustbecomegreaterImustbecomeless” every time. What a good reminder. Write this verse on your bathroom mirror with a dry-erase marker. Print it out and tape it to your computer screen. We’ve talked about T-shirts and car decals: Kingdom > Me. Jesus, His rule and His reign, are supreme. Nothing we desire, nothing we want, nothing we’d like to hang onto with a death-grip, nothing is greater than Jesus and His Kingdom. We here on earth cannot have preeminence over One who has come from heaven. As verse 31 states: The One who comes from heaven is above all. Jesus came to us, took on flesh and walked among us, and declared the very words of God; indeed He was God Himself. But no one paid attention. No one much cared what Jesus had to say. For so long, and even still, we have elevated ourselves and have attempted to move Jesus to the side, to move Him backstage so that we could be in the spotlight. In Jesus’ day, there was widespread opposition to Him; the religious folk of His time rejected Him almost universally. But amid the opposition, there were those whose eyes and ears God opened to see and hear the truth of Jesus’ words, and they received His teaching. Everything is in [Jesus’] hands. Jesus is everything. He has eternal life; it comes from a relationship with Him. Jesus is everything. He is life. He turns away the wrath of God for those who accept Him. He must become greater; I must become less. Let our focus be on making Him greater and greater—in our lives, at Rich Hill Christian Church, and among the nations. Jesus must become greater; we must become less and less. It’s not about us. It’s not about me. It’s not about you. It’s about Jesus. It’s about Jesus. We are going to keep the main thing the main thing. 7 John 3:22-36 1/5/2020 “Kingdom” It’s not about us; it’s about Him. It’s not about tradition or keeping things the same; it’s about the Kingdom. We’re going to center ourselves and this church on the gospel, on Christ and the Good News about Him. He must become greater; [we] must become less. Which Kingdom are we building? Ours or His? What matters more to us? What we want or what Jesus wants? Do you remember those old ‘WWJD’ bracelets? “What Would Jesus Do?” they asked. My brother-in-law laughed at how, during the apex of his religious fanaticism, he wore 20 of those at a time. It’s not a bad question, though we have a book that tells us exactly what Jesus did; we have the answer to that question right here before us. Instead of ‘WWJD’, what about ‘WWJW’? “What Would Jesus Want?” We are making changes. We will be making more. But not haphazardly. We are seeking and trying to determine what Jesus would want, who Jesus would want us to be, what Jesus wants from Rich Hill Christian Church. “What Would Jesus Want?” is a far more significant question than “What Do I Want?” At least, it should be. My prayer is that what Jesus wants becomes most important, that His Kingdom takes precedence and priority over my preference. The Kingdom of God is and must remain > me and my preference. John 3:30 NIV 30 He must become greater; I must become less.” 8