King of the Hill
Notes
Transcript
So when they had come together, they asked Him, “Lord, are You restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Jon Guerra - The Kingdom of God [https://youtu.be/rq6sa7NCYFc}
The Kingdom being restored to Israel was the disciples main concern. The Romans now ruled the land promised by Yahweh to the people of God, Israel, His children of promise, through Father Abraham.
The people of the earth gathered their ingenuity and resources to build a tower to the heavens. They said “let us build a city and tower to the top of the sky. Let us make a name for ourselves” (Genesis 11:4). Let us build a kingdom!
To build kingdom has been put into our very DNA by God. He commanded Adam to rule, fill, multiply and subdue the earth He created (Gen. 1:28). He even said be fruitful in doing so. That was just not a command for Adam, but for all of humanity.
If you were a child ever, you probably played ‘King of the Hill’ in the school yard. One child ascends a hill of snow deemed worthy of owning. He then proceeds to defend his/her territory from all takers. Any form of pushing, pulling or submission tactics were acceptable to ascend and defend ‘your’ hill, ‘your kingdom’. This rite of passage was usually ‘outlawed’ once somebody got hurt or wanted to stake claim to the top of the hill without going through the ‘normal procedures’ (i.e. some girl told the teacher).
Man ascending to be ‘King of the Hill’ endures to today and will tomorrow. Wars are fought for a kingdom in both foreign and domestic lands. Not just with guns and tanks, but with pen and paper, laws and lawyers, governments and corporations. To have a seat on the UN Security Council is to direct, influence and rule the “nations”.
Every four years an election is called and the people are supposed to decide who becomes ‘King of the hill’ and will rule the kingdom of Canada and it’s people. Elections are one and lost on promises to make you and I prosperous or better off than what we are or have been. Lately, prosperity is based on what is best for the common good, sustainable and ‘best for the environment’.
‘Science’, “experts”, media and “special institutue studies” are weapons employed to manipulate the masses, to illicite certain emotional responses and movements, to maintain or gain one’s position as ‘King of the Hill’ and control the masses. Propaganda and tel-a-vision are synonamis with building and maintaining a kingdom and/or causing the overthrow of one. A great promise of what could be and can be is essential.
But we build, or attempt to build, kingdom in all fascits of our lives and in all places. We seek to conquer, subdue, multiply and be fruitful in most, if not, all areas of our lives. We even mistake this as the purpose of our lives …to build kingdom, to be ‘King of the hill’. But the question is: what is the hill we are ascending and why? Is this the hill we want to ascend and die on trying to get to the top, or maintain our place at the top? What is the kingdom we are pursuing or trying to build and establish. Is it the right one? The wise one? And why?
Jesus said the kingdom you build and pursue has to be solid. No one builds on muskage or on a slew.
“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of Mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. And its collapse was great!”
What were the words that Jesus spoke that He was refering to? What did He say? Why?
He was speaking about how to be a ‘King of the Hill’ in this life and the life to come. He was talking about what the right hill looks like, what it is, how to climb it, with whom and for the right purpose.
“Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.
There are two roads, or two hills, that you can pursue to climb in this life. One that leads to destruction and one that leads to life. The one hill has a gentle incline, is wide and has easy paths. Much like the climb to the top of the Tea House in Lake Louise. It’s a path that you can walk, or run, two-by-two, talking while you go, even bring the little one along in the stroller or the dog on a leash. Halfway up there is place to stop and relax by a little lake and sit on the rocks, enjoying the sight and sun.
Climbing to the top of Mount Everest on the other hand is a different hill altogether. People train for a year ahead to prepare to climb Everest. They pack along extreme weather gear, mountain boots, winter tents, food, googles, sun blockage, health kits, oxygen, heat and hire leaders to lead them to the top. The majority of the people do not make it the the top. The most experienced moutain climbers have had some incident of sickness, frostbite or even succumbed to death. Only 5294 people have successfully climbed Mount Everest in history (since January 2019). 800 people attempt to climb it every year. May 29, 1953 was the first time it’s summit was reached by Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay of Nepal. In 68 years only 77 people per year have made it to Everest’s summitt. Out of a world population of 7.5 billion (as of 2019) only 1.03% of the world has made the summit. That is miniscule, small, narrow but exhilirating for those who have achieved it.
Climbing Mount Everest in the economy of the Christian life is to follow Jesus and “seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Mt. 6:33). This is the hill we are to climb. This is the hill we have been equipped to climb “through the power and shed blood of Christ…and in God (Christ) all things are possible” (Heb. 9:14; Mt. 19:27; Luke 1:37).
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
To be ‘King of the Hill’ in this life, and the life to come, is to seek the the Kingdom of God. This is the gospel that Jesus preached. The Gospel of the Kingdom was central to everything that Jesus preached and said.
The Kingdom Gospel - the coming of the Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God was central to Jesus’:
Teaching - designed to show men & women how they might enter the Kingdom of God (Mt. 5:20; 7:21)
Works - intended to prove that the Kingdom of God has come upon them (Mt. 12:28)
Parables - illustrated the truths about the Kingdom of God (Mt. 13:11)
Prayer - petition for the Kingdom of God to come “Thy Kingdom come! They will be done!” (Mt. 6:10)
Fellowship - promise of fellowship in the Kingdom of God (Lk. 22:22-30)
Promise - to bring the Kingdom fo God to those it was prepared for (Mt. 25:31, 34)
What is the Kingdom of God? What is the meaning of the Kingdom of God?
“Kingdom” is used 162 times in the New Testament. It means “reign” and “realm”.
Reign - the exercise of kingly power; the active rule of a king
Realm - a dominion over which a king rules; people; territory
Sovereignty and dominion
The Kingdom of God is God’s reign and rule over His realm.
Jesus came proclaiming, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news!” -Mark 1:15
After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the good news of God: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news!”
What was Jesus proclaiming?
Jesus was proclaiming repent - change your thoughts, attitudes and actions from the ways of the world, that is fallen and sinful leading to death. Get of that hill! Stop ascending that hill and fighting to be at it’s top. Follow me up to Everest instead! The narrow path that is difficult, but ever rewarding and everlasting.
To draw near to God, to enter His Kingdom of peace, hope and love is to invite and welcome His reigh and His rule over you and your world, your realm!
Jesus said,
Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God will come, He answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with something observable; no one will say, ‘Look here!’ or ‘There!’ For you see, the kingdom of God is among you.”
Jesus also said, when questioned by Pilate if he was the King of the Jews,
“My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. As it is, My kingdom does not have its origin here.”
So which is it? The Kingdom of God is invisible but yet physical? It is in you, but also out there? It is here, but not yet? Yes.
Jesus said to John’s disciples,
At that time Jesus healed many people of diseases, plagues, and evil spirits, and He granted sight to many blind people. He replied to them, “Go and report to John the things you have seen and heard: The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with skin diseases are healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news. And anyone who is not offended because of Me is blessed.”
But yet...
“My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. As it is, My kingdom does not have its origin here.”
The importance of the message of Jesus about the Kingdom of God is this…the Kingdom of God is the Gospel…the full Gospel.
So then…what is the Kingdom Gospel?
A simple answer at this point is this…the manifest presence of God’s reign over His realm.
So what does this matter to me?
Our responsibility as followers/disciples of Christ Jesus is to allow God manifest over our lives and be vessels of God’s manifest presense in this world.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.”
Our Responsibility:
Make God Manifest!
Make the appeal of God to man.
Allow the love of Christ to contol us; submit to Him
For Christ’s love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all, then all died. And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised.
Does the love of Christ control me?
This is how I will become ‘King of the Hill’ in this life and the life to come. This is how I get to the top of Everest.
We are to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, His holiness through Christ Jesus.
What hill am I climbing and aiming to be king of?
Wide, inviting and comfortable is the easy hill. But narrow and difficult is the narrow hard hill that leads to life everlasting…the Kingdom of God.