The Greatest Story - Thy Kingdom Come

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So now today, we’re catching up to us.

Let’s recap

(TWO SLIDES - HUMANITY & ISRAEL)

We have a humanity that God worked really hard to build a wonderful place for, they messed it up and experienced the fall, and now live under the weight and consequence of sin.

We have a nation that God pulled out purely out of his own grace and mercy, and now they’ve experienced exile, and watching their homeland be crushed.

Big setup, big let down, now they’re just kind of getting by day to day.

I think we can all relate with that nowadays.

But then there’s a few prophecies throughout the OT

Isaiah 9:4–7 NIV

For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

A New Kingdom

So God speaks to this broken humanity, this nation-after-exile, and says - a day is coming where all of this oppression, all of this burden, all of this weight will be shattered. Not only that, but God’s kingdom will be setup, and it will never, ever end. There will be justice and righteousness forever. And that God has GREAT enthusiasm to get this done (that’s the definition of zeal)

And we see this prophetic string of a new God-led kingdom tied through MUCH of the old testament.

A Coming King

And then God takes all of it, all of this promise and prophecy, and hangs it on a single person. The jews call this person The Messiah.

So this is what the Jewish people sees. They see that God tried to make them a garden, and they lost that. They see that God tried to make them a nation, and they lost that too.

so in this messiah, they see the fulfillment of all their hopes. All their dreams. They see the king coming to setup a kingdom. They see freedom, and stability, and peace. They see everything that God’s ever tried to do in their lives being setup.

And so, put yourselves in their shoes. Now, there’s this person running around on earth, and His name is Jesus.

There’s already proof that He’s met many of the prophecies. BETHLEHEM, NAZARETH, EGYPT.

He’s also demonstrated that He HAS power - miracles, healings.

This story is after the feeding of the 5,000.

John 6:15 NIV

Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

People thought - maybe this is the messiah. Maybe this is the coming king

And so they wanted to take him, and make him a king by force. And i’m sure that they could have done it.

And we long for that even today. When our rights seem like they’re being walked on, thrown out. We should protest! We should resist! we don’t deserve this!

We are people starving, and there’s somebody over there who has bread. We need to fight for this!

But Jesus withdrew, and wouldn’t let them. and it’s incredibly important that we understand why.

Later in John 6, Jesus has this conversation:

John 6:25–27 NIV

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

This sounds great!

John 6:34–35 NIV

“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

John 6:40–41 NIV

For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”

this caused a sharp division with the disciples

John 6:66 NIV

From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

What changed?

The Jews wanted to be free from the Romans - Jesus offered them freedom from death

They wanted Him to get rid of the politicians and the oppression of a government that didn’t care about them - Jesus came rather to help them get rid of the sin and the death that was present in each of their hearts

The Jews wanted daily bread - Jesus offered eternal life

Jesus even calls them on this. You want to go back to Moses - your ancestors ate that manna in the desert, but they’re dead now! But I’m offering you something where you will never die!

The people wanted NOW - Jesus offered ETERNITY

We talked earlier about how Jesus withdrew from the crowds when they wanted to make Him king. But He WAS meant to be king. He was the messiah, the chosen one, the person who would occupy the throne of david forever.

The problem was, the jews wanted something less than the greatest story. They wanted an inferior story. They wanted the story of the nation of israel.

They didn’t want the story about God seeking to rescue all of humanity from sin and death.

They wanted the story where the people who hurt them get hurt back. The people who oppress them get overthrown. The one where they can stand up and say, ‘look at me, i’m free, nobody can ever tell me what to do!’

Israel wanted the story to be about themselves. And they wanted to see the cash in hand. But here’s the big truth

The Greatest Story…isn’t focused on us or on now

The biblical authors knew this. They knew that it was all about Jesus, and His story. They knew that whatever they got now couldn’t compare to what they would get then.

You see this greater story time and time and time again.

Philippians 3:19–21 NIV

Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

2 Corinthians 4:8–10 NIV

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

John 16:33 NIV

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Our story right now might be great. It might not. But it’s not about now.

The disciples had such a future-oriented perspective, that when they were whipped for the sheer reason of telling other people about Jesus, they actually rejoiced. Suffering couldn’t touch them because they weren’t of this world.

Our story may benefit us greatly. It may not. But it’s not about us.

Paul had faced more hardship and trouble than many of us have any ability to comprehend. And he considered himself supremely blessed, simply because he knew Christ. In his story, he won in every possible way.

Whether or not we feel like we’ve won, or lost, in our own eyes - we follow a God who has won every possible victory in every possible scenario.

If you want in on the greatest story

Decide to make your life about Jesus and eternity

And there’s a scripturethat summarizes this really well

Galatians 2:20

Galatians 2:20 NIV

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

There’s two parts to this:

JESUS

If you haven’t given your life

If you have

ETERNITY

If you’re focused on the here and now

COMMUNION

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NIV

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.