We value a Kingdom mindset and perspective

Our Preaching theme for 2022 is “Begin Again”

This year we are going to be revisiting and refocusing on some foundational things - beginning with our church values.

When we began to formulate a vision for the church, we began with values.

What is really important to us? What are our priorities?

Our vision must reflect our values, so we begin with values.

You may be listening to this teaching sometime in the future and I hope that while our themes and perhaps even our vision statement have changed, our values are pretty much the same.

We began with worship, the Word and the sanctifying work of the Spirit.

Today we will talk about the Kingdom of God.

This doctrine describes the rule of God over his creation as king, including how the rule is exerted and structured and what its ultimate purpose is.

If you read the Gospels you will see that Jesus talked a lot about the Kingdom - it was, in fact, the primary subject of His preaching.

Mark 1:14–15 ESV

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

When we think of kingdom, it calls to mind medieval images of castles and knights, of kings and peasants where life revolved around the lives and pursuits of a few nobles and everyone else was seemingly unimportant.

The truth is that no one had is easy in those days.

Just as the lives of peasants was to serve the nobility, it was the job of the nobility to protect and provide for their subjects, or they would have no subjects.

To be a noble also meant living with a target on your back. That’s why the people say, “God save the queen.”

In Jesus’ day the kingdom was Rome which claimed rulership over the civilized earth.

But Jesus’ preaching of the Kingdom was not against Rome, it was against sin and evil which corrupt our humanity.

Jesus recognized that it was not just the rulers that were corrupt, but that there is a corrupting force behind the rulers and that corruption extends to each of us.

God is the Creator and He created the world as good.

Man rebelled along with the corrupted spiritual beings and decided that He would be the master of his own destiny.

In doing so, the corrupt sinful nature made us subject to forces of evil which have been let loose in the world.

The way to escape evil is to repent, recognize our own sin and corruption and turn our allegiance back to God our Creator.

Jesus showed us the way by offering his own life as a sacrifice for our sin.

In doing so, He also took back the right of mankind to rule and to have authority on earth as an extension of God’s rule and authority.

So what does that mean for us today?

It means that we recognize that no matter what things look like in the world today, God is still on the throne!

We bring ourselves under His authority and the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

And as we come under the authority of Christ, we respond by bringing everything that is under our influence under his Lordship as well.

What that means practically is that we are not building our own little kingdoms - we are building one big Kingdom in which each of us have a part.

We value a Kingdom mindset and perspective in that we are not just about building our church but also furthering the cause of Christ in our region and around the world. God’s heart and our desire is for every nation and every people group to know the love of Christ and the truth of His salvation. We also love and support Israel as central to God’s plan and purpose. (Psalm 24:1-6, Isa. 2:1-5, Matt 5:17-20, Col 1:9-18, 2 Tim. 4:1-5)

What does this look like?

Perhaps you remember as I do, the slogan “Think Globally, but act locally.”

It has popularly been used by environmental sustainability community to depict how a global crisis may be solved by each one working in their community.

It has also been adopted by members of the world missions community to show how world missions and the local church are part of the same strategy.

The Kingdom of God is the eternal rule of God becoming visible and practical in our time and space.

The Kingdom of God is here!

God rules despite what you may think.

God rules despite the chaos around us.

God rules and His rule is infiltrating every level of society.

God rules and the rebellion humanity and of the devil is already crumbling.

God rules and is about to crush satan under your feet!

Think globally

Psalm 24:1–6 ESV

1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, 2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. 3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. 5 He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah

The Kingdom is everywhere.

The Psalmist begins by declaring that the earth is the Lords.

Why? Because He founded it.

God created the earth and as the Creator is entitled to rule over it.

Have you ever created something that you were really proud of? Something that you really put your heart and soul into?

Have you ever had such a thing break or fall apart?

What if someone tries to take it from you? How would you respond?

What is that thing that you made had a will of its own? What if it decided not to listen to you or belong to you?

Now you can imagine the heart of God when mankind fell.

God has not abandoned the earth.

He has not abandoned mankind.

He made a way for us to come back to him through Jesus.

But the Psalmist is writing before Jesus and is declaring God’s intention.

The earth still belongs to God!

When I sailed with the Danish Mission ship “Elida.” We had a practice that every port we would come to, we would declare, “Jesus is Lord” over this place.

It is simply acknowledging what is true despite what it looks like.

Jesus is Lord over Spring City Fellowship

Jesus is Lord over Spring City.

Jesus is Lord over Chester, Montgomery and Berks counties.

Jesus is Lord over Pennsylvania.

Jesus is Lord over the United States of America.

Jesus is Lord over the Earth.

The Kingdom is everyone who confesses Jesus as Lord.

Who can approach God? The Psalmist asks.

Whoever has clean hands and a pure heart.

How do you get that?

You renounce your allegiances to things that are not God.

You recognize that the world is in rebellion against God and you and I have been caught up in it.

We come clean before God when we confess our sin and receive his forgiveness.

Jesus gave His life for your so that you could be free to come to God.

That means that we are now doubly indebted to God who not only made us but who redeemed us through Jesus.

Sooner or later the whole world is going to realize this.

Philippians 2:9–11 TPT

9 Because of that obedience, God exalted him and multiplied his greatness! He has now been given the greatest of all names! 10 The authority of the name of Jesus causes every knee to bow in reverence! Everything and everyone will one day submit to this name—in the heavenly realm, in the earthly realm, and in the demonic realm. 11 And every tongue will proclaim in every language: “Jesus Christ is Lord Yahweh,” bringing glory and honor to God, his Father!

I think it is better that we realize it sooner rather than later.

According to this scripture it is not just the rebellious humanity that is going to confess Jesus as Lord, but the evil behind the rebellion as well.

This scripture is not saying that everyone will be saved.

It is saying that everyone will eventually admit to the truth about God and face the fact of their own rebellion.

Those who are fighting on the wrong side are going to know it, but it may be too late.

Colossians 1:9–18 ESV

9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

The Kingdom is always expanding.

10 Encouraging Trends of Global Christianity in 2020 (first five)

Insights| Faith & Culture | Jun 10, 2020

By Aaron Earls With so much happening in the U.S. in 2020, particularly within the church, American Christians can often forget theirs is a global faith. There are significant and noteworthy trends of Christianity happening around the world right now, according to the latest Status of Global Christianity report from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. 1. Both Africa and Latin America have more Christians than Europe. In 1900, twice as many Christians lived in Europe than in the rest of the world. Today, the Christian population in Europe has a flat growth rate, while Africa and Asia continue to experience dramatic growth. Currently, almost 640 million Christians live in Africa and 604 million in Asia, while 544 million call Europe home. 2. Evangelical Christianity is at home in the global South. According to the World Christian Encyclopedia: The number of Evangelicals in the world has increased from 112 million in 1970 to 386 million in 2020. Globally, Evangelicalism is a predominantly non-White movement within Christianity, and is becoming increasingly more so, with 77% of all Evangelicals living in the Global South in 2020. This is up from only 7.8% in 1900. 3. Christianity is growing at five times the rate as atheism. There are fewer atheists around the world now (147 million) than there were in 1970 (165 million). In recent decades, atheism has started to experience minor growth but only at a 0.22% rate. Christianity, on the other hand, is growing at 1.19% rate and is expected to continue to grow and add adherents globally. 4. By 2050, Charismatic Christians will outnumber the non-religious. The total of all non-religious individuals around the world currently sits at more than 878 million, while Pentecostal/Charismatic Christians number 644 million. In the next 30 years, however, that branch of Christianity will top 1 billion, while the non-religious will be closing in on 850 million. 5. Christianity will top 3 billion adherents before 2050. Currently, Christianity is the only religion with more than 2 billion followers. In the next five years, Islam will cross that threshold. Hinduism recently topped 1 billion. By 2050, Christianity will be the first to reach 3 billion. More than 3.4 billion people will be Christians then, according to the Gordon Conwell projections.

Act locally

I want you to see that you are part of something much bigger than you may realize.

But I also want you to see that we each have a part in this.

Paul left Timothy in charge of a church or a group of churches and told him specifically what he was expected to do to build the Kingdom in his location.

2 Timothy 4:1–5 ESV

1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

“Fulfill your ministry” Paul says, “do your part”

“Well I’m not a minister” you might think.

As part of the Kingdom we are all ministers.

What is a minister?

A minister is literally a servant.

In a kingdom there is one king and everyone else is… servants.

So unless you are the king (and you are not) that makes you a servant.

And if you are a servant then you are also a minister.

You have a role, a part to play in the Kingdom.

The mistake we make is thinking that we do not have a significant role.

In the Kingdom, no role is insignificant.

Can you think of any parables, any teachings of Jesus that express this? (Sower, mustard seed, the net, the coin)

Jesus liked to talk about small things making a big difference as a way of talking about the Kingdom.

The Kingdom spreads by multiplication.

This is important to understand when talking about the Kingdom.

If I lead someone to Christ each year, how many people will get saved in ten years? 10

If l lead someone to Christ each year and disciple them so that they lead a person to Christ each year, then how many people will potentially be saved in ten years? (11,154)

Over ten thousand people for Christ by just discipling one a year and teaching them to do the same!

That is addition versus multiplication.

It is not about getting people saved, it is about making disciples who in turn make disciples.

That’s why Jesus talked about small things making a big difference, because he understood the power of multiplication.

And that is how the gospel is spreading around the world because people aren’t just becoming Christians, they are being activated as disciples of Jesus who know that they have a part in his growing Kingdom

So why doesn’t multiplication happen everywhere and in every circumstance?

There was two parts to what Paul said to Timothy.

He encouraged him to minister to others, but he also said, “as for you...”

The Kingdom is established first in us.

Don’t forget about the “as for you...”

2 Timothy 4:5 The Message

5 But you—keep your eye on what you’re doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God’s servant.

The problem with multiplication is that we reproduce what we are.

That means we pass along both our strengths and our weaknesses.

That shouldn’t cause us not to reproduce, but it should cause us to always be growing and improving while we are reproducing.

Am I fully under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, or is there a part of me that is still in rebellion?

Anything in me that is not fully surrendered to Christ could become my downfall or be a stumbling block to someone else.

Paul warned Timothy that some people are only going to hear what they want to hear.

But then he adds the “as for you”

You’re not going to fall for that, right?

I want every part of me to come under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

So that like Paul says, after i have preached to others, I am not disqualified myself.

Consider the times

The rule of God is not just a matter of geography but it also involves the dimension of time.

The Kingdom is a story with a beginning, a middle and a conclusion?

Where do you think we are in the story?

Yes, right in the middle, but nearing the conclusion.

But where did the Kingdom begin? With Jesus?

Actually, it was a lot earlier than that.

Matthew 5:17–20 ESV

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Kingdom has already come.

The Kingdom of God began with His choosing of Israel to be His people.

Jesus did not abolish God’s covenant with Israel, He built on it.

The church has not replaced Israel, we have been grafted in.

We don’t discount anything that God did in the past.

The Old Testament.

God’s promise to Israel.

Even the account of Creation itself.

All of this is the basis for understanding the rule of God.

This is why we included the statement in this value that we love and support Israel.

We also love and support Israel as central to God’s plan and purpose.

The Kingdom is not either the Church or Israel, it’s the church and Israel, at least those who have recognized Jesus as their Messaiah.

The story of the Church began with the story of Israel, and according to what we read Israel will have a role to play again in the end.

The reason we honor Israel is not because we think Israel does everything right.

We honor Israel for the same reason that we honor our parents, because they are where we came from and it is appropriate to honor your source.

Just as we honor God because God is our source, and as our source He has the right to call us His.

The Kingdom is coming.

When Jesus preached the Kingdom, He didn’t say “ the Kingdom of God has begun” because it already began.

He said, “the Kingdom is at hand” it is near and it is here.

He meant that what had been planned and prophesied for centuries regarding the re-establishment of God’s rule on the earth was actually happening.

The curse was being reversed.

Sin and death no longer had the last word.

The powers of darkness were being defeated.

And Jesus Christ was ushering in a new age where He would lead a transformed humanity to victory.

So where does that leave us?

Exactly in the same position.

Jesus defeated the forces of evil at the cross.

And he gave all power and authority to the church which is His body, His representation on earth.

Bible scholars often talk about the Kingdom as the “Already but not yet.” That means we live in the interim between the actual fulfilment and the complete fulfilment of Christ’s victory.

An analogy has been used of World War Two being won at Normandy. When those beaches were flooded with soldiers, many giving their lives in sacrifice, it turned the tide of the war so that defeat was imminent for Nazi Germany, but it was not yet completed.

It took almost a year until there was an unconditional surrender. But the remainder of the war was a matter of cleaning up the remaining outposts of an enemy who was not giving up easily.

The church age is supposed to be a clean up operation. Jesus has already won the victory but the enemy is not going to just go away or give up easily. That is where the church comes in.

The Kingdom has not fully come.

You may have figured out that even though Jesus has won the victory, the war isn’t exactly over.

That time is coming.

In the mean time, the church is doing what God commanded mankind to do in the first place, multiply and fill the earth.

As we near the culmination of the story, the battle seems to be heating up for one last push.

As I said earlier, we are also keeping our eyes on Israel and the Middle East because that seems to be the epicenter for tensions as the Bible predicted.

But the Bible also tells us how the story will end and what the Kingdom will look like in the final stage.

Isaiah 2:1–5 ESV

1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, 3 and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. 5 O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

I don’t pretend to know how all of this is going to play out or what it all means.

What I do know is that we want to be Kingdom minded and to keep the perspective that God is establishing His rule over the earth- because that is what Kingdom means.

It means that we recognize that no matter what things look like in the world today, God is still on the throne!

We bring ourselves under His authority and the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

And as we come under the authority of Christ, we respond by bringing everything that is under our influence under his Lordship as well.

And I want to welcome King Jesus when He returns to take His throne on the earth.

The Kingdom of God is the eternal rule of God becoming visible and practical in our time and space.

The Kingdom of God is here!

God rules despite what you may think.

God rules despite the chaos around us.

God rules and His rule is infiltrating every level of society.

God rules and the rebellion of humanity and of the devil is already crumbling.

God rules and is about to crush satan under your feet!