Two Kingdoms

Col 1:13-14

Destination: (Where are we heading?)

Get on board: (what is going to make people get on the train and journey with you?)

What do I want people to know? Why do I want people to know it? What do I want people to do? Why do I want people to do it? What do I want people to feel? Why do I want people to feel it?

State

Explain

Illustrate - Facts

Illustrate - Opinions of other people e.g. quotes, endorses

Illustrate - Anecdote - story, drug of the human brain

Illustrate - Metaphor - it’s a bit like, not explain it all but illustrate it

Lots of us like to watch before and after programs - gardens, houses, rooms - for me I like it in pieces of wood… I like seeing the change the transformation… show piece of wood that has been changed

Paul is giving the Christians in Colosse a before and after picture…

Before

before you became Christians - followers or Jesus/friends with Jesus - Paul says they were in the kingdom of darkness - using picture language.

blind fold illustration - get volunteer, what can you see -

most of us don’t like the dark - can’t see, can’t even walk around without bumping into things - “Darkness” in Scripture is symbolic of ignorance, falsehood, and sin

the thing is the Bible tells us people seem to like being in this kingdom and want to be in this kingdom - [slide on screen] Jesus says…

(cf. John 3:19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

In the kingdom of Darkness already seen we can’t see because our sin blinds us

[Start tying me up… ad lib while this is happening]

Another way of describing it is our sin ties us up and imprisons us -

[attach labels to rope with pegs]

sin is…

Saying no to God

I want to do it my way

I’m in charge

Pride - I know best

Lies

Greed

I don’t want to know God

I want to be free to be me

All of this ties us up and traps us we need to be rescued be we can’t rescue ourselves…

After

Kingdom of light

In the kingdom of light we are forgiven for our sins

Can’t untie ourselves or move from one kingdom to the other…

Can’t do the change or transformation ourselves because we are tied up with our sin.

Need someone to pay for us to be released - like if you park your car in the wrong place and you get clamped you have to pay for it to be released… unlike the car we can’t pay the price ourselves we need someone to pay it for us…

[someone come and pay Helen to release me - then Helen untie me!]

Jesus paid the price so we could be free… The price was his life… he gave his life instead of us, he took the punishment for sin instead of us so we could come into God’s kingdom and be free… That’s the cost of coming into the kingdom of light - and Jesus pays it for us…

Jesus takes us from one kingdom to another

We think it’s freedom to do what we want - but the bible says it ties us up and traps us - freedom is when we are free from the sin which traps us and free to live for Jesus…

Before - we are friends with Jesus we are in the kingdom of darkness blind and tied up by our sin.

After - Jesus pays the price he takes us into the kingdom of light where we are free to know God and live for him - have hope for the future.

Which kingdom are you in?

PRAY