The Kingdom of God is a PARTY!

On the subject of Aging issues. I forgot an announcement. Theresa asked me to announce that she is really looking for some new choir Coke and that's a great opportunity to ask the choir spontaneously. Do y'all have fun? Who does not like to have fun. Okay. You don't have to be the greatest singer in the world. We've got lots of folks up here who are perfectly wonderful singers have, I went over there. I wouldn't be such a good singer but I have fun. So come along out and have fun with the choir and enjoy that get ahold of Theresa we want also want to thank dr. Tom for being here, one note, I know we were talking about this morning and I we've talked about getting that organ up there. Playing doesn't work, there's another organ app here. That's all historic instrument. It's really cool. Cam was going to play for us up there but their attitude pipes and a few that have the air capacity of an asthmatic Mouse. So, as soon as we can get that rectified will have him play that for us. So that'll be really fun. alright, let's take a look at God's word from Deuteronomy chapter 14, 2226

Set apart a tide of all your yield. See that is brought into the yearly from the field, in the presence of the Lord, your God in the place that he will choose, as a dwelling for his name. You shall eat the tithe of your grain, your wine or oil as well as the first things from your herds and flocks so that you may learn to fear the lord your God always. But if when the Lord your God has blessed you The distance is so great that you are unable to transport it because the place where the Lord, your God will choose to set. His name is too far away from you, turn it into money with the money, secure in the land. Go to the place that the Lord, your God will choose. Spend the money for whatever you wish box, and she wine strong drink, whatever you desire and eat there in the presence of the Lord, your God, you and your household rejoicing together,

And just one verse from. The gospel of Matthew.

From that time. Jesus began to Proclaim repent. For the kingdom has come near. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let us pray.

Earth, Earth, Earth hear the word of the Lord. May the words of my mouth and meditation of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight this day O Lord our Rock Our Redeemer.

Play like a party. Well, we had a party yesterday. Let me tell you mama was 90 years old and we had all sorts of folks from all over, and Cecily made. This super duper brunch with all this kind of stuff that you've never even imagined casserole. This casserole that sausage with sweet rolls homemade bread, homemade muffins fruit.

We had a party. We had a big party in there were all at the Boys At Mama's Boys and all her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and she was surrounded by all these. Think I made a slideshow of pictures from her from when she was young, girl, up, to everywhere. We've been interacting with all these folks that presents. We had to fire marshal wouldn't allow that many candles. We just had one candle, it was a blast. We had a great time who wouldn't want to go to the party? Like that. It was a blessing. We loved, we are still thinking about it today. Jesus. Jesus. What had a habit of turning things on their head? He thought about things differently. He looked it looked at the world a little bit more clearly then perhaps the religious leader of his date. And in this text we see he's talking about that last week because repeat the Kingdom of Heaven is near last week. I looked and talked a little bit about this repentance piece this method, neue piece. Idea that when the Light of Christ Shines on us it reveals things and it causes us to turn and give those things up and ask for God's forgiveness. Well, the kingdom of God is near the Kingdom of Heaven Is Here. Jesus puts forward, and he makes it makes it a little bit.

About understanding what, what that means. One on. I love talking about the Kingdom of Heaven, the kingdom of God. What in the world is it mean? Well. These are the things we talked about it, but one of the ideas that will talk about today is, have you ever thought about the kingdom of God as a big party?

Jesus encountered, the religious leaders of his day. They thought the kingdom. The, the chosen people of Israel were only the Jews. Just did Jesus said no everyone to this to this Gathering. The Jewish leaders of his day. Thought that the the place where God dwells with a place filled with the pious, super holy people do you said now bring the prostitutes, the tax collectors, the Sinners, all of you come

The religious leaders of his dad there. They said, there's no Kingdom of Heaven here in Jesus, and the Kingdom of Heaven is in your midst. He's a turn things around, he made us look at at things differently. Tomatoes considered different nuances to the greatness of God. As we look at this idea of Kingdom, we have to look at a couple of things that have talked about some weeks before but things that were movements. Actually, people got excited about when they talked about the Kingdom of Heaven. The kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven back in the back in the early 1900s. You'll remember, if you remember your history, we had the sweatshops and child labor, and all sorts of abuses in the workplace here. During those early days of industrialization, the folks who were followers of Jesus during that day thought. Well, you know, if I'm following Jesus then not only do I have to change, but I have to work to change the rules and Wrongs of society, have to work on that. And so, they worked in the social Arena, it was called The Social Gospel, and they work really hard on it.

The leaders in the followers that movement became so enamored with the doing good in the, the societal Reformation that they left priced out of it. And so it just finally became a do-gooding movement and lost steam because there was no impetus behind it. That would drive it for the Long Haul. Another movement came out and in 50 years later, it was the Shalom movement of the kingdom of God, Shalom, meaning peace. Lots of things in that word, but we won't go into today. But the idea of peace and the idea that there was a Peaceable Kingdom that as Christians, we were to be peacemakers into offer, one another piece no matter what the cost. Well, there was this little Skirmish called Korea, and then that was followed by one in Vietnam. And then there was this Cuban Missile Crisis thing. And people in that movement, kind of threw in the towel. Still active, but it's not as in the Forefront. There's another movement Kingdom that is called the Jubilee concept, the idea of Jubilee. And Jesus points for this is New Kingdom, his new understanding of what kingdom might be in this idea of Jubilee, comes from Leviticus chapter 25. Where we we say the, the idea of making equality that being a follower of God and yes, we follow God. But we also take care of neighbor and over time, things get out of balance. In the Year of Jubilee. Every fifty years, things were just to be started over shuffled out riddle. I have got rebuilt prisoners.

Lands were returned to ancestral owners deaths, were canceled or reduced.

But that movement hasn't taken wide. Hold. You'll remember some, some groups that have lived together and end in groups of Christian Community, trying to do that and sharing one with another. You've seen that

but there's this other concept that I want to think about all those, Justice. Yes, we need to be about, peacemaking. Yes, we need to be concerned about the, the outcasts in the lowly of the disenfranchised. Those who are economically in in bad shape. But there's another aspect that we don't think about too much. The kingdom of God is a party. especially Presbyterian, we don't think

Party is anything from decent. A party is anything from in order. And we are people who are decent and in order.

You are our founder, John Calvin. He was worried that somewhere somebody somehow was having a good time and have been put on Earth to put a stop to it.

Just kidding. I loved all of her form theology.

Wants us to look at things differently. so, all this passes are at from Deuteronomy often, we talked about it during stewardship season in the fall, we talked about this thing called it and giving 10%. How to listen to the Old Testament, but do you recall what we are supposed to do with that? 10% from what I read in?

You can speak. It's okay. We're decent in order but you can say something.

Okay, well, if it's here, if this is what we're to do, where to eat it. That's good. You should eat the tithe of your grand, your wine, your oil, and your first lines of your herd and flat so that you may learn to fear the lord I'm liking this eat as I love that. Okay. Well what if what if it were too far away? What if we're too far away 25, then turn it in the money. I want the money. Spend the money on whatever you want, she wine strong drink, whatever you desire, and you shall eat there in the presence of the Lord, your God, and your household rejoicing together.

So, are we doing at 10%? We pay the light bill. Nope. We pay the pastor at 10%. We have a party with 10%. Have you ever heard of that have a party with 10%? I don't know. No Presbyterians on the face of the Earth I've ever done that, but consider the possibility.

10% of the gross national product of the nation was to be given for a blowout party to God. Wow.

That would be a celebration that would be something Larger than Life. That would be a party that anyone would want to come to.

And yet so often we are constrained in our Expressions which constraining are outlay of funds were constrained in our expression of the exuberant joy, that God gives us the Abundant Life that we have that we are supposed to share with others in the world. The kingdom of God is a celebration, it's a joyful Feast of the kingdom of God. He has brought you to his banqueting table His Banner Over. You Is Love. I wouldn't be glad when they said to me, let us come to the house of the Lord. Are you happy to be here? That was that was terrible. That was so Presbyterian.

Are you glad to be here? Thank you. Hallelujah. I am. I'm glad to be here because this is a great place to be. We are in Fellowship in Queen Anne in with the Lord, with each other, and it fills up with something. If you take it with you into this world, it's awful and horrible and all the bad things out there. But you've got the joy of the Lord, you had the celebration that keeps going, the party that starts here and it keeps going when you go out of those doors. The problem is, is it's a church. Doesn't show people how to have a party to the Lord. They're going to go party someplace else.

They're going to talk people going to find a way to express themselves. It with joy and enthusiasm until you know you have, you have Drug parties and you have super cocktail parties where you outdo each other with dress and jewels and how much she can drink and posturing and those kinds of things, you have have a rock and roll concert. yeah, I never crowd-surf but I'm sure past people over my head that have Grapevine. The world. The world knows how to have a good time but the way that they have a good time is a experiential moment that is fleeting in fulfillment. It only lasts a moment. With the party that we are. Supposed to have is one that starts and keeps going and going and going to see if it's a foretaste of what is to come. It's a glimpse of what God has it before us. It's a testimony that God is so gracious and so good that he has blessed us with over abundantly more than anything we could ask. And so we celebrate We party. We say yes. Lord! Wow.

Hallelujah.

It was good to Fresh Tangerine juice, really? There is this thing that is celebration that we don't do very well. And that part of the Kingdom idea, if it's missing it makes our whole journey on this thing called following Jesus. A lot. Cut-and-dried stale. Burnt toast. I just doing it.

but God says, I want you to celebrate. One of the greatest joys of our work in Africa is training. Leaders are added you. As always we have to work ourselves out of a job and we're always doing that I was trying to come to work to the next person. So if you got this training, okay, you got what I got? I'm going on to the next one thing people. And one of the things we used to do is call the four leaders and so the leaders of the church would come through four times a year. We still do this but it's just less frequent and make time for 4 days 5075m women for days. I'm getting back of these crazy pickup trucks and drive for hours and hours and hours on with bicycle and some would ride on the back of a motorbike didn't matter. They would all come in for 4 days. We would throw a huge party. We would have three meals a day. Now, I know that doesn't surprise you. Cuz you probably eat three meals a day like me, but there. Having three meals a day was a radical idea. We even had morning coffee and afternoon tea with little biscuits and treats and things and breeding, and different kinds of things. They never eaten. Before we put up a sheet and got the portable generator and showed old 1950s, black and white corny, Sunday school movies, and we sang and sing, and play games study. The Bible shared prayer Joyce, cuz it was an amazing time, always a blessing. one time, a fella named Amos came up to me and at the conclusion of the seminar and he said, Tata kanyanya schemata in knee. Which means? Is heaven like this? Is heaven like this?

Wow. You see a man's life is so unbelievably difficult. On the day today.

And he had come to this place where you had a bed and a mosquito and all the clean fresh water that wanted to drink tea as much as he wanted food, as much as he wanted fellowshipping with Believers. As much as he wanted, fun growing in the word is heaven like this.

Are the scriptures. The scriptures are full, full of ideas about party. Think back in the Old Testament, King David King, David bringing the ark to Jerusalem and 2nd Samuel chapter 6. The dance so hard his pants fell off. Run around out there in his skivvies. and Michael, his wife looking down, two minds me of us Presbyterians like crude

Shaking her finger, and David comes back.

You know what happened? She got thrown out that she became in and yes, I am a lady. Who was a former adulteress and I became a lineage of Jesus Christ. Wow. Party. Remember, remember the Prodigal Son? Guy goes away, comes back super party and then there's that. Poo poo boys.

Why'd you throw him a party? Come on. Who would want to throw that guy party anyway?

Or I think of Mary Mary over Jesus with the oil, anointing his feet. A foretaste of smell, the aroma of a celebration of who Jesus is in the scripture Jesus says, I have come to hide that you might have life, and have it to the full John 10:10, you might have life, and have it to the scripture. In Deuteronomy talks were to take 10% and have a party.

The other 90%. The other 90% is for doing the work of the kingdom of God in the world and in the places where we are. All this is from God. And we give it all back to God.

I think one of the things that we need to think about, As hell, are we going to keep the party going? Are we going to keep this party going? I'm in.