The Heart of the Kingdom...

Are we well? Yeah, we're a bit sleepy, aren't we? Great to be here this morning. Why don't

we just pause as we come to God's Word this morning and let's pray and let's ask that

He'd be so kind and gracious to us and that He would speak to us this morning. Let's pray

together. Dear Father, as we turn to Your Word now, our prayer is that You would capture

our hearts with the all-surpassing greatness of Your Son, Jesus Christ. And would You fill

our hearts, Lord, maybe even for the first time this morning, for a fresh, with a fresh

love for Him and a desire to know Him more. And so it's in His name that we pray these

things. Amen. Well, I wonder if there's anyone here this morning and you have a phobia of something.

According to phobialist.com, there is actually such a thing as that website. There are 530

official recognized phobias. Now, I learned of a new one this week. It's on the screen.

It's called Me-phobia. And it's the fear of becoming so great that the world is no longer

able to handle you. Now, just in case you wondered whether that is actually a real phobia, really

it's a tongue-in-cheek way of telling somebody that they're a little bit proud. It's not a term

you use of yourself. It's a term that you use of someone else to tell them that they're a little

bit proud. Well, what we're going to see this morning is we're going to see Jesus at a meal.

And at this meal, He's going to interact with some people who have come down with a serious dose

of me-phobia. So, would you like to grab a Bible and turn to Luke chapter 14? That's where we are this

Luke 14 · chapter mention

morning. And as you're turning there, let me get you up to speed with where we're going this morning.

If you remember last week, Alistair helped us see the big question of this new section of Luke's

gospel. Jesus has been speaking about His kingdom, this upside-down kingdom, where the first are last

and the last are first. This kingdom that is full of followers, not of fans. And it's a kingdom that's

full of people. And so the question that we've got to be asking ourselves in this section of Luke's

gospel is, what are the marks of this kingdom people? What does the people of Jesus' kingdom,

what do they look like? What are they characterized by? Well, here's what we're going to see this

morning. Is it humility? Is it the heart of the kingdom? And now here's the warning before we dive

into these verses, that Jesus is going to go after your heart this morning. He's going to probe,

and He's going to search, and He's going to expose, and He's going to challenge, and He's going to

transform your heart. Why is He going to do that? Because that's what He does. That our God loves us

too much to see us stay the way we are. So if you're here this morning, and you wouldn't call

yourself a Christian, and we love that you're here. We absolutely love that you're here. You're so

welcome. But Jesus is going after your heart this morning, because He wants you to come to know Him.

If you are a Christian here this morning, then Jesus is going to go after your heart, because God,

your Father is committed to the business of transforming you, His child, day after day after

day after day more into the likeness of His Son. So Jesus, in these verses, is going to go after your

heart this morning. What I want us to see as we work our way through is that there are two confessions

at the heart of a humble heart. Two confessions that we'll see that these men that we meet this

morning. Two confessions that they don't have, and two confessions that Luke is telling us, as the

readers, that we need to have. So Luke 14, let's just read it together from verse 1.

One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.

There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. Jesus asked the

Pharisees and experts in the law, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? But they remained silent.

So, taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way. Then he asked him,

if one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately

pull it out? And they had nothing to say. When he noticed how the guests picked the places of

honour at the table, he told him this parable. When someone invites you to a wedding feast,

do not take the place of honour, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited.

If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, give this person your seat.

Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place.

But when you're invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you,

friend, move up to a better place. Then you will be honoured in the presence of all the other guests.

For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Then Jesus said to his hosts, when you give a lunch or dinner, do not invite your friends,

your brothers or sisters, your relatives or your rich neighbours. If you do, then they may invite you

back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled,

the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid

at the resurrection of the righteous. Amen. And I'm sure God will bless the reading of his holy words

this morning. So here's confession number one, verses one to six of chapter 14 of a humble heart.

Jesus, you are right and I am wrong. So come with me. Verse one, Jesus is at a meal.

So this ruler of the Pharisees has invited Jesus to join him and his Pharisee buddies at dinner.

And Jesus accepts. Now from everything that we've seen in Luke's gospel so far,

we may well have expected Jesus to say, dine with you guys? Are you kidding me?

I've actually got some paint at home that I need to watch dry on the wall. But Jesus goes. He goes to

this meal. Why does he go? Because he's concerned about the hearts of these men. But Luke lets us know.

Do you see in the text that this was no olive branch invitation from the Pharisees to Jesus?

What are they doing? They're watching him carefully. And as if by magic, verse two,

behold, behold, says Luke, that's meant to get our attention. Behold, this man with dropsy appears in

front of him. This man suffering from intense swelling. And because of his suffering, he would

have been rendered unclean and he would not have been allowed to enter the temple. And yet this man

just happens to show up at dinner at the ruling Pharisee's house. I'm not buying it. This is a sting

operation. This man has been planted there quite deliberately by the Pharisees. Notice when?

On the Sabbath to get a reaction from Jesus. No small talk at this arrival from this dinner. No mood

music to create an ambiance. This dinner party has well and truly kicked off. Jesus, knowing the

intentions of these men, he responds with his own words. Do you see verse four?

Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? Genius. Genius. Here's why it's genius. If they say yes,

then having Jesus there but forbidding him to heal is lacking compassion and mercy. And if they say no,

then they risk admitting that they were wrong the whole time, dividing themselves and having their

whole organization and manner of life questioned. Genius question. Checkmate move from Jesus.

See how they respond. They remained silent. And in passing, notice the quite distasteful way that

they are treating this man. Like he, this human being who has been so beautifully and wonderfully made in

the image of his creator God, this human being is some kind of fodder for their spectator sport.

They have no love for this man. They have no compassion for this man.

But Jesus does. And the funny thing is, is what the Pharisees did in using this man as a pawn in their scheme.

Best thing that ever happened to him. Jesus touched him. Do you see Jesus again getting involved in their

lives, these messy lives? Jesus touched him and he healed him and he sends him away. Just like that.

Verse 5. Jesus isn't done. Which one of you? Again, do you feel the language? Which one of you? He speaks to them.

Having a son or an ox which has fallen into a ditch won't pull him out. Answer none of them.

Verse 6. They have nothing to say. Nothing to say. Pin drop in this moment.

And here's what we need to see. The Pharisees at this point, instead of waving the white flag

and saying, you win Jesus, you were right, they cannot bring themselves to say,

Jesus, you are right and we are wrong. Now why? Do they have an intellectual problem that Jesus is saying here?

No. They cannot say it because of the stubbornness in their own hearts.

And because of the stubbornness in their own hearts, they will not budge.

The confession of their hearts for no other reason than their own pride

is that Jesus, we are right

and you are wrong.

And as Luke invites us in, as he tells us about this incident in Luke 14,

he's saying, this is what a kingdom heart

doesn't look like.

So what is the state of your heart this morning before our Lord?

What is the state of your heart this morning before Jesus?

Do you see yourself in these men?

Are you here this morning?

And for no other reason than your own pride,

you will not raise the white flag in surrender to Jesus.

Now could this morning be the first day

where you render submission to this King?

Jesus, you are king

and you are right

and I am not.

But let me ask you,

maybe you are here this morning

and you're thinking to yourself,

listen, I've made that confession.

I made that confession when I was six.

Let me ask you,

is that confession

day by day,

hour after hour,

minute after minute,

is it working its way

through your life?

Jesus, you are right.

You are right

and I am wrong.

Now let me show you

what I mean by this.

Our little girl,

Chloe at the minute,

she's really into climbing,

just loves climbing.

And in our flat,

we've got a toy box

and she loves to climb

on top of that toy box

but the only thing

that we know

that she doesn't know

is that when she presses up

against the glass,

that there's a 15 foot drop

the other side

of that single pane glass

and she would probably

go to her death.

Chloe,

come down from the toy box.

Chloe,

come down from the toy box.

Again,

and again,

and again,

and again.

The other day she did it.

She climbed on the toy box.

Chloe,

sweetheart,

please come down

off the toy box.

So she looks me

right in the eye

and she proceeds

to slowly come down

on the toy box.

She leaves her right leg up.

And it's one of the

surreal moments in life

when you're looking at her

thinking,

I'm having a showdown

with my two-year-old daughter.

Where have you learned

this stuff?

And why are you good

at this stuff?

But the confession

of her heart

in that moment,

Dad,

you're kind of right.

Dad,

you're kind of right.

And because you're

kind of right,

I'm going to offer you

semi-obedience.

A kingdom heart,

one that says,

Jesus,

you are right

and I am wrong,

does not offer him

semi-obedience.

Is there an area

of your life

where right now

you've still got

your right leg

on the toy box?

Think about your own

life for a minute.

You know what God

has said in his words.

You know what an

honoring life

to Jesus

looks like.

And you may not be

like these Pharisees

who will 100%

not budge.

Let me ask you

in your life

right now,

is there an area

where you 20%

won't budge?

Is there an area

of your life

where you 10%

won't move?

in your relationships,

in your conduct

at work,

in your speech,

the way that you

speak about people,

in the way that you

use your money,

in the way that you

use your free time,

in your dreams,

in your aspirations

for your own life.

A kingdom heart

does not 80%

submit to him.

A kingdom heart

does not 90%

conform to his word.

A kingdom heart

offers Jesus

100% devotion.

That's a kingdom heart.

Humility

is at the heart

of the kingdom.

Confession number one.

Jesus,

you are right

and I am wrong.

Here's confession number two,

verses 7 to 14

of chapter 14.

Jesus,

you are first

and I am last.

Verse seven,

we're back at this

dinner party.

I'm sure the atmosphere

would have been at this point

a bit frosty,

but mercifully,

it's time for folks

to take their seats

for the meal.

Now we might not get

the full force,

no sorry,

to get the full force

of what Jesus is saying here,

we need to understand

a bit about

how a meal worked

in the first century.

The table would have been

shaped something

like a U

and the host

would have sat

at the bottom

of the U.

And so the position

of honour

at one of these meals

was on the immediate left

or the immediate right

of the host.

You can understand

the closer to the host

that you sat,

the more important

you were considered

to be.

And the flip side

is also true,

that the further away

from the host

you sat,

the less important

you were considered

to be.

So what does Jesus

do at this meal?

He just hangs back,

he watches this

all unfold.

He watches these men,

probably elbows and all,

battle their way

to the top.

Battle their way

to be top dog.

You can imagine them,

can't you?

One man so obviously

coming in and hanging

his coat really obviously

over the right hand seat.

Another man coming in

and getting a cup

and putting big letters,

Mark a pen,

Bob slamming it down,

that's his seat.

They want these seats.

And Jesus,

observing all this going on,

tells them a parable

at verse 8.

About a wedding feast.

Now we might not

immediately click

with the U-shaped table,

but we do click

with the wedding feast.

You know what it's like

the moment when it comes

to dinner time.

You go in to the hall,

what do you see?

You see the seating plan.

Now we don't normally

have a ranking order,

but we do have a top table.

And close to the front

normally comes

the close family members

and other members

of the wedding party.

And if you made it

onto the list

as a plus one afterthought,

you're probably

somewhere at the back.

Jesus,

as he watches these men

jostle for position,

he speaks to them

and he appeals to their sense

of knowing what a wedding feast

is like.

Would it not be better,

says Jesus,

if instead of presumptuously

racing to the top

of the table

and taking your seat

next to the bride

before being confronted

by an angry groom

who tells you

to take the walk of shame

to the lowest place

and there's no other seats

left in the house

because all the other guests

have taken them

and you're humiliated,

would it not be better

if you took the lowest seat

in the house

and the groom came over

and said to you,

dear friend,

you don't deserve

to be here,

come on up.

What are you?

You're honoured

in front of all the guests.

Publicly honoured

because you were bumped up

rather than downgraded.

You ever had that experience

on a flight before?

Remember when we were young?

My dad,

we've got two brothers,

my dad always used to make us

dress really smart

because of this reason.

But you know what?

We laugh at him,

one time he absolutely nailed it.

And I remember that moment

as we got onto the plane

instinctively,

what do you do?

You go right?

No, no, no, sir.

Show me your ticket.

Hey, you're going left.

The thing about these men

is they have walked in

and they have presumptuously

assumed that they're going left

when in actual fact

they should be going right.

Now what's Jesus getting at?

He's not interested in seats.

He's getting at the heart.

What's going on

in the hearts of these men?

I need to get ahead.

I need to be in the spotlight.

I need to be recognized.

And Jesus looks at them

and he lays out the principle

of his kingdom at verse 11.

If you want to be humbled,

go right ahead and exalt yourself.

If you want to be exalted,

then go right ahead

and humble yourself.

Humility is at the heart

of the kingdom.

C.S. Lewis,

humility is not thinking

less of yourself.

It's thinking of yourself less.

Jesus then proceeds

to talk to the host of the party.

Do you see it?

Verse 12.

I'll be honest,

I'm amazed he's even still

at this party at this point.

He's offended the guests.

He's at a pop at their habits.

And here he is talking to the host.

What does he say?

Can I make a few observations

about your invite list?

Can I see the names?

Can I see the names?

The only people

that you tend to invite

to these things

are the people

who are in a position

to give you something back.

When was the last time,

when was the last time

that you invited somebody

to one of your parties

who had absolutely nothing

that they could give you

in return?

No connections,

no prestige,

no glitz and glamour.

In particular,

if you're struggling

to picture them,

the crippled,

the lame,

the blind.

Those who have literally

got nothing

to give you back

in return.

Now I doubt that this man

has ever,

ever done that

in his life.

But here's the crux of it.

Why should he?

Why should he?

I mean,

who's this guy,

Jesus?

He just rocks up

and tells me

how to run my life.

Why should he?

Because he's at the heart

of who God is,

right at the heart

of who our Savior is.

And it's at the heart

of the gospel.

The God who simply,

because he is gracious,

welcomes the unclean

to come and dine with him.

Because a heart of humility

sees oneself

not as the giver

of the invitation,

but as the recipient

of the invitation.

And a recipient

who knows

that we cannot

ever possibly

fully repay God,

our host.

And we are simply

at his table

because of his free grace.

We are the crippled,

the lame,

and the blind.

And this is

who our God is.

And Jesus,

in the wider context

of Luke's gospel,

is on his way

to the cross

to make a way

for his people

not to be at God's table

simply as an afterthought,

but to be at God's table

as his adopted sons

and daughters.

The gospel is incredible

and we see it right here

in Luke 14.

This is how

the kingdom works.

And this is how

kingdom people think.

And Jesus is here

saying to this man

that there is a direct link

between how you operate

and how you treat others

and how you think

and perceive

God has treated you.

The second confession

of a kingdom heart,

Jesus,

you are first

and I am last.

As we seek to apply

this to our lives,

let me just bring

one challenge

and one observation.

As we work to a close.

Firstly,

the challenge.

This confession

of Jesus,

you first

and me last.

It needs to work

through every single

aspect of our lives.

It needs to work

in our wallets,

Jesus,

you first,

I'm last.

It needs to work

in our schedules,

our weeks,

Jesus,

you first,

me last.

It needs to work

in our priorities,

Jesus,

you first,

me last.

It needs to work

through our dreams

and ambitions

that we have

for our own lives,

Jesus,

you first

and me last.

Submitting to Jesus

and willfully

bringing ourselves

to say,

Jesus,

you first

and me last.

my prayer this week

has just been,

Lord,

would you help me

take my eyes

off myself?

Help me take

my eyes off myself.

Would you help me

to be more aware

of people?

People in the church,

but people outside

the church as well.

The staff who look

after my girls

at nursery,

the shop assistant

who serves me

at Tesco.

Father,

would you help me

see that these

people are not

just here to serve

me,

that these are

people who you've

put in my path

deliberately,

and would you help

me have a heart

that takes a loving

interest in these

people and wants

to serve them?

Why?

Because that's what

you've done for me.

You are so good

to me,

Lord.

So let me ask you,

is there people

in your life

that you can think

of?

How is this going

to play out

in your own life?

Jesus, you first,

your agenda first,

your kingdom first,

me last.

That's the challenge.

Here's the encouragement.

I see a lot of you

doing this.

I see a lot of you

doing this.

The way that some of you

serve one another

so sacrificially,

the way that some of you,

I see it behind the scenes,

you give up your time,

the way that some of you

practically care and love

for other people,

and you get nothing

in return.

Accept the thought

and truth in your mind

that I'm living

for the last day

when I will meet

my Savior face to face

and he will say to me,

well done,

good and faithful servant,

which I presume

in the language

of this passage here

means when you'll be

exalted at the resurrection

of the just.

That's what some of you

are living for.

I see it,

and it's inspirational.

And is it not

a wonderful witness

as we do this

as a church family?

Is it not a wonderful witness

to the watching world

of the truth

of the gospel?

That Jesus

is alive

and by his Spirit

the Father lives

in the hearts

of his people?

That I want people

from the outside

to look into my life

individually

and to look into

our lives corporately

and say that there is

no explanation

for how those people

love one another

except that the gospel

is true.

humility

is at the heart

of the kingdom.

Humility

is at the heart

of the kingdom.

Two confessions

of a humble heart.

Jesus,

you're right

and I'm wrong

and Jesus,

you're first

and I'm last.

We started out

joking about me-phobia.

I hope you've seen

as we've journeyed

through this

that Jesus,

well Luke is telling us

that Jesus' kingdom

is completely opposite.

What does a kingdom

heart look like?

What does it mean

to have these confessions

at the heart

of your heart?

Well as we close

let me just tell you

a story

of a minister

from Glasgow

named John Harper.

It was great,

we were talking about him

this week

in our home group.

1912,

he's on his way

with his six-year-old

daughter to Chicago

to speak at the famous

Moody Church.

Now it was rumored

that he went,

they invited him

to speak

because they had him

down as being

their next minister.

Now that's a wonderful

life opportunity,

that is a wonderful

career progression,

especially since

this church

had just experienced

a time of great revival.

And in April 1912,

they set sail

for America

along with thousands

of others

on board the Titanic.

The iceberg hits

and John Harper's

first thought

is not,

what of my job,

his first thought

is what of these

people on this boat

who do not know

Jesus Christ

as the Lord,

King and Saviour.

Sees his daughter

onto the lifeboat,

makes sure that she's safe.

Then not only does he

not get on the lifeboat,

but he takes off

his life jacket

and he hands it

to someone else,

saying,

you need this

more than me.

And the ship

goes down,

he finds himself

in icy waters

and he comes across

this young man.

Do you know Jesus,

young man?

He says.

And I don't,

replies the man.

And they drift apart.

A little while later,

they drift together again.

Do you know Jesus yet?

Says John Harper

to this young man.

No, I don't,

says this man.

John Harper

sinks to his death.

Now, incredibly,

seven people

were hauled

from the icy waters

that night,

including

Anguilla Webb,

the young man

that John Harper

had spoken to

in the icy waters.

So he stands up

in his church at home

and he makes

this confession.

He says,

there alone

in the night

and with two miles

of water underneath me,

I first believed.

And I am John Harper's

last convert.

So in the face

of death

and drowning,

there is a man

who is concerned

for Jesus' kingdom,

not his own career.

There is a man

who,

despite the fact

that he was about

to lose everything,

said that in Jesus,

I have everything.

two confessions

of a humble heart.

Jesus,

you're right

and I'm wrong.

Jesus,

you're first

and I'm last.

Humility

is at the heart

of the kingdom.

Just as we close

and just before we move on

with the rest of our service,

why don't we just

pause and let's have

a moment of reflection

and then I'll close

in prayer.

and maybe there's

someone here

for the first time

this morning

convicted

that you need to say

in your own life,

Jesus,

you're right

and I'm wrong.

and so Father,

we thank you

for your word

this morning.

We ask,

dear God,

that you would help us

by your spirit

to take our eyes

off of ourselves

and by your spirit

help us this week

to place them

and affix them

on your son,

Jesus Christ.

Would you help us

to be humble

like him?

And so this is our prayer,

dear Father,

in Jesus' name.

Amen.