The Right Side of Everything

This image mighty and of exceeding brightness stood before you, and its appearance was frightening.

The head of the image was fine gold, its chest and arms silver, its middle and thighs of bronze,

its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.

As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand,

and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces.

Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold all together were broken in pieces

and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors,

and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them could be found.

But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

This was the dream.

Now we will tell the king its interpretation.

You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory,

and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the fields,

and the birds of the heavens, making you ruler over them all.

You are the head of gold.

Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you,

and yet a third kingdom, a bronze, which shall rule over the earth,

and there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron,

because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things.

And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all things.

And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron,

it shall be a divided kingdom.

But some of the firmness of iron shall be in it,

just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay.

And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay,

so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle.

And as you saw the iron mixed with soft clay,

so they will mix with one another in marriage,

but they shall not hold together,

just as the iron does not mix with clay.

And in the days of those kings,

the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed,

nor shall the kingdom be left to another people.

It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms

and bring them to an end,

and it shall stand forever.

Just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain

by no human hands,

that it broke in pieces iron,

the bronze and the clay,

and the silver and the gold,

a great God has made known to the king

what shall be after this.

The dream is certain,

and its interpretation sure.

Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for your word,

which instructs us,

which enlightens us,

which tells us what is true.

So, Lord, even as we've read your word this morning,

we pray, O Holy Spirit,

that you will open our hearts to receive it.

Your word is clear,

but oftentimes we have difficulty

because our minds are clouded by so many things.

So, Lord, open our heart,

open our ears,

open our minds to receive truth from you.

Help me, as I explain this passage,

to explain it truly,

to explain it according to what you are saying,

and may I do so in a way that is clear

and helpful for all of us.

We pray this all in Jesus' name.

Amen.

When I was a freshman in college,

I was at Georgia Tech,

and the school would host a variety

of engineering contests,

and the biggest contest of the year,

every year, was the Great Race.

And it was a time when the engineers

would build these coasters

that they would design to go down the hill

at the center of the campus,

and whoever could design the fastest coaster

would win.

And so, you know,

I didn't have time for such frivolous activities

because I was engaged in other frivolous activities.

But I had friends who were doing this,

and they were building this coaster,

and they were using all their engineering,

things that they learned,

working out the design

so that it would be the most aerodynamic,

figuring out the right circumference of the wheels,

even the right width of the tires,

so that it could go the fastest.

Well, once they got it all completed,

another friend and I thought,

hey, it'd be fun to take it for a test drive.

So late one night, we got the coaster,

and we went to the center of the Tech campus,

and we started going down the hill,

and it was fast.

It was a very fast coaster.

The problem was that on the day of the race,

all the roads would be closed.

This was not the day of the race.

And we were headed towards this major intersection,

that was run through campus,

and it was dark.

It was late at night,

and there was no way that the cars

were going to be able to see us,

and we realized we're out of control.

Well, my friend is the driver.

I'm the brake man.

He's yelling at me,

slow us down, slow us down.

And I panicked.

I pulled back the brake lever so hard,

it broke off.

And we're not slowing down,

and my friend doesn't know what's going on.

He's going, slow down, slow down.

And I'm looking.

I go, what do I do?

And so he realizes something's wrong,

so he decides to turn sharply

to get it to slow down.

The coaster was straight.

It was not made to go fast turning.

And when he did that,

it just began to roll over and over.

And I'm on one side of the street,

bloodied and battered up,

and he's on the other side of the street,

all bloodied and battered up.

And between us are parts.

You know, wheel here, wheel there, seat there.

It is a total...

We're going to do everything that we can,

and we carry it back to the house,

arguing about what we've got to do

over this crash.

And we walk into the house

where these men had given up nights

and we're going to do everything.

They're not worried that I'm bloodied and battered.

They don't care.

All they see is all of their work

they have wasted.

I mean, they've given up sleep.

They've given up weekends.

They've given up all this,

and now it is all ruined in just a moment.

And there's a terrible feeling for them

and terrible...

It came to nothing.

And that's depressing, isn't it?

Isn't it depressing when you work really hard

on something and you...

But how do you know that's not the story of your life?

We see here in Daniel chapter 2

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

that King Nebuchadnezzar,

who was a glorious king in many ways,

had a success in this life

than any of us could ever hope

to possibly attain.

And he has this nightmare,

reoccurring dream that is so disturbing

he cannot sleep anymore.

And he begins to realize intuitively

something is wrong here.

Everything is coming to naught.

And so this dream that it's all that would be wiped out,

yet as depressing as that sounds,

the same dream that Nebuchadnezzar has

about everything being lost

also gives us...

What is our hope?

What is our comfort?

We read about it moments ago.

What is our hope?

What is our comfort?

How can we have hope in a world

that it seems like everything is being blown away?

Well, so to understand how we can have a life

of meaning and purpose

that will last forever,

we need to understand three things from this text.

The first thing that we need to understand

is, number one, that God is in control.

God is in control.

And we see this in this passage.

Now, Nebuchadnezzar, again,

one of the great, greatest empires of all time,

the Babylonian,

he had conquered Judah, Phoenicia,

and what is today Syria.

After conquering all these lands,

he was going to build a peaceful kingdom.

He was a very skilled and gifted ruler

and administrator.

And so he was able to bring peace to that region.

And then he wanted to make something beautiful.

So he began these massive things that were glorious.

One of the things that he built,

I've heard of,

it was one of the seven of the world,

the hanging gardens of Babylon.

So here's a man who's built these beautiful kingdoms,

laboring to establish this glory

so that his name would live forever.

He has this disturbing dream that he cannot sleep.

So he calls together his wise men,

the enchanters,

the stargazers,

the sauvres,

promises them that he will make them

imaginations.

Well, King, tell us the dream.

And he says, not so fast.

I want you to tell me both the dream

and the interpretation.

They said, no, tell us the dream

and then we can tell you what it means.

He goes, no,

I think you're playing games with me here.

If you really know,

if you really know what the gods are saying,

you can tell me both the dream

and its interpretation.

And they say, we can't do that.

No one can do that.

Only the gods know.

They don't dwell with flesh.

So Nebuchadnezzar realizes

they're all just a bunch of charlatans.

They act like they know what the gods are saying.

They act like they're able to read the stars

and talk to the dead,

but it's all an act.

They don't really know anything.

Only the gods know,

and they don't know what the gods know,

and so they've been exposed as frauds.

They claim to know the future,

but God is the only one

who knows where the future is headed.

Today, people will speak about

some behaviors being on the right side of history,

some behaviors on the wrong side of history,

and it assumes a particular version of the future.

And it also assumes

that they have the vantage point of the future

and can look back at us

and see how history is going to judge

this particular moment.

They understand.

In other words,

they're claiming to know where history is going.

And here's the question

that Nebuchadnezzar would ask them

that we ought to ask them is,

how do you know?

How do you know how the future

is going to judge the past?

How do you know if history is going anywhere?

Now, how do you know?

You're speaking with certainty

about what the future is going to say

about the present,

about the direction of history,

but how do you know?

As Nebuchadnezzar forces his counselors to admit,

God only knows what's going to happen.

He is the only one who can say

what will and will not happen.

Now, for the counselors,

this is a point of despair

because they're saying,

well, God only knows.

We don't know.

And so there's no hope.

How can we understand?

For God's people,

this is encouraging news.

This is good news for us.

While we don't know the future,

God knows the future.

He alone knows what stands

on the right side of history.

And God knows.

And so we see that

as God knows the future,

not because God is sitting here

looking down the corridors of time

and can see what is happening.

God knows the future

because God is the author of the future.

God determines the future.

He is in control of the future.

Now, there's one thing

that we have learned in this past year,

and hopefully there are many.

But one thing we've learned

is we are not in control.

You are not in control.

I mean, how many of us

had plans last year

totally blown out of the water

by the pandemic?

We are not in control.

And not only are we not in control,

we really don't know

what tomorrow holds.

We don't know.

We did not see the pandemic coming.

We don't know

when the next pandemic is going to come.

You don't know

if the stock market is going to go up

or if it's going to come crashing down.

You don't know

what the driver in the next lane

is going to do.

You are not in control of that, right?

And yet all of these things

will affect your life

in dramatic ways.

And you're in control

of none of that.

Now, while that's terrifying,

particularly for me,

I'm a person who likes to be in control.

I want to be in control

of these things.

And it's terrifying to think

I have absolutely no control.

If your person

who thinks you're in control

have children,

it will just blow

your whole image

of control the right way.

We're not in control.

Yet, just because

we are not in control,

what will happen is

we'll move to despair

and say then

everything is out of control.

Because I don't know the future,

that means no one knows the future.

That's not true.

Nebuchadnezzar's own counselors say,

they say the gods,

but we know there's just one.

God knows the future.

God is in control of the future.

And the God

who is in control of the future

is the same God

who rules over all things

and who deeply loves

and cares for his people.

God is in control.

And for those who trust in Jesus,

this gives us hope

because the God

who controls all things

loves us so much

that he gave his son

to die for us.

Here's why we have

such great courage.

The idea that God is in control

by itself

is not comforting.

But if I believe

that God is my father,

it changes everything.

I remember, you know,

years ago,

I was driving down the road

one evening.

We lived in Florida

at the time.

And in Florida,

we get rain.

Colorado, we get a sprinkle.

We get rain.

And it was one night,

it was coming down in buckets.

There's enough rain

to fill Prospect Lake

in a few minutes.

And it is just pouring down.

And it's dark.

And the wipers

are quite clearing.

And I've got a death grip

on the steering wheel.

And Tricia turns to me

and goes,

you okay?

And of course I lie.

You know.

Yeah.

In control.

You know.

I've got this.

But the white knuckles

of my hand

are a dead giveaway

that I am terrified

at this moment.

And I look into

the rear view mirror

to see our girls

in the back seat.

And I'm thinking,

maybe they're,

they've got to be scared.

They're all asleep.

They are out.

Why?

Because,

because dad

is behind the wheel.

And my children

had this

irrational confidence.

confidence.

That if I was

behind the wheel,

they would be okay.

You know,

your three-year-old

just does not worry

about paying the bills.

They're not worried

about what's going to

happen with the economy.

They're not worried

about home repairs.

They don't worry

about those things.

They have a father

who worries

about those things.

Now,

my children,

if they could have

that sort of confidence

in me,

when I am prone

to error,

when I make mistakes,

when I'm very,

very fallible,

how much more

should we,

as the people of God,

be able to rest

knowing that our

father's hands

are firmly

on the wheel?

He is in control.

You have nothing

to worry about.

Now,

he doesn't always

tell you what he's doing

or why he's doing

what he's doing.

You don't need to know.

He's got this.

He's got this.

He is in control.

And not only

is he in control,

but he is for you,

Christian.

You know he's for you.

We know he's for you

because as our father,

he is the one

who gave Christ for us.

That's why we celebrate

the cross.

The cross,

which was a symbol

of torture and death

in the first century,

is a symbol of love

for us.

And by giving his life

on the cross for us,

Jesus proves

that he's committed

to our good

even to the point

of death.

And we celebrate

the cross,

but we celebrate

an empty cross

because Jesus

has finished the work

for our salvation

and God,

the Father,

has raised him

from the dead,

proving that he has

the power to save us

even from the most

fearful of enemies,

death itself.

Because God

is all-powerful

and he uses his power

to care for his children.

Everything he does,

everything he does

ultimately is for

his glory

and our good

and he is in control

of all things

and we can trust him

in the midst of that.

Well, once the wise men

of Babylon admit

they really don't know

anything,

that they're not so wise

after all,

Nebuchadnezzar is so enraged

because he realizes

they've been playing games

with him all along,

he decides he's just

going to kill them all.

All the wise men

throughout the entire empire,

all the counselors

throughout the entire empire.

Well, Daniel hears about this

and Daniel and his friends

are part of this wise men class.

They're not like the others

but they're part of

that class of people.

So Daniel is slated

to be executed.

So he sends words

to the king

and he says,

come and may I speak with you.

Now Daniel at this point

does not know the dream,

he does not know

the interpretation.

So he asks for an appointment

with the king

and then he goes to his friends

and says,

pray that God will tell me

what to say

because your life

depends on it.

So Daniel goes into the king

and speaks to him

in the passage we just read

and here we see

the second key

to living a life

that is full of meaning

and purpose

and that is recognizing

that the kingdoms

of this world

will all pass away.

The kingdoms of this world

are all going to pass away.

Now in this dream,

Nebuchadnezzar sees

this enormous statue,

head of gold,

it's dazzling in appearance,

pure gold,

its chest and arms

are of silver,

its belly of bronze,

its legs of iron

and feet of iron

mixed with clay

and Daniel explains

that each of those sections

of the statue

represent a different world empire

and he starts off

with some great news.

He says to Nebuchadnezzar,

Nebuchadnezzar,

your empire is amazing.

You are the head of gold,

glorious beyond all glory.

But Nebuchadnezzar,

I've got some bad news.

Your empire is not

going to last forever.

Another empire will come

and it is one of silver.

Now the text does not

directly explain to us

what that empire will be

but it seems to indicate

the next empire to come

was the empire

of the Medes and the Persians

who conquered the Babylonians.

And it was a great empire

but it wasn't as glorious

as Nebuchadnezzar's.

And then the next empire

was one of bronze

and again the text

doesn't tell us

but we know that later on

another empire would come

and it was that of the Greeks.

Alexander the Great

would conquer the world

and then after that

would come another empire,

one of iron.

And this seemed to be a reference

to the Roman Empire,

one that is mighty

and one that is strong

but did not have quite the beauty

of the others.

Now in Nebuchadnezzar's vision,

a rock strikes this statue,

a rock that is not carved out

by human hands

and colorizes it

and the statue becomes like dust

and then the wind comes

and sweeps it away

so that there's nothing left.

There's nothing remains.

And the point of this

is that is what happens

to all the empires

of this world.

All of them.

All of them.

Babylonian,

Medes and the Persians,

Greeks, Romans,

you can take that on,

British Empire,

American Empire,

whatever it may be.

All of the empires

of this world

are passing away

and nothing will be left.

And so the point of this

is that none of these things

will last,

the kingdoms of this world.

And so what's the point?

What kingdom are you living for?

What kingdom are you living for?

All of our lives

we've been told

that fulfillment

is found in success,

achievement,

finding a way

to establish your identity,

find a way

to establish your worth.

You know,

the ancient Greeks

thought that they could

establish their glory

if they were heroic deeds

in battle

or athletic accomplishments

that they could establish

their name forever.

It was a way

to find salvation.

And many of us

are looking to the same thing.

And yet what we see here

in Daniel's vision

is that these things

that we're seeking

our glory

to find our meaning

and finding our purpose

ultimately become

dust in the wind,

become nothing more.

And so all of our lives

were told that,

that defined a sense

of identity

in these things,

but Nebuchadnezzar's vision

shows us

that it's all a lie.

If you are a football fan,

you may have heard

the name Urban Meyer.

Urban Meyer

is only one of three coaches

ever

to win national championships

with two different

college teams.

And Urban Meyer,

when he was coaching

at the University of Florida,

he had a quarterback,

and if you're from Colorado,

you may have heard

of a guy named Tim Tebow.

Tebow was his quarterback,

and they won

a national championship.

The night they won

the national championship,

they're celebrating.

Immediately that very evening

while everyone

is celebrating,

Urban Meyer

begins recruiting players

for the next year.

He says he just couldn't stop.

A friend came up to him

and said,

what are you doing?

Enjoy this.

What's wrong with you?

And Urban Meyer says

at that time,

he goes,

we just won,

but I was in a panic.

Because what happens?

He just won glory,

the top prize

that he could possibly win,

and he knew

it would not last

that he had to do it again

and again and again.

And it was driving him crazy.

He couldn't even enjoy

the moment.

We think if we had fame

and fortune or power

that we could be somebody.

But Nebuchadnezzar

had more fame,

more power,

more glory

than any of us

could ever achieve.

And yet,

realized that it all

was dust in the wind.

Philip Yancey

talks about a carving

in Waterford, Ireland.

And it's a carving

of the mayor,

but you would think

that a carving

of an old mayor

would be one

of a beautiful tribute.

But this carving

was at the time

of the Black Death.

And it shows

the body

of the former mayor's town

decomposing

while rats

and vermin

and insects

are eating it.

Beautiful carving, right?

The inscription says this,

Whoever you are

that passed by,

stand,

read,

weep.

I am what you will be

and I was

what you are.

Dust in the wind.

Dust in the wind.

The kingdoms

of this world

are fleeting

and passing.

And if you put

your hope in them,

you're putting your hope

in something

that will not last.

That's the bad news.

That's the bad news.

But Nebuchadnezzar's vision,

though,

ultimately is not pessimistic,

or at least

it doesn't have to be.

It brings us

to the third key

to living a life

with meaning and purpose,

a life that lasts forever,

and that is this,

that we are to live

for the kingdom

that endures.

Live for the kingdom

that endures.

Now,

after the rock

comes and obliterates

this statue,

the rock,

as it were,

then begins

to grow

and expand,

and it ends up

filling the whole earth,

and Daniel tells us

that this rock

becomes a mountain

that fills the earth,

and it represents

the kingdom of God.

Now,

this image

of a mountain

representing

the kingdom of God

is not unique to Daniel.

We see it

in other prophecies.

We see it

in Isaiah chapter 2

Isaiah 2 · chapter mention

and Micah chapter 4.

Micah 4 · chapter mention

And the idea here

is that it is a mountain

that is a place of worship.

See,

in the ancient world,

they thought of

the sky

as being a place

where earth and heaven

would come into contact.

That's why they build

these high pyramids

and ziggurats

and different things

because they thought

if you could get

to the high spot,

you would be where

the heavens and earth

come in contact,

and so they build

their altars

and they build

even their temples

on high places.

And we see that

throughout the Old Testament.

And so,

the mountain

is a place of worship.

And what this image

is telling us

is that

the mountain

of the Lord

is going to fill the earth.

That the whole earth

is going to worship

the Lord.

That the kingdom of God

is going to fill

the entire world

and that the people

of the entire world

will one day

be coming

and worshiping

the Lord.

And Daniel tells us

not only that

this kingdom of God

is coming

and that it will

endure forever,

it will be the kingdom

that lasts.

He even tells us

when this kingdom

will come.

When's this kingdom

going to come?

When's God going

to bring about

the kingdom?

Well, he tells us

it's going to happen

during that fourth kingdom,

the kingdom of iron,

but with feet of clay

mixed with iron.

So when the Roman Empire

came along,

what it lacked

in beauty and grace

and more than made up

for strength and power,

power unlike the world

had ever seen,

it seems only appropriate

that iron would represent

this kingdom.

But at the height

of the Roman Empire,

at its pinnacle,

something happened

that was so dramatic

that it changed

the history

of the world forever.

And yet,

it went unnoticed

at the moment

because in a little village,

obscure village,

in the outskirts

of the empire,

just outside of Jerusalem,

in this little village

known as Bethlehem,

a baby was born.

Hardly anyone noticed,

no one paid attention.

That baby grew up

at age 33.

He was taken outside

the city gates

there in Jerusalem.

And outside the city gates,

he was executed.

Do you remember

the charges against him?

Do you remember

why he was put to death?

The plaque said

in three different languages,

the king of the Jews.

Jesus Christ had come

to bring the kingdom of heaven.

In fact,

Jesus made this clear.

He announced his kingdom

of heaven

by announcing,

as he proclaimed

the gospel around,

that he is the rock.

And he said this.

He says,

he says,

repent,

for the kingdom of heaven

is near.

The kingdom of heaven

is at hand.

What Jesus is saying

is I am the king

and I'm the one

who's come to bring

the kingdom.

So we now know

something that Nebuchadnezzar

could not know.

We know

what the rock is

or should we say

who the rock is.

Jesus is the rock.

And he's come

to bring the kingdom.

He's the rock

that's not cut

from the mountain

by any human hands,

that breaks into his history,

bringing judgment

on all that stands

in his path

and all who try

to hinder it.

The kingdom of God

is here.

When Jesus came

and announced

the kingdom of God,

then we see the mountain

growing, right?

That's the picture

we see in Nebuchadnezzar's vision.

It fills the whole earth.

And that's what we're

seeing today.

What started off

as a small band

of worshipers

in the Middle East

has grown into a mountain

that fills the entire earth.

Think about this.

Now, in Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

we're told

there are 120 people

there gathering

in Jerusalem.

This isn't even

an important place

in the world

at the time.

120 people.

Yet today,

today,

there are Christians

on every continent

and just about

every country

around the world.

Estimates are

there's nearly

as many practicing

Christians in China

today as there are

in the United States.

It's amazing.

There are more people

in church today

in Kenya

than there are

in Canada.

There are more

Presbyterians

in church today

in Ghana

than there are

in Scotland,

which is astounding.

And not only that,

and I think of a century ago.

A century ago,

there were hardly

any Christians

in Korea.

And yet today,

South Korea

has over 16,000

cross-cultural missionaries.

They are sending out

missionaries

to 173 different countries.

Christian leaders

in China

are planning to send out

20,000 missionaries

by the year 2030.

Nebuchadnezzar's vision

is coming true

right before our eyes.

The kingdom of God

is growing

and is filling the earth.

Yet there are still

over 3 billion people

who live in places

where there are

no viable

Christian witnesses.

Places where people

die every day

without hearing

about the love of God.

In other places,

the gospel

is being preached,

but the gospel

that's being preached

is hardly recognizable

by scripture.

It is a gospel

of works,

of legalism.

Other places,

it's a prosperity gospel,

which simply leads people

into greater bondage

rather than the freedom

that Jesus Christ

came to give.

And as a result,

people are trading

one form of bondage

for another.

The kingdom of God

is growing,

but the work

is not yet finished.

And that's why

at Shine Mountain

you have been so engaged.

You have people

who are part of your church

in a country

that we can't mention.

We'll just call it

the kingdom.

And where they are

announcing the good news

of the gospel.

The Shemkees,

whom you support,

are in Africa

with African Bible University

training people

to preach the true gospel

rather than

an adulterated version

so that the gospel

can go forth.

But we need more.

You're part of

the Presbyterian Church

in America.

And one of the things

we're praying for

is a church

that 1% of our members

over the next 10 years

will commit to serving

in cross-cultural missions.

A mission to the world

where I serve,

we have actually

very specific needs,

places where we need people

right now.

Because over the next 10 years,

our goal is to plant

486 new churches.

churches.

We want to do this

in 192 new cities,

63 new countries.

How in the world

are we going to do this?

Well, we need

1,000 more missionaries.

And that's why I'm here

speaking to you today.

1,000 more missionaries.

We need 800 more interns

to go.

And then beyond that,

somebody's got to support

these missionaries

and these interns too, right?

I mean, it costs money

to take the gospel

to the nations.

So the vision of Daniel

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

is happening

right now

before our eyes.

And our calling

as the people of God

is to be part

of what he is doing.

See, as children,

we're not just

passive spectators

watching God work.

The way God works

and announcing

his kingdom

and bringing his kingdom

is through his church,

is through his people.

That's why Jesus

commissioned his church.

He said,

go into all the world

and preach the gospel,

baptizing them

and teaching them

to observe

all that I have commanded you.

It is how the vision

of Daniel 2 takes place.

The vision of Daniel 2

will come about

fully and completely.

But God's using

his people to do it.

And those who are part

of God's family

join in the family business.

And if you want to be

on the right side of history,

here's where history is going.

The kingdom of God

is filling the earth.

That's why we engage

in the work that God

is doing around the world.

And so that raises

an important question.

In fact,

we call it

the most important question.

Which kingdom

are you living for?

Are you living for a kingdom

that is going to fade?

Or are you living for a kingdom

that is eternal?

Are you looking to find

your glory

in that which is passing,

that will one day

be reduced to dust

and then swept away

by the breeze?

Or are you looking

for your glory

in the kingdom of heaven?

Josh McDowell

tells a story

of an old man

who came up to him

one time

after he gave a message.

And by his dress

and demeanor,

it was pretty obvious

that this older gentleman

was very successful.

And the older man said,

my whole life,

I've been climbing the ladder

trying to get to the top.

I've stepped on people

along the way

and made numerous sacrifices.

Now I'm an old man

and I realize

for all these years,

I've had my ladder

leaning against

the wrong building.

What are you living for?

What kingdom

are you living for?

The reason Jesus came

and lived

and died

was not so

he could create

a ladder

by which we could

climb to him.

And instead,

he's the one

who descended

Jacob's ladder

to come to us.

He is the one

who came

to make a way

for us

to be a part

of his kingdom,

to be a part

of what he's doing

here and throughout

the world.

And he invites us

to follow him

in faith,

to trust in him,

to trust that by his life,

his death,

his perfect obedience,

by sacrificial death,

vindicated through

the resurrection,

where he now is ascended

and reigning in heaven,

he's proven to us

that there's one kingdom

that will last.

And if we are united

to him,

we are part of that kingdom

and we will last forever.

Where's your hope?

My only hope

in life and death.

It's found in him.

Let's pray.

Our Father,

we do thank you

for the hope

that we have

through Jesus Christ

that he is the rock

and he has come

to bring his kingdom.

And Lord,

we thank you

that we live

in a time in history

in which we're seeing

the fulfillment

of this promise

in such remarkable,

beautiful,

glorious ways.

And so,

oh Lord,

we pray.

We pray,

oh Lord,

that we would set

our sights on earth

instead of seeking

to find our life

in things that are temporary

that we would seek

to find our hope

and our joy

in things that are eternal.

We thank you

that Jesus has done

everything necessary

for us to share

in that kingdom

and that it is ours

through faith

and faith alone.

So Lord,

today as your people,

we affirm that faith.

We believe

that Jesus is Lord.

We believe

that he is king

and we trust him

as our king,

as our Lord.

And we want

to follow you.

And so Lord,

we commit this day

to living for the one

eternal kingdom.

We commit to that

with everything that we do

and how we raise our children,

how we engage

in our families,

how we spend our money,

how we do our jobs.

Lord,

may we do it all

for your glory,

for your good,

for your praise.

And Lord,

we pray too

that you would give us

a heart for the world,

a heart to see

this kingdom

fill the entire globe.

See people

from every tribe

and tongue,

every ethnic group,

people in every place

come and worship

and praise you,

O Lord.

We pray this

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.