The Fruit of the Kingdom: Peace | Associate Pastor: Matt Armstrong

Good morning, everybody.

How y'all doing?

Good good 4th of July weekend, I hope.

This uh recently I got to see uh a new movie that's out.

I don't know if you all have seen it.

It's called Inside Out 2.

Um it's uh it's the sequel of a of a great Pixar movie.

I'm a huge Pixar fan.

Um we're a Pixar family.

I just love animation in general, but um so the first Pixar movie came out maybe five or six years ago, and it's about this 11-year-old girl learning to deal with her more complicated emotions.

And so you we begin with kind of these five basic ones.

Joy is in the middle, there's fear to the left, then anger, um disgust, and and sadness.

And it's it's a beautiful movie, actually has a lot to say about learning about our own emotions, emotional intelligence.

It's great.

Well, the second movie came out.

Now, Riley, the main character, this well, the you know, she's kind of in the movie, but really it's about her emotions.

And now she's 13.

New emotions are being introduced.

Uh, and the big one is anxiety on the left, but then there's envy on we.

I don't really know what it is, but if you watch the movie, you'll get it.

And then uh embarrassment.

I mean, can you imagine what are what better emotions to encapsulate our teenage years, especially a 13-year-old girl?

Amen.

All you guys out there, 13-year-old girl.

Anyway, all of us know what it's like to be 13.

Um this movie focuses on anxiety, that that character on the left.

And it gets, it's a great message.

It talks about how anxiety really, our anxiety tries to help us, right?

We think if we can think about all the pitfalls, everything that might go wrong or could go wrong, and we make a plan to get around those things, life will be great.

But in reality, when anxiety rules our lives, uh, we can become frozen with fear and we make terrible decisions.

Now, as I was preparing uh today's sermon and working on this series that we're going through in July, I thought, this is such a timely movie because we're living in a time of anxiety.

Amen?

You guys feeling some anxiety, right?

All I have to say is it's an election year, right?

There's a presidential election going on, but there's also big wars going on in the world, right?

Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Palestine.

You want to get people riled up, just ask them how they feel about those wars.

Ask people how they feel about the election coming up.

I thought about putting up a picture of our two current presidential candidates.

And then asking, what emotions are immediately evoked by this picture?

But I didn't want to, you know, have anyone have a panic attack in church.

So we decided I would just reference it.

But here's my guess, here's my wager.

I'd probably put a lot of money on this if I was a betting person.

Uh if I put that picture up there of our two current presidential candidates, the emotion that is not evoked is peace.

Yes?

Okay.

Well, as I look at the landscape of the world around us, and especially in the church, as a pastor, that's my concern.

What is happening in the church today, both our local church and the church at large?

Uh, it struck me that we are in need of being reminded of one of the most important realities that the scriptures teach us, that Jesus was jealous to teach his people about, and that is the reality of the kingdom of God.

And so today and through the month of July, we're gonna be looking at the subject of the kingdom of God and the fruit that is available to us as we live consciously and intentionally as kingdom citizens.

That's our number one identity as Christians above any other earthly allegiance.

So, today we're gonna take a high-level view.

We're gonna skim the surface of what is the kingdom of God, and then we're gonna look briefly at this first fruit offered to us from the kingdom, which is peace.

So, point number one Jesus came, the reason Jesus came as Messiah was to establish the kingdom on the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

Two quick passages.

First from Matthew 3.

In those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea.

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Second passage from the very next chapter, Matthew 4.

From that time, Jesus began to preach, saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

What's significant about these two passages is that they mark the beginning of both of these men's ministries.

Both John the Baptist and Jesus announced their ministries with this repent for the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God, used interchangeably, is at hand.

It's here, it's arriving, it's coming.

So it's true, absolutely true, what we preach here every week.

Jesus came to live a perfectly obedient life, to die upon the cross for the sins of the world, and to be raised on the third day.

But that was all in service of this one goal: the the bringing or the establishing or the re-establishing of the kingdom of God.

Now, why is that?

Well, that brings us to point two.

The kingdom of God is God's sovereign rule or sovereign reign, rightly restored.

In many ways, this story is very much akin to uh the story of Robin Hood.

You guys know Robin Hood?

Again, I'm going for the animated angle.

Robin Hood is the story of a kingdom where the good king is away.

Good king Richard, the lionhearted, he is, he is away.

And as he's away, his evil brother, Prince John, has risen to power, and now he is mistreating and oppressing the people, especially the poor.

Now, Robin Hood, he's kind of fighting a bat back against Prince John.

He's stealing from the rich to uh give to the poor.

But but really the hope of the story is the return of the rightful king.

When King Richard comes back, he will put everything back the way it was supposed to be, and the way it was before.

This is an echo of the story we're talking about in the scriptures.

And this story goes back to the very beginning.

In Genesis 1, we see God create the heavens and the earth, all of creation.

But the way it's described is fascinating.

God creates these realms or these kingdoms, and then he fills those realms with many rulers or little kings, right?

So God creates light and dark, and he names it day and night.

And then he fills it with the sun and the moon to rule over the day and the night.

Well, he also separates the waters from the sky, and then later he fills the water with the fish of the sea, and the air with the birds of the air.

Later he has the waters recede and the dry land appears, and he fills the land with the creeping things and the animals and the creatures.

And then finally, his crowning achievement in creation.

He creates man, Adam and Eve, to reign and to rule, to have dominion over all of his creation.

Theologians call this uh a vice-gerency.

He these are this is a king and a queen who rule in place of another.

And Adam and Eve were to reflect God's heart and character to his good creation.

This was what God was doing in creation.

But as we know, the evil one comes, he tempts and persuades our first parents to rebel against their rightful king.

Everything is turned upside down.

Sin and death enter into God's good creation for the first time.

And along with those come pain and toil, frustration, sickness, envy, discord, and ultimately murder, we see in Cain and in Abel.

This good creation where God and mankind were meant to dwell together in harmony was ruptured.

Adam and Eve are expelled, exiled, if you will, from the garden.

And these two realms, these two kingdoms, are separated.

The kingdom of heaven, where God dwells, the kingdom of this world where humanity dwells, but also, right, Satan and all of his minions.

And now the power of sin and evil is allowed to run rampant.

And in this context, Jesus' ministry begins to make sense to us.

Because Jesus was confusing, right?

He can be confusing to us still to this day, but Jesus was confusing to those around him in his day.

Not only the Pharisees and the religious leaders, but his own disciples.

And John the Baptist himself, the forerunner of the kingdom, right?

John is in prison at one point, and he sends his disciples to Jesus to ask him this question: Are you the one that we've been waiting for?

Or should we be looking for another?

Right?

John himself is beginning to doubt.

How does Jesus respond?

He says to his disciples, Tell John this, what you see and hear.

The demons are cast out, the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the good news preached to them.

So we can broadly break this up into three different categories of what Jesus is doing in his ministry.

And these are all signs that God's kingdom is being restored on the earth.

First, the healing of the sick.

Like we said, sin and death, death and sickness, the toil of this world is part of the curse that was placed upon the earth because of Adam and Eve's sin.

And so as Jesus goes around and he heals the sick and he raises the dead, he's communicating through his miracles that he is healing this earth from that curse.

He is undoing that initial curse.

And then he casts out demons, right?

The demons are the spiritual powers of darkness that are in rebellion against God.

And the scriptures in the New Testament speak about them openly.

But as Jesus goes about his business and he speaks with authority to these demons, then they must obey.

Why?

Because Jesus represents the rightful king.

He is God in the flesh.

And so they have no choice but to obey.

But as he is casting out demons, he is communicating to his people, I am restoring God's kingdom, his rightful rule here on earth, as it is in heaven.

Finally, he says he's preaching the good news to the poor.

Now, why is that a sign of the kingdom of God?

Well, it's because of this.

Isaiah foretold that when the Messiah came, it would mean the end of oppression, for which the poor were often the most afflicted.

Right?

In God's kingdom, and you see this in the Old Testament, Old Testament law that we've been looking at some, that in God's kingdom all people are equal and are treated with equity and justice.

And so that's what Jesus is preaching to the poor, that you, who society views as less than, perhaps less than human or can just be shoved aside because you have no value, he says, no, in God's kingdom you have just as much value as the most wealthy or holy person out there.

You see, though they did not recognize him, Jesus is the returning king, Richard, the lion-hearted, who's come to kick out the oppressive rulers and to restore things to rights.

Let's move on to point three.

Through his work of obedience on the cross, Jesus was declared king over all things and seated at the right hand of the Father.

And the point here is that Jesus didn't just come to do this, he did it.

It's a fine distinction.

Jesus accomplished what he came to do.

Listen to the way the Apostle Paul describes what happened to Jesus after his death on the cross.

Paul writes this in Ephesians chapter 1.

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

The Father raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, above every name that is named, not only in this age, but in the one to come.

And he put all things under his feet.

What's happened?

Jesus has succeeded where Adam failed.

Adam was meant to succeed in the trial of the garden and to be seated at God's own right hand and to rule as his, you know, kind of king of creation.

But where Adam failed, Jesus succeeded.

And so he is seated, Paul tells us, above all things, all dominion, all rulers.

He's saying there is not anything on this earth or in all of creation that exceeds King Jesus' authority.

And this is where Jesus is this very moment.

Have you ever wondered where is Jesus right now?

Is he some kind of disembodied spirit or does he just exist in the Trinity?

Jesus exists embodied, seated at God's right hand.

Seated.

A king's authority was sort of pictured at this time in his session, his seatedness.

A king rules seated upon his throne.

And so Paul is jealous to communicate this is exactly where Jesus is.

There is nothing that happens in this earth anywhere that happens outside of his power and authority.

Now, this does not answer every question, right, that arises in our mind if this idea of the kingdom of God is new to you.

It doesn't answer every question like why do terrible things still continue to happen if Jesus is seated on the throne.

But the one thing I want us to see today is this that Jesus came to restore the rightful reign of God, to restore the reign that Adam was meant to have on this earth.

So that, as Revelation 21, verse 3 says, the dwelling place of God is with man.

Revelation 21:3

This is God's ultimate end.

This is Jesus' ultimate purpose, to restore this relationship that was meant to be from the beginning.

Amen?

Are you with me?

Alright.

A little bit heavy on the teaching today, I understand.

Alright, final point.

How are we doing on time?

To live as kingdom citizens allows us to live with a peace that passes all understanding, even in the midst of this chaotic world.

Now, we've only skimmed this concept of the kingdom, and I said over the next three weeks we'll continue to dig into it.

But I want us to see that this idea, the idea of the kingdom, is where Jesus goes when he lovingly attends to the fears and anxieties of his people.

When he sees the fears and anxieties of his people, he says, I want to teach you about the kingdom of God.

Earlier, Keel read to us from Matthew chapter 6.

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

This is from the Sermon on the Mount, one of Jesus' most famous teachings and sermons.

And he says there, this is my favorite passage in the Bible, so I've read it hundreds and hundreds of times.

Jesus tells his hearers not to be anxious, not to be anxious about their lives, without what they'll eat, what they'll drink, what they'll wear, right?

And this would, these were real anxieties for the people he was speaking to, but but we can easily extrapolate these things to all the things that we worry about in our lives.

As he addresses them, he he points to very natural things, right?

The birds of the air, the flowers of the field.

What does he say?

Your father in heaven, he feeds them.

He clothes them.

Guess who doesn't worry about these things?

Birds and flowers.

And he says, this is an option for you.

Just as a bird doesn't worry about his food and yet gets, receives plenty, you don't have to worry.

Just as the flowers of the fields don't worry about what they'll wear, but they are beautifully adorned, so too can you be free of anxiety and yet receive all that you need.

How can this be?

Well, he tells us in verse 33, he says, Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat, what shall we drink, what shall we wear?

For the Gentiles seek after these things.

And, or but, I would say, your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

So the Gentiles, right, at this time, Gentiles were anyone who is non-Jewish, not Israel, right?

There were just two types of people for the Israelites.

You were either Jewish or not, and that's a Gentile.

Well, what's the distinction?

Well, the Israel was God's people.

They knew God, God knew them, and they had his promises.

And so what Jesus is saying is, well, the Gentiles, of course, they have to seek after these things.

They live as orphans.

They don't know God.

God doesn't know them.

They don't have his promises as you do.

But how does he, and then how does he close?

He says, Your heavenly father knows that you need these things.

So again, he's placing God's people, saying, if you are in the people of God, you are children of God.

And this is how God sees you as a loving father does his own children.

Jesus speaks about this in some of his other teachings and parables.

God loves you.

And if you, as an earthly father or mother, want to provide for your children, then you have a glimpse into the heart of God for you.

You don't need to worry because someone else is worrying about these things for you.

But then he says this he says, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all of these other things, what you will wear, what you will eat, what you will drink, these will be added to you, given to you.

You see, rather than being like the Gentiles who seek after these things, these material things, they seek after security, they seek after provision, they want to feel safe.

Rather than seeking after that, Jesus says we ought to seek after something.

What do we seek after?

We seek after the kingdom of God.

And we seek after his righteousness.

Well, what does that mean?

To seek after the kingdom of God, it means to pursue, actively pursue the reality that the scriptures tell us about, which is that God, the God who loves us and knows us in Christ, is seated as the rightful king over all things.

And so he watches over us.

Not only does he provide, but he protects.

Not only does he provide and protect, but he loves.

He's our king, he's our father, he's our God.

So rather than seek after these material things that never ultimately sustain us, we are to seek after this reality that's already true.

That's true of us, that's true of the world.

That our God reigns, and that he is currently establishing his kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven.

And not only to his kingdom, but we pursue his righteousness.

What is God's righteousness?

It is Jesus that has been given to us by faith.

Not because we've earned it, not because we've worked harder than others, not because we've figured out the secret, but because by faith it is a gift.

So what is Jesus pointing us to?

To live within the reality that Jesus has said, This is what I've created, this is what I'm doing.

I'm seated at the right hand of the Father and I'm reigning.

Nothing happens in your life or anywhere in this world apart from my sovereign oversight.

And then he adds that all of these things will be added to you.

You need these things, and I will provide them.

So beloved, during this time of anxiety, during this year, this time that we are in our world, when we, like Adam and Eve, our first parents, are tempted to rebel, to seek our own control and security, our Lord Jesus is inviting us to go a different direction, to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

Guess what?

That we already have.

These are the things we preach week in and week out here at Redeemer.

Now, this doesn't mean that we stand aloof from the things of the world.

Far from it.

We have a vital role to play in God's world.

But it does mean that rather than being ruled by either sadness or anxiety or any other emotion, that all of our emotions, our whole person, can exist in a peaceful submission to the God of the universe and King Jesus who reigns even now, so that we can be at peace and we can be a force for God's kingdom peace in this world.

Let's pray.

Our Father and our God, Lord, thank you for this truth.

Thank you that apart from anything that we have done or can do or will do, you are seated at the right hand of the Father.

And Lord, though it is often difficult for us to see and to understand, just as in uh for Jesus' own disciples and John the Baptist, Lord, we say by faith that you reign, that we can have peace.

Even as the mountains tumble into the raging sea, that you are our refuge and strength.

We give you thanks.

We ask by your spirit that we would walk more and more in your peace this week through the rest of our lives.

Amen.