Isaiah 61 - The Kingdom and the Spirit - Part 2

Okay, part two of what we started last week. What did we do last week, for those of us who weren't here?

We were talking about the Kingdom and the Spirit. Kingdom and the Spirit. Part two.

So, last week we said that when we look at the word Kingdom, be it in Greek, where it's called Basilea, or in Hebrew, where it's Malkuth,

in both cases it actually means rank, authority, divine rule, or sovereignty. Rank, authority, sovereignty.

That's exercised by a king. That's what it means. Exercised by a king. That's what we said last week.

And so, before you think of the Kingdom in terms of a realm or in terms of a people, you have to think of it in terms of a king.

That's important. That's what we kept saying last week.

That listen, you can't think of Kingdom as people or realm first. It has to be thought of as a king first. That's critical.

And so the Kingdom is first about a king. Anytime you think of a Kingdom, hey, can you take the echo off now?

Anytime you think of a Kingdom, you have to think of king first. And when we think of a king, we think of his rank, his rule, his divine rule,

because we have a king that's above all. Divine rule. You think of his sovereignty, as in I can do whatever I want and nobody can stop me.

You think of his power and you think of his goodness. Because a Kingdom is as the king is.

And that's why, because Jesus has absolute rank, absolute rule, absolute sovereignty, absolute power, and absolute goodness,

that is why this Kingdom is like no other Kingdom. This Kingdom is the only Kingdom that will stand.

Because a Kingdom is according to the king. Hey, there's still a, there's a lot of echo on what I'm saying.

We talked about this last week. If you look at Daniel 2.37, Daniel 2.37, Daniel 2.37,

Daniel 2.37, you see that at the end of the day, it's God who decides who will be boss and who will not. Who will be king, who will not.

Daniel 2.37, it says there,

This was a dream and now we will interpret it to the king. You, O King, are the king of kings.

The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory. In your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air.

Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold.

So here is Nebuchadnezzar, one of the most powerful kings that ever reigned in history on par with guys like Alexander.

And Daniel is saying to Nebuchadnezzar, listen, you are the king of kings, but you must realize who gave you this power.

And who does he point to? He points to the Lord Almighty.

At the end of the day, there is nobody who has greater rank, divine rule, sovereignty, power and goodness than God.

Therefore, the kingdom that we occupy is completely different from any other kingdom. There is no comparison.

And if I understand that, I shape my immediate space, environment, radius of influence completely different.

And we will talk about that. Look at Psalm 2. Psalm 2, verse 6 or 7 onwards.

Psalms 2:6

Psalm 2. It's called a coronation psalm. And so if you read Psalm 2, it says, and this is God speaking about his son Jesus Christ.

In Psalm 2, verse 7 it says, verse 6, I have installed my king on Zion, my holy hill. I will proclaim the decree of the Lord.

Psalms 2:7

He said to me, you are my son. Today I have become your father. Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance and the ends of the earth your possession.

You will rule them with an iron scepter. You will dash them to pieces like pottery.

Now listen to the next line. Having said that, now he says to other powers that rule the earth.

Therefore, you kings be wise, be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear. Rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son, lest he be angry.

The ridiculous supremacy of the kingdom that we belong to must be realized for it to begin to kind of work into our lives.

Because we put it on par with other things on earth or we look at the church as peripheral to the world.

Most of the time we see the church and ourselves as peripheral to the world.

And part of that is because we don't realize the king that has brought a kingdom to the earth.

That's why we first need to look at the kingdom, not as a realm, not as people.

And it's foolish sometimes to compare the kingdom of God to the kingdoms of the earth. They don't correspond.

They don't correspond. Because people make that mistake. They take kingdoms of the earth and they try to say this is how kings behave here, so that's what the kingdom...

It isn't. It's completely different. Because there's no king like him.

One of the things Jesus did in his kindness, in his grace, is he decided that instead of the kingdom, he decided...

And remember, we said this too. Jesus was king before there was the earth.

Jesus was king before territory existed. It's from everlasting to everlasting it says he's king.

So before there was the earth, before there was creation, we were not going to be able to have the kingdom.

Before there was creation, before there was sun, moon or stars, before there was a walnut or before there was me, he was already king.

His kingdom and therefore his kingdom is not dependent on realm or people.

We must recognize that first. Everything else comes later. It requires the territory and people but that comes later.

And in his grace, he decided that rather than wait till the end, wait till the end to display and establish my kingdom,

let me bring it in advance. Let me advance its arrival. Let me advance its arrival.

Why was he doing that? So that more of us can begin to see it displayed and seek it.

Usually, according to Old Testament prophecy, here's what was supposed to happen.

And this was shocking to Old Testament prophets. We talked about it last week.

The Old Testament prophets said, the kingdom is coming, the kingdom is coming, the kingdom is coming.

When the Messiah comes, the kingdom will be established.

And so when Jesus turned up, what do they expect then?

They expect the Roman government to be overthrown. They expect the kingdom to be established.

But Jesus in his wisdom and his grace decides, no, that's not how it's going to happen.

I will arrive and I will begin to bring the kingdom that must be established, consummated at a time.

I'll bring it right now. Why? So that Derek and Vignesh and Vibi and Mira can begin to seek entry into this kingdom

and not wait in ignorance and dullness till the last day and then find out that they're not sheep but goats.

In his brilliance, he brings the kingdom in advance so that we may enter it.

And then through us, show others that it can be entered into.

He brings it in advance. That's why it's called the breakthrough of the kingdom.

Where he stands in front of people and they're saying, when will the kingdom come?

And he says, I am king, I am here, the kingdom is in your midst.

So come, enter.

And so we said Isaiah 61 is actually a working out of what this kingdom will look like.

When you read Isaiah 61, we realize that this is a kingdom where there are blessings,

this is a kingdom where oppression is defeated,

this is a kingdom where the poor are invited.

It's a working out of the kingdom.

And today at present, and this is where the recap ends and we begin afresh,

today the kingdom is like leaven.

It's like unseen, unobservable, swallowed up in a bowl of dough.

You don't see it, but you know for sure that it is affecting everything.

It permeates.

And how does it permeate? Two ways.

Holy Spirit, church.

Church.

When the church doesn't go, the Holy Spirit has to do all the work.

When the church goes, the Holy Spirit thrills.

Because now it's not just him moving on the hearts of men before we get there,

but now that he's moved on the hearts of men, we turn up and it's that extra, bam,

pinch of leaven like that chef does and you got a decent loaf of bread.

And it's continuously happening.

Right now, the kingdom spreads through persuasion, not through power.

But a day is coming when it will be sheer power,

where the one who rode a donkey comes in riding on a white horse.

So that's what we talked about last week.

Today, we go on to, okay, now that we know that the kingdom is mainly the king,

before it's anything else, and that the kingdom exists even before the earth was created,

now we go to the next part, which is the kingdom is the king's power

over the king's people in the king's place.

The kingdom is the king's power over, so the first part we've done,

the king's power we've established, there's nobody like him.

But after that, it's the king's power over the king's people.

So here's the thing, it's not the king's power in the king's people,

it's not the king's power through the king's people,

it is first the king's power over the king's people.

As in, is there a submission that I have towards my king?

If there is, then the king's power works in me and through me, but not till it is over me.

This is basically what the centurion says when he says,

I know Jesus, you don't have to come to my house.

There are people under you and there are people over you.

Once the king's power is over us as a church,

the king's power works easily in and through the church.

So if the king's power has to be over me, then I have to be under the king's power.

And by power, I'm not talking about miracle signs and wonders,

I'm talking about power as in his will, his sovereignty, his rule and his rank.

Like you are at work, where the boss is the boss.

He might be your uncle, it doesn't matter.

So it begins that way.

The king's power over the king's people as a king's place.

And so when you look at the gospels, you'll find that all four writers paint a canvas of the kingdom.

And it's worth paying attention to because they almost tell you what the form and content is.

So when you look at Matthew, he focuses on the kingdom as a place.

And he keeps using the word kingdom of heaven and he focuses on it as a place.

So his focus is always, hey, the kingdom of heaven is a place.

And how does he define this place?

The place, this is beautiful and I pray God we don't forget this, that I don't forget this.

The place is defined by presence.

The place is defined by presence.

The place is defined by presence.

Where the king is, it becomes a place where the kingdom is.

So he focuses on the kingdom of heaven where Jesus comes as king.

And what is the intent of presence?

What is the intent of presence? The intent of presence is very simple.

The intent of presence is can I reorder the earth and make it like heaven or Eden?

That's the intent.

These are simple truths that if we somehow won't forget, we'll begin to change or shape our little plot of ground.

That in Matthew he talks about the kingdom, his focus, it's not that he talks only about that, his focus is kingdom is a place.

But how is the place defined?

The place is defined by presence as in where the king is, there the kingdom of heaven is.

And what is the intent of the king? What is the intent of presence?

The intent of the king is very simple.

I'm here to reorder the earth, to make all things new, to make it so new that even while you live here in the middle of decay,

you will begin to taste what heaven feels like.

This is why we sing, let heaven come.

It is a constant cry from the heart of a believer who has begun to taste what life looks like in the age after, in this present age.

That's the beauty of it.

And the cry can only come out of us if we already begin to taste the age after here.

If we don't taste it here, all we can think of is Philadelphia cheese clouds and angels with harps, streets of gold and big mansions.

Why? They didn't have big mansions in Eden?

But if we begin to taste, ah, healing does work.

The dead do rise, torment ends, tyranny can be overturned, institutions can crumble, kings rise and kings fall, bodies can be repaired, hope can be restored.

There's a covenant of blood, there's fatherhood, there's friendship, there's oneness in the body.

When these things become real, you begin to taste.

You begin to taste the age to come in the age that is.

And that is when the cry grows louder and louder and stronger and stronger.

That's when deep calls to deep.

Because why? God is reordering the earth, making things new, and he begins to give you a craving.

It's like when someone goes and spends time in, I mean, wherever one of us would have come from, and we go back home and, my God, the taste of that food and the smell and all this stuff, and then you come here and you long for it.

You long for it so you start looking for a restaurant that you can eat the same thing at.

It's a longing.

Question is this, do I have that longing every day?

Does my heart cry out for it?

And if the longing is not there, could it be because I haven't tasted the age to come in this present age?

The other thing he does, Matthew says, is this king has come and he's contesting the other kingdoms around.

He's contesting the other kingdoms around.

How does he contest them? Through his words, through his works, through his deeds.

That's how he contests the other kingdoms.

That's another thing that Matthew keeps saying the king does.

What do you mean, how does he contest it with his words, works, and deeds?

You have heard it said that eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, but I come and say to you a new law, that if a man hits you on one cheek, offer him the other cheek.

You have heard it said that if someone sleeps with a woman, he has committed adultery.

I say to you a new rule. I say to you that even if you look at a woman with lust in your eyes, you have already committed adultery.

You have heard it said, do not commit murder.

I say to you that if you bear anger against your brother or sister, you have already committed murder.

With his words, he begins to bring in the beauty of a kingdom that is yet to come.

In an age that is to come, he brings it here.

With his works. Jesus, son of David, heal us.

Ten lepers cry out and he begins to heal them.

Indiscriminately, he doesn't find out who's done what sin because leprosy was always connected to sin.

He heals them all.

He sees a widow taking a son for burial.

He goes and touches the body.

He knows he'll be unclean.

The woman with the issue of blood, he does the same thing.

He's changing the rules. He's turning this thing upside down.

Works, words, deeds.

Someone comes to catch him in the middle of the night in Gethsemane and Peter takes out his sword and cuts off his ear.

And he takes his hand and restores the ear.

What do you think happened to Malchus after that?

I mean, can you imagine how that act ruined his life forever?

He could never be the same again.

It's just beautiful what this kingdom is like.

And his expectation and his reasonable expectation is that we will be able to function the same way.

Partly because we've tasted of it, partly because he lives in us.

It's a reasonable expectation.

He's not a dreamer or someone who's delusional.

When he created the church, which is basically made up of those that have received the kingdom,

he was quite expecting that this is how we will behave.

And by God, we have been trying to do that.

And we'll only keep increasing.

This is one of those places where you can use the word by God and it won't be taking his name in vain.

Revelation 21 then ends with what Matthew started as a kingdom of heaven.

Revelation 21 then ends with a kingdom of heaven becoming a garden city.

I mean, garden city was not a Richmond idea, even though there's a road like that there.

Garden city was God's idea that there would be this amazing city in the end that you and I will enter into,

a bride that comes out from heaven, resplendent.

But as much as it is a city, it's also a beautiful garden.

It is Eden on steroids.

It's brilliant.

It's a garden city, and that's where it's going to end.

And while we wait for that, God is saying, can you give people a taste here?

And he loves beauty. He loves creativity. He loves crafts.

Bezalel was anointed by the Holy Spirit so he can be creative.

Why do you think the curtains in the temple had pomegranates and palm fronds and gold and grapes and all that stuff?

Why? Because it was to recreate Eden even inside a man-made building.

And so when we make spaces look good, guys like me may not think much of it, but God definitely does.

Meaning, I like beautiful spaces, but I may not notice it.

I remember when all the women in this church dressed up.

I didn't know that they had dressed up.

I just noticed that Diana looked different because she...

I didn't even know why she was looking different.

Then someone told me she's wearing a skirt.

That's when I realized, oh, these women are all dressed up.

It has absolutely no bearing on this message.

But the point is that at the end of the day, these things are important to God.

Jesus brings people into this place. So Jesus brings us into this place.

And what is that place? It's for us Vancouver or wherever.

He brings us into this place. And after he brings us into this place, he then decides,

okay, guys, let me give you a code of conduct. Let me give you a code of conduct.

What is this code of conduct? Is it the law? No. It's a code of conduct that structures...

This is so cool. It's a code of conduct that structures our interaction.

It structures our interaction. It structures our interaction with ourselves,

God, others, institutions, environment.

Or in other words, it tells us how to behave with each, and this is basically what righteousness is.

Beautiful, eh? And now you can see why the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy.

He brings us into a place. It doesn't matter where he puts us.

Right now, we are from so many different places. There must be at least 15 nations represented here.

He brings us into this place. And after bringing us into this place, he gives us a code of conduct.

And the code of conduct is supposed to govern how we interact with God, with ourselves, with others,

with institutions, with our environment, and that is the definition of righteousness.

Righteousness is right relationship with these five things.

Right relationship with God, right relationship with myself, right relationship with you.

It's that order. Love the Lord your God. Love your neighbor as you love yourself.

And then with institutions, because there are so many different institutions.

How do you work with government? How do you work with something corrupt? How do you work with business?

Different institutions. And then our environment.

And when we do that, now we begin to shape the space we are in.

What does the earth try? What does the world try?

Can I hybridize Jacob's code of conduct? Can I mutate Jacob's code of conduct?

Can I dilute Jacob's code of conduct?

Because if I can dilute Jacob's code of conduct, he will begin to look like the world,

and his kingdom will begin to look like the kingdoms of the world.

This is the attempt. What when that happens to an entire church?

Suddenly, salt has lost its flavor and is useless.

Any questions?

That's why some of the things that are precious to you, hold on to them.

Man, precious to you why? Not because you cultivated it, but you know that's the nature put in you by God.

And you're supposed to express it, display it, finesse it, hone it, make it more and more Christ-like.

Things that are important to you.

For some of you, truth is so important that it's non-negotiable.

For some of you, kindness or generosity or serving is so important, you cannot back off from it.

Some of you, it's not even truth. It is to be true, to be honest.

Some of you, it's diligence. Some of you, it's faith.

I'm not saying that's the only thing you hold on to. You add to it.

But the things that are so important to you are important to you because God put it there.

And it's supposed to display the values of an age to come in an age that is decaying.

And that is what will always be attacked, always be diluted.

Because if that can be diluted, then your kingdom, your church, your life, your marriage, your family

will look exactly like all the families, all the churches, all the institutions of the world.

Sometimes it's sad how businessmen start, pastors start, evangelists start with such kingdom fervour.

And then it slowly gets diluted.

Where the only difference sometimes between a Christian business and a non-Christian business

is that the non-Christian business gives to United Way, the Christian business gives to United Evangelists.

That's the only difference.

Any questions?

And this code of conduct begins to govern how I pastor, begins to govern how you work,

begins to govern how you're a lawyer, begins to govern how you're a student,

begins to govern how your brothers help the environment through your engineering.

Then the kingdom becomes visible.

This is when Dawn says, I'm not an environmental engineer.

So now that we have this code of conduct, it allows us to go, to go,

selling the t-shirts and the sweatshirts again, to go, go,

to go and give shape, go and give shape to every space you have a say in.

What do you do? You bring in two things. You bring in shalom or wholeness.

These are things we forget. So by the time we realise that the moment has passed, all you...

Yeah, here's what we do. Can I recreate the space I'm in so that I can bring in shalom and I can bring in joy?

Everything is broken, guys. There's nothing that's not broken.

Our lives are so fortunate that we get to bring to God every day and sometimes corporately every week,

we get to bring to God broken pieces.

We are so privileged through prayer, through the Spirit of God just working sovereignly,

through each other, helping each other out. Our broken pieces is usually put back.

But the world doesn't have that. And so in the space that you now enter with the code of conduct that God has given us,

we now get to recreate. I mean, I remember when I was a kid, I violently fell off my bike

and the wheel got twisted and stuff like that. I was crying. It was a relatively new bike.

I remember bringing it home and my dad for some reason was calm and not upset that I just destroyed a new bike.

And then he started working on it. I didn't even know what he did.

But the joy that was on my face when I got up, when I came back from school the next day to find that the wheel was replaced,

that the mangled wheel was now straight and I used to ride bikes once upon a time. And so it really made.

And so it was fascinating to see something brand new presented to me again.

We don't realize how much we do, how much we need to do this.

The thing is, this is not what we remember in the thick of work and in the thick of daily living.

We forget this. My hope is, can we repeat this enough times so that we remember?

Truth is really learned through repetition.

Can we just keep this in mind? Every single, so hard-bent.

And we are overwhelmed by so many new teachings, right? Every week.

And so you can't even keep track. I pray God that the Spirit of God reminds us.

So that's Matthew. When we go to Mark, Mark focuses on the authority of the King.

Mark focuses on the authority of the King. That's his favorite thing, eh?

He uses that word more than any of the other gospels, the authority of the King.

And he keeps presenting Jesus as royalty or as the Son of God.

As in, he is from a kingly line or he presents him as the Son of God.

When you, he, in 2 Samuel 7, it talks about how David is having this conversation with God.

God tells him, listen, I picked you out of the pastures. You were a shepherd.

I brought you and I made you king. Look at you now. And here's the promise I make to you.

I say to you that through you and through your line, I will establish a kingdom.

And a king is going to sit on the throne that you presently sit on.

And to his kingdom, there will be no end.

And Mark compares Jesus to the Son of God and to coming from a kingly place.

And his emphasis is always authority. Authority over nature.

Authority over disease. Authority over sickness. Authority over the demonic.

Authority over the temple. Where he comes, he takes a whip and he cleanses the temple.

And he says, I'll destroy it in three days and I'll build it again in three days.

He shows him as someone who is royal and who comes with authority.

And so that's Mark's emphasis. Having power over demons, disease, death, nature, temple.

And how does he have ultimate authority?

The ultimate authority is through a bloody cross and an empty tomb.

That's how this king becomes the ultimate.

And it says in Philippians 2, it says, and being obedient unto death, he suffered the death of a slave.

And because he lowered himself to the point of death, now he has been exalted and given a name

that is above every name, every power, every rank, every institution, everything.

How does he achieve it? Through a bloody cross and empty tomb.

Which goes on to say this then, that most of the time that God uses his authority through us is often, not always,

is often through our humiliation, through our suffering, through our being undignified, through our nothingness.

That is critical to the existence of this kingdom. This kingdom is an upside down kingdom.

This kingdom does not work through greatness, bravado, Tarzan. It doesn't work like that.

It works usually through nothingness, through humiliation, through loss of dignity, and through suffering.

You take any movement, be it the Book of Acts, Paul, Peter, or any movement that has started,

there's tremendous opposition to the kingdom. There's a lot of indignity, a lot of suffering,

a lot of humiliation, a lot of nothingness, and out of that arises the kingdom.

These are things you must embrace, that I must embrace.

Any questions? Any questions, guys?

Anyone else want to move up front?

Vivi followed you. Whoa, Vivi just returned to his place here.

No, not always, often. It's something that the, that, this is a judgment and I think it's fair,

it's something that the Western Church and the Charismatic Church avoids.

So the Charismatic Church globally and the Western Church in terms of geography avoids this.

We don't see power displayed through nothingness, humiliation, indignity, and suffering as something that a king does.

But this king came into a place of cosmic authority over everything through a bloody cross and an empty tomb.

And like we said in the beginning, the kingdom goes as the king goes. And this is how the king went.

What's a good way to judge if you're feeling humiliation is God warranted?

Yeah, what's a good way to know whether humiliation is God warranted?

Humiliation is never God's plan, but it is the way he uses to affect the world.

It's never God's plan to humiliate us. At no point was God intending to make man to humiliate him.

Yeah, because of sin. It's after the fall that this thing happened.

God's plan was never humiliation, but Jesus had to humble himself because we had become sinners.

And the only way now to work it out is to humble himself to become a bond slave to us sinners so that he may set us free.

So humiliation is never God's plan, but in being humiliated, how do I react?

The Romans are humiliating the Jews. Carry my bag. Walk a mile. Give me your cloak. Give me your tunic.

And Jesus, instead of making it better, saying walk with dignity, he says, if they ask you to walk a mile, walk two.

If they ask you for your cloak, give him your cloak and your tunic. It's just an upside down kingdom.

And we find it hard to embrace because we in the West and most charismatic communities have this thing about our personal individual rights.

We live like that. It's important to us. Democracy thrives because of individual rights.

It's strange. You can go to any kingdom in the world. You'll never find protest marches or strikes.

I'm not saying one is good or one is bad. I'm not saying you shouldn't unionize or you should unionize.

There's not a political speech. I'm just saying certain things don't happen in kingdoms.

But we won't compare it to kingdoms of the world because that's a bad analogy.

Guys, the resurrection of this king is important. He's a risen king.

Try to remember that because we don't have a religion if the tomb is not empty.

We don't have a religion if the tomb is not empty. Our sins are not forgiven if the tomb is not empty.

Our future looks bleak if Jesus hasn't risen. Oppression will not end if he does not have all authority.

Resurrection is historically indisputable, so you can stand on it and say this actually happened.

Crucifixion and resurrection, there's sufficient evidence for that. You don't have to shy away from that.

But it's such a critical part of our existence where Satan is stripped of his authority.

Death is not the end. Jesus is God and our sins are paid for. Four things.

Jesus is God. Our sins are paid for. Death is not the end.

Satan is disarmed. Four things that will not happen if resurrection does not happen.

And these are the four things that we base every day on.

Can you imagine if we don't preach resurrection, like Paul said, what kind of religion is this?

If Jesus didn't rise from the dead, we are to be pitied because death is the end.

Satan is disarmed. Sins are forgiven.

Jesus is God. If he's not God, he doesn't rise.

Before we move on to Luke, authority. The moment you step into this or you warn this,

know two things. One, you are not going to be forgiven.

Before we move on to Luke, authority. The moment you step into this or you warn this,

know two things. One, it will provoke opposition.

And two, it will prevail over opposition.

We want prevailing, but why prevail when you have no opposition?

You don't need to prevail if there's no provoking or pushback.

You only prevail over something when it contends with you.

And the moment you decide that I want to know how to wield the king's authority for the sake of the kingdom.

And whenever you say the sake of the kingdom, always remember it means you want to display the king

and you want others to be drawn in.

Anytime you say, for the sake of the kingdom, these two things immediately come into play.

The moment I say, I want to do this for the sake of the kingdom, here's what you're saying.

I want to do this because I want to display who my king is and I also want to draw others in.

Those are the two reasons when we say the sake of the kingdom.

But anytime you want to exert the works and words and deeds of this king who is ridiculously supreme

and has absolute rank and sovereignty, the moment you firmly decide it is this and nothing,

the moment you do that, you provoke opposition.

And if we persist, we prevail over opposition.

It was the same with Jesus.

The moment he began to tell people who he was, son of God,

the moment he does that, his family goes out to seize him.

Teachers of the law claim that he's Beelzebub or Satan and that he's possessed.

His community rejects him.

The devil tempts him with the lust of the eyes and flesh and pride of life in the desert and many times after.

His identity is attacked. He is persecuted.

Evil arrays itself against him.

And then he prevails.

You have overcome, you have overcome.

And this is still what happens.

Be it in Richmond or be it in Kathmandu, the moment you decide that this is what we want to do for kingdom's sake,

know that there will be opposition, that will be prevailing.

Any questions before we move on to Luke?

Okay.

Luke.

Luke focuses on the people who will occupy the kingdom.

Beautiful, eh, how these guys without knowing end up giving us such a beautiful canvas of the kingdom or deep glimpses into the kingdom.

Luke focuses on the people who occupy the kingdom.

You read Luke and what do you find there?

You find how Jesus helps the marginal, how Jesus helps the rejected,

how Jesus helps the Syrophoenician woman who is a Canaanite,

how he helps the poor, how he helps tax collectors, how he helps sinners,

the woman, different women caught in adultery, how he helps Samaritans or goes to Samaritans,

how he helps a Gentile centurion who is a Roman who probably was cruel to the Jews at some point or the other,

how he opens Isaiah 61 and begins to read and what does he read?

Comfort to the brokenhearted, release for captives, good news to the poor.

And then you go further and you see that there are so many parables that Luke has.

While the parables in Matthew deal with the kingdom,

Luke's parables will deal with the prodigal son, the lost sheep, the persistent widow, the poor.

When you look at the Beatitudes, you again see him talking about blessed are the poor,

the persecuted, the mourning.

It's just this continuous focus on, hey, you want to see what the kingdom looks like?

The kingdom is for them.

The fact is everybody is poor. Everybody is bankrupt.

The truth is very few know it. Sorry, let me change that around.

The truth is everybody is bankrupt. The fact is not everybody knows it.

The truth is everybody is bankrupt. The fact is not everybody knows it.

But look at who the kingdom goes after.

And then it begs the question, Jacob, are these the ones that you go after?

In Acts 29, are these the ones you go after?

Embrace these simple truths of the kingdom and we will begin to think like this.

And if we keep repeating, if we keep recapping, going over it, it will become our reality.

It's crazy.

Do you understand?

These are the people.

Matthew was... Go ahead. Sorry.

Yeah. Yeah.

All of us are. There's nobody who isn't.

But only some of us know it.

And that's the greatest barrier to getting saved.

And that's the greatest barrier to salvation is the inability for humans to admit bankruptcy or needing saving.

Sorry? Sure.

If we are all spiritually dead, can we save ourselves or does God need to reach out to us?

God needs to reach out to us because we can't save ourselves.

Because how do you pay for the wrong things you did?

How do you get back to holy once you are unholy?

How do you take food that has poison in it and un-poison it?

There's only one way. Someone has to eat that food and die.

And that's the end of that food.

And now you can bake something afresh.

So, yeah, his question answers that it's impossible for man to save himself.

Therefore, one has to come.

And I like the way he worded it.

He said, does God have to reach out for us?

Yes. You can't reach out for God either.

He has to reach out for us because where would you even find this God if you looked for him?

He has to look for you.

I mean, yes, it's become a phrase.

And then I was lost and then I found God.

It's usually never the case.

And finally we got John.

John is the only guy who almost rarely uses the word kingdom.

He only uses the word kingdom when he's in Jesus' discourse with Nicodemus.

He says, unless you be born again, you cannot enter the kingdom of God.

He uses it twice. That's it.

But the word John uses is life.

He keeps using this word life.

And so John's focus is life of the kingdom.

Life of the kingdom.

And this life is sourced from God.

It's sourced from God.

It starts here and it goes on forever.

And so John's contention is those who submit or those who receive the king can have life.

But this life will only come through the death of the king.

Beautiful, eh? What a God.

Those who submit to this king who outranks everything and exists even before people or land existed.

This king, if you submit to this king, you have life.

But this king must die for you to have life.

These are essentials of our gospel.

And as we begin to speak, we can get excited about what we belong to and what others must belong to.

Because it's the desire of the king to have them belong in this.

Who wouldn't want this?

And so in talking this, the gospel gets stronger in us.

It's not standing alone now.

That's why Jesus used to call it the gospel of the kingdom.

And so the king must die.

If the king must die and you submit to the king, you receive the life of the kingdom.

The life of the kingdom.

And just like the kingdom came through a few disciples, always remember that, eh?

It came through the meek and lowly.

It came through one destined to death.

It came through one who had twelve disciples.

Today, it's the same.

It still comes through weak, meek people.

It still comes through jars of clay, carrying treasure.

But they have the ability to announce and demonstrate kingdom.

The ways of the kingdom.

Part of the reason we dare, we do not dare, to announce or demonstrate the kingdom is because of a lack of meekness.

I would contend that part of the reason we do not dare to announce and demonstrate the kingdom is because of a lack of meekness.

Meekness is not a lack of strength, but meekness is being a jolly beggar.

A jolly beggar.

Ever seen a jolly beggar?

A jolly beggar is what meekness looks like.

He knows he's got nothing.

He knows he's got nothing.

But he knows he can still somehow be happy because of the fact that in his nothingness, great things can happen.

It still happens to meek, weak individuals.

You know what that does in terms of the kingdom?

It makes everybody qualified.

It qualifies everyone.

I mean, surely one of the best things you can say about yourself is, I'm weak.

Twelve people.

Let me conclude.

Hey, boom.

These last two or three points are so important for us.

When we take up our crosses, when we take up our crosses, what does that mean?

Self-denial for Christ and others because of love or because we love.

That's what taking up the cross means.

That's important.

We need to understand what self-denial, what taking up your crosses.

Self-denial for the sake of Christ and for the sake of others, either because we love them or because of love.

Because of love.

Sometimes we do things because of love.

Sometimes we do things because we actually love somebody, so we do it.

Sometimes it's not because we love somebody, it's because of love.

This is what parents do day in and day out.

Self-denial is the middle name of anybody who has a child.

And so when we take up our crosses, as in self-denial for Christ and others, cause of love, cause of love for Christ and others, cause we love Christ and others,

when we take up our crosses and follow Jesus where he tells us to go, follow Jesus where he tells us, there the kingdom is.

It's an essential part of ushering in or creating space or causing the kingdom to descend.

Self-denial is a, let me put it in a Christian way, taking up your cross is critical for the coming of the kingdom.

Which is why it can't be limited to the service.

Jesus didn't say, I have come to give you meetings and meetings more abundant.

He said, I've come to give you life and life more abundant.

And so when we take up our crosses, self-denial for Christ and others, cause of love, cause we love, I follow Jesus, there the kingdom is.

And it'll look different for everybody.

So we can't say, oh, this is the way Jacob does it, so this is what I have to do it.

No. Your situation, your context is completely different.

But you get a chance to do this, self-denial.

And wherever that happens, there the kingdom is.

And what do I mean by there the kingdom is?

There the king is.

And where presence is, suddenly you have the kingdom of heaven.

And where presence is, works, words and deeds will emanate out of you and emanate through you.

Why?

Because anybody who chooses the path of self-denial is Christ-like.

The imitation of Christ is impossible without self-denial.

Therefore, every time I am the center of my life, every time I choose not to deny self for Christ or for others,

every time my rights become more important than my spouse's right, than my friend's right, than my neighbor's right,

at that moment all I am is sanctified flesh with the Holy Spirit living inside.

And it's impossible for Christ to do stuff.

But the moment self-denial comes in, Christ arrives.

Christ and self-denial are one and the same.

The cross is the ultimate expression of absolute denial of everything that is self.

Why will not the king turn up?

Why will you then not begin to behave like the king when self-denial kicks in?

You know, when Abraham left the Ur of Chaldees, there were three things that he decided to depart from.

One was his land. He decides his land he'll turn his back on.

The other one was his people. He decides he'll turn his back on his people.

You'll see it in Genesis 12. And the third one was his power.

And where did his power come from? In those days your power came from your father's house.

These are the three things he decides to turn his back on.

He turns his back on his land, as in his territory.

He turns his back on his people, as in his kin.

And he turns his back on all the trappings of power, his name.

The name was critical in those days, even today.

He turns his back on it. He turns his back on his father's house and he walks away.

And when he walks away, here's what God does.

He says, okay, so you walked away from your land, from your people, and from your power or your father's house.

So here's what I'll give you.

God promises him three things in return.

He promises him land that stretches forever.

He promises him you lost the people.

He promises him nations.

And then he promises him blessings from Yahweh.

These are the three things he promises.

This kingdom is like that.

This kingdom cannot be lived out if I do not have...

I must get to a place where I do not struggle with these three things.

My land, my people, my own power or my name, my father's house.

These are three things that I must have the ability to not struggle with.

That's where we must go, where it's never going to be a struggle.

It'll always be a choice, but it'll be a choice made without a struggle.

That's where we must head.

The moment we do that, what happens immediately is God just ridiculously multiplies us,

which is also what he says in Matthew where he says,

Peter comes and says to Jesus, but Jesus, we've given up everything,

Matthew 10, we've given up land, this, that.

And he says, you've given up land, houses, family, friends,

but here's what I say to you.

I will multiply it back to you.

The prosperity gospel sees that as a method of increase, personal increase.

What Jesus is saying is, Abraham, you left this.

Now through you, I will bless who?

The nations.

And so when Jesus is saying to Peter, you will in return get many houses.

Wow, if I give up one house, God will multiply it.

So one house, you will get five houses back.

That is not what Jesus is saying.

Jesus is saying, when you do this, then look at what I will do.

I will through you increase the kingdom where you will now be the father of nations.

Through you, the blessings of Yahweh will come down to the earth.

Through you, the little piece of land you gave up in the ear of Chaldees

will be returned where you will have descendants like the sand of the sea.

It's always that what he means because he's been a king since the beginning.

It's not a new idea.

And this is what he can do through ordinary people like you and me.

His dad was a pagan.

Abraham's dad.

What made Abraham special?

Just one simple thing.

God called him out.

How are you any different?

God called you out.

He picked you.

He chose you.

Your parents may not have been believers, but he picked you out.

And then he gives you a promise.

And so what is the promise that he has given you?

But he didn't give me a promise of nations.

And well then, start with the little promise he has given you.

Because as you show yourself faithful, so you are given an increase in the number of cities.

C.S. Lewis said this.

Keep back nothing.

Keep back nothing.

Nothing that you have not given away will ever really be yours.

Beautiful.

Keep back nothing.

Keep back nothing.

Keep back nothing.

And then he goes on to say,

Nothing that you have not given away,

Nothing that you have not given away

will ever be really yours.

It is so true.

Jesus said this himself.

He who cannot give up his this and that and wife and children and land and house,

Jesus made it a little worse than C.S. Lewis.

He said, It's not even worthy of following me.

The last sentence in this quoteised,

Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead.

Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead.

Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead.

Jacob, do you have a problem with money?

Do you have a problem with pride?

Do you have a problem with people?

What is it that you have a problem with?

Till that dies, I cannot raise it back to life.

So how do I do this, oh God?

Bring your blessing in.

How do I do this, O God?

Bring your blooming Isaac and lay him on the altar and see what I can do.

I will make you laugh over what you've laid down as I raise it back from the dead."

It's a kingdom principle and we must embrace it because of the huge promise that has been

given to this church.

Huge.

Promises don't come corporate.

Promises come through a person.

If you're waiting for a corporate dream where everybody sees the same dream before this

church moves, it ain't going to happen.

Promises come through people.

We have been given a huge promise.

And if we embrace these truths, we'll be able to walk in it.

These are principles that we'll repeat again and again so that we become that.

When Jesus died on top of the cross, they put this sign, King of the Jews.

It was written in Aramaic, it was written in Latin, it was written in Greek.

Anybody who went by would look at the sign and they knew.

You know why they put that sign?

They had to give reason for its crucifixion.

And so the reason that they put above the cross was he said he was the King of the Jews.

The easy thing was he was.

And then he rises again and that begins the advancement of the kingdom, which we'll talk

about next week.

Let's pray.

We've gone 10 minutes extra because of George.

I apologize on his behalf.

Let's pray.

Father, it is so refreshing, so exciting, so mind-opening, so heart-desiring, so feet-stirring

to hear about this magnificent plan that you have called the kingdom.

Jesus, we just come as eager students who don't want to just look at the word but want

to do the word.

We don't want to be people that look in the mirror and walk away.

I just pray that during this week could you bring back to memory the things that we've

talked about so that this gets cemented in our lives.

You've done this with other things.

You've cemented Christ's life.

You've cemented the idea of the body.

You've cemented so many different things in our lives that have made us who we are.

Could you do this one too?

Because it's the right time, I know.

And so we ask for this, oh God, so that this becomes a living truth in your children, a

living truth.

And truth that lives always spreads.

Truth that lives always spreads.

Truth that is spoken is different.

It doesn't have feet.

Truth that lives spreads.

I please ask this of us.

Thank you for being so kind, Holy Spirit, to reveal these things to us.

We are super grateful.

I'm super grateful.

In Jesus' name, amen.

If you need prayer, then you need to hear the prayer with me.

Yeah?

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.