Understanding the Kingdom of God (Pt 12) : Oasis in the Wilderness: Living as God's Glory in a Desperate World

You know, when some Christians talk about the world, I'm not always sure they know what they mean.

Don't be in the world. He's very worldly. The world's a tough place.

You don't belong in the world. Well, I'm not sure where you do belong.

The Bible defines being in the world as not being part of in this place.

The Bible defines being in the world as being consumed by the values, the desires and the systems of this world,

letting worldly desires and patterns shape one's life and choices, potentially at the expense of faith and spiritual growth.

And there are some people, I like to call them convent Christians or monastery Christians.

They're so surrounded by church, they don't know the world outside of it.

They're the ones who feel that the world is a dangerous, scary, seductive place. Don't go there.

When you go to work, you put your earphones in. You only listen to Bethel.

And when you get home, you make sure you're protected by the fish on your car and the cross on the other side and the promise on the other side.

You pled the blood before you got to work. You Shandala, Makasia, everyone around you.

You race in. You put some TBN on, you make sure you get some more gospel in. You wash your hands of this filthy world.

And so you live Monday to Friday, Saturday, you're hidden. Sunday, sanctuary time.

And you're in the church the whole day. We've got to get you to leave eventually.

And Monday, it all starts again. I want to just remind you of this.

The world is not a place you enter at your peril.

It's not a place you stay away from at all costs.

It's not a place you slip in, earn a salary at the end of the month and get out while you can.

The world is the creation of God. He placed us in this world without asking our opinion.

And you know what? He leaves you in it for the length of your life.

And God, when creating this world, said, it is good. Being in the world isn't a bad thing.

The world is God's creation. It's the place he's appointed us to live in.

And he wants us to help reshape the world back into God's original intention through the advance of his kingdom.

You would have noticed this morning in the worship, they particularly...

I didn't know the songs that Andrew's got to hear God for himself.

I find out when I'm standing here singing with you is the first time I find out what songs we're singing on a Sunday.

But did you notice the accent behind it was all songs, all images of creation.

That's what I'm referring to. The world and then the people God put inside it.

Because I want you now to remember that this world extols the greatness of God for you and I to see when people look around.

In fact, Romans says people are without excuse because creation shouts and points to the fact of our great creator.

It's part of my reasoning for creating a visual, expressive worship experience, darkening the place a little bit,

putting some imagery up, making it a bit bright. Some of you like, oh, I'm not sure about this.

You're going to see some things in a moment. But I want to remind you that way, way, way, way, way back,

cathedrals were put in place, Catholic cathedrals. Have you ever gone inside some of them?

Anyone been to the Sistine chapel? Been to St. Peter's been to beautiful cathedrals

with artwork all across the walls, murals. If you've noticed, when you walk into such a place,

they are Bible stories, because people in those days were illiterate and didn't have opportunity to get to a Bible.

And so the great Bible stories and the great Bible characters would be put on the walls to see.

And when you walked into such a place, would you notice that what's in the center, in the front is an altar?

Why an altar? Because an altar always speaks of the presence of God. It speaks of the habitation of God.

And on it often would be candles and showbread and signs of communion showing fellowship with the Lord.

I grew up Anglican. Some of you probably grew up Catholic. You know that incense that you think, why, Lord? Why?

Because it was a picture of the prayers of the saints going up to the Lord.

There was visual imagery of what it's like to be around the presence of God with the altar.

The presence at the center you meant to look at and think, wow.

And men like Michelangelo, touched by the spirit of God, like Bezalel and the men of old

that would create so that you could see the glory of God.

Then came the Protestant Reformation. And we said, no, all of that away.

We went dour, we went quiet. You blacked off everything.

You removed the altar from the middle. And what did you put in this place? The pulpit.

Suddenly there's a wooden pulpit. And as you know, the only instrument that's ever going to be in heaven

according to them is an organ. And it's got to have a lot of pipes.

And you don't smile, you don't be happy, you're in church, remember?

And if you even looked happy, you got that scowl. Some of you remember.

You drive past the church. What are the governments outside? Silence. I want to say noise.

And then you get... Oh, you get rock stars today. Have you seen how bad that is?

You go to a music concert, it's dark, there's lights, there's action, there's camera, there's all this activity.

Like, well, it's okay to go watch U2 or Sting or Billy Joel or whatever. Oh, wonderful.

But when you go to church, no. Have you forgotten that God is the creator? Satan is the manipulator.

He cannot create. But you also tend to forget he was the worship leader of heaven.

And he saw the splendor of heaven and he mimics it here on Earth.

The church is so far behind, we're still looking at those little things you put up on the screen.

We're so far behind. And he's mimicked for the world.

And people are caught up in an experience at a conference, often because they caught up on the wrong thing.

But what the devil is doing is taking what was in heaven and he's turned it.

And we take what would be from God and we make it bad, which is actually amazing.

And if you want to ask me, if I were to build a cathedral or whatever, and I were to go back in time

to give me an altar over the pulpit, because the altar was the presence of God.

Today we have both. We've learned some things, but God intended for us to have an experience of him that is creation.

Think about creation on earth and in the skies. In the daytime, you walk around

and there's nothing but the most incredible beauty. Go to the mountains, go to the sea,

go to the deserts, go look at this incredible planet that the Lord has given us and how beautiful everything is.

And there again, the devil has done a move. People believe in nature, they don't believe in God.

People become animists. They believe in creative things. They believe in all these things.

But creation in the daytime speaks of the glory of the king. From the power of a small seed

we preached about last week with weeds and wheat to the coming of the king in the daybreak.

And you think, wow, this. Then you get sunset later. And then the stars come out in their glory

and the constellations. And the reminder that when God said let there be and he started creating

creation has continued until today. We are told that stars are being formed all the time.

When God said let it be, never said let it stop. And universes are being created.

We live In a small little planet on this huge scope of the activity of God

and it all shows to the glory of our God. Are we going to change?

What we're doing is because this thing is coming up, we've taken the sound, little booth thing is behind there,

and it hasn't been brought to the front yet like I thought it would be. So I said, if there's going to be a problem with sound,

make me swap quickly. So obviously there was a problem. Then we see the glory of God in the Old Testament.

Remember, God put a tabernacle in place in the wilderness. And you remember the color and the purple

and the gold and the design and the pomegranates and everything. You got into a desert landscape where there's nothing there.

And suddenly there's an incredible, beautiful tabernacle full of... What is this? The glory of God.

Then they built one of the marvels of the world, the temple of old, surrounded with gold and glory.

And you were meant to go into ancient Israel and look at the temple as the habitation of God.

You were meant to see God. Then God goes and he shows his greatest creation, mankind.

Every single one of you fearfully, wonderfully and gloriously made in the image of God.

That's why murder is such a bad thing, because every human being is made in the image of God.

When you were created, God forged you and formed you the way he wanted you to be.

Then he said, I make you in my likeness. You are the crowning glory of God's creation.

Because no animal or plant or angel is like him, but you are. You are literally made in the image of God.

Then we're going to join with him forever. So then we get another picture.

And that picture is what heaven's going to be like. Try and imagine the scene in heaven when you die

and you open your eyes again and you see the glory of our heaven is described

when the new heavens and the new earth is put in place and you're overcome by the glory and the brightness

and the majesty of God. Remember God said to Moses, no one can see me and live.

You literally like an atomic explosion, you would explode at the glory and greatness of God.

And so God had to hide himself so we cannot see his glory while we're here on Earth.

Not until we get new bodies. And that's why Jesus came from full of God in the fullness of man as well.

And Jesus said to Philip, Philip, when you've seen me, you've seen the Father.

You want to see the demonstration of God. Look at Jesus. Then Jesus says to us,

when the world is looking for God and they can't see me because I'm in heaven, I want them to see you as creation.

Do you mind if I give some examples? Quickly? I'm going to talk about an oasis in the wilderness.

That what we're supposed to be as a church. But I want to start by showing you this morning

something of the reflection of the glory of God, what He wants us to be overcome with all the time.

Look at the Book of Job, chapter 26. I'll use a few excerpts.

Job 26 · chapter mention

God stretches the northern sky over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing.

He wraps the rain in his thick clouds, and the clouds don't burst with a weight.

He covers the moon, the face of the moon, shrouding it with his clouds.

He created the horizon when he separated the waters. He set the boundary between day and night.

The foundations of heaven tremble. They shudder at his rebuke. By his power the sea grew calm.

These are just the beginning of all he does, merely a whisper of his power.

Who then can comprehend the thunder of his power? Psalm 81.

O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth. Your glory is higher than the heavens.

You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you.

When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars you set in place.

What are mere mortals that you should think about them? Human beings, that you should care for them.

Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.

You gave them charge over everything you made, putting all things under their authority.

The flocks, the herds, the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish of the sea,

and everything that swims in the ocean currents. O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth.

Are you starting to get something of a sense of the wonder of God? Psalm 19:1.

Psalms 19:1

The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.

Day after day they continue to speak. Night after night they make him known.

They speak without a sound or word. Their voice is never heard.

Yet their message has gone out through the earth. And their words to all the world.

The last psalm I want to read to you. Psalm 33 from verse 6. The Psalmist.

The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the Word, and all the stars were born.

He assigned the sea its boundaries, locked the oceans in vast resources.

Let the whole world fear the Lord, and let everyone stand in awe of him.

For when he spoke, the world began. It appeared at his command.

The Lord frustrates the plans of the nations and thoughts their schemes.

But the Lord's plans stand firm forever. His intentions can never be shaken.

What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen as his inheritance.

When you read the Scriptures and you look at the glory of creation, allow yourself to see how big your God is,

how unshakable he is, and how the plans and schemes of this world melt into nothingness

compared to the glory of our King. Look at him. When we talk in a moment about how you're going to live your life,

look at him. Focus on him. Let him still take your breath away.

And then the Bible describes what will happen in heaven. John has a moment.

He has a vision on the island of Patmos, and he is exposed to something of the glory of heaven.

And I read Revelation 4 from verse 1. Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven.

And the same voice I'd heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast.

The voice said, come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.

And instantly I was in the spirit. And I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it.

The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones, like Jasper and carnelian.

And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow.

24 thrones surrounded him, and 24 elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white

and had gold crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder.

And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold spirit of God.

In the front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal.

In the center and around the throne were four living beings. This is weird.

Each covered with eyes front and back. The first of these living beings was like a lion,

the second like an ox. The third had a human face. The fourth was like an eagle in flight.

Each of these living beings had six wings. And their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out.

Day after day, night after night, they kept on saying, holy, holy, holy is the Lord,

the Almighty, the one who always was, who is and is to come.

Whenever the living beings give glory and honor, and thanks to the one sitting on the throne,

the one who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne,

the one who lives forever and ever. And they lay their crowns before the throne and say,

you are worthy, o Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power.

For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.

Move on quickly to Revelation, chapter 5. Then I looked again, and I heard the voices

Revelation 5 · chapter mention

of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders.

And they sang in a mighty chorus, please don't get to heaven and think you can say, can someone put that down a bit?

Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered to receive power and riches and wisdom

and strength and honor and glory and blessing. And then I heard every creature in heaven

and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang blessing and honor and glory

and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.

And the four living beings said, Amen. And the 24 elders fell down and worshipped the Lamb.

How do you think John felt when he said, I heard a voice before me and that voice sounded like...

Like a trumpet blast. When was the last time you were aware of the fact that in your spirit God can speak?

Like a trumpet blast? Listen, what do you think will happen on the day when the king announces his arrival

and something like that, only infinitely better, starts to be sounded all over the planet?

What's going to happen when you get to heaven and you're a bit conservative around noise issues

and the Bible says that there are peals of lightning and thunder.

Listen, I want you to get a visual picture this morning of the moment you translated into heaven

and you suddenly see God is worth making much about because everything is about him.

You suddenly pale into insignificance at the glory of God and thousands and millions of angels and noise.

And it says that literally there will be these bright flames in front of the throne, the sevenfold spirit of God.

You're going to be overwhelmed by the sheer wonder and glory of God and of heaven.

This is your king. This is your God. This is the one.

We provided an atmosphere, a platform for you to worship this morning.

And I wonder how many of you stood in worship like this this morning.

You have a long way to go in order to be undone. John walked with Jesus.

And when he saw a vision. A vision, not him. When he saw a vision of him on the island of Patmos,

he felt like a dead man before him. And God started to show wonders and splendor

of which this is but a poor demonstration. We can bring you to the place of worship.

We can't make you worship. We can give you a Bible. We can't make you read.

And please, if you this Morning are a professional Christian. It's time to repent

and it's time to get soft again in the presence of your God and understand the majesty of the king.

God is so much worth. Sorry, he has so much worth. He's worth getting to more, getting to know more.

And he says this, I want to display some of this glory, some of this influence

and some of this power into the world through the beautiful church.

And Ephesians, chapter 5 and verse 1 says, Imitate God therefore, in everything you do,

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ.

He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us. A pleasing aroma to God.

Would you allow your life to be laid down as a pleasing aroma of God?

Would you allow the wonder and the splendor of God to so fill you that you will change

to become an oasis in a desert? Would you allow people to look at your life and see

you're not just you, you someone who has been touched, called and changed by the spirit of the living God.

You see, your birth, your life till this point didn't take God by surprise.

Your mom or your dad may look at each other and go, yes, an oopsie. But in heaven, you know, oopsie.

He prepared the time and the place for us with specific purpose. Job, chapter 14 and verse 5 says,

Job 14 · chapter mention

You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live

and we are not given a minute longer. And I want to say to you, some of you don't know how long it's going to be,

so live it to the glory of God. So that was number one. Look at the splendor of God.

Number two, we're meant to refresh this dry and desperate world. Like Jesus,

you and I are called to interact with all kinds and all classes of people in the world,

including the wheat and the weeds. And that includes those who follow God and those who don't,

even those who participate in less than desirable practices. Do you remember that Jesus was criticized

for spending time with all the bad eggs? Luke 15:1. Tax collectors and other notorious sinners

Luke 15:1

often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and the teachers of religion,

teachers of religious law, complain that he was associating with such sinful people, even eating with them.

When we mingle with those who are in the world, those who offend, it doesn't mean that you're of the world.

As a matter of fact, you're meant to be of a completely different kind of character,

hopefully radiating Love and joy, peace. Is it possible for Christians to do this?

How are we able to be in, but not of? Picture a desert landscape. Dust, dryness, as far as the eye can see.

And right in the middle of that desert landscape is a spring filling a pool of refreshing water

for all who pass by. An oasis in the desert. The spring and the pool are in the desert,

but they're not of the desert. They don't originate in the desert. They come from rain and snow

and streams on faraway mountains. And then suddenly you get subterranean aquifers.

And out of the blue, in the midst of a desert, a spring of water pops up.

The stream and the pool are not of the same nature of the desert. In fact, they seem unnatural in the desert,

but they're there. And where no one can eat or drink sand, you can eat from the oasis of the presence of God.

And every time someone is saved, they are put back into the world as an oasis.

Do you know you can be part of something without being in it? It's possible to fall in a pig pen by mistake

and not become a pig. I know many people, including myself. You can go to university without being educated.

Here's another one. You can even go and be in an art museum without becoming an artist.

Think I'm the only kid in my class who failed art? And someone even can be in the church

without ever wanting to be a disciple of Jesus. Being in something is far more superficial than being of it.

God says, I create you in my image meant to reflect something of that glory,

and then I send you into a world. Point number three of five. Why? So that you can exercise kingdom likeness.

What does it mean to be of something? Mark 3:17. Jesus calls James and John the sons of thunder.

Mark 3:17

Remember they went to go preach in the town. The town didn't accept him. So James and John,

these lovers of Jesus, go to him and say, can we please call down fire and burn the place?

It's like I did a speech at school. No one thanked me. God burned them.

The motive was a bit impure, isn't it? It's like some of you. I let you in in traffic, I let you in.

Then you don't acknowledge I let you in. I start hooting at you. I give you the Edenvale sign.

Surely you let the people in because you want to be kind, not be recognized.

And the moment someone doesn't acknowledge, I'm not doing that ever again. Sons of thunder.

And what we say when we're saying someone's a son of. We're referring to their origin and their nature.

It's a comment about family, isn't it? Sometimes you got a strong physical resemblance to some family members,

but most of the time it's character and attitude. You can run, but you can't hide.

Often you can look at someone, look at their siblings, look at their parents,

and there's some of that brokenness that comes all the way through. And they can hide a veneer,

but when you get them alone, that's what you get. Why? Because the family line runs through.

And that's why Jesus comes to change and transform and break those things inside of us

so we can be part of a new family. Someone who's of the kingdom of God has their origin,

their nature from that kingdom. That's what Jesus was talking about to Nicodemus in John chapter three

when he said, you must be born again. And in verse 20 he says, all who do evil hate the light,

refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what's right come to the light

that others can see. They're doing what God wants. God always wants you in the light and in the open.

And how do you get this new character? How do you get this new nature? Well, we know you're born again

by the word of God. Then the Holy Spirit, like a wind, blows in the lives of individuals

and you start to reflect the kingdom. People can see the results in your life,

but they can't see the cause until you tell them. They can see that you are an aquifer in a wilderness.

But they don't understand where your secret power comes from. And remember, Jesus said,

streams of living water will flow from within you. This abundant life is possible for everyone

who wants to become a Christian. The heart of the kingdom believer is Matthew 6:9.

Matthew 6:9

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

You and I can know the power of the risen Jesus inside of us. We demonstrate a power

that comes from outside of us, that changes us to be like him who now lives within us by his spirit.

You don't just have a different belief system. When you become a Christian, God by the Spirit takes residence inside you.

That's why Jesus said, it's better that I go to depart, to go and be with the Father.

Which is better for you, because I will send the Spirit. Because Jesus could be with his disciples,

but his Spirit could be within his disciples. And God plants the spirit of God inside of you

when you're born again and A work of transformation starts in your life called maturing or discipling.

And we become more like Jesus. We become living letters, ambassadors.

And God starts to rearrange the details of our lives so that we start to please him.

I'm absolutely honored this morning. Sitting in that corner is my aunt and my uncle,

who, to the best of my knowledge, besides at a funeral, have never heard me preach.

My aunt sitting over there is a nice lady, but I worked for her before I started this church.

33 years ago, I started working for that dragon right there. And she's known me since I was born.

She's sitting next to my father right over there, who's also in church today, by the way.

And there's my aunt. She saw me grow up. She watched me from born.

I remember getting so offended with her when we came from Kimberley and I still had my Afrikaans accent.

And I heard Shona say to my dad, I see Greg is very bilingual. And I got so offended, Shona, I never told you.

And we finished off and I went to my dad in Rosebank and I said, why is Shona being ugly to me?

I'm not bilingual. I didn't even know what it meant. And next to her, sitting over there is my favorite uncle.

Don't tell the others, because my dad's one of five siblings. There's my uncle.

He's never heard me preach in his life. I fell in love with Dire Straits because of him.

That uncle of mine over there was the curator of the Durban Aquarium.

He then how many of you have been to the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town? He built it, he designed it.

He was the curator, the head of that aquarium for the last 30 years there. My uncle.

My uncle Patrick, we've always communicated, been my favorite uncle. And he blessed me by coming to church

this morning to come be with me. And we're gonna go and have lunch afterwards. I can't wait.

And the point I want to tell you is this. They, along with my dad, know me before you did.

And you asked them if I was always like this. Their testimony will be God took a punk, did something with him.

That's evidence of an unseen power. That's your testimony. That's your story here this morning.

Number four, unfortunately, outside, while looking inside, I gave you descriptions from Job and the Psalms.

And then I went through the Book of Revelation to show you the glory of our God.

And I want you to make this point. It's easy to see those who are captivated by God and those who aren't

there are so Many people that hang around the kingdom of God, but their character is not of it.

Churches are full of them. Their thoughts, their motives, their desire come from the world.

Their nature is restricted to this world. They've seen people healed and transformed.

They've seen around them the supernatural evidence of God. And although they may be sitting

right in the middle of the people of God, it doesn't mean they're part of it.

It's scary that you can be within the scope of the presence and power of God and never be in it yourself.

The writer to the Hebrews deals with this in chapter 6, verse 4. It is impossible to bring back to repentance

those who were once enlightened, those who've experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit,

who've tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the power of the age to come, and who then turn away from God.

It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance. By rejecting the Son of God,

they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame when the ground soaks up.

Because now this next verse explains what we just heard. When the ground soaks up the falling rain

and bears a good crop for the farmer, it has God's blessing. But if a field bears thorns and thistles,

it's useless. The farmer will soon condemn that field and burn it. Dear friends,

although we are talking this way, we really don't believe it applies to you.

We are confident that you are meant for better things, things that come with salvation.

And the writer of the Hebrews is explaining how you can get people who are exposed to the powers of the world to come.

They've tasted the Word of God. They they've seen the touch of the Holy Spirit.

There are people who can say, supernaturally, someone was looking after me all my days.

Some things have happened. I've always been taken care of, but I've never taken a further stop to say,

should I belong to him? In their hearts, they've said no. The most important thing in their lives

is not to follow Jesus. It's to look after their own lives. They've turned away, the Bible says,

and put Jesus to open shame. What they mean is they say they've nailed him back to the cross.

What they mean is they're saying, this, Jesus, whatever you did while you were here, it wasn't enough for me.

That's what they're saying. Why is it impossible to bring them to repentance? Because they really don't think they need it.

You can't bring someone to repentance who thinks they don't need it. They're comfortable on the throne of their own lives.

They want to stay there. And they're foolish. They don't know how capricious this world is

that no one is in charge of the scope of your life. I'm going to plan this, do this, retire here, do this.

I'm going to go there, I'm going to do that. The only thing you have charge over in your life is some of your decisions.

That's it. Because so much of life is outside of your control, even down to your own health.

And they refuse to believe it. They refuse to go with it. I haven't got time now.

But you remember Simon the Magician when he heard about Jesus from Philip, he was baptized.

And later Peter and John come and begin doing the works of the Spirit. And he wants to buy the gift of the Spirit.

I don't want to surrender to Jesus, I just want his power. How do I short circuit without getting saved?

How do I get the power and the forgiveness of God without giving my life to him?

So many people respond to an altar call because they want their problem solved, not that they want to surrender to Jesus.

They think the church is a building you go to instead of a people who are called to infiltrate a world.

This will continue until people realize that human problems will never be solved by human solutions.

We could have solved our problems years ago, but we always want Babel.

Last point number five and I'm done. Then who's really in charge? When you're walking through a wilderness

and you see oasis, who's really in charge? The Old Testament passage of Psalm 145 and Daniel 4

gives us an impression of the far reaching extent of the kingdom. If you start to become a student

of the kingdom of God, you'll discover that the kingdom of God was a concept that developed late

in the history of Israel. You see it in the late Psalms, you see it in the book of Daniel,

the book of Nehemiah, and then the historical books. And the term was only clear really

by the time Psalm 145 was written. Words like this. The Lord is good to everyone.

He showers compassion on all his creation. All of your works will thank you. O God goes down to the bottom.

The Lord always keeps his promises. He's gracious to all in what he does. He leaves no one out.

God wants everyone to know his goodness. Then you go to the book of Daniel. I won't read it now,

but if you go to the book of Daniel, in chapter four. Do you remember? Nebuchadnezzar was the leader

of the Babylon, the famous hanging gardens of Babylon, the greatest emperor of the day.

And he looked out over his kingdom and he marveled at what he had become, what he had done,

the things he was so proud of. And in that moment, God says, you're not seeing me.

And he reduced him to an animal and he ate the grass and years later was restored to his kingdom.

And Daniel chapter four says, after this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven.

My sanity returned. And I praised and worshiped the Most High. I honored the one who lives forever.

Listen. His rule is everlasting and his kingdom is eternal. How did Nebuchadnezzar meet the Lord,

the greatest emperor of his day? The Bible says he lifted up his eyes, then his sanity returned to him.

Most of the insanity of this world right now is because people don't lift their eyes to the king.

They refuse to look up. They look straight, they look at themselves and they look down, but they don't look up.

And what puts people into perspective is when you're able to look up and see the glory of God.

The problem is, as God's trying to show us the way these days that they see him is through his people.

I read you Daniel 4:34, last verse for today, verse 35. All the people of the earth are nothing compared to him.

Daniel 4:34

He does as he pleases among the angels of heaven and among the people of the earth.

No one can stop him or say to him, what do you mean by doing these things? Things? Our God is the God of Gods.

Can I just talk about the elephant in the room quickly? Then we'll close just quickly. The elephant in the room.

This is what keeps me awake at night. So many churches today have a problem they're completely unaware of.

They attract good, sensible, thoughtful people to church who aren't particularly interested in having God in charge.

There's reasons they come to church. Fellowship, love, find a spouse, communion, relating with other people,

sense of belonging. And those are all good things. I want to be a good person. I believe in God.

I want to associate with a church that's dynamic. And the problem is, we look at these people

and because they're hard working, they're intelligent, they're highly motivated.

Our leaders start spotting them and say, this is a good guy, man. He's a good guy. Let's bring him into leadership.

He's a good guy. And before you know it, our churches start getting filled with good people.

And our leaders are filled. Our leadership teams are filled with great people.

And as they start to exercise authority, they start to forget who's really in charge.

And they start to forget that they're simple, humble servants before a king.

And they get taken up with stuff. And the church continues to grow and it prospers.

The problem is, in such churches, if God were to lift his presence, they wouldn't know

because they've got great programs and good leaders and people who can do good things,

and the structures run well, but where are they bringing the aquifer, the hidden presence of God

that transforms the lives of others? It's not your ability to administrate a meeting

that makes you anything. It's your ability to tap into the spirit of God who is with you,

the spirit of God who is within you. And that's the intention of God for everybody.

And I've gone to churches where, before you know it, behind closed doors, when they have their meetings,

the one thing they never talk about is Jesus. They talk about the product called the church.

They talk about the things we have to do and where's the Lord and his leading and his presence

and our humility before him and his ability to add 5,000, then 3,000 in one day to a church

where he says, I will lead my church. The ability of the saints to realize we're all oases in the desert,

we're all meant to be filled. And when I want to follow a leader, I want to follow someone who's humble,

who's broken, who loves, who's gentle, forgives, quickly moves on, finds the spirit of God.

When I'm with them, I'm refreshed, as if being in an oasis, not leaving feeling.

I'm not sure about what just happened. Our challenge as a church. My last statement,

I promise our challenge as a church is to bring people back to the truth that the church consists

of those who have been called out by God to be part of his family and to extend his kingdom.

We are an oasis in a desert. Our job primarily is to call people to God which constitutes the church.

And then people are added on a daily basis. And then that this church, I hope,

and tens of thousands of others are filled with people who become a touch point between heaven and earth,

where the healing of the cross and the power of resurrection can save the lost and bring them into a fullness in Christ.

Because as people stumble through this world, through the deserts of this world, may they stumble into you,

and may you be an oasis of Living water, where your life simply displays the glory of the God

who's taken residence in you that you're open to, that you marvel at in this world today.

Amen.