Kingdom People - Luke 9v1-27

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

When Jesus had called the twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases.

And he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

He told them,

And he said,

What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet lose or forfeit his very self?

If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.

Thank you.

Well, we're going to look at that section together.

We're not going to cover every verse or every aspect of it.

Rather, I'm going to try and trace a theme that we see throughout these first 27 verses of chapter 9.

So if there's anything that you want to come back on afterwards, please do talk to me.

Ask questions if it weren't covered or you're not sure.

But we're going to pray now and ask for God's help.

Father, we need your help not only to understand these words written to us,

but we need your Holy Spirit to give us understanding in such a way that it changes our lives.

And we become people that love you, worship you.

People who can say Christ is enough.

People who are willing to give their life, willing to die for Christ.

That's a hard thing to be able to do.

And so we ask that your word would equip us and shape us

and lead us in the way that you would have us to be.

We ask it in Jesus' name.

Amen.

I want to start by telling a story.

It's a little parable kind of story called The King and His Kingdom by somebody called Kel Richards.

Once upon a time, long ago and far away, there was a happy kingdom that was to be found in a happy valley.

It had a stream that burbled and bubbled with fresh mountain water from the melting snow.

It had lush green grass.

It had cows that gave lots of milk and sheep that grew lots of wool.

The fruit trees were always packed with the most delicious fruit.

And the vegetable gardens were always bursting with fresh vegetables.

But there was a murmuring and unhappiness in this valley.

And one day, the people sent a delegation to see the king.

What on earth are you unhappy about?

Asked the king.

Aren't you comfortable, well-housed, well-closed and well-fed?

Isn't the climate constantly delightful?

They all agreed that this was true.

And yet they had one complaint.

Namely, that in this whole kingdom, there was only one king.

There was only one person who could issue royal decrees, make laws, give orders to the royal constabulary, and write checks on the royal bank account.

Is it right, they asked, that all this should be the sole prerogative of one man, and his only by right of royal birth?

Well, a little more than royal birth, the king reminded them.

I have designed and laid out this valley and paid for all the buildings and facilities that you enjoy.

They sheepishly agreed that this was true.

And yet they were unhappy.

Well, asked the king, what do you want?

We all, they answered, want to be kings.

And queens, added the women.

And princes and princesses, added the children.

The king stroked his chin thoughtfully and said,

This is most irregular.

The normal quota is one king to a kingdom.

Go anywhere and count them.

One kingdom, one king.

That's how it goes.

Still, the people insisted.

At length, the king agreed.

But he warned them that it would end in tears.

Every man in the kingdom was, from that moment on, a king.

Every woman a queen.

Every boy a prince.

And every girl a princess.

At first they were deliriously happy and went around calling each other,

Your Royal Majesty, all the time.

But very soon the difficulties began to arise.

When King Fred issued a royal decree that it was Queen Ethel's turn to do the washing up,

She issued a counter decree saying that it was his.

It often led to raised voices.

When King Fred ordered the royal constabulary to arrest King Frank next door

because he annoyed them with his saxophone practice,

Well, King Frank issued a counter decree ordering the king that King Fred be arrested

instead on the grounds that he was a general nuisance.

It came to blows.

In fact, it all ended in tears.

Just as the king, the real king, had said it would.

If only we could go back to the way things were before, they lamented.

Now that story reflects the history of the world.

And that history is recorded for us in the true story of the Bible.

We know how the story of the Bible opens with this good and beautiful world.

God is the one true king and we are his subjects.

Everything we need is provided.

It is satisfying and fulfilling.

But instead of God being king, we want to be the king.

We want to decide what is right and what is best for us.

And when we turned against God, everything was cursed.

It all ended in tears.

Just as the king said it would.

And the world that we live in today is very different.

It's a broken world.

We saw that, do you remember, back in chapter 8?

The destructive storm.

The demon-possessed man.

The sick woman.

And the dead girl.

Rather than peace and harmony, there's chaos and disorder.

If only we could go back to the way things were before.

Well, that's the message of Jesus as he begins his ministry.

Have a look back at chapter 4, verse 43.

Chapter 4, verse 43.

It's a little summary of what Jesus came to do.

Chapter 4, verse 43.

But Jesus said, I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God

to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.

The good news, the good news of the kingdom

is that there is a way for things to be put right.

That God is coming and God can and he will establish his kingdom.

So Jesus made it his priority to tell people what God would do.

Have a look at chapter 8, verse 1.

Again, we get another little summary statement of Jesus' mission and purpose.

Chapter 8, verse 1.

After this, Jesus travelled from one town and village to another,

proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.

So three things we're going to look at this morning about the kingdom of God,

about God's plan to put things right.

First, the beauty of the kingdom.

God's kingdom is all about God coming to establish his rule,

a rule that is beautiful and good for his people.

And it's seen in two ways.

First, in reversing the curse.

Let's have a look at chapter 9, verse 1.

When Jesus had called the twelve together,

he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons,

to cure diseases,

and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God

and to heal the sick.

Down at verse 6.

So they set out and he went from village to village,

preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.

Now, preaching the kingdom,

we get that phrase in verse 2.

And then if you notice in verse 6,

we get a different phrase that says,

preaching the gospel.

Now, preaching the kingdom and preaching the gospel

are not two different things.

They are the same message.

It's the good news that God has not ignored this world,

that he's not given up on its people.

In fact, his heart breaks for the people

and he longs to put it right.

But at this stage,

we've got to remember

where we are in the order of things.

Jesus has not yet died on the cross.

We're going to get to that in a minute.

So when the disciples go out to preach the kingdom

or preach the good news,

it's a partial message.

It's not the full message about

turn to Jesus and repent

because he died for you on the cross.

That hasn't happened yet.

So they're preaching the good news of the kingdom,

a message that God is coming

to put the world right.

And God is going to establish his rule.

This was a promise that God had made

throughout the story of the Bible.

The prophet Isaiah spoke about what God would do.

On this mountain,

this comes from Isaiah 25,

on this mountain,

he will destroy the shroud

that enfolds all people.

Literally,

he will destroy the curse

upon all peoples.

The sheet,

the curse that covers all nations.

He will swallow up death forever.

The sovereign Lord will wipe away

the tears from all faces.

It's a beautiful picture

of the curse being reversed,

of establishing a kingdom of beauty.

So as Jesus sends his disciples,

they are proclaiming the kingdom,

they are preaching the good news

that God is coming to put things right

and to demonstrate,

to prove that God will do

what he had promised.

They drive out the demons,

they heal the sick,

and they cure diseases.

And as they do this,

in some ways it's a picture

of the curse being broken,

of the curse being reversed.

God coming to establish his kingdom,

a kingdom where there will be

no more evil,

no more sickness,

a kingdom of beauty.

But not only is he going to remove the curse,

but they will enjoy God's blessing.

As the crowds began to follow Jesus

and the disciples,

have a look at verse 11,

halfway down into verse 11.

We're told that,

as the crowds came and followed him,

he welcomed them

and spoke to them

about the kingdom of God

and healed those who needed healing.

But there's another problem.

Something else arises,

verse 12.

Late in the afternoon,

so after Jesus had finished his speaking,

the twelve came to him and said,

send the crowd away

so that they can go to the surrounding villages

and countryside

and find food and lodging

because we're in a remote place here.

There's no Lidl's or Aldi's out here.

We can't buy anything.

Go away and find some food somewhere else.

Lots of people

and no food.

Verse 14 tells us

that there were about 5,000 men,

not counting women and children.

So there's a huge number of people gathered.

But for Jesus,

this becomes an opportunity

to teach the crowd

about what the kingdom of God is like.

The miracle that follows

points to what God's kingdom is like.

Verse 16.

Taking the five loaves and the two fish

and looking up to heaven,

he gave thanks and broke them.

Then he gave them to his disciples

to set before the people.

They all ate and were satisfied

and the disciples picked up

twelve basketfuls of broken pieces

that were left over.

There is an abundance of food here.

Verse 17 tells us

that everyone is satisfied.

They're all sitting down,

lying down on the grass,

holding their big bellies.

They've had enough,

more than enough,

seconds and thirds.

In fact,

there's so much food,

there are twelve basketfuls left over.

Now, food and feasting

are used throughout the Bible

to describe the blessing

of God's kingdom.

A kingdom where people

are truly fulfilled

and satisfied,

not just in the physical sense,

but spiritually.

God had promised through Isaiah,

the same chapter in Isaiah,

God said this,

on this mountain,

the Lord Almighty

will prepare a feast

of rich food

for all peoples,

a banquet of aged wine,

the best of meats

and the finest of wines.

And here we have Jesus

welcoming the crowds,

calling the people

to himself.

Okay, they don't have

meat and wine,

they've got bread and fish,

but I still think

we get the point,

don't we?

They're all feasting together.

There is an abundance of food.

It's overflowing.

And as they eat,

they are satisfied

because in the kingdom of God,

we are truly filled

and satisfied.

In God's kingdom,

we are blessed.

This is the beauty

of the kingdom.

So God has come

to put all things right.

He has come to establish

his kingdom,

to bring his rule,

a kingdom where the curse

is going to be removed

and in place of that,

the blessings

are going to flow.

So,

the kingdom of beauty.

Second,

the suffering

of the king.

As God had promised

to establish his kingdom,

he had also promised

a king who would rule

over that kingdom.

We see this

in verses 18 to 20.

Let's read verse 18.

Once when Jesus

was praying in private

and his disciples

were with him,

he asked them,

who do the crowds

say I am?

You remember that

back in verses

seven and eight,

Herod was also asking

the same question

as news was filtering back.

And verse 9,

he's asking,

who is this

that I hear

such things about?

And so Jesus

is asking the crowd,

well,

who do people

say I am?

Verse 19,

they replied,

well,

some say John the Baptist,

others say Elijah.

Still others,

that one of the prophets

of long ago

has come back to life.

These were the rumours

that were spreading

about Jesus.

But he's not interested

in what other people think.

he wants to know,

what do you think?

What about you?

He asked.

Who do you say I am?

Peter answered,

the Christ of God.

Jesus is the Christ,

or some of your translations

might have the Messiah.

Christ and Messiah

mean the same thing.

It means the anointed one.

So in the Old Testament,

kings were anointed

as a means of setting them apart

for a particular task

of ruling.

But God had always promised

that he was going to send

his anointed one.

He would send the Christ,

the Messiah,

the true and ultimate king.

So when the birth of Jesus

was announced,

remember what the angel said?

You can have a look back.

Chapter 1, verse 32.

Chapter 1, verse 32.

This is what the angel said

as Jesus was being announced

that he would be born.

He will be great

and we be called

the Son of the Most High,

a title reserved for God alone.

The Lord God will give him

the throne of his father David

and he will reign

over the house of Jacob forever.

His kingdom will never end.

Jesus is God's king.

And Jesus has proved

to be God's king

by what he has been doing.

If we go back to chapter 9, verse 1,

we read that when Jesus

called the twelve together,

he gave them power

and authority

to drive out the demons

and to cure diseases.

Not only did Jesus

calm the storms,

destroy demons,

heal the sick

and raise the dead,

but now he gives power

and authority

to his chosen disciples,

his apostles,

to go and do the same.

Now, it's not every day

that we meet someone

who claims to be God's king.

But Jesus does.

And when Peter announces

that Jesus,

well, you are the Christ,

Jesus doesn't back off

and reject the title

and go,

oh, no, no, no,

that's not for me.

He welcomes the title.

Now, some people

don't like to think

of Jesus in this way.

They like to think

of him rather

as just a good man

or a great teacher.

It's easier to handle.

But if we are unconvinced

as to who Jesus is,

listen to this comment

from the author

C.S. Lewis.

It's a well-known quote.

You may have heard it before.

A man who was merely a man

and said the sort of things

Jesus said

would not be a great

moral teacher.

He would either be a lunatic

on a level with the man

who says he is a poached egg

or else he would be

the devil of hell.

You must make your choice.

Either this man was

and is the son of God

or else a madman

or something worse.

You can shut him up

for a fool.

You can spit at him

and kill him as a demon

or you can fall at his feet

and call him Lord and God.

But let us not come

with any patronising nonsense

about his being

a great human teacher.

He has not left that open to us.

He did not intend to.

Jesus is king

and we need to worship him

as king.

Sorry, I missed out part of the quote there for you.

Well, if Peter got Jesus' identity right,

then why did Jesus want to keep a lid on it?

If you look at verse 21.

So Peter has got Jesus right.

Yes, you're the Christ.

And then Jesus responds,

verse 21,

Jesus strictly warned them

not to tell this to anyone.

Why does he,

if he's wanting people

to know who he is,

why is he on the other hand

telling people,

don't tell everybody

that I'm the Christ.

Keep it quiet.

Well, you see,

as far as the disciples

were concerned,

the Christ was going to come

in military might.

Jesus was coming

to fight off the enemies,

kick the Romans out

and set up a kingdom

for God's people

and just for the Jews.

But Jesus was not coming

to start a military revolution.

He was coming

to bring about redemption,

to welcome all kinds of people

because for Jesus,

the real enemy

was not Rome and the authorities,

but sin and Satan.

But perhaps even more shocking

was the way in which Jesus

would bring redemption,

verse 22.

Then he said,

the Son of Man.

Now,

Son of Man,

there is again

another title.

It comes from Daniel 7

and it's one

who comes with

absolute power

and supreme authority.

So Jesus is saying,

me with all power

and all authority

must suffer many things

and be rejected

by the elders,

chief priests,

teachers of the law

and he must be killed.

And on the third day

be raised to life.

Now, there's a conflict there,

isn't there?

Kings don't get defeated.

They are victorious.

If you're in power,

you don't suffer and die.

You fight with power

and you kill your enemies.

So what's going on?

Well, Jesus is pointing us

ultimately towards his death.

You see,

it's through the death of Jesus

that we get to enter

God's kingdom.

As Jesus would die on the cross,

as he is hanging there on the cross,

he is taking the curse for us

so that we might receive the blessings.

Because people like you and I

have rejected God as king,

we deserve the curse of God.

We deserve to be kept out of his kingdom.

We deserve to die.

But in love,

Jesus comes

and he takes the curse

for us.

And in its place,

the blessings will flow to us.

You see,

if Jesus does not die,

then we are left under the curse.

We are without blessing.

If Jesus does not suffer for us,

then we can never know

and experience the kingdom of God.

There is no other way.

Jesus must suffer.

Jesus must die.

But the disciples haven't grasped it.

They can't get their head around it.

So he tells them,

don't tell anyone.

They must first understand

that Jesus must die.

That's why he says in verse 27,

I tell you the truth,

some who are standing here

will not taste death

before they see the kingdom of God.

As the crowds were listening,

as the disciples were listening,

Jesus was saying,

look,

when I die

and as I rise from the dead,

the way will be opened

into the kingdom of God

and all who come to me

will experience,

they will taste

and they will see

and know

the kingdom of God.

So first,

we have the beauty of the kingdom.

Second,

the suffering of the king.

And then third,

the people of the king.

Look,

if God has given to us

the beauty of his kingdom,

if he has given to us

a king

who gives his life for us

so that we can experience

this kingdom,

then there is only one way

that we are to live

in God's kingdom.

first,

we must put self

to death.

Look at verse 23.

Then Jesus said to them all,

if anyone would come after me,

he must deny himself.

He must deny himself.

To deny ourself

does not mean

we must give up

nice food,

downgrade the house

that we live in,

stop enjoying

the pleasures of life.

No,

it's not about

abstaining from luxuries.

It's much deeper

and more radical

than that.

Here's a quote

on the screen.

I think it's all

on one page here.

You can follow along.

John Stott

put it like this.

To deny ourselves

is to behave

towards ourselves

as Peter did

towards Jesus

when he denied him

three times.

Peter disowned

Jesus,

repudiated Jesus,

turned his back

on Jesus.

So self-denial

is actually denying

or disowning

ourselves,

renouncing

our supposed

right

to go

our own

way.

You see,

I want to go

my own way.

I don't like

to do things

that get in the way

of my plans,

my desires,

my ambitions.

But there's no

place for this

kind of living

in the kingdom

of God.

We need to put

that attitude

to death.

Look at verse

23 again.

Jesus said to

all of them,

if anyone

must come

after me,

he must

deny himself

and

take up

his cross

daily

and follow

me.

To take up

the cross

is that picture

of literally

taking on

your back

that wooden

beam

that Jesus

carried as he

walked through

the streets.

The cross

is where

executions

take place.

It's where

people are

put to death.

It's bloody

and it's

violent.

And Jesus

is saying

this is what

we must do

on a daily

basis.

We must put

self to

death

just as

Christ must

be killed.

So we

must crucify

our me

centredness.

Nail

ourselves

to that

cross.

when I'm

asked to

serve or

to help

there's no

problem in

giving reasons

as to why

I can't.

My favourite

TV programme

is on

tonight.

Well,

I've just

had a very

busy day

and I just

want to

sit down.

I've got

things to

sort out

at home.

Well,

if you

really knew

what my

life is

like,

it is

just

full of

serving.

I deserve

a break.

But the

problem is

it's all

me and

I.

It's all

about my

comfort and

what I

want.

Well,

in the

kingdom of

God,

we need

to continually

repent

and put

ourselves

to death.

Dietrich

Bonhoeffer

wrote a

book called

The Cost

of

Discipleship.

He was

a German

pastor,

ended up

in the

concentration

camps where

he died.

And his

book,

The Cost

of Discipleship,

says this.

It really

sums up the

whole theme

of the book.

He says,

the cross

is laid

on every

Christian.

As we

embark upon

discipleship,

we surrender

ourselves to

Christ in

union with

his death.

We give

over our

lives to

death.

When Christ

calls a

man, he

bids him

come and

die.

When Christ

calls a

man, he

bids him

come and

die.

Second, not

only to

put ourselves

to death.

If we do

that, we

are then to

live for

Christ.

Look at

verse 26.

Jesus

says,

if anyone is

ashamed of

me and

my words,

the Son

of Man

will be

ashamed of

him when

he comes in

his glory

and in the

glory of the

Father and

of the

holy angels.

it's a

call to

live for

the glory

of Christ.

You see,

most of the

time, I

want to

live for

the glory

of Johnny.

I decide

what I

want to

do on

the basis

of, well,

does it

promote me?

Will how I

spend my

time and

use my

money, will

it benefit

me?

Is it

going to

bring more

happiness and

bring more

comfort to

my life?

But if

self has

been put

to death,

if Johnny

has been

nailed to

the cross,

then there

is no

longer any

I or

me, all

that is

left is

Christ.

You see,

to follow

Christ as

king means

I want to

seek his

desires and

serve his

priorities.

In

summary, it's

living for

his kingdom,

not Johnny's

kingdom.

Three things,

very simply,

that will help

us to

live for the

glory of

Christ.

Here's the

first one.

Pray for the

expansion of

God's kingdom.

Pray that

the good news

of God's

kingdom,

that his

kingdom will

be proclaimed

to all

people in

all places,

starting with

those you

live with

and work

with.

That they

may hear the

good news

that God

has not

given up,

he will put

things right,

and he has

put his

king in

place,

a king who

has died

for us,

so that we

might experience

his kingdom.

Pray for the

expansion of

God's kingdom

across this

land and

across this

world.

Here's the

second.

Give of

your financial

and material

resources to

God's kingdom.

Give not

what is left

after you

have taken

what you

want and

what you

want to

do with

it,

but give

sacrificially

at cost

to self.

A little

person just

asked me

just now,

they said,

why does

Jesus get

all the

money?

He's referring

to the

collection.

Great

question.

And I

just simply

said,

well,

it's to

help people

hear about

Jesus,

to support

people who

are telling

others about

Jesus,

to see the

kingdom of

God grow.

God has

blessed you

if you are

working with

the resources

that you

have.

But if you

are in God's

kingdom,

they are a

gift to be

good stewards,

to use for

his purposes.

And third,

let's live our

life for God's

kingdom.

You know,

everything that

we have,

everything that

we hold dear,

the things that

are most precious

to us,

even the

people that

are dear to

us,

our loved

ones,

those that

we are

sitting beside

this morning,

it's all

temporary.

Nothing is

going to

last.

The homes

we live in,

the cars

we drive,

the people

we love,

it'll all

go.

But the

kingdom of

God is

eternal.

The

kingdom of

God is

eternal.

God is

so dedicate

our life,

commit your

life,

invest all

that you

are to

what will

last.

Pray,

give,

and live.

Why?

Well, look at

verse 24.

For whoever

wants to

save their

life will

lose it.

Whoever

wants to

save their

life will

lose it.

But whoever

loses his

life for me

will save

it.

What good

is it

for a man

or woman

to gain the

whole world

and yet lose

or forfeit

his very

self.

The beauty

of the

kingdom,

the curse

removed,

the blessings

flow,

the suffering

king who

dies for you

and for me

and gives

his life so

that we

might enter

into his

kingdom.

He has

given us

all that we

need so

that we

will be

fulfilled

and satisfied

for an

eternity.

Our

response,

give your

life,

lose your

life for

that which

will never

be lost,

the kingdom

of God.

Let's pray.

as we

pray,

you might

just look

at the

screen,

those three

statements

that we

finished with,

pray,

give,

and live.

Let's just

have a

moment's

quietness

to reflect

and ask

God that

he would

help us

to live

these things

out in

our lives

if we're

on our

own,

or if

we're

married here

today,

how we

can do

it together.

Amen.

the kingdom of God is the very best place to live

because it is with the King, the Lord Jesus

from whom all blessings flow

thank you that through Christ

we may enter your kingdom and experience life with you

and look forward to the fullness of that kingdom when you return

and as we wait

Father we pray for the building and extending of your kingdom

that the people you have placed around us

will become part of that kingdom

as they hear the good news of Christ

Father, thank you for blessing us materially and financially

may we have a light grip

of the resources that you have given to us

may we give

and may you continue to give to us

so that we can give even more

to the kingdom of God

and Father would you help us

to live our lives

for that which is eternal

to invest

in the kingdom of God

which will last for all eternity

help us we pray

in Jesus name

Amen

we're going to sing

from heaven you came

which talks about

the King

the servant King

the Lord Jesus

but the chorus

this is our God

the servant King