Kingdom Attitudes
Title: New World People in an Old World
Text: Matthew 5:1-12
Thesis: Though we live in an Old World we act and live like people of the New World.
When I speak of an Old World I am referring to this life here on earth. There was a time in history when it was believed there were three continents: Europe, Africa and Asia – which comprised the Old World. Then came a time when explorers expanded the horizon and discovered a New World – which we know as North and South America and Oceania. There was a time when those who lived in the Old World longed to see the New World.
Similarly, Christians who live in this present or Old Earth World long to go to see the New World which we think of as the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven.
In the gospels Jesus says a lot about the Kingdom of Heaven. Early on we hear that it is near which evoked a bunch of questions about when the Kingdom would come. Then Jesus made a startling announcement, “The Kingdom of God cannot be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ for the Kingdom of God is already among you.” Luke 17:20-21 In other words it is here and now as well as then and there.
Here and now the Kingdom of God is the rule or reign of God in our lives. We live in this Old World under the rule o reign of God. That’s why we pray, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Introduction: What is it that defines people in this Old World?
Our alikeness? Homogeneity: People share the same language, culture and traditions. In a homogenous culture the people are very much alike.
Our differences? Diversity/Fractionalization: There are many languages, cultures and traditions. In a diverse culture the people are very different.
We see our world as a place of great diversity. Despite the fact that the United States ranks in the middle as being neither homogenous nor diverse. However, our politics indicate we are pretty nervous about our immigration policy. While there was a time in the life of our nation when we thrived on diversity and embraced the idea of America as the “Great Melting Pot,” times have changed and we really don’t want to be all that diverse.
The recent fervor over the Coca Cola ad aired during the Super Bowl is a case in point. Coca Cola has long been an advocate of diversity. Some may recall the ad in 1971 that featured the song: “I’d Like to Sing the World a Song in Perfect Harmony” as people from around the world all held hands.
This year’s ad featured people singing “America the Beautiful” in different languages: among them Spanish, Tagalog, Hindi and Hebrew. Immediately there was a hashtag on Twitter condemning the ad, calling for a boycott of Coke products and demanding that people “speak American.”
We sometimes forget that America is a melting pot of peoples from around the world… we have thrived as a diverse nation. When the English came they brought English. When the Scandinavians came they brought Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish. When the Germans came they brought German… I’ve served churches primarily of immigrant origins. Our own church was founded by people of German heritage. The children were taught classes in German until 1936. Our church had English services every other Sunday until the mid 1960’s when English was spoken in the first service and German in the second until 1970 when we became and English only church.
As Christ-following, God-fearing Christians, we might be curious to know what God’s Word has to say about the way God sees us.
The Scripture:
“There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus… and true children of God.” Galatians 3:28
“In this new life it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.” Colossians 3:11
Christian Hymnody:
In Christ there is no East or West,
In Him no South or North;
But one great fellowship of love
throughout the whole wide earth.
Jesus reveals that God defines the world much differently than we do and in fact, is remaking the world in such a way that defines God’s people by their character and conduct more than their heritage. As God’s people we may look different, speak different languages and dialects, observe different customs and traditions, etc., but we are all kingdom people and as such have dual citizenship: We are citizens of this Old World and we are also citizens of the New World Kingdom of God. So we might ask what is it that defines people of the New World?
People of the New World live like New World people in the Old World.
There are characteristics that are common among Christians who live in anticipation of experiencing the new world. In other words Christians begin to live the kingdom life that is to come in this present world. And the way God thinks of kingdom life is completely contrary to the way we think of life in this present world. In other words, Christians are different and as such blessed of God.
The first difference is that we are emptied of certain things.
I. What God’s People are Emptied of, Matthew 5:3-5
God’s people are emptied of three things, the first of which is:
A. Self-righteousness (Aware of their own spiritual poverty.)
“God blesses those who are poor (in spirit) and realize their need for him, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 5:3
Isn’t it interesting that in God’s economy poverty is a good and blessed way to be?
Poverty is generally understood in economic terms. If a person is rich he has resources and when a person in poor he has few if any resources. In this case our understanding of poverty is a condition of total, abject and utterly hopeless poverty. Just as a person might be totally and utterly hopelessly poor economically, a person may be totally and utterly hopelessly poor spiritually. The hopelessly spiritually poor person has nothing to pony up to God… nothing to offer as spiritual assets. The spiritually poor person is spiritually bankrupt… not bankrupt as in the Chapters 7 or 11 Bankruptcy where you may get to keep the equity in your home or your car. In spiritual poverty we don’t get to claim any spiritual assets.
I have come across a concept called “The Love Bank” in my pre-marital counseling. The basic premise is that married couples have a love bank. When a husband does something to please his wife he gets a deposit in his love bank account. When the wife does something to please her husband she gets a deposit in her love bank account. However, if the husband or wife does something that displeases the other, then there is a withdrawal taken from his or her respective love bank account.
The idea is to be ideal spouses so everyone has a big cushion in their account to fall back on but we all know it doesn’t work that way. Most spouses will put up with a lot… most of us are willing to even let our husband or wife have an over-draft now and then. But eventually when there have been way too few deposits and way too many withdrawals, there is no grace left to be had.
That’s when you come home and discover the wife has sold your boat, your Corvette, your stuff is piled on the curb and the locks are all changed on the house.
God blesses the person who stands before him totally broken, so spiritually bankrupt that there is no way that person could ever by his or her own efforts dig themselves out of that hole. God blesses the person who prays, “God be merciful for I am a sinner.” God blesses person who says, “I am the chief of all sinners.” God blesses the person who says, “All my righteousness is as filthy rags.”
The self-righteous and superior may think they are blessed but they are not blessed in the mind of God… in fact their self-righteousness in this life is all the reward they will ever have.
In short, God does not bless us for being better than someone else. God blesses us for acknowledging we come before him without a shred of merit.
The first thing we empty ourselves of is self-righteousness. Having examined ourselves inwardly and seeing who and what we are, hopefully we move our attention from ourselves to examine the world around us… and when we do we are devastated.
So the second thing God’s people are emptied of is self-centeredness.
B. Self-centered Sorrow (Passionate about the pain of the world.)
“God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4
Years ago there was a woman in the church I was serving who was a polio victim… she was very bitter about it. One day as I talked with her she blurted out, “I don’t feel sorry for anybody! I feel sorry for myself!” She had never stopped grieving over her own circumstances.
As Kingdom of God people we begin to see through Kingdom of God eyes. When we see with Kingdom of God eyes we see the tension between what is and what ought to be and we are moved by the realization that what is, is far removed from what life in God’s Kingdom is like.
The outward look reveals the world as it really is and the people of the world as they really are… sheep without a shepherd. People who look beyond themselves and long for a better world… a world like the new world and they long for a little “heaven on earth,” so to speak.
A world where, “[God] will wipe every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. [A world] where all these things are gone forever.” Revelation 21:4
We most certainly are blessed by all the beauty and goodness of this life. But God also blesses those who see all the ugliness and depravity of the world as well and are grieved by it. We are not blessed when we sit in judgment of the world. We are blessed in the mind and heart of God when we feel sadness for the world.
People who mourn the thought of hungry children, racism, violence, poverty, the trappings of addictions, human trafficking and the sex-trade, pornography, greed, child and spousal and elder abuse, hatred, violence, war, refugee camps, the inequities and injustices of life, the atrocities humans inflict on each other and long for and do what we can to bring a bit of New World Kingdom living into this Old World are people God blesses.
The third thing God’s people are emptied of is self-interest.
C. Self-interest
“God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5
The term narcissism comes from the Greek myth of Narcissus. Narcissus was a handsome Greek youth and hunter. His father was the son of a river god and a nymph. One day while walking in the woods a beautiful mountain nymph named Echo saw him, fell in love with him and followed him. Sensing he was being followed he called out, “Who’s there?” And Echo responded, “Who’s there?”
Echo eventually revealed herself and attempted to embrace him but Narcissus rejected her. When Nemesis, the goddess of revenge heard of it she lured narcissus to a clear pool of water where he saw his own reflection and unwittingly, fell in love with himself. Unable to tear himself away from himself he died.
Narcissism is the epitome of self-interest and self-obsession that thinks only of itself.
This is what God’s Word has to say about self-interest: “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests but take interest in others, too.” Philippians 2:3-4
Humility is the mark of a person who empties himself or herself of self-interest. The humble person is free of self-interest.
I have been fascinated by the idea of our very earthiness. Genesis teaches us that we were formed from the soil. Psalm 103 reminds us that God is keenly aware of our human frailties and remembers we are just dust people. And then there is the reminder that we were formed from the dust and to dust we will one day return.
The word humble is rooted in the word “humus” or dirt. We don’t eat dirt… dirt is made up of decaying matter, garbage, animal and human waste, decomposed things. However all that decaying and decomposing organic garbage and waste gives back to us life. Yet, we walk all over it. And we resent it when people treat us like dirt. We are angry when people throw dirt in our faces.
In the Old World pride and self-interest may be virtuous but in New World living God blesses humility. The Christian is ideally a person is willing to be walked on and still give up good to others. The Christian humbly thinks of the “other.”
Conclusion:
Right now the world has gathered in Sochi for the Winter Olympics: 15 countries from The Americas; 3 countries from Africa; 49 countries from Europe; 17 countries from Asia; and 3 countries from Oceania.
Right now there is no more diverse place on earth than Sochi, Russia. Imagine the diversity in languages, dress, cultures, customs, beauty, athleticism, values, attitudes, outlooks, morals, pride, prejudices, competitiveness, personalities, character and kingdoms.
As diverse as we may be, my guess is that there are few cultures in this world that think of poverty and sadness and humility as virtues as blessings. But we are not of this Old World. We are New World People.
To the extent we empty ourselves of self-righteousness and embrace our spiritual poverty, empty ourselves of self-centered sorrow and feel sorrow for those who are not experiencing Kingdom life, and empty ourselves of self-interest and embrace humility as a way of life, we will experience the blessing of God.
To the extent that we empty ourselves of ourselves we are blessed in the heart and mind of God… even though our present circumstances might indicate otherwise.
