Sermon Central
-
The Kingdom Of God - I Series
Contributed by Dan Cormie on May 18, 2007 (message contributor)
Summary: Part one of a series detailing the differences between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world. How does it look when the Kingdom of God infiltrates a family, a society, and a local church.
Dakota Community Church
May 20, 2007
Kingdom of God - I
This morning I want to begin what I believe will be a four week series of messages about the differences between the “Kingdom of God” and its citizens and the “Kingdoms of this world” and their citizens.
Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest…
Jesus spent His entire ministry telling the disciples that He was setting up a kingdom that was completely different from the kingdoms of this world. They fought Him all the way on that because every Jew in first century Palestine was waiting for the Messiah to come and re-establish David’s Kingdom. They wanted an end to Roman occupation. They wanted a return to a God ordained dominant Jewish nation, they wanted a King who would fight for them and defeat all the “enemies” {people} that surrounded them.
Whenever Jesus talked about this new kind of Kingdom they objected.
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"
Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"
Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."
Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."
Jesus says to them that if they don’t get this they don’t get Him. This Kingdom of God is completely opposite to the Kingdoms of this world but we are so entrenched in the Kingdoms of this world that the Kingdom of God sounds ridiculous to us.
This morning I want to look at 3 ways the Kingdom of God is different from the Kingdoms of this world and then over the next few weeks I want to look at the Kingdom of God in a family, in a social setting, and in the church.
The Kingdom of God has:
1. Opposite Goals.
Control Outward Behavior vs. Transform Inner Character
The goal of the Kingdoms of this world is to control the citizens who live under its authority. Anywhere you have someone who is exercising authority over someone else you have a kingdom of this world.
Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you.
The kingdoms of this world are all about having power over others.
There are many forms of government used to achieve this goal, in some the citizens have very little say about who will govern them, in others they have a lot of say. Communist regimes control their people in one way and democracies control their people in a different way, but they are all kingdoms of this world because they are about one group exercising authority over anther group.
What is the purpose in this exercising of authority? It is the same for every kingdom of this world; everything is designed to benefit the ruler. The higher up you go in the kingdoms of this world the more benefits you receive.
This is the opposite of what Jesus did. Not so with you.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.
Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.
