Allen Jackson - Kings and Kingdoms - Part 1
A lot of scripture today. I believe it’ll help you. The topic is «Kings and Kingdoms» and it’s really a pretty simple message. In fact, I wanna walk through these scriptures with you. I hope pretty quickly, I’d like to plant a seed in your heart. I’d like to give you something to reflect on for the next few days to point your attention in a direction. I believe that there is something so much better ahead of us than all the things that are available to us in time.
Now, don’t misunderstand me. I like the journey through time. God created the earth and everything that’s in it for our benefit and our enjoyment and I think it’s an incredible gift that he’s given to us, but we live in a broken world. Evil exists, horrific things happen, and none of us makes our journey through time without encounters with evil. Some are very personal. Some occasionally are gracefully removed a bit from us. But the promise of something far better is the incentive we have for accepting the assignment in our current setting.
You see, if we don’t believe there’s something better ahead of us, we will never make the sacrifice of serving the Lord, of honoring him. And please hear me, there is a sacrifice in serving the Lord. Jesus said, unless we’re willing to lay down our life, I’ll amplify it a bit. The incentive for that, the willingness to do that to alter the choice that my own selfish carnal Adamic earthly nature. They’re all synonyms used in scripture. It’s that part of me that just wants to do what I wanna do the way I wanna do it when I wanna do it. The incentive for addressing that part of ourselves and putting God’s purposes first, God’s priorities ahead of my own is he says there is something so much better for us if we will do that. And tragically, I think the contemporary church has been co opted almost completely by a mindset that’s focused on what’s here now. I mean, there’s even a country song about it.
«We All Want to go to Heaven But Nobody Wants to go Now». It’s if you know, I mean, given the options of no heaven or heaven, yeah, I’ll take heaven, but I wanna put it off as long as possible. That reflects a gross misunderstanding of what it means to be a participant in the kingdom of God. We should never imagine that the benefit of our allegiance to Jesus is primarily in this present world order. So with that, I wanna just walk through some scripture. I’m gonna hand you some ideas. We may come back and do this in a more elaborate form, but I think this will be helpful for the challenges in front of us. I’ll start in Isaiah 6. We get this majestic, beautiful. The language of Isaiah is remarkable and just as an aside, I assume that you, I hope you remember that Isaiah is a prophet. He’s one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible.
But Isaiah was a court prophet. Sometimes he’s described as a prophet of the purple, meaning he was a prophet to the royals. He was very familiar with the halls of power. Amos was a farmer, not Isaiah. Isaiah spoke to the direction of nations. He had messages for kings and kingdoms. You see the people of God are intended to impact what happens in our world. It’s awkward, it’s uncomfortable sometimes, it often brings tremendous pressure, but we’re not just here to navigate our way through life and with a smaller profile as possible so that we have the opportunity to go to heaven when we finally get done. We are ambassadors, representatives, and Isaiah as a young man has this remarkable vision of the throne room of God and with the majestic language of Isaiah.
Its Isaiah 6, he said, «In the year that King Uzziah died,» it’s just a, it’s a chronological marker. He said, «I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory.' And at the sound of their voices, the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke».
Wow! Isaiah has a vision of the throne room of God. And these incredible angelic beings that are declaring holy is the Lord. The whole earth is filled with his glory. In Hebrew, Hebrew is an ancient language. It’s a simple language in its construction. So repetition is a way of making emphasis. And here God is declared holy three times. He’s not like us, we’re not holy, we’re something else, right? You know, that’s true, right? Now without holiness, the Bible says we’ll never see the Lord, but it’s God reflected in us, God’s character formed in us that lets that holiness emerge. I mean, how many of you this morning got up even with an extra hour sleep, looked in the mirror and said, «Oh, you are so holy». Yeah, me either. But the more Jesus character is formed in us, Hebrews 11:40 gives us a window into this kingdom that we’re a part of.
You see to be a Christ follower is more than joining a church or a denomination or a systematic theology. It’s more than a moral code. It’s access to a kingdom and there’s only one doorway into that kingdom. His name is Jesus of Nazareth. There aren’t many pathways. Folks, until the church has the courage to say to the world in which we live, there is one door into the eternal kingdom of our God, we are failing in our assignment. What has happened to us? Hebrews 11:40 is the conclusion of chapter 11 in the book of Hebrews is the Hall of Fame. It’s these remarkable men and women. You’ll know many of their names. If you’ve read your Bibles casually, Abraham and Moses and all the Hebrews, all of the heroes of our faith are listed there. And at the conclusion of that chapter, it says, «God has planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect».
That’s an amazing statement. You see, there is a generational assignment attached to our lives. God didn’t call us to Egypt to be under the whips of Pharaoh’s taskmasters. We weren’t there to help Moses with the lift of taking hundreds of thousands of people out of 100 year old pattern and establishing a new nation. God called us to the 21st century when technology would explode and communication would be unprecedented in the history of civilization so that both darkness and light can ricochet around the planet at a speed we’ve never known before. We have an assignment to be kingdom difference makers in this generation, just as certainly as Moses did in his or David did in his or the Apostle Paul had in his time. We don’t gather in the weekend to study what they did so we can be experts on what God was doing 10 centuries before the birth of Christ.
Our objective is to be world class with insights onto 1st century Christianity. Our assignment is to be salt and light in the 21st century. This is our generation. We’re gonna meet those heroes of chapter 11 of Hebrews and they’re gonna ask us what we’ve done. You’re gonna, and David will say, «All right, so you read about me and Goliath. Did you? Then why did you hide in your tent»? «Well, he was really big». David said, «No kidding. Could you hear my knees banging together when you read that story? Could you feel the perspiration on my palms? Could you feel the angst of my brothers going, 'He is such a proud little fella.'» 1 Corinthians 15 says, «If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men».
Folks, there’s something for us beyond time. Don’t misunderstand me. I love the journey. Every day is an adventure. Some have difficult tasks, many are filled with assignments and responsibilities. I dump 'em on that. That’s what God created us for. He gives us the strength to meet the assignment. But I am very much aware that there is something better for me beyond time. So I am endeavoring to be as faithful as I can with the opportunities of each day because I wanna be certain, I’m prepared for what’s behind me. The Apostle Paul said it a little differently in Philippians. It’s not in your notes, but it is in the book. He said, there’s one thing I do, putting what is behind, I leave it behind, to press forward. He said, I count all things as if it’s dung, refuge, something to be thrown out. Those are all nice words for what he said compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord.
You see one of the weapons that the enemy uses against us is dissatisfaction, discontentment. And I’ve had enough birthdays now to recognize that he brings it to us at every season of life. When you’re younger and in school, he’ll make you discontent with your family circumstance or your classmates or your teachers. I’m not given the opportunities I deserve or recognized in the way I should be recognized or I’m something. You get a bit older and he’ll make you dissatisfied and discontent because I’m single. I haven’t found my soul mate yet. I’m making the journey alone and it’s crushing my spirit. Then you get married.
See if you hadn’t laughed, no one would have known. And now you’re discontent because you don’t have the right picket fence or you don’t have the right number of children in the house or your pet isn’t housebroken or it takes such a significant effort and energy and resource commitment when the family is young that you can’t pursue the hobby of your choices with the enthusiasm you would like to, discontentment. And you turn the calendar a few years and your children begin to roll their eyes at you. There’s much less affirmation in the house. You’ve been attacked with a stupid virus. It’s overwhelming. The people amongst you that you brought into the world are the only people you can ask now to help you turn on the television.
So not only do they roll their eyes, God’s determined that you’ll be humiliated before them. So we just decided we don’t like television, we won’t watch it anymore. And as awful as that is, then they leave home and it’s too quiet and we’re discontent with that. And then you realize you’ve turned the calendar enough times that it’s begun to impact you physically and the things that you used to do as a matter of routine now after you do them you need pharmaceutical help to recover. And there’s a whole another set of discontentment because you realize that there’s less time in front of you than is behind you. It never changes folks. We have an adversary and an enemy who is determined to make you discontent to distract you from giving your best to the Lord in the season where you find yourself. He will try to tell you, you shouldn’t until you get your family circumstance straight.
You shouldn’t until you get your kids a little older. You shouldn’t until you’ve stored up a few more resources. You shouldn’t because now it’s your time to enjoy yourself. After all you spent all these years serving everybody else. Now it’s your time and your calendar and your money. I’ll spend it where I want to. Every one of those junctures along the way, the enemy will give you permission to lead if not a godless, a carnal self absorbed life. I would remind you of what Paul is saying to the Corinthian church. And it’s worth noting they were a drunken, immoral, undisciplined lot in Corinth. Paul said to them, there is sexual immorality amongst you that even the pagans don’t engage in. They had succumbed to the temptations of their carnal selves and he writes this to them.
It’s 1 Corinthians 15. You have it. «If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we’re to be pitied more than all men». There’s a benefit to our faith. That means today, I’ll make a sacrifice for the kingdom. I’ll reorder my schedule. I’ll make a different decision about my financial resources. I’ll take time for people. It might be a different path for my career. It might change my imagined earning capacity. It might change my relational network 'cause I’m gonna be kind to someone who can’t repay me for that kindness. But I’m gonna make an investment in the eternal kingdom of God today because I have a hope beyond time and I intend to be invested. And on the days when I fail that test, if God is gracious enough to remind me of it, before I go to sleep I’ll say, «Lord, I’m sorry, I was co-opted today. I pushed my agenda forward. I was more interested in getting all I could. God, I’m sorry. Help me be more aware tomorrow».
Philippians 1 and verse 23, Paul said, «I’m torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far, but it’s more necessary for you that I remain in the body». Paul is saying to us there’s something better than what we’ve got in this current age. Too many of us has lived is like this is as good as it can get, we gotta get the second house and when you get the second one, you need a third one 'cause two is not really a choice. Two’s just options and I’d like a choice. We need more clothes 'cause the three closets are already full and I just feel better with the fourth one and my kids need something more spectacular 'cause parenting is competitive and I gotta help them be better than the other kids that we call their friends. We don’t really live like we think there’s something better.
Paul said it, it’s I’m torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ. He said it’s better by far. You need to meditate on that. You need to think about it a little bit. You need to be honest with the Lord say, «Lord, you know, to be truthful, I think leaving here is kind of disrupting. It’s not that I don’t wanna be with you, but I’d like it to be a long, long, long, long, long, long, long time from now». That’s not what Paul’s saying. He’s saying I’m living close enough to the kingdom of God that I can tell you it is infinitely better than any of the kingdoms of this world. Anything afforded me, any praise that I could garner, any resource I could accumulate, any power I could marshal, it’s better.
There is something ahead of us that is much better than where we are now. There are crowns awaiting us, not from this present age. There are rewards to be given to us that exceed anything you could achieve in this current age. Any acknowledgment, any reward. Are you purposefully intentionally striving to be included or do you have that born again mentality? I’ve been born again. I’m good. I believe in being born again. 2 Timothy 4, Paul said, «I’m already being poured out like a drink offering, the time has come for my departure». He’s been on trial. He’s going back to trial. He expects to be condemned to death. He’s not waiting on a flight, folks. The language is a euphemism. He said they plan to kill me soon. «I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I’ve kept the faith. Now, there’s in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge will award to me on that day and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing».
He said, they’re gonna kill me, but I’m gonna get a crown. He said, I can’t wait. He said, I’ve run this race. See the devil, he will make you, he wants to stop you. He wants you to slow down. He wants to impede you. No matter where you are, he’s gonna try to convince you you shouldn’t serve the Lord. You shouldn’t be enthusiastic. Your hair is gray. Why would you make an effort for the Lord? Let the young people do it. I fought my fight. I’ve teed it up. I’ve taken the abuse. I’ve lost sleep. Why would I do that? This is my time. Imagine you gotta run a marathon. I suppose that’s the assignment for tomorrow. Everybody, we all gotta run one.
All right, you’re gonna sleep in. So you’re gonna start yours late. I’m gonna get up early. So when you meet me, I’m at mile 23. I bet you’re not gonna look at me and go, «Oh, I’m so sorry. You’ve already run 23 miles». «I’m gonna be oh, sucker. I’m about done. You got a lot of work to do a lot of breaths to take your heart’s gonna have to pump a whole lot. That’s my finish line. There’s a reward over there. You better believe I’m gonna run through the tape». In fact, we all know the secrets. You wanna look better at the finish line. So you may have been dying three miles ago, but you’re gonna sprint through the tape because there’s cameras there. There’s something better ahead of us. We get in this mindset as if we’re competing with the ungodly with the pagan. They’re stacking their stuff saying I won the game and I’m going, no, no, no. It’s all going back in the box. They’re gonna take that puzzle off the table and re-jumble 'em and somebody else is gonna put them together.
So the fact that you put your puzzle together really well, isn’t gonna make a hood of difference. Are you prepared for what’s next? Are you living for a crown? There’s a king and a kingdom to be gained. There’s joy ahead of us. Hebrews chapter 12, «Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross». That was his assignment. His assignment was to face rejection, hatred, to show them the kingdom of God knowing at the beginning they were gonna go, «No, not really». I mean, there would be some who would follow. I mean, it’s kind of a sad little group. Handful of fishermen, tax collectors, demonized people, some prostitutes, former prostitutes.
I mean, the power brokers, they weren’t interested. The governors, they probably weren’t particularly interested. They didn’t have the courage to follow Jesus. You understand the more success you have and the more you accumulate, the more courage it takes to truly be an ambassador. Come on. But Jesus, it says, «For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, he scorned its shame, he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God». And then the author of Hebrews makes it very personal. It says, «Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart».
See what he is presupposing is that you and I are gonna face opposition. That we’re not gonna be ambassadors for the kingdom of God without push back. We’ll recognize the bullying voices and the threats and the challenges, the forfeiture of opportunities, the deals lost, the exclusion from lists and more. We describe those as if they’re sacrifices. Folks around the world today, our brothers and sisters in the faith are hiding for fear of their lives. We’re the most persecuted religious group on the planet and we talk of suffering in terms of, «Well, I didn’t get invited to the party». I mean, that can be uncomfortable. You’ll lose some friends. I hope you do so gladly. There’s joy ahead of us.
Now to be fair, there are immediate opportunities. There are opportunities before us in the day. They’re not just temptations, they’re real. In Hebrews 11, it describes Moses that he refused the pleasure of sin for a season. And when you choose ungodliness, I’m not saying that ungodliness can’t be rewarding in the moment. It’ll give you some financial opportunities in the moment. Sometimes it’ll give you opportunities for pleasure in the moment. I’m not suggesting to you those analysis aren’t real, that those perspectives aren’t clear. I’m telling you they’re short sighted, but they’re real choices. In 2 Timothy 4, the Bible, I like its honesty and its integrity.
Paul said to Timothy, «Come quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and he’s gone to Thessalonica». Demas was a trusted companion of Paul. He’s mentioned in multiple places in the New Testament as a faithful associate of Paul. One ministering in the gospel. And by the time he finds himself in a Roman prison nearing the end of his life awaiting his execution, he says to Timothy, «I need you to hurry 'cause Demas decided he loved the world more».
Folks, please don’t act like we’re above that. All of us, we have to guard our hearts. We need the encouragement that comes from one another. It’s why community is so important. If you spend your time with people who are pursuing things other than the Lord, it gives you an incredible license to join them. You need to put people around you who are choosing to honor God with their lives that are willing to talk about it. Talk about the culture in which we live and why a godly perspective makes such a difference.
And before we go, I’d like to pray with you that God would give us discernment, the ability to recognize spiritual things beyond just our intellect. That we would know what God is doing and how we might co-operate. Are you ready?
Father, I thank you. I thank you for your presence in the earth and I pray that you would give us a discernment to recognize your spirit at work. Lord, we don’t wanna be left simply to our intellect and our own senses, but we wanna be able to see the world from your perspective. Thank you Holy Spirit for your help. In Jesus’s name, amen.