Your Kingdom Come (2)
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In 2002 when the supermarket chains got together with the dairy suppliers in Britain to increase the price of dairy products in supermarkets, the customers had to pay more to buy their milk and the farmers didn’t get one penny extra when they sold their milk.
It only benefited the supermarkets and dairy suppliers.
When their collusion was discovered they were fined £116m.
To collude is to have a secret agreement between two parties to limit the benefits received by a third party.
It is possible for the Christian church to collude with the world at the expense of our Lord’s interests.
When the church agrees not to oppose the world in its opposition to God is one instance where we are colluding with the world.
It might only be tacit, but it can still be colluding.
When the church ceases to reach out into the community… when church members get on with work and leisure and buying and selling and making money and not making waves in the world we can be colluding with the world and against Gods interests.
God is on a mission to rescue the world from death and hell and recreate his glorious wonderful time, space, matter creation.
God is on a mission to rescue the world from death and hell and recreate his glorious wonderful time, space, matter creation.
Those he brings to himself he calls to join with him, overtly throw their lot in with him and collaborate with him.
This of course does mean knowing and sharing the gospel…that is vital!
But throwing out lot in with God is more than that.
We are the ones who bear the image of God.
We are his earthly agents. And our lives are to reflect his goodness and mercy and way of life… in the world in which we live.
In doing this we redeem the world. This time/space/matter world in which we live.
This means that that doctor and secretary, government official and insurance salesman, musician and artist, homemaker and church pastor… all that belong to God all do their bit in collaboration with God to use whatever we do to as our little bit to redeem this creation.
We do all that we do to fill this world with justice and joy, integrity and compassion, mercy and holiness.
To do otherwise is to tacitly collude with the world.
We are tasked to build the KOG in this world… to be part of what Adam should have done but forfeited… to be part of what Jesus restarted and is doing now.
Now I’m not saying WE can build heaven on earth. But we can be signs and symbols, showing something of eternal glory when we buy our groceries and go about our daily work… whatever it involves… and by our generosity and joy, even in the midst of suffering... and a thousand other ways each and every day.
The Original Creation
The Original Creation
Now make no mistake! God created the world… all by himself. No help from us or anyone else.
But God has ordered the world so that some of the work he does, he does through the creatures who reflect his image.
At creation God only brought about a certain amount of order in one small portion of the world, the Garden of Eden. Then he tasked his image bearers with making the whole world into the Garden. A place of holiness and productivity and security and safety… a place that would just delight the heart of both God and man as they enjoyed it together.
But when the man and the woman decided they would do life their way not God’s way it was broken… bent… badly twisted…
Now Jesus is the true Adam that is building the KOG. Jesus said “He would build the kingdom and the gates of hell would not be able to withstand against him”.
Easter and the resurrection of Jesus reminds us that God is redeeming, rebuilding, recreating the earth to be a place of holiness and productivity and security and safety… a place that would just delight the heart of both God and man as they enjoyed it together. And he’s doing through the Man. Jesus.
Jesus relaunched the project in his three year ministry. Everywhere he went and found people in need who trusted him they enjoyed healing and wholeness and joy and peace! That was the first of the KOG come on earth as it is in heaven.
It was amazing… tangible… glorious!
Then Jesus died on the cross to deal with our rebellion… and rose again on Easter Sunday and… as man, body and soul… ascended on high to the Father’s right hand.
The Mission of the Church-Bring “new creation” order to our world!
The Mission of the Church-Bring “new creation” order to our world!
And now Jesus continues the work of bringing the kingdom in… how?
Through his people, forgiven and redeemed and filled with his Spirit and living in obedience to his commands.
Look at our Mission Statement on the Wall!
“Our mission is to glorify God by presenting Christ to everyone and everyone mature in Christ.”
That’s a great statement!
How are we doing?
Are there more people in church than last year? Or less?
Who’s not here today who would normally be here?
Who hasn’t been for a while? Does someone know where they are and how they are doing?
Have people progressed towards maturity over the last 1, 5, 10 years?
What’s the strategy to present Christ to everyone?
How will those amazing kids that came down the front become leaders in their churches in 20, 40 years?
It used to be that people found their reason for life in their work in their community.
Some people did books and some helped raised children and some kept our cars going and others built houses.
But now it seems to be all about the sovereign individual.
I make my life what it is. I answer to no one but self.
The cops try and pull me up I’ll run them over…
We need to be aware of the pressure to join in with them… demand of others and be in collusion with the world.
The church elders have a responsibility before God to encourage the church to get on board with God’s mission to redeem the world.
Will you encourage them to do so?
Will you talk with them and submit to their ideas?
The mission that we have adopted demands we be out of sync with the world.
1 Thessalonians Intro
1 Thessalonians Intro
When Paul wrote his letter to the church at Thessalonica he was very aware just what circumstances birthed the church in that city.
In Ac 17:1-9 (which was perhaps only months before he wrote to this letter we are now looking at to the church from Thessalonica… ) we read where Paul and his missionary friends went into the city, found the Jewish synagogue and reasoned there with people that Jesus was the Messiah who had to suffer and rise from the dead.
And amazing! Some Jews and a large number of God-fearing Greeks (who worshipped in the synagogue with the Jews) and “not a few prominent women were persuaded and became followers of Jesus.
Then there was a riot and when they couldn’t find Paul and Silas they arrested the owner of the house where they thought they might have been staying and made them post bail before they let them go!
Fruit... and persecution! Spitefully treated 1 Thess 2:2 Paul had moved on from Thessalonica but he was worried about how they were doing… we don’t have to think very hard to see why he would be concerned!
He had been forcefully ejected from a young church birthed into the midst of instant and intense persecution.
What about the church he had left behind?
Had they started colluding with the world?
Had they succumbed, disappeared… had the persecution overcome and destroyed the fledgling church.
So he sent Silas and Timothy back to Thessalonica to see how they were doing. We read in 1 Thess 3:6 ff that Timothy has reported that, “Praise God… They’re doing well!"
Paul is palpably relieved that the church is powering on even under continuing persecution.
And he writes this letter to encourage them to persevere.
He begins by telling them what he’s heard about them.
A New Creation Community! (1-3)
A New Creation Community! (1-3)
Let's make a couple of observations about a true, separate, considering God’s interest before their own, NT community.
3 We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and endurance inspired by hope.
Your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and endurance inspired by hope.
Putting God’s interest above their own.
Work produced by faith. Notice that there is one work.
It was a whole of life work. Buying groceries, paying Roman taxes, preparing dinner or interacting with neighbours, or children or church people it was done for the glory of God.
They didn’t do life on one hand... and go to church on Sunday. They lived and breathed and worked as well as went to corporate worship and sung God’s praises together... and altogether it was a work of faith.
Labour prompted by love. The work was what they did; their labour was what it cost.
They paid dearly for belonging to Jesus. It was hard work. Still is for anyone who takes it seriously.
People who take it seriously don’t do what comes naturally. They remember that life is about serving God by serving others. Being his hands and feet and voice in whatever circumstance they find themselves at that minute.
And when life is unfair, when they have to pay extra taxes or get hauled before the courts because they are accused of supporting king Jesus instead of Caesar… they have an endurance inspired by hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Caesar can claim to be king of the world all he likes; let’s see how long he stays dead when he dies!
Faith, hope and love are the trademarks of every person and group who puts God’s interests first.
Chosen by God… changed by God’s word; persisting in suffering for his sake; telling everyone about the bargain they’ve received!
Chosen by God… changed by God’s word; persisting in suffering for his sake; telling everyone about the bargain they’ve received!
Now make no mistake. Their steadfast lives were not the result of being a cut above the rest. It was the result of God’s choice of them in eternity past.
They were elected. It is the term used of Israel in the OT now used for the Christian church.
Israel was not a superpower or seasoned fighters when God chose them.
They were a nation of pitiful slaves. But God chose them to be his own.
People who enjoy that privilege have got to take it into account in their lives.
Paul has evidence of the fact God chose them because when he went into the synagogue and spoke about Jesus people didn’t yawn and walk off home and talk about dinner and what work had to be done that week.
Their lives were transformed. Like under Peter’s preaching on the day of Pentecost where his audience was cut to the heart and alarmed at what they heard.
Look at v5-7
5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
And despite watching Paul and his companions be arrested and falsely charged… they threw their lot in with them as God’s people… v6 (read)
More than that… against their own interests, v8
8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it,
No one can accuse them of colluding with the world.
Not for them to sit back and waiting for God to turn the world the right way up… that’s what he did when Jesus rose from the dead.
How are we doing? Colluding with the World… collaborating with God?
Friends, your faith has become well known.
People told me what a great group you were when they heard I was coming here.
My own observations have been that there is real substance to the talk I’ve heard.
But I must say I think we need to develop some strategies and systems to better align our activities with our mission.
How many of our activities are actually and really aimed at presenting Christ to the people of the Nambucca Valley… and which activities do we do to present the people of the Nambucca Valley mature in Christ?
Many? Great!
How many people fall through the cracks?
Who among our regulars are not here today?
Who has visited in the last year?
How did the follow up go?
What did we learn about folding them into our fellowship?
Who has moved on to another church… or God forbid just gone home again?
Make no mistake, being God’s New Creation in amongst the sin-sicked, self-absorbed, self-ruling world is tough… very tough.
It is happening… can it be encouraged, developed, expanded, refined? I think it can.
We are the firstfruits of God’s new creation.
It’s now our turn to continually turn our lives from our idols to serve the living and true God…
People who listen to God, who throw their lot in with God… find that God is playing a symphony orchestra through his church in the world.
The music is lovely. Doing life God’s way is beautiful… it’s good and right and evidence that God knows what he’s on about!
But we play in the midst of a BHP smelter. There’s noise… huge noise.
It smells… and the heat is sometimes unbearable!
But still the symphony plays… because we believe… we know the truth… we hope for the future and we’re practicing for our eternal state.
We’re God’s agents in bringing in the new creation that began when Jesus emerged from the tomb on Sunday morning!
We dare not collude with the world. Look how they treated Jesus.
There’s too much greed and self-interest. Too much every man, every woman for themselves.