Not Of This World

Introduction

Looks like Mike’s songbook got stuck in the 400s today. But what an excellent and well thought out series of songs. In fact, I was thinking how blessed we are to have so much talent and so many men who carefully and thoughtfully lead us to the throne of God. It refreshes me. And I have never enjoyed worship as much as I enjoyed in this place with you. And so I appreciate that so very much. And I could not help but think, as we sang sweet will of God, how fitting that was considering our discussion of John 7 17 this morning. If any man is willing to do his will, how appropriate that was, and then how appropriate our invitation song is, considering the nature of the lesson, yield not to temptation.

Hopefully you can find your way back here at 5 p.m. I’ve been waiting for several weeks to do a sermon called Waiting on the Lord. And to revisit, in fact, both of these sermons are revisiting some things we’ve already looked at in the Gospel of John. I think tonight’s lesson is very important for anyone who has ever experienced trauma and difficulty, and experienced that the road to the road of faith is sometimes difficult to travel. And so I hope you’ll come back tonight at 5 o’clock for that lesson, despite those things that might compete for your attention. Don’t know what that might be this afternoon. Jesus was continually encouraging people to think spiritually. And obviously that is a struggle for us all who live in a carnal world and in a carnal setting day in and day out.

As we’ve been studying in the Gospel of John, there are a number of references where he is encouraging people to think beyond the most natural response when he says in John chapter 2, destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. And of course, they’re immediately thinking of the physical temple, but Jesus was speaking of his physical body that would be put to death on a cross and that he would be raised from the dead. And we noted in John chapter 4, with Jesus’ discussion with the woman at the well.

And she struggled to understand the spiritual connection to what he was saying. In John chapter 6, prior to the feeding of the 5,000, he tests Philip. How are we going to feed this multitude? Where are we going to buy bread that they may eat? And he was saying this to test him, for he himself knew what he was intending to do. And then the discussion that followed, the feeding of the 5,000, about Jesus himself being the bread of God that comes down out of heaven. And they say, Lord, evermore give us this bread. But they’re still not getting the spiritual implications of the miracle. When he says, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.

But I said to you that you have seen me, and yet you do not believe. Despite being fed by this great miracle from the loaves and fish, they were still not thinking spiritually. And so, just like our songs were sermons in and of themselves that were helpful to our everyday lives if we listened to what we were seeing. What we have already studied so far. And being encouraged to think spiritually could be helpful to us as we approach our lives this week. But I want to look with you at one more text that we have not yet studied in our study of the Gospel of John, that deals with the need to think spiritually, and it has to do with Jesus’ words to Pilate about the kingdom.

Pilate only has a surface familiarity with Jesus’ ministry as is evidenced in this discussion. Pilate says in his personal audience with Jesus, Are you the king of the Jews? Jesus answered, Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about me? Pilate answered, I’m not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priest delivered you up to me. What have you done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would be fighting, that I might not be livered up to the Jews, but as it is, my kingdom is not of this world. Pilate therefore said to him, So you are a king. Jesus answered, You say correctly that I am a king.

1. The Kingdom Is Spiritual

For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth. And everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. Perhaps this is a familiar text to many of you as Jesus describes the nature of his kingdom. Are we thinking spiritually about Jesus’ kingdom? The first observation that I would indeed make about this kingdom is that fact that it is spiritual. Very few in the first century even had the concept of a messianic kingdom that did not involve some new earthly government. And it’s interesting to me that one of the only few people that we read about in the New Testament that actually might have grasped the concept was an individual who died with Jesus.

When he appealed to Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. I don’t think even the closest disciples of Jesus through twelve had any concept that this kingdom might flourish beyond the grave, beyond the death of Jesus. And yet he said, Remember me when you come into your kingdom. We noted in John 6 and verse 15 that the people, because of their excitement over the miracle and the things Jesus was doing, the signs that he was performing, they wanted to come and by force make him a king. And yet these same individuals just a day later withdrew and would not follow him anymore. John 6 and verse 66. And then there is, I will draw your attention to, the statement on the cross, Luke 23, 42 is where the thief on the cross said, Remember me when you come into your kingdom.

In John 19. In John 19, as Jesus is being put to death, Pilate wrote an inscription and put it on the cross, and it was written, Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the Jews. I think Pilate was just frustrated with this whole mess. And so he has this inscription written. Therefore, this inscription many of the Jews read. For the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Latin and in Greek. And so the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, don’t write the king of the Jews. He’s not our king. But that he said, I am the king of the Jews. This is just his own claim. This isn’t what we thought about him. But Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written.

Look at this pitiful excuse for a king. But indeed he was. What the inscription said. I wonder if Pilate had some providential help in the nature of this inscription. He was indeed the king. Though he died at Calvary. Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world. People still struggle to perceive this kingdom and the nature of it. In 1 Corinthians chapter 1, I think this is exactly what Paul is saying when he says, we preach Christ crucified, and to the Jews that’s a stumbling block, and to the Gentiles, that is foolishness, but to those who are the called, Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men, for consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise.

And God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things that are strong. And the base things of the world and the despised. God has chosen. The things that are not, that he might nullify the things that are. Man, I love that phrase. That no man should boast before God.

But by his doing, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. That just as it is written, let him who boasts boast in the Lord. When I thought about what Jesus is saying regarding the kingdom, and who are indeed kingdom citizens, I thought of 1 Corinthians chapter 1, because people still struggle to perceive and appreciate this kingdom and the very nature of it, and those who comprise this great rule of God. And so, from the standpoint of human history and the things that people applaud, and the things that people notice and the things that people write about, Jesus’ kingdom doesn’t even meet the grade. It doesn’t even get noticed and recognized by most people. It’s certainly not appreciated.

You mean this little ragtag bunch? Sorry, I’m calling you ragtag, this rag tag bunch of people, this represents the kingdom of God. Yes. But you cannot judge, as we saw this morning according to appearance. That’s really what he’s talking about. You have to judge righteous judgment. You have to see this kingdom and its nature for what it is. Not many mighty, not many noble, not many wise according to the flesh. He’s chosen the common people who would submit their will to him. More on that in a moment. This kingdom has to be perceived spiritually. And one of the problems that we have when our faith languishes, when our discipleship dwindles, is that we are not properly assessing the kingdom. And how awesome our association with it is.

2. A Kingdom Which Will Endure Forever

And he says, here’s the significance. The real significance of this dream is not the fact that there’s going to be kingdoms that follow Babylon, the Persian kingdom, the Greek kingdom, and then the Roman kingdom, the fourth kingdom of this passage. But here’s the significant thing of your dream, Nebuchadnezzar, that in the days of those Roman kings, in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed. And that kingdom will not be left for another people. That is, someone comes in and takes it over, a new regime follows it. No, it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms. But it will itself endure forever. And lo and behold, here we is. Should it not surprise us?

It should not. This kingdom is still here. This is a testimony. Us being here today in the year 2013 is a testimony to the truthfulness of what Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar 2500 years ago. And I don’t know how long this earth is going to stand, how much more time there’s going to be, but however much time God allows, this kingdom will still be here.

As a kid, I grew up in the era of the Cold War. And when I was in school studying geography, there it was. The USSR. Four initials we don’t even talk about anymore. But I want to tell you, every Olympics was serious. It was the USA versus the USSR for supremacy. There was technological rivalry. There was the associated space race. Americans versus the Russians. Who would have ever thought it? The collapse of the USSR. All of these new states that now make geography even more difficult in school. Yugoslavia, where did it go? The Berlin Wall. Crashing down and now a unified Germany. Who would have looked it? And that’s just in my very short lifetime. All of these changes in just a few decades in the history of the world.

Who knows how many more governments will topple in any of our lifetimes? Who knows if our own government may not survive? I don’t know the answer to that question, but there have been a lot of governments preceding it that have come and gone. But this kingdom endures forever. And God’s intentions for it. You know, you really need to be associated with this if you can be, and you can. God’s future for this kingdom is that one day the king will deliver us up to God. He will make a presentation of his kingdom without spot and without blemish, Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 27. And all will be, God will be all in all. Everything will become complete. Everything will come to fruition. This kingdom endures to the end, Paul says.

3. Within Submissive and Yielding Hearts

And we have this confidence and assurance in that Jesus was raised from the dead and that the righteous will be raised. This ought to get us excited. Well, what is the nature of this kingdom as it pertains to individuals? Well, you see, the nature of Jesus’ kingdom being spiritual has to do with a sphere that involves submissive and yielding hearts. There’s a wonderful passage in Luke 17 where Jesus talks about the nature of his kingdom. Of course, they weren’t getting it, they weren’t thinking spiritually, but again, he’s trying to help them to get it. He said to his disciples, the days shall come, actually, verse 20 of Luke 17. Now, having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed.

You are looking for physical clues as to the coming of the kingdom, some sign of a rising empire. Nor will they say, look, here it is, or there it is. For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst. The kingdom of God is within you. Some of the older translations say.

Whether he is saying the kingdom of God is in your midst or the kingdom of God is within you, I think it’s really irrelevant. Because Jesus, as he stood in them, as they’re thinking of this earthly kingdom, as we pointed out many times, Jesus is saying, I am the embodiment of the kingdom. He is what is going to make this kingdom come about and thrive when he says the kingdom of God is near. Some of you shall not taste of death till you see the kingdom of God come with power. It’s all about him and what he was going to do, and not only that, he lived the essence of this kingdom. He had the submissive, yielding heart to his father. I have come to do thy will, O God.

Not my will, but thine be done. He prayed. He demonstrated, he left a pattern or example for us that we should follow in his footsteps. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Philippians chapter 2 and verse 5. I am the way, the truth, and the life. So either way you want to look at it. Jesus Christ was the embodiment of the kingdom. I am in your midst. This is the nature of it. Or he could further be saying, and certainly by implication, this is so. But the nature of kingdom, the nature of the kingdom in men is what we are within. As we imitate him. As we submit our wills to him as he submitted his will to the Father. Either way, the sphere of God’s new reign is not geographical or national, but within willing hearts.

The subjects of his kingdom, then. They think spiritually. They sing spiritual hymns about spiritual concepts. Oh, by the way, there’s another sermon that may be emanating from this one, but it’s just conceptual right now. I may preach it next Sunday, maybe Sunday morning or Sunday night, but again, it’s just conceptual, but this was supposed to be the springboard for it. Hopefully I’ll get to the second part. But the kingdom subjects think spiritually. They set their affections on things above, their affections, their desires, their hopes. What makes them alive? They set their affections on things above and not on things of this earth. Colossians chapter 3. Their treasures are in heaven. Matthew chapter 6. We don’t just laud the great king and proclaim him great. We serve him.

We yield to him and we deny ourselves. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ as Lord. And ourselves as bondservants for his sake. 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 5. We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not of ourselves. Paul says in two verses later in 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 7. And so what that means is that Jesus’ followers, the people who are this kingdom, they follow in their master’s footsteps. As he says in John 6 and verse 38. For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. I’ll tell you what this kingdom says. We’re to be humble people. We’re to be lowly people.

To this one will I look, the one who is lowly and contrite of heart and who trembles at my word. That’s going to be the nature of his kingdom. That was prophesied back in Isaiah chapter 66 and verse 2. I am and you are N O T H I N G without him. We’re nothing. It’s all because of him. And it’s all for him. And may we never ever get carried away with who we think we are in this kingdom. It doesn’t matter how much talent you have or how much influence or sway you have. We are only something because of him. We must be lowly and humble in our hearts. We can pay lip service to this kingdom all we want to. But we have to let him reign.

4. Emphasize the Welfare of My Soul

Or we’re none of his. Felix Baumgartner is an Australian, Austrian rather, skydiver. Here’s what he observes. I wish the whole world could see what I see. Sometimes you have to go up really high to understand how small you really are. As we talk about this kingdom, I want to share with you briefly what I think are some necessary reactions if you understand this kingdom and you think spiritually. Number one, this would tell me that I need to emphasize the welfare of my soul above everything else. You know, we make a lot of resolutions around the new year. And usually a lot of them involve our physical state. Because we, like Ed, have eaten too much of the pies and the meats and all of the trappings of the holiday season.

5. Devalue the Allurements of This World

And so now we must work to get those pounds off, to square this thing back into at least better shape than it’s in. But what about resolutions for our mental state? Things that affect our role in the kingdom. What kind of resolutions do we make for that? To be people who more consistently make proper application of the will of God in our lives, who make the center of God’s will our home day in and day out. I think it would also tell us, because of the spiritual nature of this kingdom, that we need to devalue the allurements of this world. Avoid undue over much excessive attachment to things here.

This warning about love not the world and don’t lay up for yourselves treasures on the earth, this warning was uttered long before the proliferation of things in our time. Long before iPads and cell phones and computers and televisions with one hundred plus HD channels, a car for every adult in the family, modest homes that would have been considered palaces to first century readers. And the passage I speak of is in 1 Timothy chapter 6 and verse 7. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it. And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.

Something crossed my mind. I think it’s probably correct. I can’t say to you it’s absolutely correct, but I want to tell you for most of us this is true. We have already experienced in our lives more pleasure and more fun than any generation that’s ever preceded us. Certainly any generation from, say, 1900 or before. We have already in our lives experienced more pleasure and more fun than any generation that’s ever walked this globe. To what end? You see, these are the things that matter. These are the things that we need to be thinking about. We need to focus on an exceeding reward that has been promised us that is out of this world. A reward that is beyond description. I think we lose sight of that.

I think we lose sight of the special nature of Jesus’ kingdom because we lose sight of the reward that awaits his people at the end. When I look at what is written about heaven in the New Testament, and I just gotta tell you, I thought in preparation for this lesson, I’ve not been talking about heaven enough. But you know, we’ve analyzed those passages so many times that talk about the prize that awaits us, the treasure that’s in heaven. And I don’t think we really stop long enough and often enough to think about that what awaits the treasure that awaits those of this kingdom is so far beyond any and all of the pleasures that we can have here. And we certainly should not sacrifice it for sinful pleasure.

6. Be Concerned About the King's Assessment

Because this treasure that awaits for us, the treasure associated with this kingdom far exceeds what I could put into words today to be in the presence of God forever. And all the joys that attend it. Being a part of this kingdom says, set your affections there. Set your affections, focus upon this exceeding reward, which defies the scripture. And one final thing that issues from the nature of this spiritual kingdom is that we need to be far more concerned about the king’s assessment of us than the assessment of other people. I think sometimes we are far too concerned about appearances and how other people regard us and what our reputation is and whether people like us if they find us funny, if they find us this or that.

I want to tell you, I don’t care how good you are, how much you are like the Savior, Jesus Christ, there will be people. There will be people, even associated with the Lord’s true people, who will not like you one bit. And I don’t care how good you are. I don’t care how much you’re like Paul or like Jesus. The world hated him, and the world will hate you. Somebody will not properly regard you for who you are. And so sometimes we get far too much caught up in appearances and what other people are going to think and say. I don’t say you just quit thinking about that. Because you can’t control that anyway. You can be the nicest person in this world, and somebody’s going to spit in your face.

No good deed goes unpunished. You ever heard that? It happens. And I know we’re to heat coals of fire on their head, we’re to overcome evil with good. But some people are still going to treat you awfully for the goodness that you’ve done. So I’ll tell you just need to quit worrying so much about what other people think and concern yourself first and foremost with this. What does the king think? I don’t see you every day, and you don’t see me every day. What does the king think of you? That’s one of the great parts of this kingdom, really, because there’s no one more fair, no one more merciful, no one more loyal than the king. And we need to walk each day in the shadow of the king.

Conclusion

Knowing he is there to help us, to redeem us, to save us, to reward us. I don’t know your status before God necessarily this morning. What the king does. What does the king think of you? And he invites you to come into his kingdom. To be called out of darkness and into the kingdom of God’s dear son, Colossians 1 and verse 13. Put temptation and yielding to sin as a result. Put it in your past. Let the king reign. We urge you to come while we stand and sing.