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P.O. Box 25759 1411 Rim Road Fayetteville, North Carolina 28314 Office Phone: 910-868-5686 |
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November 23, 2003 (Year B, Christ the King)
I want to enlist you in the revolution today. To belong to the kingdom of God is to join the revolution. We are behind enemy lines and we are seeking to spread the influence of God’s kingdom in the midst of this present darkness. If you want to join up you need to know a few things:
I. We are a kingdom in conflict. In the passage we just read we see Jesus before Pilate. The religious establishment – the Church of his day – has colluded to exterminate Jesus. At their prompting Jesus is now brought before the political authority. With the cold calculation of a bureaucrat, Pilate will sacrifice justice on the altar of political expediency and Jesus Christ will be crushed under the heel of Roman imperial power. Two kingdoms face off in this encounter. The kingdom of this world represented by the cynical religious establishment and the soulless state bureaucracy of Rome is pitted against the kingdom of God embodied by a beaten, bleeding radical rabbi from Galilee.
A. The kingdom of this world bases its power on what we see in these verses: privilege, prestige, position and military potency. It is the power to crush and kill and control and tyrannize. It dominated the world of that day. And, it looks like it still dominates in the world today.
· The kingdom of God, however, expresses its power through the life of Jesus. It is a power to heal, to transform, give life, love the unlovable, forgive the unforgivable, redeem the unredeemable.
· The kingdom of this world did what it does best at that moment of engagement: it ground Jesus down through torture and injustice and then it nailed him to a cross to die in humiliation and agony.
B. But it evil did not realize that it had overplayed its hand. It thought it gained supremacy for ever – but it unleashed revolution. The revolution began on Easter morning when death itself was overthrown and the despised, backwoods rabbi overthrew hell’s greatest weapon, death, and came bursting out of the grave in victory.
C. On Easter Morning the revolution began and it has been going on ever since. Will you join the revolution? Today the religious and political powers of this present world are still arrayed against our king. We are engaged in a life and death struggle. This is a real war. In our own day Jesus Christ is still opposed by the RELIGIOUS and POLITICAL ESTABLISHIMENT.
· Hostility from the State: Although the Christian roots of our country are undeniable, hostility to Christ and his followers has resulted in a Stalinist-like revisionist history present in our GOVERNMENT SCHOOL texts. One textbook had 30 pages on the Pilgrims, including the first Thanksgiving. But not one reference to religion even as a part of the Pilgrim’s lives. Another text described the Pilgrims as people who made long trips, and omitted that the trip was to find religious freedom. Another text said that the Pilgrims wanted to give thanks after their first year – but neglected to mention they were thanking God. In most public schools the first Thanksgiving is portrayed as a multicultural celebration of diversity in which the pilgrims gave thanks to their Native American friends. But the real first Thanksgiving (which did include the Indians!) was held in the Autumn of 1621 and was a 3 day feast of celebration giving thanks to God. When President Abraham Lincoln established our national holiday of Thanksgiving he wrote in the proclamation:
I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience…. [info from David Limbaugh, Persecution, pp 69-70.]
· Hostility from established Religion: False teaching in the Church that rejects Christ’s kingly authority. United Methodist Bishop Joe Sprague of the N. Illinois Annual Conference rejects core tenets of the faith such as the virgin birth, the resurrection, the deity of Christ, and the Second Coming. Thousands are led astray by his teaching. When several of my friends brought heresy charges for these false teachings, they were excoriated by the officials of the UM Church who were are obliged by church law to uphold our doctrine and discipline. The officials refused to hold the bishop accountable and rather commended him for his pastoral skills (skills that led to the massive decline in church membership in his conference!)
The other “establishment” church in the US, ECUSA, reveals a similar hostility to orthodox teaching and practice that exalts King Jesus. On November 7 of this year, with scarcely 48 hours notice, the Rt. Rev. Douglas Theuner, Bishop of New Hampshire, removed Fr. Don Wilson as pastor at Church of the Redeemer, Rochester, summarily revoked his license to function as a priest in the diocese and appointed Canon Martha Dyner to conduct Sunday services at Redeemer. Bishop Theuner cites Fr. Wilson’s opposition to Gene Robinson’s consecration as the next Bishop of New Hampshire as justification for his actions.
II. We are a kingdom of Peace. You see, although we are in a revolution we don’t fight like the world fights. Unlike the Islamic fundamentalists that are terrorizing the world today, Christians are specifically told that we cannot advance spiritual objectives through physical violence:
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place. John 18:36
A. Our enemies are not human but spiritual.
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:10-12
B. Our weapons are not worldly but spiritual.
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NIV
C. Our tactics are the tactics of our commander in chief. What do the weapons and tactics of the revolution look like? You remember Heather Mercer and Dayna Curry who were rescued from Afghanistan in 2001 by US Special Forces. They were there as part of the revolution I’m talking about. About a year after their rescue one interviewer asked them: Was your real purpose in going to Afghanistan to convert people to Christianity? They responded:
We certainly hoped we would have opportunities to share about Jesus with those who were interested. Jesus turned our lives upside down in a way that brought us enormous joy and hope. Of course we wanted to share this with others. But the word "convert" does not accurately reflect our intentions; it implies something vaguely manipulative, even dishonest. What we wanted to do was serve the Afghan people because we felt God had put a special love for them in our hearts. If the Afghans asked us, "Why are you doing this? Why did you leave your good life in America and come to this place?" we wanted them to know: "Because God utterly changed our lives and healed our broken hearts with his love. He loves you that much and has a purpose for your life, too." We respect Muslims-their devotion to prayer and desire to be fully submitted to God are remarkable. In addition, Christians could learn a great deal from the Afghans' unflagging commitment to hospitality. At the same time, we believe the Afghans-like all people-should at least have the opportunity to hear about the teachings of Christ if they choose. [Women of Faith July 2002]
TO JOIN THE REVOLUTION IS TO JOIN IN THIS CONFLICT!
III. A kingdom of Truth. When we refuse accept Christ and acknowledge his authority over us, we become disconnected from the Truth and we end up destroying our lives and the lives of others because we have learned to love a lie. If we truly say we love and seek for truth we will be drawn, inexorably to Jesus Christ.
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” John 18:37
A. The reverse is also true. Everyone who rejects Truth rejects Jesus. At one of the Thanksgiving meals we were having with family a few years back the topic at the table turned to Jesus Christ. At that point one of the members of our extended family blurted out: “For God’s sake, can’t we have one conversation without religion coming up!” The irony was too much for me to resist and so I said, “Yeah, what were we thinking? Here it is Thanksgiving and we’re talking about God! Don’t people realize that this is a holiday for sitting around feeling grateful and thankful to no one in particular.” Yet this same person who can’t bear to talk about Jesus has embraced the lie of living under the kingship of one’s own self only to bring destruction into their life and the life of their children. They constantly speak about how they hate their life. There is no joy, no meaning, only bitterness and sorrow.
B. The revolution bears witness that Jesus Christ is the way and the truth and the life. The revolution exposes the lies the old regime of sin, death and hell for what they are and calls people to radically reorient their lives by accepting Jesus Christ.
CONCLUSION: Neutrality is not an option.
[Jesus said], “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. (Matthew 12:30)”
Will you join the revolution? Will you take up the weapons Christ has given us? Will you take up the word of God and the shield of faith and be a part of God’s insurgency in enemy territory? Every day skirmishes are fought in the work-place and at school and in the market place. Every day the souls of men and women are being won or lost. Will you be the follower of King Jesus in your place of work. Will you be ready for the targets of opportunity God will lead your way? People who need a genuine caring friend who will pray with them and share their faith with them?
If we take up the challenge to follow our king in the midst of hostile world, we will have a revolutionary impact on those around us.
“For Christians are not differentiated from other people by country, language or customs; you see, they do not live in cities of their own, or speak some strange dialect, or have some peculiar lifestyle.
This teaching of theirs has not been contrived by the invention and speculation of inquisitive men; nor are they propagating mere human teaching as some people do. They live in both Greek and foreign cities, wherever chance has put them. They follow local customs in clothing, food and other aspects of life. But at the same time, they demonstrate to us the wonderful and certainly unusual form of their own citizenship.
They live in their own native lands, but as aliens; as citizens, they share all things with others; but like aliens, suffer all things. Every foreign country is to them as their native country, and every native land as a foreign country.
They marry and have children just like everyone else; but they do not kill unwanted babies. They offer a shared table, but not a shared bed. They are at present ‘in the flesh’ but they do not live ‘according to the flesh’. They are passing their days on earth, but are citizens of Heaven. They obey the appointed laws, and go beyond the law in their own lives.
They love every one, but are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death and gain life. They are poor and yet make many rich. They are short of everything and yet have plenty of all things. They are dishonored and yet gain glory through dishonor.
Their names are blackened and yet they are cleared. They are mocked and bless in return. They are treated outrageously and behave respectfully to others. When they do good, they are punished as evildoers; when punished they rejoice as if being given new life. They are attacked by Jews as aliens, and are persecuted by Greeks; yet those who hate them cannot give any reason for their hostility.
To put it simply – the soul is to the body as Christians are to the world. The soul is spread through all parts of the body and Christians through all the cities of the world. The soul is in the body but is not of the body; Christians are in the world but not of the world.” (A letter to Diognetus, from an unknown writer, from the second century.)
John 18:33-37
33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him,
"Are you the king of the Jews?"
34 "Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about
me?"
35 "Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied. "It was your people and your chief
priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?"
36 Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants
would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from
another place."
37 "You are a king, then!" said Pilate.
Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this
reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the
truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."
NIV
Revelation 1:4-8
4 John,
To the seven churches in the province of Asia:
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and
from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the
faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the
earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made
us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father-to him be glory and
power for ever and ever! Amen.
7 Look, he is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him.
So shall it be! Amen.
8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and
who is to come, the Almighty."
NIV
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