Thank you.
When Jesus had called the twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases.
And he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
He told them,
And he said,
What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet lose or forfeit his very self?
If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.
Thank you.
Well, we're going to look at that section together.
We're not going to cover every verse or every aspect of it.
Rather, I'm going to try and trace a theme that we see throughout these first 27 verses of chapter 9.
So if there's anything that you want to come back on afterwards, please do talk to me.
Ask questions if it weren't covered or you're not sure.
But we're going to pray now and ask for God's help.
Father, we need your help not only to understand these words written to us,
but we need your Holy Spirit to give us understanding in such a way that it changes our lives.
And we become people that love you, worship you.
People who can say Christ is enough.
People who are willing to give their life, willing to die for Christ.
That's a hard thing to be able to do.
And so we ask that your word would equip us and shape us
and lead us in the way that you would have us to be.
We ask it in Jesus' name.
Amen.
I want to start by telling a story.
It's a little parable kind of story called The King and His Kingdom by somebody called Kel Richards.
Once upon a time, long ago and far away, there was a happy kingdom that was to be found in a happy valley.
It had a stream that burbled and bubbled with fresh mountain water from the melting snow.
It had lush green grass.
It had cows that gave lots of milk and sheep that grew lots of wool.
The fruit trees were always packed with the most delicious fruit.
And the vegetable gardens were always bursting with fresh vegetables.
But there was a murmuring and unhappiness in this valley.
And one day, the people sent a delegation to see the king.
What on earth are you unhappy about?
Asked the king.
Aren't you comfortable, well-housed, well-closed and well-fed?
Isn't the climate constantly delightful?
They all agreed that this was true.
And yet they had one complaint.
Namely, that in this whole kingdom, there was only one king.
There was only one person who could issue royal decrees, make laws, give orders to the royal constabulary, and write checks on the royal bank account.
Is it right, they asked, that all this should be the sole prerogative of one man, and his only by right of royal birth?
Well, a little more than royal birth, the king reminded them.
I have designed and laid out this valley and paid for all the buildings and facilities that you enjoy.
They sheepishly agreed that this was true.
And yet they were unhappy.
Well, asked the king, what do you want?
We all, they answered, want to be kings.
And queens, added the women.
And princes and princesses, added the children.
The king stroked his chin thoughtfully and said,
This is most irregular.
The normal quota is one king to a kingdom.
Go anywhere and count them.
One kingdom, one king.
That's how it goes.
Still, the people insisted.
At length, the king agreed.
But he warned them that it would end in tears.
Every man in the kingdom was, from that moment on, a king.
Every woman a queen.
Every boy a prince.
And every girl a princess.
At first they were deliriously happy and went around calling each other,
Your Royal Majesty, all the time.
But very soon the difficulties began to arise.
When King Fred issued a royal decree that it was Queen Ethel's turn to do the washing up,
She issued a counter decree saying that it was his.
It often led to raised voices.
When King Fred ordered the royal constabulary to arrest King Frank next door
because he annoyed them with his saxophone practice,
Well, King Frank issued a counter decree ordering the king that King Fred be arrested
instead on the grounds that he was a general nuisance.
It came to blows.
In fact, it all ended in tears.
Just as the king, the real king, had said it would.
If only we could go back to the way things were before, they lamented.
Now that story reflects the history of the world.
And that history is recorded for us in the true story of the Bible.
We know how the story of the Bible opens with this good and beautiful world.
God is the one true king and we are his subjects.
Everything we need is provided.
It is satisfying and fulfilling.
But instead of God being king, we want to be the king.
We want to decide what is right and what is best for us.
And when we turned against God, everything was cursed.
It all ended in tears.
Just as the king said it would.
And the world that we live in today is very different.
It's a broken world.
We saw that, do you remember, back in chapter 8?
The destructive storm.
The demon-possessed man.
The sick woman.
And the dead girl.
Rather than peace and harmony, there's chaos and disorder.
If only we could go back to the way things were before.
Well, that's the message of Jesus as he begins his ministry.
Have a look back at chapter 4, verse 43.
Chapter 4, verse 43.
It's a little summary of what Jesus came to do.
Chapter 4, verse 43.
But Jesus said, I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God
to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.
The good news, the good news of the kingdom
is that there is a way for things to be put right.
That God is coming and God can and he will establish his kingdom.
So Jesus made it his priority to tell people what God would do.
Have a look at chapter 8, verse 1.
Again, we get another little summary statement of Jesus' mission and purpose.
Chapter 8, verse 1.
After this, Jesus travelled from one town and village to another,
proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.
So three things we're going to look at this morning about the kingdom of God,
about God's plan to put things right.
First, the beauty of the kingdom.
God's kingdom is all about God coming to establish his rule,
a rule that is beautiful and good for his people.
And it's seen in two ways.
First, in reversing the curse.
Let's have a look at chapter 9, verse 1.
When Jesus had called the twelve together,
he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons,
to cure diseases,
and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God
and to heal the sick.
Down at verse 6.
So they set out and he went from village to village,
preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.
Now, preaching the kingdom,
we get that phrase in verse 2.
And then if you notice in verse 6,
we get a different phrase that says,
preaching the gospel.
Now, preaching the kingdom and preaching the gospel
are not two different things.
They are the same message.
It's the good news that God has not ignored this world,
that he's not given up on its people.
In fact, his heart breaks for the people
and he longs to put it right.
But at this stage,
we've got to remember
where we are in the order of things.
Jesus has not yet died on the cross.
We're going to get to that in a minute.
So when the disciples go out to preach the kingdom
or preach the good news,
it's a partial message.
It's not the full message about
turn to Jesus and repent
because he died for you on the cross.
That hasn't happened yet.
So they're preaching the good news of the kingdom,
a message that God is coming
to put the world right.
And God is going to establish his rule.
This was a promise that God had made
throughout the story of the Bible.
The prophet Isaiah spoke about what God would do.
On this mountain,
this comes from Isaiah 25,
on this mountain,
he will destroy the shroud
that enfolds all people.
Literally,
he will destroy the curse
upon all peoples.
The sheet,
the curse that covers all nations.
He will swallow up death forever.
The sovereign Lord will wipe away
the tears from all faces.
It's a beautiful picture
of the curse being reversed,
of establishing a kingdom of beauty.
So as Jesus sends his disciples,
they are proclaiming the kingdom,
they are preaching the good news
that God is coming to put things right
and to demonstrate,
to prove that God will do
what he had promised.
They drive out the demons,
they heal the sick,
and they cure diseases.
And as they do this,
in some ways it's a picture
of the curse being broken,
of the curse being reversed.
God coming to establish his kingdom,
a kingdom where there will be
no more evil,
no more sickness,
a kingdom of beauty.
But not only is he going to remove the curse,
but they will enjoy God's blessing.
As the crowds began to follow Jesus
and the disciples,
have a look at verse 11,
halfway down into verse 11.
We're told that,
as the crowds came and followed him,
he welcomed them
and spoke to them
about the kingdom of God
and healed those who needed healing.
But there's another problem.
Something else arises,
verse 12.
Late in the afternoon,
so after Jesus had finished his speaking,
the twelve came to him and said,
send the crowd away
so that they can go to the surrounding villages
and countryside
and find food and lodging
because we're in a remote place here.
There's no Lidl's or Aldi's out here.
We can't buy anything.
Go away and find some food somewhere else.
Lots of people
and no food.
Verse 14 tells us
that there were about 5,000 men,
not counting women and children.
So there's a huge number of people gathered.
But for Jesus,
this becomes an opportunity
to teach the crowd
about what the kingdom of God is like.
The miracle that follows
points to what God's kingdom is like.
Verse 16.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish
and looking up to heaven,
he gave thanks and broke them.
Then he gave them to his disciples
to set before the people.
They all ate and were satisfied
and the disciples picked up
twelve basketfuls of broken pieces
that were left over.
There is an abundance of food here.
Verse 17 tells us
that everyone is satisfied.
They're all sitting down,
lying down on the grass,
holding their big bellies.
They've had enough,
more than enough,
seconds and thirds.
In fact,
there's so much food,
there are twelve basketfuls left over.
Now, food and feasting
are used throughout the Bible
to describe the blessing
of God's kingdom.
A kingdom where people
are truly fulfilled
and satisfied,
not just in the physical sense,
but spiritually.
God had promised through Isaiah,
the same chapter in Isaiah,
God said this,
on this mountain,
the Lord Almighty
will prepare a feast
of rich food
for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine,
the best of meats
and the finest of wines.
And here we have Jesus
welcoming the crowds,
calling the people
to himself.
Okay, they don't have
meat and wine,
they've got bread and fish,
but I still think
we get the point,
don't we?
They're all feasting together.
There is an abundance of food.
It's overflowing.
And as they eat,
they are satisfied
because in the kingdom of God,
we are truly filled
and satisfied.
In God's kingdom,
we are blessed.
This is the beauty
of the kingdom.
So God has come
to put all things right.
He has come to establish
his kingdom,
to bring his rule,
a kingdom where the curse
is going to be removed
and in place of that,
the blessings
are going to flow.
So,
the kingdom of beauty.
Second,
the suffering
of the king.
As God had promised
to establish his kingdom,
he had also promised
a king who would rule
over that kingdom.
We see this
in verses 18 to 20.
Let's read verse 18.
Once when Jesus
was praying in private
and his disciples
were with him,
he asked them,
who do the crowds
say I am?
You remember that
back in verses
seven and eight,
Herod was also asking
the same question
as news was filtering back.
And verse 9,
he's asking,
who is this
that I hear
such things about?
And so Jesus
is asking the crowd,
well,
who do people
say I am?
Verse 19,
they replied,
well,
some say John the Baptist,
others say Elijah.
Still others,
that one of the prophets
of long ago
has come back to life.
These were the rumours
that were spreading
about Jesus.
But he's not interested
in what other people think.
he wants to know,
what do you think?
What about you?
He asked.
Who do you say I am?
Peter answered,
the Christ of God.
Jesus is the Christ,
or some of your translations
might have the Messiah.
Christ and Messiah
mean the same thing.
It means the anointed one.
So in the Old Testament,
kings were anointed
as a means of setting them apart
for a particular task
of ruling.
But God had always promised
that he was going to send
his anointed one.
He would send the Christ,
the Messiah,
the true and ultimate king.
So when the birth of Jesus
was announced,
remember what the angel said?
You can have a look back.
Chapter 1, verse 32.
This is what the angel said
as Jesus was being announced
that he would be born.
He will be great
and we be called
the Son of the Most High,
a title reserved for God alone.
The Lord God will give him
the throne of his father David
and he will reign
over the house of Jacob forever.
His kingdom will never end.
Jesus is God's king.
And Jesus has proved
to be God's king
by what he has been doing.
If we go back to chapter 9, verse 1,
we read that when Jesus
called the twelve together,
he gave them power
and authority
to drive out the demons
and to cure diseases.
Not only did Jesus
calm the storms,
destroy demons,
heal the sick
and raise the dead,
but now he gives power
and authority
to his chosen disciples,
his apostles,
to go and do the same.
Now, it's not every day
that we meet someone
who claims to be God's king.
But Jesus does.
And when Peter announces
that Jesus,
well, you are the Christ,
Jesus doesn't back off
and reject the title
and go,
oh, no, no, no,
that's not for me.
He welcomes the title.
Now, some people
don't like to think
of Jesus in this way.
They like to think
of him rather
as just a good man
or a great teacher.
It's easier to handle.
But if we are unconvinced
as to who Jesus is,
listen to this comment
from the author
C.S. Lewis.
It's a well-known quote.
You may have heard it before.
A man who was merely a man
and said the sort of things
Jesus said
would not be a great
moral teacher.
He would either be a lunatic
on a level with the man
who says he is a poached egg
or else he would be
the devil of hell.
You must make your choice.
Either this man was
and is the son of God
or else a madman
or something worse.
You can shut him up
for a fool.
You can spit at him
and kill him as a demon
or you can fall at his feet
and call him Lord and God.
But let us not come
with any patronising nonsense
about his being
a great human teacher.
He has not left that open to us.
He did not intend to.
Jesus is king
and we need to worship him
as king.
Sorry, I missed out part of the quote there for you.
Well, if Peter got Jesus' identity right,
then why did Jesus want to keep a lid on it?
If you look at verse 21.
So Peter has got Jesus right.
Yes, you're the Christ.
And then Jesus responds,
verse 21,
Jesus strictly warned them
not to tell this to anyone.
Why does he,
if he's wanting people
to know who he is,
why is he on the other hand
telling people,
don't tell everybody
that I'm the Christ.
Keep it quiet.
Well, you see,
as far as the disciples
were concerned,
the Christ was going to come
in military might.
Jesus was coming
to fight off the enemies,
kick the Romans out
and set up a kingdom
for God's people
and just for the Jews.
But Jesus was not coming
to start a military revolution.
He was coming
to bring about redemption,
to welcome all kinds of people
because for Jesus,
the real enemy
was not Rome and the authorities,
but sin and Satan.
But perhaps even more shocking
was the way in which Jesus
would bring redemption,
verse 22.
Then he said,
the Son of Man.
Now,
Son of Man,
there is again
another title.
It comes from Daniel 7
and it's one
who comes with
absolute power
and supreme authority.
So Jesus is saying,
me with all power
and all authority
must suffer many things
and be rejected
by the elders,
chief priests,
teachers of the law
and he must be killed.
And on the third day
be raised to life.
Now, there's a conflict there,
isn't there?
Kings don't get defeated.
They are victorious.
If you're in power,
you don't suffer and die.
You fight with power
and you kill your enemies.
So what's going on?
Well, Jesus is pointing us
ultimately towards his death.
You see,
it's through the death of Jesus
that we get to enter
God's kingdom.
As Jesus would die on the cross,
as he is hanging there on the cross,
he is taking the curse for us
so that we might receive the blessings.
Because people like you and I
have rejected God as king,
we deserve the curse of God.
We deserve to be kept out of his kingdom.
We deserve to die.
But in love,
Jesus comes
and he takes the curse
for us.
And in its place,
the blessings will flow to us.
You see,
if Jesus does not die,
then we are left under the curse.
We are without blessing.
If Jesus does not suffer for us,
then we can never know
and experience the kingdom of God.
There is no other way.
Jesus must suffer.
Jesus must die.
But the disciples haven't grasped it.
They can't get their head around it.
So he tells them,
don't tell anyone.
They must first understand
that Jesus must die.
That's why he says in verse 27,
I tell you the truth,
some who are standing here
will not taste death
before they see the kingdom of God.
As the crowds were listening,
as the disciples were listening,
Jesus was saying,
look,
when I die
and as I rise from the dead,
the way will be opened
into the kingdom of God
and all who come to me
will experience,
they will taste
and they will see
and know
the kingdom of God.
So first,
we have the beauty of the kingdom.
Second,
the suffering of the king.
And then third,
the people of the king.
Look,
if God has given to us
the beauty of his kingdom,
if he has given to us
a king
who gives his life for us
so that we can experience
this kingdom,
then there is only one way
that we are to live
in God's kingdom.
first,
we must put self
to death.
Look at verse 23.
Then Jesus said to them all,
if anyone would come after me,
he must deny himself.
He must deny himself.
To deny ourself
does not mean
we must give up
nice food,
downgrade the house
that we live in,
stop enjoying
the pleasures of life.
No,
it's not about
abstaining from luxuries.
It's much deeper
and more radical
than that.
Here's a quote
on the screen.
I think it's all
on one page here.
You can follow along.
John Stott
put it like this.
To deny ourselves
is to behave
towards ourselves
as Peter did
towards Jesus
when he denied him
three times.
Peter disowned
Jesus,
repudiated Jesus,
turned his back
on Jesus.
So self-denial
is actually denying
or disowning
ourselves,
renouncing
our supposed
right
to go
our own
way.
You see,
I want to go
my own way.
I don't like
to do things
that get in the way
of my plans,
my desires,
my ambitions.
But there's no
place for this
kind of living
in the kingdom
of God.
We need to put
that attitude
to death.
Look at verse
23 again.
Jesus said to
all of them,
if anyone
must come
after me,
he must
deny himself
and
take up
his cross
daily
and follow
me.
To take up
the cross
is that picture
of literally
taking on
your back
that wooden
beam
that Jesus
carried as he
walked through
the streets.
The cross
is where
executions
take place.
It's where
people are
put to death.
It's bloody
and it's
violent.
And Jesus
is saying
this is what
we must do
on a daily
basis.
We must put
self to
death
just as
Christ must
be killed.
So we
must crucify
our me
centredness.
Nail
ourselves
to that
cross.
when I'm
asked to
serve or
to help
there's no
problem in
giving reasons
as to why
I can't.
My favourite
TV programme
is on
tonight.
Well,
I've just
had a very
busy day
and I just
want to
sit down.
I've got
things to
sort out
at home.
Well,
if you
really knew
what my
life is
like,
it is
just
full of
serving.
I deserve
a break.
But the
problem is
it's all
me and
I.
It's all
about my
comfort and
what I
want.
Well,
in the
kingdom of
God,
we need
to continually
repent
and put
ourselves
to death.
Dietrich
Bonhoeffer
wrote a
book called
The Cost
of
Discipleship.
He was
a German
pastor,
ended up
in the
concentration
camps where
he died.
And his
book,
The Cost
of Discipleship,
says this.
It really
sums up the
whole theme
of the book.
He says,
the cross
is laid
on every
Christian.
As we
embark upon
discipleship,
we surrender
ourselves to
Christ in
union with
his death.
We give
over our
lives to
death.
When Christ
calls a
man, he
bids him
come and
die.
When Christ
calls a
man, he
bids him
come and
die.
Second, not
only to
put ourselves
to death.
If we do
that, we
are then to
live for
Christ.
Look at
verse 26.
Jesus
says,
if anyone is
ashamed of
me and
my words,
the Son
of Man
will be
ashamed of
him when
he comes in
his glory
and in the
glory of the
Father and
of the
holy angels.
it's a
call to
live for
the glory
of Christ.
You see,
most of the
time, I
want to
live for
the glory
of Johnny.
I decide
what I
want to
do on
the basis
of, well,
does it
promote me?
Will how I
spend my
time and
use my
money, will
it benefit
me?
Is it
going to
bring more
happiness and
bring more
comfort to
my life?
But if
self has
been put
to death,
if Johnny
has been
nailed to
the cross,
then there
is no
longer any
I or
me, all
that is
left is
Christ.
You see,
to follow
Christ as
king means
I want to
seek his
desires and
serve his
priorities.
In
summary, it's
living for
his kingdom,
not Johnny's
kingdom.
Three things,
very simply,
that will help
us to
live for the
glory of
Christ.
Here's the
first one.
Pray for the
expansion of
God's kingdom.
Pray that
the good news
of God's
kingdom,
that his
kingdom will
be proclaimed
to all
people in
all places,
starting with
those you
live with
and work
with.
That they
may hear the
good news
that God
has not
given up,
he will put
things right,
and he has
put his
king in
place,
a king who
has died
for us,
so that we
might experience
his kingdom.
Pray for the
expansion of
God's kingdom
across this
land and
across this
world.
Here's the
second.
Give of
your financial
and material
resources to
God's kingdom.
Give not
what is left
after you
have taken
what you
want and
what you
want to
do with
it,
but give
sacrificially
at cost
to self.
A little
person just
asked me
just now,
they said,
why does
Jesus get
all the
money?
He's referring
to the
collection.
Great
question.
And I
just simply
said,
well,
it's to
help people
hear about
Jesus,
to support
people who
are telling
others about
Jesus,
to see the
kingdom of
God grow.
God has
blessed you
if you are
working with
the resources
that you
have.
But if you
are in God's
kingdom,
they are a
gift to be
good stewards,
to use for
his purposes.
And third,
let's live our
life for God's
kingdom.
You know,
everything that
we have,
everything that
we hold dear,
the things that
are most precious
to us,
even the
people that
are dear to
us,
our loved
ones,
those that
we are
sitting beside
this morning,
it's all
temporary.
Nothing is
going to
last.
The homes
we live in,
the cars
we drive,
the people
we love,
it'll all
go.
But the
kingdom of
God is
eternal.
The
kingdom of
God is
eternal.
God is
so dedicate
our life,
commit your
life,
invest all
that you
are to
what will
last.
Pray,
give,
and live.
Why?
Well, look at
verse 24.
For whoever
wants to
save their
life will
lose it.
Whoever
wants to
save their
life will
lose it.
But whoever
loses his
life for me
will save
it.
What good
is it
for a man
or woman
to gain the
whole world
and yet lose
or forfeit
his very
self.
The beauty
of the
kingdom,
the curse
removed,
the blessings
flow,
the suffering
king who
dies for you
and for me
and gives
his life so
that we
might enter
into his
kingdom.
He has
given us
all that we
need so
that we
will be
fulfilled
and satisfied
for an
eternity.
Our
response,
give your
life,
lose your
life for
that which
will never
be lost,
the kingdom
of God.
Let's pray.
as we
pray,
you might
just look
at the
screen,
those three
statements
that we
finished with,
pray,
give,
and live.
Let's just
have a
moment's
quietness
to reflect
and ask
God that
he would
help us
to live
these things
out in
our lives
if we're
on our
own,
or if
we're
married here
today,
how we
can do
it together.
Amen.
the kingdom of God is the very best place to live
because it is with the King, the Lord Jesus
from whom all blessings flow
thank you that through Christ
we may enter your kingdom and experience life with you
and look forward to the fullness of that kingdom when you return
and as we wait
Father we pray for the building and extending of your kingdom
that the people you have placed around us
will become part of that kingdom
as they hear the good news of Christ
Father, thank you for blessing us materially and financially
may we have a light grip
of the resources that you have given to us
may we give
and may you continue to give to us
so that we can give even more
to the kingdom of God
and Father would you help us
to live our lives
for that which is eternal
to invest
in the kingdom of God
which will last for all eternity
help us we pray
in Jesus name
Amen
we're going to sing
from heaven you came
which talks about
the King
the servant King
the Lord Jesus
but the chorus
this is our God
the servant King