The Great Ends of the Church: The Exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the World
Sermon text for May 27:
Acts 2:1-19; 4:32-37
The poor disciples! I don’t think they had a clue what was about to happen to them. In the days before he ascended into heaven Jesus made some wonderful promises: “If you ask anything in my name I will do it. In my Father’s house are many rooms and I go to prepare a place for you. When I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you will be also.” These promises gave the disciples the courage to survive a lifetime of terrifying experiences.
But the last promise Jesus made to the disciples was more puzzling than comforting. He promised them that if they stayed in Jerusalem for a few more days they would be baptized by the Holy Spirit. The disciples knew about baptism and they knew about the Holy Spirit, but they didn’t know about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless they stayed in Jerusalem and waited.
But waiting was hard. The disciples had no sense of direction or purpose for their lives. They feared both Jewish and Roman authorities and they longed for the protection of Jesus. For the most part they stayed behind locked doors in the room where they first received communion.
They found strength in one another’s company and the shared memory of the joyful, intimate evening with Jesus, before all the craziness began. They did not know that God had a plan for their lives that would be even crazier than what they had experienced during their three years with Jesus. They did not know that in a matter of hours new life would literally ooze from every pore of their bodies. When God baptized the disciples with the Holy Spirit they suddenly found a new reason for living and a new way of looking at the world. The way the story is told in the second chapter of Acts it sounds as if the Holy Spirit commandeered the disciples’ lives and made them partners of God in God’s work in the world. As God’s partners the disciples became the first people other than Jesus, to exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the world. And it was a roll for which they were not prepared.
As fishermen the disciples lived quiet solitary lives, but under the influence of the Holy Spirit they sometimes preached to thousands. The Spirit inspired them to announce the gospel for the salvation of humankind. They worked with others to build communities of faith which provided shelter, nurture, and spiritual welfare for all of God’s children. They maintained divine worship by joining other believers in synagogues and later in each other’s homes. They preserved the truth by sharing stories of Jesus as they broke bread and shared wine in a Christ inspired ritual.
Sometimes these simple uneducated men found themselves standing before the Sanhedrin or the Roman Governor to offer a defense for their preaching and teaching. Inspired by the Spirit they gave the simple answer, “We can only speak what we have seen and heard”. They learned that the story of Jesus could not be contained or controlled, even by the representatives of the most terrifying powers in the world.
Soon whole new communities grew up that were based on living out the principles of Jesus. In these Kingdom Communities the people exhibited the Kingdom of God on earth. No one lacked the basic necessities of life because resources were freely shared. The faithful began to understand that all blessings were given to the community and not to individuals. Rich and poor alike invested in the life of the community. They believed the truth of Psalm 24: “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it; the people and all who live there.”
Neither rich nor poor had to jealously guard that which didn’t really belong to them anyway. Unjust relationships were remedied quickly through a formula given by Christ himself. People on the outside of these Kingdom Communities almost demanded to know what was going on inside. They were intrigued by the idea of living among people who were just, giving, and loving. Surely these communities were a reflection of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Many people even today look at these first century communities as models for modern church life. What would it be like to live and worship where the love of Christ defines our relationships? Where we don’t need to prove who’s strongest? Where believers understand that all that we have actually belongs to God and give freely (without the need of a stewardship campaign)? What would it be like to belong to a community where conflict is rare because each party is centered on Christ and is only interested in exhibiting the Kingdom to the world? The good news is that if you want it, you can create such a community right here.
Like the disciples of old, our calling as a denomination is “The exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world”. It is our reason for being; it is who we are and what we do. So now when someone asks why you are a member of the Presbyterian Church, you can say, “I am part of the Presbyterian Church because we are a Kingdom community created by Jesus Christ to exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.
Maybe a first step in becoming a Kingdom Community and exhibiting the Kingdom of Heaven to the world is to believe that God wants to be our partner. In the same way that God partnered with the disciples in Jerusalem, God wants to partner with you in the First Presbyterian Church of Lakewood.
Have you ever prayed for the power of the Holy Spirit in your life? Are you ready to say to God, “Lead us wherever you want us to go, even if the journey seems scary”?
One of my favorite characters in the New Testament is identified as a deacon whose name is Philip. Philip was so open to the Holy Spirit that in the story, the Holy Spirit literally picks him up and places him wherever he is needed. Even if there is some poetic license, I am intrigued by Philip, and I believed that amazing things can happen when a congregation gives itself to the Spirit. It might be a wild ride that would send us clapping a laughing into that home prepared for us by Christ himself.
You all have had a bumpy ride the last few years, but if you decide to exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the World, you will have to hold onto your chairs as the Spirit propels you into the future.
Proclamation of the gospel, shelter, nurture, spiritual fellowship of the children of God, maintenance of divine worship, preservation of the truth, promotion of social righteousness, exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world. They all work together, and the church works best when it is attentive to each. Pray for the Holy Spirit and let God show you something that most people only dream about.
Copyright © 2007 by Dwight R. Blackstock
Acts 2:1-19; 4:32-37
The poor disciples! I don’t think they had a clue what was about to happen to them. In the days before he ascended into heaven Jesus made some wonderful promises: “If you ask anything in my name I will do it. In my Father’s house are many rooms and I go to prepare a place for you. When I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you will be also.” These promises gave the disciples the courage to survive a lifetime of terrifying experiences.
But the last promise Jesus made to the disciples was more puzzling than comforting. He promised them that if they stayed in Jerusalem for a few more days they would be baptized by the Holy Spirit. The disciples knew about baptism and they knew about the Holy Spirit, but they didn’t know about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless they stayed in Jerusalem and waited.
But waiting was hard. The disciples had no sense of direction or purpose for their lives. They feared both Jewish and Roman authorities and they longed for the protection of Jesus. For the most part they stayed behind locked doors in the room where they first received communion.
They found strength in one another’s company and the shared memory of the joyful, intimate evening with Jesus, before all the craziness began. They did not know that God had a plan for their lives that would be even crazier than what they had experienced during their three years with Jesus. They did not know that in a matter of hours new life would literally ooze from every pore of their bodies. When God baptized the disciples with the Holy Spirit they suddenly found a new reason for living and a new way of looking at the world. The way the story is told in the second chapter of Acts it sounds as if the Holy Spirit commandeered the disciples’ lives and made them partners of God in God’s work in the world. As God’s partners the disciples became the first people other than Jesus, to exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the world. And it was a roll for which they were not prepared.
As fishermen the disciples lived quiet solitary lives, but under the influence of the Holy Spirit they sometimes preached to thousands. The Spirit inspired them to announce the gospel for the salvation of humankind. They worked with others to build communities of faith which provided shelter, nurture, and spiritual welfare for all of God’s children. They maintained divine worship by joining other believers in synagogues and later in each other’s homes. They preserved the truth by sharing stories of Jesus as they broke bread and shared wine in a Christ inspired ritual.
Sometimes these simple uneducated men found themselves standing before the Sanhedrin or the Roman Governor to offer a defense for their preaching and teaching. Inspired by the Spirit they gave the simple answer, “We can only speak what we have seen and heard”. They learned that the story of Jesus could not be contained or controlled, even by the representatives of the most terrifying powers in the world.
Soon whole new communities grew up that were based on living out the principles of Jesus. In these Kingdom Communities the people exhibited the Kingdom of God on earth. No one lacked the basic necessities of life because resources were freely shared. The faithful began to understand that all blessings were given to the community and not to individuals. Rich and poor alike invested in the life of the community. They believed the truth of Psalm 24: “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it; the people and all who live there.”
Neither rich nor poor had to jealously guard that which didn’t really belong to them anyway. Unjust relationships were remedied quickly through a formula given by Christ himself. People on the outside of these Kingdom Communities almost demanded to know what was going on inside. They were intrigued by the idea of living among people who were just, giving, and loving. Surely these communities were a reflection of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Many people even today look at these first century communities as models for modern church life. What would it be like to live and worship where the love of Christ defines our relationships? Where we don’t need to prove who’s strongest? Where believers understand that all that we have actually belongs to God and give freely (without the need of a stewardship campaign)? What would it be like to belong to a community where conflict is rare because each party is centered on Christ and is only interested in exhibiting the Kingdom to the world? The good news is that if you want it, you can create such a community right here.
Like the disciples of old, our calling as a denomination is “The exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world”. It is our reason for being; it is who we are and what we do. So now when someone asks why you are a member of the Presbyterian Church, you can say, “I am part of the Presbyterian Church because we are a Kingdom community created by Jesus Christ to exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.
Maybe a first step in becoming a Kingdom Community and exhibiting the Kingdom of Heaven to the world is to believe that God wants to be our partner. In the same way that God partnered with the disciples in Jerusalem, God wants to partner with you in the First Presbyterian Church of Lakewood.
Have you ever prayed for the power of the Holy Spirit in your life? Are you ready to say to God, “Lead us wherever you want us to go, even if the journey seems scary”?
One of my favorite characters in the New Testament is identified as a deacon whose name is Philip. Philip was so open to the Holy Spirit that in the story, the Holy Spirit literally picks him up and places him wherever he is needed. Even if there is some poetic license, I am intrigued by Philip, and I believed that amazing things can happen when a congregation gives itself to the Spirit. It might be a wild ride that would send us clapping a laughing into that home prepared for us by Christ himself.
You all have had a bumpy ride the last few years, but if you decide to exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the World, you will have to hold onto your chairs as the Spirit propels you into the future.
Proclamation of the gospel, shelter, nurture, spiritual fellowship of the children of God, maintenance of divine worship, preservation of the truth, promotion of social righteousness, exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world. They all work together, and the church works best when it is attentive to each. Pray for the Holy Spirit and let God show you something that most people only dream about.
Copyright © 2007 by Dwight R. Blackstock
posted by Dwight Blackstock | 3:22 PM
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