Paige Brown | Kingdom Matters | TGC Podcast

welcome thank you for coming at the end of a long already very full day um as i mentioned maybe just to save some time have a finger in your bible in matthew chapter 25 which we'll come to after a while let me say as we begin my name is paige brown this is the kingdom matters seminar which has that little double entendre like matters of the kingdom and that the kingdom matters so um that's where you are i live in nashville tennessee with my husband and my three kids and i'm home with them and that's what i am i'm kind of a mom in nashville so i'm gonna pray and we are when i say dive in we're gonna dive in so let's get ready let's pray father i pray that you would meet us here according to all of the promises that go before us lord that we would not leave as we came in not because of anything that i say but because of the promises that you've attached to your word that they will accomplish your purposes in our heart and so we come humbly but we come expectantly excited about what you will do in our time together and we thank you in advance in jesus name amen we love learning in our circles it's why you come to indianapolis in the rain and a pandemic to come to this conference is that we love learning and in most of our church and theological circles really what we love learning is how we're saved we love justification we love the doctrines of grace we camp out in them a lot and yet as central and as primary as those things are they're not the purpose of so much of the scripture and really where we never get so often and we need to always be going in our bible study is not how we are saved but what we are saved for what are we saved for old testament professor richard pratt says we think that jesus came to forgive our sin to make our souls sparkle to sprinkle us with peace and joy so we can sprout wings when we die grab a harp and join the eternal choir and so often we are so self-focused about our salvation you know it's about my faith it's about my family it's about my children it's about my church that we actually misread much of the new testament where god's concern as started with promises to abraham as karen was talking about last night are for the whole entire world jesus did not come and live and die and rise again to give us peace and hard times jesus came and lived and died and rose again that justice and peace might be cosmic realities the bible insists if we read it on its own terms that our central question is not what does jesus mean to me but what has has jesus done for me that i might be involved with what does jesus mean for the whole world that's the overriding question what does jesus mean for the whole world he came to make everything new he saved us to be part of a kingdom and to establish his kingdom in this world and we use the language of kingdom so often and yet we are really hard pressed to understand what is meant by that but we need to get it right and we need to get clarity on it because the kingdom of god is the hub or the organizing principle or the central focus really of the entire bible but particularly of the new testament why because jesus is the hub and the central focus and the organizing principle of the new testament and jesus is what king we love to focus on the priesthood of christ of his substitutionary atonement for us we love to focus on the prophethood of jesus and the truth of his word and and all of the things that he teaches us but it's his kingship that's primary and not his kingship over my heart his kingship in the whole world we are going to talk about five reality biblical realities of the kingdom boom boom boom and the fifth one will be the long one where we'll really do a miniature bible study in that five realities about the kingdom in the scripture the first is the presence of the kingdom and by the presence i mean when is it when is the kingdom that is a major dividing point biblically and theologically among christians and yet it should be somewhat logical because jesus reigns when now then his kingdom is what now okay there is a nowness to the kingdom but the kingdom is also coming because jesus does not yet reign in a visible way in the fullness of his power and glory so it is now and it is also coming it has been inaugurated it is a reality but it will be consummated in the future so we have right now the presence of god's kingdom but we do not have its fullness you almost cannot make sense of the teaching of jesus without understanding this now and not yet the kingdom is not only present it is also future but it is not only future it is also present and so george ladd who is the great kingdom theologian talks about the kingdom as the presence of the future that's what it is that the future has already broken in in the first coming and then the present reign of christ so we are living in a present kingdom working and leaning toward its fullness that is coming in the future and the way we are made part of the present kingdom is that the king embraces us okay through his prophethood through his priesthood he has substitute for us but has claimed us not to just be his son or daughter which is wonderful but to be part of his kingdom and we know that our salvation is complete that our justification is perfect so why is the kingdom not complete why is it not the whole story why is it not fully here yet because there is also a usurping kingdom of satan in our world we live in a world that has dual realities okay of the kingdom of satan and the kingdom of our lord jesus christ it is also present it is also now when did it start it started in the garden the fall was not just original sin that made us originally sinful you have to have a bigger doctrine of the fault than that the fall was treason against the king and it threw the doors open for the adversary to come in and establish a rival kingdom and god's perfect creation and so satan is now operating always in god's rightful territory satan is only a parasite he is not a creator he can't create anything as twisted as sexuality can be he never could create it he can only take something good and beautiful and twist it okay so satan is always a parasite he is a usurper in that way he has no rightful territory of his own but his hostility his parasiteness is always increasing and where jesus is more satan is more that's why you see most satanic activity in the scriptures in the gospels when jesus is fully present and in revelation when it's explained the spiritual perspective of all of history so before jesus returns and completely and finally and irreversibly establishes his kingdom he is gradually driving out the adversary while he is patiently and lovingly claiming people for his own and using them and his purpose to renew all things so you've got this gradualness here in the present that's why all the parables talk about this kingdom that's growing yeast and mustard seed and all of those pictures that there is a growth thing but there is no neutral spiritual territory in this world according to jesus we're all in one spiritual camp or the other the presence of the kingdom when is it it is both now it is also coming both present and future secondly what are the parameters of the kingdom and by that i mean where is it where is the kingdom really what we want to know and some of the ways that we get tripped up are church and kingdom the same thing are church and kingdom interchangeable terms and the answer is no no and that's why we have such an anemic view of the kingdom because we use them so often interchangeably let me tell you what the synonyms are when you say church when the scripture says church it means people the church is always talking about people the instituted official community of believers the church is huge you can't get anything more important than the church i mean it is the people of god is the family of god it's the body and bride of christ and nothing else can be and if you were talking about the citizenry of the kingdom that is the church it is the people but when you say church we mean people there are god-given limitations on the church now look when we say limit we automatically think small i don't mean limit as small limit as unique there are specific and unique cannot be done anyplace else responsibilities for the church which is to gather and nurture god's people according to his word the church has the unique responsibility of the ongoing public proclamation of the word of god to both gather and nurture his people and everything in the church is to center around that we're calling people according to the word we're worshiping according to the word we're displaying people according to the word we're discipling people according to the word okay so that's the job of the church as god's official people a kingdom when this when the scripture talks about the kingdom it's not talking about people in the new testament it is talking about the lord's reign r-e-i-g-n the lord's reign in the present and both coming more fully in the future it is the reign of the lord jesus christ not as the head of his church that's his body and his bride this is as king over the entire world and so from our human perspective sometimes the scripture is talking about the ultimate eternal sovereign reign of god he reigns over all the nations they are as a drop in the bucket and all of that that is right now a reality that's completely outside of creation but also and more often the scripture is talking about a struggling growing present kingdom in this world the messianic kingdom the kingdom of the messiah that is struggling and growing in this world but it is even now a reality in the whole world is not just the inner reign of jesus in your heart the kingdom is never talking about just the reign of jesus over your heart so the real question if they're not interchangeable and coterminous is what is then the relationship between the two between the church and the kingdom the church hear me provide the impetus for the kingdom the church provides the guidelines for the kingdom okay so it is the base camp i mean it's just like if you are in the military you go out on excursions but then you come back to base camp that's where you're nourished that's where you're bandaged up that's where you're reminded of your orders and then you go back out but then you come back and you're nourished and you rest and so we never outgrow the church into the kingdom it is always the center of our nourishment and our training for kingdom work but the church provides the impetus or the guidelines or the training for life in the kingdom but the kingdom is the permeation of every part of our world notice i said permeation loving gracious permit not violent conquest okay the loving gracious permeation of our whole world to overcome every area of life for the sake of the kingship of christ that is what that is what is meant by there's no limit to where it is so the church is restrained in a right way to the ministry of the word it has a unique mission in that way but there is no limitation at all on members of the kingdom for their kingdom work other than guidelines that we find in god's word so the gospel coalition officially comes from a complementarian standpoint are there unique places for women to serve within the church and the answer is yes are there unique places for women to serve in the world and the answer is no not in the hospital not in the white house not in the clinic not in the business not in the what i mean that is because we we are kingdom people and we are called to go and make everything new abraham kuiper in about 1900 was prime minister of the netherlands and he has very famously said there is not one inch of the universe that jesus does not point there and say that is mine that is mine and so we follow that and we cannot leave one inch of our universe our small worlds unchallenged then for the lordship of christ so that's the relationship you've got the community of believers but the kingdom is then the lord's reign and the way he has chosen to reign is to renew his world through those believers and so what does you know what church work looks like it's listed in your bulletin it's what you do but what does kingdom work look like it looks like disabled friends being valued and accepted it looks like esl programs it looks like peace in the middle east it looks like the covid vaccine it looks like rebuilding new orleans after a hurricane it looks like medical care in haiti it looks like aids medications going to africa it looks like the americans with disabilities act it looks like the long overdue and so far to go racial reckoning that is happening in our nation right now it looks like great public schools even in the worst parts of our city it looks like inner city orchestra in any inner city ballet it looks like the parks board it looks like little league sports from the biggest to the smallest where is god calling us to renew things with beauty and righteousness and justice and opportunity in that way the church cannot exhaust the kingdom so i'm going to show you these pictures i am indebted to dr palmer robertson for these pictures old testament professor palmer robertson first let's let's look at different ways people see this first you have got am i so tech i love this i've always had a white board um the first is you have the conservative approach or the conservative interpretation of the kingdom i want you to look at this you've got you can draw this full circle obviously at the center of this is all created reality in the circle outside of creative reality is the eternal kingdom of god he existed long before creation and he was a happy god on his throne but so outside of creative reality is the eternal kingdom of god within created reality at the center of that created reality you've got the church and i want you to notice in this approach and in this interpretation you have a really bold line around that church okay and then outside of the church but still within creative reality there is a kingdom of satan don't conservatives know it love to talk about it it's out there and it's scary and then you kind of have things that aren't really the kingdom of satan it's just this void and what's happening out there who cares who cares according to the conservative approach we are staying safe and huddled up and we are trying every now and then we'll even do some kind of like evangelistic guerrilla warfare to just try and get them inside of the church with us but what's happening in all the other places in the world in education and media and justice and business and who cares because ultimately we really think satan has leaked into all of it and so basically according to this view secular and satanic are almost the same thing they're almost the same thing that's the conservative approach and you heard conservative and you thought oh that's the right one right wrong wrong okay that is wrong so if you don't want to draw it just don't even write it down the next thing is the liberal approach and you're so afraid of that word you know it's wrong okay so you have got the liberal approach and in the liberal approach there's still out there is this eternal kingdom of god there is a better world in going to a happier place and sometimes really spoken of as heaven you kind of have it all over and in the middle you still when you're when you have people talking about the kingdom it's still church is in the middle but the church goes way out there because everything that god is doing this can be all be included in the church there is a kingdom of satan it's fairly small and you have some jag you have some friction with the outside world but mostly we just need to be more inclusive and more loving and the church needs to do it all so in this liberal church to have a literacy program and to teach a bible study or have a worship service are all the same thing because it's all let's love all god's people and all god's ways and and so that's what you have going on there really what we have to understand so that we really get it is to see these two things side by side okay because they seem so different and they're actually more alike than they are different and let me tell you how in both of these approaches church and kingdom are the same thing okay in the conservative approach the church limits the kingdom it makes it this very small exclusive thing in the liberal approach the church envelops the kingdom the church exhausts the kingdom and it's this big jellyfish that is in no way exclusive that includes everybody in every way but in both places god's work is church work really small or really really big either way church equals kingdom in both of these things church work is the only real christian work and all christian work is considered church work in the liberal approach so what do you have over here let's huddle up let's stay safe and mainly keep our kids safe okay safe from what they watch say from who they associate with safe from the satanic secular schools safe safe safe safe safe and huddle up until the lord comes again and so the point is in this view the kingdom is only future we're hanging on the churches now but the kingdom is future and that one day that's the way it's going to be but not now in the liberal view the church is only present you have almost no talk of the future because we are bringing this all to bear and bringing it to completion right now in the conservative approach you have no engagement and contact with the world for christians in in the literature you have no isolation and no differentiation from the world okay so this is too isolationist this is too accommodationist hear me clearly that is no more right than that it is not more correct to be to the right of god than to the left of god okay sin is always missing the mark on either side on either side and so that's what you are seeing here no contact with the world here and no distinction from the world over there isolationist assimilationist so you have a conservative approach that basically says who cares if people can can't read or don't have anything to eat and unless they're saved it's all about them being saved and over here who cares if they're saved if they can't read and they don't have anything to eat and what did jesus care about all of it but if somebody was hungry he did not share the gospel before he fed them okay but before he met their immediate needs in that way in both places the church equals the kingdom i wish we had more time to talk about that but they're both wrong so if you're tired don't draw them at all okay but now get out your pins because this is the transformational approach okay all you lazy people with your cameras okay and so and so this is this is the transformational or the redemptive approach and i want you to see that everything about this matters outside of created reality is the eternal kingdom of god that is true read the book of daniel that is true okay inside of creative reality at the center of everything that the lord is doing in his world is the church and around that church you see this nice dotted porous line why because there's constant coming and going it's the family it's the base camp but what do you raise your children for to go out and come back in and receive nourishment and rest and be part of the i mean that's what it's for so the church is in the middle outside of the church there is our whole world and in that world there are conflicting realities of the kingdom of satan and the messianic kingdom and the kin the present kingdom of our lord jesus christ and what exists out there everything that you see of those categories politics and policy and education and medicine and technology and business and economics and entertainment and education they all are out there and you know what there's not a nice curving line there's what a jagged line what happens when you bump up against something jagged you get cut kingdom service is suffering service you have to know that the kingdom it is not triumphalistic it is service and when you go serve along that jagged line you will be cut but there is no area of the whole world that is left unchallenged for the lordship of christ we are not conservatives we do not conserve nowhere in the scripture are you told to maintain hang on conserve keep things the way they are we are told to what renew redeem restore revitalize all the rewords that means everything is broken and what it all has got to be renewed god jesus came to make what how much new all things all things new and all of those things need to be renewed not trivialism but suffering and service and so you have got king jesus ruling in his world and let me just say which we had more time to say this king jesus is ruling through common grace as well common grace is outside of the church it's saving grace that brings you into the church but jesus is not as small as huge as his saving grace is his reign is not as small as his saving grace and it does he do amazing things through people that are made in his image and gifted by him but do not yet know him and the answer is yes can we re he shines where in all that's fair how many times have you sung it he shines in all that's fair and we want to support all of the good things that are happening in the world whether or not they know to name him and give him credit or not we know to do that and lord willing by our involvement and our commonality with that we can give ultimate purpose and ultimate reason for the good things that they are doing without even knowing him but it is such an anemic view to think that the lord can only do things directly through his people that kind of non-christians can't have good marriages that is just crazy and so think big think the whole world okay we're leaving that up there because i want this emblazoned in your heads that's the parameters of the kingdom where is it all the way out all the way out thirdly here the purpose of the kingdom so what do we do with this if that's when it is if that's where it is what is the purpose of the kingdom history is linear it is not circular we are not part of hegel's dialectic okay that keeps spinning and spinning we are his all history is headed somewhere towards a goal and what is the goal of all of history a new heavens and a new earth and so the goal of our personal redemption is the renewal of the of the heavens and the earth the renewal of all things of the entire cosmos and so the gospel read the new testament for the words it really says it's always proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and so it's it's salvation is at the center of that but it is god's intention to make all things right and so we have got to understand that the word redemption okay is bigger than just forgiveness of sin fallenness is bigger than sinfulness you know that it's why there's everything from earthquakes to traffic accidents to everything there are not intentional sin in that way so fallenness is bigger than sinfulness therefore redemption is bigger than forgiveness redemption is overturning everywhere that the fall is and where is the fall it is every where from cove to just cutting yourself shaving i mean all of that is part of the fall and redemption is going to make all of those things new forgiveness justification they accomplish absolutely irreversibly our reconciliation to god to be part of his family for the purpose of being part of his renewing all things that's why if you're reading the line the witch in the wardrobe and aslan is on the move the first way that you see azim's on the move is he's not like sneaking out from behind a bush and grabbing somebody how do you know aslan's on the move the snow starts melting and everything starts blooming and bright and all the creatures are coming out of their holes we sing it at christmas he's come to make his blessings flow how far far as the curse is found far as the fall extends anywhere so redemption is going everywhere that the fall is we want to know what kingdom is redemption is going everywhere that the fall is so theologian oscar coleman said it like this that christ's first coming is like d-day the allied invasion of normandy in june 1944 and so that was the decisive victory in the decisive battle in world war ii after d-day everybody knew that it was practically over but v-e day the end of the war was not until more than a year later so what were they doing for that year they were bringing the realities of their victory to all of the bondage and oppressed places they were mopping up they were finishing up coleman says that we are living between d-day and v-e day christ has already come the victory is already won it is absolutely assured in every way that's why satan is going so crazy so what are we we're mopping up we're bringing all that reality of that victory to bear every where let's finish this thing let's get this completely done and so you've got so many verses in the new testament that talk about it happening right now ephesians chapter one this is the mystery of his will to bring all things right now to bring all things in heaven and on earth under one head even christ colossians chapter one he is reconciling all things to himself because in him all things hold together right now but you also have these future verses first corinthians 15 the end will come when christ hands over the kingdom to god the father after he has destroyed all dominion authority and power he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet revelation chapter 11. the kingdom of this world has become what the kingdom of our lord and of his christ and he shall reign for uh i mean you just you just feel the whole thing going out in that way so what is the purpose our purpose in the kingdom push that line out that's the purpose with all of the present victory in the present reign and the present power of the lord jesus christ in our hearts and in the world that we are pushing that line out we are living urgently in the present and leaning towards the future in every area of our lives because jesus loves and cares about and reigns over the whole creation jesus was asked early in his ministry to preach in his home synagogue in nazareth he said okay and he asked for the scroll of isaiah 61 and he read these words in luke 4 the spirit of the lord is on me because he is he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor he has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind to set at liberty those who are oppressed and to proclaim the year of the lord's favor but if you look at the passage in isaiah 61 he left the last phrase off and the day of the judgment of our god what he was saying in doing that is there is going to be a gap between my first and my second coming and we are living in the day of the lord's favor before it is the day of the judgment of our god now is the favor now is the time of redemption now is the time to renew all things and so we are to be pushing that line out and if you want to know the priorities in pushing that line out what you will do is look at the ministry and the miracles of jesus and what was he doing he was relieving oppression he was healing the sick he was bringing justice he was elevating the poor in other words the target needed the target audience in the kingdom are those with the greatest needs see we think push the line out and we're immediately thinking strategy beauty power influencers when in the world did you see jesus target an influencer the way that the kingdom comes is not in power it's in seeming weakness that we go to the weak places and bring the strength of the love and the reign of christ to those places in weakness the kingdom the purp the purpose of the kingdom is to push that line out so what is your purpose stay-at-home mom website designer blogger school teacher librarian i.t person nurse doctor what is your purpose your purpose is to push that line out how do we assess our day how do we assess our week or our semester our year it's been a good day it's been a bad day do we ever think in terms of this if somebody said how's your health and i said well i'm eating they would just look at me and why would they just look at me that's just assumed that's just part of living and so for somebody say tell me about your kingdom life you're like well i'm attending church and bible studies and i'm reading my bible they should look at you like you're crazy it's as necessary as eating that's assumed for a christian that is normative nourishment that is assumed for a christian what are you doing with all you've learned at church in your bible states what's going on in your kingdom life or worse yet if somebody said tell me about your reagan tell me about your marriage i'm like you know i haven't had sex with anybody else in the last year they would look at me like i'm crazy and why would they that's what it's true but okay but but but why would they look at me like i'm crazy because it's true what that's assumed that's what it means to be married if somebody says tell me about your relationship with the lord it's like i'm not drinking i'm not cussing i'm not sleeping around my kids aren't even drinking and just like that's just that's what it means to be a christian it's not to abuse substances or fornicate i mean that that's what but it's like we cannot be defined by those things the question is are we pushing the line y'all do not be content for church attendance and bible studies and taking notes to be the entirety of your christian life i mean just don't do not live there jesus i really want you to hear me jesus did not come and live and die and rise again just so you could go to heaven when you die he came to proclaim a kingdom he came to accomplish a kingdom little flock he came to include us in his kingdom and so you can't say here's my kingdom purpose and here's my everyday life it's everything in your everyday life starts to go under your kingdom purpose and that's how you make decisions about where you spend your money that's how you make decisions about how you spend your time and how you navigate relationships is what is happening out there i love johnny erickson tada she is my friend she is my hero she wrote one time she said i think it's so funny when people pray lord use me as though the lord and ever said he intended to do anything else she said our prayer should be lord make me useful make me useful when my husband was still young and single his life was a lot simpler he was you know single and he was living in a city that was saturated with churches he's a he's a businessman and he called a spiritual mentor and just said i'm young and single i feel like i could go anywhere and i work for this company that would probably send me anywhere but i don't even know how i would go about thinking through that and this mentor said to him find out where the kingdom is weak and go there and help make it strong find out where the kingdom is we and he did he picked up and moved to san francisco and helped with the church plant out there the reason the lord uses pictures of salt and light to describe us is you never focus on the salt or the light they give and expand for the good of the meat for the good of whatever you're spreading your light on what are we saved for my sister did a one year of violin when she was young suzuki violin i don't know how many of you are familiar with the suzuki method you don't learn to read music you learn one tune do you know what that tune is it's twinkle twinkle little star and so you start off with your little volume [Music] and then you learn it and then you kind of you get it okay you get it it was it was a long hard year and and but i will tell you this the lord gave me that long hard year so i would i would have this picture of what the kingdom looks like you know what the kingdom is for all of us in here and all of us watching it's the same tune of the lord's love and glory in a million different versions and that's what it is and that's what our purpose is where are you where are you playing his tune where are you expanding his kingdom fourthly perspective of the kingdom in order to have kingdom purpose and to fulfill kingdom purpose we have to keep zeroed in with a kingdom perspective and where does that perspective come from it comes from seeing the king all eyes on the king if god is sovereign creator and ruler over everything and that is just a true statement that's not a belief statement that's a true statement then what then everything in his created reality finds its identity and meaning in relationship to him and what he has for it i mean that's just the equation and so we've got to keep that perspective not just your spiritual life your work and your recreational life and your relationships and your families and your neighborhoods and all your activities they all find their meaning in relationship with him we have this what does jesus mean to me what does jesus mean for the whole world we've got we've got to keep asking that perspective and also we always start with what he thinks we get so preoccupied with what does this best-selling author think about jesus what is public education think about jesus and it's not that we never need to ask that but first we have to ask what does jesus think about that best-selling author what does jesus think about public education in that way the way we know the way we know what our perspective is one step what do you pray for if it's just illness and finances and traveling mercies and college decisions those things are great they should be prayed for that's not enough that's not big enough it's not big enough in pietastic religion one desired to be a vessel of god lord fill me but in historically reformed religion one desire to be an instrument of god not how do i avoid how do i engage how do i engage and how do i present so we look with kingdom eyes and when we look with kingdom eyes what will we always see with the kingdom perspective things are always getting better and they are always getting worse that's why the line is jagged i mean how are they getting worse oh we're not going to waste time on that y'all think the whole world is terrible okay and so you know how they're getting worse we know how they're getting worse how are they getting better i mean the number of muslims that know the lord the medical advances that we have the fact that i can read and vote as a woman charter schools i mean whatever you can start naming the unbelievable things that are happening through the lord's people and through his common grace in his world things are always getting better and they are always getting worse but a christian perspective on the world is always primarily optimistic not because the world is okay but because jesus reigns and if we have the jesus perspective you cannot ever believe that this world is going to hell in a hand basket that is a cosmic impossibility we should never think that way and we should never talk that way and when we get overwhelmed with the badness of the world you know what we do we shrink back into this kind of pitiful pietism that only cares about me and my jesus and we huddle up in bible studies every single day of the week because it's only about jesus and my personal life as though he is unrelated to world events david jones one of my seminary professors said you've got to stay right here he said you can we cannot lag behind the king in some kind of unwarranted pessimism that jesus's first coming and his present reign do not matter but we also cannot run ahead of the king in some kind of unwarranted triumphalism like we are going to establish some kind of utopia before he comes again we must do what we must keep in step with the king and what is he doing he is marching forward in redemption we are not about maintenance we are about transformation that is spilling over from our own transformed hearts into our lives open up to matthew chapter 25 and we are going to blow through this but this is this is where you get boots on the ground so to speak you have got the presence of the kingdom the parameters of the kingdom the purpose of the kingdom the perspective of the kingdom and finally fifthly here in matthew 25 you have our participation in the kingdom beginning in verse 14 i'm going to be heretical and tell you the parable instead of read it word for word i think you're familiar with it in the midst of jesus's last week with his disciples he pulled back to teach just them and it's called the olivet discourse this is in the midst of him teaching him about his return and the end times and he begins to teach them they're like lord when will you return he goes you will never know and the only thing that matters is that you're ready readiness is all he is teaching them and the way you're ready is if you're working and then he gives them this picture of what it means to be working in his kingdom while they wait for him to return a master calls in three servants he entrusts his property to them to one he gives five talents of gold that was an amount of gold to one two talents into one one talent he goes away and it says for a long time when he returns he calls them into subtle accounts the man with five comes four and says look master i've gained five more well done good and faithful servant you've been faithful with a little i'll give you i will make you faithful over much coming to the joy of your master the one with two lord look i i've made two more oh well done good and faithful servant come into the joy of your master i will make you faithful over much the last one comes lord i knew you were a hard man i buried your talent in the ground here is what belongs to you and he says if you knew i was a hard man why would you not at least put this on deposit with the bankers to make interest for me you wicked lazy servant take it from him and give it to the man with 10 talents and throw him out where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth this is the picture of what it means to participate in the kingdom three sub points here right out of this parable look back at it later for yourselves the first this is a terror parable about resources the resources for our participation or the resources for our work what do the talents of gold signify people say it's the gospel or it's spiritual gifts or it's it's material gifts or it means talents like we mean what is it it means all of it it is everything that the lord has given us to be used for his sake spiritually materially natural giftedness whatever it's all of it but they are not gifts given to us it says he called them in and entrusted his property to them we do not own we steward and so he never says this is now yours it was always still his and so everything that's dignified is every privilege and responsibility and opportunity that we have by virtue of belonging to the lord jesus because it all comes from him and it is all to be used for him but what bugs us about this parable is what one guy got five and one guy got two and one guy only got one and everything in our western sensibilities just can't quite take that we've got to have equal footing in that way and yet what a real picture just in this room much less everyone that's watching we do not all have the same bank accounts the same abilities the same square footage the same size churches the same personality the same looks the same spiritual background i mean you name it and it is completely diversified in that way the question is why why do we not all have the same is that fate is it mother nature really is it is it punishment for sin it's what it's divine design it's god's sovereign goodness in our life what does verse 15 say he gave to each according to his ability we are a package of god's grace we are not just saved by his grace and the other stuff is outside of that realm do we feel like we've been slighted or we've been cheated let me tell you the number one reason the number one reason we will not be involved and what the lord has called us to do in his kingdom is resentment of what we don't have or we don't get to do that's what's wrong with us when i was still single i would say if i were married and had a family i would do this with my home i would do this with my kids i mean i'm single what can i do and when i was married with kids why don't those singles do more if i had that kind of time if i had that kind of flexibility all the young people were like if i were old and an empty nester and i had that much knowledge and that much resources that much time that's what i'd be doing all the old people were like if i were young and i had those relationships and those work opera i mean it's so easy if only i were anybody but me i would be doing things but because the lord messed up with me and has not given me what i really need to do anything meaningful and that's our number one excuse for doing nothing at all is the discontent and the resentment it is no slight that the search servant only got one talent it would have been wrong to give him more it would have been wrong to give him more god gave him exactly what he needed to do the lord's work and how do we know that because there's the same title and the same relationship to the master for all three servants they are called in they are entrusted by him with treasure to see what they do with it in his world while he is gone we do not own we steward we don't own our bodies we don't own our time we don't own our stuff it's on loan for him for kingdom purposes and so whatever you need for what god has called you to do you have as john newton famously said everything is needful that he sends nothing can be needful that he withholds everything is needful that he sins and nothing can be needful that he withholds that's the first thing the resources for the work for the kingdom work and there is this beautiful wonderful gracious purposeful variety of the resources but secondly the responsibility to work the responsibility is the same the resources are varied but the responsibility is the same that we do what we employ the master's resources the king's resources for his sake whatever resources you have you're pushing that line out with them you're doing that in your own home you're doing that in a corporation of thousands of people and everything in between but your purpose with those resources is to push that line out he didn't give us the resources so we could have them we feel like gratitude is enough of a response let's count our blessings being grateful is not enough of a response it's got to be useful he didn't give it to us so that we could have them but so that we could use them and listen to me you know there only ultimately is valuable your time your energy your opportunities your gifts your abilities your money is only as valuable as the kingdom work in which you use it if you go to our school carnival you're get you're given little tickets right and this ride costs two tickets and this this booth costs four tickets and my daughter who's a hoarder and a saver kept holding on to her her thing of tickets and i mean there was only 30 minutes left of the carnival and she was so proud of all of her tickets i said do you understand that in 30 minutes those are worthless they can only be used here yo we're not taking any of this stuff with us it can only be used here i'm one day closer to eternity today than i was yesterday and we're going to be hoarding all this stuff when we either go home or the lord comes again and it's like typical i mean that's what it's to be used for something else it's to be used for something else now you know the theological danger in this passage that we would read this and think that the lord cannot do this without us that there is some need on his part for anything that we bring to our he does not need our service he does not need our obedience he does not near smarts he does not need our money he does not need our homes or our church buildings or our families or our children he does not need anything to build he does not need anything from us to build his kingdom but in his crazy loving sovereign purposes he has not ordained to establish it without us this this is how he has ordained it to be is that we would be involved why because he's egotistical no because he loves us so much that he is willing to involve us it is not a question of of the lord making us work for him is a question of him allowing us to work for him my mom is from a very small town in mississippi and when we would go see my parents my grandparents there my grandfather would come in before anybody else was up and he'd wake me up and he'd wrap me in his bathrobe and we would go into the kitchen and i would press the coffee pot and i would press the toaster and walk to the end of the driveway and he let me down by my ankles and i'd pick up the newspaper we'd come drop the newspaper on ottoman go back to his bathroom he'd let me put shaving cream all over his face and take the blade out and let me shave his face and put on the aftershave and tighten his tie and we'd go in and we'd pour the coffee and fix the coffee and butter the toast and sit down with the breakfast in the newspaper and by this time i'm just exhausted and you know what i'm thinking at age five what what does he do when i'm not here right i mean the man is helpless right i mean do you know how long it took him to get to work on those days everything is slower everything was messier everything was harder so why did he do it he wanted to involve me to show how important i am to him he delights to have me part of it even when it messes it up you know every single kingdom thing that i'm involved with is messier and slower and harder than if the lord did not involve me so why does he do it he does it not because he needs me for the work because i need the work to know how valuable i am to him to know that he delights to include me in his nearest and his dearest activities our view of grace is so small grace doesn't bring us in the kingdom and the work is in the kingdom is all grace little flog the lord loves to give you the kingdom and don't just look at the at the requirement of work here look at the freedom and the responsibility here he calls them in he gives them his talents and how many instructions does he give them none none now that is both a comfort and a challenge the good news is that is nobody else can tell you how you must use what the lord has given you in his kingdom and the challenge in that is nobody else can tell you exactly how to use what the lord has given you in his kingdom we only want to look to each other and say i'm doing what she's doing i must be doing what i'm supposed to be doing we can't look to each other we have got to look directly to the lord individual callings expressed with individuality of the number of people in my life that the lord's put there just to make me understand it's like this great caterer who has a special needs son that wants to be able to give him a business and employ nothing but special needs people changes it to suitability bakery and it's all done that way now a doctor that treated every international student at covenant seminary for free because they were unable to get medical insurance with their visa the man that stepped off of our session for a while because he had a chance to run for the public school board another doctor that worked 51 percent of the time to keep his benefit so he could spend the rest of his time in mission work an older lady that wanted to be involved in a new inner city school but didn't know what to do and she said i love to sew if any of these little girls would like to sew and the sewing club was the biggest thing at school with miss 80 year old miss cookie after school there's just so many things that we can do you know what you got to do you got to lay it all you go home go home from here and you your your friends your roommates your husband whoever lay it all out on the bed your job description a picture of your family your calendar your credit card bills whatever it is lay it all out on the bed kneel down and say lord this is all yours show me show me what to do with it there can be no other checklist than us saying lord show me we can't say i'm doing what they're doing or i'm not doing what they are doing and we get so paralyzed by that that you know what we do we attend one more bible study and we take more notes because we don't know what else we are supposed to do and let me say the easiest things to overlook are the things that the lord puts right in front of us we will raise money to go halfway around the world to do things we would never do in our own communities or in our own neighborhoods i mean chuck colson started prison ministry because he had been in prison and johnny started a disability ministry because she was disabled and i had a friend that immediately went to go work as a counselor with bethany christian services because she had a baby out of wedlock and gave up a baby for adoption i mean what has the lord called and equipped you to do that's right that these men did not have planes trains and automobiles they they multiply their talent within walking distance of their lives within walking distance of their lives what am i saying i'm saying take your life take your resources take your time take your abilities and do something and you're like oh i went to the gospel coalition this woman was up there and she was talking about works okay so i just want to be totally clear about what i'm talking about i am talking about works that's exactly what i'm talking about because that's exactly what the scripture talks about not so that we will know the lord because we do because we already belong to the king it is the urgency of this parable finally is because i promise i'm gonna let you eat okay is the reckoning of the work okay you've got the resources you've got the responsibility but it's going somewhere because the history is going somewhere that the master is coming back and they will all stand to give an account and you've got to notice carefully that the man that gained five and the man that gave him two got the exact same commendation from the master it was not about quantity it was about quality of their work both those pictures five gaining five two game just means they fully use their resources it's just a picture of the fullness of the resources we have no idea what their work looked like to anybody else but their audience of one saw the man comes forward with one and he uh he unburies it and carries it forward and maybe he was the most popular acclaimed person in town but it was not okay with the master why had he buried it so that there was no possibility of loss but there was also no possibility of what gain there was no possibility of gain he wasn't mad he had only one talent he was mad he had any he did not want to have it he did not want to use it his disregard and his bitterness is not towards the talent it's towards the master you are the hard man and i was afraid of you i want you to hear me this i mean we've got some really bad guys in the parables you've got the unforgiving servant you've got the prodigal son and they wasted and they're in debt this man does not do anything evil he did nothing and that was evil he did nothing and that was evil and we hear it you wicked lazy servant throw him outside what the master hates is not attempting failure it is the failure to attempt richard baxter puritan said to do no harm is the praise of a stone not a person to do no harm is the praise of a stone not a person i'm asking you to be bold i'm asking you to be prayerful i'm asking you to be risky because your kingdom service is tailor made for you god is not surprised by our sin he is not surprised by our failures he is not surprised by our inabilities but on the other hand no one else can do your kingdom work no one else can do your kingdom work god draws straight lines with crooked sticks and there are lines that he will only use you to draw sir thomas more said if you do not choose the kingdom of god it will not matter at all in the end what you have chosen instead if you do not choose the kingdom of god with everything you have and everything that you are it will not matter in the end at all what you have chosen instead the resources are there by his grace and the responsibility is there by his grace so we have got to dig in with grace ladies we got to finish please don't sit in bible studies until the lord comes again only bible says i'd love for you to be in bibles but don't sit only in bible studies until the lord comes again take all those notes take all of that learning and do something for his glory that pushes that line out we know where we're going so let's start running towards it amen let me pray we're going to dinner father thank you that you choose to use us that you're willing to use us that you delight to use us and lord i pray that we would feel delight in being used make us useful build your kingdom because we've been together in indianapolis or online i pray that that line would be closer to your coming kingdom than it ever has been before king jesus thank you that you rule and reign do not pass us by use us in your nearest and dearest work and may we rejoice in it until we see you face to face amen

Channel: The Gospel Coalition

Views: 6,637

Rating: 4.7723579 out of 5

Keywords: the gospel coalition, the gospel, gospel, coalition, pastors, pastor, minister, ministry, Christ, Christian, Christianity, church, churches, faith, reformed, reformation, bible, biblical, evangelical, Jesus, God, spiritual, spirit, Holy Spirit, preacher, preaching, teaching

Id: f2-Xlg_j71g

Length: 60min 40sec (3640 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 29 2021