Title: DEMANDS MY ALL

Focus: God’s heavenly influence stirs up conflict and calls for radical decisiveness and loyalty to Jesus, the King.

Function: To encourage people in these trying times to locate themselves in Christ and live life from the center of God’s rule.

Text: Matthew 10:34-42

 

INTRODUCTION

            I am restless these days. I find myself asking all kinds of questions about politics and morality in North America, about war and justice, about unity and divisiveness in our society. For example: congress seems deadlocked on many issues; civility among our politicians is becoming rare; and what happened to our social conscience and consensus on what’s right and wrong? It seems that all we want to do is “what’s right in our own eyes.” I am restless. And so are many of us here.

 

            We all wrestle with a sense of insecurity. 9/11 and the war on terror has put us on the defensive; the hatred and vicious violence among radical groups in especially Muslim countries defy our sense for respect of human rights and lives. What drives a militant to blow up himself and countless bystanders? What ideology, what religious impulses move nations and people groups to destabilize other nations? Of course, closer to home we find similar disconcerting questions.

For example, what drives a gang member to kill another person for some lousy dollars? What forces are at work when a person harms a child for personal pleasure? And so it goes. Unrest and restlessness—these are common characteristics today! What’s going on?

 

I do not have the final answers to some of the questions I raised. But this I know: whenever we become restless, God uses that restlessness and uneasiness to move us from one place to another. In other words, restlessness dislocates us; and dislocation stretches our comfort zones and perspectives. And in our restlessness and dislocation and discomfort, we search for a center, a place, a new location to face each day.

 

And that’s where the Scripture reading of today comes in: In our restlessness we need to root ourselves on solid ground. And that solid ground in which God seeks to re-locate us individually and as a church, is this gospel truth: God’s heavenly influence stirs up conflict and calls for radical decisiveness and loyalty to Jesus, our King.

I believe that God calls us today to locate ourselves in Christ, the King, and live our lives from the center of God’s kingdom or rule. Explore with me the message from Matthew 10 and take note: (1) The kingdom of heaven is near; (2) The kingdom of heaven ignites conflict; and (3) The kingdom of heaven demands our all.

 

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS NEAR

            We hear the Lord Jesus speaking to his disciples; Jesus is giving them all kinds of instructions as he is sending them on a preaching and teaching tour in Israel. Jesus tells his disciples where to go and what to do, how to travel and how to relate to people in the towns and villages, and what to do and expect in the face of opposition. The fundamental message to the people, however, is this: the kingdom of heaven is near. That is, the heavenly rule or influence of God is breaking into our world with the coming of Jesus in the flesh. And the rule of God is being brought to bear in our world today, and the influence of God will be fully established when Jesus is coming again in all his glory at the end of time.

 

            In the early 1960’s, people thought that God was dead. As a result, secularism has raised its ugly head, so that now we have a generation and culture of secularists, agnostics, atheists and new age worshippers. People of influence and shapers of our culture no longer wish to make room for God in their lives, nor do they have much use for the role of faith in society.

 

            Yet, while so many today live as if there is no God, we find that God keeps rattling our cages. Isn’t it ironic, for example, that Muslim radicals force us today to ask ancient questions about God and faith? While secularism has gutted and emptied so many churches in Europe, the rise of Islam has populated the landscape of Europe with mosques. God is not dead.

 

In fact, with the coming of Jesus in the flesh, God’s rule has broken into our world. That’s the message Jesus preached; and that’s the message the disciples taught; and that’s the vision that Jesus holds before us each day in his model prayer, saying: “Our Father in heaven…Your kingdom come!”

 

By his Word and Spirit, Christ influences us so that more and more we submit to our heavenly Father, so that his church keeps on expanding, if not in North America, then in Africa, if not in Europe, then in Japan. By his Word and Spirit, God continues to raise up people who seek to demolish the work of the devil, and who seek to do justice in the midst of evil and terror.

 

In the midst of our restlessness, congregation, let us locate ourselves in this truth: The rule of God is near, is here, is coming, has come, and will be fully established when Jesus comes again. Perhaps you are a restless American, a restless parent, a restless child or young adult. Perhaps you find yourself drifting along with culture and society. Well, here’s the good news: God’s rule has broken into our world.

 

            That’s why Scriptures call Christians “ambassadors of Christ,” “citizens of heaven”, “aliens and strangers in the world” who live by the standards of Jesus, who rules as King of kings and Lord of lords. Rest assured: King Jesus is at work in this restless world.

So here’s what we do: we locate  ourselves firmly in Jesus and in his sphere of influence. And when we do so, we will discover another truth in the midst of our restlessness today: the kingdom of heaven ignites conflict.

 

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IGNITES CONFLICT

            Listen to Jesus: (vs.34) “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

            Jesus’ mission on earth is to make peace between God and a rebellious humanity. Through his work on the cross and in the tomb, the Lord Jesus has brought such peace or reconciliation.

            But in bringing such peace (which is characterized by people living under his influence or rule), the Lord Jesus has stirred up the powers. This happened, for example, when Jesus was born. The Magi told King Herod that a king had been born--a king whose star appeared in the sky, and whose kingdom would be established in Israel. Herod felt threatened, with the result that his soldiers killed all two-year old and younger male children in Bethlehem. And when Jesus began his ministry, the religious leaders opposed him to the point of betrayal and death on a cross. And the devil himself got into action when Jesus came on the scene of history. Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness and later in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Surely, with the coming of Christ the King, all the powers and authorities rose in opposition to the Son of God. That’s the way it is with God’s Kingdom: it stirs up conflict.

 

            Thank God for Jesus’ victory over these powers: On Good Friday, Jesus paid the price for our sins; he gave his life that we may have life eternal; he took away God’s wrath on our sins, so that now there is no more condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. On Easter Sunday, Jesus broke the powers of sin and death by rising from the dead, by turning the prison of death into a gateway unto eternal life.

 

            In 1944 the Allied Forces landed on the beaches of Normandy; they broke the back of Hitler’s armies in Europe. That was D-Day—the Day of Decision; But it was not until 1945 that the peace treaty was signed by Germany. That was V-Day—the Day of Victory. In between D-Day and V-Day the Allied Forces fought all kinds of mop-up battles. Hard work, suffering, and death marked that period of time.

 

            So it is also with the Kingdom of God. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead marked D-Day—the back of the powers was broken: The iron reign of sin, Satan and death has frazzled; its steely grip is now slipping away. For Jesus showed himself King; Jesus is now sovereign, ascended King. And together with Jesus, all God’s people are looking forward to V.Day—the Day of Victory when Jesus comes again and makes all things new. Now we are still engaged in restlessness, in mop-up battles, in strife and fights and opposition to Jesus’ rule in our world.

 

            Thus we hear Jesus give his disciples instructions: (vs. 17) “Be on guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.” (vs. 22) “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another.” Clearly, the rule and influence of Jesus will stir up conflict from age to age.

            That conflict comes close to home: “…I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.” There are countless men and women today who fear for their lives since their conversion to Christ. Many countries forbid conversions to the Christian faith; many close their eyes to crimes committed against new converts.

Even here in America, I have met people in my ministry who experienced rejection by their family once they came to faith in Jesus Christ. When Jesus cleanses our house, and begins to rule in our hearts, all kinds of resistance rises to the surface. And it’s in the midst of that resistance and opposition that the rule of God demands our all.

 

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN DEMANDS OUR ALL

            As nations fight nations, as forces of idolatry and false religions oppose the rule of Christ and persecute Christians and the church, as institutions and organizations, and judges and lawmakers demonstrate hostility to Christ and his rule, as all this unrest troubles us—I think we do well to locate ourselves squarely as citizens of God’s rule or heavenly kingdom. And we do well to listen to Jesus, for he makes clear that his kingdom demands our all.

 

            Listen to him: (vs.37) “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter

more than me is not worthy of me.”

Clearly, even in the context of close family relationships, our loyalty to Christ and his sphere of influence demands our all.

 

I like what St. Augustine taught new converts who felt the pressures of their families to consider the family’s interests more important than Jesus’ interest. Let us answer our parents and siblings and family members, saying “I will love you in Christ, not instead of Christ. You will be with me in Christ, but I will not be with you without Christ.” And in case our family members should reply saying: “But we don’t care for Christ,” then say: “And I care for Christ more than I care for you. Should I obey the ones who raised me (my parents) and lose the One who created me?” (Ancient Commentaries). Throughout the centuries, the rule of Christ has demanded our all.

 

Easy? No. Being a Christian in this time between D-Day and V-Day is not easy. It calls for cross bearing: (vs.38,39) “…anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Surely, the kingdom of heaven demands our all.

 

Are you restless today? Locate yourself in Christ. Identify with Jesus and his rule. And then surrender yourselves completely to him and live out of the center of his influence. For it is Jesus who has said: “Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will you rest.”

 

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen!