SERMON "THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN: TO WHOM IS IT PROMISED?"

Shalom

Every one of us, big and small, old and young, male and female to name a few ─ surely reacts in a different way to something, including God’s love. However, we should manage the differences well with an eye to growing together in unity. For example: in a child dedication ceremony, one child may “repulsively react” as it feels a rough hand touching its head while another may reach out for and hold the praying pastor’s hand.

Without doubt a husband and his wife respond joyfully to their newborn baby despite the labor pains the wife went through. More than that, Jesus welcomed the children who were walking up to Him since the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those such as these kids (Matthew 19: 14).

Does the promise to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven only apply to the children who came to Jesus? What are the requirements to enter His Kingdom? John 3: 3-5 says, “Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

Strange as it may sound, the old Nicodemus asked how an old man could possibly enter his mother’s womb for a rebirth. But Jesus did not reply him directly. Instead, Jesus said that, unless one was born of water and the Spirit, he could not enter the Kingdom of God. Here we see the difference about how adults and children respond: children come to Jesus the way they are without much ado while adults present a lot of reasoning and motivation concerning the Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of Heaven is evidently every man’s dream. And it is accessible to anyone without age limit. Even so, we must understand the conditions to be a citizen in Heaven. While we live here on earth, we hold our Indonesian citizenship.

But, are we sure that we will be the heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven? Let’s be extra careful! This world with its technological advancements and man’s high intelligence has caused man to doubt God’s existence as the Creator of all things. Human clones are created using sperm of superior quality to create muscular, strong, super healthy, fearless and gallant regiments. That way, the whole world will be in their hands and reject the logic of Biblical creation.

What are the conditions for entering the kingdom of God?

· Entering the womb to be born again

What occurs in a mother’s womb? The placenta functions as a primary life-support system during pregnancy. Oxygen, nutrients, and hormones from the mother are transferred via the placenta to reach the embryo, and its waste is transferred to the mother for removal. Through the umbilical cord, the blood cells carry the carbon dioxide from the embryo to the placenta to undergo the cleansing process. The cleansed blood then goes back the mother. Without the placenta, the embryo cannot cleanse its blood on its own. Amazingly, amniotic fluid covers up the embryo and protects it against concussion.

It also prevents the umbilical cord from dehydration that hampers the oxygen supply from the mother’s blood to the embryo. Besides supplying fluid, the amniotic fluid serves as a temporary source of nutrients. The embryo’s lungs and digestive system develop thanks to the amniotic fluid. By breathing and swallowing the fluid, the embryo practices using the muscles of these systems as it grows. After the baby is born and cries for the first time, the lungs expand and the other organs start to function normally.

On the one hand, Jesus gave a chance to little children (who had not been baptized) to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 9: 14). But on the other hand, He also gave a chance to Nicodemus, a religious Jewish leader who understood the Law, to enter the Kingdom of Heaven through a new birth by means of repentance and baptism. The fact that we have heard God’s Word ten or even hundred times does not guarantee that we are “born again” to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. You need spiritual maturity before you decide to be water baptized. Illustration: On turning 16, a child born with dual citizenship will have to decide which citizenship he opts for.

Question:

Currently, we are indeed Indonesian citizens, but later we will have to choose: worldly citizen or citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven?

Water baptism reminds us of a human birth, marked with blood and water (rupture of the amniotic sac). When Jesus died on the cross, blood and water came out of His side (John 19: 34) and the church was born. We are legitimate Indonesian citizens if we have our names printed on our ID cards. But, as future citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, are our names written in the Book of Life?

A spiritual birth is marked by sorrow due to the pain ─ repentance with confession asking for forgiveness ─ replaced by joy for freedom (from the bondage of sin) to receive the Spirit, adopting us as children of God (to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven) who cry out, “ Oh Abba, Father ” (Romans 8: 15).

If the Spirit of God, who is greater than the spirit of the world(1 John 4:4), is in us, we will be empowered to overcome the global threats that can only kill the body but not the the soul. But the Lord Jesus, the Ruler the Kingdom of God, is way far diffrent. He is mighty to destroy both souls and bodies in hell (Matthew 10: 28).

· Drinking pure milk

Like newborn babies that need breastfeeding, newborn Christians (who have been baptized) long for the pure spiritual milk of the Word so that they may grow and obtain salvation (1 Peter 2: 2).

We are to long for the pure milk of God’s Word. Do not drink “world-made” milk produced by liberal professors. And we are to eat the Bread of Life from Heaven as well (John 6: 48). Do not eat “worldly bread”.

I advise “newborn children” to drink pure milk. Parents have the responsibility to “formulate” God’s Word into a healthy drink and give it to their children. Do not easily buy “processed food” (spiritual books, meditations, daily devotionals, and so on) even written by theologists if you do not know their backgrounds. They may be brilliant but they do not love the Lord with all their hearts. To the grown-ups, I suggest eating the Bread of Life. Do not cherry-pick the Word or preachers just to please your ears (2 Timothy 4: 3).

Note this carefully! As parents, we need to know when to stop weaning a child/ a baby. Seeing a six-year-old drinking milk from a baby bottle is uncommon. Likewise, many Christians haven been attending church and listening to the Word for years but still “drinking milk from a feeding bottle.” They only consume the easy - to – understand Word without using their brains or minds. Didn’t the Lord create our hearts, our souls, our minds and our strength to love Him (Mark 12: 30)?

The Bible records an exceptionally stunning event. At some point in Isaac’s weaning period, Ishmael was driven out of the house and Isaac received the inheritance from his father (Genesis 21: 8-10). We are all children of the promise like Isaac born by the free woman (Sara). And we are heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven (Galatians 4: 22-30) for flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15: 50).

So it was with the young Samuel. After the weaning process was done, his mother, Hannah, brought him to Eli to live in the house of the Lord all the days of his life (1 Samuel 1: 24-28). Rather than growing mature and serving the Lord passionately, many christians become dependent and lack initiative in the ministry.

Don’t we often refuse to join a ministry by reason of being incapable and inexperienced? The underlying reason for our refusal is, in fact, our unwillingness. Take an example from Daniel who became a great ruler in the enemy’s land under King Nebuchadnezar and he was awsome in God’s sight at the same time (Daniel 2: 48; 3: 16-18).

· Being different fom the world (Romans 12: 2)

The Apostle Paul exhorts us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice – holy and pleasing to God (v.1). This means that as long as we live, we must offer our lives to the Lord, not to the world. Therefore, it takes a life transformation to understand His will. The challenge for us is not to love the world and all that is in it, namely the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (1 John 2: 15-16). A church is not a theater but a place of worship. A church should not follow in the world’s footsteps.

What are the characteristics of the Kingdom of God?

v The Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14: 17). The Kingdom of God is not far from us; where Jesus is, there is His kingdom (Mark 12: 34). It does not consist of words but power (1 Corinthians 4: 20) that can triumph over the destroying power of this world which brings us stress, confusion and frustration. Also, the Kingdom of God consists of righteous people (1 Corinthians 6: 9), and so forth.

v The Kingdom of God comes to our defence when everybody deserts us, and rescues us from every evil deed (2 Timothy 4: 16-18).

The Apostle Paul did ministry all alone until he ended up in prison. But aside from that, he always gave thanks because he was convinced that he would enter the Kingdom of God in heaven (v. 18). Wasn’t Jesus also left all alone by His disciples – from the moment he appeared in court until he died on the cross?

v The Kingdom of God grants us precious and magnificent promises that enables us to be partakers of the divine nature and escape the devastating worldly lusts. Now for this very reason, we must add to our faith → moral excellence → knowledge → self-control→ perseverance → godliness → brotherly kindness → love. In doing so, we will have full access to the Kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1: 3-11).

The Lord never shows partiality. He gives a chance to both little innocent children and repented as well as born-again adults to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. For that reason, let’s recoil from our worldly conduct and boost our spiritual lives so that we may become partakers of the precious promise, namely to enter His kingdom and live with the Ruler of the Kingdom forever. Amen.

"THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN: TO WHOM IS IT PROMISED?"

By Rev. Paulus Budiono

Lemah Putro, Sunday, October 29, 2017.