Muskoka Lakes Ministry of Knox, Port Carling & Zion, Torrance

Sunday Aug 9, 2020

Sermon Series: The Ministry of Jesus

Message: Seek the Kingdom Here and Now

Reverend Glynis Faith (705-765-3797) (muskokalakesministry@gmail.com)

Announcements

• Lectio Divina Thursday evenings at 8pm via Zoom. If you would like to take part contact Rev. Faith to receive a Zoom invitation. NOTE: There will be no lectio Thursday August
• If you would like a ‘socially distant’ visit from the minister, please call or email to set up a day and time.
• Knox Board of Managers meeting Tuesday, 7pm in the church hall.
• Reverend Faith will be away July 9-15. If there is a pastoral emergency please contact an elder. Your elders are (Port Carling: Edie Bard, Kay Baker, Scott Murley, Alf MacMillian, Ken Shortt and Cathy Vine) (Torrance: Garnet Schenk, Alice Schenk, Robin Keeler and Inez Laycock)  Reverend John Young is available for any pastoral needs.

Scripture

 Matthew 4:12-17 NIV  

Jesus Begins to Preach

¹² When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. ¹³ Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— ¹⁴ to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁵ “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
¹⁶ the people living in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”^[a]

¹⁷ From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Message

 “Seek the Kingdom Here and Now”

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Earlier in Matthew’s Gospel we hear the same statement from John the Baptist as he calls people to a baptism of repentance. “Repent, for the kingdom of God has come near.”

Has come near – has come, not might come or could come, but HAS come.

But how has the kingdom of God come – where – where is this kingdom John speaks of?

Let me ask you this, what is John’s purpose? What was John born to do?

Well, according to Luke’s account of events, John was born to make the people ready for the Lord – to prepare them for Jesus. John was born to prepare the people for the coming of Jesus.

So, what has come - - - the Lord has come. Jesus Christ, our Lord has come, and Jesus reveals to us the kingdom of God.

Both John and Jesus call people to repent and receive the kingdom of God – a kingdom which, according to both men, has come, but not only has it come, but it has come near.

This is such wonderful news. Jesus doesn’t come and tell us all about how great the kingdom of God is, Jesus brings the kingdom of God near to us.

But where is it? Where is the palace and where are its borders? What does it look like and what are its symbols?

When we think of the nation of Canada, surrounded by various bodies of water and the land border it shares with the United States, we can locate it on a map and have a general idea of it’s size.

Canada has its own flag – red and white with a maple leaf. We have our own currency – plastic bills with images of people who played important roles in our countries history, a one dollar coin we named after the Canadian loon, and other coins with symbols of our nation, such as the mighty moose and the hard working beaver.

I believe one of our hurdles in understanding this kingdom both John and Jesus spoke of is simply the word kingdom. Our understanding of a kingdom is related to landmass – a physical place with visible symbols of culture and customs, environment and habitat. This is why the kingdom of God is often mistaken to mean a place far away in the skies – somewhere out there, where one day we might go.

Yet both John and Jesus tell us the kingdom of God has come near. They also tell us repentance is relevant to this kingdom which has come.

Now, what we know of much of Jesus’ teaching is the focus on spiritual. Not to say that Jesus ignored physical needs – Jesus frequently addressed the physical needs of people and told us to do the same, but He also taught that life can and will have struggles and sorrows, but that He would be there with us through those struggles.

At the core of Jesus’ teachings is eternal life, and the promise of God’s love, mercy and grace to all who would open their hearts and receive it.

Repentance is the process of receiving God’s grace – acknowledging God’s sovereignty, seeking forgiveness and living as part of the eternal kingdom – the kingdom of God.

The kingdom of God on earth has no physical borders. It exists everywhere where God is held as sovereign and Christ is held as ruler. Its borders extend to every individual that lifts up the name of God – to every family that praises Jesus as Saviour and King – and to every church that serves their communities fashioning their ministry on the pattern Jesus gave them.

The kingdom of God is not a place, it is about the Creator and the people. The kingdom of God is about who, or what we serve and how we serve. It is relational. It begins now. It is eternal.

Consider Canadians again. When we travel, people can often identify us by the Canadian symbols we wear or carry with us (The maple leaf, moose, beaver, snow, hockey, etc). We can also identify us by our extreme politeness or the various Canadian accents. We don’t need to be in a physical place to be Canadian. We come from Canada and we will return to Canada after our travels, but we are still Canadian -  a part of the nation of Canada.

The same should hold true of Christians – those who choose to acknowledge God’s sovereignty now, living as the kingdom of God now, trusting in the day when we will stand in His glory – eternally free of physical limitations and struggles.

We don’t live IN the kingdom of God, we live AS the kingdom of God! The presence of Jesus brought the kingdom of God near to us. Jesus enabled us to see and be a part of God’s kingdom now.

Christ’s ministry is our example of how to worship God and serve those around us. Jesus taught us how to have a loving relationship with God and love our neighbour as ourselves. He showed us how to work together – to forgive – to protect – to honour – to trust – to accept – to resist temptation - to stand up for and to give of ourselves.

The kingdom of God is present anywhere Christ is. Christ is the presence of God. His actions are the actions of God. His words are the words of God. Christ made God known to us, acknowledging the sovereignty of God in all things, and He calls us to repent and live as part of God’s kingdom here and now.

Our ministry is to follow the examples and teachings of Jesus. You and I have the great privilege of living the kingdom of God and sharing God’s kingdom in our homes and communities by sharing the love, peace, joy and grace of God here and now.

If you are the least bit unsure what the kingdom Jesus speaks of is, or if you are unsure how to share that kingdom with others, I encourage you to take some time and read one of the Gospels – read for yourself what Jesus said and did. I also encourage you to do what Jesus did and pray. And, of course, I am always happy to have a conversation with you about any questions you may have.

Friends, the love of God is near to all who will receive. the peace of God is right here to all who will open their hearts. The joy of God revives us when we put out faith in Him. The grace of God revives us, because Jesus Christ, the Son of God came near to bring us the kingdom of God here and now. And, my friends, the King himself invites us all to be a part of His kingdom now.

Repent, for the kingdom of God has come near. AMEN

Please pray with me: Jesus, you have brought the kingdom of God into the life of humanity and we thank you. Lord, you have shown us how to love and serve God and how to love and serve one another, and we praise You. Bless us, Lord Jesus, as we follow in the footsteps you laid out for us.  AMEN