Kingdom Exploits

Kingdom of God Series, Part 4 of 6

  1. The Spirit of the Kingdom
  2. Heroes of the Kingdom
  3. Laws of a Righteous Kingdom
  4. Kingdom Exploits
  5. Kingdom Priorities
  6. Worship the King of the Righteous Kingdom

September 25, 1988 - Matthew 6:1-15

Introduction:

We have called the Sermon on the Mount the constitution of the Church of Jesus Christ, the 'foundation statement' for the kingdom of God.

  1. The Beatitudes state the revolutionary, loving spirit of the kingdom.
  2. The heroes of the kingdom are the men and women who dare to live in that spirit, across cultural pressures. ["blessed are ye when men shall revile you for My sake!".]
  3. And the kingdom of heaven is a kingdom of holy law. ["I have come to fulfil, not destroy, the law"]

Spirit, heroes, a constitutional law; all these are vital parts of the beachhead of the kingdom of heaven which Jesus has established on planet Earth.

But there is more. For Jesus makes it plain that those who are part of His kingdom have deeds to do, tasks to perform, exploits to accomplish.

In the opening paragraphs of this sixth chapter Jesus makes some clear assumptions:

I. THE EXPECTATIONS OF OUR MASTER

  1. A. Every follower of Jesus has expectations to meet:
    1. Jesus expects that His kingdom will be a giving kingdom; so he expresses that assumption to His disciples (verse 3): "When you GIVE..." The kingdom of God is an out-flowing of love. [A GIVING KINGDOM [outward]]
    2. Jesus came to establish a living kingdom; He came to bring the LIFE of God Himself, and bring it in abundance to and all that is symbolized in the vertical relationship, the give and take of spiritual breath, is comprehended in the expectation (verse 6): "When you PRAY..." The kingdom of God rises no higher than its Source in prayer. [A KINGDOM OF ABUNDANT LIFE [vertical heaven- connection]]
    3. And Jesus desires that His kingdom shall be a resourceful kingdom. There are 'means of grace' available for us. God desires to meet every inward longing of the human heart, and He has designed 'means of grace' that correspond to our deepest needs. [A KINGDOM OF FULFILLMENT [seeking of personal power— inward!]]
    4. But Jesus intends that the means of grace remain just that: means, and not ends in and of themselves. This is at least a part of what Jesus was saying as he made the assumption (verse 17): "When you FAST..." For the kingdom of God has means of inward renewal and growth and strength.
  2. [summary] So there you have it: There are some things we simply are going to do because we are part of Christ's kingdom:
    1. we GIVE— the outward thrust of life
    2. we PRAY— the vertical dimension, the breath of LIFE
    3. we FAST— (seeking personal power, growth) the inward focus of spiritual growth ...
    4. and perhaps we could add a fourth assumption to this chapter that includes the other three. In verse 20 Jesus says: "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven!" And He adds: "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also!"
  3. All three of these basic movements of the soul are involved in the tasks of the Church of Jesus Christ, to which we all are called as Christians.

    The (1) giving out, and the (2) dependency on God in fervent prayer, and the (3) receiving of energy and inspiration all are involved in the 1. WORSHIP, and in the 2. EDUCATION, and in the 3. EVANGELISM; in the 4. FELLOWSHIP and in the 5. SERVICE MINISTRY of the church at every level of its existence.

    We GIVE, and we PRAY, and we LEARN TO DEPEND ON THE SPIRIT MORE AND MORE in whatever facet of the church's work we are gifted and called upon to labor.

II. THE PERFECT COMPREHENSION OF GOD THE FATHER

"Your heavenly Father, who seeth in secret ..." repeated three times (4,6,18); and (verse 8): "Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." and (verse 32): "... your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things."

  1. God KNOWS
  2. God CARES
  3. God RESPONDS (more on this truth in IV.)

III. CHRIST'S PATIENT EDUCATION

  1. Learning how to implement His expectations. Jesus knew that even spiritual things must be taught and learned. So this was a lesson which (no doubt) He repeated over and over again— and taught by His example:

    "When you GIVE— do it like this. When you FAST— make it effective!" And His BIG lesson, at least here, is about PRAYER: "When you PRAY- here is how!:"

  2. The "Pattern for Prayer"

    Worship - Surrender - Trust - Specifics - Praise !

  3. Perseverance in this great School!

IV. THE SATISFACTION

  1. Labor in the kingdom of God does not go unseen nor unrewarded! It pays to serve Jesus! Labor for Jesus is NOT 'slave-labor!' God responds to the sincere cry of the heart! Hebrews 11:6 "God is a Rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."
  2. But HOW does it pay?
    1. It pays in FELLOWSHIP WITH JESUS. (Go! ... and Lo, I AM with YOU always!)
    2. It pays in ACCOMPLISHMENT and ADEQUACY (Galatians 6:7:"Be not weary in well-doing, for in due season ye shall reap if ye faint not!")

      [But these are NOT the heart of the emphasis here. Jesus says: "The Father will reward you OPENLY!!"]

    3. It pays to serve Jesus in a way that will be rewarded OPENLY! It will be MANIFEST!

Conclusion

Every time we pray the Lord's Prayer we are asking Jesus to return in His glory and set up His kingdom when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

But there is this sobering thought about the coming again of Jesus. It is then that we shall come face to face with His expectations for us! It is then that we shall give an account of our stewardship. Our GIVING and why we gave! Our praying and even our 'spiritual reaching'— our holy things— our 'fasting' and our seeking to find the holy way.

#48 (EH) Go Forth and Tell! O Church of God, Awake!