Posted 5 years ago by Anonymous

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TITLE: Kingdom Bound – Exodus 19:1-6, I Peter 2:4-10 AIM: Establish & develop kingdom of God thinking. INTRO: Don’t think in these terms so much anymore, but in ancient times world was made up of kingdoms, empires. Kings & kingdoms rose & fell, conquering or being conquered by other kings/kingdoms. These days there are but a few countries which claim a king/queen/ emperor. And most nations anymore are not so interested in conquering or colonizing other nations & expanding their “kingdom reign” – more conflict w/in nations. These days there are many independent nations governed by presidents & parliaments/congresses elected by & representing the people. Democracy is thought to be the way to go, even tho still have dictatorships. But it’s really not that way in Christianity – a Theocracy. God is the Sovereign & His design is a kingdom. We who are His household are His subjects. God has always desired a kingdom & a kingdom is His design. Exodus 19:1-6 The Israelites had come out of Egypt, delivered by God from slavery. God brought them thru the Red Sea, by His miraculous power. After 2-3 mos (3rd full moon), they came to the wilderness of Sinai & encamped at the foot of Mt. Sinai, where Moses 1st encountered God in the burning bush. Picture in my office which Beth had taken when she was in Israel w/her BICS class – sunrise on Mt. Sinai. We read here that “Moses went up to God” – up the mt to meet w/God, who spoke to him “out of the mt.” Talk about mt top experience! Mt. top experiences are so invigorating, exciting, captivating. We like mt top experiences, don’t we? Baptism is such an experience (as is conversion to faith in Christ). Baptism is standing before God’s people, w/Jesus, professing/ confessing faith in, commitment to Christ. But we all come down from mt top – maybe by end of day. Would say to all of you & especially to those being baptized what singer Carmen once said: “Don’t forget in the darkness what you learned in the light.” Don’t forget what you experience here today, what learn, commitment made on this mt top, when you go down into the valley of everyday life, w/its trials/ struggles. God reminded Moses how He had brought the Hebrew people out of Egypt – destroying greatest army of that era. He said, “I bore you on eagle’s wings & brought you to Myself.” That’s essentially what God has done for each of us who are His children thru faith in Christ. He has lifted us out of slavery to sin & brought us to Himself. We are His children by His grace thru the atoning work of Christ. God further said to Moses & thru him to the Israelites, “If you will obey My voice & keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possession…” He was speaking that concerning the Israelites, but as Paul tells us in Galatians 3:7, “…it is those of faith [in Christ] who are the sons of Abraham.” And in Ephesians he tells us that all believers are “members of the household of God” (2:19) & “…fellow heirs, members of the same body, & partakers of the promise of Christ Jesus through the gospel” (3:6). So we are God’s “treasured possession.” You who are being baptized, understand & always remember that you are God’s treasured possession! The Hebrew wd is “cegullah,” “from a root wd meaning ‘to shut up’ (encompass); it’s “valued property, peculiar treasure” (Strong’s). God has taken you to Himself as His own. You belong to Him. We are called, as the Israelites were, to obey & keep covenant, but thankfully, our standing depends upon Christ’s obedience & covenant keeping. That doesn’t remove our responsibility to obey & be faithful, but rather it makes it possible. God said further to Moses/ Israel, “You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests & a holy nation.” Again I would say that from the beginning God has designed & desired a kingdom. Of course, He already has reign over all, but He desires subjects/people of His own for His kingdom. This sovereign process to establish His kingdom began w/creation of man, continued thru the calling of Abraham & establishment of Israel as a people/nation. God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from Egypt & setting them up in the promised land was likewise part of that process, as was His giving them the law thru Moses & establishing their earthly kingdom, w/promise that King David would always have an heir on the throne, as long as they obeyed God & kept His covenant – which Israel failed to do & so the kingdom was lost to captivity, then restored, but only as a puppet kingdom. The nation of Israel was reestablished in 1948 & remains today, but it cannot be said that it is “a kingdom of priests & a holy nation.” So, what happened to the purpose & promise of God? Enter Jesus Christ, humanly speaking “of the house & lineage of David,” who is prophesied to be the One who will reign “on the throne of David & over His kingdom, to establish it & uphold it w/justice & righteousness from this time forth & forevermore…” How can it be? It is being & will be accomplished by “the zeal of the Lord of Hosts” (Is.9:7) The scope of the kingdom God envisioned & purposed has spread from Israel only to the whole world, including now sons & daughters of Abraham, who thru faith in Christ have, like their father, believed God & for whom, like their father, that faith has been reckoned as righteousness. God in Christ has fulfilled & is fulfilling Exodus 19:6. We can see this clearly in I Peter 2:4-5, 9-10 – “As you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen & precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God thru Jesus Christ.” “…You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” All who are in Christ are a chosen race, a royal priesthood (kingdom of priests), a holy nation, a people of [God’s] own possession! The thought of our each being priests unto God is that each of us in Christ have access to God our Father, able to come into His very presence & able to represent Him before others, able to introduce Him to others, etc. All of us in Christ are part of a kingdom, w/Christ Jesus being our king. We are part of a kingdom movement, & I want to challenge us today to begin to think more & more that way. The kingdom of God is not just somewhere out there in the heavens or in the future. We are looking for our King to come again, physically & visibly, but He is also w/us here & now, reigning in/over us. As thinking/praying about 2014, whether or not God wanted me to introduce a new theme for our thinking on Sunday mornings, this thought of the Kingdom of God kept coming to me. Thought it would be interesting/challenging to consider many of the passages of Scripture that speak of the Kingdom of God & Jesus as King. Don’t know exactly where God will take us, but at least for now our 2014 theme will be, “Kingdom Bound.” I think it very imp for us to realize that the kingdom of God is both a now & a not yet reality. We are not only bound for the kingdom – eternal life in Christ, but we are bound by the kingdom. The rule/reign of Christ is to mark our lives now in every way. Joe, Mindy, Alex, Sarah, all of us – remember we are subjects of the King. Our allegiance is not to ourselves or any other, but to Christ. I forget that all too often & go my own way & bow down to idols of my own making. But my life & your life is not our own. We belong to King Jesus. We are to obey Him & keep covenant w/Him as He lives in us by the Holy Spirit & gives us His grace. We will need to surrender to Him often, repeatedly. Our King is gracious & kind & patient & gentle, but He is King & Lord. Consider it, bros/sis, & remember it always: we are Kingdom Bound!