WEBVTT 00:00:03.839 --> 00:00:11.439 If you're in this room and you think I'm a long way from God, I don't know God, I don't even believe in God, let me tell you this: He knows you already. 00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:19.199 This podcast is the Ministry of Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:24.239 For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org. 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:27.600 Amen. 00:00:28.239 --> 00:00:29.199 Let's pray together. 00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:36.640 Father, because you've overcome, we don't have to use inappropriate language like we're soldiers and warriors and we're in a battle. 00:00:36.799 --> 00:00:37.600 No, no, no, no. 00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:40.479 We're the recipients of a battle that's already been won. 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:44.320 And so we overcome the way because you've overcome. 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:47.359 And we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. 00:00:47.439 --> 00:00:50.799 And the word of our testimony today is that Jesus is king. 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:55.600 And he's who reigns over us, he's who we submit to. 00:00:55.759 --> 00:01:00.320 And so we are, we're not here to elect you, we're not here to cast our vote in favor of Jesus. 00:01:00.479 --> 00:01:02.079 It is not a democracy. 00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:04.319 This is the monarchy, and you're the king. 00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:07.359 And so, and you're a good king, and the king is one. 00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:10.799 And so we're heralds of good news today that the king is one. 00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:18.000 And so, Lord, increase our capacity today, from your word and by your spirit, to understand that news and all of its ramifications. 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:19.760 There is no king without a kingdom. 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:22.560 And so we want to understand both of those realities today. 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:27.120 And we want to speak truth to all the questions that rise up around that. 00:01:27.519 --> 00:01:30.000 Show us how to do that from your word, God, we pray. 00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:31.599 We ask for this in Jesus' name. 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:33.519 And everyone said, Amen. 00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:34.959 You can have a seat if you've got a Bible. 00:01:35.040 --> 00:01:37.760 I invite you to take it and open it up to John chapter 18. 00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:40.000 If you're our guest, we're preaching through the gospel of John. 00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:41.760 Starting in chapter 1, verse 1. 00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:43.120 Today we're up to chapter 18. 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:44.640 I'll start reading verse 33. 00:01:44.719 --> 00:01:49.040 And I want to talk to you about how to have more interesting conversations. 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:52.000 How to have more interesting conversations. 00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:53.599 And let me just start with a question. 00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:54.640 You say, what do you mean? 00:01:54.799 --> 00:01:58.560 How many of you this week would you say, I had a conversation that was very interesting? 00:01:58.719 --> 00:02:00.000 Would you raise your hand? 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:02.400 Maybe 12? 00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:03.200 Yeah. 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:06.480 So sense and need to have more interesting conversations. 00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:07.519 You say, what do you mean? 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:09.759 And here's how you have interesting conversations. 00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:11.759 This is what we're going to see in the text. 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:17.120 You need to look and listen for three things when you talk to people: king, kingdom, and question. 00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:19.599 King, kingdom, and question. 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:22.319 King, who or what does this person submit to? 00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:23.280 You say, what do you mean? 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:23.680 What? 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:24.560 And then who? 00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:24.800 No. 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:28.479 Sometimes people submit to their addiction, and so they just can't say no to that. 00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:29.759 And so, who's the king? 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:31.759 Who or what does this person submit to? 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:32.479 Kingdom. 00:02:32.560 --> 00:02:34.639 What reality governs this person's life? 00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:37.520 Is this person a part of anything bigger than themselves? 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:38.639 And then question. 00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:43.520 And the question that in the text this morning, God named Pilate will ask Jesus, what is the truth? 00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:44.479 What is truth? 00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:47.520 He doesn't ask it in a really sincere seeking way. 00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:50.879 He is scoffing, much like people in our current culture do. 00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:52.560 They just kind of like, oh, what is truth? 00:02:52.719 --> 00:02:54.159 That's got nothing to do with my life. 00:02:54.240 --> 00:02:58.159 And so, whenever you listen, because that's why you have more interesting conversations. 00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:04.240 For example, uh, because I'm a Christian, I've been watching Ken Burns' documentary on country music on PBS. 00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:05.840 My wife's like, Really? 00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:06.159 Again? 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:11.680 I'm like, geek, say everything you're gonna say, woman, because for the next two hours, I'm gonna have my quiet time. 00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:17.599 Uh and so I had a conversation a couple days after I saw the episode about the Hillbilly Shakespeare. 00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:18.319 Who is? 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:22.080 Hank Williams. 00:03:22.240 --> 00:03:25.360 Y'all need to, y'all need to get your Bible knowledge up in here, okay? 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:27.919 Uh Hank Williams was called the Hillbilly Shakespeare. 00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:32.479 Watch the episode about him, and it was great because his mom was driving into one of his early gigs. 00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:36.639 He was in the back seat of the car asleep, and she said, Hank, wake up. 00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:37.759 We're close to home. 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:39.199 I just saw the light. 00:03:39.360 --> 00:03:42.639 And she was talking about the beacon light at the airport that was close to their house. 00:03:42.800 --> 00:03:46.560 That indicated when you saw that light, it was dark, it was like dusk. 00:03:46.639 --> 00:03:48.639 I mean, I mean dawn, just still a little bit dark. 00:03:48.800 --> 00:03:50.240 She said, I just saw the light. 00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:56.879 Hank reached over, grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper, and by the time they'd gotten home, he wrote a song entitled, I saw the light. 00:03:57.120 --> 00:03:58.000 I saw the light. 00:03:58.159 --> 00:03:59.919 No more darkness, no more night. 00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:03.199 And so it became a famous country song, okay? 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:05.520 Now, fast forward towards the end of his young life. 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:07.520 He died, I think he was 29 years old. 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:09.360 I maybe barely 30. 00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:12.159 But anyway, he's in the backseat of a car. 00:04:12.240 --> 00:04:13.520 He's traveling all around the country. 00:04:13.599 --> 00:04:15.439 He's suffering from chronic back pain. 00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:20.240 He's addicted to morphine, other drugs, and he can't leave the whiskey alone, okay? 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:21.519 And they're concerned about him. 00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:23.519 And so they're like, Hank's in a bad way. 00:04:23.680 --> 00:04:26.720 He'd been fired, and he just wasn't in a good way. 00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:30.240 His addiction, see, he was submitting to something he wasn't created to submit to. 00:04:30.319 --> 00:04:32.399 And so here's one of the reasons I love country music. 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:34.959 It's not just the music, it's the people, how they care for each other. 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:35.839 Minnie Pearl. 00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:37.439 Remember when Minnie Pearl is? 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:43.279 Minnie Pearl goes over to Hank Williams' house and sets with him and just to help him sober up. 00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:48.720 And she said, I want to, I wanted to comfort him, so she started singing his song, I saw the light. 00:04:48.959 --> 00:04:51.360 I saw the light, no more darkness, no more night. 00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:56.480 Hank Williams looked up at her and he said, Minnie, there's no there's no light for old Hank. 00:04:57.040 --> 00:05:00.399 But I tell you that, I'm talking to a guy a couple days ago. 00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:04.639 He's going through a really hard, difficult period in life, and I said, Hey, can I ask you a weird question? 00:05:04.800 --> 00:05:05.279 I said, Yeah. 00:05:05.360 --> 00:05:10.240 And I told him I said, I was watching country music thing and documentary, and he's like, I said, Is there any light for you? 00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:11.920 And he goes, I don't know what you mean. 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:13.439 I said, Do you feel hopeful? 00:05:13.759 --> 00:05:14.879 He said, Not really. 00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:19.519 I said, You're not hopeful just because you don't think there's any hope or you've yet to experience it. 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:22.079 He said, What are you asking me? 00:05:22.399 --> 00:05:24.399 And I got to just explain the gospel. 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:27.360 He's like, Oh, because I feel like I was talking to Hank Williams. 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:31.199 Hey, man, and I'm just trying to wake him up and say, Hey, hey, I just saw the light. 00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:32.160 There's hope out there. 00:05:32.319 --> 00:05:36.480 You ain't got to live in subjections, subjection to all this stuff you live in subjection to. 00:05:36.639 --> 00:05:39.920 So when I say how to have more interesting conversations, this is what I mean. 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:42.319 I'm gonna start reading verse 33 of John 18. 00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:45.040 Listen for king, kingdom, and question. 00:05:45.199 --> 00:05:46.959 Verse 33, so Pilate entered. 00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:48.560 Jesus, they've got him arrested. 00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:57.759 He's being passed around to different people, and he's now talking to a guy named Pilate, who, quote unquote, holds the fate of Jesus in his hands, if that's possible. 00:05:57.920 --> 00:05:59.439 It's not, but we'll play along. 00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:05.279 So Pilate entered his headquarters again, and he called Jesus and said to him, Are you the king of the Jews? 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:09.759 Jesus answered, Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me? 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:11.839 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? 00:06:12.079 --> 00:06:15.519 Your own nation and chief priests have delivered you over to me. 00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:16.480 What have you done? 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:19.040 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. 00:06:19.199 --> 00:06:26.560 If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews, but my kingdom is not from the world. 00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:29.360 And then Pilate said to him, So you are a king. 00:06:29.600 --> 00:06:32.079 Jesus answered, You say that I'm a king. 00:06:32.319 --> 00:06:36.959 For this purpose I was born, and for this purpose I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth. 00:06:37.120 --> 00:06:39.680 Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:42.000 Pilate said to him, What is truth? 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:51.759 After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, I find no guilt in him, but you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. 00:06:51.920 --> 00:06:54.480 So do you want me to release you the king of the Jews? 00:06:54.639 --> 00:06:57.600 They cried out again, Not this man, but Barabbas. 00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:00.240 Now Barabbas was a robber. 00:07:00.639 --> 00:07:02.319 Did you hear it in the conversation? 00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:04.720 King, kingdom question. 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:05.920 Number one, King. 00:07:06.079 --> 00:07:08.560 What how do you have more interesting conversations? 00:07:08.720 --> 00:07:11.759 You listen for King, who or what does this person submit to? 00:07:11.920 --> 00:07:13.519 It's verse 33 to 35. 00:07:13.600 --> 00:07:18.399 And because he starts off and he asks Jesus very plainly, Are you the King of the Jews? 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:19.519 And off they go. 00:07:19.600 --> 00:07:21.920 Jesus says, Do you ask me this question of your own accord? 00:07:22.079 --> 00:07:23.279 Or did somebody else ask you? 00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:26.959 Because he's trying to gauge how how does Pilate understand me? 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:28.720 Does he just go in on hearsay? 00:07:28.879 --> 00:07:32.240 Does he have a frame of reference for who I am and who he's talking to? 00:07:32.399 --> 00:07:33.839 And you say, What do you mean, king? 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:37.279 This language has been the water around Jesus from the very beginning. 00:07:37.439 --> 00:07:44.959 Almost every time he would perform a miracle when he first shows up, John chapter 1, about verse 48, he sees a guy named Nathaniel walking to him. 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:52.959 That another guy who Jesus called as one of his disciples went and found Nathaniel, brought him to Jesus, and Jesus knew him already before he ever got there. 00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:54.639 Now, could you say, how do you know that? 00:07:54.959 --> 00:08:00.800 John 1, about verse 48 and 49, actually starts about verse 47, uh, kind of given the background. 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:06.959 But basically what it is is the guy's walking up, and Jesus sees him and said, Hey, here's a right, here's an Israelite in whom there is no guile. 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:08.800 And Nathaniel's like, How do you know me? 00:08:08.959 --> 00:08:09.839 You've never met me. 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:11.040 Now stop right here. 00:08:11.199 --> 00:08:11.839 Look at me. 00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:19.600 If you're in this room and you think I'm a long way from God, I don't know God, I don't even believe in God, let me tell you this: He knows you already. 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:22.079 He knows you, he sees you afar off. 00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:27.839 And so Nathaniel's kind of like, oh, it'd be like you meeting somebody at lunch today and they go, Oh, yeah, your name's Bill. 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:29.360 You're married to a lady named Irene. 00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:31.600 You're like, okay, where's my bill flow? 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:32.639 Get away from me. 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:40.320 It'd be a little unnerving, but Nathaniel, this guy, when Jesus, he realizes Jesus kind of knows me, he responds to him and says, Rabbi, you're the son of God. 00:08:40.480 --> 00:08:41.759 You're the king of Israel. 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:46.559 You're not one chapter into John's gospel, and people are already trying to crown Jesus as king. 00:08:46.799 --> 00:08:50.720 Five chapters later, after Jesus feeds the 5,000, the people go crazy. 00:08:50.879 --> 00:08:54.720 They're like, Oh yeah, we need this guy running the world. 00:08:54.879 --> 00:08:58.159 We need him to be in charge of affairs because our life will be better. 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:10.240 Yet the Bible says this in John 6, verse 15, of Jesus perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself. 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:16.320 Now, one of the things we see early on in Jesus' life and ministry is that he's not going to be king on your terms. 00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:18.480 He's going to be king on his terms. 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:21.919 This is one of the things that distinguishes him from all the other kings. 00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:25.120 When you think about King Herod, different kings in the Bible. 00:09:26.159 --> 00:09:34.080 The way he reigns and rules is totally different because kings are known for three things in the Bible: power, wealth, and control. 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:36.399 Power, think of King Herod. 00:09:36.559 --> 00:09:44.879 He commits infanticide, he kills thousands of young male babies because he fears that the Messiah has been born. 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:48.399 Jesus, the king, comes and offers himself. 00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:49.840 Wealth. 00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:52.879 The Son of Man, the Bible says, has no place to lay his head. 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:56.000 Jesus would do things like they would say, Hey, you got to pay taxes. 00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:57.600 You and your disciples got to pay taxes. 00:09:58.080 --> 00:09:59.519 No one's exempt from the law. 00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:02.080 Jesus has already said, I didn't come to abolish the law. 00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:03.120 I came to fulfill the law. 00:10:03.200 --> 00:10:04.399 They're like, well, pay the man. 00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:05.600 Everybody's got to pay taxes. 00:10:05.759 --> 00:10:11.600 Jesus says, I tell you what, go down there, cast your rod in here, get this fish, open his mouth, and in there you'll find a gold coin. 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:13.600 They're like David Blaine's street magician. 00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:14.480 They are freaking out. 00:10:14.559 --> 00:10:16.240 They're like, oh my gosh. 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:21.679 Jesus would send his disciples out and say, Take nothing for your journey. 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:24.320 Just let that in for just a minute. 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:26.480 Take nothing for your journey. 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:28.080 Don't provide for yourself. 00:10:28.159 --> 00:10:29.919 Just trust me, I'm going to provide for you. 00:10:30.159 --> 00:10:32.480 Now, by the way, Jesus didn't have a problem with wealth. 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:34.320 The Bible has some strict warnings. 00:10:34.399 --> 00:10:39.200 It says, hey, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:39.840 Look at me. 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:42.480 That's not a biblical command to hate the rich man, okay? 00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:46.399 That's a biblical command to not put your hope in wealth. 00:10:47.600 --> 00:10:48.320 Control. 00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:52.159 Jesus surrenders control because someone else was in control. 00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:53.679 Jesus is the only king. 00:10:53.840 --> 00:10:57.679 Most kings sent their army out to fight for them and sacrifice themselves for them. 00:10:57.840 --> 00:11:01.039 He sacrifices himself for his army of believers. 00:11:01.200 --> 00:11:04.240 So when the Bible talks about king, and Bible says, Are you a king? 00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:08.720 Jesus doesn't disagree, but he goes on and just kind of says, Hey, my kingdom is not of this world. 00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:14.960 So when he dies and he ascends into heaven, like we just sang about, when he ascends to the throne, all creation bows down. 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:17.200 The ascension is this coronation is king. 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:22.960 And the coronation comes with this designation from God the Father of the realm over which he rules. 00:11:23.200 --> 00:11:25.360 That realm is all of creation. 00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:35.360 It's not if you've gone to church five times in your life, much less five years or 15 years, you've heard this phrase before said of Jesus, that he is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. 00:11:35.519 --> 00:11:37.759 If you've heard that phrase before, say amen. 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:40.720 If you understand what it means, say amen. 00:11:43.679 --> 00:11:46.559 When the Bible says he's king of kings, let's just take that for example. 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:54.480 When the Bible says that Jesus is king of kings, that does not mean that he's king over all the lesser kings in the world, like King Herod and all these other people. 00:11:54.639 --> 00:11:58.320 It basically means he's a king in a way that no one else has ever been a king before. 00:11:58.559 --> 00:12:02.879 It also says, and he doesn't just rule over kings, he rules over everything. 00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:06.000 So when you say king, Pilate says to him, Are you a king? 00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:19.759 And by the way, before you, I'm not here to give you tips and techniques for having just interesting conversations, because before you ask anybody else of anybody, who or what do they submit to, you gotta ask yourself, who or what do you submit to? 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:21.200 You see, there's king. 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:22.879 Secondly, there's kingdom. 00:12:23.360 --> 00:12:26.000 It's unthinkable to have a king without a kingdom. 00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:28.000 Now, when I say kingdom, what do you mean? 00:12:28.159 --> 00:12:34.879 Uh I mean the kingdom of God, the Bible talks about it's all through the gospels, it's all through the Bible, the kingdom of God. 00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:43.679 Jesus kind of he told people in Matthew chapter 6, about verse 33, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:49.039 All these things he's talking about, food and clothes and shelter and worrying about your life and all this stuff. 00:12:49.120 --> 00:12:52.639 And Jesus says, hey, prioritize above everything else the kingdom of God. 00:12:52.799 --> 00:12:54.720 It was that tangible, that real. 00:12:54.879 --> 00:13:00.240 Now, when I say the kingdom, what I mean is it's the realm within which what God wants done gets done. 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:01.919 Dallas Willard said it like this. 00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:05.679 He says, the gospel is a spiritual reality about a spiritual reality. 00:13:05.840 --> 00:13:11.600 And here's the spiritual reality that the gospel's about: the availability of life under the rule of heavens. 00:13:12.080 --> 00:13:15.759 The availability of life under the rule of heavens. 00:13:15.919 --> 00:13:17.200 Look at verse 36. 00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:20.799 After Pilate asked him, Hey, am I a Jew and all this stuff? 00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:24.080 Jesus answered and says, My kingdom is not of this world. 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:29.200 If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. 00:13:29.279 --> 00:13:32.159 Remember a couple chapters ago when they came to arrest Jesus in the garden? 00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:35.759 Peter pulls out a sword and cuts a guy's ear off, and Jesus' like, put that up, dude. 00:13:35.840 --> 00:13:39.840 You don't think I can call down legions of angels and just obliterate these people? 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:47.600 He's not fighting because he's not like every other king that's ever existed who has an army that defends him while he sits back in a castle and does nothing. 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:51.200 No, he's like, hey, I'm fully submitted to the Father's will. 00:13:51.360 --> 00:13:52.080 Put your knife up. 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:53.919 I don't need you to help me. 00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:55.840 I need you to understand me. 00:13:56.080 --> 00:13:58.480 Jesus says, My kingdom is not of this world. 00:13:58.799 --> 00:14:02.799 He says, But my kingdom is not from the world either. 00:14:03.039 --> 00:14:07.039 Verse 37, then Pilate said to him, So you are a king. 00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:11.440 So, so so just trying to establish what's going on here. 00:14:11.600 --> 00:14:13.679 You don't have a king without a kingdom. 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:23.440 Very early on, like Matthew chapter 4, Jesus shows up, he gets baptized by John the Baptist, and then he began to say this: Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. 00:14:23.679 --> 00:14:24.159 Repent. 00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:33.120 Change the way you think about yourself, your life, your money, your sex life, your food, your car, your truck, the grass in your front and backyard, everything in your life. 00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:33.600 Why? 00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:38.799 Because the kingdom of God, a reality that is bigger and better, is at hand. 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:41.519 It's here, right here, right now. 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:44.000 Jesus talked about it all through the Gospels. 00:14:44.080 --> 00:14:51.919 And no more did He talk about it more vividly, and I'll warn you more graphically than in Luke chapter 19, starting in verse 11. 00:14:52.240 --> 00:14:57.279 I just want to read what the Bible says, and I'll kind of give you a little explanation along the way. 00:14:57.440 --> 00:14:58.559 But hear this, okay? 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:00.799 This is Luke chapter 19, verse 11. 00:15:01.039 --> 00:15:11.120 Jesus has been talking, and it says, as they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:12.399 Let me stop right there. 00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:15.919 Religious people have the greatest capacity to get it wrong. 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:21.200 He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going, could happen tomorrow. 00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:22.879 I mean, this is all gonna go down. 00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:25.759 And so Jesus is like, hey, I want you guys to understand. 00:15:25.919 --> 00:15:38.320 So verse 12 says, He said, therefore, a nobleman went into a far country, a nobleman, Jesus, went into a far country, heaven, to receive for himself a kingdom and then return, the second coming. 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:43.360 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minors and said to them, Engage in business until I come. 00:15:43.519 --> 00:15:49.840 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, We do not want this man to reign over us. 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:51.440 That's you and me. 00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:53.919 By nature, that's our heart towards God. 00:15:54.159 --> 00:15:56.240 We do not want this man to reign over us. 00:15:56.480 --> 00:16:05.440 However, when he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to call to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. 00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:08.960 The first came before him saying, Lord, your mind has made ten minors more. 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:14.879 And he said to him, Well done, good servant, because you have been faithful in very little, you shall have authority over ten cities. 00:16:15.039 --> 00:16:20.879 And the second came saying, Lord, your mind has made five minors, he said to him, and you worked to be over five cities. 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:28.159 Then another came saying, Lord, here is your minor which I've kept laid away in a handkerchief, for I was afraid of you because you are a severe man. 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:31.840 You take what you did not deposit, and you reap what you did not sow. 00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:36.000 He said to him, I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant. 00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:41.200 You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit, reaping what I did not sow. 00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:43.679 Why then did you not put my money in the bank? 00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:46.320 And at my coming I might have collected it with interest. 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:50.879 And he said to those who stood by, Take the minor from him and give it to the one who has ten minors. 00:16:51.039 --> 00:16:53.360 And they said to him, Lord, he has ten minors. 00:16:53.519 --> 00:16:56.000 That rich weasel, he's got enough. 00:16:56.799 --> 00:16:57.840 Verse 26. 00:16:58.000 --> 00:17:01.840 And by the way, it's so easy to hate the rich. 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:03.679 Have you noticed that? 00:17:03.919 --> 00:17:07.920 And when I say rich, I mean anybody that's got a little bit more than you, you think, is rich. 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:10.480 It's just so easy to pile on. 00:17:10.960 --> 00:17:16.160 And God says, Hey, I trust that person with more than I trust you with because you're ruled by fear. 00:17:16.880 --> 00:17:20.480 Verse 26, he says, I tell you to everyone who has more will be given. 00:17:20.720 --> 00:17:24.079 But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:25.839 Hear verse 27. 00:17:26.640 --> 00:17:30.000 Unbelief has always been an expensive thing. 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:37.599 But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me. 00:17:39.359 --> 00:17:41.759 It's always been an expensive thing to not believe. 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:52.319 Now, I don't say that to scare you, I do say that to warn you that our nature is, I do, my nature and your nature is we don't want anybody to rule over us because we want to be king. 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:58.720 And that's why when you have conversations with people, you need to be listening for king, and then secondly, you need to be listening for kingdom. 00:17:58.799 --> 00:18:03.680 What is the governing reality that kind of leads in their life? 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:08.240 Are they a part of anything bigger than themselves and their naturally occurring appetites? 00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:15.599 Dallas Willard, who uh was a seminary professor, but excuse me, what he was a professor at USC, University of Southern California, taught philosophy. 00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:17.119 Godly, godly man. 00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:17.920 He said this. 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:21.119 He said, consumer Christianity is now normative. 00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:34.400 The consumer Christian is one who utilizes the grace of God for forgiveness and the services of the church for special occasion, but does not give his or her life and innermost thoughts and feelings and intentions over to the kingdom of the heavens. 00:18:34.559 --> 00:18:39.039 Such Christians are not inwardly transformed and not committed to it. 00:18:39.599 --> 00:18:40.319 Just not. 00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:49.279 Now, when I talk about the kingdom, uh let me say this there's two gross errors in modern theology when it comes to this biblical concept of the kingdom of God. 00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:52.160 Uh, there's two gross errors, and then there's a biblical answer. 00:18:53.119 --> 00:18:56.799 The two wrong ways of thinking are first of all, an overrealized eschatology. 00:18:57.039 --> 00:19:02.000 An over-realized eschatology basically says that we've realized the fullness of the kingdom of God now. 00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:04.559 When I say eschatology, that's just a big church word. 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:06.480 Don't check out on me like, I don't get it. 00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:10.240 That just means the last things, the end times. 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:11.599 How's the world gonna end? 00:19:11.759 --> 00:19:13.359 What's gonna happen with all that stuff? 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:27.920 And when I say an overrealized eschatology, basically there's some people that think, hey, whatever happens in heaven, because when Jesus taught the disciples to pray, he part of the prayer was, you know, uh, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 00:19:28.079 --> 00:19:31.359 People have an overrise, overrealized eschatology. 00:19:31.519 --> 00:19:36.240 They teach and they think and they act like everything that's in heaven can be had here on earth. 00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:39.200 Probably the biggest proponent of this is a man named Bill Johnson. 00:19:39.279 --> 00:19:40.319 Now let me stop right here. 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:41.920 I don't hate Bill Johnson. 00:19:42.079 --> 00:19:49.039 Uh I don't I don't think he, I mean, I'm not out to get that guy, but my responsibility, he pastors a church called Bethel in California. 00:19:49.200 --> 00:19:54.559 My responsibility as your pastor is to tell you what the truth is, but also to tell you what the truth isn't. 00:19:54.720 --> 00:20:00.400 And it's not a biblically sustainable belief to think that everything that happens in heaven can happen here on earth. 00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:01.839 Because why do I bring up his name? 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:06.240 Because Bill Johnson makes people feel like, hey, there's there should be no sickness. 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:09.039 He said he declared his city a cancer-free city. 00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:13.119 Someone said to me, Would you ever get up and declare our city a cancer-free city? 00:20:13.279 --> 00:20:19.440 I said, No, I wouldn't do that because in this world that is under the penalty and the price of sin, there's always going to be an M.D. 00:20:19.599 --> 00:20:20.079 Anderson. 00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:25.359 It's a cancer research hospital down the Med Center. 00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:27.519 Would I like there to not be cancer? 00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:28.480 Absolutely. 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:36.960 But it's an overrealized eschatology because here's what happens: if you live in Bill Johnson City and you get cancer, what they tell you is you just don't have enough faith. 00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:40.960 And if you had enough faith, you would exercise your faith and believe God and be healed. 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:44.000 So a lot of people die of cancer and shame. 00:20:44.720 --> 00:20:47.039 That's an overrealized eschatology. 00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:53.839 Uh, the prosperity gospel preaches this everybody gets healed, everybody gets rich, and everybody's always happy. 00:20:54.079 --> 00:20:59.039 Uh, I I when I read the Bible, I see a Jesus who on occasion got sad. 00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:00.160 He wasn't always happy. 00:21:00.319 --> 00:21:03.279 So if you're not happy today, that's a very Christ-like emotion. 00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:07.039 Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus say smile all the time. 00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:09.519 An overrealized eschatology. 00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:12.640 The second era, just as deadly, is an underrealized eschatology. 00:21:12.720 --> 00:21:15.519 This says the kingdom of God is something totally futuristic. 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:19.359 In no sense does the kingdom of God exist already. 00:21:19.519 --> 00:21:25.519 And basically it's life is hard, but you get to go to heaven when you die, so just suck it up and endure. 00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:30.240 Let me ask you this how many times can you hear that and look forward to it? 00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:35.359 How many times can you come to church and the preachers just say, hey, life's hard, isn't it? 00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:38.000 Well, we get to go to heaven, hunker down. 00:21:38.640 --> 00:21:41.200 I mean, after a while, you're just like, I'll sleep in. 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:42.799 Honey, you go for me. 00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:43.759 Let me guess. 00:21:43.839 --> 00:21:46.319 It's hard and we're just gonna get to go to heaven. 00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:49.359 Uh, and then this is I think is the biblical response. 00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:51.519 It's a biblically balanced eschatology. 00:21:51.599 --> 00:21:55.440 It says this: the kingdom of God is already and not yet. 00:21:56.160 --> 00:21:58.640 The kingdom of God is already and not yet. 00:21:58.720 --> 00:21:59.279 Let me demonstrate. 00:21:59.359 --> 00:22:00.880 Now look at Me just for a second. 00:22:01.039 --> 00:22:02.319 How many of you are in this room? 00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:10.720 I'm not going to ask you to raise your hand if you're visiting, but if you're visiting today, let me say this because you may be thinking, Oh man, you said a lot of things I didn't really understand. 00:22:10.880 --> 00:22:16.160 If you go to this church pretty consistently and I say things sometimes that you don't understand, say amen. 00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:18.720 See, you're in good company. 00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:22.319 And some of these little weasels said that with gusto. 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:23.359 Did you hear that? 00:22:23.680 --> 00:22:24.319 Amen. 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:26.559 Yes, you moron. 00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:28.559 Wait till we get to the last part about truth. 00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:30.160 Your eyes are gonna roll back in your head. 00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:33.279 You're gonna be like, Stop! We'll get to that in just a minute. 00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:38.160 When I say the kingdom of God is already and not yet, if you've ever been to a wedding, say amen. 00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:43.920 Now let me ask this: if you've been married over 25 years and ever been to a wedding, say amen. 00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:47.039 Now, here's the thing for you old married people like me, okay? 00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:52.079 You go to a wedding, and now those people walk down the aisle and you're kind of like, oh, this is cute. 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:53.519 And then they're kind of married. 00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:56.240 They're married already, but not yet. 00:22:59.440 --> 00:22:59.920 Yeah. 00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:04.000 That's why you old married people are just looking like, yeah, enjoy it now. 00:23:04.240 --> 00:23:12.880 And you don't want to write on the parade because they're having a Pinterest moment at their wedding venue and they're doing things no one's else has done, coming down the aisle to a black-eyed pea song. 00:23:12.960 --> 00:23:14.960 Oh, we've never seen that before. 00:23:15.920 --> 00:23:20.319 All the old married people drinking that free beer you're paying for, can I like, yeah. 00:23:20.720 --> 00:23:22.640 You just give it a little bit of time. 00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:25.039 And it's not that we're not hating on you. 00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:27.920 You're married already, but not yet. 00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:29.680 Not yet at all. 00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:34.000 I tell people in premarital counseling, hey, you let's talk about why you're here. 00:23:34.160 --> 00:23:36.559