February 6, 2025 • 25 mins
What if the kingdom of God isn't just a distant hope, but a vibrant reality unfolding right now? Inspired by theologian N.T. Wright, we explore this transformative concept, challenging the notion of an untouchable heaven by highlighting how Jesus's work reveals an overlap between heaven and earth. Through the lens of the Gospel of Luke, we grapple with the cost of discipleship and the unsettling but urgent message of division that Jesus offers. It's a call to disrupt our complacency and embrace the profound changes that true surrender to Jesus demands.
The radical inclusivity of God's kingdom takes center stage as we reflect on Jesus's parables, particularly the great banquet in Luke 14. Here, we uncover the dangers of misplaced priorities and passive indifference that can lead us away from the divine invitation. The teachings of Jesus remain ever relevant, pushing us to live authentically and inspire others, not through force but through genuine actions. We explore the idea that living a faith-centered life should transcend Sunday services, affecting every corner of our existence. As we discuss the transformative power of committing to Jesus, we invite you to experience and extend the kingdom of God in daily life, offering a foretaste of the glorious world to come.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Madison Church Online.
Glad you're listening in.
I want to invite you to join usin person soon.
My name is Stephen Feets, I'mthe lead pastor here and I have
a question for us to reflect onthis morning, and I bet for some
of you because I know it's onethat you have thought about
before, but for some of you youhaven't thought about it, and I
would love to invite you tothink about it.
(00:20):
What if the kingdom of Godisn't just about where we go
when we die, but about what Godis doing right now?
Or in other words, what ifheaven and earth are overlapping
and interlocking and Jesus isinviting us to step into
something bigger than ourselves?
That's what I want you toreflect on this morning.
(00:43):
Perhaps heaven isn't then andthere.
Maybe it's here and now as well.
Nt Wright, prolific writer,theologian.
No one has done more to shapemy theology than this guy.
He describes the kingdom ofGod's rule breaking into the
present, reshaping the worldfrom the inside out, from you
and me to the rest of the world.
(01:04):
Starts with Jesus, goes to hisfollowers and it dispersed
throughout the rest of the worldfrom the inside out, from you
and me to the rest of the worldStarts with Jesus, goes to his
followers and it dispersedthroughout the rest of the world
.
It's not just a future hope.
We say the prayer and thenmaybe, hopefully with some luck,
at the end of my life, godkeeps his promise and I'm in
heaven.
It's a present reality.
God's salvation in the kingdomof heaven.
God's salvation in the kingdomof heaven.
(01:27):
Nt Wright writes.
Now many of us love the idea offollowing Jesus when it's
inspiring and it fits neatly inour lives, like 11 to 12 on a
(01:48):
Sunday.
That seems pretty convenient,right.
But what about when it requiresus to change, like what happens
when we get the conviction thatmaybe something I deeply
believed was right, all of asudden I'm having to confront
that maybe that wasn't right,something that I've practiced
most of my life and really justassumed or took for granted that
this was right.
Maybe now I'm having secondthoughts.
(02:09):
Maybe something was good for mefor a season and now God's
saying that's actually not goodfor you anymore.
Do we love following Jesus whenit requires us to surrender, to
open up our hands and to givehim everything we have, when he
calls us to fall on our knees tolive differently?
Now Jesus made it clearentering the kingdom of God is
(02:31):
going to cost something.
That's actually where Luke isgoing to transition.
We've been in this series goingverse by verse and through
Luke's gospel, and we see Jesushad been doing miracles around
the Sea of Galilee.
He's making his way intoJerusalem.
He's still doing some miracles,but now he's really focusing on
the work of training andequipping and preparing his
(02:53):
followers to continue themission after his death.
That he knows is happening, butthey haven't quite figured out
and we're going to enter intothe next few weeks, as we're
talking about Luke, the cost ofdiscipleship.
Yes, following Jesus is great.
It's the only way we canexperience life to the full and
it's an invitation to experienceheaven on earth.
But it's not easy.
(03:15):
It can be rather challenging,and the passages that we're
looking at today remind us thatthe kingdom of God is not
passive, it's urgent.
It's urgent.
Jesus calls us to recognize thetime we are in and he says the
time is now.
Not next week, not next year,not when you finish this, not
(03:36):
when you get that, but right now.
And so let's pick up where Sarahleft off last Sunday.
If you want to follow along,house Bibles are all around you.
Feel free to log into theinternet and use your smartphone
if you want to use a Bible app.
Otherwise the words will be onthe screen.
But again, luke 12.
And Jesus' words in this passageare not what anyone expected,
which we've come to expect.
(03:57):
Right, jesus is going to saythe unexpected.
The Jewish people longed for aMessiah who would bring peace,
and really peace, kind of by thesword is how they thought.
That's how you get peace.
The guy with the big stick, theguy who is the best at wielding
the sword.
And for the Jewish people theybelieved that that was their
(04:18):
Yahweh.
God was going to send a Messiahwho would finally make all
things right.
It would make the Roman empirejust crumble and put the Jewish
people back on top.
And what we see is Jesus saysyes, I am here, I am the Messiah
.
I have come to do some things.
It's just not going to be theway that you have expected them
to.
He does not affirm theirexpectations.
(04:40):
Instead, he dismantles them.
He says do you think I've cometo bring peace to the earth?
Now again context they thoughthe was going to come with a
sword and force peace oneveryone.
He says no, I've come to dividepeople against each other.
We'll just leave that up on thescreen for a second here.
(05:02):
Is this the first time you'veheard these words from Jesus?
Perhaps you didn't grow up inand around the church, or you've
been out of it for a while andthis sounds new to you.
You don't have to raise yourhand, but if it's the first time
, examine, kind of, maybe, whatyou're feeling.
Can you remember if you haveheard this before the first time
hearing this?
Now?
I'm not a big fan of trying tounexplain the things Jesus said.
(05:25):
That's kind of a popular trend.
Well, jesus said this, but youknow he didn't mean it and this
is why I just tend to take Jesusseriously when he said what he
said.
Why did he say it?
And let's look at that.
So what are you feeling aboutthis?
I've come to divide peopleagainst each other, divide
(05:46):
families.
I've come to divide peopleagainst each other, divide
families.
I've come to disruptcommunities.
I've come to force people tochoose.
Why?
Well, first off, because God'skingdom doesn't fit neatly into
the box of our expectations.
That's the first thing.
But for 2,000 years, whetherit's religious leaders back in
Jesus' day or Christians today,whether it's your first day on
(06:09):
earth or you've been around for100 years.
We have expectations that Jesusis constantly challenging.
He's forcing us out of the boxall the time.
Jesus did not come 2,000 yearsago to maintain the status quo
and he's still challenging thestatus quo today of my faith, of
(06:32):
your faith, of Christianity, ofthe big C church, of what the
kingdom of God can look like inour city and in our society.
Jesus came to call people toallegiance to God's reign and
that demands a response.
He says will you, are you goingto participate in this or not?
And not answering is answering.
Not saying yes is saying no.
(06:54):
There is no neutral ground andI know we tend to.
We like to think of Jesus, asyou know, sometimes in our
society, a little bit of asoftie, and I'm not making an
argument now that Jesus is mean.
I don't think that If you'velistened to any message in the
past.
I'm not trying to make thatargument.
But sometimes Jesus's words theyhit, they're challenging, and
(07:17):
that's good.
He's different from us.
Every now and then it shouldmake us uncomfortable, make us
scratch our head, make us wonderwhy, push us out of our comfort
zone.
That's how we know we'reengaging with the true God.
Is when we have a disagreement.
To make the point even clearer,he tells a parable about a
barren fig tree.
These are in verses six throughnine.
(07:38):
I'm not going to read thembecause I got a lot to go
through.
But it's a tree that looksalive, but it bears absolutely
no truth.
Again, it's a parable, it's astory.
It's just taking up space.
The owner of the tree wants tocut it down, but the gardener
the one who's working on it,intending it says just give me
one more year to nurture it.
Let's see what happens.
Just give me one more year.
This parable reveals both God'spatience, but also his
(08:01):
expectation.
He expects us to bear fruit.
Discipleship isn't just aboutbelieving, it's about bearing
fruit.
It's not just about being atree in the right field, it's
about bearing fruit wherever youare planted.
Luke immediately follows Jesus'call to action with a real-life
(08:23):
demonstration of what kingdomliving looks like.
He's teaching in the synagogue.
He's about to do a miraclethat's common for him.
There's a woman who's bent over.
She's unable to stand upstraight and without hesitation,
he calls her forward, he placeshis hands on her and, as we've
come to expect, the woman ishealed.
However, this should have beena moment of joy and celebration,
(08:44):
and for some normal people itwas.
This is cool.
How often 2,000 years ago didyou see somebody who you knew
for 18 years was bound up byailment and then all of a sudden
they're released from that?
So for some of them it wasreally cool and yet for others
it wasn't, because it was theSabbath.
This is a recurring theme inLuke's gospel.
(09:05):
For some of you who have beenevery week of this series or
kept up with it, you're like man.
This is like the third or fourthtime, I think Luke has recorded
Jesus heals on the Sabbath andthey have a problem with it.
The Pharisees do, yeah, they do.
Luke is trying to point outJesus keeps doing it.
Jesus keeps giving thePharisees, the religious leaders
(09:26):
, the synagogue folks, chanceafter chance and opportunity
after opportunity to changetheir mind.
I've done it before.
I've already talked to youabout it and then I did it
again've already talked to youabout it and then I did it again
, and I talked to you about itagain, and now I'm doing it
again.
And yet here we are.
And it goes ties into thatanalogy of the tree.
(09:46):
There's a tree and it bears nofruit, and yet the gardener
keeps saying give me just onemore time.
Give me one more time.
But we know time is running out.
Jesus exposes the hypocrisy oftheir thinking.
He says you don't tie an ox ordonkey.
They're actually like thesevery legalistic rules about how
many steps you could take andwhat you could actually do.
They debated it why?
Because living righteous andbeing holy was important to them
(10:07):
.
I want to point that out.
I think sometimes we give thePharisees like this oh, they're
awful, they're awful, they'reawful.
They were trying really hard.
They had a lot of conversationsabout the right way to live,
but in doing so they forgotabout the God that they were
pursuing.
And that's what Jesus is tryingto point out.
If you would take care of adonkey, an ox, how much more
(10:30):
important is this woman thanthem?
That's Jesus's argument.
God's commands were never meantto be barriers to mercy.
God's commands were always toreflect his heart, his care, his
nurture, his love for thepeople.
The kingdom of God is aboutrestoration and not rigid rule
(10:50):
keeping.
Discipleship is not aboutmaintaining comfort.
It's about stepping into God'smission, even when it disrupts
cultural norms.
And I think at times we arepretty good at this at Madison
Church.
I think at times we do thingsdifferently on purpose, in
pursuit of Jesus, not in pursuitof a tradition, of a
(11:14):
denomination tradition some ofthose words we were singing
today not because of any ofthose things.
But we ask the question what isGod doing and how can we join
him in that?
Jesus then expands his kingdomvision.
He's going to give us twoparables on how this is going to
expand.
He says what is the kingdom ofGod like?
How can I illustrate it?
(11:34):
It's like a tiny mustard seedthat a man has planted in a
garden.
It grows and becomes a tree andthe birds make nests in its
branches.
He also asked what else is thekingdom of God like?
It is like the yeast of a womanused in making bread.
Even though she put only alittle yeast in three measures
of flour, it permeated everypart of the dough and you have
(11:58):
to Google this sometime.
I should have got a picture foryou.
I'm just thinking of it rightnow.
But the mustard seed is likeit's almost impossible to see.
I've actually got them beforeand I've shown some of you what
a mustard seed looks like, andthen it turns into an entire
ecosystem.
In the desert, like wheresomething shouldn't grow, it
turns into an ecosystem.
And then he uses this thing, hegoes.
You know when the birds come,they make their nests.
What he's saying is he saysfrom this one mustard seed, from
(12:20):
this one act of faith, comes akingdom movement that births
life where formerly there wasjust death.
God's kingdom always startssmall, but it is unstoppable.
And yet we have to ask thequestion this morning if God's
kingdom is so powerful, why do,as Jesus insinuates, so many
(12:41):
fail to enter it?
The Jewish audience assumedthey were already in.
Anyone who was Jewish at thatpoint would have assumed they
were already in.
They were descendants ofAbraham, they followed the law.
But Jesus is saying the kingdomof God isn't about status or
heritage, it's about response.
How will you respond when youhear this?
(13:04):
It's not enough to be near thekingdom, you have to enter it,
and he's pointing that out.
You follow the law, and he'spointing that out.
You follow the law, you'redescendants of Abraham, you're
right there, but you have yet toenter.
And then he says something evenmore shocking to the Jewish
audience standing there.
He says many from the east andwest outside of Israel will be
(13:27):
at a banquet.
He tells another parable.
He says there's going to be.
All of these people and theseare those you would assume would
not be included Gentiles,non-jewish, not, the descendants
of Abraham, not the people whofollowed the law.
And Jesus makes a bold claim,says they will sit at the table,
while those who assume they hada seat at the banquet would be
(13:48):
left outside.
Now he doesn't say this asexcited.
He's not rubbing their face init.
I get the impression Jesus isreally bummed and hope that they
take his direct warning aboutthe path that they are on Change
trajectory folks.
But the message is this thatsome will reject the kingdom,
not because it's hidden, butbecause they don't want the cost
(14:10):
.
They have to sit at a tablewith their enemies.
They have to sit at a tablewith the social outcast, the
economic outcast, the other, theperson who is different.
We can't even say who they arebecause the hatred is so deep.
And Jesus says the kingdom ofGod is like this.
I'm asking you, come in andhave a seat, and a whole bunch
of you say no, I'm good, lukegoes out of his way.
(14:33):
No, I'm good, luke goes out ofhis way.
Luke is our Gentile writer ofthe four biographies of Jesus,
four gospels, and he's the onlyGentile one, and so he kind of
goes out of his way to showGentiles, you're included, this
isn't just a Jewish thing, thisis for you.
And so he likes to highlightthese stories to show that the
(14:54):
kingdom of God is for everyone.
For everyone, it's absolutelyinclusive.
And he's talking about thisgreat feast in Luke 14, and he
says he invites all of thesepeople but the guests all make
excuses on why they can't bethere.
So for some of you, you writethese down.
You know wedding season isabout to come up on us.
You can maybe use some of these.
I bought a field.
(15:16):
I need to inspect it.
That's why one can't go.
I just got an oxen, I need totest them.
If you use that, will you justsend that to me?
Like, if you cannot you knowregrettably cannot attend reason
why I just got an oxen and Ineed to test them, Just like
screenshot that for me.
I want to know what theresponse is.
I just got married, I can'tcome, and you know these are all
reasonable, are they not like?
(15:37):
Reasonable?
I mean like, okay, you don'thave an oxen, I get that, but
like they have legit reasons,economic reasons, things that
have to do with their jobs,their livelihoods, their
family's well-being, all ofthese things that are going on.
They say you know what?
I just can't make it for dinnertonight.
I've got all these moreimportant things to do.
And Jesus's point is clear.
(15:57):
They're not rejecting theinvitation because they hate the
host.
That has nothing to do with it.
They're not saying, oh, wedon't like you.
They're not saying you're notgoing to have good food.
They rejected it becausethey're too distracted, they're
too consumed with their ownlives, their own careers, their
own finances, their own family,their own friends, their own
church.
Whatever it might be, it's.
It's about my emotional health,my physical health, my
(16:22):
spirituality, and they're toobusy and their priorities, their
priorities, keep them fromattending the feast.
And Jesus exposes that.
The real threat to discipleshipwe've been talking all about
discipleship the real threat todiscipleship is not outright
rebellion, it's just passiveindifference, it's just being
indifferent, it's just beingmediocre, it's just being
(16:42):
lukewarm, it's just beingindifferent, it's just being
mediocre, it's just beinglukewarm.
It's just I could take it orleave it.
We assume we'll have time laterI get that and we assume we can
say yes when it's convenient,when it's a better time, but
before we know it.
As Jesus tells the story, thetable is full, the doors are
shut and we've missed our seat.
Jesus shows us the kingdom ofGod is open to everyone, but
(17:05):
those who assume they deserve aplace might miss it because they
refuse to walk in.
So don't assume that I'm a goodperson.
I read, I pray, I go to church,I raise my hands during worship,
whatever it might be.
Are we following Jesus?
Are we following Jesus?
Does following Jesus lead us toread the Bible, to pray,
whatever it might be?
Are we following Jesus?
(17:25):
Are we following Jesus?
Does following Jesus lead us toread the Bible, to pray, to
worship?
Yes, but we have to examine ourhearts.
Is Jesus still number one andthese things are a result of my
love for Jesus, or do I do thesethings and then somewhere down
here?
Oh yeah, it's because of Jesus.
Jesus' words about the kingdomaren't just for 2,000 years ago.
They do demand a response foryou and me today.
The kingdom of God is here andnow, and when we look at the
(17:48):
brokenness of the world, we cansee that the kingdom of God is
not fully established.
Whatever your social injusticeissue is, that keeps you awake
at night?
That bothers you when you seethe headlines, you know that the
kingdom of God is not fullyestablished.
And yet it is also not notestablished.
There are elements of it thathave been established all over
(18:10):
the place, and God is calling us.
Be the kingdom, be the mustardseed, help usher in the kingdom
of God right here and now.
As we've seen, not everyoneenters.
Some reject the cost.
Jesus, you want me to do that?
No, thanks.
Some will make excuses I'm notready.
I'll be ready in a little bit.
(18:31):
Just hold on, let me get mystuff together.
Some will simply stand near itwithout stepping in it.
So how do we respond, you and Itoday, all of us?
How do we live as a peopleshaped by God's kingdom?
Well, first, I think that weneed to stop standing near the
kingdom and step into it.
(18:51):
That's the first thing.
Let's stop standing by Jesusand start walking with him.
Jesus warned many would assumethey were part of the kingdom,
but they would find themselvesoutside the door.
Why?
Because proximity to Jesus isnot the same thing as
participation in the kingdom.
Proximity to Jesus is not thesame as participation.
He calls us to follow him.
This is with our thoughts, ouractions, the words we use.
(19:13):
It's not enough to just hearsermons.
It's not enough to attendchurch faithfully.
It's not enough to admire Jesusfrom a distance, to listen to a
bunch of podcasts every dayabout spiritual health we must
enter.
So ask yourself have I trulysurrendered my life to God's
kingdom or am I just standingnearby?
Where might God this morning,this week, this year, be calling
(19:37):
you to take a bold step offaith?
Maybe in prayer, generosity,serving, sharing your faith?
But where have you beenhesitant to walk with Jesus?
We must choose kingdompriorities over comfort.
This will be a recurring themeas we talk about discipleship.
It's about the kingdom, not ourcomfort.
The guests in the parable of thebanquet missed their invitation
, not because they were hostile,but because they were
(19:59):
distracted, and I know all of usare distracted.
That's part of living in theUnited States in 2025.
We are all very distracted Work, possessions, buying new things
, fixing old things that broke,relationships, relationships
that are good, that we love,relationships that aren't going
well, that we need to fix.
None of these things are bad,but when they take priority over
(20:21):
the kingdom, they do keep usfrom experiencing the life that
Jesus has for us.
So what's competing for firstplace in your life today Does
something pop out right away.
We need to extend theinvitation to others.
Now, this might be the mostcontroversial thing that I've
thrown up on the stage, becauseI know that most younger people
(20:42):
we're talking like maybe Gen Z,some millennials, but more Gen Z
think it's morally wrong toshare your faith.
Like morally wrong, like it iswrong.
Do not do it.
Respect everyone's beliefs andI'm not telling you to
disrespect anyone's beliefs.
Please hear me out.
I'm not saying that at all.
But we've overcorrected.
We went from standing on thestreet corner yelling awful
things with awful signs topeople.
(21:03):
We said, well, we don't want todo that.
And I agree, let's not do that.
That's awful, that doesn't work, it's gross.
But we've overcorrected andwe're like well, it's just me
and that's it, my personalrelationship with Jesus.
And you know, I really hopethat my spiritualize it.
I know what you'll do.
You'll say I'm going to prayfor them and I get it Like no
prayer is good, it's important,but Jesus makes it clear the
(21:26):
kingdom is for everyone and partof the kingdom expansion is
that we put ourselves out there.
The invitation needs to be sent.
So who in your life needs toknow that there's a seat for
them at God's table.
Who have you assumed wouldn'tbe interested in Jesus?
And maybe it's time to pray,but not just pray but to reach
(21:46):
out.
And not just to reach out butto invite.
The kingdom is here.
The invitation is open.
The only question is will yourespond?
And again, I got to make alittle note about you know,
evangelism and sharing faith.
You know I'm not saying youbeat a co-worker over the head
until they finally come toMadison Church with you.
That's not what I'm saying.
But as we follow Jesus,shouldn't there be aspects of
(22:09):
our life where there'sgenerosity, volunteering,
serving peace in the midst oflife's chaos?
Shouldn't there be things aboutus that other people are like I
, kind of like that, and we cantell them?
That's not when you say, ohyeah, well, you know I'm a
follower of Jesus.
Talk to you later, like wedon't do that because it just
happens.
But that's when we get to say,hey, it's not always this good.
(22:31):
Like sometimes I have anxietyand I freak out and I pray and
God doesn't answer, but othertimes he does.
We can be real about our faithand sharing that faith with
other people.
A few weeks ago I did thislittle thing where I asked
everyone to close their eyes.
You can do that again if youwant, but I also understand it's
(22:52):
uncomfortable.
You don't have to.
But if you want to close youreyes, I want to paint a picture
for you.
I'll have the words on thescreen too.
But if we truly surrender toJesus's reign, our church won't
be a gathering place.
It will be a force for change.
Our faith won't fit neatly intoour schedules.
(23:12):
It will reshape our lives.
Worship won't end on Sundays.
It will define how we live onMondays.
We will be a people who rejectdistraction and embrace kingdom
priorities, who say yes to Godeven when it's inconvenient, who
give sacrificially, servejoyfully and love relentlessly,
because nothing matters morethan the kingdom of God.
(23:34):
And as we live this way, ourimpact will not stay in these
walls or in this basement.
It will spill into our cities,our workplaces, our
neighborhoods, bringing lightinto dark places and peace into
chaos and hope where there isnone.
This is the invitation, notjust for you and not just for me
(23:58):
, but for us.
The kingdom of God is here.
It is breaking into the present, transforming lives and calling
us to step in.
But stepping in does require aresponse.
It demands surrender.
Jesus wants to be and have ourpriority, which calls us to
action.
(24:18):
Nt Wright, in another book, saysthe church is not simply a
signpost pointing to the kingdomof God.
We're not just shouting kingdomof God is here, kingdom of God
is here.
It must be the foretaste ofthat kingdom living by the rules
of the new world while still inthe old one.
It should be a foretaste whenpeople come into this space or
(24:43):
our small group space, or whenwe're out one-on-one having a
coffee.
It should be a foretaste of thegoodness of the kingdom that is
to come, and it's the hope andthe promise.
So what will we do?
Madison Church Will we standnear the kingdom or will we
fully enter it Because it takesall of us?
(25:04):
Will we cling to our comfort orembrace the cost?
Will we keep this invitation toourselves or will we extend it
to others?
The table is set, theinvitation is open and Jesus is
calling.
So let's be people who say yes,who step up fully into his
kingdom and live lives thatreflect his reign.
Welcome to Madison Church Online.
Glad you're listening in.
I want to invite you to join usin person soon.
My name is Stephen Feets, I'mthe lead pastor here and I have
a question for us to reflect onthis morning, and I bet for some
of you because I know it's onethat you have thought about
before, but for some of you youhaven't thought about it, and I
would love to invite you tothink about it.
(00:20):
What if the kingdom of Godisn't just about where we go
when we die, but about what Godis doing right now?
Or in other words, what ifheaven and earth are overlapping
and interlocking and Jesus isinviting us to step into
something bigger than ourselves?
That's what I want you toreflect on this morning.
(00:43):
Perhaps heaven isn't then andthere.
Maybe it's here and now as well.
Nt Wright, prolific writer,theologian.
No one has done more to shapemy theology than this guy.
He describes the kingdom ofGod's rule breaking into the
present, reshaping the worldfrom the inside out, from you
and me to the rest of the world.
(01:04):
Starts with Jesus, goes to hisfollowers and it dispersed
throughout the rest of the worldfrom the inside out, from you
and me to the rest of the worldStarts with Jesus, goes to his
followers and it dispersedthroughout the rest of the world
.
It's not just a future hope.
We say the prayer and thenmaybe, hopefully with some luck,
at the end of my life, godkeeps his promise and I'm in
heaven.
It's a present reality.
God's salvation in the kingdomof heaven.
God's salvation in the kingdomof heaven.
(01:27):
Nt Wright writes.
Now many of us love the idea offollowing Jesus when it's
inspiring and it fits neatly inour lives, like 11 to 12 on a
(01:48):
Sunday.
That seems pretty convenient,right.
But what about when it requiresus to change, like what happens
when we get the conviction thatmaybe something I deeply
believed was right, all of asudden I'm having to confront
that maybe that wasn't right,something that I've practiced
most of my life and really justassumed or took for granted that
this was right.
Maybe now I'm having secondthoughts.
(02:09):
Maybe something was good for mefor a season and now God's
saying that's actually not goodfor you anymore.
Do we love following Jesus whenit requires us to surrender, to
open up our hands and to givehim everything we have, when he
calls us to fall on our knees tolive differently?
Now Jesus made it clearentering the kingdom of God is
(02:31):
going to cost something.
That's actually where Luke isgoing to transition.
We've been in this series goingverse by verse and through
Luke's gospel, and we see Jesushad been doing miracles around
the Sea of Galilee.
He's making his way intoJerusalem.
He's still doing some miracles,but now he's really focusing on
the work of training andequipping and preparing his
(02:53):
followers to continue themission after his death.
That he knows is happening, butthey haven't quite figured out
and we're going to enter intothe next few weeks, as we're
talking about Luke, the cost ofdiscipleship.
Yes, following Jesus is great.
It's the only way we canexperience life to the full and
it's an invitation to experienceheaven on earth.
But it's not easy.
(03:15):
It can be rather challenging,and the passages that we're
looking at today remind us thatthe kingdom of God is not
passive, it's urgent.
It's urgent.
Jesus calls us to recognize thetime we are in and he says the
time is now.
Not next week, not next year,not when you finish this, not
(03:36):
when you get that, but right now.
And so let's pick up where Sarahleft off last Sunday.
If you want to follow along,house Bibles are all around you.
Feel free to log into theinternet and use your smartphone
if you want to use a Bible app.
Otherwise the words will be onthe screen.
But again, luke 12.
And Jesus' words in this passageare not what anyone expected,
which we've come to expect.
(03:57):
Right, jesus is going to saythe unexpected.
The Jewish people longed for aMessiah who would bring peace,
and really peace, kind of by thesword is how they thought.
That's how you get peace.
The guy with the big stick, theguy who is the best at wielding
the sword.
And for the Jewish people theybelieved that that was their
(04:18):
Yahweh.
God was going to send a Messiahwho would finally make all
things right.
It would make the Roman empirejust crumble and put the Jewish
people back on top.
And what we see is Jesus saysyes, I am here, I am the Messiah
.
I have come to do some things.
It's just not going to be theway that you have expected them
to.
He does not affirm theirexpectations.
(04:40):
Instead, he dismantles them.
He says do you think I've cometo bring peace to the earth?
Now again context they thoughthe was going to come with a
sword and force peace oneveryone.
He says no, I've come to dividepeople against each other.
We'll just leave that up on thescreen for a second here.
(05:02):
Is this the first time you'veheard these words from Jesus?
Perhaps you didn't grow up inand around the church, or you've
been out of it for a while andthis sounds new to you.
You don't have to raise yourhand, but if it's the first time
, examine, kind of, maybe, whatyou're feeling.
Can you remember if you haveheard this before the first time
hearing this?
Now?
I'm not a big fan of trying tounexplain the things Jesus said.
(05:25):
That's kind of a popular trend.
Well, jesus said this, but youknow he didn't mean it and this
is why I just tend to take Jesusseriously when he said what he
said.
Why did he say it?
And let's look at that.
So what are you feeling aboutthis?
I've come to divide peopleagainst each other, divide
(05:46):
families.
I've come to divide peopleagainst each other, divide
families.
I've come to disruptcommunities.
I've come to force people tochoose.
Why?
Well, first off, because God'skingdom doesn't fit neatly into
the box of our expectations.
That's the first thing.
But for 2,000 years, whetherit's religious leaders back in
Jesus' day or Christians today,whether it's your first day on
(06:09):
earth or you've been around for100 years.
We have expectations that Jesusis constantly challenging.
He's forcing us out of the boxall the time.
Jesus did not come 2,000 yearsago to maintain the status quo
and he's still challenging thestatus quo today of my faith, of
(06:32):
your faith, of Christianity, ofthe big C church, of what the
kingdom of God can look like inour city and in our society.
Jesus came to call people toallegiance to God's reign and
that demands a response.
He says will you, are you goingto participate in this or not?
And not answering is answering.
Not saying yes is saying no.
(06:54):
There is no neutral ground andI know we tend to.
We like to think of Jesus, asyou know, sometimes in our
society, a little bit of asoftie, and I'm not making an
argument now that Jesus is mean.
I don't think that If you'velistened to any message in the
past.
I'm not trying to make thatargument.
But sometimes Jesus's words theyhit, they're challenging, and
(07:17):
that's good.
He's different from us.
Every now and then it shouldmake us uncomfortable, make us
scratch our head, make us wonderwhy, push us out of our comfort
zone.
That's how we know we'reengaging with the true God.
Is when we have a disagreement.
To make the point even clearer,he tells a parable about a
barren fig tree.
These are in verses six throughnine.
(07:38):
I'm not going to read thembecause I got a lot to go
through.
But it's a tree that looksalive, but it bears absolutely
no truth.
Again, it's a parable, it's astory.
It's just taking up space.
The owner of the tree wants tocut it down, but the gardener
the one who's working on it,intending it says just give me
one more year to nurture it.
Let's see what happens.
Just give me one more year.
This parable reveals both God'spatience, but also his
(08:01):
expectation.
He expects us to bear fruit.
Discipleship isn't just aboutbelieving, it's about bearing
fruit.
It's not just about being atree in the right field, it's
about bearing fruit wherever youare planted.
Luke immediately follows Jesus'call to action with a real-life
(08:23):
demonstration of what kingdomliving looks like.
He's teaching in the synagogue.
He's about to do a miraclethat's common for him.
There's a woman who's bent over.
She's unable to stand upstraight and without hesitation,
he calls her forward, he placeshis hands on her and, as we've
come to expect, the woman ishealed.
However, this should have beena moment of joy and celebration,
(08:44):
and for some normal people itwas.
This is cool.
How often 2,000 years ago didyou see somebody who you knew
for 18 years was bound up byailment and then all of a sudden
they're released from that?
So for some of them it wasreally cool and yet for others
it wasn't, because it was theSabbath.
This is a recurring theme inLuke's gospel.
(09:05):
For some of you who have beenevery week of this series or
kept up with it, you're like man.
This is like the third or fourthtime, I think Luke has recorded
Jesus heals on the Sabbath andthey have a problem with it.
The Pharisees do, yeah, they do.
Luke is trying to point outJesus keeps doing it.
Jesus keeps giving thePharisees, the religious leaders
(09:26):
, the synagogue folks, chanceafter chance and opportunity
after opportunity to changetheir mind.
I've done it before.
I've already talked to youabout it and then I did it
again've already talked to youabout it and then I did it again
, and I talked to you about itagain, and now I'm doing it
again.
And yet here we are.
And it goes ties into thatanalogy of the tree.
(09:46):
There's a tree and it bears nofruit, and yet the gardener
keeps saying give me just onemore time.
Give me one more time.
But we know time is running out.
Jesus exposes the hypocrisy oftheir thinking.
He says you don't tie an ox ordonkey.
They're actually like thesevery legalistic rules about how
many steps you could take andwhat you could actually do.
They debated it why?
Because living righteous andbeing holy was important to them
(10:07):
.
I want to point that out.
I think sometimes we give thePharisees like this oh, they're
awful, they're awful, they'reawful.
They were trying really hard.
They had a lot of conversationsabout the right way to live,
but in doing so they forgotabout the God that they were
pursuing.
And that's what Jesus is tryingto point out.
If you would take care of adonkey, an ox, how much more
(10:30):
important is this woman thanthem?
That's Jesus's argument.
God's commands were never meantto be barriers to mercy.
God's commands were always toreflect his heart, his care, his
nurture, his love for thepeople.
The kingdom of God is aboutrestoration and not rigid rule
(10:50):
keeping.
Discipleship is not aboutmaintaining comfort.
It's about stepping into God'smission, even when it disrupts
cultural norms.
And I think at times we arepretty good at this at Madison
Church.
I think at times we do thingsdifferently on purpose, in
pursuit of Jesus, not in pursuitof a tradition, of a
(11:14):
denomination tradition some ofthose words we were singing
today not because of any ofthose things.
But we ask the question what isGod doing and how can we join
him in that?
Jesus then expands his kingdomvision.
He's going to give us twoparables on how this is going to
expand.
He says what is the kingdom ofGod like?
How can I illustrate it?
(11:34):
It's like a tiny mustard seedthat a man has planted in a
garden.
It grows and becomes a tree andthe birds make nests in its
branches.
He also asked what else is thekingdom of God like?
It is like the yeast of a womanused in making bread.
Even though she put only alittle yeast in three measures
of flour, it permeated everypart of the dough and you have
(11:58):
to Google this sometime.
I should have got a picture foryou.
I'm just thinking of it rightnow.
But the mustard seed is likeit's almost impossible to see.
I've actually got them beforeand I've shown some of you what
a mustard seed looks like, andthen it turns into an entire
ecosystem.
In the desert, like wheresomething shouldn't grow, it
turns into an ecosystem.
And then he uses this thing, hegoes.
You know when the birds come,they make their nests.
What he's saying is he saysfrom this one mustard seed, from
(12:20):
this one act of faith, comes akingdom movement that births
life where formerly there wasjust death.
God's kingdom always startssmall, but it is unstoppable.
And yet we have to ask thequestion this morning if God's
kingdom is so powerful, why do,as Jesus insinuates, so many
(12:41):
fail to enter it?
The Jewish audience assumedthey were already in.
Anyone who was Jewish at thatpoint would have assumed they
were already in.
They were descendants ofAbraham, they followed the law.
But Jesus is saying the kingdomof God isn't about status or
heritage, it's about response.
How will you respond when youhear this?
(13:04):
It's not enough to be near thekingdom, you have to enter it,
and he's pointing that out.
You follow the law, and he'spointing that out.
You follow the law, you'redescendants of Abraham, you're
right there, but you have yet toenter.
And then he says something evenmore shocking to the Jewish
audience standing there.
He says many from the east andwest outside of Israel will be
(13:27):
at a banquet.
He tells another parable.
He says there's going to be.
All of these people and theseare those you would assume would
not be included Gentiles,non-jewish, not, the descendants
of Abraham, not the people whofollowed the law.
And Jesus makes a bold claim,says they will sit at the table,
while those who assume they hada seat at the banquet would be
(13:48):
left outside.
Now he doesn't say this asexcited.
He's not rubbing their face init.
I get the impression Jesus isreally bummed and hope that they
take his direct warning aboutthe path that they are on Change
trajectory folks.
But the message is this thatsome will reject the kingdom,
not because it's hidden, butbecause they don't want the cost
(14:10):
.
They have to sit at a tablewith their enemies.
They have to sit at a tablewith the social outcast, the
economic outcast, the other, theperson who is different.
We can't even say who they arebecause the hatred is so deep.
And Jesus says the kingdom ofGod is like this.
I'm asking you, come in andhave a seat, and a whole bunch
of you say no, I'm good, lukegoes out of his way.
(14:33):
No, I'm good, luke goes out ofhis way.
Luke is our Gentile writer ofthe four biographies of Jesus,
four gospels, and he's the onlyGentile one, and so he kind of
goes out of his way to showGentiles, you're included, this
isn't just a Jewish thing, thisis for you.
And so he likes to highlightthese stories to show that the
(14:54):
kingdom of God is for everyone.
For everyone, it's absolutelyinclusive.
And he's talking about thisgreat feast in Luke 14, and he
says he invites all of thesepeople but the guests all make
excuses on why they can't bethere.
So for some of you, you writethese down.
You know wedding season isabout to come up on us.
You can maybe use some of these.
I bought a field.
(15:16):
I need to inspect it.
That's why one can't go.
I just got an oxen, I need totest them.
If you use that, will you justsend that to me?
Like, if you cannot you knowregrettably cannot attend reason
why I just got an oxen and Ineed to test them, Just like
screenshot that for me.
I want to know what theresponse is.
I just got married, I can'tcome, and you know these are all
reasonable, are they not like?
(15:37):
Reasonable?
I mean like, okay, you don'thave an oxen, I get that, but
like they have legit reasons,economic reasons, things that
have to do with their jobs,their livelihoods, their
family's well-being, all ofthese things that are going on.
They say you know what?
I just can't make it for dinnertonight.
I've got all these moreimportant things to do.
And Jesus's point is clear.
(15:57):
They're not rejecting theinvitation because they hate the
host.
That has nothing to do with it.
They're not saying, oh, wedon't like you.
They're not saying you're notgoing to have good food.
They rejected it becausethey're too distracted, they're
too consumed with their ownlives, their own careers, their
own finances, their own family,their own friends, their own
church.
Whatever it might be, it's.
It's about my emotional health,my physical health, my
(16:22):
spirituality, and they're toobusy and their priorities, their
priorities, keep them fromattending the feast.
And Jesus exposes that.
The real threat to discipleshipwe've been talking all about
discipleship the real threat todiscipleship is not outright
rebellion, it's just passiveindifference, it's just being
indifferent, it's just beingmediocre, it's just being
(16:42):
lukewarm, it's just beingindifferent, it's just being
mediocre, it's just beinglukewarm.
It's just I could take it orleave it.
We assume we'll have time laterI get that and we assume we can
say yes when it's convenient,when it's a better time, but
before we know it.
As Jesus tells the story, thetable is full, the doors are
shut and we've missed our seat.
Jesus shows us the kingdom ofGod is open to everyone, but
(17:05):
those who assume they deserve aplace might miss it because they
refuse to walk in.
So don't assume that I'm a goodperson.
I read, I pray, I go to church,I raise my hands during worship,
whatever it might be.
Are we following Jesus?
Are we following Jesus?
Does following Jesus lead us toread the Bible, to pray,
whatever it might be?
Are we following Jesus?
(17:25):
Are we following Jesus?
Does following Jesus lead us toread the Bible, to pray, to
worship?
Yes, but we have to examine ourhearts.
Is Jesus still number one andthese things are a result of my
love for Jesus, or do I do thesethings and then somewhere down
here?
Oh yeah, it's because of Jesus.
Jesus' words about the kingdomaren't just for 2,000 years ago.
They do demand a response foryou and me today.
The kingdom of God is here andnow, and when we look at the
(17:48):
brokenness of the world, we cansee that the kingdom of God is
not fully established.
Whatever your social injusticeissue is, that keeps you awake
at night?
That bothers you when you seethe headlines, you know that the
kingdom of God is not fullyestablished.
And yet it is also not notestablished.
There are elements of it thathave been established all over
(18:10):
the place, and God is calling us.
Be the kingdom, be the mustardseed, help usher in the kingdom
of God right here and now.
As we've seen, not everyoneenters.
Some reject the cost.
Jesus, you want me to do that?
No, thanks.
Some will make excuses I'm notready.
I'll be ready in a little bit.
(18:31):
Just hold on, let me get mystuff together.
Some will simply stand near itwithout stepping in it.
So how do we respond, you and Itoday, all of us?
How do we live as a peopleshaped by God's kingdom?
Well, first, I think that weneed to stop standing near the
kingdom and step into it.
(18:51):
That's the first thing.
Let's stop standing by Jesusand start walking with him.
Jesus warned many would assumethey were part of the kingdom,
but they would find themselvesoutside the door.
Why?
Because proximity to Jesus isnot the same thing as
participation in the kingdom.
Proximity to Jesus is not thesame as participation.
He calls us to follow him.
This is with our thoughts, ouractions, the words we use.
(19:13):
It's not enough to just hearsermons.
It's not enough to attendchurch faithfully.
It's not enough to admire Jesusfrom a distance, to listen to a
bunch of podcasts every dayabout spiritual health we must
enter.
So ask yourself have I trulysurrendered my life to God's
kingdom or am I just standingnearby?
Where might God this morning,this week, this year, be calling
(19:37):
you to take a bold step offaith?
Maybe in prayer, generosity,serving, sharing your faith?
But where have you beenhesitant to walk with Jesus?
We must choose kingdompriorities over comfort.
This will be a recurring themeas we talk about discipleship.
It's about the kingdom, not ourcomfort.
The guests in the parable of thebanquet missed their invitation
, not because they were hostile,but because they were
(19:59):
distracted, and I know all of usare distracted.
That's part of living in theUnited States in 2025.
We are all very distracted Work, possessions, buying new things
, fixing old things that broke,relationships, relationships
that are good, that we love,relationships that aren't going
well, that we need to fix.
None of these things are bad,but when they take priority over
(20:21):
the kingdom, they do keep usfrom experiencing the life that
Jesus has for us.
So what's competing for firstplace in your life today Does
something pop out right away.
We need to extend theinvitation to others.
Now, this might be the mostcontroversial thing that I've
thrown up on the stage, becauseI know that most younger people
(20:42):
we're talking like maybe Gen Z,some millennials, but more Gen Z
think it's morally wrong toshare your faith.
Like morally wrong, like it iswrong.
Do not do it.
Respect everyone's beliefs andI'm not telling you to
disrespect anyone's beliefs.
Please hear me out.
I'm not saying that at all.
But we've overcorrected.
We went from standing on thestreet corner yelling awful
things with awful signs topeople.
(21:03):
We said, well, we don't want todo that.
And I agree, let's not do that.
That's awful, that doesn't work, it's gross.
But we've overcorrected andwe're like well, it's just me
and that's it, my personalrelationship with Jesus.
And you know, I really hopethat my spiritualize it.
I know what you'll do.
You'll say I'm going to prayfor them and I get it Like no
prayer is good, it's important,but Jesus makes it clear the
(21:26):
kingdom is for everyone and partof the kingdom expansion is
that we put ourselves out there.
The invitation needs to be sent.
So who in your life needs toknow that there's a seat for
them at God's table.
Who have you assumed wouldn'tbe interested in Jesus?
And maybe it's time to pray,but not just pray but to reach
(21:46):
out.
And not just to reach out butto invite.
The kingdom is here.
The invitation is open.
The only question is will yourespond?
And again, I got to make alittle note about you know,
evangelism and sharing faith.
You know I'm not saying youbeat a co-worker over the head
until they finally come toMadison Church with you.
That's not what I'm saying.
But as we follow Jesus,shouldn't there be aspects of
(22:09):
our life where there'sgenerosity, volunteering,
serving peace in the midst oflife's chaos?
Shouldn't there be things aboutus that other people are like I
, kind of like that, and we cantell them?
That's not when you say, ohyeah, well, you know I'm a
follower of Jesus.
Talk to you later, like wedon't do that because it just
happens.
But that's when we get to say,hey, it's not always this good.
(22:31):
Like sometimes I have anxietyand I freak out and I pray and
God doesn't answer, but othertimes he does.
We can be real about our faithand sharing that faith with
other people.
A few weeks ago I did thislittle thing where I asked
everyone to close their eyes.
You can do that again if youwant, but I also understand it's
(22:52):
uncomfortable.
You don't have to.
But if you want to close youreyes, I want to paint a picture
for you.
I'll have the words on thescreen too.
But if we truly surrender toJesus's reign, our church won't
be a gathering place.
It will be a force for change.
Our faith won't fit neatly intoour schedules.
(23:12):
It will reshape our lives.
Worship won't end on Sundays.
It will define how we live onMondays.
We will be a people who rejectdistraction and embrace kingdom
priorities, who say yes to Godeven when it's inconvenient, who
give sacrificially, servejoyfully and love relentlessly,
because nothing matters morethan the kingdom of God.
(23:34):
And as we live this way, ourimpact will not stay in these
walls or in this basement.
It will spill into our cities,our workplaces, our
neighborhoods, bringing lightinto dark places and peace into
chaos and hope where there isnone.
This is the invitation, notjust for you and not just for me
(23:58):
, but for us.
The kingdom of God is here.
It is breaking into the present, transforming lives and calling
us to step in.
But stepping in does require aresponse.
It demands surrender.
Jesus wants to be and have ourpriority, which calls us to
action.
(24:18):
Nt Wright, in another book, saysthe church is not simply a
signpost pointing to the kingdomof God.
We're not just shouting kingdomof God is here, kingdom of God
is here.
It must be the foretaste ofthat kingdom living by the rules
of the new world while still inthe old one.
It should be a foretaste whenpeople come into this space or
(24:43):
our small group space, or whenwe're out one-on-one having a
coffee.
It should be a foretaste of thegoodness of the kingdom that is
to come, and it's the hope andthe promise.
So what will we do?
Madison Church Will we standnear the kingdom or will we
fully enter it Because it takesall of us?
(25:04):
Will we cling to our comfort orembrace the cost?
Will we keep this invitation toourselves or will we extend it
to others?
The table is set, theinvitation is open and Jesus is
calling.
So let's be people who say yes,who step up fully into his
kingdom and live lives thatreflect his reign.
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