The Kingdom Perspective

Transcript:Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.At times of civil unrest and deep cultural division, people tend to be on edge. They feel threatened and under attack. They assume a lot about their opponents and tend to attribute evil motives. Every little gesture, every little word, is scrutinized in the most negative light.Now, in such an environment, Christians are called not to return fire but to turn the other cheek. We are called to be “shock absorbers”. In the words of the New Testament book of James, we are to follow the “wisdom from above” which is “peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy…impartial and sincere” (James 3:16-17). However, if you’ve ever tried to do this, you will find that it feels like being a shock absorber. And here’s the rub. To be a shock absorber means you have to absorb shock. You absorb the insults, bitterness, misunderstanding, anger, irrational rage, and the heat that others are feeling. This is painful! Outrageously painful! How in the world are we to find the strength to do this? Only one way.We look to Jesus. We are reminded that our Lord Christ came into this world to absorb all our sin. He took all the pressure and insults we could throw at Him. He absorbed the shock of our judgment and took it down to the grave.Knowing and living in the reality of this gives us, in principle, an unlimited ability to be shock absorbers in our world.Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.Matthew 5 (ESV)38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Transcript:Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.The Framers of our constitution knew that they were proposing something quite unique in the history of the world. They were proposing a free Republic, where people would not be ruled by the whims of a king or the dictates of a pope, but by the will of the people. It was to be as Abraham Lincoln would later say a “government of the people, by the people, and for the people”. Today, we take such notions for granted and are quite intoxicated with our “right to freedom”. We pride ourselves at being able to sniff out threats to that freedom from ten miles away.However, the Framers were not so giddy about how easy or stable such a government ruled by the people would be. They were just as suspicious of the tyranny of the people, as they were about the tyranny of any prince.1 Because they knew history and their Bibles, they were quite aware that a system of self-government required the people to be able to govern themselves. This meant that the people must willingly restrain their baser instincts by voluntarily submitting themselves to the rule of a moral law outside themselves. Though many of them were not personally Christian, they largely saw this voluntary restraining instinct to be the function of voluntary religious practice, particularly Christian practice. Listen to John Adams:“We have no Government armed with Power capable of contending with human Passions unbridled from…morality and Religion. Avarice, Ambition…Revenge or Gallantry, would break the strongest Cords of our Constitution as a Whale goes through a Net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” ~John Adams to the Massachusetts Militia on October 11, 1798 (sic)Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective”.“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways. So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God; for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the departed; none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life. So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it, but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.”~ Proverbs 2:1-22 (ESV)References: 1. See Federalist Papers No. 51, paragraph 6 (https://billofrightsinstitute.org/primary-sources/federalist-no-51).

Transcript:Hello! This is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective!Your ultimate hope will drive what you obsess about. Said another way, wherever you find your greatest sense of belonging will determine what you think is ultimately valuable. “Home” is always where the heart is. Paul calls this our “citizenship”, and it effects how we think of ourselves, especially in our public engagement. Although the Bible tells us that we are indeed citizens of this world, with all the rights and responsibilities thereof, our ultimate “citizenship is in heaven from which we eagerly await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:21). Such a hope functions like an anchor in the stormy world of politics. It doesn’t keep us from the public square; it keeps us steady in the public square. While everyone else may be getting sucked up in the vortex of divisions and partisan politics, we are able to operate with both shrewdness and gentleness. It gives us the strength from which we can both obey God, love our neighbor, and testify to the truth.Thus, at the end of the day, we must be formed not by the kingdom of this world but by the kingdom of heaven. Since we are citizens of God’s kingdom, we are thus called to be ambassadors in this world. The most political act you will do this week is not campaigning for an election or voting. Rather, it is gathering with God’s people and calling on the King of Heaven—asking that His kingdom come and that His will be done on earth, even as it is in heaven. Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.“The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples. Let them praise your great and awesome name! Holy is he! The King in his might loves justice. You have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. Exalt the Lord our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!"~ Psalm 99:1-5 (ESV)

Transcript:Hello! This is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective!In our current cultural climate, we are increasingly tempted to absolutize politics. We, thus, become convinced in our own rightness, and so begin operating in a very “us vs. them” framework. In contradiction to this Jesus calls us to a different posture. He calls us to humble service and love, even toward those we might think are wrong. There is no righteousness, there is no truth, without humility. Proverbs tells us: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”—the “beginning of [true] knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10). True wisdom begins with humbling yourself. True wisdom never ceases to be a humble servant, a humble learner. That’s why James challenges us in our prideful “wisdom”:Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him, by his good behavior, show forth his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. (James 3:13-16)Does your “wisdom”, or your “rightness”, lead you to bickering, hatred, and bitterness? Then, it is not from God—no matter how right your position might be.Rather, true wisdom is: …first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, free of hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (James 3:17-18)And that is something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.“Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”~ James 3:13-18 (ESV)

Transcript:Hello! This is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective!When engaging in political discussion, we must always seek to be considerate of our brothers and sisters who may have differing perspectives, born of differing personal experiences. Do not stand in judgment of one another.Human politics are always messy. Our options are never perfect, and our perspective is never quite clear. In a real sense, whenever we enter the voting booth, we are always settling for some compromise. Therefore, when we fulfill our civic duty to vote, we must have the freedom of conscience to make the choice we think is best, before the eyes of God. It is before God that we will give an account, not before one another!Certainly, we have the freedom to persuade one another as to which choice would best facilitate the common good. But we do not have the freedom to judge one another’s consciences—disdaining others by casting their motives and intelligence in the worst possible light.Inevitably, we are going to have differing perspectives, differing consciences, and therefore, we may come to different conclusions. Our responsibility is not to sit in judgment, but to love, understand, and serve one another under the kingly authority of Jesus. Jesus commands us to love our enemies; how much more so our brothers and sisters with differing opinions!The true and final Judge has commanded us to understand and accept one another. He does so precisely because He has already been judged for us all. And that’s something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”~ Philippians 2:1-8 (ESV)

Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective. Generosity is at the very heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, it is not surprising this same Jesus who generously gave His life for our redemption is the same one who made a world so abundantly diverse. Jesus wove abundance and generosity into the very fabric of His creation. The Bible tells us that God created a universe with abundant potential—a multiplying and reproducing creation filled with a diversity of plants and animals. God made hundreds of thousands of plants “bearing fruit…yielding seed according to their kind” (Genesis 1:12). Likewise, He commanded the millions of animal species He made to be “fruitful and multiply and fill” the earth (Genesis 1:22). This is why a farmer can start with a few basic seeds and animals and multiply not only enough food to feed the world but also develop an endless diversity of new subspecies. Did you know, for instance, that broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and kale are all cultivated from the same basic species (i.e., Brassica oleracea)? Similarly, all the variety of dog breeds were hidden in the one grey wolf. All dog breeds are just domestications of the same species (Canis lupus). From Great Danes to chihuahuas, the inherent abundance of God’s creation is on display. Thus, creation itself is a rebuke to any stinginess or small-mindedness. Neither God nor His creation is marked by such tight-fistedness…and neither should we. Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective. And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day…~ Genesis 1:1-23 (ESV)

 Hello! This is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective! Early Christians were known for their care of the weak and frail. This contrasted deeply with the callous culture in which they lived. For example, the Law of the Twelve Tables, the earliest codification of Roman Law (c. 450-451 BC) required fathers to kill any deformed child. Though this Law was no longer in force during the rise of the church, its basic ethos continued to influence Roman culture. As a matter of fact, one historian notes that in one Roman village, “archaeologists found one hundred skeletons of infants less than a week old in the sewers under the Roman baths. The babies were ‘unwanted’ or ‘inconvenient’ and so were literally flushed down the drain” (Why You Think the Way You Do, p. 34). Christians refused to participate in such practices. Following Holy Scripture, they knew that every human was made in the image of God, regardless of how weak, deformed, or “unwanted”. Moreover, since they held that God Himself had become a real human (bodily!) in Jesus Christ, the value they placed on the human body was elevated to previously unknown heights. The Gospel of Matthew speaks of the conception and birth of Jesus Christ saying: “that which is conceived in Mary is from the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20). At the center of the gospel story is God Himself taking on human flesh, becoming a weak and helpless infant, even a hidden embryo. This radically altered the way Christians viewed the weak and frail and, thus, drove them to reject not only the common practice of infanticide, but also the common practice of abortion. As modern historian Rodney Stark put it:“…perhaps above all else, Christianity brought a new conception of humanity to a world saturated with capricious cruelty and the vicarious love of death....” “…what Christianity gave to its converts was nothing less than their humanity.”~Rodney Stark as quoted on PBS Frontline: “From Jesus to Christ” Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective. “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:     “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,      and they shall call his name Immanuel”(which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus..”~ Matthew 1:18-23 (ESV) Sources to consider:Law of the Twelve Tableshttps://www.britannica.com/topic/Law-of-the-Twelve-Tables The Rise of Christianity: A Sociologist Reconsiders History by Rodney Stark (Princeton University Press 2020). The Patient Ferment of the Early Church: The Improbably Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire by Alan Kreider (Baker Academic 2016). Why You Think the Way You Do: The Story of Western Worldviews from Rome to Home by Glenn S. Sunshine (Zondervan 2009). The Didache (Chapter 2).

Transcript:Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective. What does the Bible say about racism and ethnocentrism? A whole lot! The Bible tells us that we all have a shared origin and identity. God made each of us in the image of God. The Apostle Paul explains it this way: God “made from one man [i.e., Adam] every nation” and He did so…that they should seek God and perhaps find Him” (Acts 17:26-27). And so, there is no such thing as a superior race or people group. Even when God chose Abraham to create the nation of Israel, He explicitly says He did so that all the people groups on the earth might be blessed. Ultimately, this is fulfilled in the Jesus, who died to secure the promise of Abraham to all the nations (Galatians 3:6-16). God is no respecter of persons. This brings us to our second point. The Bible tells us that Christ will redeem people from every nationality, people group and language—a multitude so vast that no one will be able to number them! On that final day, there will be “full representation” of all humanity at God’s table. Heaven will be a multiethnic and multicultural place—a diversity of humanity like the world has never seen, all unified in the worship of the one true God who died to save us. Those that refuse to embrace this, and certainly those that oppose it in their racism and ethnocentrism, are not fit for heaven. They must be transformed, for they are at best tacit enemies of God’s grace.  Are you growing in your love of the diversity of God’s people? That’s something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective. The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along. The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.” While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?” Cornelius answered: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.” Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.  “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.~Acts 10:23-48 (NIV)

Transcript:Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.  Hospitality is demanding. It requires us to give sacrificially of ourselves. At the core of hospitality is a discipline of heart, mind, and action. It requires you and me to have a new mindset—to work at getting outside ourselves (our perspective, preferences, hurts, grievances, etc.) into the world of “the other”. It is to be considerate and kind, looking at and appreciating life from another’s perspective (Philippians 2:1-5). Now…such hospitality does not come naturally. It must be developed and practiced. The more you do it, the more you will become it (Philippians 2:12). BUT it is not merely an issue of our work either; it first requires seeing and being transformed by God’s work for us (2 Corinthians 3). Gospel hospitality requires a supernatural level of love and patience, and so, we cannot do it without continually drinking deeply of the well of God’s grace…for us. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). This means that we grow in patience, to the degree we see how patient Jesus continues to be with us. We grow in kindness, to the degree we see how kindly Jesus deals with us. We grow in our ability to forgive and forbear to the degree we continually see the greatness of God’s forgiveness and forbearance of us. And so, my dear friends, fix your eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter our faith! Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective. “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”~ Hebrews 4:14-16 (ESV)

Transcript:Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective. When we think of the idea of “hospitality”, we usually think of wining and dining. Images of nice houses, fine meals, and throwing parties that impress our friends and neighbors comes to mind. A whole segment of our economy has developed around what we call the “hospitality industry”, which makes a business out of increasingly impressive hotels, restaurants, and venues. Now, I have nothing against nice hotels and restaurants—and certainly nothing against nice homes and good meals! However, the biblical idea of hospitality is much different than all this. The New Testament word translated hospitality is made of the Greek words for “lover” and “stranger”. Someone who practices biblical hospitality is a “lover of strangers”. In other words, they are doing the hard work of making outsiders feel welcomed.Thus, hospitality is not merely for those with means, but those with very little means. It is for all people. It doesn’t matter how much you have; what matters is how much of that you give. It’s not about impressing others with how valuable you are; it’s about impressing others with how valuable they are. It's not surprising then that hospitality is a character requirement of church leaders (1 Timothy 3:2), and of Christians in general (Romans 12:13). If God loved us when were strangers, wandering from Him, then how can we not do the same for others. Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective. “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”~Romans 12:9-21 (ESV)