Kingdom Mission, Purpose, & Power | Sunday, April 27, 2025

Amen. Amen. Praise the Lord. Thank you, guys. I appreciate it. Good morning, Cross Connection. It is so good to see you here this morning. While you were standing, if you would take out your Bibles, if you don't have a Bible, you can raise a hand, and an usher will bring you one, or you can open up the Bible app on your phone, whatever device you have.

Turn with me to the Gospel of Luke. The Gospels are in the last third of the Bible. Turn about to the middle and start turning right. You'll see Matthew, Mark, and then Luke. We are in Luke chapter 4 this morning, and we're going to begin reading at verse 31.

Luke 4:31 records, "Then Jesus went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. And they were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority. Now in the synagogue, there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. He cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Let us alone. What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.' But Jesus rebuked him, saying, 'Be quiet and come out of him.' And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. Then they were all amazed, and they spoke among themselves, saying, 'What a word this is!' For with authority and power, he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out. The report about Jesus went out into every place and the surrounding region."

God, I pray as we look at this text this morning that you would continue that work that you promise to do in our lives by your word and by your Spirit, transforming us by the renewing of our minds. Lord, that you would continue that work that we refer to, the text refers to as sanctification—changing us, making us new. And Lord, that you would work in us that work that you desire to do. You have a purpose and a plan for every single one of us this morning, and you desire to shine brightly in and through our lives. So God, work in us, work on us, change us, transform us, teach us. We ask this in Jesus' name. And all those that agreed said, "Amen."

Amen. You may be seated. I can't talk. My goodness gracious. As far back as I can remember, I've been one of those people who constantly wonders and asks the question, "Why?" In fact, my dad has told me that when I was a little kid, I would often ask that question. Maybe you can relate.

When I consider the things that we are told in the text of the Bible or what we hear when we gather together at church, I often find myself wondering about certain questions. I have been pondering these questions for a very long time. I can remember as a little kid in Sunday school, wondering and asking why.

In the text, or in church, we learn that there is a God who made everything we see and even the things we can't see. We are further told that this God became a man. That is an awesome and crazy thing for someone to say. He walked among humanity 2,000 years ago. This man, Jesus of Nazareth, is the figure we are now being introduced to in the text of Luke in this series we are calling "Meet Jesus."

As He moved around the area from Jerusalem to Galilee, we see Him proclaiming and preaching a message, but we also see Him performing miracles. We celebrated last Sunday and the week prior that this God-man was crucified, buried, and rose again on the third day. If you are anything like me, you look at all that and wonder why. You ask the question: Why did Jesus come? Why did He preach? Why did He perform miracles? What was Jesus's purpose?

If you go around and ask various people that question, you will find that even though there is an increasing number of people in our culture who don't know a lot about what the Bible says, they still have ideas and opinions about Jesus. Even if you ask someone who doesn't know much about the Bible or doesn't attend church, they might respond to the question of why Jesus came to this world and why He was so important.

Some people might say, "Well, Jesus's purpose was to challenge religious hypocrisy and legalism." You can certainly make that case from the text. Others might say that Jesus's purpose was to give us an example of how we are to live and love one another. That was absolutely part of His message, and you can find places in the Bible that support that.

Some would argue that Jesus's purpose was to be a champion for the poor and the marginalized. You could say that, too. Jesus came to preach truth to power, and this theme comes up quite frequently. He was a great philosopher with profound ideas, such as loving your enemies and turning the other cheek.

Do unto others as you would have them do to you. These are important statements from Jesus that people point to as his purpose. He came, some will say, to be a promoter of peace and non-violence. He came to challenge unjust social structures. There are many different things that people say when you ask them, "Why did Jesus come? Why is he so important?" I think some of those questions are answered in the text we have before us.

If you've been a part of Cross Connection Church, you know I talk about this from time to time regarding Jesus's purpose. What was his mission and his purpose? We discussed it as recently as the beginning of February when we started this series in the Gospel of Luke. When we study Luke alongside Matthew, Mark, and John, we see the message and ministry of Jesus because this is the text in the Bible where these things are presented to us. We want to know what his purpose was.

I talked about this in our introduction to Luke to consider that. We don't really need to speculate about what Jesus's purpose was because he made it quite clear. If you want to know what his purpose is, you don't need to ask Google or someone walking around what they think about Jesus. You can go to the text and see what Jesus said. If Jesus had a website in his day, jesus.com, it probably exists. Maybe you shouldn't go there because who knows who owns it; I didn't check. But in the "About Us" section, the things he said about his own mission would be there.

A lot of people spend time and money having different PR firms or business consultants help them figure out a mission statement or a purpose statement, their mission, vision, and values. I've helped organizations and churches do that over the years. For some of you, that's part of your job. You try to boil it down to what the focus is, what the mission and purpose are. Jesus states it quite clearly.

In the Gospel of Luke, what has become the thematic verse for the Gospel of Luke, Jesus's purpose statement is found in Luke 19:10. I talked about it in February, where he says, "The Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost." It’s a very clear and explicit statement: I have come to seek and to save that which is lost. This is in the context of him reaching out to a man whom the culture of his day had rejected. He was a tax collector, and they viewed him as such.

Tax collectors are often viewed as sinners. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus states, "I have come to seek and to save the lost." Similarly, in the Gospel of Mark, He provides a purpose statement that also serves as the theme verse for Mark 10:45. He says, "The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many."

Jesus makes it very clear that He has come to serve and to give His life as a ransom. The words "serve" and "ransom" are significant. The term "serve" carries the idea of waiting upon someone, taking care of them, and attending to their needs. However, the original Greek word translated as "serve" in Mark's Gospel has a much deeper meaning. It refers to one who acts as an agent on behalf of another, an intermediary. In this context, Jesus is saying, "I have come to be your agent, your mediator, to do what? To pay a ransom." A ransom is the payment made on behalf of someone else for a debt that they could not pay. Thus, part of Jesus's purpose, as stated in Mark 10:45, is to be an agent who settles the debt. That is a powerful statement.

Another purpose statement of Jesus is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, specifically in Matthew 5, where He says, "Do not think that I came to destroy the law and the prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." His clear statement is that He has come into the world to fulfill the law and the prophets. Everything that was written or spoken in the first two-thirds of the Bible, from Genesis to Malachi, He has come to fulfill in order to seek and save the lost, to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.

In John 10, Jesus expresses another profound purpose: "I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly." I believe there isn't a person in our county who isn't searching for a more abundant life. Jesus promises, "I've come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly." If you begin to explore this concept of life as Jesus describes it, especially in the Gospel of John, you will find that it is an abundant life here and now, extending into forever, because it is an eternal abundant life.

Thus, His purpose statements are clearly articulated in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John: to seek and to save the lost, to give His life as a ransom for many, and to fulfill the prophets.

Many seek to give life that is more abundant, to fulfill the law and the prophets. That's not all of it. If you continue to study through the Gospels, as I have for years, I am constantly looking for these statements. I've highlighted them in my Bible program on my computer. Every time I see Jesus say, "I have come to fill in the blank," I take note.

What does He say? In Matthew 9, Mark 2, and Luke 5, He states, "I have come to call sinners to repentance." That's part of His mission; He is calling you to turn. In Luke chapter 9, verse 56, He says, "I have come to save men's lives." In John 6:38, He declares, "I have come to do the Father's will." In John 18:37, He says, "I have come to bear witness to the truth." This is during a conversation with Pontius Pilate just before His condemnation and crucifixion. He states that part of His mission and purpose is to bear witness to the truth.

In this conversation, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, asks, "What is truth?" It seems he leaves that question hanging in the air and turns to walk away. Oh, how I wish Jesus would have been given an opportunity to answer that question. I would have loved to hear Jesus's response to Pontius Pilate's inquiry, "What is truth?" But Jesus makes it clear that part of His mission is to bear witness to the truth.

In John 12:27, He states very clearly that His purpose is to die on the cross. In John 12:46, He says, "My purpose is to be a light to those who are in darkness." In the very next verse, John 12:47, He adds, "My purpose is to save the world." I could go on; there are many other instances throughout the Gospels. As you read through them, look for the times when Jesus explicitly states, "I have come to do this."

Jesus's purpose is clearly articulated. We don't need to go to Google or even to GPT or ask someone else what they think about Jesus's purpose. Jesus makes it clear.

Point number one: Jesus was never unclear about His mission. Now, that's not to say that people in His day and today didn't misunderstand it. It's also not to say that people in His day and in ours don't try to co-opt it. Let me tell you, there have been many individuals in the name of Jesus who have done many bad things throughout history. I've studied church history quite a bit, and it is not always a pretty picture. There are people who have tried to co-opt the agenda, mission, and purpose of Jesus for their own ends, and certainly, they have succeeded. There are people today who do it, and there are people in our day who continue to do so.

In Jesus's day, there were people who tried to impose their agenda upon Him. Some of those closest to Jesus attempted to do just that. I just shared with you some of His purpose statements: "I have come to die on the cross. I have come to seek and save the lost." One of Jesus's closest followers, as He was on mission to fulfill these purposes, stood in His way. The Gospel of Luke says He set His face like flint towards Jerusalem. This metaphor means He was not going to be deterred from His mission.

However, one of His closest disciples confronted Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord." Those words do not go together. This will not happen. Jesus responded, "Get behind me, Satan. You're an offense to me because you're not mindful of the things of God, my purpose, my plan, but of things of man." Sometimes, as God's closest followers and disciples of Jesus, we can find ourselves saying, "Not so, Lord." I can tell you there have been times when I've felt that convicting sense in my own heart, where Jesus is asking, "Who is Lord here?" That is a challenging thing to consider.

Jesus was never unclear about His mission. Though some understood it, others tried to co-opt it or impose their own agenda upon it. Jesus came for a purpose and remained on mission throughout His time here on earth. He has remained consistent in His mission since He ascended into heaven, seeking to accomplish it through His church, even though there are times when people are tempted to push their own agenda.

I bring all this up this morning because we have come to a section of Jesus's story in the Gospel of Luke where we see Him engaged in fulfilling His purpose. In the previous text we looked at, Jesus was in His hometown of Nazareth, where you would assume the people would have been very receptive to His return. Yet, in the text we examined before this, those from His hometown were not receptive; instead, they rejected Him.

You may have noticed last week that we ended in Luke 4:29 and started today in Luke 4:31. I missed a verse, and it's an interesting one. At the end of Luke 4:29, the people of His hometown took Jesus out to a cliff in Nazareth because they wanted to kill Him.

It says this: "Then passing through the midst of them, he went his way." It's one of those things that makes you think, "Wait a minute. I want some more details on that one." There appears to be a mob of people from the synagogue in Nazareth who take Jesus, and they're going to throw him off the cliff. Somehow, in some way, he just passed through the midst of them. You wonder, "What is that all about?"

People have speculated about this, and I can tell you today that I have no idea what it means. However, I can also tell you that it's on the list of things I want to do when I get to heaven. I want to see the replay of that. How did that happen? What was all of that about? We just don't know from this text.

But Jesus is rejected, and he's not just expelled from the synagogue—excommunicated from the synagogue in Nazareth. That would be significant enough because it would set him outside of Jewish social life in his hometown. He is expelled from the town, and they also try to exterminate him and kill him. Following his rejection at Nazareth, Jesus returns to Galilee, a lake in the northern part of the nation of Israel, both then and now.

He goes to a town called Capernaum, which is located at the Sea of Galilee. If you look at it on a map, it resembles an almond-shaped lake. At the northern tip, on the western side, just a little bit, is the town of Capernaum. There were several, maybe five or so, well-known or larger villages around the Sea of Galilee, with Tiberius probably being the largest at the time. However, Capernaum was also a relatively good-sized village. Although when I say "relatively good-sized village," it's quite small. You can go and see the ruins of Capernaum today; I've been there a number of times before.

What was Jesus doing in Capernaum? I think what Jesus said and what Jesus did—his words and his works—reveal his purpose. The same is true for you. The things that you say and the things that you do show what you're about. If I listen to how you talk, or if I look at your credit card statement (which you probably don't want me to do), or your calendar, I can tell you what you're about. The things that you do, the things you're committed to, and the things you talk about reveal your priorities.

So, what is Jesus doing? In Luke 4:31, it says, "He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and he was, note this, teaching them on the Sabbaths, and they were astonished at his teaching, for his words were with authority." It's interesting to note the repetition in Luke chapter 4 as we continue.

Being introduced to Jesus's ministry, Luke chapter 4 is the first passage in the Gospel of Luke where we see Jesus working. In this text, we read previously in Luke 4:14 that Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee after his temptation in the wilderness. News of him went throughout the surrounding region, and he taught in their synagogues, being glorified or praised by everybody.

When he returned to Nazareth, as we considered in our last study together, verse 16 of Luke chapter 4 states, "So he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up, and as was his custom, he went into their synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read or to teach." This is what he was doing previously in verses 14 and 15, and now he does it again in verse 16.

Point number two: Jesus spoke his mission with his words and displayed his purpose in his actions. The words and works of Jesus reveal what his purpose and mission are. He is engaged in his mission, fulfilling his purpose, and as he does, awesome things happen. We already looked at it; he was in the synagogue, and there was a man there with a spirit of an unclean demon. This spirit began to speak out and identify Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ. Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet and come out of him." The demon threw the man down, and eventually, he was delivered from this demon. Everyone there was amazed—an understatement. For with all authority and power, he commands unclean spirits to come out.

As we look at Luke chapter 4 and the words and works of Jesus, we see that there were two things that astonished people about him. The first thing that astonished people about Jesus is found in verse 32: they were astonished at his teaching. This is not the only time in the Gospels where we read that. In Matthew 7, at the end of the longest recorded message of Jesus in the Gospels, the Sermon on the Mount, it says in verse 28, "And so it was when Jesus had ended these things that the people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes."

Mark's Gospel, in 11:18, gives us the same sentiment. The scribes and the chief priests heard and sought how they might destroy Jesus, for they feared him because all the people were astonished at his teaching. Thus, the first thing that astonished people about Jesus was his message—his words. They were astonished.

At his words, they marveled at his works. Again, Luke 4:32 states that they were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority and power. What kind of authority and power? He commanded a demon to come out of a man, and it did.

In Matthew chapter 8, Jesus is with a group of his disciples in a boat on the Sea of Galilee when a great storm arises. In the midst of the storm, he rebukes the wind and the waves, and the storm calms. Those who were with him in the boat, as you probably would have been if you were there in that moment, were astonished. They marveled at him, saying, "Who can this be that even the wind and the waves obey him?" (Matthew 8:27).

In Matthew 9:8, Jesus forgives and heals a paralyzed man. After he does this, the multitudes see it and marvel, glorifying God. In Matthew 9:33, he casts a demon out of a man who was mute and heals his ability to speak. When he does this, it says, "The multitudes marveled, saying, it was never seen like this in Israel."

The two things that astonished people about Jesus were his words and his works. I would suggest that the words and works of Jesus are still astonishing. As you study and read these things, you discover that there is a lot to marvel at in the words of Jesus. I have seen Christ work in people and transform lives. It is still astonishing to see the way in which God transforms people in a powerful way.

Continuing with verse 37 of Luke chapter 4, the report of Jesus went into every place in the surrounding region. He arose from the synagogue in Capernaum and entered Simon's house. Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, so they made a request of Jesus concerning her. He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately, she arose and served him.

Once again, Jesus is on a mission, fulfilling his purpose, and as he does, the results are powerful. This is an interesting story. He leaves the synagogue in Capernaum and goes to Simon's house. There are some noteworthy things here. First, Luke drops something on us out of the blue with no character development at all. If you judge him by typical writing standards, he seems like a terrible writer. Simon has never been mentioned in the text before, and now, all of a sudden, he is introduced in the middle of the narrative.

He's like, he went to Simon's house. You're like, wait, who is Simon? If you're new to the story or you've never read this before, you're probably wondering where that came from. Luke, give me some introduction. You might wonder, as I do, why Luke does this. Well, I would suggest to you that the answer is quite simple, actually. I don't think Luke, in his wildest conceptions or dreams, ever thought that 2,000 years later, in a place he could not have imagined—San Diego, California—there would be a group of people reading the words he wrote. He had no idea.

Not only that, but Luke was writing to a group of people in a time when, when he said "Simon," they all knew who he was talking about. How did they know that? Because when Luke wrote this, Simon was still alive and he was one of the most prominent figures in the early church. They knew who he was. So, Luke could say, "So he went to Simon's house," and everybody could go, "Yep, Simon's house in Capernaum." They could totally track with it. Even without giving character development or introducing us to Simon in any way, it's just this small nugget and reminder that this was written by a guy who lived during the time when the people he was writing to knew who Simon was.

The second interesting thing is that it says he left the synagogue. He was there on the Sabbath day and went to Simon's house. If you know anything about Judaism and those who practice it, observant Jews who go to the synagogue on the Sabbath don't go very far because they have restrictions in their faith about how far they can travel on the Sabbath day. This tells us something about Simon. Where did Simon live? He lived in Capernaum, close to the synagogue, which is fascinating because you can visit the ruins of Capernaum, as I have, located on the northwest tip of the Sea of Galilee. You can go to the synagogue ruins there. I've been in there and taught Bible studies from the New Testament in that synagogue.

It's kind of scandalous, you know? There, you can walk out the door of the synagogue in Capernaum and walk just about a hundred feet away to what are the ruins of what is believed to be the house of Peter. I mean, it is a lob wedge; it's not that far away to get to the house of Simon Peter in that place. So, that's the second thing that's interesting to me, at least, in this text.

Interesting, Simon, the guy we come to know as Peter the fisherman, is introduced in Luke chapter 5. Simon Peter, who is regarded by a large segment of the church as the first pope, has an interesting background. He was married and had a wife, as well as a mother-in-law. In the text, we see that his mother-in-law is not doing well because she has a fever. Simon's wife’s mother was sick with a high fever, and they made a request to Jesus concerning her.

Jesus responded by rebuking the fever, and it left her. This leads us to point number three: Jesus's power over illness and evil authenticated his identity and mission. This point is very important. His power in casting out demons, calming the storm, walking on water, feeding the multitudes, healing the sick, and raising the dead all serve to authenticate his identity.

It is crucial to understand that Jesus's performance of miracles can sometimes be misunderstood. These acts, which revealed his power, are not the core focus of his mission and ministry. You will never find a text—at least I never have, as I have gone through the Gospels—where Jesus says, "I have come to heal the sick," or "I have come to feed the poor." He never states, "I have come to walk on water for all the surfers in the room." That is not his purpose. However, these miracles are something he did.

So, why did he perform these miracles? I suggest to you that Jesus's power in these miraculous ways was an authentication, a validation of who he was. It demonstrates his divinity and shows the power from which he comes. These miracles are not the power in and of themselves; they reveal who he is.

It's kind of like this: I have had the privilege for the last 15 or so years to serve as a chaplain with the Escondido Fire Department. Those dedicated individuals, when I first became a chaplain, gave me something that 5-year-old Miles would have wanted, something you can't imagine.

I have a badge in my car. I'll show it to you. If you know anything about the fire service, it's a gold badge, and that's a big deal. There's a guy who knows the fire service right there. So, what does the gold badge say? It says I'm a chief. I'm not; I'm a chaplain. But they don't know that. All they see is a gold badge, so they call me "sir," which is totally weird because I show up with long hair and a beard. They're like, "You don't fit in."

Here's the crazy thing about the badge. There have been numerous times when they'll call me and say, "Miles, we need you to come out to this scene." It's a closed scene, a police scene, and there's a police officer at the front. Nobody gets through, but I drive up in my unusual car, show the badge, and they let me in. Five-year-old Miles would have been thrilled; my mom could tell you all about it. I had a fire suit and everything as a little kid.

That badge, in and of itself, has no intrinsic power, but it represents power. It is a credential that demonstrates authority. Jesus's miracles are a divine demonstration; they serve as authentication. They are not the primary focus of His purpose or mission. This is really key because many Christians and churches throughout the centuries have tried to focus all their attention on the miraculous or the powerful, the works side of it. Those things can be good, but they serve as validation or authentication of the work. The message is the purpose.

Look at John 5. Jesus says this clearly in verse 36: "I have a greater witness than John the Baptist, for the works which the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of me that the Father has sent me." What is He saying? My works show forth that I have a divine call, purpose, and power.

The theme verse of the Gospel of John is found in John 20:30-31. John writes, "Truly, Jesus did many other signs, miracles in the presence of His disciples which are not written in this book, but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." What does he say? The miracles authenticate the message; they are not the core focus.

Becoming the focus, you are misunderstanding and missing the primary purpose of Jesus's ministry. Many people in Jesus's day, even among his disciples, misunderstood and missed his primary purpose. They were tempted to try to co-opt it or redirect his focus. That's exactly what happens here in this next text.

Look at verse 40 in Luke 4:40. When the sun was setting, going down on the Sabbath day, all those who had any sick with various diseases brought them to him. Jesus cast a demon out of a man there in the synagogue in Capernaum on the Sabbath day. What do you think happened immediately when synagogue services were done? Everybody split. They went and said, "You're not going to believe what happened to all those not-so-great observant Jews who didn't come to synagogue on the Sabbath. They got to hear this. There was this guy there, this teacher, Jesus of Nazareth. Yeah, we heard about him. He cast a demon out of a man. Gather all the sick people together." They brought them to him, and he laid hands on every one of them. Verse 40 says, "And he healed them." Demons also came out of many, crying out, saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God." He rebuked them, saying, "Do not allow them to speak, for they knew that he was the Christ." Why is he doing this? It's not time yet.

Now, when it was day, he had been doing this for a very long period of time. He departed and went into a deserted place. The crowds sought him and came to him, trying to keep him from leaving them. Remember, he has a mission and a purpose. Sometimes even those closest to him try to co-opt, redirect, or refocus his agenda or purpose.

In the Gospel of Mark, Mark's accounting of this passage reveals more. In Mark 1:35, we read, "Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, Jesus went out and departed to a solitary place. There he prayed." Simon and those who were with him searched for him. When they found him, they said, "Everyone is looking for you."

I can imagine, though Simon may correct me, what was going through Simon's mind and the minds of all those other people. Jesus, touchdown kind of! Everyone's looking for you. This is it. There is so much buzz. We have to capture the buzz.

There's so much momentum. This is it. We can start the miraculous ministry of the Messiah right here in Capernaum. Everybody's going to come to you. This is going to be amazing. You can just be healing people all day long. This is just what we needed to get this thing going. We want to build on the bus, capture the moment and the momentum, and capitalize on it.

But remember, Jesus has a very clear mission and purpose. Healing and deliverance, along with all the other miraculous signs that Jesus performs, were a byproduct of His power. They were not the primary focus. So, what is the primary focus? Well, look at the very next verse, verse 43. But He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also. For this purpose, I have been sent." You might want to underline that in your Bible. "I must preach the kingdom of God because for this purpose I was sent," and He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

Point number four: Jesus often needs to adjust and refocus my attention to His mission because I am given to try to co-opt it or change the agenda, too. Just like Simon, this won't be the last time that Simon is going to be saying, "No, no, no, no, no. We have a better plan." The focus and attention of Jesus's mission and purpose was, note it clearly, the kingdom of God.

This brings us to a very important and often misunderstood topic: the kingdom. Do you realize that the kingdom was core to Jesus's ministry and focus? He tells us right here, "I must proclaim the kingdom of God to other cities because for this purpose I was sent." The kingdom shows up 129 times in the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Sometimes it's not just the kingdom; sometimes Jesus says the kingdom of God. Other times, He refers to it as the kingdom of heaven. These words are used interchangeably. You shouldn't get into the weeds about trying to figure out the distinction here. The kingdom is the kingdom of God. It's God's kingdom. It's the kingdom of heaven.

The place of heaven is where we see the reign of the kingdom. The kingdom is core. One hundred five of the one hundred twenty-nine times in the Gospels where the kingdom is brought up, who do you think is talking about it? Jesus. One hundred five times in four Gospels, Jesus is talking about the kingdom. If he talks about this one hundred five times, do you happen to think that maybe the kingdom was important to him?

For this purpose, I have come. What purpose? To proclaim the message of the kingdom. It was central to what he did. Many of you may know that much of Jesus's teaching ministry was in the form of parables. Did you know that many of those parables are called kingdom parables? They are called kingdom parables because Jesus begins them by saying, "The kingdom of God" or "the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man who planted seed." The kingdom of heaven is like a man who found a treasure hidden in a field. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls. The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle his accounts.

The kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of heaven is like the kingdom parables. He said, "I must preach the kingdom of God because for this purpose I was sent." Why did Jesus come? That's a question I think about when I consider this man that we read about in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We read about his followers in Acts through Revelation and in church history, which transformed the world. We know that some two billion people around the world today still look to him for hope, salvation, and forgiveness. Why?

Why did Jesus come? To proclaim the message of the kingdom. This was core to his mission statement, and he remains fully committed to this. Anyone who stands before him to try to dissuade him from this kingdom, he says, "Get behind me, Satan."

A fascinating thing in the text we looked at a few weeks ago is when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. You might remember that the devil took him on a high mountain at some point and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, saying, "If you just bow down to me, I'll give you all the kingdoms of the world." And what did he say? "Get behind me, Satan." Why? Because Jesus knew something: he is already the king of a greater kingdom. He has come to declare this message of the kingdom. He came to preach that message.

So why did he perform miracles? To validate the kingdom message with kingdom power. He is showing people that...

My kingdom has power. And so we ask the question: What on earth is the kingdom? The first thing you should note from the text is that it is not on earth yet. Jesus said to His disciples, "Father, your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." He also said to Pontius Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36).

If it is not of this world, then what was the point of preaching it in this world? The point of preaching it here is because it will one day come. Those kingdoms—the same kingdoms that the serpent, the devil, showed Him in that vision from the mountaintop—will one day be given to Him. He will take them for Himself. Revelation pictures this in Revelation 11:15, where the seventh angel sounded, and there was a loud voice in heaven saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord." One day, He will take them when His kingdom comes.

So, that is why Jesus came to preach, proclaim, and present the message of the kingdom. Why? To prepare us for the coming of His kingdom. To invite us to participate in the work and mission of His kingdom. He calls us to join His mission and His purpose, revealing the mysteries of the kingdom. That is what His parables were for. He has come to call us to seek first His kingdom. He has come to establish His kingdom in us.

Get this: He has come to give you the keys to the kingdom. That sounds pretty cool; it's like a badge. What does that mean? It means you have access. The one who has keys has access to the kingdom. He has come to make you and me fit for the kingdom. Why? Because in my natural nature, I am not ready for the kingdom. Shall I say, I am not dressed quite right yet? But He is here to make us fit for the kingdom.

He calls us to pray, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." The kingdom was His focus. If the kingdom was Jesus's focus, then if I am a follower of Jesus, the kingdom ought to be my focus as well.

That's a challenging thing to consider, but it begs the question: What is the kingdom? Fascinatingly, I've had a lot of conversations with people over the last several months who have been asking that question. They don't say, "What is the kingdom?" Instead, they ask, "Can you tell me about heaven?" When we're talking about the kingdom, we're talking about heaven.

One of the things I've discovered is that there's a lot of misunderstanding about heaven. Why? Because it's a mystery. You want to know why it's a mystery? None of us have been there yet. Me neither. If we want to know anything about the kingdom of heaven, we want to hear it from someone who's actually been there. Guess what? There's somebody who came down from there to here, and he had some things to say about the kingdom.

There is a lot of misunderstanding in the church. I find that many Christians have un-Christian ideas about the kingdom. They have heretical ideas about heaven that are not based in Scripture. Most people have a lot of misunderstanding about heaven, and so I'm going to talk about it. Not today, because I have two minutes and forty seconds, and I can talk fast, but not that fast.

Next week, we're going to begin a two-week series briefly discussing the kingdom of heaven. If you've ever been interested in heaven or know some people who are interested in heaven and want to know what the Bible has to say about it, this would be a great opportunity to invite them. In fact, if you have questions that might help me as I think about how to approach this over the next couple of weeks, send your messages to 760-814-1223. I get them directly, and it would be very helpful. You can send them right now; I don't mind.

There is tons of misunderstanding about the kingdom of heaven. As I've done my studies on it, I've found that many different Christian individuals and groups have misunderstood Jesus's teaching on the kingdom. This misunderstanding leads them into bad kingdom theology, which results in things like liberation theology, kingdom now theology, or something you've probably heard about in the news: Christian nationalism, which is basically a form of kingdom now theology. However, Jesus said, "My kingdom's not of this world," but he also said to pray, "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." The kingdom, as we find it in the Scriptures, is our eternal home, and it's a big part of our hope.

So, we will talk next week and the week after about some of the specifics of what the Bible has to say about the kingdom. But how do we wrap this up this morning? I think with some thoughts.

To think about. First, has Jesus's focus and purpose become your focus and purpose? Or are you trying to get your agenda done, "your will be done in heaven as it is on earth"? That's not quite the way that Jesus gave it to us. Can you honestly pray, "Your kingdom come, your will be done in my life as it is in heaven"? Can you say, "Not my will, but yours be done"? Because He is the King.

You see, when you become a Christian, you become a citizen of a new kingdom. Paul says in Philippians 3:20, "For my citizenship is in heaven." So, when you become a Christian, you become a citizen of a new kingdom and a subject of a new King. He rules in that kingdom of which you are a citizen. Not only do you become a citizen of a new kingdom and a subject of a new King, but you also become an ambassador and a representative of that King and His kingdom here on earth.

This raises a challenging question that I wrestle with from time to time: How well am I representing the King and His kingdom in the way that I interact with others? How do I interact with my wife and my kids? How do I lead the church and do my work? How am I representing the King and the kingdom?

If you will, I wear a uniform. You do too, in a sense. Maybe you even have a sticker on your car that identifies you as a Christian, and people are watching. They are asking, "How does that person represent the King and the kingdom?" A lot of people have many bad ideas about the church. Why? Because the representatives have been really bad at representing the King and His kingdom.

So, here are some challenging questions this morning: How well does your life represent the King and His kingdom? What do your words and your life show about your purpose? Is it His purpose, or are you trying to move your agenda? Have you accepted His lordship and His rule and surrendered your will to His will? Have you accepted His purpose?

As I mentioned in point four, Jesus often needs to adjust and refocus my attention on His mission. He does that almost every single time I open the Scriptures.

Because the last point, number five, is that Jesus wants His kingdom to be my focus. Let me leave you with this, and I'll invite Anthony and the team up. This is, I think, really important. We live in an anxious time. We live in an anxious culture. Everything that's coming at you all day long, every day, is making you more anxious, and it almost seems like it's engineered by something or someone to be so. No, His name's not George Soros or the Koch brothers. It's none of that. I think it's a more spiritual thing.

There’s a lot of anxiousness as you look at the things going on in social media or the corporate news media. Many people I know are anxious about all kinds of different things. Jesus said, "Do not worry." That's as much of a commandment as "Thou shalt not covet." Do not worry. Oh my goodness, we all are a bunch of sinners because we're anxious about many things.

Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6, "Do not worry about what you're going to eat, what you're going to wear, and where you're going to live." Those are the fundamental things that people worry about: how am I going to have food for me and my family, how am I going to have clothes, and how am I going to have a place to stay? Those are the things that people are worried about when it comes to taking care of their livelihood.

Jesus said, "Don't worry about those things, because after all these things, people who don't know their Father in heaven worry about those things. But you—here it is, here's the key—you seek first the kingdom, and all these things will be added unto you." Man, if that is true, that is awesome! I don't have to worry; I have to reorient my focus to His kingdom. God help me; I'm not always very good at that. You can pray for me, and I'll pray for you.

Would you stand with me as we pray towards that end? God, thank You. Thank You for the simple teaching of the kingdom. It's a radically different thing because so often we can be led to think that Your message was...

Not the message that you yourself promoted. We attach all kinds of different things from our agenda or co-opt your purpose, and you just keep saying, "No, this is my purpose." Your disciples all came and said, "Here, this is what we think you should do," and you said, "No, that's not what I'm doing." You said, "We're going to go preach the kingdom because for this purpose I came."

God, I pray that your kingdom would rule and reign in my heart and my mind. I pray for my brothers and sisters here today that we would be able to set our hearts and our minds upon you and your kingdom. Fix our focus upon you, and all these things that might weigh upon us and cause anxiety and fear might fade away as we seek first your kingdom.

God, would you help us to do that this week by your Spirit? We ask this in Jesus' name. And all those agreed said, "Amen." Amen.