Welcome to this service by a rather confused preacher who is not counting the songs properly, I guess. So, you don't need me to tell you that we're living a difficult time. The coronavirus has thrown us all for a loop for almost a year now. Some of us have lost jobs. Some of us have lost friends, neighbors, even family members to the virus. Millions of others have suffered. Coronavirus fatigue has set in. We're tired of wearing masks, aren't we? Someone just said to me last week, I can't wait for this to end. And yet, There's other effects. Marriage has fallen off. We had 300,000 fewer marriages last year than had been expected based on statistics. People are afraid to get married. We've had riots and violence in our streets, in part because of the virus, in part because of other things. How can we live in this situation? How can we learn to deal with the virus, to deal with each other, to live together in hope? How can we have hope in the midst of this pandemic? What does Jesus have to teach us about living in today's difficult situation? So we look today at what Jesus teaches us about the kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is something that occurs frequently throughout the New Testament. It's even in the Old Testament. But primarily in the New Testament, it occurs frequently. Jesus speaks about it, even in the Gospel of Luke alone. He speaks 23 times about the Kingdom of God. And Luke has another 7 references outside of Jesus' specific words. So we look today at the Kingdom of God, what it means to be members of that Kingdom, what it means to live as Kingdom people with a hope for the future. So we'll turn first of all to Scripture, in reading from Luke Chapter 17, verses 20 to 37. Verse 20. Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, Here it is, or There it is, because the kingdom of God is among you. Then he said to his disciples, The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. Men will tell you, there he is or here he is. Do not go running after them for the son of man in his day will be like the lightning which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. just as it was in the days of Noah, so also it will be in the days of the Son of Man. People are eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It'll be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, no one who is on the roof of his house with his goods inside should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot's wife. Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together. One will be taken and the other left. Two men will be in the field. The one will be taken and the other left. Where, Lord, they asked. He replied, where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather. Father, we come to you seeking your grace and mercy as we study this passage together. Father, I pray you would take my lips and speak through them your truth clearly. And I pray, Father, you would take our ears and our hearts to receive your truth. Not just receive it, Lord, to believe it and act upon it. Lord, encourage us, we pray, for your word this morning. in Jesus' name. Amen. So, what do we learn from our Lord's words this morning? How can we learn to live and flourish as Christian believers in a time of coronavirus? And I believe part of the answer, I'm sure it's not the whole answer, but a part of the answer is us to learn what it means to be members of the kingdom of God. And right away, you may ask me, well, what is this kingdom of God? I know it occurs frequently in the New Testament, but what exactly is the kingdom of God? Well, I have to tell you, theologians have written books on the subject, and I can't even begin to approach the depth of what they have said. But for our purposes today, I'd like to focus on really just one thing, which is the kingdom of God is something that is both here and not yet here. Now that confuses you, I'm sure. How can we be here and not yet here? As Christ follows, we're members of his kingdom, but none of us are enjoying the full blessings of being members of his kingdom. We're subject to frailty, we're subject to disease, we're subject to loss of friendships, we're subject to anger, we're subject to doubt. How can we be enjoying the full benefits of being members of the kingdom of God with all these things going on? So let me help you understand it by sharing a little bit about Jewish marriage customs. I think that will help us to understand what it means to be in it and yet not of it. It was a much more formal process, so when the bridegroom, the potential bridegroom had decided who he'd like to marry, he would go to the father's house, the father of the brides that is, and they would negotiate a bride price. and the bride was being given to the parent, the groom's family, she'd become a member of their family, so sort of buying the bride. And so they negotiated the price, and the bride, of course, then would need to agree to this whole business. But once she'd agreed, and once the price had been settled, They then shared a cup of wine together. The bride and the groom shared from the same cup. That was the marriage, really. That was the betrothal. But it was, in their eyes, marriage. From that moment on, the husband and the wife, not yet husband and wife, the groom and the bridegroom, had become married, legally married. But then they left. She went off to prepare her trousseau. He went off to build a house for his wife, usually in his father's compound or around his father's area. And that might take a year. During that year, they were married, but the marriage had not been consummated. At the end of the year, he would go back to the bride's house. He would claim her. She would go with him to his house, newly built. They were there. They would consummate the marriage. And then they'd have a big party, and they'd feast. And so during that year, when they were legally married but hadn't yet consummated the marriage, if you'd asked the bride, are you married? She could say yes, but not yet. Yes, I'm legally married, but the marriage isn't yet complete. Only after the consummation could I then say, now we're husband and wife together. We're fully married. It's a bit like that with us. We've been, in a sense, we're married to God. We're in His family. We're part of His family. But the marriage, we're not fully part of His family because He doesn't rule the whole earth. There are other people around us who are not part of His family. We're mixed up. We're in a strange situation here. in the world, but not of it. But when Christ returns, or when we go to meet Him in death, one or the other, whichever comes first, then we will truly be accepted fully members of God's kingdom forever and ever. So I hope that helps you understand how we can be in the kingdom, but yet not fully members of it until Christ returns. So let's now see what Jesus has to say about the kingdom of God. First thing he says is the present Kingdom of God is centered on Jesus the King. And the lesson from that is be obedient. So each of these points is a lesson. Kingdom of God is centered on Jesus the King, be obedient. So Jesus was asked by a group of Pharisees, when will the Kingdom of God come, they said. Now the Pharisees, for those of you who are not familiar with them, they're a sect of the Jews, a strict believing sect, dedicated to keeping the law as accurately as they could. Many good aspects, but they had some fatal flaws. One was pride, the other was blindness to who Jesus was. They had this expectation that the Messiah that they were all looking for would come as a conquering king. He would come with chariots and horses and beat the Romans out of their country and take over and rule as the divine ruler. That wasn't God's idea of who the Messiah was going to be. So when they asked Jesus the question, when will the kingdom of God come? They were probably expecting, I think they asked it skeptically, you know, here's this rabbi with a few followers, they're all pretty rugged people, fishermen, etc., even a tax collector down among them. This can't possibly be the coming kingdom of God. This can't be right. So I think they asked it skeptically, when is this kingdom coming? When are you going to take over? When are you going to beat the Romans up? And Jesus replies to them that the kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation. Nor will people say, here it is, or there it is, because the kingdom of God is among you. So he was saying, in effect, I am the king. I am the king. I am the king and the kingdom. These followers, they're part of the kingdom of God. It's among you. We're standing around this group right here, my disciples and you guys, we're among you. The kingdom of God is among you. So it's not a physical kingdom. It's not one that people say, here it is. There, look at this tower. That's part of the kingdom. The king built that tower. It's not a physical kingdom. It doesn't force people to become subjects like the Romans did. The Romans conquered a country. You're now all under our authority. It's not that sort of kingdom. Jesus says the kingdom of God is among you. And so the kingdom of God is where Jesus is and where his followers are, citizens of the kingdom. So, is the Kingdom of God the same as the Church? Yes and no. As believing followers of Jesus Christ, as Christ followers, we are part of the kingdom of God. But so are many others. The Old Testament saints, for example, are part of the kingdom of God. In Hebrews 11, it says, These are all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us, so that only together with us would they be made perfect. So the Old Testament saints are made perfect through Christ's sacrifice. They are also part of the Kingdom of God. And so, all of you this morning, sitting here in this auditorium, or in the other rooms, or in the dungeon down below, or sitting outside in the cold, those of you listening at home, you are all members of the King of God if you are a believer in Jesus Christ. Congratulations. You have a loving, a wonderful King. As Paul wrote in Romans chapter 8, I'm convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. So we are citizens of the kingdom of God, we can rejoice in God's kingship over us. But there's a second aspect to our citizenship, and that is we need to serve and obey the king. As citizens of the USA, most of us, we are called to obey the laws of the land, to obey the rulers over us. And John wrote in 1 John 5, this is how we know that we love the children of God, by loving God and carrying out His commands. This is love for God, to obey His commands, and His commands are not burdensome. And as Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 10, we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. So as citizens of God's kingdom, we are blessed with the love of God and we're called to loving and faithful service for the King. The second thing we can note from this passage is that the future Kingdom of God will come suddenly and unexpectedly when Christ returns. So we're dealing with the present Kingdom of God. There is going to be a future Kingdom of God when Christ returns. And He's going to come suddenly, and He's going to come unexpectedly. Take a message from that is be watchful and be faithful. After teaching the Pharisees about the Kingdom of God, Jesus then goes on to prepare his disciples for the fact that he'll be leaving them. In verse 22 he says to the disciples, The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. Men will tell you, there he is, or here he is. Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other." In other words, Jesus doesn't mention the kingdom of God here, but the context shows us he's still teaching about the kingdom. And he says really three things in this short passage. First of all, he says, lesson one is he will not be with them forever. He's speaking to his disciples. He's saying the time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. So there's a time coming in the near future. These words were spoken fairly shortly before the cross, before he went to Calvary to die for our sins. He's saying there's a time when he won't see me. The disciples will miss him terribly. They will long to see him, but they will not be able to do so. False prophets will arise and claim, there he is or here he is. The disciples and we are not to go running after them. So Jesus will be leaving them, but He'll be coming back. Don't worry, we'll get to that. Lesson 2 is that when Jesus does return, it will be an unmistakable event. When Jesus does return, it will be an unmistakable event. For the Son of Man in His day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. The day of the Son of Man, again, is one of the images used to refer to Jesus' return. So here Jesus is saying, just as lightning lights up the sky, so many people can see it, so my return will be. And the apostle John, in the book of Revelation, in chapter one, verse seven, speaks about this. He says, look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. And so all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be, amen. So there'll be a sudden return. And thirdly, it'll be an unexpected return. Just as lightning flashes cannot be controlled, you can't control lightning, you can't predict lightning, Jesus tells us his return will be sudden and unexpected, just like lightning. So we cannot predict the date of Christ's return. People have tried. People have done mathematical calculations. People have read all sorts of weird scriptures into complicated plans for Christ's return. I spoke about this in my last sermon. I'll just say again, Wikipedia lists 43 failed predictions of the date of Christ's return. And that's only skimming the surface. I'm sure there are many others. So don't be fooled if people say Christ is coming in 2024 or 2030 and I've got the scriptures to prove it, don't believe them. They're one of the 43 failed, well they're 44 and 45 of the failed predictions. Matthew 24 tells us that Christ is returning unexpectedly. Matthew 24, who is the faithful and wise servant whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It would be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, my master is staying away a long time. He then begins to beat his fellow servants and eat and drink with the drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him at an hour he is not aware of. So real warnings, he'll cut in pieces with the hypocrites, be weeping and gnashing of teeth. So great joy when Christ returns for those who are believers, those who are members of his kingdom, great peril for those who are not, for those who have rejected Him. But it'll be sudden, it'll be unexpected. Jesus then goes on to say a rather surprising thing in this context, but not really. The Kingdom of God will only come completely after the King has been rejected and suffered. The message there is be grateful, be grateful. The kingdom of God will only come completely after the king has been rejected and suffered. In verse 25 of our passage, But first, Jesus says, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. As I said, these words were spoken shortly before he went to the cross. So here Jesus makes it clear that his kingdom is totally different from earthly kingdoms. earthly kings lorded over their subjects. In fact, in Mark chapter 10 and verse 42, Jesus contrasts earthly rulers with his own rule. Jesus called them together and said, You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them, and their high officials exercised authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. Whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. So our citizenship in the kingdom of God is assured not by our own goodness or our knowledge of the Bible, or our theological knowledge or our civic reputation or anything else except on the basis of Jesus Christ's death for us. He paid the price for our sins on the cross. What a powerful challenge to us today to be thankful. Did you wake up this morning a little resentful that you have to wear a mask and cannot hug your friends? Maybe you're struggling with loss of job, loss of a loved one, loss of health, with a breakdown in your marriage. These are all serious losses, and please know that the elders and others are here to offer prayer and counsel if you need it. Please take advantage of the eldership of this church if you're suffering anything of serious nature. But also know we have much to give thanks for, even in spite of our sufferings, even in spite of the fact we have to wear masks, even in spite of how we can't hug each other, we have much to give thanks for. And chief among these is the fact that Jesus Christ died for you and rescued you from the flames of hell. The Apostle Paul knew a thing or two about suffering. He was beaten with Roman lashes many times. He was shipwrecked. He was often hungry and thirsty. He was stoned to death, but recovered. And he wrote these words in Philippians chapter 3. What is more, I consider everything is loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. The kingdom of God will only come after Christ has been rejected and suffered. Be grateful for our Lord. Be grateful. Have you thanked him today for dying for you? One way I'd recommend to those who don't already do so, we have a Lord's Supper service at nine o'clock every week, where we specifically focus on remembering the Lord's death for us. and taking part in sharing the cup and the bread together. If you haven't joined us, please do so. It's back in room 160 right now, and all are welcome to come to that, so there's no pre-registration required. All Christians should be remembering and thankful for Jesus' death on the cross. Fourth point, we enter the Kingdom of God by losing our lives. We enter the kingdom of God by losing our lives. Be willing to die. Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it. Whoever loses his life will preserve it, says Jesus. This is actually a summary of another teaching Jesus gave earlier in Luke chapter 9, where it reads, Then He said to them all, If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will save it. What good is it for a man to regain the whole world and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. So how do we enter the kingdom of God? Maybe an analogy will help you here. How do you enter any kingdom? How do you become a citizen of any kingdom? You do it by swearing allegiance to the king or the governing authority, and in a sense dying to any former allegiances. When I became a citizen of the United States, I swore an oath of allegiance to the USA, which reads in part, I hereby declare on oath that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen, that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic." And it goes on to some examples of that. And we enter the Kingdom of God in the same way, by swearing allegiance to Christ as our Lord and our Savior, and absolutely and entirely renouncing and abjuring all allegiance and fidelity to the devil and all his works. And in doing this, we offer our lives in service to the new King, King Jesus. as the writer of the Hebrews puts it in Hebrews 12, 1. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders, that's the former allegiances, and the sin that so easily entangles, let us run with patience the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne." Now having said this, let me quickly add that the benefits of our new allegiance to the King infinitely outweigh the costs. Let me share another example for you. Think of someone becoming a U.S. citizen from a country like North Korea. They've escaped from North Korea, and stories from Citizens who have escaped from North Korea paint a picture of daily life as full of back-breaking work, with so little food they scavenge in the bush, and with constant fear of retribution from the government if they step out of line or dare question their conditions. So they've escaped, they've already become a citizen of the US, they can speak freely, they can live in freedom. But in this new freedom they have obligations to pay taxes, to bear arms on behalf of the United States when required to by law, to perform work of national importance when required to by law. Do you think someone who escaped from North Korea would think it a bad trade-off and say, no, no, I don't want to do these, I don't want these obligations to pay taxes and so on, to serve. I'm going back to North Korea, to the oppression of Kim Jong-un, to a life of poverty and fear. Do you think they would do that? I don't think so. So it's like that for us. We're called to leave a horrible master, the devil, to serve our Lord and one another. This is part of what it means to lose our lives. But losing our lives in this way for our Lord preserves them when He returns. One more illustration. In an earlier Luke passage, Jesus asked the question in Luke chapter 9, what good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet lose or forfeit his very self? Have you ever wanted to be super rich? You know, like Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk or George Soros or the latest Powerball winner? If you're offered the chance to become rich like these people at the cost of your soul, Would you do it? Think about it. $10 billion to do what you want with. But at the end of that, you lose your soul. The legend of Dr. Faust is probably familiar to most of you. Dr. Faust's legend originates in the 1400s or thereabouts in Germany. He was bored with life. He was some sort of doctor of some kind. He was just bored and depressed. So he calls on the devil for knowledge and magic powers which indulge all the pleasures of earthly life. And the devil sends Mephistopheles. He makes a bargain with Faust. Yeah, I'll help you. I'll do whatever you want. You can do whatever you want. But at the end of 20 years, I'm claiming your soul." Faust takes the bargain and lives a life of debauchery and fun and games, as he thought. And then at the end of it, the devil comes and claims his soul and drags him down to hell. Did he make a good bargain? I don't think so. But that's the bargain millions make by choosing darkness rather than light and the fleeting pleasures of sin over eternal joy in the presence of God. So Jesus calls us to be anti-fausts, if I can coin a phrase. As we follow him as our king, we give up the so-called pleasures of this world to serve him and his people. Young men and young women, Christ calls you to live lives of sexual purity. Married couples, you're called to faithfulness to your wife or husband. Children, you're called to obey your parents in the Lord. Older men and women, to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-committed, sound in faith, in love and endurance. And in all our relationships, love others as we love ourselves. We are called to be Christ's followers in our lives in his kingdom. But another solemn truth, the final kingdom of God, when Christ returns, will separate kingdom citizens from non-citizens. So be sure of your citizenship. So Jesus goes on to say, just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came, destroyed them all. Later on, he says, two women will be grinding grain together. One will be taken, and the other left. Two men will be in the field. One will be taken, and the other left. So we saw the kingdom of God can come unexpectedly, like lightning flashing around the sky. And Jesus repeats this truth here, just as it was the days of Noah, so also be the days of the Son of Man. People were eating and drinking, going on their normal lives, nothing bad about eating and drinking and marrying, being given in marriage, quite normal. But then Noah entered, Aachen, boom, the flood came and destroyed them all. A sudden passing, a sudden event they had not predicted. But now Jesus goes on to make this additional point that the coming of the King will be very different for citizens and non-citizens. I tell you, on that night, two people were in bed, one will be taken, and the other left, and so on. And so it's, who will be taken? Those who are true citizens of the Kingdom of God. those who have sworn allegiance to King Jesus, those who have given their lives in loving service to the King and His people, and now have gained true and lasting joys in His eternal Kingdom. So I have to ask you this question. Are you a citizen of the Kingdom of God? Are you a citizen of the Kingdom of God? Have you sworn allegiance to Christ the King? Because if you have not, please understand that you will be left behind to face God's judgment when Christ returns. Or, if He doesn't return before you die, you will face judgment after death. But also, please know, the door is open. Please know you've become a citizen of God's kingdom by the simple act of admitting that you are a sinner in God's sight. and repenting of your sins, believing on Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and confessing Him publicly, and seeking then to serve Him. This is not complicated. Before I could become a citizen of the United States, I had to go through all sorts of things. I had to fill out forms, I had to pass a written test to show I had some knowledge of American history. I had to go and be interviewed by an immigration officer. I had to jump through all these hoops to become a citizen of the United States. But you can become a citizen of the kingdom of God by the simple act of confessing Christ as your Lord, renouncing the devil and all his works. And God has promised, Jesus promised, that all that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away." From John 6 and 37. The final thought is that the kingdom of God will be final and complete. Be encouraged. The kingdom of God will be final and complete. Be encouraged. So after this teaching by Jesus, the disciples ask, Jesus replied, where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather. A little enigmatic there, but I think what Jesus is saying there is where the spiritually dead are found, there will be judgment. And once judgment comes, it will be final. Preacher Stephen Cole put it in these words, don't worry about where the judgment will occur, because once it comes, it will be too late, and all will see it in its horrific finality. So this is a hard truth, particularly for those of us who have loved ones, parents, siblings, other relatives, even children who have died without becoming citizens of God's kingdom. But none of us can say we know that for sure. We do not actually know how things finally ended up. People do make deathbed conversions. And as Abraham has said to God in Genesis 18, will not the judge of all the earth do right? So whatever the outcome, it is an outcome of perfect justice rendered by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Heaven. But ultimately, this is a message of hope. There is a present kingdom of God, which includes all believers in Jesus Christ. It is here, but it's not yet what it will be. As believers who are betrothed to Jesus Christ, who one day return to establish His final kingdom, they will be free of sin and sickness and despair, and a place of love and joy and wonder. So if you're fed up with wearing a mask, or worried about catching the virus, or frustrated with your situation at home or at work, or crushed by being out of work, be encouraged. God is in control. One day, all sin and sorrow will be eliminated. We will join with all God's children from every age and from every race to enjoy Him and His Son Jesus, His Holy Spirit forever. Be encouraged. God is in control. We're in his kingdom, if you're a believer in Jesus Christ. And one day, that kingdom will be final and complete and full of joy and rejoicing. I'd love to say more about that, but my time has gone. May the Lord bless us as we meditate on these truths.