December 10, 2006

Cawson Street Church of Christ

Hopewell, Virginia

Mural Worthey

 

The Gospel—“Talking Points”--#1

 

Introduction: Have you noticed in politics that they have what they call “talking points?”  These are arguments that they think sums up the differences between them and the other party.  These points are things that they want to highlight; they want people to remember.  A democracy has certain talking points; so also do dictators, socialists, kings, and communists.  It might surprise you, but Satan has certain talking points.  And a lot of people are listening.  Sinners and unbelievers have their talking points.  They speak for Satan.

 

“Talking points” are often just that—things to talk about.  Much that people say is not true; or at the most it is limited to this life and to earthly matters.  I want to remind you of our talking points.  These things sum up the Gospel of Christ.  They are true and what we have is so much better and greater than all the other kinds of talking points.

 

Passages: “But if our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.  In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. . .  We have the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed and therefore have spoken. We also believe and therefore speak.”  (2 Cor. 4:3-7, 13.)  Paul quoted David in Psalm 116:10.  The last part of the passage says, “I was greatly afflicted.”  This is Paul’s point to the Corinthians.  Though the apostles were afflicted, persecuted and cast down, they were confident that God was with them.  Just as He raised up Jesus, so God would also raise them up.

 

Note that Christians have “talking points.”  We believe; therefore, we speak. We have the treasure of the gospel in earthen vessels; that is, in us.  There are so many good things that are said in this text and elsewhere in the Gospel.  I want to point out some of these significant talking points that we should be talking about.  These will be things that contrast the Kingdom of Christ with the kingdoms of this world.  Our Kingdom is so much better.

 

We Preach Christ Jesus & His Kingdom

 

Paul rightfully said that we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord.  (verse 5)  This must always be our number one talking point.  He is the Head of the Church and the Savior of the Body.  He is our Creator.  All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made.  It is the Kingdom of Christ; the Kingdom that belongs to him.  It is also the Gospel of Christ; it is his gospel, his story.  It is right that he be so honored because he is divine.  Jesus was not a prophet in the same likeness as Moses, Abraham or John the Baptist.  And Mohammed certainly has not replaced Jesus Christ or superseded him.  Jesus suffered the humiliation of the cross for our transgressions.  Our sins were placed upon him so that we may bear his righteousness.  (2 Cor. 5:21.)

 

The poor Caesars did not know it or believe it, but the spiritual kingdom of Christ was greater than their empire!  God raises kings up and he takes them down.  Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar 3 times that God rules in the kingdoms of men and he gives it to whomsoever he wills.  (4:17, 25, 32.) Christ’s Kingdom extends into every kingdom in the world.  There is no other kingdom like that.  Other nations have borders; His kingdom does not.  No one can ever defeat this Kingdom or overthrow its King!

 

Daniel said, “In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed.  And the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.  Forasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it break in pieces the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and the gold.  The great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter and the interpretation thereof is sure.”  (Daniel 2:44-45.)  God set up his kingdom in the days of the Roman Empire and from that time forward His Kingdom is greater than all others.

Servant is Greater

 

This Kingdom of Christ is further described in the Bible to contrast it with the kingdoms of men.  James and John, two apostles, did not understand the nature of the Messianic Kingdom.  Their mother asked Jesus for special positions for them in the kingdom.  This upset the other 10 apostles; they felt that they were going to be put in subjection to these sons of thunder.    Jesus spoke powerful words to make known what he wanted in his kingdom.  He said:

 

You know not what you ask. Are you able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?  They said, We are able.  He said to them, You shall indeed drink of my cup and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with, but to sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.  Jesus called them unto him and said, You know that the Gentiles exercise dominion over them and they that are great exercise authority over them.  But it shall not be so among you, but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister.  And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.  Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto you, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for all.  (Matt. 20:20-28.)

 

This is a powerful talking point that we must remind those entering the Kingdom and those who are older citizens of it.  It is an amazing truth.  Christ is the King in his kingdom.  He set the example for us by serving us.   He washed the apostles’ feet!  (John 13)  Will the President, Prime Minister, the Caesar of Rome wash your feet??  The greatest in the Lord’s Kingdom is the one who humbly serves others.  Political kingdoms of this earth deceive their citizens by making them think that they are working for their interests.  They say, We do not want anyone left behind; we promote social programs, educational programs, etc.  But when they are finished, their message can never equal ours.  In their organizations, the people who sweep the floors and wash the windows are not the greatest.  When the president of the company walks by, the president wears a $1000 suit while the servant wears something from Wal-Mart or from Goodwill.  Remember that the servant is the greatest.  (2 Cor. 1:24.)

Spiritual Freedom in Christ

 

One talking point for those promoting a democracy is about freedom to speak, freedom of the press, freedom to worship, freedom to pursue your dreams, etc.  I like a democratic form of government, but what we have is so much better.  The kingdom of Christ can survive in any country; you can be free even if you are thrown into a prison.  Paul was often put into prison by those opposing him.  He was bound in Jerusalem, Caesarea, Philippi, and Rome.  Yet, he never felt like a prisoner.  He was truly free.  There is no freedom that can equal the freedom of the Christian.  Here are our talking points in presenting the Gospel.  We believe them; therefore we speak.

 

We are free from the bondage of sin.  Only Jesus Christ can set us free from sin.  “If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.”  (John 8:32.)  It is sin that shackles Americans and Europeans and Russians.  It is not so much the form of government.  You can possess all the political freedoms in the world, but still be bound by the heaviest shackle of all.

 

President Bush is known for saying that “freedom is the Almighty’s gift to mankind.”  It is not America’s gift to another country; it comes from God. The problem with that is that the Bible does not promise political freedom.  Paul did not have it, though he was a Roman citizen.  He was, at last, beheaded by the Roman authority.  The Almighty’s gift to mankind is spiritual freedom in Jesus Christ, regardless of the government of your country.

 

Know you not that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness?  But God be thanked that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of  doctrine which was delivered you, being then made free from sin, you became the servants of righteousness. . . But now being made free from sin and having become servants to God, you have fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life.  (Rom. 6:16-23.)

 

 

 

 

The Sky is not Falling

 

One of the common talking points in political and environmental circles is to say that man can destroy the planet earth; it is “the sky is falling” idea from Chicken Little.  A chicken is hit on the head by a falling acorn and he thinks that the sky is falling.  He alarms everyone about the impending doom.  Those who use “the sky is falling” talking point usually do so in order to whip us support for their causes.  Their cause can be saving the whales, saving the oceans, saving the ozone layer, saving clean water, saving the icebergs, etc. And then the doomsday conclusion follows—if you do not support this cause, then the whole human race will be destroyed from off the face of the earth.

 

We should, of course, be concerned about clean air, clean water, protecting the environment in which we live.  But there have always been a lot of “Chicken Littles” running around warning people of impending doom.  Some even think that it is sinful if you kill an animal and wear leather coats or shoes.  But God is the first one who killed an animal and made garments for Adam and Eve!  (Gen. 3.)  Of course, they do not believe that story.  But that is their problem—they do not believe in God.

 

What the Bible says is this: Jesus is the Creator of all things and by him all things consists.  (Col. 1:17.)  The word, consists, means “holds together.”  Jesus not only created the universe, but it continues daily to exist and function by his power.  If we buy a new machine or devise made by man, it will sooner or later fall apart.  We can maintain it only so long, then it will break.  Unbelievers think that the universe is that way.  One day, we will destroy the universe.  Man in his abuse of it will destroy the world, they say.  But it is not true.  It sounds like it might happen, but we destroy so many good things that God has made.  But the Lord is in charge of the universe.  It holds together by his power.  You cannot destroy the universe, if you tried to do so.  The world is not going to end by some political leader exploding a bomb!  The world will end when the Lord says so; it will end when he returns and we are ushered into the everlasting kingdom of God.

 

Premillennialists are doomsday believers.  They are always talking about bad things are; how bad the world is.  The Lord must soon come and deliver us because the sky is falling.  But the Lord made the sky and it will stay in place as long as he says so.

Conclusions: Leaders of the kingdoms of this world are always talking about employment figures.  Under their administration, we have this low unemployment rates.  In the USA, we have about 4-5% of the population who are unemployed.  If you have 100 million employed, then 4 or 5 million are unemployed.  That is still a lot of people.  There are so many benefits that come from working; financial, emotional and physical.

 

Everyone in the Kingdom has something to do.  The one who serves is counted as the greatest.  Each member of the body is like a member of the physical, human body.  (Rom. 12 & 1 Cor. 12.)  One member does not do what another does.  The hand and the eye are very different and perform different functions.  So also do the members of the Body of Christ.  One is not greater than another.  There is no such thing as unnecessary members.

 

The unemployment rate in the Kingdom of Christ should be 0%.  Paul wrote, “Therefore, by beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; forasmuch as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”  (1 Cor. 15:58.)  We have every incentive and motive to participate in the work of the Kingdom.  Paul named one motive in this text: “Your labor is not in vain.”  This chapter is about the resurrection to eternal life.  Our faith is not vain.  Jesus was raised from the dead; we will also be raised.  Life is not futile; Solomon was wrong about it.  He wrote, “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity.”  Life without God is vain; Life without purpose is vain.  Death is not the end of the story.  Jesus said, He that lives and believes in me shall never die.  Do you believe that? He asked.

 

Those who do not believe in the resurrection of the dead will not put their lives in jeopardy for the Gospel.  Paul spoke of fighting with the beasts at Ephesus.  If there is no resurrection of the dead, then we are of all men most miserable.  (1 Cor. 15:31-32.)  Some say, Eat and drink for tomorrow we die.  To them this is the end.  Christians say, No, this is not the end, but just the beginning of a new life with God.