Transcription
But how does this hit our lives? Because we're not a church that just casts stones at other people. What does this mean for me to live in God's kingdom? And are my values aligned with God's values?
Let's start with your marriage. What do you do when you feel like you're losing control in your marriage? Do you use the values of the kingdom of this world, or do you say, "I'm going to submit to my spouse because God said, 'Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ'?" Even when I'm not getting my way, even when I'm losing control, I still think this is a submission competition. And husbands say, "I'm still going to love my wife like Christ loved the church," and wife, "I'm still going to respect my husband and honor him like the church submits to Christ." That's what I'm going to do because the values of the kingdom of this world are not going to lead you back to a healthy marriage, but the values of heaven will.
What about your workplace? Some of you work for the most toxic boss, and it is stressing you out. Some of you feel the pressure: more, more, more; sell, sell, sell. What are you going to do with that? Or for you, what's the purpose of work? Is it to get ahead, earn more, earn more, earn more? Or is it to love your neighbor as yourself and serve someone else and bless someone else? In the end, only one of those is going to be satisfying. In the end, only one of those is going to be life-giving and meaningful. Which is it going to be? I already opened this can of worms.
What about politics? Do you keep Jesus before your political party or see him as an afterthought that you try to conform to your political party? Do you view people who vote differently than you as souls that Jesus loves or as His enemies? Because only one view—the view from the kingdom of heaven—is actually going to change anyone's heart and change anyone's mind. I mean, we've spent the last decade in America trying to use the values of the kingdom of this world to change political minds, and that's not working too well.
Or what about your wealth? What's the purpose of your wealth? Is it to give you a sense of identity, or is it to bless people and serve and do good? Some of you say, "Jason, what are we supposed to do with all the injustice that we see? What are we supposed to do with all the wrong in the world? Are we just supposed to take it? Are we supposed to be fine with that?" No, you should absolutely fight injustice. You should absolutely fight wrong. In fact, Paul tells you to look at what he said in Second Corinthians. He said, "For though we live in the world—this is the world we live in, we are part of the kingdom of this world—we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world." Absolutely, you should fight, but not with the world's weapons and not with the world's values. What weapons do we have? That's what we saw in Luke chapter six: love, do good, bless, and pray. When you see something wrong, love, do good, bless, and pray. If you want to make the world a better place, love, do good, bless, and pray. As we do that more and more, your heart will be aligned with the heart of Jesus, and your values will be aligned with the heart of Jesus. Because Jesus, who confronted evil through His death on the cross, and Jesus who established a people and invited you into the family—just as you were, sins and all, failures and all, shame and all—invited you in and said, "I have redeemed you, and I have called you by name." Now Jesus invites you to live under His reign, in His kingdom, with His values, to lead a life that makes an eternal difference. But the choice is yours. Will you live under the reign of King [Music] Jesus?