Matt Chandler - The Kingdom Remade

If you have your Bibles, go ahead and grab those. We’re going to be in Revelation chapter 21. It’s hard to believe we’re almost done with our series on the kingdom. In fact, there’s this weekend and next weekend, and then our 12-week series on the kingdom will come to an end. So, if you’ve just joined us, let me kind of recap quickly so you can understand where we’re going. In week one—and I’m not going to walk through the whole series; no need to panic—we set up how to think rightly about the kingdom. We said that Genesis 1 through 3 was a picture of the plotline of the kingdom of God, namely that God, the creator, created a space in which His dwelling was present, unfettered, and unhindered. Our souls were designed for Him, and He was present in the way our souls were designed for Him to be present. We talked about the fact that God has given us dominion; He has given us the cultural mandate to fill the earth and subdue it. The promise was that we were His people, and He was our God. The Bible says that the man and the woman were naked and unashamed, illustrating a right relationship with God, a right relationship with one another, and a right relationship with creation. In this kingdom, there is one law. I mean, that’s not complex. We have more rules than that in my house! God had one: everything you can have, just don’t touch this one. All right? Leave this one alone; everything else is yours. Yet, Satan begins to tempt and twist, and Adam and Eve fall. The fall wreaks havoc on the kingdom of God. We saw the kingdom established, then we saw the kingdom fall. We receive this promise woven throughout the scriptures that God is going to remake the kingdom and re-establish His kingdom. Over the last 10 weeks, this is week 11, we have explored the complexities of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is here, but it is also there. It is now, but it is also to come. It is inside of us and outside of us. Over the last 10 weeks, we have delved into the complexities of what it means to be part of the kingdom and what it means to be citizens of the kingdom. And just quickly, how gifted is Jamin Roller? I mean, that kid—sheesh! I can call him a kid; I think he’s like 26 or something. That’s not true; he just looks like he’s 26—but he is just an incredibly gifted preacher and teacher. I quickly listened to his message last week and found myself getting pumped up by him. I was like, «Go get him!» So, I mean, how gracious is God to our church that so many of our young men and women here on staff are just gifted teachers and preachers? Jamin is yet another example of that. What I want to look at tonight is not so much the aspects of the kingdom that are here and now and in us, but I want us to look at the kingdom that will soon be here. If Jesus said it would be soon, then I’m allowed to say it, too. So, what I want to do is talk about Christian hope. That’s what I want to talk about tonight. I want to lift our eyes to what’s coming, and I want to frame that around hope. Here’s why: where you place your hope is imperative to your experience of joy. Where you place your hope is directly tied to your joy because if you put your ultimate hopes on things that cannot bear the weight of those hopes, you will likely be led into anxiety and anger. You will probably respond to anxiety and anger with control and manipulation, which, by the way, is not good for relationships. Right? I don’t think I need to elaborate on that any further. Anxiety and anger leading to control and manipulation is not the recipe for a good life, deep relationships, or soul-satisfying experiences. Instead, it causes conflict, heartbreak, and destruction. If you place your hope in things that cannot bear the weight of them, the likelihood that your life will be marked by anxiety and anger leading to control and manipulation is exceptionally high. I want to try to keep my sermon to 38 to 40 minutes because that’s going to be the new reality when we transition to Sunday mornings only. Let me lay this out for you: three examples of the places where we tend to put our hopes, which will always lead to anxiety, anger, control, and manipulation. The first is marriage. Now, if you’re a single person, you might think, «If I could just get married,» or «If I could just find that spouse,» and you put a lot of hope on this person who is going to come in and «Jerry Maguire» your life. Right? They’re going to complete you. Look at me—no, they’re not! They’re going to make everything more difficult and many things much harder. Don’t agree too passionately, married folks, all right? There’s a real beautiful gift in marriage, but if you put your hope in that one person, if you’re single and you put your hope there, you will paralyze yourself today. God is not waiting for you to have a spouse.