This Is Your Wake Up Call

Good morning … kings and queens! Ever thought of yourself as a king or queen? Probably not. But you do have a kingdom in which you have some say-so and ruling power. You have dominion and influence over yourself and some people and events in your life. God has made us this way. Remember in the story of creation God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” You are made in the image of God and you would not be a person if you did not have this ability. Some do not have it though. Slaves and prisoners exercise little or no dominion over their lives. Somebody else controls them.

God has a kingdom, too. If fact, he has an enormous kingdom in which to rule – the entire universe. And God’s kingdom has been around forever. Even back in the Psalms of the Old Testament we read about it. Psalm 145 says, “All your works shall give thinks to you, O Lord, and all your faithful shall bless you. They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and tell of your power, to make known to all people your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations.”

Scripture says that God initially wanted His kingdom and our kingdom to work together, but we decided that we wanted to go our own way; we did and what a mess we made of everything. But God kept trying to mesh our kingdoms together and finally did a nearly unheard of thing. He became human so that we could know his ultimate plan for His children.

One day, at the start of his ministry, Jesus was walking down the beach on the Sea of Galilee and picked up some guys who were fishing, crooked his finger, and said, “The kingdom of God has come near; repent, believe in the good news…and follow me.” And they did. Jesus did not have to ask them twice. I kind of wish we had a little more information about how they made their decision to follow Jesus. Wouldn’t you like to know their feelings and how they discerned who he was and what their responses should be? Mark doesn’t like details, and perhaps it is just for the best. We should focus on the caller and not get lost in trying to figure out how to mimic the responses of those first called. As Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled;” the time is now. This is your wake up call. You must respond.

What we do know and can say is that these boys on the beach gave control of their kingdoms to the kingdom of God and began being directed by something utterly new in this world. New life and God’s plan of salvation have come into this world, and there is a change of reality for those who can see it. We have access now to God’s kingdom through the person of Jesus of Galilee. There is a response called for to mesh our kingdom with God’s kingdom. We learn from Jesus how to mesh our kingdom with God’s kingdom and with other people’s kingdoms. We do this by loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves. When we do this, everything else will fall into place. We will grow in the Lord and become what God wants us to be.

I’ve said this many times, but it doesn’t hurt to say it again. God wants a relationship with us. In a relationship where our kingdom rule is meshed with God’s kingdom rule, we become God’s hands and feet and voice in the world. When God’s love flows through us, then we experience and live in God’s eternal life for us now. God became human to show us the way to live now and to have the abundant life that he seeks for all His children – now and forever.

The commandment that Jesus gives us is not, “We must believe in him so that we will have eternal life.” It is that we are to love God with all that we are and to love one another as He loves us. You do not have to wait until you die to live in God’s kingdom. Jesus came up to Simon and Andrew, James and John on the beach and said, “The kingdom of God is at hand. The time is now. Change your focus and your heart from the everyday stuff and follow me into the kingdom of God where your life will transform into an eternal one. You will find the gift of abundant life from God by giving life away. My good news is you don’t have to do a lot of religious stuff, but you will have to change your ways and live your life differently.

You know, our culture frowns on taking religion to seriously; and this is pointed most at mainline Protestants. So you will probably get into trouble living in God’s kingdom by feeding the hungry and taking a hungry homeless person home for lunch. Well, maybe not just one person; but when you bring five hungry, homeless folks at one time home for lunch, your spouse is probably going to scream and leave you. And then if you loved your enemy when they do not love you back, you will probably get in trouble in God’s kingdom. You would certainly get a lot of folks mad at you if you opposed “might makes right.” You would for sure have both the Israelis and the Palestinians after you with their anger. The “might makes right” maxim controls both of their nations, but it does not exist in God’s kingdom. Jesus turned his back on that kind of power when he was tempted by the evil one in the desert. Following Jesus can be a little bit of a challenge.

Some of this can get a little scary and you may wonder if you can make such a radical change in your repenting and believing the good news. So just take some baby steps in God’s kingdom and love others and share yourself more. Start with those around you every day. When you get home from work, don’t turn on the TV. Talk to your spouse and children about their day and really listen to what they have to say. Get down on your grandchildren’s level and speak to them eye to eye so that they feel special to you. Hug your mom and your dad and tell them thank you. Welcome visitors to the church by introducing yourself and making them feel like they could really belong here. Wave at other drivers on the road…and use all of your fingers. Open your home and invite others to dinner around your table. Meet someone for lunch and make them feel like this is the most important time of the day for you. Take soup to a sick friend. Not too scary, is it? Do you know what you are beginning to do here? You are intentionally sharing God’s grace.

After a while you can take bigger steps in your sharing. When you see lonely people, you can spend time to befriend them. When you see hungry people, you can show them the way to food. When you see dirty, unloved, homeless people, you can help them with money or time. You don’t have to worry if they are worthy or a freeloader – that is not your calling. You see how it all works? Baby steps in God’s kingdom can grow into larger steps as God leads you in your witness and service to Jesus. Hey, we bring in God’s kingdom one person at a time and one step at a time. Together, in the body of Christ, we make a difference.

And someday you can even invite one of these persons to church with you and share where you have learned for yourself the grace of God and why you joyfully know you live in God’s kingdom.

Can someone tell me what our mission statement is? ---- It is “To Know Christ and to Make Him Known.” We come to know Christ and follow him and carry his mission into the world. This is what Jesus is asking us to do.

When these four men on the shore of Galilee, Simon and Andrew, James and John, immediately left their fishing boats and followed Jesus, they had to leave a lot behind. When you follow Jesus there will something you will have to leave behind. Jesus calls this repentance. Perhaps it is a prejudice, or an immorality, or a tie to money or security, or a fear, or something else. What do you have to let go in order to follow Jesus and enter the kingdom of God? This is your wake up call. What are you going to do now?