The Nearness of the Kingdom

Let's pray together. Father we thank you for a beautiful day to worship you. And we ask Lord that you'd help us to understand you today and how it is we become the kind of ambassadors that represent you accurately to a lost world. We pray in Jesus name, Amen. Turn with me in your Bible if you would to Luke chapter 10.

Luke chapter 10. And as you're turning I want to remind you of a verse in 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 which says this in verse number 18. Now all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. Namely that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself not counting their trespasses against them and he has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were entreating through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ be reconciled to God.

He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in him. The Bible says that we are ambassadors.

As ambassadors we have an appointment. That is we have been commissioned by God. We are representatives of the kingdom of God. Sometimes I'm not sure we understand the fact that that we are representatives of a kingdom. We represent a king who rules in that kingdom and we are the ambassadors of that kingdom. And we have a divine appointment. God chose us in him before the world ever began. He saved us. He commissioned us. He appointed us to be his ambassadors. As his ambassadors not only do we have a divine appointment but we are to demonstrate a particular attitude.

That is our attitude is not of this world. Why? Well simply because we are citizens of another kingdom. Our citizenship is not on earth. Our citizenship is where? It's in heaven. So because we are citizens of heaven our attitude is different than the citizens of this world. Right? Therefore the Bible says that we are aliens and strangers in a foreign land.

Because we are citizens of the kingdom of God and not citizens of this world we are aliens and strangers in this land. We're not aliens in the kingdom of heaven. We are family in the kingdom of heaven. We're a part of the kingdom of heaven because we serve the king of kings. But in this world we are aliens and strangers. So as ambassadors we have an appointment. As ambassadors we have an attitude. As ambassadors we have an appeal. And that appeal is that we beg you the world to be reconciled to God.

We want the world to be at peace with God. We want those who are the enemies of God to be reconciled to God. That is our appeal. And therefore as ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven we declare that message. That message is defined for us in greater detail in Luke's gospel the 10th chapter. There we saw last week that there were 70 people commissioned by God, appointed by God as His messengers, as His ambassadors, as His representatives. There were 70 of them. They were ones who committed their life to Christ.

They denied themselves. They had taken up the cross and followed Him. Unlike the previous three would-be followers in Luke chapter 9 who when pushed came to shove did not commit their lives to following the king. But these 70 did. And the Bible says in verse 1 of Luke chapter 10 that they were appointed and because they were appointed they were then sent as representatives of the king.

And when they went they went with a particular attitude. An attitude that was not representative of the world but was representative of the king himself. Because they too would have sympathy for the harvest. There were a multitude of people moving toward the harvest of judgment. And there would be pity upon those people. And there would be sympathy toward those people because of the judgment that was going to come upon them. So they would beseech the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into the harvest and then they would go into the harvest.

And as they would go they would go representing that king. They would take no bag. They would take no purse. They would take nothing of this world. Why? Because they were citizens of another kingdom. And their attitude was different than that of the world. And when they went they would make an appeal. They would make an appeal so that people would be reconciled to God. We called it their commission. Then we called it their motivation. And this week we call it their proclamation. What is it they say?

Because these verses declare to us how it is we discharge our ministry as ambassadors for Christ. Let me read it to you.

It's in verse 5 of Luke chapter 10 down through verse 11. And whatever house you enter first say peace be to this house.

And if a man of peace is there your peace will rest upon him. But if not it will return to you. And stay in that house eating and drinking what they give you. For the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. And whatever city you enter and they receive you eat what is set before you and heal those in it who are sick. And say to them the kingdom of God has come near to you. But whenever or whatever city you enter and they do not receive you go out into its streets and say even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you.

Yet be sure of this the kingdom of God has come near. These 70 we don't know their names. Their names truly are irrelevant. Why is that? Because they go to represent the name above all names. The king of kings the Lord of glory. And these 70 were commissioned because the ministry of Christ was just about over. He was soon going to die. We saw in Luke chapter 9 verse number 51 that he resolutely set his face to go to Jerusalem. There's approximately 6 maybe 7 maybe 8 months left in the ministry of Christ on this earth.

Not much at all. So he wants to blitz the region of Israel with as many disciples as he can. Sending them out two by two to tell them about the king and his coming. That the Messiah is coming to them. These are not the apostles. They are set like the apostles but they are not the 12 apostles with the addition of Matthias and of course the apostle Paul. These are 70 messengers. They are a lot like you and me. They have the same kind of ministry that you and I have as ambassadors for Christ. And they go out to speak the truth.

The instruction given to them is invaluable to us because it helps us understand how we discharge our ministry as ambassadors for Christ. Now the thrust of the message is important. Verse 9 and verse 11 tells us. It's about the kingdom. The kingdom of God has come near to you. That's not all the message but that is the emphasis of the message. That is the thrust of their message. The kingdom is here. As you recall it was Jesus who said or John the Baptist who said when he began his ministry repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

John was imprisoned. Jesus then would pick up the ministry because John the Baptist was the forerunner of the Messiah. And Jesus in turn in Matthew's account chapter 4 would tell us that he went everywhere preaching that the kingdom of God is at hand. Luke 8 tells us that he went everywhere preaching the kingdom of God. The message that was preached was a message about a king and his coming to the people of Israel. In order that they might understand the kingdom of God. That's important. Because the good news is about a king and his kingdom.

I think sometimes we have forgotten that. We had a wonderful time this week setting up our Christmas tree in our house. I know it's a little early for some of you but for us it's a little late. Because you see Christmas is not a one day event or a one month celebration. Christmas is about a gift that lasts forever. That has no end. And Christmas is about the coming of the king. So we sat down with our children and read Luke chapter 2. And explained to them what the angels said to the shepherds. That we bring you good news of great joy.

That for you this day in the city of David has been born a Savior who is Christ the Lord. It was all about the coming of the king. The magi when they went to the house when Jesus was somewhere around 18 months to 2 years of age. They would come and what did they do? They would bow before the king. Did they not? Because they understood the kingship of the Messiah. You see when we present the gospel we are presenting the good news pertaining to the kingdom of God. And to explain that kingdom you must be effectually a Christian.

Explaining the king himself. A lot of times our gospel presentation is watered down because we present a Savior but not present the king. Only the king is the Savior. And the king demands submission. Does he not? Sure he does. So when they went around preaching that the kingdom has come near to you. We do not understand a kingdom. We live in a democracy. We do not understand a monarchy. We live in America. We celebrate our freedom. We celebrate the opportunity to express ourselves. We live in a community where the opinion of people matters.

Folks in a monarchy the opinion of people does not matter. In fact it is completely irrelevant. And so today we have a hard time understanding the kingdom of God because there is a king who demands absolute submission. You know Jesus does not take opinion polls. Jesus does not gather together focus groups to find out what is happening among the people to see how we can better meet the needs of the people. Jesus does not do that. He is the king. He just tells people what to do. In the kingdom, in a monarchy the will of the people is to do one thing.

Or the duty of the people is to do one thing. And that is to submit to the king. Because you see if you are in a kingdom where there is a king and you do not submit what happens? You die. Right? See we do not understand today that when we preach the gospel we are preaching about a king and his kingdom. And we are compelling people to come into that kingdom. As we compel them to come we are compelling them to submit to the rulership of the king. That is so important. And yet it is so easily glossed over in today's society.

Just come to Jesus. Just come as you are to Jesus and everything will be okay. Just believe in Jesus. No. You are coming to the king of kings and Lord of lords. That is what the Bible says.

If you confess with your mouth Jesus as what? As Lord. Lord is a synonym for king. You cannot come to heaven, come to Christ unless you believe that the one you are coming to is the king. If you do then you bow at the door of the kingdom, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow the king. Because that is the only way you get into the kingdom. There is no other way into the kingdom of God. There is only one way. It demands repentance. It demands severance. It demands obedience and it demands allegiance.

You can't come into the kingdom and then live a life of rebellion against the king. It doesn't work that way. The king demands obedience. It demands or he demands submission. And those who recognize him as king, listen carefully, willingly give their lives away so that they can obtain the great treasure of all treasures, the kingdom of heaven. That's what they want. That's what they long for. As ambassadors of Christ, we are compelling people. We are compelling people to enter the kingdom of God.

Because there is a king who not only came, but he is coming again. Jesus knowing time is short, Jesus seeing the harvest of the multitudes, the harvest as Joel says in Joel chapter 3, a harvest of judgment that's coming upon these people, he sends forth laborers into that harvest. Why? Because he wants those people to understand his kingship and what is required for them to enter the kingdom of heaven. So important. When you come into a kingdom and you bow to a king, it's the end of you and it's in submission to absolute authority.

Absolute authority to the king himself. He is just and he is perfect in judgment. Think about it this way. A democracy cannot curtail crime. A democracy cannot curtail iniquity. But a monarchy under a perfect king who is powerfully just and righteous, that is the only way crime can be deterred. There's coming a day where the king will rule. He will rule over all the earth. And you see we forget that when we compel people to come into the kingdom and bow in submission to the king, we are compelling them to do that before it's too late.

Because one day everybody will bow the knee. Everybody will come and bow before the king of kings and lord of lords. And they will either bow in submission because they have received him as their king or they will bow in submission and receive the repercussions of their rebellion. But all will bow the knee. And so we are compelling people to come to be in submission to the king of kings and lord of lords. This is so important. Let me say it to you another way.

Everybody in the world is a part of a kingdom. Everybody. You are either a part of the kingdom of light or the kingdom of darkness. Ruled by a king of kings and lord of lords are ruled by Satan himself. But everybody is a part of a kingdom. That's why in Colossians 1 the Bible says that when you are saved you are transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.

So understand that everybody is a part of a kingdom. One is dark, one is light put it another way. Everybody is a slave to a ruler. Either you are a slave to sin or you are a slave to righteousness. One or the other. Right? And those who are a slave to sin have the freedom to only choose one thing. Sin. They are still enslaved to a king. They might not recognize that because all they are doing is fulfilling the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. Doing whatever it is they want to do.

The only choice you have in the kingdom of darkness is the choice of what sins you commit and how often you commit them. That is the only choice you have in the kingdom of darkness. That's the only freedom you have. You are not free to live righteously because you are a slave to sin. But when you are transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear son, into the kingdom of light, now you have the freedom to choose and to yield your members as slaves to righteousness for righteousness sake.

See that? So everybody is a part of the kingdom. Everybody in this room is a part of the kingdom. I would trust you are a part of the kingdom of God. That you have bowed in submission to the king. That you have denied yourself and taken up your cross and followed the Christ who is the king of glory. And that you will only submit to his authority in your life. And that is the appeal that these 70 would make. Now think about it this way. When you are in the kingdom of righteousness, when you are in the kingdom of God ruled by a perfect king, he makes sure, listen carefully, he makes sure that everything happens, happens for your good and his glory.

Did you know that? For we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and to those who are called according to his purposes, right? So if you are in the kingdom of heaven, you can be assured of one thing, that everything that happens in that kingdom, when you are a part of it, happens ultimately for your good and not your evil. Why? Because you have submitted yourself to the king of glory. The ultimate provider, protector, preserver of your life. And he has always your good in mind for his glory, always.

That's the way he operates. He's perfectly powerful. He is perfectly just. He is perfectly righteous. And because we are at peace with him, we know that all things will work together for good because we love him and we've been called according to his purpose. See, that's so important. So when you go to present the good news, because it is good news, it's the gospel, a word used over a hundred times in the New Testament. But it's the gospel about the kingdom, right? It's the gospel about the coming of a king.

It's the gospel that says, here's the good news. You don't have to submit to the king of this world any longer. For you are now free to submit to the king of the universe, the king of glory, the lord of lords, the lord of hosts. Will you do that? See, that's so important that we are able to explain that to people so they come to grips with the reality of what it means to be saved. We like to use the phrase, this is all introductory material so hang with me, I want to share Christ with you. That's probably not the best phrase to use.

We're not sharing Christ with people. We are begging them to be reconciled to God. We are compelling people to give their life to a king. We are begging people to submit to the ruler of the world, Jesus Christ our lord, the king of glory. We are demanding that all men everywhere repent. Acts 17, 30 and 31, right? God is declaring, God is demanding that all men everywhere repent of their sins. So we're not coming to share Jesus with you. We're coming to tell you, you need to repent and you need to do it now.

Big difference isn't it? Somehow we want to come and just come alongside of people and share Jesus with them. Is that really what we've been called to do? When there's a harvest of judgment that's right around the corner and multitudes, multitudes are in the valley of decision. No we are declaring that all men everywhere should repent of their sins. Turn now.

Submit to the king of glory. Give your life to the Messiah of Israel for he is that king. We should beckon them to come into a kingdom. To come out of the kingdom they're in and come into the kingdom of glory. Folks there is an urgency in our proclamation that somehow seems to be missing in today's evangelistic efforts. There is an urgency for people to come in submission to the king of glory. So important for us to understand that. When you come into a kingdom you give up your rights to everything without ever being consulted on anything.

Jesus never consults you on what you might think is best for you. He doesn't do that. He's the king. He's the perfect king. And he has revealed his will to us in the word of God as his subjects. We are to study that word, understand that word, and submit to its revelation. It's never about you in the kingdom of light. In the kingdom of darkness it is. But in the kingdom of light, in the kingdom of righteousness, in the kingdom of heaven, in the kingdom of God it's never about you. It's always about the king because he is the ruler of your life.

Having said that you will go and present the kingdom. And when you do there are two responses obviously. A positive response and a negative response. When there's a positive response there is peace. When there's a negative response there is punishment. We need to understand those responses and how it is we discharge our ministries as ambassadors for the king of glory, Christ himself. Now we can begin our lesson in verse number five. Here is the positive response. And this is just a summary. This is not everything they say because there are words that are proclaimed as you read the parallel in Matthew chapter ten.

There are more than just these words. This is just a summary. Sometimes people say well they read the text and say well that's all Jesus said so Jesus when he preached only preached for maybe five or ten minutes. Don't think that Jesus only preached for five or ten minutes. He preached a lot longer than that. I mean he was the son of God. And so when he proclaimed the gospel he preached it in its entirety. And the Bible gives us a synopsis, a summary of what has been said or what is to be said. And so when we see this in verse number five it says and whatever house you enter first say peace be to this house.

You're going to bring peace to the house. Why? Because the king is called the prince of peace. You are coming to bring peace to a house that is at arms with God. That's an enmity with God. You're coming to those who are the enemies of God and reconciling them to God. You're giving them and offering them the opportunity to be a part of a kingdom of peace because they are at war with God. And so you go to those headed for judgment. These seventy were sent out two by two to blitz the cities, to blitz the villages and go house to house telling them about the kingdom of God and the peace that can be theirs who receive that kingdom.

And so they go preaching the message clearly. Now Jesus said the exact same thing to the twelve. Back in Matthew chapter ten he said it this way. Verse eleven. And into whatever city or village you enter inquire who is worthy in it and abide there until you go away. Who is worthy? What does that mean? What is worthy simply is someone who is eager to hear the message. Someone who is open to hear the message. You go to the one who is worthy. That is one like Simeon back in Luke chapter two. Who was looking for the consolation of Israel.

One like Anna in chapter two of Luke. Who was looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. You go to the eager heart. Like the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem. The open heart. The receptive heart. You go and offer them. The one who was worthy. The one who was looking for the redemption of Israel. The one who was looking for the prince of peace. The one who knows that there is something more than what they have. You go to that person. The worthy person. The open person. And you say peace. You say it will be unto you.

Now this is important. Because we need to understand that we are to go to people who know that they are at war with God. That they are the enemies of God. Remember Israel was looking for peace. Back in Isaiah chapter fifty-four. Verse number ten. It says these words. For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake but my loving kindness will not be removed from you and my covenant of peace will not be shaken says the Lord who has compassion on you. There is a covenant of peace that God has made with his people.

Well the worthy person or the man of peace is one who is looking for that peace. Because he knows that God has made a covenant of peace with his people. That's why in Isaiah fifty-three the chapter before that it says. But he was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastening for our peace fell upon him. It's all about peace. Remember Isaiah nine verse number six. It talks about the child that will be born. The son that's given and the government will be upon his shoulders.

It's talking about the coming of a king. That king is called wonderful. That king is called counselor. That king is called the mighty God. That king is called the everlasting father. That king is called the prince of peace. A messianic text. Every Jew would know that. Every Jew is looking and longing for the redemption of Jerusalem. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Psalm one twenty-two verse number six. Why do we pray that? Because God has made a covenant of peace with his people. He is called the prince of peace.

Zacharias in Luke chapter one said these words in verse number seventy-nine that when Messiah comes he will shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace. You see they know that when the king comes peace arrives. So when you go and proclaim the kingdom of God you are proclaiming the kingdom which is characterized by peace with God. Because the people who are outside that kingdom are the enemies of God. To be in the kingdom realm means that you are no longer his enemy but now you are at peace with him because he is that prince of peace.

And what did Jesus say? Oh Jerusalem. Jerusalem. Oh thou that killest the prophets. Oh how I would gather you together as a mother hen would gather her chicks but yet you were what? You were unwilling to come. You did not want to peace that was offered to you. Over in Luke chapter nineteen it was Jesus who said these words. Verse forty-one when he approached he saw the city of Jerusalem and wept over it saying if you had known in this day even you the things which make for peace. Remember Jerusalem is called the city of peace.

Right? Jerusalem is the city of peace. And so the prince of peace weeps over the city which is called peace because they would not receive their peace. And then he says for the day shall come upon you when your enemies will throw up a bank before you and surround you and hymn you in on every side and will level you to the ground and your children within you and they will not leave in you one stone upon another because you did not recognize the time of your visitation. You did not recognize the time where the king of peace came to visit you.

You did not recognize the day of your salvation. You did not recognize the peace that was offered to you. Now what? Not peace but punishment because you rejected the peace that was offered. In our text the Bible says in whatever house you enter first say peace be to this house.

Verse six and if a man of peace is there your peace will rest upon him but if not it will return to you. Now man of peace translated son of peace. Weos Irenae meaning one whose nature is characterized by peace. That is the one who was worthy. Here was one looking for the consolation for the comfort of Israel. For the peace of Jerusalem. One who knows that he is at enmity with God and is looking and longing for that peace and you come to him and you give him the gospel. You give him the good news about the coming of the king.

You help him understand he needs to submit to the authority of the king in order to be at peace with that king and if this is a man of peace he is a worthy person and you say peace be unto you and he receives that peace you stay in that house. You stay. Don't go anywhere else. You stay right there. If they reject that peace then you have to leave. But if they receive that peace you stay. The Bible says having been justified by faith we have peace with God.

That's why we beg people to be reconciled to God. To be at peace with God. To be at peace with God. Why? Because they are the enemies of God. See we don't see the children in our families who don't know God as the enemies of our God. We don't see them that way. But that's what they are. They are the enemies of God. We don't see our neighbor across the street at war with God. But they are at war with God because they are a part of the kingdom of darkness. And so we go and present to them the kingdom of light.

We go and present to them the king of glory. Which requires they submit to his kingship. They submit to his rulership. They look to him for everything. They depend upon him for everything. It requires that. So that they might be at peace with the one who gave their life for them. So important. And so they would go to a city. To a village. To a town. And present the peace of God. The prince of peace. Talk about the kingdom which is characterized by peace. And when the message of peace is preached, finds a home with a son of peace in it, they stay.

They look for the worthy. They look for the open heart. They look for the one who's been convicted by the spirit of God. The one that God has already done a work in. And when they give the message, that person embraces the message. They embrace it. But, verse 6, but if not, it will not return to you. Well, what does that mean? Well, if you go back to Matthew chapter 10, it explains to us a little bit further. It says, and as you enter the house, give it your greeting. And if the house is worthy, let your greeting of peace come upon it.

But if it is not worthy, let your greeting of peace return to you. And whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, that is the words you give in the presentation of the kingdom, as you go out of that house or that city, shake off the dust of your feet. In other words, when you go to a house and they don't want to receive that peace, don't stay. In fact, don't reinvent the message or retool the gospel so that you can stay longer. Don't do that. Give it the message. If they refuse the message of peace, if they refuse the king of peace, you leave.

You wipe the dust off your feet, a symbolism of disdain and rejection, because they have rejected the king of peace. Jesus said in Matthew 7, don't cast your pearl before swine. Don't throw holy things to dogs. Don't do that. If someone's heart has been prepared, they'll receive the message. You don't have to coerce them. You don't have to try to convince them. If they're a man of peace or a son of peace, or they are a man who is, as the Bible says, one who is worthy because they are eager to receive the message, they'll receive it.

You don't have to reinvent it or even restate it again. You've given it. It's their responsibility to respond. Verse 7 says, stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. Now that's very important, because in those days false teachers would move from place to place looking for better accommodations, a better bed to sleep in, a better food to eat. No, when you go, Christ says, your integrity is on the line, your credibility is at stake.

Therefore, even though you might not like the food, or like the bed, or like the accommodations, if it's a man of peace, you stay. Don't leave. Why? Because your going is not about you and your comfort. It's not about your personal gain. It's about the presentation of the gospel. It's about the truth you represent and the truth you declare. It's not about you. It's all about the kingdom and the king you represent. Remember, you are citizens of another kingdom. This is not your home. You're only passing through.

You are an alien and a stranger in a foreign land. So when you go to a village, when you go to the stranger's house, you know we see this on short term missions all the time. When you go on short term missions, sometimes you stay in a place that the accommodations are horrible. Well, you don't say, okay, I don't like the bed, or I don't like the food, or I don't like the fact that you don't have air conditioning, or you don't have heating. I'm going to another room to another place. No, you stay because it's not about you.

It's about the gospel you are presenting to those who so desperately need to be at peace with the living God. And so you give them that truth. Verse 9 says, or verse 8 says, in whatever city you enter and receive you, eat what is set before you. You eat what's there. Sometimes we go to a place and we don't like the food. Too bad. Eat what's there. Don't bellyache about it. Don't gripe and complain about it. Eat what's there. It's good. Why? It's not about you. It's about the kingdom of God. And so the Bible says that the laborer is worthy of his wages.

Say, well, what if we are taking too much from the people? No. If you are going and presenting the gospel, listen carefully, you are doing the greatest work in the world. There is no work greater than the presentation of the gospel. I don't care what the world says. I don't care what anybody else says. God says that the greatest people in the kingdom of heaven are the ones, in Matthew 5, are the ones who teach and keep the word of God.

Those are the greatest people. And the laborer is worthy of his wages. When you go and you are doing the work of God, if they give you money, if they give you something to take care of you, you receive it gladly because you are worthy of that because you are doing the greatest work in the world. There is nothing greater than the presentation of the gospel. Nothing. Nothing. That's why Galatians 6, 6 talks about the one who is taught gives to his teacher because of the greatness of that teaching. That's why in 1 Timothy 5, 17 and 18 it says that the elder who teaches the word of God is worthy of double honor, is worthy of wages because he ministers in the greatest of all works, the presentation of the truth of God's holy word.

Nothing. Nothing compares to the teaching and preaching of the gospel of Christ. Nothing in the kingdom of heaven. Nothing does. And so you go and you present the gospel. You direct your efforts to those who are eager, to those who are worthy, to those who want to hear. Seek nothing for yourself and validate your message through the revelation of God's word. When they would go, they would, if there was someone sick, they would heal them. And God gave these 70 the ability to heal the sick. Why? Because it was a confirmation that the revelation they gave was true.

That the king they were representing is true. And so God gave them the authority to heal the sick because that would be a confirmation. What is our confirmation? It's the miracle, the supernatural miracle of inspiration. The word of God. That's our confirmation. And so God would send them out two by two with the opportunity and the ability to heal those who were sick. So that when they went to a house and someone says, how do we know this is true? They could perform signs and miracles so others would know that these men were from God and presenting God to them.

Christ says, when you go, go to the son of peace, the worthy person, the one like Simeon and Anna, who are looking for the prince of peace, the king of peace, because they know about the covenant of peace.

They know about that and they want to be at peace with God because they know that they're the enemy of God. So you go to those people and if they receive your greeting of peace, you stay with them. You minister to them. You minister to others. But if you go to someone who rejects that peace, wipe the dust off your feet. Move on. Don't stay. And then he says this, but whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, even the dust of your city, which clings to our feet, we wipe off and protest against you.

Yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near. There'll be a rejection. We know that already because earlier in Luke chapter nine they were going to a village in Samaria and they rejected the Messiah. They didn't want the king to come. They didn't want Jesus to be there. So we know there's going to be cities that reject the Messiah and don't want him to be a part of what it is they are doing. So what did Jesus say? He says, don't make a private announcement. I want you to stand in the square and make a public announcement.

So the whole city hears. It would be like going to Washington DC today and going to the White House and going to the Congress and presenting to them the king, the king of glory and offering them the peace that comes from the king who was called Prince of Peace. And if they receive it, stay. If they reject it, you go into the city of Washington and you make a public announcement for all to hear, not just a few, because this is not a private matter. The whole city has rejected. You make it a public announcement and you wipe the dust off your feet in disdain, in rejection, symbolizing because you have rejected the king, he in turn has rejected you and now punishment is for you, not pardon and not peace.

See, we won't do that today because people think we're fanatics. We're off our rocker. We don't want to publicly humiliate anybody. It's not about public humiliation. It's about obedience to the Word of God and doing what God says you need to do.

You declare to the whole city that they have rejected the king of peace. They rejected the king of glory and therefore you tell them the kingdom of God has come near to you and you refused it. Oh, it was here. You had opportunity and you refused it. The positive response is peace. The negative response is punishment. It will learn more about the warning that will come next week, the admonition that they give next week because they rejected in the face of overwhelming evidence. They would reject in the face of clear evidence of the Messiah and the repercussions that would happen on the day of judgment because they would refuse the clear presentation of the gospel of the kingdom of God.

Folks, this is so crucial for us to understand. We're going to celebrate in just a brief moment the Lord's table, the king who gave his life away for his servants, the king who sacrificed his life so we could be at peace with the God of glory. We celebrate that because we have entered the kingdom of God. We have entered the kingdom of heaven. We have entered the realm where there is a king. That's why we pray Matthew 6, thy kingdom, what? Come. Why do we pray that? Because we want God's rulership on this earth like it is in heaven.

You do want that, don't you? Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Lord, we want the king to come and rule. When we talk about presenting a kingdom, we're not talking about a literal kingdom at this point. We're talking about a spiritual kingdom where the king rules in the hearts and lives and souls of those who submit to his authority. But there's coming a day where there will be a fulfillment of Davidic covenant and Abrahamic covenant where the king of glory will sit on the throne of his father David in Jerusalem and will rule over this entire world.

It will be a monarchy, no more democracy. It will be a theocracy where God himself rules. And the Bible says in Revelation 20 it will be for 1,000 years he will rule on this earth.

There's coming a kingdom because there's coming a king. He's coming again. When these seven he went, they said the king is here. The kingdom of heaven has come near to you. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. We say the king is going to return. He's coming again. You need to be a part of his kingdom today so that when he arrives, you are a part of his kingdom tomorrow. How do you present the king? How do you present his kingdom? Especially to those who are in the kingdom of darkness and they don't even know it.

Those who are under the authority of Satan and don't even know it, but they are. They think they're free. They think they're autonomous. They think they can do anything they want. And all they're doing is fulfilling the desires of their king, King Satan, the prince and the ruler of this world. But there is the ultimate king, Psalm 103 verse 19, the king of glory who has a kingdom that encompasses the entire universe. And the question is, are you a part of that kingdom? The kingdom of peace where those who come to that king have been reconciled to God on Christ's terms and not theirs.

Let's pray. Father, thank you for today in the truth of your wonderful word. And I pray that Lord we would be obedient to our king as ambassadors for that kingdom. In Jesus' name, amen.