The First Letter of Peter- 11

Subtitle: Our Witness before the World- Part 3

1 Peter 2:21-25. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, February 1, 2026.

In his instructions to household slaves leading up to this passage, Peter makes this point.  If you suffer for doing what is right and patiently endure it, there is favor with God.  He now points them (us) to Jesus as a great example of what he is talking about.  Jesus suffered for doing what was right, and he righteously endured it.

Jesus is not just an example to household slaves.  He is also an example to all of us in our situations that may have differences but are essentially the same dynamic spiritually.  We are going to see through the rest of the letter that Peter continually points us back to this example he lays out here.

No matter what relationship may bring us suffering, God’s purpose is to create millions of examples (exhibits) of those who suffered for doing what was right, and yet, patiently endured it.

Let’s look at our passage.

Christ is our example (v. 21-25)

Verse 21 adds the phrase “leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.”  Think of all the steps that Jesus made in which he could have turned back, but he kept going forward. 

Peter is doing this when he asks to step out of the boat.  Peter made a choice to ask, and then he chose to step out of the boat.  Notice that there is a point at which the results of our decision carry us along, for good or for bad.  It is not that there are no more choices to be made, but that there are tidal forces carrying us.  We tend to warn about the power of consequences, but we should also see that there is a good in it.  The choice to step out of the boat created a scenario in which there was no going back.  He would either walk or sink.  There is a certain good in this.  When we steel our courage and follow in the footsteps of Jesus, we find ourselves in scary places, yes.  But we also find ourselves in places where God shows up to help us through it.  Just that first step to follow his example is often the opening of a whole river of God’s help.

Jesus chose to care the burden of the cross for us, and so we ought to carry our cross for him.  Praise God that He is working in us to help us do this very thing!

Theological liberals love to say that Jesus is only an example of love, i.e., he was not actually paying a price for our sins.  This is an error and contradictory to Scripture.  However, it is also an error to downplay the reality of the example that Jesus has given us.  Of course, this example of trusting the will of God would do us no good if Jesus had not truly atoned for our sin.  But he has made peace between us and God.  He has supplied the Holy Spirit within us to help us do this!

Peter then quotes from Isaiah 53:9, “who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth.”  This is a passage describing God’s work through His perfect servant, the Messiah.  Israel had failed to rightly serve God’s purposes.  However, God would bring forth a perfect servant, a suffering servant, who would save Israel and the Gentiles by his righteousness and suffering.

This Old Testament verse uses a word that is generally translated as “violence.”  The word involves doing wrong to someone in a harsh way.  This can be a physically violent act, or metaphorically violent in the sense of brazen and bold wrongs done to another.

When translated into Greek, the translators chose a word that means lawlessness.  Only a lawless person would sin against others in such a bold and harsh way.  The quote in 1 Peter says, “who committed no sin.”  Peter expands the “lawless” translation of the earlier Greek manuscripts to the more general “sin.”  Definitely Christ was revealed to them as not being a violent, lawless man.  However, Jesus was more than this.  He was without sin.  We see Jesus challenging his opponents in John 8:46, “Which one of you convicts Me of sin?”  Of course, the only “sin” they could pin on him was that he a man made himself one with God, which is no sin if it was true.  Hebrews 4:15; 7:26, 1 John 3:5, among many other New Testament verses, agree with this statement of Peter.  The Messiah was a sinless man.  The apostles came to see that Jesus was the only perfect imager of God the Father who had ever lived on this planet.

The second part of this Old Testament quote from Isaiah 53 says that he was free of deceit, or treachery.  There is nothing like suffering to bring out the worst in us.  It is often in our desire to avoid difficulty that we choose a path of misleading people or hiding the truth.

Jesus positively did good things to people, but he also refrained from doing wrong to others.  This is the example that we are called to follow, not because it saves us, but because we have been saved.  I can’t follow Jesus perfect enough to save myself, but I can follow Jesus out of perfect thankfulness for his saving grace.

This leads us into the next descriptions of the character and actions of Jesus.  These emphasize what he didn’t do.

Jesus did not respond with reviling to those who reviled him.  To revile someone is about verbal abuse.  It can be translated to rail against someone.  Any time you see someone spitting mad yelling obscenities and accusations at another person, you are seeing this in action.  In fact, this is a perfect example of the metaphorical violence that Isaiah 53:9 references.  How easy it is to become so angry with such people to begin shouting back at them and responding to them in kind.

Jesus was accused of many things in very unkind manners.  During his trial, he is even pictured as being blindfolded, punched, and in a mocking manner, told to prophesy who hit him.  This was both verbally abusive and physically abusive.  Yet, Jesus did not yell back and say hateful things against them.  When we are squeezed by life, the stuff that is deep within us is generally brought to the surface.  You and I have a history of failing in this area when we are in the pressure cooker of suffering.  Yet Jesus went through it without sin.

If you remember the night of his betrayal and arrest, you will also remember that Jesus showed the disciples how they could follow him.  It would require more than a spirit that was willing.  A willing spirit must deal with its weak flesh through prayer, wrestling with God over His purpose in our life and yielding to Him.

1 Peter 2:23 also mentions that he uttered no threats.  Sometimes threats are empty because we have no way of backing them up.  We may be powerless, but Jesus is not.  Jesus has great power and thus shows great restraint.

Of course, don’t get Peter wrong.  There is a great threat looming over those who reject Jesus.  How you treat him will determine your eternity.  However, Jesus doesn’t threaten people.  He only points out the truth.  During his trial, he found it best to generally not respond to their accusations, taunts, and lies.  Yet this doesn’t change the fact that there is a day of judgment for each of us and for this world as a whole.  God will hold us accountable for choosing our sin over the top of the righteousness of Jesus.

The last thing that Peter points out about how Jesus endured suffering is that he entrusted “himself to Him who judges righteously.”  Persecution doesn’t only affect how we treat others.  It can also affect our relationship with God the Father.  Jesus entrusted himself to God the Father even in the face of death by wicked men.  He could do this because His relationship with the Father only knew Him as trustworthy.  Jesus stepped out of the boat of mortality and put himself into the hands of the Father.  “Do with me what you will, Father!”  God could powerfully stop his persecutors or not.  Regardless, Jesus both knew and trusted the decision of the Father.  May God help us to have such a relationship of trust in Him.

Remember that God is never “on the side of sinners.”  If it looks like they are getting ahead and that it pays to be wicked, don’t believe it.  They will eventually stand before God and despise themselves in His presence.  However, God is on the side of sinners in the sense that He is trying to break through their spiritual blindness.  Our righteous suffering may be the only thing that pricks the heart of the wicked and turns them back from sin.  Can I do that for Jesus?  He promises to reward our service for His purposes, but we have to trust Him with our life.  Yes, they may reject the witness we give, but at least God sees me.  He doesn’t like what is being done to me.  However, if I do this rightly, I can have His favor.  I can remain in the place of His favor.

This suffering of Jesus is more than an example of love and trust.  Verse 24 shows us that Jesus was a sacrifice that provides spiritual healing for us.  In Jesus, God is providing a way for sinners to find spiritual healing. 

We sometimes act like we don’t know what God is doing through us, but we do know in general.  He is showing Himself to the world through us.  We don’t have to perfectly understand all the ways that He is doing that in order to say, yes, to Him.  This is what faith (trust) is all about.

In trusting God, Jesus did something for God that needed to be done if any humans were to dwell with God in eternity.  Without Jesus even the best of humans would be stuck in the grave, unable to enter into His presence.  We may be clueless to what God is doing specifically, but we do know that it has to do with showing others who Jesus is.  Jesus provided for our spiritual healing, but then he uses you and me to bring that spiritual healing into the minds and lives of the lost.  We provide opportunities for them to know His spiritual healing.  Verse 24 explains how his sacrifice does this.

“He himself carried our sins in his body on the tree.”  If you approach this from an Old Testament mindset, you will recognize the importance of this word, “tree.”  This whole thing with sin started with some trees in Genesis three.  The Tree of Life was counterposed to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  They chose (we choose) to go after the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil rather than the Tree of Life.  There is something about trees in the word of God that is important.  We see this in Psalm 1.  The perfect Israelite (there was ever only one) would be a Tree of Life that would bring forth fruit rather than chaff.  This ultimate fruitful Israelite would only be the Messiah who is presented in the next psalm.  Blessed are those who put their trust in Him (Psalm 2:12). 

Scripture doesn’t describe the Tree of Life, but the New Testament presents Jesus as the ultimate Psalm One Blessed Man.  Yet the tree on which he provided life for us did not look desirable.  It was a cross.  Everything in our flesh wants to continue to flee to the other tree, but God calls us to embrace this tree of suffering in Jesus.

Jesus took your sins, my sins, in his body (a representative of whomever would believe in him) to the cross.  God’s punishment upon our sin came upon Jesus who was sinless.  Is this fair?  Of course, it is not!  However, it is love.  In Jesus, our sin has been nailed to the cross and punished.

Notice the contrast between the Spirit of Christ and the spirit of this age.  Jesus embraces our death upon himself.  He sacrifices his mortal self in the name of God’s purpose in humanity.  The spirit of this age will sacrifice any number (the more the better) of humans for the sake of humanity.  Those who make the decision of just whom will be sacrificed will never be caught making sacrifices themselves.  Which of these hearts will you choose?

Peter than describes that this was “so we might die to sin and live to righteousness.”  Our sins and the guilt that comes with them have been dealt with by God.  He simply asks me to admit my fault, yield to the Lord Jesus Christ, and put my faith in him.  If we do this, our sin and guilt will be completely removed.  The flesh will still battle us, but it cannot change what Jesus has done, once and for all.  By faith, we can die to the sin that we so easily want to do and come alive to the righteousness that He wants to work in us and work through us.  If we claim that His love is working in us, then we will see it working through us to others.

Peter then quotes from Isaiah 53 again (verse 5).  It is the wounding of Christ that provides for our healing.  This is important because Peter is pointing us to this as an example.  Because of Jesus, our suffering and wounds can do some good, both in our lives and in the lives of others.  My wounds and suffering can point others to Jesus and his salvation.

Spiritual healing does involve the removal of the external guilt of our sin that hangs over us.  However, it is the internal guilt of sin that is harder to heal.  We have to let the forgiveness of Christ and the love of God teach us the better way, the way of Christ!

Peter then ends with emphasizing our spiritual condition in verse 25. He breaks this up into two different stages.  Before Jesus, we were continually straying like sheep.  Notice that this is an allusion to Isaiah 53:6. Led by our fears, ignorance, and desires, we stray away from the Good Shepherd and the grace of God.  “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall upon him.”  This was true of Israel, and it was true of the Gentile nations.  It was true of me, and it was true of you.  This is our helpless state before Jesus came and before we came to know about him.

But now, after coming to Jesus, we are something different.  We are now sheep who are returning, coming back, to the Good Shepherd who is also the Overseer of our souls.  Both shepherd and overseer correspond with what later became role titles in the church: pastors and bishops respectively.  I don’t think Peter is giving any sense of religious title here.  Jesus is the good shepherd in every way that a shepherd is good for sheep.  He is the great overseer watching out against our enemies and for our good.

Doesn’t it seem odd that Peter (one of the sheep) is exhorting the rest of the sheep to be more like the Good Shepherd!  May God help us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus by the help of His Holy Spirit!

Witness 3 audio

The Kingdom of God- 7

Subtitle:  Inheriting the Millennial Kingdom I

1 Samuel 2:9-10; Psalm 2; 37; Daniel 2; 7:13-14

This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, April 27, 2025.

We are going to talk about some passages that speak of inheriting the kingdom of God.  This first week we will focus on the Old Testament promises in this regard.  Next week, we will look at what the New Testament has to say about this.

When Jesus returns, his Kingdom will move from the phase we are in now into a new phase.  This is what we were talking about in a previous sermon when we said that the Kingdom of God is “now, but not yet fully.”  This phasing in of the Kingdom was not completely clear in the Old Testament, but the rudimentary prophecies about it are still there.

The Kingdom that Jesus sets up at his return to earth is often called the Millennial Kingdom because Revelation 20 speaks of it being a thousand- year period of peace on this earth under the rule of Jesus and his resurrected saints.  Millennial is simply Latin for 1,000 years.

However, this is not the complete kingdom of Jesus.  It is only phase 2.  Phase 1, which we are in now, has lasted for nearly 2,000 years.  There is even a third phase that is revealed in Revelation 20 in which this earth and these heavens are melted down and recreated into a new heavens and a new earth.  Only righteous immortals will be allowed into that New Creation.  God the Father along with the Son will dwell with redeemed humanity in perfect harmony, and there will be no fallen beings, human or otherwise.

This is why it can seem contradictory to read passages that speak about Messiah ruling forever, and then reading Revelation 20 and the thousand year reign of Christ on this earth.  This concept of different phases of the Kingdom is important to grasp.  The Kingdom isn’t ending.  It is only moving into a new phase.

Of course, there are some differences of opinion about the Millennium within Christian circles, but we are going to save that topic for another time.

Thus, we can enter into the kingdom of Jesus right now by repenting of our sins, turning to Jesus in faith, and living the life of faith to the end of our life.  Yet, Scripture does make a distinction with the idea of inheriting the kingdom.  In general, this is a reference to the phase 2 kingdom that is set up at the Second Coming of Jesus.

Let’s look at our first passage.

The Old Testament Promise

1 Samuel 2:9-10

This is a prophecy that is given through Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel.  Hannah was unable to have children and it bothered her.  Her husband had another wife who had no problem having children.  In fact, the woman was cruel and ridiculed Hannah’s predicament.  Hannah was so broken that she made a promise to God.  If He would giver her a son, then she would give the son back to God. 

To make a long story short, Hannah becomes pregnant.  After she weaned the child, she brought him to the high priest at the tabernacle and handed him over to the LORD’s service.

Yet, God had shown Hannah something through her situation.  He truly was on the side of the righteous and had a day of judgment set for the wicked.

She speaks of God giving strength to His “King” and to His “Anointed” (Messiah).  This is amazing because Israel did not have kings in those days.  It is her son, Samuel, who will be told by God to anoint a king for Israel.

Of course, God is revealing this to her.  Yet, there are prophecies of Israel having a king long before this.  Hannah sees a connection between her giving up hope on ever having a child and Israel giving up hope on having a king that would deal with the wicked.  God’s answer to her prayer gives her faith that He will answer the larger prayer of the coming of God’s Messiah King.  This Messiah King would be the fulfillment of the Serpent-Crusher prophecy of Genesis 3:15, and many others up to this point in Scripture.  The chosen line of men from Adam to Noah to Abraham to Moses, etc. would one day succeed in bringing forth the ultimate Chosen One.  God would judge the nations by exalting His Anointed King and giving him strength to overcome them.

Let’s look at our next passage.

Psalm 2:1-12.

This psalm opens with the nations in an uproar over the decision and action of God to set up His Messiah.  How that happened is not described, only that it has, and the nations do not like it.  They conspire together in an attempt  to throw off the restraints of God and His Messiah.  Though the passage speaks of fetters, or bands, these are metaphorical fetters.  They do not want to cooperate with a righteous leader.  They want to do their own thing, which is wickedness and corruption.

The fetters are the moral teaching of Messiah, and His powerful effect upon people to join the ranks of the righteous.  This creates a restraining effect upon these wicked kings.

It is natural for them to fight among one another for dominance, but here we find them uniting together to attempt an overthrow of Messiah.  Let me just say that unity sounds good, but we must always ask ourselves what we are unifying around.  These men are unifying around a wicked act, getting rid of a righteous king.

Verses 4-6 show that God is not worried by their conspiracy.  He even laughs at their plotting.  Of course, you and I worry about it all the time.  Perhaps, we should fix our eyes upon the One who is far more powerful than all the powerful nations combined.

We also see that God is not going to change His mind.  The installation was in the past, but it is not going to be revoked by Him, nor will it ever be.  God has made up His mind.

Verses 7-9 has the Messiah explaining God’s promises to Him.  He has been made a Son to God the Father.  He will be the only one who is worthy in God’s eyes to inherit all the nations.  No king of this earth past or present deserves the rule of the earth.  Jesus is the only One who is worthy.  This is the subject of Revelation 5. 

In fact, notice that  it says, “I will surely give the nations.”  This emphasizes that it is something that is going to happen in the future.  God is resolved to do it.

Thus, Jesus, the Messiah, has been given the nations and has power and authority over them.  Yet, he has not yet taken up his inheritance.  Why not?

Well, look at verses 10-12.  The delay is all about this rebellion against the LORD and His Messiah King.  God is not willing that any should perish.  He is not quick to stomp the arrogant kings of the earth and the people who are caught up in their wake.

Instead, God gives fair warning to the kings.  They need to make peace with Messiah before the day of wrath arises and they perish in the way.  This long period of grace is for the purpose of helping people to make a better decision.  Wake up before you run out of time!

Thus, the phrase that ends the psalm- “Blessed are those who put their trust in him” (Messiah)- is not just about the kings making a choice.  Those under the kings can jump ship and join Messiah.  The righteous should be the very first to embrace Messiah and would already be trusting in him.

The word for “trust” in that sentence is interesting.  Hebrew has several words for trust.  This one carries the connotation of fleeing into a safe place that we are trusting to save us.  This can be fleeing from rebellion into Messiah to avoid the day of wrath, but it can also be fleeing into Messiah for protection from these tyrant kings.

Jesus and his commands are a safe place to those who trust in Him (flee to Him for refuge).  In fact, part of that blessing is that we will inherit with the Messiah King.  To whom are you fleeing for refuge?  Or, to what are you fleeing?  People seek refuge in all manner of things, but only Jesus can protect us before God.

Thus, those who refuse to give homage to The Son, Messiah King, will perish in a day of wrath, but those who take refuge in him will be blessed!  In fact, the only reason they were able to rebel in the first place is because God is gracious.  They are taking advantage of His grace in order to conspire against Him and the righteous king. 

Yet, God still gives more mercy in calling them to repent and be saved.

Now, God’s purpose and plan takes place over long periods of time.  It is important to Him that humanity grasp what He is trying to teach us.  This calls for patience and trust.

Psalm 37

This next passage is Psalm 37.  We are going to quickly look at several verses in this psalm.  We will see there that God wants us to inherit this kingdom with Jesus, His Messiah.  Six times the psalmist emphasizes our inheritance.  Psalm 2 focuses on Messiah inheriting the nations, but Psalm 37 focuses on the righteous doing so as well.

In verses 1-2, we are encouraged not to fret nor to envy the workers of iniquity.  Of course, this is part of our problem.  We grow tired of waiting for God’s deliverance, and then see the wicked “getting away with it!”

Many reject the path of the righteous because they want to join in the spoils with the wicked.  Thus, they become wicked themselves.  But, a day of judgment lies before the wicked.  First, they have a personal judgment day at their death.  All souls stand before God and give account for their life.  I would be worthy of judgment as well, but I have fled unto Jesus Christ for refuge from that judgment. 

Yet, there is a secondary judgment.  The nations will be collectively judged at the Second Coming of Jesus.

If we skip ahead to verses 9-11, we begin to see that those who wait for the LORD will inherit the earth.  It even speaks of the meek inheriting the earth.  Being meek is the picture of an afflicted person who has restrained their tendency to fight, and instead, have trusted in God’s judgment. 

It is easy to feel that God takes too long and take matters into your own hands.  Yet, notice Jesus.  He too face proud arrogant men.  Yet, He trusted the Father even unto death.  Thus, the Father has given Him the blessing of being the firstborn from the dead in order to receive the blessing that He deserves.

It is so with us.  Our hope is not in “getting ours” in this life.  Yes, our flesh would like that very much.  Yet, no matter what I get in this life (and there are a lot of good things in it) my true hope is in God resurrecting me in order to inherit alongside of Jesus.  That is our reward and inheritance.

In verses 18-20, the psalmist emphasizes that the inheritance of the righteous shall be forever.  However, this is contrasted with the plight of the wicked.  They should flee unto Messiah for refuge, but many won’t.  They will perish and vanish at the time of God’s choosing.

Verses 22, and 28-29 again speak of those blessed by “Him” inheriting the earth, but the cursed being cut off.  Now, God doesn’t want to curse and cut people off.  That is why He is telling us all of this up front.  We can avoid it.  If a person is in the place of faith in God’s Messiah, then they are safe (the place of blessing).  But, those who are not in the place of faith in God’s Messiah are outside of the safety.  They are in the place of cursing and not safe.

This is reiterated again in verse 34.  God will exalt those who wait upon Him to inherit the land.  Yet, that exaltation will not happen before it is the right time.  Verse 40 even says that God will save those who are waiting upon Him from the wicked because they trust in Him (flee to Him for refuge).

We must quit looking at what the wicked are doing and getting.  Instead, we must live righteously and wait for the inheritance that God has reserved for those who serve His Messiah!

Daniel 2:44-45

Most Old Testament prophecies emphasize that Messiah’s kingdom lasts forever.  But, the Millennium (1,000-year period) is an important part of that forever kingdom.

In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of his empire and those that would come after him.  It is pictured as the image of a King whose head is of gold, shoulders of silver, waist of bronze, legs of iron and feet of iron mixed with clay.  Daniel explains to the king that they are successive empires that are diminishing in glory, but also becoming more destructive.  These kingdoms would be destroyed by a rock that is cut out without hands (not a work of a man, but God).  This rock would strike the feet of the image destroying it.  The rock would then become a mountain that fills the whole earth.  This kingdom will never be destroyed and will last forever.  This indestructible kingdom is in some ways here already, but this passage is looking ahead to an even greater act in which the empires of the world are demolished and removed.

Daniel 7:13-14.

Daniel 7 opens with another picture of these empires, but they are not pictured as metals in a human image.  They are pictured as beasts.  I think Daniel 2 pictures these empires as they see themselves, but Daniel 7 pictures these empires as God sees them, beastly kingdoms that are only becoming more grotesque and monstrous.  In fact, God has the final beast slain.  It is then that we see the Son of Man riding on the clouds to the throne of God.  There he takes up a kingdom that will have dominion over all the earth.  All the earth will serve him (which is the book of Daniel connotes even a religious worship).  This will be an everlasting dominion that never passes away.

We can see how the Jews of the first century could be perplexed at a crucified savior.  It seems to fly in the face of all that God has promised about this coming kingdom.  Why would God do this?  Why this way?

God has done it this way because none of us is worthy to participate in such a kingdom with His Messiah.  Imagine a worthy king with no one worthy to be in his kingdom.  Can such be called a kingdom?

The grace of God has carved out a place of safety where people can flee into Messiah for refuge.  These people are unworthy in and of themselves.  Yet, they have believed God and His Messiah.

We have been looking ahead to what is coming.  It is good to know what you are working for.  Yet, we cant be stuck looking ahead all the time.  So, as we come back to the present, what do we do now?  We trust God to be our savior and wait upon Him and His timing.  We don’t fret over all that we see happening around us.  We don’t let it leverage our hearts and minds away from doing what god has called us to do.  We remain in Christ and serve him, his purposes, and his commands.

These things we ought to do and more because the worthy king of God has laid down His life that we might join him in that kingdom!

Inheriting the Millennium audio

The Kingdom of God- 3

Subtitle:  How to Enter the Kingdom of God

Various passages.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on March 30, 2025.

Last week, we talked about the distinction between the present Kingdom of God and the future phase of that Kingdom at the Second Coming of Jesus.  This present phase is predominantly spiritual, but it makes an outward difference in our lives.  This is a strange kingdom that is not like any kingdoms of this world.  It is not limited to particular borders, and though it is world-wide, it is not an empire that forces nations into compliance.  Jesus is a different kind of king reigning over a different kind of kingdom, a Kingdom of God.

In Matthew’s account of the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus is presented as King Messiah calling people into his kingdom.  He is also presented as the New Moses, sent to set up the New Covenant with God.

Israel was under a true bondage.   Yes, the Romans had them under their boot.  However, their biggest bondage was spiritual.  They had a king who wasn’t even from the tribe of Judah.  The priesthood and leaders of the Sanhedrin had developed a corrupt system under the color of law, but working counter to the purposes of God.  The spiritual Pharaoh of this world kept them in servitude to his purposes every bit as much as was the case before the exodus.  Those who would follow Jesus would escape by God’s strong right arm.

An Israelite who was in Egypt when Moses appeared had a choice to make.  They could follow Moses out into the desert, risking death in one form or another, or they could stay in Egypt and not rock the boat.  Even when we want free from some things, we can fear what might happen.  They had worked out a compromise with their situation.  They knew exactly what to expect from the Egyptians.  The comfort of the devil we know can outweigh any promises of God to bring us into a better kingdom.  Yet, the only way they could have participated in the kingdom that God was promising was to follow Moses, the one He had sent.

The same is true of Jesus.  He was initiating a kingdom that would be different than what national Israel had become.  Those who wanted to participate in it would need to listen to him and follow him.  This is the template for entering the Kingdom of God.  We can even recognize that God did powerful signs and wonders with Moses and again with Jesus in order to help them to have faith for such a choice.

So, as we look at entering the Kingdom of God, let me just say this.  Entering the Kingdom now is prerequisite for entering the next phase of the Kingdom at the Second Coming of Jesus.

Let’s look at some passages.

Matthew 21:28-32

Jesus used this parable to challenge the religious leaders of his day.  The tax collectors and prostitutes (among others) of their day were like the first son.  They were not interested in being a part of the Father’s work and the fruitfulness He intended.  However, now they were regretting (repenting of) their callous response to the Father.  Now, they were believing God and entering the Kingdom. 

The religious leaders on the other hand were like the second son.  They had responded in their life like they were going to do the work of the Father, but they have not actually done it.

This would have seemed to be a false analogy to them.  However, Jesus points to the prophet, John the Baptist.  His message was a simple one.  It is hard to say that there was something wrong with it.  “Repent for the Kingdom of God is near.”  He also quoted a passage in Isaiah to highlight their need to get ready for Messiah.  Messiah was coming and they would want to be spiritually ready for him.  Many people in Israel responded to John’s teaching.  They recognized that they were not ready.  They needed cleansing in their life in order to be ready. 

Why wouldn’t the religious leaders like this message?  It is because he called them to repentance as well.  Just read Matthew 3:7-12.  They were a brood of snakes who had no clue about the wrath of God that was about to pour out upon Israel.  The Messiah was coming as the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.  This baptism would be life to those who repented and believed, but it would be a fiery destruction for those who did not.  These religious leaders would not acknowledge John as a prophet, and therefore believe his message, because he dared to speak to them as if they were not right with God.

Thus, they refused to do the work of God, i.e., to believe upon the One He had sent.  This is the key to entering the Kingdom.  Repentance has two components to it.  It involves a change of mind that is spurred by the conviction of the Holy Spirit.  I realize that I have been rejecting the way of God and trying to forge my own way.  This change of mind about our way (and God’s way) leads to the second component: turning away from our sin and towards the way of the Lord.  These tax collectors and prostitutes were not just believing that Jesus was the Messiah.  They were also walking away from lives of sin and turning towards living out the words of Jesus.

Jesus is the litmus test for all mankind.  You can say that you love God, but what you do with Jesus and his teachings will reveal exactly what is in your heart.  Of course, no person is perfect in following Jesus.  We do not get into the Kingdom because we have a perfect record of obeying the words of Jesus.  It is his perfect performance that provides a place of grace by which we can spiritually grow to become like him, little by little.

These religious leaders probably fell into different categories.  Some of them really did think they were doing what they were supposed to do.  They had been taught by others that this system was God’s system, and that they were God’s faithful representatives.  However, they had to ignore all kinds of spiritual red flags that would have surfaced as they read the Scriptures.  On the other hand, there were most likely some of these men who really had no faith in God.  They simply had learned how to harness the system to their benefit.

The problem with self-justification is that it doesn’t serve you well in the end.  It only serves to blind you to the grace of God.  We would all do well to sleuth out the self-justifications that we are using to avoid obeying God.

Thus, Jesus points out that those who were believing in him, putting their trust in who he was and what he taught, were entering the Kingdom of God.

John 6:27-28

The work of God and the will of God are the same thing in this passage.  Jesus had performed a miraculous feeding of thousands in the wilderness around the Sea of Galilee.  He had then left the area at night without their knowledge.  Many of these people searched along the Sea of Galilee for Jesus, until they found him in Capernaum.

In this passage, Jesus is not mad that they worked so hard to find him.  Rather, he is pointing out that they were not as interested in what he was teaching as they were about a free lunch and a spectacle to see.  Jesus is challenging them to work for spiritual food that can give them everlasting life.  Again, it is not about the act itself.  It is about the internal intention of the doer.  Jesus wants us to come to him and learn.  However, he wants us to do it for the right reasons.

There are many today who have attached themselves to the Kingdom of God.  They call themselves Christians, but they are really looking for a free lunch.  They see it as a ticket to something in the natural: wealth, friends, good times, clean fun, etc.  However, their flesh resists the word of God making any real change in their life.  They are like the religious leaders of the days of Jesus, thinking they are good with God and incensed that anyone would say they need to repent.

This passage spells out exactly what God is asking of us.  “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”  This word for believe means to trust in him, to put the full weight of our life upon him.  It is far more than just believing that he existed, or that he is the Messiah.  It is about trusting that he is the Word of God to us, that we do or don’t listen to him at our own peril.

Even though it is true that putting our faith in Jesus is how we enter the Kingdom of God, we wouldn’t be able to do that if it weren’t for God’s grace.  It is He who has formulated a plan for redeeming us out of our sins.  It is He who sent Jesus to be the perfect image of Him and the perfect sacrifice for our sins.  It is He who wants us to trust in Jesus, promising to forgive us of our sins if we do.  Entering the Kingdom is a cooperation between what God does and how we respond.

Some people try to minimize our choice by saying that it threatens the sovereignty of God.  An example of their argument is this.  “You can’t really have a choice, otherwise God isn’t sovereign.”  Of course, that turns sovereignty on its head.  It is a human telling God that He can’t create humans with the ability to choose, even when they are stuck in sins.  If God truly is sovereign, then He can do whatever He wants.  A humble reading of the Scriptures will always see the absolute challenge from God to take hold of the salvation that He has made available to us.  God’s Word can be boiled down to His hand reaching down to us and saying, “Why will you die?  Take hold of My Hand!”

Of course, even our response to that is helped along by the grace of God.  When we take hold of His Hand, we find underneath of us the Everlasting Arms of God holding us up.  Entering the Kingdom is not just a choice of man, but also a choice of God.  His Holy Spirit not only transfers us from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of the Son of His love, but He also makes our spirit come alive.  We are spiritually new babies, born into a Kingdom that has older siblings to help us grow.

John 3:5-6; 14-15

In this context, one of those religious leaders, named Nicodemus, had come to Jesus late at night.  He was bucking the trend of his peers, but didn’t want them to know that he was having second thoughts.  He knew that only Messiah could do what Jesus was doing, but he was perplexed by what Jesus taught.

In this passage, Jesus explains that natural birth is not enough to bring someone into the Kingdom.  It takes a spiritual birth.  It has to be an operation of the Holy Spirit that convicts a man to believe God and do what He is saying.  A person who refuses to do this remains dead spiritually, but a person who does is made spiritually alive, born again (or born from above).

As Jesus is explaining the need for a spiritual birth, he points to an event in Israel’s history to illustrate what he means.

 Numbers 21 tells a brief story of Israel in the wilderness.  They were complaining against God and even calling the manna that He supplied “worthless bread.”  God then sent poisonous serpents into their camp.  Many people were dying from the serpent bites.  When they came to Moses repenting and asking what they should do, God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole.  Those who are bitten could look upon the serpent and be healed.

This might seem strange.  Why would God make such a weird requirement of them?  When we compare this to what Jesus is talking about, spiritual birth, it is understandable.  They had sinned and were suffering the effects of their sins.  However,  the root of their sin was a lack of faith in God’s leadership and intentions for them.  Looking upon the serpent would be both simple (no great righteous work of their own) and an act of faith.

We see this in the story of Namaan the Syrian general who had leprosy.  The prophet told him to dip in the Jordan seven times and he would be healed.  Namaan did not want to do it at first.  He was headed home, incensed that the prophet didn’t come out to see him.  Yet, his servant talked him into doing it because it was a simple thing to do.

There is no healing properties in a bronze snake, but it represented something that they would not be inclined to go look at.  They would have to trust the Word of God through Moses.  It was their faith that allowed them to live.  Spiritual birth is similar.  We are all bitten by sin and dying from it.  Unless we look upon Jesus with simple trust in him, we will die in our sins.  Spiritual birth is listening to the Holy Spirit and doing what He is calling you to do.  It is saying no to the flesh and yes to the Spirit.  The Spirit is calling all men everywhere to put their trust in a crucified Lord.  This seems silly to our flesh, but it is the requirement of the Lord in order to receive eternal life.  When people put their trust in Jesus (look upon him), a real spiritual work of the Holy Spirit is done in their life.  They are made to be spiritually alive.

Let’s go back to Matthew 21 where Jesus tells a parable.

Matthew 21:33-42

Jesus tells a parable about a landowner who plants a vineyard.  It goes to great expense to set it up and create protections around it.  He then leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  At vintage time, he sent servants in order to receive its fruit.  Yet, the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.  The landowner sent more servants, but they did the same again.  Then, the landowner sent his son believing that they would surely respect his son.  However, when they saw the son, the wicked vinedressers killed him so that they could steal the inheritance.

After telling this story, Jesus asks the religious leaders what the landowner would do.  They answered rightly that the landowner would come and destroy them.  He would then lease the vineyard to others who would render to him the fruits of the vineyard in the proper season.

Of course, this story is about them.  They are the wicked vinedressers who are killing the prophets that God sent to them.  Last of all, they are even now preparing to kill Jesus, the Son of God.

Jesus then points them to Psalm 118:22.  There, the psalmist speaks of the builders rejecting a stone that then is chosen to be the chief cornerstone by the Lord.  The message is the same.  Those who were supposed to be leading Israel to be fruitful for the purposes of God were not doing that.  Those who were supposed to be building Israel into a great temple unto God the Father were rejecting the very rock of Israel that the Father had sent to be the Chief Cornerstone.

This is not so much about Israel as it is about the religious leaders of Israel.  They were being fired by God.  He was raising up new vinedressers from among Israel and even from among the Gentiles.  They would do a better job.  These vinedressers would be Jews and Gentiles working together.

It is important to see that the present phase of the Kingdom is about fruitfulness.  God wants those who have put their faith in Jesus to be fruitful and to help the Church be fruitful.  When Christ returns, will he find a harvest of righteousness and strong believers still trusting in him?  Or, will he find us drinking with the sinners and beating His servants?

Many have served Jesus and died through the centuries.  Yet, Jesus will resurrect all the righteous who have died and all of the righteous who are still alive.  These will then enter into the next phase of the Kingdom of God.

Are you in the Kingdom now?  Put your faith in Jesus and turn from your sin.  Live your life for His purposes instead of pleasing yourself.  This will give you a place in the Kingdom of God today, and an inheritance in the future phase when Christ returns to take over the kingdoms of this world.

Kingdom 3 audio

What is the Object of Your Faith?

Numbers 14.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on December 02, 2018.

We are continuing to talk about the importance of faith in our lives this morning.  It is impossible to belong to God or to walk with Him each day without it.

Today we are going to focus on the mechanics of faith.  There are two aspects to faith that are often confused in the thinking of people.  First, there is the thing for which we trust or hope.  We will call this the subject of our faith.  Second, there is the thing in which or upon which we trust.  We will call this the object of our faith. 

The subject of our faith is in the future in some way.  It may only be throughout the rest of today as I have faith that God will help me today etc., but it can be something that is tomorrow, or farther in the future.  There are many things that are the subject of our faith.  Although the subjects of our faith are important, the object of our faith is even more critical. 

The object of our faith is presently with us in some way.  The object also has a past that we have become aware of to some degree.  The Christian is a person who has come to trust in Jesus Christ as the object of their faith.  The subjects of such a faith should come out of the object upon which we trust.  Because I am trusting Jesus, there are certain things for which I have faith.  One of those is to trust that He will be with us and never forsake us throughout each and every tick of the clock into our future.  Some of the subjects for which we have faith are in the future.  There is nothing of them here in the present.  Thus we trust God that though we die, yet shall we live at the Resurrection of the Righteous.

When you think about a person who first puts their faith in Jesus, you will see that they generally did not really know Christ before that event.  However, they hear the testimony of those who have had a relationship with Christ in the past and in the present.  They believe because the testimonies help to convince them.  Yet, there is also a spiritual component where the Holy Spirit is drawing people to Christ.

The most important thing you can do in the area of faith is to quit worrying about the subjects for which you trust, and focus on the object in which you trust.  If that object is not really Christ then it will not be able to hold up all that you expect from it.  If that object is Christ then you will learn that your expectations and desires are less important than your relationship with Him.  He should be the object of our faith and anything beyond spending eternity with Him really doesn’t matter.

The strength of our faith can be weak.

In Numbers 14:1-10, the people of Israel had been delivered from slavery in Egypt through amazing miracles.  There were the 10 plagues that God brought upon Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea to help Israel escape, the collapse of the Red Sea to destroy Pharaoh’s army, and the supernatural provision of water, bread and meat in the desert.  At this point they have reached the land that God had promised them.  They have followed Him through all that had transpired in the past, but now they balk at His command.  It is important to recognize that the land was everything God had promised them.  It was often described as “flowing with milk and honey.”  The testimony of the spies in Numbers 13 was that the land was very fruitful and indeed a clump of grapes was so large that two men carried them.

It is here that we see that our desire for a particular subject is not enough to keep our faith strong.  No matter how strongly I want something, the power of that desire will not sustain my faith very long.  It is easy to let the desirability of the subject also serve as the object of our faith.  Of course this is somewhat irrational and cannot last.  Just because something is extremely desirable does not mean there is any hope of attaining it.  That is to say, there is no correlation between the desirability of the subject and the likelihood of reaching it.

In fact, God was supposed to be the object of Israel’s hope for the Promised Land, which is the subject.  In this passage it is revealed that their faith was not really on God because He hadn’t changed.  He was the same God who had delivered them from Egypt and the desert.  So what was the object of their faith?

No matter how badly they wanted the Promised Land and no matter how wonderful it was, the circumstances that surrounded them looked bad.  The true object of their faith was circumstances.  If they could see how something could happen then they would “believe.”  Of course, by definition this is actually a lack of faith.  At each miraculous point in their past, they typically failed to believe that God would help them and grumbled and complained.  Yet, God blessed them anyways with liberation, protection, and provision.  They only reason they made it this far with God was because He was being merciful with them.  In truth they had exercised precious little faith in Him.  There is a certain amount of power and momentum in the desire that we have for something, but do not be deceived.  That power will not be enough to sustain you through what lies ahead.  Trying to live by the power of our desires and how favorable the circumstances are is a road that leads to spiritual destruction and more.

In truth the strength of faith depends upon our trust in God and Him alone.  All along the path from Egypt to Canaan, God had been showing Israel that He could be trusted and that He had the power to do all that He promised them.  At each step of the way, at each new circumstance, and each new fact that their minds recognized, they were being tested.  Do you trust Me now?  Have you ever thought that the difficulties you run into in life and the adverse circumstances that seem to get in your way are simply God asking you to trust Him again and again?  Do you trust Me now?  Weak faith has nothing to do with the subject, but it has everything to do with the object.  If you are having trouble trusting God it is not because He hasn’t proven Himself.  It is because you do not really trust Him in the first place.  You are trusting something else.

Our faith can be made weak by circumstances and interference.

In this passage we have on display a common event.  We appear to believe God for something and then circumstances change.  We then lose faith.  For Israel this is when they saw that the land was filled with giants.  Similar to Peter seeing the waves and beginning to fear, or us looking at the world around us and beginning to doubt, the Israelites saw that they would have to fight giants to take the land and they lost any faith they had.  When you have that, “Oh no!” moment in which some circumstance seems to be too much, and you say, “I can’t do this,” you are revealing that you were trusting in yourself and the circumstances more than you were trusting in God.  Yes, the land was everything that they were promised, but it is inhabited by giants.  That which appeared to be great conquering faith melted like wax over a flame, or butter on the stove.

In contrast to the 10 spies and most of Israel, we that Joshua and Caleb still believe in God regardless of the circumstances.  These guys are not stupid.  They see the same things that everyone else can see.  However, their faith is not in what they can see.  They know that the Creator of the universe is not intimidated by giant humans on earth.  If the circumstances make it likely that you will win, then it really isn’t faith to believe that you will win.  Think about it.  They don’t know how God will give them victory over the giants, but they know it must happen for God to keep His word to them.

In verse 9, Joshua and Caleb remind the people that the Lord is still with them.  God hasn’t left us, and He is the one who led us to this place today.  So, why not trust Him?  In fact, Joshua and Caleb declare that not having faith in God is itself a rebellion against Him that is instigated by fear of people.  Do you believe that God is present in your life?  Has He led you to this place, and does He have a plan to take you through whatever you face?  This is what He is asking you to do.  Trust Him.  Now let’s look at the rest of this story.

We need trust in God more than we need the things it can get us.

In Numbers 14:34-45 we see that God disciplines Israel.  He is not going back on His word.  However, He tells Moses that they will have to go back into the desert for 40 years and then He will bring them back again to the Promised Land.  Of course, the people of Israel did not like that response and so they decide that they would rather die fighting giants than go back into the desert.  Thus they double-down on their rebellion against God.  They refuse to fight when He tells them to do so, and then when He says to leave, they try to fight.

In biblical terminology the Promised Land had become an idol in their heart.  Instead of God being seated on the throne of their heart, they had put the subject of their faith on the throne of their heart.  This is a human tendency.  We tend to put the ability of man and favorable circumstances as a kind of ruler that dictates to us whether to do something or not, and to believe for something or not.  This is rebellion against God and it is idolatry.

God in His love disciplines us so that we will see that we do not fully trust Him.  Even God’s discipline will lead to good things if we trust Him.  Yes, that generation would not live in the Promised Land.  However, they could infuse in their children the lesson that they had learned, so that the next generation would not repeat this error.  When God disciplines you, don’t double-down on rebellion.  Rather, embrace it and learn the lessons that He has for you to learn.  It is more important to have God than all the food of Egypt, or all the comforts of the Promised Land.  If we don’t have faith in Him then we really have nothing at all.

God will not bless our idolatry, or our rebellion against Him.  We can’t force it or make it happen.  When Israel went to battle against the giants in rebellion to God’s discipline, they ended up being defeated.  God refused to help them.  Many Christians today do not realize that they have put the subjects of their faith on the throne of their heart.  They follow a theology that tries to force God to give us what we want.  If I only do this enough or that enough then He must do what I pray.  Yet, such things are folly.  God told the Apostle Paul, “No” when he asked God to heal a physical problem that he had.  Why?  Surely God doesn’t want us sick, but rather healthy, wealthy, and wise.  God said, “No” because He knew what was best for Paul.  The thorn in Paul’s flesh would serve to keep him humble.  Besides, God’s grace is enough for us.  I don’t have to have the things I want.  Having God and being in relationship with Him in this life is enough for me and for you.

Final Thoughts

In 1 Samuel 17 we have the story of David and Goliath.  At this point in time, we have a new generation that had to learn to conquer giants themselves.  No matter how many giants that Joshua and their ancestors had taken out, none of it could replace David’s generation stepping up to the plate.  Yet, they did have an example in front of them that could help them believe.  Take time to hear the examples of the Bible and those elderly believers who talk to us today.  You need to learn to trust God for yourself and discover by faith those things that He has for you.

Have you ever thought that perhaps God likes impossible odds?  Why do we balk at this?  It makes sense that an all-powerful being would enjoy helping us through impossible situations.  Perhaps the more impossible it looks the more likely it is God who is bringing us to it.

We look to many things in this world to be the answer:  money, people, equipment, technology, skills, knowledge, etc.  However, our answer is not in those things.  Our answer is in putting complete faith in God.  Yes, we have those things, but it is God who blesses them and provides what they cannot.  So, why would I put my trust in them?  With God you can be in a desert and be filled with food, but without Him you can sit in the midst of abundance and be empty.

Lastly, faith is not about obtaining things, but rather about remaining in a place of absolute trust in the Lord Jesus.  Is your faith completely in Jesus?  If so, then you will not be derailed when the things you want seem impossible, or God tells you, “No.”

Object of Your Faith Audio