A Sermon by Ben Phillips

Citizenship in God’s Kingdom

Ben Phillips

St. Margaret's Episcopal Church & School

Isaiah 2:2-4 | Psalm 96 | Ephesians 2:13-22 | Luke 10:1-9

Father in Heaven, gracious Lord, we thank you Father for this beautiful day. We thank you Father, for gathering us together in this place of worship to bring you glory and praise. Father, you have promised us that where two or three are gathered in your name there you are present among them. Father we pray that your abiding presence will be made known in our hearts and minds this morning as you reveal yourself to us through your Holy Scripture and by your Holy Spirit. We pray this in your son Jesus Christ’s name, Amen.

Good morning to you all. I hope you are having fantastic summer. It is a great joy to be here today and speaking with you on this Mission Sunday, a time where we have taken a weekend aside to consider the mission, the vision and direction of our church, not just St. Margaret’s but our church as a Diocese, and each one of us as Christians.

It is even more wonderful to speak with you on this day having just returned from a mission trip. I joined a team of twenty-four people from our Diocese with two of our high school youth group members to go to Tijuana, Mexico to build houses for needy families. We spent six days there, roughing it and camping out. We built two houses in four days. It was an amazing week. We had a fantastic time serving the Lord and the people of Mexico. For those who may not have heard yet, yes, the nail is out and he is okay. [In reference to an injury which was sustained by a members of the mission trip.]

I wasn’t too worried about how the two guys I went with were going to do since they were Boy Scouts. I wasn’t too worried about how they would handle camping out all week and showering by dumping a bucket of water over your head and eating out of a can. I knew the Boy Scouts do a great job of preparing young guys to do these kinds of things. So I was not too worried. I knew this since I was in the Boy Scouts once also.

The things I remember about the Boy Scouts were the badges you have to get. In order to get Eagle rank there are particular badges you have to get. There is a series of three citizenship merit badges. "Citizenship in Community", "Citizenship in the Nation", and "Citizenship in the World." The purpose of these badges is to get the Scouts to think about their involvement in something bigger than just their family and friends, to get them thinking and participating in something bigger than what they are experiencing at each level.

What I would like to speak to you about this morning is Citizenship, being involved in something bigger than yourself. Citizenship in God’s kingdom.

In our reading this morning of Ephesians 2:19, Paul writes, "So you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God." What is God’s kingdom if we are citizens in it? What are we a part of? This is a tough thing to nail down. It is a broad subject. The Gospel is full of analogies and stories that Jesus Christ tells us to explain what the kingdom of God is. He talks about the shepherd that goes and finds the lost sheep. He talks about the treasure that is found in the field. He talks about fishermen lowering their nets and farmers scattering their seeds. So he paints a myriad of pictures to explain what the kingdom of God is. But for today as we examine this idea of Citizenship in the kingdom, I want to break all that down into one simple bite-size piece.

I would like to define the Kingdom of God as the people, places, and circumstances where a person of Jesus Christ is established and glorified. So when we talk of the Kingdom of God today let’s think of it that way.

So if that is what it is, then how do we become a part of it? If we are citizens in this kingdom, how do we become citizens? While I was thinking of this I thought, well, how do I become an American citizen? Let’s draw a parallel here. There are two ways to become an American citizen, either you are born here or you become naturalized. The interesting thing about naturalization is that the end result of the process is so that it will be set up as if you were born here in the United States. In the eyes of the state it will be as if you were born here. So tied in with the idea of citizenship is "birth". What makes you a citizen is you are born into it.

That is a powerful concept. God’s Kingdom works the same way. Our citizenship in God’s Kingdom is not based upon our merit or purchasing our citizenship or status. Our citizenship is based on Jesus Christ. It is a gift of Grace that is given to us. The first part of Ephesians 2, leading up to Paul’s verse on citizenship, is describing what God has done through Christ to reconcile us to him and thereby making us citizens in his kingdom. So we are made citizens in God’s Kingdom not by ourselves but through Christ and through faith in him.

So that makes our citizenship "free". Both as an Americans and in God’s Kingdom, I did not have to do anything to become a citizen; I was born here and I owe that to my parents. So I owe my citizenship in God’s kingdom to Jesus Christ.

Our citizenship is a free gift but it comes with something called "responsibility". In years past it was referred to in America as "civic duty". This is something some of my generation have lost sight of. But what is "civic duty"? Well, it is voting and serving on jury duty, promoting the common welfare, a civic duty to care for your fellow citizen. That is something the founding fathers addressed in the inalienable rights of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness". Those are "civic duties" that we perform as citizens. The interesting thing about "civic duty" is that it does not make me a citizen. I am a citizen by birth. But I perform my "civic duty" out of responsibility. So why do we do it?

I think there are two reasons. Firstly, when we perform a "civic duty" we are participating in that which we are a part of. In other words, I just don’t sit here while the state does it’s thing, but I am invited to be part of this state and be part of the government of the United States through voting and jury duty. Secondly, through participating in this country, ideally, I will have a better appreciation of the freedoms I enjoy as a citizen.

Following this analogy, if we know that our entrance into God’s kingdom is "free", just like our citizenship in America is "free," we have a "righteous duty" in God’s kingdom that we perform. Through this "righteous duty" we perform, hopefully, we will have a better appreciation and understanding of what God has done for us, and participate in that which we belong to. God does not say, "Welcome to the kingdom, now park it." He says, "Welcome to the kingdom now let’s get started." He invites us to participate.

What is that "righteous duty" you might be asking yourselves? It does not make us citizens. Jesus Christ makes us citizens. But what do we do as a responsibility to the kingdom? Well God makes it easy for us, two things: The Great Commandment and The Great Commission. You do that, and that is your "righteous duty". The Great Commandment, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength." LOVE. He also states, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Because we were created in the image of God. So LOVE! That is our first "righteous duty".

Secondly, TELL! Remember in kindergarten you had "show and tell", well now it is "LOVE and TELL". The Great Commission, "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you." LOVE and TELL! That is our "righteous duty" in God’s kingdom.

Now there is something very important to note at this point, that we do not build God’s kingdom. God builds his kingdom. God invites us to participate in the building of his kingdom, but he is the one who does it. As I was thinking about that I realized that is a powerful thing to be invited to participate in the building of God’s kingdom. Because it is something bigger and grander then anything we could possibly imagine.

When we perform a "civic duty" such as voting, we can just register and go to a polling station. But what am I really doing when I vote? I am involving myself in a person as a leader. There is something deeper to voting than just showing up. I was thinking about what is the deeper reality of our fulfilling The Great Commandment and Great Commission? When we "LOVE and TELL" what are we really doing in God’s kingdom? I found the answer in today’s Gospel reading. Luke 10, we see that Jesus sends out seventy disciples. We think Jesus only had twelve. Well he had twelve in the circle, but actually he had a host that followed him all over the place. He chose seventy of them to go out and do this ministry. The rest of the passage is instructions of what he wants them to do when they go out. But the part that stood out the most to me is in verse 1. Jesus says this, "After this, the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go." Where were the disciples being sent? To every town and place that Jesus himself intended to go.

I put it to you this morning that our place in the kingdom is to prepare the way for Jesus Christ to come into every home and every life and every community, town and nation on God’s green earth. That is what we are called to do. Jesus Christ wants to come into your school, your workplace, your home. Jesus just does not want to just come into church on Sunday, even though, that is fantastic. Jesus wants to go out there, and he is picking us to prepare the way for everyplace he wants to go and he wants to go everywhere.

Perhaps you are thinking that you are not sure what God is calling you to do in his kingdom. How do you know? There are some encouraging words in this Gospel. God did not send them out one at a time. There are no Lone Rangers in his kingdom. "Two by two". There is glorious truth when we are in his kingdom we are not alone as we prepare a place for Jesus Christ to come. Jesus says, "I will be with you." The word Jesus uses for Holy Spirit is "paraclete". The direct translation for this is, "the one who walks beside." So in everything you do and when you go out to serve the Lord and engage, the Holy Spirit is right there with you. But not only that, we have a body of believers. I know when I go out into that world, I am not alone and there are other Christians out there that are doing the same thing I am. Take heart and strength in knowing the you are not in this alone, and God’s own Holy Spirit is walking right next to you. A host of believers on this earth are doing the same thing and you are a part of that body of Christ.

Just in case that is not enough, the Bible also tells us this, "There is a great heavenly host surrounding us and cheering us on." I picture a cosmic football stadium and we are on the fifty yard line and the heavenly host is around us saying, "Yahoo, go get em!" That is what God does with his citizens of his kingdom. He sends them out two by two to prepare a place for him to come. You are not doing this alone. As we said earlier, two months from today on Saturday, September 27th, Our entire family of the Diocese of San Diego, all fifty-three churches are going to be gathering together to say we are together in this and we need to sit down and encourage one another and figure out a vision to better go out into the world. To be better citizens to establish Jesus Christ and glorify him. We are going to gather together for that express purpose. One of the good things is you people do not have to travel anywhere to do this. We are doing it right here at St. Margaret’s.

I encourage you as the summer winds down to begin thinking about your "citizenship" in God’s kingdom and your "righteous duty" and what God is calling us to do. Twenty-first century disciples. We are called to continue what those seventy disciples did and I encourage you to be a part of that.

I want to close with a final thought. In Isaiah it says a great host of people were gathered on the mountain of God. I am inspired by that. Here we are on a mountain, here on Highway 74. There is going to be a great host of people gathering and what do they do when they get there? In verse 3 it says, "We will go to the house of the Lord so that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." So what happens when we gather on the mountain of Lord? He teaches us his ways.

The kingdom of God is about his ways and his paths. So the only hindrance that happens is when we do what we want and not what He wants us to do. What does he want us to do? That which will glorify him! You know what will glorify him? When we see lives changed. God says I need someone to go into the school or jobsite and tell them how God does business. I need them to go into broken families and tell them yes, there is a Father that loves them no matter what.

What can you do to participate in the building of his kingdom? I encourage you to pray and meditate about this and know it is by faith that we progress. On the radio I heard someone say, "All progress in the Christian life is by faith. If you are not willing to step out in faith, you will not grow." Be encouraged that God’s Holy Spirit is walking beside you and you are not alone as we prepare to "Step out in Faith" to build the kingdom and participate in God’s wonderful kingdom as citizens, as we prepare a place in every heart and every family, community and country for the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ and to him be the Glory, Honor and Praise forever. Amen.

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