The Announcement
Passages: Genesis 15:1-6 , Daniel 7:13-14 , Luke 4:16-21
Preacher: Mark Kingston
Brokenness in the Beginning
From the very beginning the bible is very clear about one devastating reality: The world is broken. As soon as sin is invited into the garden by Adam and Eve, it doesn’t just affect people. The whole of creation pays a heavy price.
The world as we know it today shows this brokenness clearly. Just watch today’s news and you’ll see lots of evidence. And deep in us, there’s a cry: It wasn’t meant to be this way. Yet no matter how hard we try, we can’t seem to make things better on our own.
Which raises a question: What does God intend to do about this?
God’s Kingdom Promise
The answer: he’s going to bring his Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. That means that one day, life will be as God originally intended it: everything and everyone who welcomes Him at peace, whole, thriving. We know this because the Bible shares a series of promises, given by God to many different people over many many years that he has a plan to make things good again.
On Sunday, we looked at three of these promises.
One given to Abram - that he would have a son, that the generations that came from him would be blessed and that the whole world would be blessed through them.
Then we jumped to Daniel - who had a vision of the bigger picture: that one day, a new King would come, anointed by God, whose Kingdom would never fall or fail. And all nations would worship Him.
Waiting in the Tension
But….there’s a tension. Because there is often a long time between his promise being given and His promise being fulfilled. That means that just like Abram and Daniel before us, we have to live in the tension of holding the promise whilst living in a world that is still deeply broken.
The Announcement
Which is why Jesus “Announcement” is so significant. At the start of Luke’s gospel story, Jesus stands up in the temple and reads another promise from God - from the prophet Isaiah, that richly describes what it’s like when the Kingdom of God starts to come: good news arrives for the poor. Broken people have their hearts healed. People trapped in dark places are freed.
This is what the bible calls, “The year of the Lord’s favour”. And Jesus closes the scroll and says these stunning words: “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
After many promises, and over a thousand years of waiting, Jesus says: the time has come! The Kingdom long promised is going to start breaking out!
And sure enough, we see evidence: blind people see. Lame people walk. Oppressed people are freed. The lonely are embraced into family. The hungry are fed.
The Mission
It turns out that this has become possible because Jesus has defeated the power structures of evil: sin, death and devil. And the Church is born with a mission: keep extending the kingdom! Keep sharing the best news ever - that it is still the year of the Lord’s favour.
Living in the ‘Now’ and the ‘Not Yet’
So - if that’s true, why are things still so broken? The world seems even more damaged than ever. Has God hit pause on his Kingdom project, or can we expect to see it break out here and now like it did in Jesus’ time?
This is a deep question, so for now, let me offer two encouragements.
First, God’s Kingdom promise and the mission given to Christians hasn’t changed. It’s still the year of the Lord’s favour. What God’s looking for are people who have the faith to keep asking for more and the courage to get involved when the Spirit of God nudges them to.
Second, the bible is clear that no matter how bad things get, one thing is for certain: God’s Kingdom will one day come in full. Daniel’s vision will be realised. The King will come and the nations - all of them - will worship Him. Life will fully and finally be as God intended: No more sin. No more death. No more crying or pain or shame.
But that time hasn’t happened… yet. Which means we are called to live in a tension: between the now (the kingdom breaking through bit by bit, person by person, while there is still much sin and brokenness in our world) and the next: when the Kingdom of God comes in full.
How Do We Get Ready?
What God is looking for are people who are “ready”. Ready to get involved with Him - ready to respond to his nudges to join in as he extends His Kingdom right here, right now.
So how can we get ready? The bible says, “Repent”. That means turn away - from sin, from disappointment, from distractions. And turn towards Jesus - fix our eyes on him and keep praying, “May your kingdom come”.
There is no limit to what God can do with people who are ready and longing for Him to move.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Where do you feel the ache?
Where in your own life, or in the life of someone close to you, do you feel the ache - the sense that “it wasn’t meant to be this way”?Holding onto promises
Talk about a promise of God that has been hard for you to hold onto. What helps you keep trusting when the waiting feels long?Seeing glimpses of the Kingdom
Have you ever seen a moment where God’s Kingdom seemed to break through - in your life, in our church, or in Gibsons? Share the story.Turning back to Jesus
“Repent” means to turn around and re-orient. What would that look like in simple, everyday terms for you this week?Joining in with God’s Kingdom
Where do you sense God might be nudging you to join Him - at home, at work, in a relationship, or in our community? What would it take for you to say “yes”?
